Being opened the door to his office, not by Allas but instead by a young man, Paul entered his own room to find someone else seated in his own chair.

"Good evening, Paul."

Reaching for the office’s visitor seat, "Good evening, Sister," Paul said before taking seat.

As Paul took a comfortable seat, the brother and sister simply looked at each other for a whole moment before Paul asked, "What’s new?"

"Nothing of great interest on my side. I had heard that it was not the case for you."

"There is news, but not pleasant news," Paul sighed in response to his sister's question.

"What’s happening?"

"None of my words reach the king. None of my words, as reasonable as they are, walk past the wall that is the Prince Holy Paladin— Tell me, Mathilda, you who should've been seated in that exact seat had it not been for that decision you made thirty years ago or so, what am I doing wrong? What would our father suggest for me to do, in my shoes?"

"What exactly do you want me to tell you? Because if you want to hear something from me that is true to how I remember our father being, all you will get instead of advice are remarks."

"Such as?"

"Try guessing. Or to be exact, try remembering."

Paul remained silent for a few dozen breaths, reminiscing about the past, about the old days. As her sister had asked of him, something came to his mind, but he could not bring himself to bring it up—something that did not escape Mathilda's eyes, as in his place she voiced it out.

"You're kind, Paul. That’s how you’ve always been: kind, "soft," as our father called it."

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

When Mathilda said the word "soft," Paul remembered that these were indeed those of his father.

"So… it hasn’t changed?"

"That I wouldn’t be able to tell you. You tell me, how do you remember me being?"

With little to no hesitation, Paul answered, "You’ve always been haughty, arrogant, and highly condescending."

Even Mathilda seemed surprised by the swiftness with which he came up with his answer, "how come so much assurance? I don’t remember myself being such a horrible person."

"You want to know where my assurance comes from, and the answer is, I was your brother, but I was also the victim of your arrogance, condescension, and haughtiness," Paul continued, smiling derisively, "Ironically, on you, in the position you were promised, those were not seen as flaws but rather as character strengths, as it was a reason for which nobles loved you and saw you as one of their own."

"Because I matched them in arrogance?"

"Because you matched them in arrogance. I have always admired that about you. I must admit that when I went to wage that crusade, I was hoping that it would change me and make me look more like you. Unfortunately, that is not how it works."

Mathilda smiled in response to his brother's remark. "You might be right. But I’d like to believe I’ve changed, just like you have."

"Didn’t you just say I remained the same?"

"I merely said that that part of you didn’t change, not that you didn’t change entirely. The brother that I remember wasn’t like this. My brother wasn’t standing at the head of an army of loyal hounds. My brother wasn’t a leader. My brother was not a force to be reckoned with in the eyes of the king or one of the Fourteen. Of course, you've grown different, at least in my eyes."

Mathilda stood up from her chair and approached Paul.

"Two years ago, when you refused to come with me to take refuge in the aristocracy's fortress, I thought you had lost your mind. The fact that you're still standing in front of me, your head still attached to your shoulder, demonstrates how wrong I was about you, Paul. You have accomplished something that neither Father nor I could have imagined even in our wildest dreams."

Reaching onto her brother's shoulder, Mathilda announced, "If you have admired what kind of person I was, I, brother, admire the kind of person you have become. As for what you had earlier asked, I cannot speak for the dead, nor do I have advice for you, brother, but if you do have something in mind, something you deem right to be done, do it. I trust your judgment and will stand by it."