n

n

n

n✿

n“See you next time, Marquis.”

nI waved at Seian who was standing in front of the carriage. It was time for him to go back.

nAt my greeting, Seian hesitated for a while and asked me in a cautious voice.

n“Can I send you a letter?”

n“Of course! Any time’s fine.”

nAt his question, I smiled broadly and nodded.

nThen, as if relieved, Seian’s expression brightened remarkably.

n“…Then see you next time, Erita.”

n“Yes, see you next time.”

nHe gently raised his hand and waved it, and with a light motion he got into the carriage.

n“Let’s go”.

n“Yes, Marquis.”

nSoon, the wheels of the carriage carrying Seian began to roll slowly.

nThe carriage that moved away with the sound of the horse’s hoofs creaking soon moved so far away that it could not be seen.

nThen I turned around and walked towards the front door.

n“You got close to Seian.”

nThere, my father and Aaron were waiting for me.

n“Um, did the two of us look like that?”

n“You know it.”

n“I wanted to ask even if I knew it.”

nI smiled like Aaron, who answered with a smirk.

n“Thank you, father, brother.”

n“I don’t know what you’re thankful for. It’s cold. Let’s go inside.”

nFather answered bluntly and first walked into the mansion.

nAaron asked in a whisper to me.

n“It’s because my father is very shy. You know that too, right?”

n“Of course.”

nI smiled a little and nodded my head.

n“Father, let’s go together!”

nThen I grabbed Aaron’s arm and led him into the mansion.

n✿

nA few days later, in the morning.

nI climbed the stairs with a bouncy step. I was on my way to Aaron’s room, which was one step higher than mine.

n‘Hehe…’ While humming lightly, I stopped in front of a door.

nKnock, knock~

n“Brother, it’s Erita.”

n“Yes, come on in.”

nAs soon as I knocked, Aaron’s permission was immediately granted.

nThe door opened with a small click, and I first pushed my upper body out and looked around the room.

nThen I saw Aaron sitting at the desk in a comfortable shirt, probably processing papers.

nAaron’s face as he met my gaze, smiled in an instant.

nAt the obvious change, I smiled brightly and opened my mouth.

n“Are you busy right now? If you’re busy, it’s okay, I’ll come later.”

n“No, I was about to take a break. You can come in.” Aaron’s voice was soft as he answered that.

n“Then I’ll go in for a second!”

nWith a bashful smile at his answer, I opened the door and went inside.

nHis room was simple. Should I say that it feels like bringing in only the necessary furniture?

nEven the bed was neatly arranged, so there was not much to call a sense of living.

n“My brother must have been here for two years.”

nLooking at the room alone, I can believe that he’s a person who came in yesterday and just started living.

nAfter wondering for a while, I quickly accepted after thinking that Aaron also had as much work to deal with as father.

n“Obviously, he must have been in the study or office all day long. If you look at it, both my father and my brother are like workaholics.”

nIn the same vein, my father’s room was also difficult to make.

nEven though it was the only Grand Mansion in the Empire, our house was not very glamorous or extravagant.

nMaybe it’s because both of them are not interested in it.

nIt was Aaron’s voice that cut off my thoughts.

n“Do you want some tea?”

n“Well, if you don’t mind.”

nSitting on the sofa naturally, I smiled and nodded at Aaron’s question.

nAt my reply, Aaron smiled and called the servant outside and told him to bring all the sweets.

nThe servant seemed to be about twelve years old, and his youthful face was unfamiliar.

nThere were often faces that I didn’t know because I hadn’t met all the servants in the mansion yet.

nPerhaps they had been talking for a while, and the servant who approached with a cautious gesture set tea and light snacks on the table.

nEven though he looks young, he’s very good at setting things up without a sound, so his skills are amazing.

n“Thank you.”

n“Oh, never mind.”

nWhen I greeted him with a smile, the servant was stunned, then he bowed his head and left the room.

nIt was so cute that I laughed and felt Aaron staring at me.

n“Why do you look at me like that?”

n“I think you like children.”

n“Me?”

nI smirked at Aaron’s words. I don’t really like children or anything.

n“When you see young maids and servants serving something, your eyes twinkle.”

nBut seeing Aaron gently answering my question, I wondered if I really did.

nAlthough I liked cute creatures more than I liked children.

n“Well, they’re cute.”

nI shrugged my shoulders and answered bluntly.

nThen, Aaron let out a windy laugh as if it was ridiculous.

n“Erita, you’re still young.”

n“I’m all grown up. I’m already an adult.”

nI rolled my eyes at Aaron’s words and replied sullenly.

nBut he still smiled happily despite my reply.

nIn the Empire, men and women of all ages turn 18, and there was an adult ceremony.

nAlthough it’s only an adult ceremony to enjoy dinner and receive gifts with your family.

nThere were also nobles who occasionally held adult celebration parties.

n‘Oh right. It reminded me of a party.’

nAfter thinking differently for a while, I recalled the reason why I came to Aaron.

n“Brother.”

n“Yes, Erita.”

n“Are you free later? Around 3 o’clock.”

n“Three o’clock?”

nAt Aaron’s question, I nodded.

n“Isn’t that when you’re in class, Erita?”

nAaron glanced at his watch and asked me.

n…I think Aaron knows my schedule better than I do sometimes.

n“Um, actually, I wanted you to help me practice dancing.”

nI practiced dancing, but I think it would be better to try it with him.

nEmma also said that it would be better.

n“Dance practice?”

n“Yes. The debut party is just around the corner, right? I think it would be better to try and practice before that.”

nCan’t it? I smiled shyly.

nEven if I didn’t do this, I don’t think Aaron would refuse, but still.

n“Okay. I’ll go down at 3 o’clock later.”

nHowever, Aaron, who smiled despite his worries, happily answered yes.

nIt was a cool answer without a single hesitation.

n“Wow! Really?”

nI rejoiced at Aaron’s acceptance and my eyes widened.

n“Because it’s not too difficult if you have a dance partner.”

nAt my appearance, Aaron said something touching in a friendly voice.

nAs expected, my brother was sweet.

nWhen dealing with other people, if you only do half of what you’re doing now, your popularity will soar

n‘Well, other people say that being cold is attractive, but that’s because they don’t know the kindness of my brother.’

nAfter thinking about it for a while, I immediately shook my head and gave up.

nIt’s because I realized that there’s no point in thinking about it.

n“You can’t be like that because you hate annoying things.”

nBesides, it was surprisingly good that Aaron was only kind to me.

n‘It seems a bit selfish to say this, but… What am I going to do anyway? Aaron is my family.’

nAfter that, after talking for a while, I left Aaron’s room, saying I’ll see him later.

nThe steps down the hallway were light.

n✿

nI glanced at the clock pointing at one o’clock.

n“Emma, my brother will help me with the dance practice later.”

nEmma paused for a moment at what I said.

n“Oh my, the Prince?”

n“Yes.”

n“Hoho, the prince will be a good enough partner.”

nIt was only for a moment that Emma’s expression was agitated, but it was clearly visible to me sitting right in front of her.

nCome to think of it, I thought about it last time, but Emma seemed uncomfortable with Aaron. No, she must be uncomfortable.

nOtherwise, would Emma, who has a lot of experience in society, show such feelings?

n“Did something happen between him and Emma?”

nI wanted to ask in person, but I tried to press down on my curiosity, wondering if it was a really bad memory.

nIt doesn’t seem like there was such a big problem because of their personalities, but there’s only one thing.

n‘But the two didn’t seem to know each other at all. My brother was there if he knew Count Chiron…’

nThe more I thought about it, the more my doubts grew.

nEmma, who covered her mouth with a fan, smiled softly and opened her mouth.

n“You think I don’t have a good relationship with the Prince?”

n“No, it’s not!”

nSurprised, I habitually uttered negative words. As expected, Emma did not believe in my answer.

n‘…Actually, I’m curious.’

nI just kept my mouth shut because it seemed like an inappropriate topic for me to bring up in the first place.

n“…I don’t want to force you just for me to hear it.”

nI straightened my expression and picked out the most appropriate answer in this situation.

nI was curious, but I don’t want to hear it if Emma doesn’t want to talk about it.

n“When did my little girl get so big?”

nAt my answer, Emma smiled delightedly.

n“Emma, I’m already eighteen.”

n“…That’s right. You’re already an adult. I can see the sixteen-year-old lady.”

nEmma said in a slow tone, as if she was thinking of something in response to my naive reply.

nI met Emma not long after I went to the North.

n“Actually, nothing happened with the prince.”

n“…”

n“As you know, the prince and I don’t have much contact.”

nEmma then returned to her usual smile in an instant, her eyes twinkling playfully.

nWithout being embarrassed, I choked at Emma’s words.

nThere’s no connection between the two.

nEmma was a northern noble, and Aaron stayed in the northern part of the long winter for only a month or two.

nBut if something didn’t happen, why was Emma’s reaction like that?

n“Emma seems to be a little reluctant to see brother…”

nLooking at the blurry end, Emma looked a little embarrassed, gently moving her fan.

n“Hmm, was it that obvious? My expression has been a big part of socializing since then. I guess I lost my touch.”

nEmma laughed at my words in a tone that had no regrets at all.

n“Not a lot, but a little. But don’t worry. My brother won’t know.”

nIt’s true that I’m not very interested. Emma burst out a cool laugh at my comfort.

n“Because Grand Duke isn’t interested in me, right?”

nI smiled awkwardly and nodded at Emma’s exact words.

nApart from what she said, I knew that his original personality was indifferent.

nUnfortunately, even my blunt father would point out Aaron’s indifference.

n“It’s a little odd to say things like this, but I’m afraid of the Grand Prince.”

n“What? But you’re older than him?”

nAnd my eyes widened to the following answer.

nIt’s good that nothing happened between the two of them, but I’m afraid of Aaron.

nEmma’s story that followed was about Aaron that I didn’t know about.

n