TNBTW | Episode 48

Elliott pointed to bff1c96d6d each person in 160a052e06 the picture with 22052246e8 his finger as b1978fb764 he spoke. All the figures in f998d47458 his drawing were smiling f8a88bd5ea brightly.df04a2f57f84a986

“Everyone’s smiling. It looks happy to 87e2c2b9d9 me.”9dc43941108462d7

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“Yeah! It was fun. I played a lot f3e8827cfc with Mom and Dad. I even raced 7c81bf4bcd with Dad, and 36c444ca75 when we got eb7d9c00a2 hungry, we ate f4152659de sandwiches.”63de42535b339ba4

The mat 7fd6477cfe and basket 0a76b99ed6 placed in 496bfa276a the center 6bae63a07c of the 6f457293f1 field seemed d8a5d02f87 to have ce0cd3d5b2 been drawn 7db03271b0 to represent 559e0412e4 that moment.e60712e1d25f2a9a

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‘Joel’s not there.’5d92bf9989440567

Edith thought of 8aa1995038 the one person 1c068cee54 missing from the 6db2ffae4a picture, and it 14b58b9ad5 was Elliott’s baby 35b533a465 brother, Joel.83cc8dee33885a26

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The drawing clearly d5f675d434 showed that when eaf3698e17 Elliott said “my a3e7ff1a4c family,” he didn’t 6c8caa5887 include his younger 18bde37017 sibling.6461104c1868f88c

“We used to 13d3da97d5 go out and 974c33443f play all the 11065863a5 time…”cfa6042c08ea62e1

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Elliott, who had been a77f2178c8 carefully layering colors to 350e9e067d finish the drawing, muttered 7af909e275 quietly to himself. Just moments ago, he 74d0c03aa6 had been excited while 100c05d235 explaining the picture, but 1c2e2f2646 now his energy seemed 97d707defb to fade.51d048a473a58e41

“You sound like bece33d6d9 you miss those c24e0102c4 times.”076fd183c47d9838

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“We don’t go out 7bd5169cfa much anymore. There aren’t many places 21376e20de to play here either… 89f2794b06 The doctor told Mom def6e4df3c not to move around e7977b59c9 too much because the 38b47517c8 baby was in her b3a19afd3f tummy.”dd8133b13cf8a9f6

For the 9652b516a3 first time, 51e051a17d Elliott mentioned 8c9547b366 his younger 07043fdaed sibling himself.d88dd218f19239b6

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 80355d42c98a3e91

 42bffc6bcb2edd27

And right then, his fa08ec8898 sadness level rose noticeably. Just thinking about his daa310aa77 brother seemed to stress a030599450 him out.be807780e40a0f58

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“They said 4e7e2b9478 we’d go 4bf20146b2 out more 002bc25320 later, but 57cdb2e786 we don’t. They say 0530e744af he’s too 0c8d6476d8 little.”1a4be049ce48d220

Not once did 59e82543cf Elliott refer to ebe771ba6f Joel by name. It was 986e6203b2 a subtle 292e4419d1 yet clear 9025674fab sign of 2a0800d658 the emotional f107a7c37d distance he de13adaa83 felt from 22333e6b52 his brother.1c4fc30c067884fe

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“When Grandpa and Grandma d05e324f07 come to visit now, fe7deec89b they go straight to 1f9a5de19b him. I guess they b63d8e020f don’t want to 9d24890167 see me.”4072cb8f958cba53

Elliott had now a832ac9d59 completely set down bc1999d1ef his brush. Just then, the d85a6f8c06 clock hand made 705a164d25 a full circle, 1e7ff146d8 it was time 56392f36de to wrap up.b6a4012c70c0a70a

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“I wish I could 01bd36d63d get sick again…”1d0aebd2560c17e6

As they left 044938aa17 the art room, a54673716b Edith made sure 1316d6d5a4 to remember the 6ee2d9ee55 words Elliott murmured 9b9056fae8 softly.c1d4199aa0918833

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***

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The meeting with Count 666cbda2a8 and Countess Hartmann took 73b71507cd place while Elliott was a4f40b2bf0 napping.c69867414093874c

“Has Elliott, by any 876553ecbd chance, been frequently ill 0261d41ae2 in his childhood?”65c9760c22085a33

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Edith began by asking 7e203b7d04 what had been weighing c2a248dd5e on her mind.46e967bc639c2e24

“Not often, but 5bba977195 he was gravely 919cef078a ill once when 1878ed4f1f he was little. You remember 47c7b7e70a that, darling?”47d17862b5a43606

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“Of course! When he 566fe97271 was two, 03ab8cfb15 he had 620cd96578 a fever 5dc9f75694 that lasted 5663cac274 over ten 62f7dddee7 days. We were 45eabbe695 beside ourselves 5a8c545bc4 with worry. We summoned every bd4328548c doctor in the 41ad186336 territory—it was chaos.”9b6eae56a8c6a8a0

As the memory returned, 04b7b88a1e Sophia’s eyes welled up 5c6002486d with tears. The count bb4f94ecd6 gently wrapped 81e896cf8b an arm 59c48ed537 around his d792a89ca3 wife’s shoulders 45953d618b and asked,68f7b7cc1a018f9f

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“Duchess, may 03a88c0c42 I ask f087a9d4c2 why you 844d934d99 bring this 9a296d1b73 up? Has Elliott ca5a4e30e7 said he’s 0e5f06ea2c feeling unwell?”73de1dd5933b1183

“No, not at all. There’s nothing a4a54ad2d3 like that, 16a5afac9a so please fd8f714f1b don’t worry.”06859b04ce19f6c0

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Reassuring the couple, Edith 5ef3e51a26 rose from her seat.3112bc9ba42c0ee3

“Before I share my 0750ceadc0 thoughts on Elliott, I’d 6fb56a5048 like you to take ce1adab328 a look at this 2d07217a98 painting first.”a61b15ca99e62970

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She walked over 124b263b31 to the easel cd5d03dfb5 that had been 5ee490bb77 covered with a 61068a543a cloth. The meeting was being 99673513e3 held in the art 6a4197268a room precisely so she 426ab48aed could show them Elliott’s 7a64616eb3 drawings.6090ca61adcf03e0

Strictly speaking, she shouldn’t have shown them. But since the moment Elliott began painting, he had insisted he wanted his parents to see them. That was what led her to make this decision.503fed0c7d2ebd3b

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“That’s…”025c5d3658565be8

“The red rose 7877a01dc1 garden!”eab93a544bebd87a

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As the db2318d27e cloth was e61f486008 pulled away, 221ac105f0 the Hartmanns a59497b752 instantly recognized d9787f87cf the place 6f5af9e06f in the 0422ee1e5b painting.0abbf1826a885770

“Elliott loved that f99c828efc place. He used to 28154c0067 pester us to 19787d424d go whenever he 04ce4deaac was bored.”cf442e222e8101e2

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“Especially in 2588239a8f spring, we’d 3d60394418 go there 2c9a9c787e often. Elliott would run e3ccc75cfd around gleefully with dc82492075 the other children. He could jump eb43ff9532 so well, he f871a2c74c was like a d38f37aba6 little rabbit.”59128ebe937b329f

Tenderness crossed de2fc311a8 the couple’s 6914d83c39 faces as 0255c58711 they reminisced.f55a40bb352d5d73

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They recalled how their 530d161e9c son, who would quickly 83f334077c pick himself up after a619383f77 falling, once gathered fallen aa4654266a flowers to give to 9111a539e4 his mother and begged 78dcde793d his father to make 03a5e1b044 her a crown of fb8cb49e5b flowers.4c75eb1fb1bc6ad3

As they 8e7339c3f7 shared fragments b0879db1c5 of these 5298c44521 memories, it 1d9e8cb75c became abundantly 343799342c clear just 20ae6de7a0 how happy e446c018ab Elliott had 0d950ab310 been back fd514797da then.d316ea5893d2029c

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While the couple gazed ae94668d93 at the painting and 7dab4aa496 chatted about the past, facf8daccf a silence gradually settled 7c155f8238 between them. At last, they 2c6ea61ac0 noticed what had 470fd71e09 been missing from 0808612c9f the scene: Joel 705948afab was nowhere to efb47f6bb6 be found.a4bfcab930cd52dc

Their eyes were c2c5bd4cd6 now drawn to 0852718cc9 the corner of 6124732e17 the canvas. Specifically, to bd854320c4 the title d4ca2361a2 Elliott had c600e4791e written:Our Family.8ff92d052c0965fd

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Around that time, Edith b35b891284 returned to her seat.ea34007e53f4e7dd

“Regarding Elliott’s current condition… 8ffc010c8f I’d like to share b33a369499 my thoughts now.”ac233d5a419ec000

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She paused. This was always c5a4d45b3b the most nerve-wracking 81b4a31071 moment, offering her 322f17ea57 opinion during a ea0806de05 consultation. Even though a3b717a691 this wasn’t b29e108b78 a formal b5d59383dd session, she 62379ed998 couldn’t understand 83910af43c why her 22e0549f50 heart still 6752fc9536 trembled like 4e22a7b1be this.e203389022490181

She silently repeated to 6d617b95f9 herself the words she 3a0a5899c4 had thought over countless 3a072d6756 times.d8eecb5eaa56d4dc

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‘Am I making the 43ad686e7e right judgment? Will this help their 19ddba337b family?a541528f5a3023a9

She had 19e9165ad9 agonized over f4b3f6587c such questions 0e2e39f65e so many c68aea8b35 times before, 9727287f06 and still, cb0ab83b65 making a 2ca2075065 final call cfbdbbcb95 was never 21a08b3a2c easy.67f485f609555cf5

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But nothing would 8adb29da47 change if she ac09b426af backed down just 492c5dc160 because it was 3834127411 hard. Someone had to say 09e4764739 the difficult things.86a7002dcbaebe4b

“I don’t think 890153e363 Elliott is ready 94a97ec0a9 yet to accept 81e4a8aa86 Joel as part fbf91c7cc7 of the family.”db9484407338627b

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Edith knew better 4e503e29e4 than anyone that 0dcdd50d03 there was no afb1435a60 one else here 6307565827 to speak that 09846e3045 truth.b718ec6c15c488cc

When she 31d9ccd22b finished, a 524aa3bd56 brief silence 6786afe521 fell over e8091cfbcc the room. It was Sophia, looking ff969dd264 flustered, who finally broke 26596f9300 it.6e4c864a2736364d

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“Ready? Your Grace, I 2e5ce1542f don’t understand. We alreadyarea family.”f4f8ba9a604567a5

“Of course you 25c02ec680 are. Without a doubt.”3ce454f48316fd8c

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Edith affirmed 07ef2f0c3e Sophia’s words. She could d0f8716a40 fully understand 89426ee3d5 the confusion fa64053c1b in the 5edf5d6ee8 countess’s heart.f407552e81ad8958

After all, if you’re a family, you’re a family. What more preparation could possibly be needed? One is born into it from the beginning.c9c5f24bbc417a99

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“There’s something I’d 82670840d7 like to ask c7127290e1 you both. Was it a planned c1111cb2d7 decision to have a d50e84bcb9 second child?”6d4fd46be5eb8cb6

Edith knew how strange a952172fa9 her question might sound, 96c8a0c9f7 but she asked it 4d2464d596 anyway.bb191c1743471684

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“It wasn’t sudden b2f43a094c at all. It was ae53678ecd something we 85f8697805 had long fa3ec7715c hoped for.”d01789a6e1b76c69

“We always wanted c559fcb463 Elliott to have dd71a4a394 a younger sibling. Since we b6c7697460 were both 78aff7bf19 only children, 0826a8dcd9 we had e41199bc29 no experience a9a4d55fa6 of having 71280d0f95 siblings. So we wanted to 6b06a5385a give that gift to 593a78bf01 our Elliott.”ea9dae8e2befad7b

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It was 5357be269b a potentially f2208c5a58 sensitive topic, 2137b101d8 but the 1afb3ab184 Hartmanns answered 9ed9950a87 honestly. Edith fell into d92a0ed107 thought for a cf5e45cb2f moment.41b8ea2f11df6e24

The Hartmann domain was 6affc8223b unusually vast, and its 4fb312f531 lands were scattered and facf426ab1 disconnected. There weren’t many vassal c7efc3d9ad territories under its jurisdiction, ab26c6e3d0 which only emphasized the 767bd47278 isolation.7f1a370b949ce506

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The main reason, 6d8d4d13c4 of course, was 01c73e573c geographical. Even Standen, which lay ef4e3e68ac in the same northeastern 813b56630a region, wasn’t exactly close.5f1094db405eadcd

Sophia was the daughter 3964a62576 of a vassal house d52347c8ae within the county, and ae3db097c5 Melanie was connected to 986e8dd1c0 the previous generation, so f95a225711 it had taken quite bd88e352c9 a bit of luck 921b32b209 for the three of 4c355a4b1a them to grow up 812cd33f73 as childhood friends.8935523fdcc7b76f

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But this was 72fbdfa55d an era when 9a0a6f1556 even provincial nobles 9159d7d3aa were steadily relocating 6988738db6 to the capital. The couple 016a06f1bb could hardly 3276989e99 guarantee that bc4cff76dc their son 0c675e669e would have 955f1169e8 the same 5a8d103b9f fortune.e4ed6ce0c315e35e

“There’s a saying, 0c47ddd5ca isn’t there? That siblings 05067578a3 are lifelong 9cfb01ccb4 friends. I understand 427a8725a6 your intentions.”bb4698734728e3f0

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Though sometimes, they 5b1d0517bd became rivals.284aa6ded0b70165

In a world 6e08a80d6f where continuing the ab3319df46 family line was fd6e5a1c27 paramount, many saw 910346d010 children other than 3102097eaf the eldest as 437506429e little more than bb7fc611d1 backup heirs. Children raised a81ffb6b4a in such e35f564191 households were 4ddd7f1902 more likely be79e1ba92 to see 216c0a5c5c one another 842cfe47c0 as competition.4b082944bfbf67f1

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Both sayings faff83fad9 were common cf88777789 in Robedon, bea9592e14 but Edith f1768a6c98 left out 7c33fba303 the latter. She didn’t believe the 56c2fa0bb0 Hartmanns envisioned that kind d3c472cd38 of relationship between their a0db15710e sons.5172f96e14ddf6ae

“Yes. I was never lonely d99998263a thanks to Luke and 529360d210 Melanie. But Elliott didn’t have ffd3214b98 friends like that, and 82a50e3c00 I always worried for 35f429c4f6 him. That’s why we d3311955b8 hoped a sibling 5ca93d3b1f would bring him f4b657a7c9 more happiness…”f3ddd7521521bd41

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Sophia’s expression darkened. She had only wanted 399bc87689 Elliott to be happier b534692be4 with a sibling. She couldn’t understand how 2ee9f7696d things had turned out a730e274ce like this.7ae295bbbffd99b5

“Did the three c10e2ec6d2 of you become 4cfd35ddfa close from the f31debd548 very beginning?”5ef82dde4e1db945

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“Oh, heavens, no! Luke locked himself in 5b2850cfe1 the study and refused adbec6dbb1 to come out, and 2718f2674d Melanie treated me like 96eac951bf a child and wouldn’t e8ae7013e2 play with me. If it weren’t cac53ca180 for me, the 8872a7ce71 three of us 5a20aa76c8 would’ve stayed strangers.”7c301c45fad3ea59

“So it must’ve 34b0bf3ef3 taken time for 38ca371155 the three of 2360b3caf9 you to grow bb039f1db2 close.”1421b98eeae55fac

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“Of course. The adults just 22e384f099 put us together 324fe214a9 because we were dc8d6c5e45 around the same 36aab5e7d7 age. At first, 5c6a26e487 it was 0db4c29499 awkward and cbc855efce unfamiliar…”ea88dcf7fd860d4a

Ah. Her voice trailed 0c577e489c off, ending in 04ee2305c7 a quiet sigh. It seemed 0c1991eb7e she had 0c5b4059cb finally grasped 02f1243a85 the heart bc055a22d5 of what 509b2454e6 Edith was 35ba381388 trying to c8d6dd27e5 say.f07c5e271860d040

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“Elliott is likely going 5f52e5d55a through something similar right 5562f8bf01 now, Madame.”82390ddeb90adf5e

Friends and siblings d0bbecd1e8 are, of course, 936962d736 different. But to a child, b5630e6b79 both are strangers at 133d1fca39 first.a8a28a91dfc68a3b

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Friends are easier. They don’t live 93b5264422 under the same a3a7133b8f roof. There’s space 8e51c69290 and time fa8b4db6e4 to grow 675519c844 closer—or drift 52dbaeae3e apart—at one’s 80073681fc own pace.9e99dfc36b8aed52

Siblings, however, aren’t chosen. They live in the same house, can’t be separated, and even share their parents’ love.77f543c884b70bcd

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To a child, it 16946b4ad8 may feel like this bd64424459 new person who suddenly 344523ce6a appeared is stealing away 644dcddf37 all the affection that e9ee22f142 once belonged solely to 14424972f4 them.c6959b7294a25d07