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There is a silence hanging low in the air. News doesn't travel as fast as Liechtenstein wishes it would. When her brother tells her things, that is how she finds things out. And what he tells her isn't very pleasing. Having his lands stripped like that... That doesn't sound like the Prussia she remembers.
She remembers brash and tough and obnoxious Prussia, and how much Austria pressed for war against him. She had backed up Austria, because she had been sympathetic towards her ally and friend.
But that didn't change how she felt now.
The air suddenly grows sour around her and she feels sort of sick to her stomach. Maybe she hadn't known him too well, but still...
"I feel bad for him."
"You shouldn't."
Her eyes widen. She knew her brother wasn't particularly fond of... anyone, really, but it still was a little surprising. She had hoped, and thought, maybe he would have had a little more sympathy than usual. After all, a country dissolving like that... That was almost like losing yourself.
Liechtenstein wants to ask why, but she says nothing. Her brother answers anyway.
"You wouldn't understand. Keep it that way."
Ah, yes, the often read-between-the-lines thing. What he's really saying is "you don't fight so you don't get it but that's okay you should keep it that way."
...
Somehow, that doesn't change her mind. It doesn't matter if she shouldn't, and why she shouldn't is beyond her comprehension, she's still going to feel bad - and she thinks that all people should pity him, just a little bit.
When she sees him, his eyes are sad. But then, anyone would be sad about what had happened to them. She stops in front of him, hoping that he might look like he used to - happy and proud and silly.
But he doesn't move.
That makes Liechtenstein feel even worse.
He doesn't even look up at her as she continues to pass him.
The next time she sees him, he doesn't look any better. But she can't just pass him this time. She has to speak to him. It's just not her, staring at him and pitying him and not letting him know that she's sorry for what happened.
When she says she's sorry, there is a bitter chuckle. Not obnoxious like his usual laugh; it's much calmer and sadder, and it scares her even more.
He's probably laughing at her because she doesn't get it since she's not a warrior.
But before she knows it, she's comforting him and telling him that he'll be okay.
Maybe she'll never understand, like her brother says she should keep it, but she knows she understands when someone just needs to be comforted.