"Mokou!"
Fujiwara no Maro looked at his younger sister, silently weeping by the wall, with a mixture of heartache and... desire. He wanted to pull Fujiwara no Mokou into his arms and comfort her, but after reaching out, he withdrew his hand.
Although he had argued with Fujiwara no Fuhito before, he still did not dare truly defy his father... Besides, Fujiwara no Mokou's attitude toward him was only lukewarm. Trying might even backfire.
"...Third Brother, you... why are you here?"
Hearing someone call her, Fujiwara no Mokou hurriedly wiped away her tears with her sleeve and looked awkwardly at Fujiwara no Maro before her.
She quickly stood up, looking somewhat lost and frightened.
Within this residence, she was always bullied by her other brothers and sisters. She could not fight back... she lacked the ability to.
Her father did not value her. To him... her other brothers and sisters were the children he cared about, while she... was merely an unwanted existence who had appeared by accident.
So rather than speaking up for her, it was already good enough if they did not side with the brothers who bullied her.
Still... Fujiwara no Mokou understood her father. In this era... it was only natural that he did not value her. And no matter how little he cared for her, he had not truly abandoned her. He had raised her to this age; though she did not live as well as her other siblings, she lacked neither food nor shelter.
She ought to be grateful...
But that did not mean she was happy.
Though she had it better than the servants in the residence, she was still someone who was constantly bullied.
Even those few who did not bully her merely watched coldly. In their eyes... this younger sister was