The Strongest Brother Lost His Memory-Chapter 50

“Huh? Why were you suspicious of me all of a sudden?”

“Ever since you infused me with your divine power, my body hasn’t hurt.”

“...What?”

“It was a faint divine power, so you must’ve been a wretch... but it really did feel like it calmed my mana overload.”

My eyes widened. That was something I hadn’t considered at all.

So that’s why Zahid was perfectly fine when he first arrived at the Count’s estate!

I stared at him in shock as he slowly continued.

“But after about a day, the pain started coming back little by little.”

Right, Zahid’s condition had sharply declined in Julian’s room yesterday.

Only now did I understand what he had meant by those strange words he said back then.

“No... I still can’t trust you yet.”

I also remembered how he’d looked at me so desperately.

He had probably wanted to receive divine power from me even then but held back with superhuman willpower.

At the time, he couldn’t bring himself to trust me yet, even if his body wanted to.

Zahid continued calmly,

“It’s definitely different from normal divine power... Usually, one dose is enough to be permanently fine, but yours seems to have an expiration date.”

“Oh...”

“You didn’t know?”

“...Not at all.”

I frowned and muttered to myself.

“Is this... because of the experiments too? Why would it be like that?”

I was genuinely flustered—this was something I hadn’t known at all.

“‘This too’...? What else is there?”

“Oh... actually, I can kind of communicate with the Divine Beast. You probably noticed that already.”

“...Why didn’t you just tell me it was because of the experiments? When I was making a scene yesterday at the duke’s estate?”

“Huh, do you think you would’ve believed me if I did?”

At my words, Zahid flinched and bit his lower lip.

Then he let out a sigh and quietly said,

“...Sorry.”

“Mm.”

“...You’re not gonna ask what I’m sorry for?”

“You acted like such a brat. You’re at an age where that’s still allowed, so I’ll figure out the details myself. No need to waste your voice.”

“...Ah, uh... Th-Thank you.”

A brief silence passed between us. I patted Fire without a word.

Zahid just sat there quietly watching me.

Then, suddenly, he asked,

“The experiments...”

His voice was hushed.

“...did they hurt that much?”

“Huh?”

“Were they that painful... that just standing in front of that woman made you tremble like that?”

“Well...”

I answered awkwardly.

“Maybe about as painful as what you’re going through?”

Then I carefully took his hand. His violet eyes wavered slightly.

“So I hope you don’t have to hurt either. Pain sucks, right?”

Zahid didn’t say anything. He just let out a quiet sigh.

I smiled knowingly and narrowed my eyes.

“And... you’re only telling me this now because you trust me, right? You didn’t say anything yesterday.”

“I dunno.”

Zahid muttered and closed his eyes for a moment.

“But for now...”

I channeled all the divine power I could muster into our joined hands.

And just then, Zahid whispered softly,

“I think... I’m glad I came to you.”

He didn’t reject my divine power. He didn’t shake off my hand. That alone was a small sign of trust growing between us.

Sunlight gently bathed the room.

Like his newly softened voice, it was a peaceful morning.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

* * *

Zahid left right after breakfast.

According to Shulva, the duke’s estate had a mountain of urgent matters to handle.

“I always suspected the Temple might’ve been behind my parents’ deaths.”

Standing firmly in front of the carriage, he spoke in a low voice.

“Everyone said it was black magic and told me not to speak such nonsense, but I just... always thought it. And now it feels like that theory might actually be right.”

The former Duke and Duchess of Dyfenril had both opposed the Temple.

They were known to raise objections at every high-nobility assembly.

They had also reportedly met the Emperor in secret often, likely to keep the Temple in check...

I’d always thought Zahid hated the Temple more than expected—now I understood why.

“Well, anyway.”

Zahid scratched the back of his head and said casually,

“Hang in there, too.”

At his side was a gift box.

Inside was a mustard-yellow scarf Julian had knitted.

Julian, for some reason, was weirdly talented at knitting.

“Hey! Did you know I’m a natural at stabbing things with needles? Shulva, you saw this, right? Huh?”

Now that Shulva no longer served Julian under a military chain of command, she replied dryly,

“I thought your only talent was stabbing people, but it seems you’ve got some variety.”

And so, Julian had somehow knitted a full child-sized scarf in that short amount of time.

He gave it to Zahid.

“This thing’s got no owner now! You take it! Don’t whine about the cold °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° anymore! You’re all sickly and weak and stuff...”

Of course, he didn’t say it nicely.

“It’s a bribe! A bribe! You’d better treat our little girl right when she grows up, got it?”

“You made it yourself—shouldn’t you give it to Rosie?”

“This is just practice. You take this and back off. When winter comes, I’ll make something even better for the kid.”

In any case, Zahid accepted the scarf.

“Last night... kind of felt like being back in the old days.”

“Huh?”

“When I was sick and my family worried about me... stuff like that.”

Zahid glanced up at the Count’s estate and said quietly,

“After my parents died, no one ever worried about me again when I was hurting. I just survived alone through sheer will.”

Zahid gave a faint smile.

Seeing that, I stepped forward and said slyly,

“Did you like it? If so, there’s a way to just keep letting time pass and naturally end up married. Think about it seriously.”

“...What are you even talking about? I’m gonna marry someone I love.”

“Then just fall for me. Tell me your type—I’ll work on it.”

At my words, Zahid’s brow furrowed again. Something seemed to cross his mind.

“...Well. I think... I might be into older women.”

I clapped and grinned.

“Huh? Older women? Oh my, that’s me! I knew you fell for me at first sight.”

“Not one year older... I mean like... around twenty years old?”

At that, I clapped again and smiled even brighter.

“Oh. Well, I’ll be twenty someday too. So when that time comes, let’s go all in.”

Zahid looked at me and shook his head with a look that said this girl is impossible.

“Then take care.”

I smiled sweetly and waved.

“Glad you get to travel in peace.”

Once Zahid returned to the duke’s estate, he’d probably receive a load of tranquilizers from the Magic Tower.

I still didn’t know why my meager divine power had any effect on Zahid.

Was it a side effect of the Temple’s experiments?

Or had my divine power somehow warped from traveling back in time?

I knew next to nothing about divine power. I didn’t even understand how I had activated the Sacred Relic to regress.

But for now, I was just grateful for the way things had turned out.

Zahid lightly climbed into the carriage.

He left quickly, following Shulva’s advice to get going before Julian and Grandfather returned.

“Take care, Fire. I’ll see you soon at the Academy.”

I patted Fire’s head and said goodbye.

A three-month academy program for noble children was starting soon.

If memory served, Zahid had completed that program before the regression.

Back then, I hadn’t even learned how to read, so the Academy was a far-off dream. But now, I could probably go.

The tutor Julian had arranged for me would often say, “She still mixes up a few spellings, but she’s so clever, she’ll do just fine at the Academy.”

“You should go see the sea you always wanted to visit. Now that you can read, you can go to the Academy too, make lots of friends...”

And of course, I was planning to go as well.

In other words, we’d be seeing each other again much sooner than expected.

“Woof! Woof woof!”

<Marry this one! Marry her!>

“Yeah, got it. I’ll do my best.”

And then I leaned in and whispered to Fire,

“I don’t know which twenty-year-old lady you fell for, but I’m going to win no matter what.”

“Woof! Woof woof woof!”

<Marry this one! I’m sorry!>