/
[“Anyway, I’m happy. Noel, our practice was not in vain, right?”]
Rieta suddenly approached, grabbed his hand and smiled softly.
However, Noel somehow hated that Rieta.
[“…… I know. That’s a relief.”]
Noel did his best to squeeze out some plain words.
But his lack of patience quickly ran out, so he apologized and went back to his room first.
***
One day, a few days after that.
Noel took advantage while Rieta was still in class, and stood alone in front of the tree where they usually recorded their height.
After straightening his back and looking straight ahead, he raised his right hand and moved it in a straight line from the top of his head to the tree.
And he looked around where he had touched and where Rieta’s height was recorded.
It’s been a while too.
[“I think it’s similar…”]
As he mumbled alone like that.
[“If you measure like that, the accuracy will decrease, Noel.”]
Noel, startled by the voice he heard from right behind, turned around.
It was Darrell.
[“I, I didn’t mean to accurately measure my height!”]
He quickly removed his hand from the tree and shook his head repeatedly.
“Really? I’m here to see if you need any help. It’s something I always used to do when I was young.”
“I, I see.”
“Lean on the tree. I’ll take a close look.”
As Dareell said, Noel made excuses with a very wary eye.
“I didn’t measure my height… for some great reason.”
“Of course I know, because I often measure my height for no reason.”
Darrell shrugged his shoulders and smiled, and Noel then stood right in front of the tree.
Darrell picked up a sharp stone nearby and began to engrave a mark at the same height as Noel’s.
The sound of stone scraping against the wood was repeated several times.
“Done.”
Darrell took a few steps back and looked at Noel’s face, which had a slight strain on his face.
He didn’t even turn right back to see the marker engraved with his height.
Darrell did not rush Noel, but waited with him for a while.
Soon Noel checked the tree, and after looking at it several times, alternating it with the Rieta’s height mark carved on the same height, sighed in relief.
“……thank goodness.”
But as soon as he realized his brother’s presence, he turned around and waved his hands.
“Well, that’s not particularly reassuring!”
Even though Darrell didn’t respond at all, Noel went on to make excuses.
“I’m not comparing myself to Rieta, I’m feeling relieved because I’m taller than I was last time!”
But at the end of the story, Noel seems to have realized that what he was saying wasn’t very convincing.
Even though Darrell didn’t point out anything, he kept his mouth shut and only his faces started blushing.
Darrell stroked Noel’s head.
The heat was rising from between his hairs.
“……I see.”
Could it be that the kind hand made Noel’s heart soft?
The younger brother, who was still young, only now spoke frankly.
“After looking through the book, I heard that there is a difference in the time each person grows in height. still….”
“Still?”
“I mean, I wanted to be of help.”
Behind those words, Noel conveyed the words ‘to Rieta……’ with only the shape of his mouth.
Darrell now fully understood Noel’s situation.
Come to think of it, Noel was the one who helped Rieta dance the most.
Perhaps he was upset when he thought that his height had become a ‘blocking factor’.
“Noel”
“……”
“Even though that happened that day, the fact that you were the one who helped the princess the most does not change.”
“Yes.”
“So, that’s why the princess must have run to you as soon as she was praised by the teacher.”
“But still… I’m angry because I’m too young.”
Noel looked up at his older brother.
It will take a few years before he can be such a great man.
“I wish I had been born a little earlier.”
“If that were the case, you wouldn’t have been able to get along with the princess the way you are now. Because I can’t be as comfortable with the princess as you do?”
Was it?
Actually, Darrell is always polite to Rieta.
“I don’t know. My mind is strange.”
Noel pounded his hand on the area near his heart, which was somewhat uneasy.
“It keeps getting more and more anxious.”
“Oh my.”
“Comparing everything…”
It’s not good to be too anxious, but what to do?
Darrell had a bad feeling.
At this rate, Noel might be constantly comparing his growth rate with Rieta…
Of course, growth here does not simply mean height.
That included the academic achievements they were learning.
Adding competition to a relationship is something to look forward to positively.
However, it was unfortunate that fierce comparison prevailed between each other.
‘What should I do about this?’
Darrell was very worried about Noel, but fortunately the problem was resolved within a few days.
And in a way he couldn’t even imagine.