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n✿

nMy father, who was looking at the man standing still, opened his mouth.

n“…Yeah. It’s been a while since I saw you, Seian.”

nSeian. It was a name I had never heard of.

nThere was a strange atmosphere between the two who greeted each other.

nWho the hell’s that person and what was his relationship with my father?

nFor some reason, Aaron wasn’t there either.

nThis awkward atmosphere made me swallow.

n‘If I had known this would happen, I would have said that I would just stay in the room.’

nIt was around the time when I was rolling my eyes in a very strange atmosphere.

nThen I made eye contact with the man with wheat hair color. The way he looked at me was deep. Like drawing someone.

n“Hello. My name’s Erita Krovachatz.”

nI was embarrassed for a while, smiling brightly, putting one hand on my stomach, and lowering my head gently.

nNo matter who he was, I knew for sure that he was the one invited by my father.

nHowever, the man who received my greetings just stared at me blankly.

n“Did I do something wrong?”

nI glanced up at Aaron, wondering if I was doing something wrong without my knowledge, but he was looking at the man with a dull expression on his face.

n‘It’s driving me crazy. What’s with this mood?’

nI felt like I was the only one who felt awkward here.

nIt was then…

n“…You’re Erita.”

nThe man, who was smiling, soon opened his mouth. The cracked and subdued voice seemed to cry at any moment.

n“…Do you know me?”

nI couldn’t help but ask like that.

nThe eyes that kept staring at me and the voice that seemed to cry.

nIt was not an easy situation to understand.

n“I… So I’m…”

nThe man, startled by my words, seems to be trying to speak slowly, eventually turning his head away, covering his face with one hand.

nIt looked like tears filled his eyes and fell when I saw that his cheeks were slowly getting wet.

n“What? Why? Are you crying? Really?

nI was so embarrassed that I stomped my feet. Doesn’t it look like I made you cry?

n‘He looks about someone who’s much older than me! ‘

nAll I said was self-introduction and that if he knew me. But, why are you crying?

n“Hey, Uhm… I didn’t say anything rude.”

nThere was no way to hide my embarrassment. If I knew the reason, I would even apologize.

nFortunately, my father sighed and spoke.

n“You’re still crying, Erita might be flustered.”

nUnlike before, I felt awkward, but the man’s voice was surprisingly gentle.

n“I’m sorry. I was in tears without knowing it…”

nEven at the father’s words, the man did not know how to stop his tears from flowing.

nNo, I think he’s trying to stop, but maybe his tear gland was broken…

n“Erita, I’m sorry. Let’s go to the room first. I’ll explain it to you there.”

n“Okay.”

nIn the end, I walked back to the room with only a bewildered heart.

nFortunately, while walking for a while, the man was still in tears. I glanced silently at the man sitting across from me.

n“I think your face is a little familiar…”

nBut I don’t know why it’s familiar. It was a time when I was thinking on my own.

n“Seian, please introduce yourself. It seems like you came here for that.”

nI glanced at my father once, then turned to the man called Seian.

nHe barely opened the door with a crack voice looking straight at me with swollen eyes.

n“…I’m sorry, Erita.”

n“It’s okay.”

nI smiled slightly at the man’s apology and shook my head.

nThe man, who had been biting his lips for a while at my reaction, soon took out words and said his name.

n“My name’s Seian Vicente.”

n‘Seian Vicente.’

nThe Marquis of Vicente.

nI froze as if a cold water was poured on me from those words.

n“…Your mother, she’s my sister.”

nThe man that seemed familiar was actually my uncle.

n✿

nSeian, who had been sitting for a while after making a statement, quickly left the mansion.

nHe seemed hesitant for a moment, he seemed bewildered because we had not even talked about anything else, and barely spoke up.

nHe said he was ashamed of his sloppy appearance because he came from another area and arrived in a hurry after receiving an invitation.

n-‘I’ll be back in two days. Would it be okay?’

nWhen he said that, my father asked for my approval, and I nodded that I didn’t care.

nHe said he would make an official visit in two days, but before leaving the mansion, he looked at me and hesitated, then turned around without saying a word.

nIn a way, he seemed to be a lot more nervous than I was.

n“Well, it’s nice to be able to prepare my heart.”

nIt has been nine years since I came here. And it’s been nine years since I accepted my father and Aaron as my family.

nBut now he’s someone new, a new family. It felt quite strange.

nFirst of all, I’m sure that Seian didn’t appear in the original.

n“Erita.”

nIt was my father’s voice calling that woke me from my troubled thoughts.

n“Yes?”

nLooking up, my father looked a little sorry.

n“I’m sorry if I offended you because I didn’t tell you beforehand.”

n“…”

n“I wasn’t sure whether he would attend or not, so I thought it wasn’t good to say it in advance.

nMy father’s gentle voice felt soothing. It seemed like he was accepting that I didn’t feel good because I was so engrossed in my thoughts.

n“It was because I was thinking for a while… Although I was a little embarrassed.”

nI knew that a guest was coming, but it’s because I didn’t know that he was my uncle.

n“Did you know that?”

n“Yes. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you in advance.”

nWhen I asked Aaron, who was sitting opposite me, he smiled and nodded as if embarrassed with a hazy expression.

n“You’re the only one who didn’t tell me.”

n“Sorry.”

nI rolled my eyes playfully. Of course, I could only guess why they did that.

nBecause I have no memory of Seian.

nI don’t know if he’ll come or not, but if they tell me in advance, I’m afraid I’ll have complicated thoughts.

nI fully understood how my father and Aaron felt.

nEven if I thought about it, if I had known in advance, it would have been very bothersome.

n“Well, father.”

n“Yes.”

n“My father and I…”

nTrying to connect the words, I paused for a moment.

n“If I ask why he hasn’t come to see me for ten or fourteen years, was it too much?”

nFrom the date, it doesn’t seem to be unrelated to the accident. The accident was not a very comfortable story for me either.

n“Father seems close to him…”

n“May I ask who he was?”

nEventually, I swallowed what I was going to say and brought up another topic.

n“About Seian?”

nWhen my father asked back, I nodded slowly.

n“He said he’d come back in two days, but I don’t know him well… I don’t know how to deal with him.”

nIt’s okay if we’re not related at all, but wasn’t Seian a person who’s blood-related to me anyway?

nIt was very ambiguous.

nAnd I think he cried after I asked who he was earlier.

nAnyway, it seemed almost certain that he was a soft-hearted person.

n“…I don’t think it’s difficult. His first impressions may be a little sloppy, but he’s a good guy.”

n“It looked like that.”

nPerhaps because his eyes were drooping, like a gentle puppy, it’s a face that says like ‘I’m a nice person no matter who looks at me.’

n“Hmm… If he has the same personality as before, You would like him very much. So I hope you don’t think too hard about it.”

n“…I’ll try.”

n“Yeah. That should be enough.”

nI nodded slowly at my father’s words.

nHonestly, I think it’ll be harder not to think too hard.

n“But he’s older, and he looks a little younger.”

nEven if I look at it a lot, He looked like he was about 10 years older than Aaron, right?

n“Your mother and Seian were siblings. Seian was 10 years old when Aaron was born.”

n‘Oh, no wonder. You didn’t look that old to be my uncle.’

n“That’s why he liked Aaron and you very much. He used to visit the Grand Duchess often.”

nThose words made me feel a little more at ease than before.

n“I see… Oh, brother.”

n“Yes?”

n“Then do you remember about him?”

nAaron’s eyes slightly flinched at my question.

nThen he sighed and nodded his head.

n“Yeah. I remember him coming here often when I was young.”

nJudging from the reaction alone, it seems that Aaron and Seian didn’t get along very well.

nIt was my father’s cheerful voice that answered my doubts.

n“Aaron didn’t bother Seian. From a young age, he was obsessed with who he resembled.”

nAaron looked at his father in amazement at his father’s sighing words.

n“…My father knows best who I look like.”

nAt Aaron’s shivering words, I nodded secretly.

nMy father and Aaron were rich enough not to need genetic testing.

nEven if I look at it while passing by in a carriage, anyone could see that they are wealthy.

nHowever, father didn’t budge at Aaron’s words and continued with a smile.

n“He still couldn’t see that and went to your mother to ask her because Seian keeps bothering him. He was only four years old then.”

n“Really?”

nI was surprised to hear that. Even the young Aaron was no joke.

n“Yeah. That’s why Seian cried about leaving the mansion.”

nI imagined it for a moment.

nIt’s a young Aaron who says Seian was annoying with an expressionless face.

n‘Well, that’s pretty realistic.’

nI burst into laughter at the good atmosphere around us.

nSeeing me like that, Aaron made a troubled expression, then sighed and turned his head away.

nLike that, my father’s birthday this year went a little differently than before.

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