A few weeks had passed since I had forcefully dragged Keith out of his room, and now he looked at home with us. The magic tutor had finally made it here as well, and we could finally start training. My brother was giving it his best, and I was sure that he’d be able to control his powers in no time.

I also have to do my best and improve my magic! I at least want to be able to use something more powerful than Dirt Bump…

Keith wasn’t only skilled in magic, but in studying as well. He had never had a tutor before coming to our house, so he learned all he knew from studying with books by himself. Despite this, far from being behind me, who had always had personal instructors, he was way ahead…

And now, with a tutor by his side, he was progressing even faster. He was perfect even when it came to dancing or etiquette… worthy of his spot amongst Fortune Lover’s characters. The problem was that he was so good at anything he did that there was nothing left for me to teach him.

I’d always wanted to have a little brother and be the older sister always looking out for him. The few things I was better than him at were tree-climbing, fishing, catching bugs, and other outdoor activities. But even then, he was so talented that I knew if he put his mind to it, he’d surpass me in an instant… That made me kind of sad.

Isn’t there anything that I can do for him as his sister? I really wanted to become a good, reliable sister.

“I see… Closing in physical distance on a daily basis…” I was murmuring to myself while reading the book I had borrowed from the library when Anne interrupted me.

“Young miss, you look captivated by that book. What are you reading?”

“I’m researching how to take care of Keith!”

“Take care of him?”

“I want to be a reliable older sister who Keith can look up to!” I said proudly, but Anne just looked at my book and then back at me, confused.

“I do understand your motivations, but… why these books?”

“Well, there weren’t any books on taking care of little brothers, so I just went with the closest ones I could find.”

“Child-Raising Precepts.”

“To Take Care of a Child, Volume 1.”

“Animal Caretaking Manual.”

After all, I just needed to get the general idea so that I could fill in the details later.

“Young miss… I am afraid those books will not be of much help… Especially the last one…”

“I know, but these were the only ones in the library that were even remotely related!”

I’d been spoiled and pampered as a single child for all my life (at least in this world), so I had no idea how to take care of a younger brother. And in my previous life, my older brothers didn’t really take care of me so much as they let me follow them and do whatever I wanted.

I guess one time, when I was climbing trees with them as a kid and ended up falling down and hurting myself, they picked me up like a dead weight and brought me back home. That counts as taking care of someone, right? If only Keith were a bit lighter…

“I can’t come up with anything good, so for the time being I’m just going to do what it says in these books.”

“Try not to… overdo it,” said Anne with a worried look in her eyes.

Reading through the books I had borrowed from the library, I found out that “physical intimacy” is important when taking care of a child. Let’s try this out.

“Good morning, Keith,” I said while entering his room, hugging him and patting him on the head. The patting part I got from the animal caretaking book.

Did I do it wrong? He’s not reacting at all… he’s not even moving…

Worried, I freed Keith from my hug and looked at him… he was standing completely still, his face red. Oh no! Did I hug him so hard that he couldn’t breathe?!

“I’m sorry, Keith! I couldn’t control my strength, and I… I’m so sorry…”

“Young miss!” shouted Anne, who had just barged into the room while I was still apologizing. “I am very sorry, young master,” she said with a bow before dragging me out.

I tried to tell her about my plan about physical intimacy, but her stare was so intense that I just caved and followed her to my room, where she then explained to me at length why it is improper for a lady to suddenly hug a man.

“But he’s my brother…” I tried to excuse myself, but she said that the same thing applies to family.

“Public intimacy is not well-received in noble society, especially when it surpasses a certain threshold.”

Noble society sure is complicated.

“And please… try to think of the young master’s feelings.”

“Keith’s feelings?”

Keith had a very lonely childhood, which meant that he wouldn’t be used to receiving any acts of intimacy. That explained why he was so surprised! He just didn’t know how he was supposed to react! I just had to get him used to intimacy, little by little. And I should avoid doing it in public! Easy!

“Thank you, Anne! I got it!” I said with a smile which my preoccupied maid did not return.

“Are you sure?”

“As sure as can be!”

Once again, Anne’s face maintained the same concerned expression.

So, to recap, I had to introduce Keith to intimacy little by little, and possibly not in public. It was time to make full use of the knowledge from my previous life!

Why didn’t I think of this before? This is how we built intimacy in my world!

“Keith, I’m coming in to wash your back!” I said while on my way to the bathroom, with a sponge in my hand and headband on my forehead. Just like I used to do with grandpa before I was reincarnated!

Unfortunately, that one time I had used a rough kitchen sponge instead of a soft bathroom one, and grandpa, his whole back bleeding, told me to never wash his back again. What a pesky little kid I was!

Learning from my mistakes, this time I brought a sponge meant for human beings, and I was eager to share some intimacy with my little brother.

“Get ready, Keith!” I told him as he stood there, in the middle of undressing, staring at me.

“Big Sister… what are you… talking about?” he said, confused, as I took his hand.

Ugh, of course! He’s so clueless about intimacy that he doesn’t know that family members wash each other’s backs!

“You see, amongst family, it’s normal to help each other wash one’s back as a form of communication,” I tried to explain.

However…

“So that’s why today I’ll be washing your…”

“That’s not normal at all!” shouted Mother, barging into the room with a terrifying expression.

“Mother? What are you doing here…?”

I was so surprised by how suddenly and angrily she had come in that I couldn’t say anything else before she started hoarsely scolding me.

“I have heard from Anne about what you have been doing. Explain what it is that you are trying to do here!”

Now that she mentioned her, I noticed Anne standing behind Mother with a sullen expression. I didn’t know what she was mad about, but apparently Anne was somehow involved.

“Now that Keith has become my brother, I was just trying to deepen our bonds…” I got the feeling that saying “trying to take care of him” would make Mother even angrier, so I avoided that.

“And what does that have to do with hugging him and bathing with him…?” she said, her expression now more exhausted than it was angry.

“Mother… are you all right?” I asked her, worried about how dejected she suddenly looked.

She raised her eyes in my direction and started talking, or rather muttering to herself. “This is my fault… I was so preoccupied with my husband that I never took the time to properly discipline her… I am the one to blame.”

She then raised her voice and, with determination, said:

“Katarina, I shall teach you how to behave like a proper lady!” before grabbing me by the collar and dragging me to her room.

“Wh-What? What…?” I said, not completely sure of what was happening.

What happened was that Mother kept me locked in her room while giving me a long, long… long lecture on etiquette.

A proper lady shall not hug people left and right.

A proper lady definitely shall not enter the bathroom with a man, even if he’s family.

Those were just two of the many rules of proper lady behavior that Mother kept explaining to me almost until dawn. She went on for so long that I got kind of sleepy, and stopped actually listening mid-way through. The next day, I had slept so little that I couldn’t even find the force to eat seconds at breakfast.

I went to Keith as soon as I woke up, to apologize to him for my improper (according to Mother) behavior. Not only did he forgive me with a smile, but he was even worried about me, since I had been dragged into the room of our very angry mother. What a kind little brother he is!

After that I had lessons and magic training, but I was so tired that I could feel my eyelids getting heavier… or rather, as Anne later corrected me, going completely shut.

I somehow managed to get through my duties and went to relax outside, playing and fishing with Keith. Once I sat down under my favorite tree in the garden, it didn’t take long to fall completely asleep.

In my dreams, I was visited by a beautiful vision of an all-you-can-eat dessert buffet, and so I woke up in a good mood. I looked to my side and noticed that Keith had fallen asleep as well.

I was surprised, because when I fell asleep while studying or in our warm garden, Keith would lie next to me, but would never actually sleep.

“Maybe he is tired after everything that happened yesterday,” said Anne.

I’m sorry, Keith… I thought while looking at him sleeping peacefully. He really was handsome enough to take part in an otome game. And those eyelashes! They’re probably longer than mine.

However, as I was lost in his face, his expression started turning darker. His eyes were still closed, but he was knitting his brows and groaning as if in pain. He looked so tormented that I shook him awake.

Keith opened his blue eyes, but they were staring beyond me, into space… It made me worried.

“Keith, are you okay?” I asked, and he immediately came back to himself.

“…Big Sister… I’m fine. I just had a bad dream,” he replied with an unconvincing smile.

“A bad dream? You really sounded like you were in pain… I should have woken you up earlier! Sorry, Keith!”

He was fully awake now, but he still looked troubled. I regretted wasting time looking at his face instead of waking him up earlier. I’m so sorry, Keith…

“I’m fine, there’s nothing to worry about,” he said, still smiling at me.

“This won’t do. The next time you look like you’re having a bad dream, I’ll wake you up immediately! Leave it to me!” I replied, wanting to help him in some way.

And then I realized that maybe this was what I could do to take care of Keith.

After seeing Keith moan in his sleep, I got worried that maybe that hadn’t been an isolated incident. I asked Keith’s personal maid to report to me without telling him, and, as I thought, my brother groaned and moaned in his sleep very often.

Never much of a nightmare-haver myself, I hadn’t thought about it… but in all his moving from one family to the next, Keith must have been through a lot, at least enough to cause a couple of bad dreams.

I decided to turn this into an opportunity to help him, as a good, reliable older sister would do. When evening came, I made my way to Keith’s room, who was surprised to see me barge in.

“If you have a bad dream, I’ll be here to wake you up!” I said, taking his hand.

I didn’t let go of it until he fell asleep. He was kind of restless at first, but he eventually dozed off.

Unfortunately I also got sleepy and didn’t manage to check on Keith all night long… but in the morning, when I asked him about it, he said that he didn’t have any nightmares. That’s a relief!

From that day on, I would sometimes hold Keith’s hand or chat with him to cheer him up before sleeping, so that he wouldn’t have any bad dreams.

Anne knew about it, but she didn’t scold me for it. She even said, “I believe that this is helping him.”

I kept on spending my evenings with Keith until he told me that he didn’t have trouble sleeping anymore and that I didn’t need to keep doing it.

When he said “It’s all thanks to you, Big Sister,” I was so happy… I had waited so long for those words.

It’s just too bad that soon after that our roles were reversed, and I became the one who he had to take care of…

★★★★★

After a few weeks since I took on the name of Keith Claes, I had grown accustomed to it and to life with my new family.

Being able to learn from a tutor was fun and interesting, and I also had a magic instructor who taught me how to control my powers. I needed to do this, so that I wouldn’t end up hurting a loved one again. Furthermore, I trained in dance and etiquette as young nobles are expected to.

Katarina, on the other hand, taught me about tree-climbing, fishing, catching bugs, and other pastimes that young nobles are definitely not expected to engage in. Every day felt new and exciting.

One morning Katarina entered my room, as she often did. I assumed that she just wanted to invite me to a walk or to go to the fields with her, as usual. I was wrong.

“Good morning, Keith,” she said with a smile, before… hugging me.

Why is she… what?

And then, still hugging me, she started patting my head. That was my first time experiencing something like that, and, what’s more, it was by the hand of someone who was special to me.

My mind went blank, my face red. I stood still, unsure of how to react, until Big Sister started apologizing for some reason.

“I’m sorry, Keith! I couldn’t control my strength, and I… I’m so sorry…”

“Young miss!” shouted her maid, Anne, suddenly barging into the room.

All the years of serving Katarina seemed to have taught Anne enough that she instantly understood what was going on just by looking at this weird, one-sided hug. She apologized to me and convinced Katarina, who was muttering excuses, to go back to her room.

Later, asking around, I found out that Big Sister had been attempting to build intimacy between family members. Before coming to Claes Manor, I was never really part of a family, which made the whole topic a mystery to me… But I couldn’t shake the feeling that Katarina was somewhat misled in her intentions.

Still, as embarrassing as being hugged and patted on the head was… it made me happy.

The next morning I wasn’t met with any hugs, and it turned out that it was Anne who had talked my sister out of it. While I liked being hugged, I was relieved that I wouldn’t have to worry anymore about blushing to death, and about what I was supposed to do in response.

The day peacefully went on as usual… at least until that evening. I was undressing to take a bath when Katarina appeared with a sponge in her hand and a headband on her forehead.

“Keith, I’m coming in to wash your back!”

This shocked me even harder than yesterday’s hug had, and, before I could muster a reply, she started menacingly rolling up her sleeves. Sensing the danger, I instinctively stopped her and requested an explanation.

Katarina started telling me, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, that bathing together is how families build intimacy. I may not have known much about intimacy or families… but this just sounded wrong.

I kept listening to my sister’s dubious musings on what constitutes normal family relationships, when she was interrupted by Mother, who had loudly come to my rescue.

“That’s not normal at all!” she said to Katarina, whose confident face had now turned white. Judging from Mother’s questioning of her daughter’s intent, I’d say that I was right. It didn’t just sound wrong. It was wrong… and knowing this, I was kind of relieved.

After some more incoherent explanations from Katarina, Mother thankfully removed her from the premises.

“I am sorry for all this trouble. Please enjoy your bath,” said Anne, seeing my still confused expression.

She then left and I could finally bathe, but not without frequent nervous glances towards the door.

As for Katarina, she was lectured by Mother until pretty much dawn. Come morning, she tiredly apologized about the previous day. She had been scolded thoroughly, but I personally wasn’t angry with her. I was just embarrassed, so I told her not to worry about it.

Sleepy from being talked at all night long, she had little appetite, or so she said. But despite not going in for seconds as usual at breakfast, she made up for it with pastries.

She must have been really sleepy… Later, when she fell asleep during our lesson, instead of waking her up (as I always did) I took a look at the dark circles under her eyes and decided to let her rest.

That helped her regain some of her energy, so that afternoon we went fishing together in the stream by the garden, which is one of her favorite ways to pass the time.

After that, she laid down under a tree (“the perfect tree for climbing,” according to her) and dozed off. Tired from fishing and from having spent an almost sleepless night after the shocking events of the previous evening, I found my eyelids getting heavier, and I too fell asleep next to my sister.

And then the nightmare came.

The darkness, the tight spaces, the beatings, the insults… Terrifying memories from my past.

Still hurt and scared, I opened my eyes. I saw Katarina looking over me with a concerned expression.

“Keith, are you okay?” she asked with the sun shining behind her back. Just having her there beside me was enough to ease the fear.

“The next time you look like you’re having a bad dream, I’ll wake you up immediately! Leave it to me!” she proudly announced once I explained the reason for my groaning.

True to her promise, she started visiting me during the evenings, holding my hand and promising to wake me up should I have another nightmare.

Having a girl that I may have feelings for do this for me felt weird, but it worked. Thanks to her, I think, my bad dreams stopped.

She looked a bit disappointed when I told her that she could stop coming to my room because I could now sleep just fine, but, when I thanked her, her face bloomed with a smile.

…Unfortunately, Katarina’s unladylike behavior continued as usual.

Time flies. Before I knew it, seven years had passed since I had taken on the name of Keith Claes.

My sister, slightly older than me, is soon to celebrate her fifteenth birthday. In this country, this is the age that marks the entrance of a noble into high society. The Claes house was busy with the preparations for her birthday party, which would double as the venue for her social debut.

Katarina has really grown up since we first met, but, unfortunately, only on the outside. For better or worse, on the inside she is exactly the same as she used to be seven years ago. One could say that she is still innocent… or still immature.

During tea parties and other public events she is able to behave as a proper lady, but when she is with relatives or close friends, she immediately loses all restraint.

In particular, she often seems to forget that I, one of her closest relatives, am a man. She doesn’t hug me out of the blue or try to bathe with me anymore (I probably have Mother to thank for that), but she still lingers around me in little more than a nightgown, showing a complete lack of modesty… exactly as she did when she was eight years old.

A lot of people are attracted by this innocence: her fiancé Prince Jeord, Prince Alan and his fiancée Mary, the chancellor’s son Nicol and his sister Sophia, and the number of her fans grew every year.

Jeord is particularly aggressive in his approach, but Katarina is completely oblivious to his feelings. On the contrary, she has convinced herself that her fiancé is only engaged to her to keep all other noblewomen at bay.

In that sense, Jeord, whose feelings are being ignored, is in the same position as me. That should be a relief, but it worries me all the same. Katarina, never thinking of Jeord as a man, always has her guard down around him. Of course, he takes advantage of that to get intimate with her at every opportunity.

Every day that passes, my hate towards that sly, sordid prince grows fiercer… as does, to be honest, my envy for how nonchalant he can stay while getting close with her.

Katarina always taught me that I should be kind and considerate of women, and I took that to heart. Escorting ladies has never been a problem. If anything, if I may say so myself, I am somewhat popular with girls.

But when it comes to her, I just can’t approach her as naturally as Jeord does. And actively trying to get… physically… intimate with her…? Impossible.

The reason for this, I believe, lies with Katarina herself. During that most shy of ages, when boys bloom into men, she tried to become close with me and often let her body, growing ripe with womanhood, go uncovered but for the lightest of garments.

Before long, the tension that I felt around Katarina, amplified by the feelings I already had for her, had grown to the point that I withdrew most of my physical interactions with her.

Despite being the closest to her, I am unable to close that small remaining distance. All I can do is look at her and despise Jeord.

Katarina’s birthday had finally arrived. To my disappointment, Jeord would be the one to escort her at the party. I had to keep my eyes peeled, lest he make a move on her.

The two of them were dancing, surrounded by me, Mary, and the others who shared my concerns, and the rest of the attendees. Surely, we all thought, he wouldn’t try anything improper in front of such a crowd.

Surely enough, he did.

During their dance, Katarina lost her balance, and Jeord brought her in close to his body so that she wouldn’t fall. At least that was what all the others had thought, but I wasn’t fooled. He had drawn her in on purpose.

I wanted to jump in and pull them apart, but, difficult as it was, I maintained the restraint befitting the son of a duke. I decided I would at least wait until the song was over.

How long is he going to hug her? Let her go already! I screamed in my head, burning holes into Jeord’s back with my eyes… until… he kissed her neck!

That’s going too far!

I started running towards Katarina, but before I could reach her, the song was over and it was time to exchange dance partners. Seeing the mocking smile Jeord directed at me while walking away made my face turn red with anger.

And she… she probably had no clue, did she? She hadn’t even noticed the mark left on her neck.

“If you would, Big Sister…” I called out to her, and tried to clean it off with my handkerchief.

As expected, she had no idea of what had happened and asked me what I was doing. I didn’t want to tell her, of course, nor would I let Jeord do anything like this ever again.

“A small bug landed on your neck, and I was just… cleaning that up for you.”

“Oh, really? Thank you, Keith,” she said with a nonchalant smile.

Seeing her smile like that, so innocently, took away some of the anger Jeord’s deplorable feat had instilled in me. And now, looking at her so closely, I realized just how beautiful she looked today, even more than usual as she was embellished for the party.

“You look so beautiful, Big Sister,” I said with a smile, inviting her to dance.

“Thank you, Keith,” she accepted.

Dancing was not one of her talents, but she had practiced for this day, and it showed. Being so close to her as we moved through the air, looking at a Katarina who was even more beautiful than usual… I could almost understand why Jeord would do what he did.

She really kept her guard too low, though…

“You know, Big Sister… You really should be a little more aware of the dangers that surround you.”

“…Hmm? Aware of… dangers?”

“Yes. Especially when it comes to Prince Jeord,” I explained, hoping that she would realize how much he was targeting her.

“Don’t worry! I’m all about sensing danger when it comes to Prince Jeord!” she replied, leaving me appalled.

“…Really, Big Sister? To be honest, it doesn’t quite come across that way…” I reprimanded her, but she just continued, proud of her supposed danger-awareness.

“Yes, things are perfect! I am absolutely prepared to call off the whole engagement at any time! I even told him just now that I would, and that I would never get in the way of his true love!”

She really has no idea of what I’m talking about. “…How is that… perfect, Big Sister? No… this will not do at all. Did you not see what happened just now? How could you be… saying…?”

Katarina was just so oblivious that I almost felt bad for Jeord and his genuine attempts.“I could even prepare documents, you know? To call off the engagement. And then all I’d have to do is show them to Prince Jeord…” she said, seeing my disconcerted reaction.

“No! No, you mustn’t! If you provoke him any further… there may be no telling what he would do…”

What is she even thinking?! First of all, how could she possibly fail to notice advances as heavy-handed as Jeord’s? Are we sure that hit to the forehead didn’t damage anything important?

For the time being, I just instructed her not to find herself alone with Jeord. She nodded, but I hardly believed that she had understood as well as she said.

Having to look after my sister has made my seven years in the Claes family extremely busy. Busy, but blessed. Here, near Katarina, is where I have found my happiness.

Chapter 3: Alan’s Afternoon of Bliss

Time in the Academy of Magic went by in a flash. In a few more months, I would become Alan Stuart, academy graduate.

I was spending a relaxing holiday afternoon in the courtyard, thinking back on the memories of my two years here. So much happened in so little time. With highlights like the disappearance during the fall of my first year and the kidnapping during my second year, I’d seen enough trouble for a lifetime.

But what surprised me most was the reaction, or lack thereof, from the center of all this trouble: Katarina. You’d think that after being knocked unconscious by Dark Magic and then kidnapped the next year, you’d end up pretty damn freaked out. But she was so impervious to these misadventures that she barely remembered them. “Something like that happened? Really?” was her average response.

Now that I’ve only got a few months left here, I hope I can enjoy them in peace…

The wind interrupted my thoughts by bringing a delicious smell into the courtyard. What’s that? It was the first day of the holiday break at the academy, so most students had gone back home, including my brother Jeord and my friends from the student council.

With so few people left, where could the scent be coming from? I guessed that it was some kind of food, but it’s not like anyone would be hosting a tea party at the academy during the holiday.

I went to investigate the source of the smell and ended up near a few trees in a corner of the courtyard. Someone was sitting, barricaded by foods in all sorts of containers that were laid atop a large piece of cloth spread onto the ground. I couldn’t see the person’s face, but it didn’t matter. There was only one person amongst all the nobles in the academy who would do something like this…

“Katarina Claes. What’re you doing here?”

“Hmfoo?!”

She turned back to face me and let out a nonsensical yell. Surprisingly (yet somehow predictably), her mouth was stuffed with food, and it still was when she first attempted a reply.

“Uoccha ew jooin ear, pweensh awam?”

Huh? “I have no clue what you just said. Swallow before trying to speak…”

“Gah, iesh. Nom nom nom nom…” She finished chewing and then tried to answer again. “What are you doing here, Prince Alan?”

“That’s what I was asking you.”

Katarina said she’d go back home for the holidays like everyone else. So why was she still here? And more importantly, why was she having a picnic in a place like this?

“Aren’t you supposed to be home right now?”

“I was… but this morning I decided to sleep a little longer since we don’t have lessons anyway, and before I knew it, it was afternoon.”

Typical Katarina… But what about that brother of hers who’s always following her around?

“Does that mean that Keith’s still here too?”

“No, he went back home first thing in the morning to help Father with his work. I told him that I’d follow him later, but I slept too long…”

That explained why she was still at the academy, but…

“Why’re you here all alone? What about your maid?”

“You mean Anne? She went back with Keith to help with the preparations for the wedding of one of our other maids.”

“Who prepared this feast, then?”

“The old lady that runs the school kitchen gave it to me! She said that since the dining hall will be closed for the holidays, she wanted to cook all the leftover ingredients so nothing goes to waste. So I asked if I could eat some, and she went to the trouble of packing all of this for me! Isn’t she wonderful? But she also said that students don’t usually ask to eat any of the pre-vacation leftover meals… maybe they just don’t know about them? It’s such a waste either way!” she said with sparkling eyes, holding one of the many food-filled containers in her hands.

It was pretty obvious that at this academy, where virtually all the students were nobles, nobody would go out of their way to ask for food made with leftover ingredients. The exception to that rule, who was sitting right in front of me, was the daughter of a duke — one of the most important people in the country. I was sure that the poor old lady had desperately tried to turn the leftovers into the best-looking dishes she could… and she’d definitely succeeded. Katarina’s food didn’t look like it was made from scraps at all.

“She cooked all of this for me, and since the weather’s good, I thought I’d eat outside!” she said, visibly happy as she cleared all the questions I had about her being there.

I guessed that since she was supposed to leave the academy soon after her brother, there probably wasn’t any lunch prepared for her. Hungry, she had then started wandering around, eventually stumbling onto the cooks as they made food from the leftovers. She had asked them for something to eat and they had rushed to plate what little they had in a luxurious enough way for a noble lady.

And there she was, sitting on a large piece of cloth, with all that food around her, enjoying the nice weather in the courtyard.

This girl… I should be used to it by now, but her antics really are… Wait, is that piece of cloth one of those things used to cover flower beds?

Come to think of it, this courtyard was the exact place where Katarina had been attacked with Dark Magic last year. Yet here she was, having a picnic. Despite having been kidnapped recently, she was smiling like a sunflower in May. Just where did she get such nerve?

“Are you practicing the violin?” she said, pointing her ever-carefree gaze at the instrument case in my hand.

“Yeah. The weather’s good, so…”

“So you’re out enjoying this beautiful afternoon, just like me!”

That was true, but I’d rather not compare my decisions with someone as airheaded as her.

I was supposed to go back to the castle with Jeord that morning. But when I woke up, I saw the clear sky and felt like I wanted to stay here. I didn’t hate being at the castle, and I didn’t have any problems with my family like I used to. Actually, I was looking forward to learning about royal diplomacy.

But the problem was that ever since I came of age, I’d been involved in the fuss about who was going to succeed my father. It used to be only my two oldest brothers and their supporters who were involved, but lately, Jeord and I had been included too. I personally couldn’t care less about becoming king, but the people around me just wouldn’t listen.

I couldn’t bring myself to waste such a pretty, sunny day dealing with the boring quarrels of nobles and their factions. I wanted to spend it doing something I loved. So I’d decided to stay at the academy and spend the afternoon playing the violin in the courtyard.

Because of this sudden change of plans, I got to see Katarina… I was sure that the folks at the castle would have their complaints, but I was happy I hadn’t gone.

“Have you already had lunch, Prince Alan?”

“I haven’t, come to think of it.”

I had been here in the courtyard for so long that I hadn’t even bothered eating. I just thought I’d go back to my room and eat whenever I felt hungry.

“That’s perfect! Why don’t you join me, then? I’ve got so much here that I could never manage to eat all of it by myself,” she said, showing me one of the containers which was indeed brimming with food.

Nobles normally just nibble all the different dishes and, once they’re satisfied, just throw away the leftovers. The academy’s cooks probably prepared all of this imagining that she would do the same. Little did they know that Katarina Claes, the duke’s daughter, always eats everything in front of her to keep it from going to waste…

As for me, I was starting to get a little hungry, so I gladly accepted her invitation.

“This is so delicious! It tastes zippy but rounded, without being too sharp!”

“I have no idea what you mean by that, but I’ll agree that it’s delicious.”

“Try this one too! The crust is crumbly and zingy, and on the inside it’s slushy and cushy!”

“What? Well… it does taste good…”

We went on chatting while eating together under the clear blue sky. This lunch was hastily made from leftover ingredients, but enjoying it with Katarina on such a beautiful day made it feel like an exquisite banquet.

“Ahhh, I’m so full! I can’t take another bite,” she said, flopping down on the cloth after she’d left not a single crumb behind.

Most people in high society wouldn’t approve of another noble slouching on the ground like that, but since it was only the two of us, I followed her example and lay down as well.

The afternoon sun was starting to inch westward, but it still shone warmly over the courtyard’s well-trimmed grass. Relaxing like that while looking at the sky slowly turning red made me feel at peace.

If I hadn’t met Katarina as a child, maybe I wouldn’t have been able to enjoy this serene fulfillment. I was happy. Happy… and grateful.

“Ahhh, I can’t resist! I don’t care anymore!” she shouted all of a sudden, driving away any peace or serenity.

I looked at her, surprised, and saw that she was untying her shoes. Now barefoot, she stepped off of the cloth and onto the courtyard lawn.

“Whoo! Nothing feels better than feeling the grass under my feet!” she said, stretching out her arms in elation. That was a bit too much.

“Do you think that’s an appropriate thing for a lady to do?” I reprimanded her. Usually this would be Jeord or Keith’s job…

“But nobody’s looking! And it really feels good. You should try it yourself!”

Not only had she completely ignored me, but she even suggested I join her. If I were used to scolding Katarina, like Jeord and Keith were, maybe I could have managed to stop her… but this was a rare thing for me.

And also… she looked so happy with her bare feet on the grass, walking around under the sun… enticingly so. As a prince, I normally wouldn’t do anything unbefitting of a noble, but I couldn’t resist the temptation of sharing something so unusual, improper even, with Katarina.

I found myself barefoot, stepping onto the grass. It really felt good… I couldn’t blame her. I lost myself in the moment and, when I looked to the side, she wasn’t there anymore.

She was here seconds ago! What happened?! Did she get kidnapped again?!

“Katarina! Where are you?!” I shouted while frantically looking for her.

“Prince Alan! Over here!” came a casual voice from above.

I looked up and was shocked to find Katarina sitting on a tree branch.

“What are you doing up there?! I thought you were done with tree climbing!”

As a kid she’d spent more time atop trees than she did on the ground, but after her debut in society, the people around her insisted on it strongly enough that she decided to stop playing in trees… or at least, that’s what she’d said.

“I’ve been resisting the temptation all this time! But I was barefoot, and there happened to be a tree next to me, so…”

“So what? This isn’t your home! You’re at the academy!”

She laughed in response, and all I could do was sigh at this helpless girl.

“Don’t worry! Even from up here, there’s no one in sight. And the view is fantastic! Why don’t you come up too?” she said while playfully gesturing for me to come to her.

Climbing a tree in the academy was absolutely unthinkable. But today — maybe because of Katarina’s influence — my self-control wasn’t quite working.

I’m already barefoot, and if it’s just a little bit… just a couple of branches… were my unusually unrestrained thoughts.

And so, for the first time in eight years, I climbed up a tree. The memory of my climbing competition with Katarina in her garden was embarrassing but nostalgic at the same time. After that (as is the norm for any self-respecting noble), I had never even thought of going up a tree again. Despite this, muscle memory helped me reach the same height as Katarina relatively quickly.

I sat next to her, and she welcomed me with a smile. If we still were kids we probably could have sat on the same branch, but considering how much heavier we were now, I chose another one nearby.

I looked down at the courtyard, which looked nothing like it normally did. It was larger and more beautiful than I thought it was, shiny with its sunlit grass. Back when I first climbed on top of that tree in the Claes garden, I felt exactly the same as I did right now, after all these years. When you look at it from a new perspective, the world can be so different.

“Isn’t it beautiful?”

“…Yeah, it is,” I replied to Katarina.

“I told you!” she boasted with an innocent but prideful smile.

I felt a pounding inside my chest. A year had passed since I’d recognized what my true feelings for her were. I’d probably been in love with her for much longer, but was too dense to realize it.

Even then, with my twin being engaged to her, what could I do? I had to forget about her… which was easier said than done. Her smile was enough to send my heart racing.

“The wind feels so good, too!”

Just there, easily within my grasp, I could see them: her carefree smile, her eyes glowing with happiness. But I couldn’t move my arm… I couldn’t bring myself to close that last tiny distance keeping us apart.

I was resolved not to tell Katarina about how I felt about her, forcing all romantic feelings out of my mind so that one day in the not-so-distant future I could congratulate her on her marriage to my brother.

I knew painfully well that I couldn’t make her mine, but then… why? Why did I find myself hoping that this moment, shared between the two of us, could last forever?

But time is bound to pass and take with it my vain delusions. We couldn’t stay on this tree forever. What if someone saw us?

I reluctantly started climbing down, with the intention of helping Katarina’s descent once I was on the ground… But I had forgotten about how she was dressed today.

“Wait! Stop!” I shouted at her from below as she started moving towards a lower branch.

I hadn’t really thought about it when we were sitting together, but she was wearing a dress. And now, from this angle… I could see right up her skirt.

“I said stop! I can see up your skirt!” I shouted again, unsure if I should focus on decorum or helping Katarina — whose clothes made it hard to move — to the ground.

“Oh, don’t worry, I’m wearing trousers underneath,” she said, noticing my distress and lifting her skirt.

She was definitely wearing something underneath her skirt, but it barely counted as trousers! It was so short that I could clearly see most of her thighs! The view of her bare legs made my face turn red and my heart throb uncontrollably.

I somehow helped Katarina, whose descent was so practiced that she hardly needed any help anyway, down from the tree. Then, still blushing, I shouted at her. “You’re not a kid anymore! Learn some decency!”

Her reaction reminded me of a puppy who doesn’t understand why it’s being scolded, but still looks up at its master. I gave up and sighed.

My oblivious friend and I went back to the dormitory, and thus ended my afternoon of bliss.

The only thing that was left to me after those few hours was the image of her legs burnt into my eyes. A souvenir that would definitely keep me up at night…

Chapter 4: A Lady for Nicol

As the only son of Count Ascart, after graduating from the Academy of Magic, I, Nicol, had to prepare to succeed my father while helping him with his work. He had taught me most of the important things, and my education as future count was proceeding perfectly… except for one thing.

Despite having reached my 18th birthday, I still had no fiancée. This was a problem because I required a wife in order to become the new head of the Ascart family. Most nobles enter their engagements around the time of their social debut, and it was rare for them to wait this long.

It was not that I had trouble finding candidates; there were a considerable number of ladies who would fancy becoming my wife. But the source of the problem was none other than my indecisive self.

My hesitation was rooted in my unrequited feelings for Katarina, friend of my younger sister and fiancée of my childhood friend Prince Jeord.

I first met her when accompanying my sister Sophia to the Claes manor, where I fell in love with her beautiful eyes and innocent smile. The more time I spent around her, the stronger my feelings became. But I could not make any advances towards her, because she was still the fiancée of my own friend — who actually loved her passionately.

My dear sister had realized how I felt towards Katarina, and, as expected of her, suggested that I make a move. I did not know whether to label Sophia as courageous or reckless. I tried to explain to her why I could do no such thing, but she would rebut my logic on the basis that “stealing love interests is the next big thing.” She would then corroborate her theory by recommending a series of books to me, whose titles, always including words such as “stolen love,” “betrayal,” and “romantic schemes,” caused me some concern.

That is why I was still unengaged, bound by a love that I must keep secret.

My parents as well, be it because they had noticed my feelings or because of their leisurely personalities, had not felt the need to pressure me into any matchmaking meeting, as would be the standard for a nobleman of my age.

However, after my social debut and my graduation from the academy, as more and more people began questioning me about my fiancée whenever I was out with Father, he and Mother began feeling anxious over the situation. Among the nobles I had met during official Ascart affairs, some, despite being no older than I, already had a family and even children of their own.

I realized that I could not eternally wallow in my forbidden love and started taking the matter of engagement seriously. I asked Father to make arrangements: I wanted to meet any lady who was suitable to marry into a count’s family and who would agree to becoming my wife.

“…Are you sure about this?” asked Father with a vexed expression.

I took this as evidence that my parents did know about my love for Katarina after all. But I had made up my mind.

“Yes. I am sure,” I replied with determination.

A few days after I had talked about it with Father, the first few meetings with ladies had already been decided.

“You’re so popular that picking out a candidate was the hardest part!”

He said that half-jokingly, but I was relieved in finding that there were still any candidates at all. He found some potential fiancées and arranged the time and date for when we should meet — to my utmost gratitude.

I finally met the first one. A cute, collected girl, who greeted me… and then froze, red-faced.

What am I supposed to do now?

This was not even the first time that something like this had happened. Every once in a while, I would meet someone who would react in that way upon seeing my face. Normally I would borrow the help of one of my friends better versed in conversation than I… but today, I was alone.

I must do something. Why am I such a terribly poor speaker?

I have no issue talking about work or reciting lines in official settings, but chatting in private, and with a girl no less, was completely different and much more difficult. The both of us were standing in silence in front of each other, unable to say anything.

Perhaps I should have had some other acquaintance accompany me today… The servants are still in the room, in a faraway corner where they cannot hear us… but they would never enter our conversation.

My friends, knowing how bad I am at casual chatting, usually took the lead and provided the topics so that we wouldn’t fall into silence. Katarina, especially, had the widest array of subject matters. She could turn any trivial matter into something interesting, and just looking at her speaking passionately was enough to make me happy.

If only she were here… I thought for a moment before reprimanding myself. The whole point of these meetings was to forget Katarina and move forward. What was I doing, still thinking of her?

I mustered all of my determination and stared the girl in front of me in the eyes. She blushed even redder and even started trembling ever so slightly. Was she not feeling well? More than once, when she was still a child, Sophia had looked like that because of a fever.

I started worrying about the girl and stood up from my seat to walk closer to her. “Are you alright?”

She nodded in silence, but her face had gone from rosy to pure scarlet. It looked like a fever, and a rather bad one at that. I raised my hand and placed it on her forehead. It wasn’t as hot as I had expected, but warm nonetheless.

I realized what I had just done, and— Curses! I was so worried about her that I neglected my manners. I measured her fever as I would have done to my sister, but touching a lady without permission is inadmissible for a man.

I apologized at once. “I am very sorry. I should n…”

She interrupted my sentence, not by speaking herself but by loudly falling backwards, bringing her chair with her. This surprised me, but I still somehow managed to catch her in my arms before she reached the ground.

“A-Are you alright?”

Convinced that the girl was not feeling well, I tried to get a better look at her face while still holding onto her.

“…yeee…”

Her weird moan was quickly followed by her losing consciousness and starting to bleed from her nose.

Did the fever get that much worse? I must bring her to the doctor!

I brought the girl into another room so that she could be examined by the doctor, who, luckily, did not find anything wrong with her.

However, when she regained her senses, the girl went back to her home with the speed of someone running away from danger. Before I could make any decision, she had already refused me. Apparently the reason was: “I can’t meet with him again, it’s too embarrassing.”

And so ended my first matchmaking meeting, in which I learned just how difficult finding a fiancée could be.

My first matchmaking meeting was less than a success, but I decided that I would do my best in one of the others that Father had already scheduled for me.

The next lady I would meet was a meek, calm-looking girl. She managed an elegant, well-rehearsed greeting without showing signs of blushing or freezing up like the one before her had. She also took the lead in conversation, so that we wouldn’t have to endure any awkward silence.

We talked about the ball she had attended a few days ago, about tea parties, and more — or rather, she talked while I nodded and gave an occasional remark, as that was what my speaking skills amounted to, but I felt like the meeting was going well nonetheless.

She was an almost stereotypical noble lady. She had well-groomed hair, fair skin, and the unblemished hands of someone who had never worked a day in her life.

Nothing like Katarina, whose skin had been made quite a few shades darker by working in the fields, and whose hair was often carelessly shoved into a bandana. Handling the hoe had also made her palms tougher than those of the average lady.

And yet, she was so endearing…

No! Stop thinking of her! Concentrate on the girl who’s right in front of you!

“And the couple dancing at the ball was so wonderful!” said the girl right in front of me, whose enthusiasm I only half-heartedly returned with, “I see… wonderful…”

A normal lady, during a ball, turned her attention to things like these. Katarina, on the other hand, only had eyes for the buffet and its meats, salads, and desserts. She would describe the dishes with so much passion that one couldn’t help wanting to try them out.

…I’m thinking of Katarina again! To no fault of the potential fiancée in front of me, I found myself comparing her to Katarina again and again.

My second trial date was over, and, while it had gone better than the first, my inability to focus on the lady in front of me left me feeling guilty. Despite not receiving an outright refusal of any further meeting, I did not feel particularly motivated to initiate one myself.

Two more ladies came after the first two… but with similar results. I couldn’t focus on them as much as I dwelled on the differences they had with Katarina, who monopolized all my thoughts and interest.

While I was torn between the anxiety of having to find a spouse and the dread of withstanding another unfruitful encounter, something happened. Katarina’s brother, Keith, went missing.

Always one to leap before she looked, she set off to find him, accompanied by Jeord. My determination to leave that love behind me faltered as I found that the thought of Katarina traveling with her fiancé — not just the two of them, but still! — made me uncomfortable. I was likewise relieved when, coming back successfully from their quest, the two seemed not to be any closer than they had been before departing.

At this rate, will I ever be able to marry?

Dubious as ever, I walked into the fifth and last matchmaking meeting that Father had arranged.

When I entered the room, she was already sitting there, waiting for me.

This surprised me, not only because this had never been the case in the previous four meetings, but also because, as I had heard, men were expected to be the ones waiting for the other party to show up in meetings like these.

But the differences did not end there. The girl who stood up to greet me once I entered the room gave off a strong, resilient impression — a stark contrast with the timid, subdued aura of the ladies I had met so far. If I had to compare her to one of my female acquaintances, I would say that she resembled Mary Hunt.

Right after we exchanged the expected greetings, she followed with a startling line. “Do not worry, Master Ascart. I have no intention of marrying anyone. I only came here because my father insisted I do.”

I was baffled by what she said and by the way she said it, wearing the lukewarm smile of someone commenting about the weather. As I froze in shock, she relaxed by sipping on the tea that had been prepared for us on the table.

“You said not to worry… I understand that you are not serious about this meeting, but… why would that keep me from worrying?” I finally asked her after the shock subsided.

“But of course, because you too have no intention of marrying, it would seem.”

“…Why?” I questioned her abruptly, puzzled by her matter-of-fact words. Did I look uninterested? That couldn’t be. After all, I had personally asked for the meetings to be arranged so that I could find a fiancée.

“I have heard from those you met before me. They all said that you did not look excited about the meetings themselves, and that, when they were over, you never asked for a second one.”

“…”

I had no idea I had given them that impression… but it makes sense. After all, I spent more time thinking of Katarina than of the girls sitting in front of me.

“Was that not on purpose?” she asked, in response to my apparent confusion.

“…Indeed not. I attended the meetings willingly and eagerly, or at least I told myself as much.”

“Women are much more perceptive than you may give them credit for. They would have no trouble telling whether or not you were truly interested.”

I see. Women are perceptive enough to see that I still have mixed feelings about this. But if so…

“Will I ever be able to marry at this rate?”

The words burst out of my mouth. I would normally never have let my tongue slip like that in front of someone I had just met… I must have been tired.

As I fell into an awkward silence, she looked at me with a newfound light in her eyes, which suggested a keen interest that had not been there until now.

“What do you mean by that?” she asked.

And so I, persuaded by her look of curiosity, ended up explaining my romantic troubles to someone I had just met. I did not tell her the name of my heroine, but I told her of how I had loved her for years despite her engagement to another man, and of how I am trying to move on and marry someone else, as is expected of me.

Admitting to something like this during a matchmaking meeting would normally be unthinkable, but I had been lamenting it alone, unable to disclose my secret romantic feelings to any of my friends. Maybe I had always waited for someone whom I could tell my story to.

While I spoke, she looked at me with a serious, thoughtful expression until I finished. Then she asked me, “Why would you have to give up?”

Her candid expression and unexpected question made me freeze in place once again, but she did not stop there.

“She is only engaged to another man… What of it? Or do they actually love each other?”

Only…? This girl is truly something.

“…Well, her fiancé does love her passionately.”

“But what about her? Does she love him?”

“…I do not think she does, at least for now.”

“I see, so your rival’s love is unrequited. If so, then where is the problem? Just go and take her from him!”

“…”

It’s like hearing my sister talk… Maybe they read the same kind of novels.

“Her fiancé is also a friend of mine, which makes the idea of taking her from him downright abnormal,” I said, dejected, as I had to Sophia many times before.

“Stealing love interests is the next big thing!” she would then invariably reply, enthusiastically detailing her crooked ideas based on fiction. All those uncomely romance tales had tainted her poor soul…

But that is not what the girl in front of me did. Instead, she started giggling.

“Abnormal? What would you know about being normal? With that face and that seductive demeanor winning you fans left and right, women and men alike… You are just as they say.”

Seductive demeanor… Both my sister and my friends often used those words when describing me. They said that I was able to bewitch the people around me to an incredible extent. “Ridiculously seductive,” as Sophia put it.

At first I did not believe them. I was convinced that being pursued by complete strangers or even being nearly kidnapped, as had happened to me time and again since I was a child, was the norm.

As I later found out, this was actually abnormal. I had come to terms with that fact… but the girl’s “as they say” had made me curious.

“Have you heard about me from someone?”

“Indeed,” she replied. “The others in the student council often talk about you, Sophia above all…”

“You are in the student council at the Academy of Magic?!” My loud voice betrayed my surprise at her answer.

“Yes. I am positive that when we exchanged written introductions before our meeting, mine said as much. As expected, you barely read it at all, did you?”

“…”

I had actually read the whole thing, or at least tried to — the worse I felt about this whole engagement charade, the less anything I read would make it into my head. As my reading of the introductions had been less than thorough… I could not blame her for believing that I didn’t care about finding a fiancée.

But, if she is a member of the student council… then she must also know Jeord and Katarina. I shouldn’t have told her the truth… I considered asking her to keep our conversation secret, but I then realized that this would only make her more suspicious.

While I was busy worrying, she kept on talking leisurely. “After hearing so much about you, I wanted to meet you in person. But Sophia never mentioned that you were looking to be engaged… Did you keep it a secret from her?”

“…Yes.”

I did. Had I not, she would have opposed the idea and everything would have become even more troublesome.

“Of course… If she knew it, she would have probably done all in her power to stop you.”

Indeed. But how did she know this? “How?”

“Because there is someone that Sophia hopes will become your wife.”

My very short question had been enough to prompt the correct answer, but… to think that Sophia was speaking about things like these to other people… I’d hoped that, at least, she had the decency not to disclose the name of that someone.

“She is always singing your praises to Katarina Claes!” said the girl with a smile, at which point I felt like passing out onto the table in front of me.

Sophia… do you have any idea of the impact of what you have divulged? And at the academy! Where anyone could hear!

Despairing, I was still thinking of how to scold my foolish sister next time I met her when the girl in front of me offered a word in her favor.

“Sophia admires Katarina so much that she would love to see her married to Nicol,” she said, as if to excuse Sophia’s advertisement of her single brother as something cute.She was trying to make it sound less embarrassing for me, but hearing a younger girl having to choose her words so as not to hurt me only embarrassed me even further.

If we keep talking about this, she’s going to figure out that my love interest is Katarina herself… I have to switch topics.

“Earlier you said that you have no interest in finding a fiancé. Why is that?” I said, trying to divert her attention in a rather heavy-handed way. After all, I had been talking for so long that I hadn’t heard much about her.

And first of all, why didn’t she have a fiancé to begin with? She was from a high-ranking family, had magical aptitude, was talented enough to be in the student council. And to top it all off, she was a good-looking girl. She surely must have received a few marriage proposals already… Is she also in love with someone already engaged? I thought, but the truth was different.

“I do not want to depend on anyone,” she said proudly.

I was surprised, and I didn’t understand what that had to do with anything.

“…And that means that you will not marry?”

“Of course! If I married, I would become some noble’s wife, and nothing more.”

My suspicions were now confirmed. This girl was a bit… unique.

“…And would that be a bad thing? Being a noble’s wife?”

“Being a noble’s wife and dedicating oneself to one’s family and household are very respectable things in themselves. But that would be a life spent in one’s home. I want to go out to work!” she said fiercely.

“…Go out to work… like a man?”

“Yes! I have little interest in caring for a household from home. I want to work like a man!”

In recent years, the relative wealth of our country had given women the opportunity to work just as men would. The Magical Ministry, one of the most important organizations in the country, was even actively recruiting women and giving them positions of responsibility. Nevertheless, to nobles, who were extremely conservative in their ways, women were supposed to stay home with their children.

Most aristocratic ladies had but two choices: marry into a man’s house, or have a man marry into theirs. This was certainly the case for this young lady, as a girl of so high of a rank working outside her home was almost unheard of.

“But my parents oppose this choice… They are pressuring me to marry as soon as possible, and I know how unrealistic my dream is.”

“If you know, then why…?” Society would not look kindly on her for choosing to work like a man.

“There is someone I look up to. She worked hard and now holds an important role in the Ministry. I want to become like her.”

A hard-working woman with an important role in the Ministry? I was friends with someone like that, but this person was always tired and complaining about her work… It must be someone else.

I removed the thought before the girl in front of me could catch on, and she kept on passionately talking about her idol. “She is not from a particularly high-ranking family, and I had worried that since I am, I could not join the Ministry. But recently I heard that Katarina Claes is going to set a precedent, which gives me hope.”

Despite my efforts to change the topic, Katarina’s name had come up again… Indeed, it had just been decided that, after graduating from the academy, she would start working in the Ministry.

However, she had a familiar of darkness at her bidding, and a certain superior of my friend had probably insisted that she be hired. Most likely, Katarina’s stay at the Ministry was planned to only last until her marriage with Jeord. I had never heard of a married noble woman holding a job.

“That is true, but I think that there are special motivations behind her being hired, and that it will only be for a limited period of time.” I wanted to tell her of these facts so that she would not have unrealistic expectations, which would then hurt her once betrayed.

“I know, but I will not give up. I will do everything I can to succeed,” she said unfaltering, her eyes flaming with determination. Her expression proved to me how serious she was.

And at the same time, I felt envious of the courage to follow one’s ambitions despite what society might think. My ambition, my love — I was trying to sacrifice them for the sake of my household, struggling to find a lady to become engaged to.

The gaze of that brave girl was blinding in its fierceness, but her lips then curled into an allusive smile. “I think that you, too, should not give up. Go to the girl you love and speak your feelings to her. If you do not, how will you ever know whether your love is requited?”

Far from having forgotten the initial point of our discussion, she had now completely returned to it, and, if her grin were to be believed, she had been planning to do so all along.

“Neither Keith nor Mary are going to give up anytime soon, so why should you?” she went on, showing that she knew not only about my love, but also about that of her friends, who both happened to be in love with the same Katarina Claes. Her real calculating personality had shown through the facade of delusional ambition.

“But I am an adult now, and I shoulder the responsibility of succeeding my father as count,” I said with a sigh. She already knew everything. There was no point in hiding the truth anymore.

“There are many adults who are not engaged, and I do not see why you should have to be forced to for the sake of your family’s title,” she responded dryly. This girl was not a bit unique. She was very unique.

“I know that there are some who are still not engaged despite being of age, but marrying to preserve one’s title is the norm for nobles.”

“…Such an antiquated way of thinking.”

As her words hit me once again, I realized that girl showed absolutely no restraint in choosing them.

“And… a lot of people who are forced into finding a partner will ultimately be unhappy with their marriages,” she continued.

“Forced into an unhappy marriage…”

Her grave expression reminded me of the incident that had taken place almost one year before, involving a friend of mine, who was a hard-working member of the student council.

The person of the center of it all was the wife of a marquess who had been cast away by her husband, and who lost her mind and eventually began meddling with Dark Magic. I did not personally know anyone in an unhappy marriage, but in our aristocratic society, where couples were routinely put together for strictly political reasons as had happened with the marquess, stories like that were common.

“And that is why I say that you should not marry against your will. Think also of the poor wife whose husband loves someone else.”

This point of hers was the one that most resonated with me. I had only considered my feelings, not those of the girl who would become my wife. Of course I intended to love and respect her, but… would I really be able to do it? My lack of interest in them was apparent to the girls after we had met only one single time…

“…You are right. I have been only thinking of me and my feelings, completely ignoring the other party. I would not have realized it without your help. Thank you,” I told her, bowing my head in gratitude.

“As long as you have realized it, there is no problem. And you did not only think about yourself. You also had your family in mind, after all,” she said somewhat awkwardly.

My family? Of course… My parents brought me up with love and kindness, and I deeply respect them. If I wanted to marry and succeed Father as count as fast as possible, it was also for their sake. But…

“That, too, is fundamentally for my own sake. It was I who wanted to make them feel happy and relieved,” I said to the girl, who started giggling again.

“You really are as diligent as they say! But does your family really want you to meet lady after lady in a rush to marry?”

“…Well…” I don’t know. When I first told Father about my intentions, he had indeed seemed vexed.

“Your priority should be confirming that with them, should it not?” she said with a smile, bringing an end to that discussion.

We then kept talking a while longer about the academy and other harmless topics before parting ways, because, as she said, “meetings too long or too short both cause their own problems.” She was obviously much more used to matchmaking dates than I was.

I raised a hand to call on the servants, who were far away from us. But before they could reach us, she spoke again.

“You are keeping your love a secret from everyone, are you not? If you ever feel the need to talk about it, I will be most glad.” Her smile had a hint of malice, like a child whose prank was successful.

“…”

I stumbled in finding a response, and, having put her mask of noble innocence back on, she said her farewells with the elegance of a proper lady.

Thus ended my meeting with this very unique girl.

My peculiar encounter with that girl had made me reflect on many things, so as soon as it was over, I spoke to my father.

“I’m sorry for doing this despite having asked for it in the first place, but I would like to take a break from the matchmaking meetings for a while.”

He looked relieved, and said “Of course! You’re still young, and there’s no rush. I’m sure that one day you’ll meet the right person.”

His reaction was so unlike him that I had to make sure.

“Will that really be alright? Shouldn’t I look for a wife to succeed you as count as soon as possible?”

“Is that what worried you? There’s no need to sacrifice yourself that much for something so petty in this day and age. If you don’t care for the title, we can always adopt someone from our relatives to inherit it,” he replied with a heartfelt laugh. Then he concluded, “Nicol, you really are every bit as diligent as your mother!”

After how much I had worried about having this conversation, the actual turn of events proved disappointingly anticlimactic. That girl was right. What my family really wanted was different than what I thought.

I really respected my father, an individual talented enough to be chosen as the king’s counselor… but the laid-back view he shared with me today showed that he actually had a far laxer personality than I thought.

I had always wondered who Sophia had gotten her act-first-think-later mentality from, but perhaps I had finally found the culprit…

I was going to my room after having spoken with Father, but Sophia stood menacingly in the hallway, blocking my path.

“I heard that you were meeting potential fiancées! Why wouldn’t you tell me?!” she said, visibly angered. She had heard about my matchmaking meetings from somewhere.

Was it the girl from today? But we only just parted ways. That would be surprising.

I asked her how she found out, and she told me that, worried about my recent unusual behavior, she had gone to Father for an explanation. Knowing how soft he was with her, that fact that he immediately told her the truth came as no surprise.

“Well…?” she said resolutely, as if threatening to block the hallway until I gave her all the details, which I promptly did.

I told her how I had felt the pressure of having to find a wife in order to succeed Father as count, especially because I had received several remarks about my lack of a fiancée since I had started working.

Sophia listened carefully until I was done talking, before commenting in the same way as Father had: “You really are diligent, huh!”

They resemble each other so much…

“Father told me the same thing. And also, that I could just wait for the right person. You wouldn’t expect a count to say something like that…” I said.

For some reason, my sister seemed surprised. “What? You expected Father, of all people, to tell you to marry for the family’s sake?”

“What do you mean?”

“How could he say something like that, when he himself fell in love at first sight with an already engaged girl and then took her from her fiancé?”

This was the most surprising thing I had heard today, if not one of the most surprising things I had heard in my entire life. So much so that I couldn’t utter a response.

“You… You didn’t know?”

She had said it so innocently that I became dizzy from the shock.

“Wait, is that true? Did Father really take Mother from…?” Saying it myself made me feel even worse.

Father… taking her from her fiancé…

The two of them had always been so close with each other that I had been embarrassed to watch them as a child. But I would have never thought that their past could be made into one of Sophia’s romance-triangle novels.

“Yes. Mother was engaged to another man, but Father fell in love with her and went to Grandfather to ask for her hand. Grandfather refused and told him ‘I’ll let you marry my daughter the day that you become counselor to the King!’ Of course he was only taunting him, but Father actually went and became counselor. So Grandfather admitted that he was worthy of Mother.”

I did know that he rose through the ranks incredibly quickly, but I had never suspected that Father had become counselor so that he could marry Mother. Then again — I’m feeling even dizzier — of all possible reasons, actually… wait, more importantly…

“…Is that common knowledge? Why have I just heard this story for the first time?” I had spent eighteen years in this household and not once had I heard of my parents’ romantic history.

“Naturally, Father took all the precautions he could so that the story wouldn’t get out to the public. After all, stealing a girl from her fiancé is not something you want to advertise. But if you ask Mother, she’ll be more than happy to bore you with the details… although I’m sure that she has removed anything even remotely negative about Father from her memory…”

If Father had taken precautions, that story would surely never be heard outside of this house. But what about Mother? My calm, reserved mother, passionately recounting her past with Father? I let out a long sigh.

Hearing for the first time the outlandish story of how my parents met each other had made my head hurt. Sophia, who had been furious moments ago, was now smiling at me.

“I thought that you knew everything, but I guess there are some things that even you don’t know!” she said, obviously pleased about being able to patronize me for once. “If there’s anything more you want to know, just ask me!” she added proudly, with an annoyingly satisfied expression.

I felt the respect I had always held for my father was in risk of waning ever so slightly.

After that, I stopped looking for a fiancée. And, for some reason, I felt that perhaps reading through one of those weird novels that Sophia always recommended to me, with words like “stolen love” in the title, wouldn’t be so bad of an idea.