The Person I Loved Asked Me to Die in My Younger Sister’s Place

For the first time in a long time, Wisteria’s slumber was shallow.

Apparently, she couldn’t settle down when there was someone other than herself in the neighboring room.

Furthermore, that person was of Bright’s blood and resembled him greatly.

(…It’s like a bad dream.)

Perhaps the young man named Lloyd was a dream created by her, and the room next door was still the same storage room as usual. That was what she ended up thinking.

With a shallow sigh, Wisteria raised herself from her bed.

She looked at a small stone on her bedside table. The color of the stone, which changed with the passage of time, was now a reddish purple, indicating that it was early in the morning.

She then turned her attention to the stand on which she had placed the sword.

“Good morning, Salt.”

“Did you sleep well? I’m sure even you recalled the modesty of a girl of marriageable age after all these years. Well, you’re way past–nwoh, what are you doing, you lout!!”

She tossed her jacket over the sword, which slung sarcastic barbs at her as soon as she woke up.

She got up and stood in front of the wardrobe that stood in the corner of the room. At the end of the simple everyday clothes and nightwear that were hung up, there was one outfit that caught her eye.

Wisteria’s eyes stopped there for a moment.

The carefully folded and hung up garment had never been worn before.

――It was her only dress.

She never wore it except on a certain day. A ceremonial garment, worn for only one purpose.

(…Still.)

There was still no opportunity to wear it. At least, not yet. ——Not until she sent Lloyd back to the other side.

Wisteria confirmed her feelings and decided to get through today as well.

She tossed the clothes she would wear today onto her bed, roughly tied her hair up, and put on her jacket while still in her nightgown.

She needed to go to the bathroom to wash her face.

After a slight hesitation, she quietly left her bedroom. Lloyd was probably still sleeping, as he must have been exhausted last night——.

But as soon as she took her first step, the simple sliding door of the room that had been a storage room until yesterday opened.

Wisteria stood dead in her tracks.

His golden eyes, which seemed to glow faintly even in the dimly lit space, widened slightly when he saw Wisteria. His silver hair, which shined contrastively, was sloppily untied, a tuft of it slipping off his shoulder.

His collar was loose, revealing white skin and his Adam’s apple and collarbone that dimly emerged–as well as a silver necklace.

Indecent.

Wisteria immediately thought that and greatly recoiled.

Lloyd was the first to open his mouth.

“Good morning, master.”

Despite his words, there was a blatant grimace on his face.

“You need clothes.”

Wisteria said somewhat quickly.

This was after she had finished getting ready and sat down for breakfast facing Lloyd.

Her eyes remained fixed on the fibers on the table. This bright orange mess of fibers was one of the edible plants in the <Grey Lands>, and she often ate it in the morning as one of the staple foods. The taste wasn’t bad either.

Lloyd, sitting across the table from her, took a quick glance at Salutis, which was propped up against the side of Wisteria’s chair. Then he turned his attention back to Wisteria and said, “Clothes?”

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“Clothes?”

He sounded as if he was wondering what she was proposing. Wisteria affirmed shortly.

“Thinking about it, it was a blind spot. You can’t just wear that for the month youll be here at the very least.”

“There’s no need to worry about it. I spent a lot of time in unhygienic conditions when I was marching. A bathing facility is all I need.”

“You served in the military before? No this isn’t the military and I’m not going to subject you to unsanitary conditions that will obviously cause your physical condition to deteriorate and have a non-negligible impact on your goals even if it’s temporary I’m obligated to provide an adequate environment as your guardian.”*

“…What are you getting so worked up for?”

“I’m not getting worked up! We’re just discussing the importance of clothing and hygiene.”

Lloyd looked at her dubiously while Wisteria argued vehemently, tearing the fibers in her hands relentlessly.

——She didn’t intend on bring up the modesty and propriety of her noble lady days after all this time, and even though she called them nightwear, they were a loose shirt and trousers that were nothing but practical, but she was reminded that it was still awkward to be seen by others.

While she was remembering that, she came to the problem of Lloyd’s clothes.

And then there was another small, not quite problematic, awkwardness.

(It’s, it’s hard to eat.)

It was hard to chew when you thought you were being watched. It was hard to swallow. She thought she had long since discarded the manners and etiquette of eating.

How long had it been since she shared a meal with someone else?

Or perhaps it was completely hopeless when that someone else bore a striking resemblance to someone she recognized, a face with which she had special memories.

(No, he’s a child in age and my nephew…)

As the older person, it wasn’t good to lack the proper composure.

Wisteria exhaled a long breath in secret and chided herself.

Lloyd didn’t seem to take any notice.

When he first arrived at the table, he had an indescribable look on his face at the unfamiliar breakfast. However, he took a mouthful without complaint.

He was a very brave man who wasn’t intimidated by the strange food, which was far too meager for a son of Reuning, in this otherworldly place that was also called hell. He never lost his nonchalant expression and never said anything about the taste or texture of the food.

Of course, there was no friendly chatter at all.

After quickly putting away her breakfast, Wisteria lightly shook her palm upwards.

“First, I need to take your measurements. Stand up.”

“That can wait. …Don’t tell me that you’re going to make them yourself? I mean, how did you even get the clothes you’re wearing…?”

Wisteria didn’t answer with words, but brought out several pieces of cloth and a tape measure from the former storage room where Lloyd slept.

Turning to the young man, who was looking at her suspiciously, Wisteria told him in the manner of an older adult to “stand still right there.”

On the table, she stretched a piece of fabric in the shape of an outstretched arm. Then, she closed the distance between herself and Lloyd.

She placed the end of the tape measure made from plant fibers snugly over the young man’s left shoulder and stretched it out.

“…”

Lloyd’s eyebrows twitched slightly and his lips moved as if he wanted to say something. Instead, his golden eyes gleamed with an indescribable light as he looked down at the woman who was moving at almost no distance away.

Wisteria was now stretching the tape measure along his arm, from the base of his arm to his wrist.

(Long. Wide.)

She was honestly surprised. His shoulders were unexpectedly broad and his arms long. When she actually measured him like this, she realized that he wasn’t a young man, but a man of fine physique.

He was even taller than Wisteria, who was quite tall for a woman, and when she approached him, she couldn’t match him in shoulder width or limb length. Lloyd might look more slender in clothing than she thought.

“You train your body a lot, huh.”

Impressed, Wisteria couldn’t help but let that slip out, but Lloyd just blinked once.

“Lift your arms a little. Both of them.”

Lloyd looked annoyed, but he raised his arms in a surprisingly straightforward manner.

Wisteria reached around his sides and circled the tape measure around his toned torso. It was as though she was embracing him.

“Hey.”

“Hmm? Don’t worry, I won’t strangle you with this.”

“It’s not that. …Are you doing this on purpose…?”

Lloyd said in a low voice, sounding like he wanted to click his tongue. But Wisteria, who was folding and stretching the fabric on the table based on the measurements, was barely listening.

Salutis, still propped against the chair, sneered derisively.

“What’s wrong, kid? I thought you said you never have any trouble with other people?”

Lloyd immediately cast a murderous glare at the sword, causing Wisteria to feel suspicious.

“What are you talking about?”

“It’s between the two of us. Don’t worry about it.”

Salutis said, somewhat disingenuously.