In the dining hall, there was a long table that could seat about eight people, and it was there that we had our meal.
We had removed and deposited our equipment like swords.
The ingredients were all sourced from the villages within the territory, so there wasn’t anything particularly novel, but as a hub for produce, there was a wide variety of items.
Driven by my hunger, the meal was exceptionally delicious.
Currently, the atmosphere was one of post-meal conversation.
Gale-san kindly told me all sorts of things, including stories about his grandfather, our plans for the future, and things to be careful about in the royal capital.
“By the way, isn’t your older sister going to eat?”
When there was a lull in the conversation, I asked about his older sister, who was supposed to be at home. She hadn’t shown up after all.
“Ah, you mean Fee-nee? … Father, is it the usual?”
“Yes, it’s the usual.”
The usual?
I wish they’d be clearer.
As if sensing my confusion, Neil-san explained.
“Ah, sorry. My younger older sister’s name is Fina.”
Gale-san took over the explanation.
“Fina is a painter… and when she gets engrossed in it, she doesn’t leave her room for a while.”
A painter? His older sister is an artist. Having something you can be so passionate about that you forget to eat, that’s a little enviable, perhaps.
Well, I’ve been swinging my sword all the time in this life too, though.
When I said, “I want to swing a sword! Teach me!”, Grandpa had this incredibly happy look on his face when I was little.
That look is just unfair.
Before I knew it, I fell deep into the world of swords and have been swinging them ever since.
“Fee-nee is famous. She mainly does portraits, and she even painted a portrait of Spike-sama on commission. I’m proud of my sister.”
“That’s amazing. She’s still young, isn’t she?”
Neil-san spoke with clear pride. A painting of the former king, huh? She’s definitely not an ordinary painter.
“Fina is twenty. As her parent, I’m a bit concerned that she doesn’t seem interested in getting married. But she looks like she’s having fun, so I can’t really say anything.”
Gale-san told me her age, mixed with a wry smile and a bit of a grumble.
What kind of person is she? I’ve suddenly become very interested. I want to meet her.
“You’ll meet her tomorrow morning. Well, it’s getting late, so you should rest. I’ll have a maid show you to your room. There’s a bath in your room.”
With that, Gale-san rang a handbell.
A maid bowed and entered.
Well then, I guess I’ll take them up on their offer. It’s been an eventful and tiring day.
“Thank you. Well then, goodnight, Gale-san, Neil-san.”
“Yeah, goodnight.”
“Good night, Katia-san.”
Led by the maid, I ascended a gently curving staircase. The guest rooms were on the second floor, it seemed.
“This is your room. Please call at any time if you need anything.”
The maid bowed and left.
When I opened the door to the room, there were two beds in the spacious room, a low table and chairs, and a woman doing a handstand in front of a portrait.
Her clothes were disheveled, revealing her beautiful white back.
…!?
“Ah, excuse me. I must have the wrong room.”
I closed the door.
Then, a voice came from inside.
“You’re not wrong! This is the guest room, it’s fine!”
A drawling voice.
Eh…
That’s her, isn’t it, the older sister?
There’s no one else it could be.
Why is she in the guest room?
“Um… excuse me.”
Anyway, things won’t change by waiting, so I turned the doorknob and entered again.
This time, she was standing normally, facing me.
She was a beauty similar to Gale-san, with semi-long blonde hair, long ears, and green eyes, a classic-looking elf.
Neil-san and this person look so different from each other, it’s hard to believe they’re both half-elves, each looking more like one race.
Her figure was slender, and she was about 160 centimeters tall. She was wearing navy blue work clothes, with paint stains all over them.
“Oh, sorry, sorry. I couldn’t concentrate in my own room, you see. I was supposed to be done before the guest arrived, but oh well.”
“Ah, no, I don’t mind… I guess? It’s nice to meet you, I’m Katia Myers.”
I was still confused, but I started with an introduction.
“Hmm, thank you very much for your politeness, Katia-chan. I’m Fina Raza.”
She was indeed Neil-san’s older sister.
“Um, why were you doing a handstand…?”
Honestly, I couldn’t process what I saw. It was just too baffling.
“Well, you know, you can’t see the essence of a person unless you see them from different angles, right? It’s the same with paintings, so I was doing a handstand, y’know?”
It was a bit difficult for an average person to understand. Well, I get the first part, though.
“Wouldn’t it be the same if you just turned the painting upside down?”
Maybe there’s some meaning to doing a handstand? Like you have to turn yourself upside down.
Then, Fina suddenly burst out laughing.
“Ahahahahaha! You’re right! Why was I doing a handstand?!”
It seems there was no particular reason. And this unique laid-back vibe was definitely a common trait among the people in this house.
Fina, who had been laughing, composed herself.
“Whew. But, Katia-chan’s face, I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere before – Ah!”
Fina’s demeanor suddenly changed.
What’s going on?
“Stay right there!”
Fina rushed out of the room, looking flustered.
She came back with what looked like a new canvas and art supplies.
“Don’t move!”
I could sense her urgency. Overwhelmed by the atmosphere, I remained standing as I was told. Her deep green eyes were fixed on me. However, there was something strange. I couldn’t put it into words, but it was like she was looking at me, yet not really looking at me.
Fina’s gaze started darting back and forth between the canvas and me.
For a while, Fina moved her hands at considerable speed and then suddenly stopped. She looked at the painting she had just completed, her face blank. Is it okay for me to move now? I circled around and looked at the painting in Fina’s hands.
…Who is this?
The person depicted there certainly resembled me, but was someone else. She had a beauty mark under her right eye, and the details were slightly different. Her hair color was also brown, and her eye color was too. If anything, it looked quite similar to Neil-san’s hair color…?
At that moment, Fina muttered, “I have to confirm…!”
Hugging the canvas, Fina hurriedly left.
I didn’t understand the situation, but I decided to follow her for now.
Fina rushed down the stairs and entered what I presumed was the salon (a drawing room).
I followed after her.
“Father! Father!”
“What’s wrong, Fina? Why are you shouting?”
Inside the room, Fina showed the painting to Gale-san, who was sitting in a slightly large chair. Neil-san was sitting on a chair opposite him. They seemed to be in the middle of a conversation.
Gale-san’s reaction to the painting was dramatic. His questioning expression was overwritten with one of shock.
“Lena…!”
“So it’s her after all! Father, I finally remembered, Mother’s face!”
Fina’s expression was very bright and joyful. So, that was a portrait of her mother?
Fina turned towards me.
“Katia-chan, will you listen to my story?”
I had no objections. Or rather, I wouldn’t understand the situation at all if I didn’t listen.
“Yes.”
“Katia-chan, you look like my mother, the atmosphere and your face. I think that’s what stimulated my memory.”
This is hard to react to. Come to think of it, I was told the same thing this afternoon.
“Neil-san said I looked like your older sister.”
“Yes, if we just look at your features, you do resemble Ren-nee. Katia-chan is more beautiful, though. But, my sister has a temper, so I don’t think she’s ever connected to my memories of my always gentle mother.”
Fina explained, including an unnecessary comment that was likely to anger her older sister. Come to think of it, I don’t know the origin of the body I was entrusted with. Perhaps there is a chance that I have a close bloodline with the Raza family.
“I started painting because I couldn’t remember my mother’s face, who I loved so much. So, since I was a child, I desperately tried to remember her, every day, while desperately drawing her, but I couldn’t until today.”
From what I can gather, her mother must have passed away when Fina was very young.
At a time when she was too young to remember her face properly.
“It’s very lonely and sad not to be able to remember the face of someone important to you. I didn’t want others to experience that, so before I knew it, I started taking requests to paint.”
There are no photographs in this world. Therefore, there are many people who can only seek the image of their loved ones in their memories. Fina seems to regret not being able to keep her mother’s face in her memory. She has properly turned that regret into energy, and has even found a way to use it for other people. That’s something the me in my previous life, even up to my death, failed to do.
She’s a truly amazing person.
“So, thank you, Katia-chan. For reminding me of my mother’s face.”
Fina said that, and gave me a very clear and beautiful smile. That smile was so dazzling that the man in my previous life would have fallen in love at first sight.
