(1) The Brother, Eugene

Eugene's POV

"Eugene. Since you are the eldest son, you should always take good care of your brothers. When we are not here, you are the father of the children."

As the successor of Ernst, Eugene lived along with the body he deserves, and

that was to be what he most heard.

For Eugene, Ernst was all the life he

had to keep for a lifetime, and it was a task he had to accomplish until his death.

From birth until now, he has never been free from that task.

However, because Eugene loved Ernst and his family more than anything in the world, Eugene was willing to bet his life on this Ernst.

"You're pathetic."

Eugene whispered, chilling down his eyes.

The temperature was extremely low for the eyes of a 12-year-old boy, but it wasn't as cold as his little contempt for his dark eyes.

"Stand up. Don't make me embarrassed."

In front of him was a little girl who fell on the floor. Hari. A girl he never knew came from, is taken by his parents two months ago and they took her as a stepdaughter.

From lunch today, she was dragged back

and forth by Cabel, and her elbows and knees were hurt, causing blood to leak out.

"Sorry."

The moment she saw him, the child, who was astonished at the fire in his eyes, muttered with a voice as if crawling.

Immediately after that, the child who stood up on the floor stumbled once

as if her leg had been released.

Eugene jumped intently without knowing

it, and reached out in front of her, and then clenched his fist and deliberately said it colder.

"Arina wasn't stupid like you. If you want

to be a doll, why don't you imitate it more properly like a doll?"

"Sorry."

Hari apologized to him again. While looking down at the child who could not even meet him and clasped her head, Eugene's pupils began to move shallowly.

Eventually, he left the room first, as if he was running away, saying nothing more.

"I can't accept it."

Eugene bites his mouth and keep struggling with a weak heart that keep eating his heart. He can never admit that child as Ernst. Even for the dead Arina.

"Yes. I can't admit it."

Arina Ernst was his younger sister who Eugene had to protect until the day she died. So it was never acceptable. Such a tacky girl who came in coveting Arina's place.

********

"Brother. I'm sick."

Erich and Arina, born as twins, were innately weak. In Eugene's memory, Arina

always cried with pain, otherwise she lay all day without energy.

At that time, Erich couldn't leave Arina's bed all day, and he was crying.

"Brother. Arina is sick because of me. Is that real?"

The twins were born by nature, and one day Erich was crying and asked him when he heard the myth that twin was often born weak.

"Who makes that statement? It's not

because of you that Arina is sick. Erich, don't think about it again."

"Brother, Arina and I are twins. But why can't I'm sick instead?"

Erich used to say that after Arina faint, he wished he would be sick instead.

Everyone prayed that Arina will be better with one hope, but as time went by, her illness became more serious.

"Arina. Our lovely baby."

His mother never lived without in tears. It was natural.

When Arina crouched and cried when she was sick, telling Eugene that she was feeling stuffy as if her chest was tight, but the doctors all shook their head and said

nothing more.

So they cried because Arina couldn't even rest her body on the bed.

Whenever his mother hugged the little body and soothed her, she was forced to go undercover with the helpless feeling that she could do nothing for her child.

"Baby. This is the candy that the fairy gave you. If you eat this, all the painful things will fly away."

It was clear that it was a lie for her daughter, but whether the sky had heard his mother's wishes, after that day, Arina's illness seemed increasingly slow.

But it was an illusion. The less days she complained of pain, the more Arina looked blank, and later she didn't even recognize her family's face.

Even when she was awake, there were many times when she was talking about

hallucination.

And when the time passed a little, only the eyes without focus were blurred, as if nothing was heard and nothing was seen.

Arina was everyone's heart in Ernst.

A poor child who was never able to jump

outside and was just lying in one small room and quietly staring out the window from birth.

Eventually, Arina died without even having a six-year-old birthday.

"Oh huah!"

Cabel and Erich's crying in the room filled their hearts. On that day, Eugene cried together without even thinking of

appeaseing his brothers.

Not only his brothers, his parents who sent their children away also cried together that day.

*******

For a while he couldn't keep himself. It seemed like a big hole had been drilled in his chest, but no one knew how to fill that vacancy, and the time flowed swiftly.

Still, about a year after Arina's death, the wound that seemed to open up seemed to show off gradually, but it was only a good illusion that seemed plausible.

That time it was about when Eugene first realized that his mother was weird

somewhere.

"Mother. You've decided to change my tutor to Hudson."

He remember that day was an ordinary day.

Whether the time is right or not, now they are sore every time they think of Arina and that they are able to handle their sorrows so that they do not drown in sadness.

His father went back and forth to the imperial palace and started to fulfill his

responsibilities as head of Ernst, and his mother sometimes went out with

invitations from other wives.

His younger brothers gave the name 'Penny' to the puppies that they started raising Arina's death and regained some

of their former vitality.

And Eugene was studying at Arlanta's Academy, which should be admitted to any family successor.

"Yes. I decided to do it in consultation with your father. You're going to know him because Hudson is going to visit next week."

"Yes, mother."

"Of course, Eugene always takes care of matter, so I don't have to worry about it."

That said, his mother smiled openly. Eugene was very relieved to see the smile.

But it was the next moment that his heart was shattered.

"Oh, look at my mind! I almost forgot. It's time to give Arina some medicine."

For a moment, Eugene didn't notice what she was saying.

"It's almost too late. I'm going to go to the kitchen. Eugene, can you go to Arina first and check if she's sleeping now?"

"Mother…?"

Eugene called his mother in an awkward position, but she stand up in a hurry and then left the room soon. Eugene took a step that did not fall and followed his mother's trace.

"Eugene, have you already been to Arina? Did she still asleep? Whoa. My baby is sleeping."

He couldn't even speak.

"Where is my baby?"

Arina's room was still in Ernst, but it was the first time in a few months that the door had been opened.

Eugene looked at his mother as if she was looking for someone in her dead room and looked around without breath.

"Aha, I guess you want to play hide-and-seek with mom. Let's see. Will she be behind the curtain?"

"Arina. My baby, where are you hiding? Are you in the closet?"

Right then, someone behind his back, caught his leg. Eugene breathed in and

hurriedly headed down and realized that the person holding onto him was

Erich, and soon exhaled.

"Brother, is there Arina…?"

"Erich, come here."

Erich tried to jump into the room by moving his gaze around the room as if he was looking for Arina with his mother.

Eugene did know what Erich doing and stopped it.

"That's nothing. No Arina. Just, just our mother for a moment thinking… For awhile…"

But he couldn't speak like there's a stone on his neck.

Eugene's hand, gripping Erich's shoulders, was terribly shaking, but he closed his eyes once, opened, and said to his younger brother in a firm tone.

"Erich, forget about what you've seen right now. Okay?"

"Arina, where are you, baby?"

Eugene turned his head in slow motion again. In the room, his mother was still wandering to find her dead daughter.

It feels like he's being thrown out alone and drowned little by little.

*******

He told his father.

"I must call the doctor."

Even the duke of Ernst wasn't able to hide the shaking of his eyes as if he was greatly agitated.

"Yes, father."

But even with regular treatment, Mrs. Ernst would sometimes act like her dead daughter is still alive.

The clear disappearance of her symptoms occurred shortly after bringing a young girl on the journey she had left for a refreshment. That was Hari.

Eugene hated the little girl who was in his sister's place, but he inevitably swallowed the voice of rejection because his mother seemed to have finally recovered.

"What, I hate it! Why is she's my sister?"

"Isn't she not Arina? But why do we have to live together?"

He took care of his younger brother.

It was natural that his brothers who were shocked by the fact that the child simply rolled into their sister's place became more dissatisfied with her appearance.

It was an instant that a small, helpless girl became the target of anger. It was as if the wound, which had yet to heal, had burst out at once.

Maybe he just needed a place to solve this terrible anxiety that he had been pressing and holding after all.

Even though he thought it was despicable act by himself, Eugene also had no control over the thorny words that popped out of his mind whenever he saw Hari.

"I'm sorry."

Everytime Hari apologized to him. Everytime he faced the child, Eugene became more and more thrilled, but

the more he rationalized his actions, the more it hurt.

Still, though, she is alive. Living, breathing day by day, was terribly painful. She took the place of his sister.

And she takes attention away from their mother and father. His head was messed up with intense emotions tangled all over.

He knew. That it was an unreasonable idea, but he couldn't stand it. No one told him how to get rid of this wildly raving mind this way. So Eugene just turned away.

The fact that the girl they hated is only a child who is only 7 years old. Because it was the most comfortable way for him at that moment.

******

"Strange."

"Yeah?"

Suddenly, Eugene muttered to himself, and the orthodox teacher, Hudson, raised his head instead of reading a book.

Eugene had a bizarre feeling and stopped his hand instead of organizing the timeline as Hudson wanted.

Why is the house so quiet? Even if he listen, there wasn't some sound outside the door.

No sound was heard. If others knew his doubts, they would have a look like that they do not understand what he's talking about like Hudson now, but Eugene was raised by a certain instinct and raised his body.

"Hubert!"

He came down the stairs and called the butler Hubert, but no answer came back. It was the same even after shouting a few times.

"Cabel, what happened while I wasn't there?"

"Yeah? What?"

Cabel was playing in a room alone for some reason.

The toy Cabel was playing with was the one that Erich would never lend him no matter how much he begged for days.

When he got the toy he wanted, Cabel responded with enthusiasm to Eugene's question.

"Where is Erich?"

"I don't know. He said he's going to be playing with Penny."

Eugene left Cabel room and started looking for others.

But nothing happened as he walked down the hall. In the meantime, none of the housers, including butler Hubert, noticed.

"Erich!"

It was Penny who replied to his call. Eugene found Erich hugging Penny in the playroom where they used to gather together.

"Have you been alone?"

"No, I was with Penny."

But, naturally he answered, a strange sensation was peeking from Erich's face. Looking closely, his brother was avoiding Eugene's eyes.

"Where is she?"

"How do I know that. I'm in my room."

"I just went to her room and there was no sign of her. Then I guess she's with you."

Eugene approached Erich and grabbed his brother's small shoulders.

"Erich, tell me the truth. What did you do while I wasn't here?"

It was just an intuition. A kind of ominous foreboding that passed through his mind

while walking through a strangely quiet mansion.

"I do not know."

"Erich!"

In the end, Eugene succeeded in persuading Erich and hearing the answer. Shortly thereafter, he immediately jumped out of the mansion.

Erich said that he yelled at Hari to go home and kicked her out.

As he ran and looked at the clock on the first floor, it was already an hour,

there was too much time that had passed.

"Hari!"

Eugene started running, sweeping around the building looking for a child somewhere outside the mansion. When he was outside, it was snowing.

There was no realization that he had called her name for the first time in half a year, except in front of his parents, because his heart was in a hurry due to a blizzard.

Eventually, a white, human figure came into his eyes.

"Hari!"