Little Pink Starfish

“What do you mean by that?”

Hugo asked suspiciously, and Asher responded with a troubled expression.

“Well… no matter what I say, it might sound like an excuse… but to be honest, my emotions from when I was under the influence of the drug are unclear.”

Looking at Hugo and Noah, Asher continued.

“I remember what I did… but I don’t know what I was thinking or feeling at the time. And I don’t know how to explain that.”

Noah, still teary-eyed, tilted his head in confusion.

However, Hugo knew. He had read the records left by Clark, which Samuel had discovered.

The documents described in detail how young Asher had changed day by day. How fear of beastfolk had been instilled in him. How distrust of everyone except Queen Angela and Clark had been forced upon him. The records of Asher suffering from the drug’s side effects had been sickening to read.

“…And yet, just now, when I looked at you two, I felt something familiar… and then I remembered. There was a time when I watched you two just like this… and I felt the same way.”

Asher lowered his gaze slightly and let out a self-deprecating chuckle.

“I was jealous of Noah… and that’s why, back then… I was cruel to him. I’m sorry, Noah.”

At Asher’s apology, Noah blinked in surprise. After a brief moment of thought, his eyes lit up, and he shouted with great seriousness—

“Oh! So you wanted Hugo nii-sama to carry you too!”

“Huh?”

Looking convinced, Noah nodded firmly and turned to Hugo, his eyes shining.

“Asher nii-sama already apologized to me before. We made up then, so I don’t mind anymore. That’s why, Hugo nii-sama! Carry Asher nii-sama too!”

“…What?”

“Noah… that’s not—”

“But Asher nii-sama said he was jealous! You’re always nice to me, so he must’ve picked on me because of that!”

“T-That’s not it… I didn’t want to be carried—”

“Then why were you jealous?”

“Uh…”

Asher hesitated, and Noah, eyes filled with innocence, spoke once more.

“It was because of jealousy, right?”

Asher froze.

He hadn’t meant it that way. He had simply blurted out what he had remembered, but when he thought about it again… wasn’t that exactly what it was?

The words he had spoken to Hugo replayed in his mind.

…Jealous…
Yes, jealousy.

Hugo doted on Noah. Samuel remained indifferent. Why was there such a difference?

─── Even though we’re both his younger brothers…

“Y-Yeah… it was jealousy.”

Asher’s face turned bright red as he looked down.

What am I even saying?!

Admitting that he bullied his little brother out of jealousy… how pathetic! And worse, saying “I wasn’t controlled; I was just jealous!” made him sound like an even worse person!

“S-So… I’m far from being a saint. I was a terrible brother to Noah, and… Hugo—”

Asher trailed off, almost calling Hugo nii-sama but stopping himself.

He remembered how Hugo had once yelled at him not to call him that.

“…Ah, um…”

Afraid to look at Hugo, Asher kept his gaze down. Hugo remained silent.

Then suddenly, Hugo let out a deep sigh and set Noah down.

“…I thought you called me ‘nii-sama’ on purpose, just to mock me.”

“Huh?”

“Every time we met, you ridiculed the fact that my mother was a commoner. You said she tainted the royal bloodline, and that’s why, despite being the second prince, I wasn’t given the right to inherit the throne. Angela and the nobles always looked at my mother and me like filth. And you… you said you didn’t recognize me as your brother.”

However, according to Clark’s records, young Asher had always been conscious of his elder brothers. It was written that he often watched them from a distance and seemed like he wanted to speak to them.

Yet, Hugo had no memories of Asher as a child. Perhaps because their mothers didn’t get along, he had only known of Asher’s existence in passing. The Asher in his memory was always glaring at others, filled with anger.

But in reality, Asher had been suffering from hallucinations and delusions, the effects of Randalim. He had been emotionally unstable.

Of course, Hugo hadn’t known that. No one had realized Asher had been hypnotized to direct hostility toward them.

Back then, Hugo had thought of everyone who treated him and his mother with contempt as enemies.

─── But Asher…

“…So I was wrong.”

Hugo’s quiet words didn’t reach Asher.

He suddenly let out a deep breath, making Asher flinch and look up at him nervously.

His face was expressionless. Asher couldn’t tell if he was angry or not.

“Um…”

“…I can’t suddenly start being nice to you now.”

Hugo huffed and glared at him.

“And I still don’t want you calling me nii-sama.“

“…!”

Asher fell silent.

Hugo continued.

“So just call me Hugo.”

“…What?”

“It’s weird hearing you call me nii-sama. It makes my skin crawl.”

Asher looked slightly hurt at Hugo’s words. Noah, too, seemed ready to scold him again.

Seeing their reactions, Hugo clicked his tongue uncomfortably.

“…Don’t get the wrong idea. It’s just that it feels strange suddenly hearing it from you. It’s not because I hate you or anything. So quit making that weird face.”

“A w-weird face?”

“That ‘I’m so sorry for everything’ face. It’s nauseating.”

“I-I’m not making… that face.”

“Sure, whatever.”

“……”

“……”

Asher fell silent, and Hugo simply stared at him.

Theodore, who had been quietly observing, finally spoke.

“Your Highness, perhaps it is time to visit Queen Angela.”

Asher had only intended to take a brief walk in the garden. He hadn’t expected to run into Hugo and Noah. Because he wasn’t prepared, he had ended up saying things he shouldn’t have.

But Theodore was right. He needed to go see Angela now.

Still, there was one last thing he had to say to Hugo.

“…I already apologized to Noah directly, but…”

Hugo sighed, looking exasperated.

“You’ve been apologizing non-stop. It’s almost funny how different you are now. You used to blame everything on others… Is this some kind of side effect of the drug? This ‘everything is my fault’ thing?”

“Highclear.”

At that name, Hugo went silent, his eyes widening.

─── Highclear.

The horse that had been precious to Hugo, executed because of Asher.

“If I hadn’t fallen… Highclear wouldn’t have been killed… right?”

“…Hallucinations, delusions… Someone suffering from the drug’s effects couldn’t have avoided falling.”

“But I was the one who chose Highclear. That was entirely my own decision… I remember it. I remember why I chose him. I—”

Before he could finish, Hugo lightly smacked Asher’s head.

“The reason doesn’t matter. Highclear is dead. And yeah, you’re probably about to apologize to me too, but that’s not the point.”

Hugo ruffled Asher’s hair roughly.

“Eh—ah, wait—!”

“If it had been any other horse, you would’ve died. Highclear was smart.”

Asher held his ruffled hair in place and looked up at Hugo. His brows were slightly furrowed, his expression tinged with sadness.

“Don’t apologize for Highclear anymore.”

“But—”

“Whether I forgive you or not… that’s not the issue.”

“I don’t need to be forgiven, I just—”

“…We had a similar conversation in town during your birthday festival, didn’t we?”

“…Ah.”

“Back then, I lured you there to frame you.”

“……”

“I wanted to condemn you, the so-called ‘victim’ of mind control, and have you arrested for plotting our mother’s murder.”

“But you didn’t know—”

Hugo’s sharp gaze silenced Asher’s protest.

“Exactly. I didn’t know. That my younger brother was being controlled. That he needed help.”

He paused before speaking again.

“Was it only your fault?”

“……”

“Stop apologizing already.”

Suddenly, Hugo flicked Asher’s forehead.

“Ah—!”

“Now go. You’ve got somewhere to be, don’t you?”

And with that, Asher moved forward, toward Queen Angela’s chambers.