"Right, that's about what happened."
The owner of the house proved that he was a good person.
"I didn't do anything to your younger brother."
"I even helped him find his older brother."
The woodcutter pressed his lips together.
His younger brother had been in this house for several days...
And had been getting rained on for several days, too.
Seeing that his younger brother's clothes still weren't dry, the woodcutter's expression grew even darker.
"...What exactly happened?"
He didn't understand.
How had his usually neat and refined younger brother become so bedraggled and dispirited?
"I think I can guess."
Hearing the woodcutter's question, the owner of the house spoke up.
When the woodcutter looked at him, he spread his hands. "Your younger brother's situation isn't that uncommon."
"Every year, there are always a few examinees who go mad because they can't accept failing the exams."
"But your younger brother is so young."
"The ones I've seen go mad were all examinees who had failed several times."
"His reaction is so extreme..."
The owner of the house chose his words carefully and said cautiously, "Could it be that your family had very high expectations for him..."
The woodcutter froze.
As for expectations...
Naturally, his family had high expectations for the Young Scholar.
After all, the Young Scholar had always done so well.
And the Young Scholar himself had high expectations for himself...
"Right?"
The owner of the house watched the woodcutter's expression.
"So when he fails, the blow hits him that much harder."
"But to get to this point..."
The owner of the house shook his head and clicked his tongue. "It's been so many days..."
"That's quite something."
"Hurry and take him home."
"Find a doctor to examine him."
"Don't let a perfectly good person