Episode 7

Basha dressed me with great care, then brought a mirror.

An unfamiliar me stared back. Of course, the Delany barony had always done their best to dress me up too. I mostly went along with whatever they chose back then.

But today was the first time I’d chosen the whole look myself. Maybe that’s why I felt so strange. Not in a bad way—just… different.

As I stood before the mirror, staring, I felt prickling gazes on me.

“You look breathtaking, my lady.”

“Truly—how can anyone be this lovely?”

“Even a soft lilac dress that might seem plain on others looks utterly enchanting on you.”

I must have looked flustered, because Basha shot them a warning glance.

When the room quieted, Basha finally asked me,

“Do you like it, my lady?”

“Am I the one who has to like it? Ah—no, I mean, I do like it.”

My true thoughts slipped out and I fumbled to cover them.

“I’m glad you do. I’ll go check whether lunch is ready.”

If she sensed anything odd, Basha didn’t say so.

Did she really not notice? Well, it doesn’t matter.

She left with the maids, and once they were gone I stepped before the mirror again.

Unlike before my return, I was… shining.

I had never once thought something like this would suit me.

So this is what I look like when I’m dressed up…

I lifted my skirt and twirled once. From behind me came the sound of someone clapping.

“Rov, this is awful—you’re far too pretty.”

It was Johan, the man I’d met at dawn. Wearing the imperial knight uniform, he stood before me. The window was open; he must have come in that way.

“Good morning. Did you sleep well?”

At my greeting, his eyes went round.

“Be casual with me. I’m your brother.”

I nodded. It seemed the right thing to do. He circled me, speaking in awed tones.

“Whose sister could be this beautiful? This is bad. I’m terrified someone will snatch you away.”

His gaze suddenly hardened; his face twisted into something fierce.

“Anyone who lays a finger on my sister—I’ll kill them.”

Johan blurted it like a madman, making a vow.

“Th-that won’t—”

Thankfully, before I had to finish, Basha came in.

“Lunch is ready. Ah, young master—you’re here too.”

“Rov. Let’s go eat. Come to think of it, this is our first meal together.”

Johan grabbed my hand like he had urgent business and hurried me along. I half ran to keep up with him.

He was quite tall; one of his strides took me two or three. My breath soon grew short.

Noticing my panting, Basha stopped him.

“Young master, the lady needs to walk slowly.”

Only then did Johan look back. Seeing my state, he scratched his head, contrite.

“Sorry—I messed up. I’m really sorry.”

“It’s fine. Truly.”

He kept apologizing.

“Our family tends to be healthier than most. Well, Father isn’t in the best of health right now… but he wasn’t always like this.”

Still watching my expression, he went on.

“I’ve never had a little sister before. I’ll be clumsy. But I’ll try hard. So—don’t hate me.”

“I don’t hate you.”

He broke into a foolishly happy grin.

“Hehe. My sister really is kind and pretty.”

We started walking again, and this time Johan matched his pace to mine, watching my steps.

When we entered the dining hall together, Grand Duke Calix was already seated at the head of the table. Seeing us, he burst into hearty laughter.

“Already grown close to your sister, have you? Johan, be good to her.”

Johan grumbled at the grand duke’s booming cheer.

“Grandfather, that goes without saying.”

“You rascal—must you always talk back? And you, my granddaughter—did you sleep well?”

Embarrassment surged. I had meant to rise early, but overslept. If he scolded me for poor upbringing, I’d have no defense.

“I—I’m sorry. I’ll get up early from now on.”

My voice shrank, my head bowed. Every gaze in the hall landed on me. The air sank heavy, and suddenly I began to tremble.

I’ve made a big mistake on the very first day. What do I do?

I dropped to my knees and prostrated myself on the floor.

“I—I’m sorry. I’ll never—”

“My dear child! Who told you that you had to wake early?”

“Rov—what are you doing?”

Someone lifted me from the floor: the Grand Duke. Johan wore a worried look.

At the sight of Calix’s face, a memory from before my return roared in my ears—my maternal grandfather’s furious bellow.

“An heir to the sacred relic sleeps in? You don’t deserve to eat. Lock her in the storeroom. Not a drop of water until she repents.”

Back then, it took three days of begging before I was finally released.

After that, I never overslept again. If I thought I might, I simply stayed awake all night.

While I was lost in the past, the Grand Duke pulled me into a tight embrace.

“My poor child. I shouldn’t have asked. Was oversleeping so painful to you? How tender your heart is.”

Johan thrust out his chest and declared,

“So what if you oversleep, Rov? I sleep in every day.”

Calix scolded him for fussing.

“Do be still.”

I came back to myself and wiped the tears I hadn’t even realized were falling. Worried sighs sounded from all around.

“I’m sorry.”

“Are you calmer now, little one?”

I nodded, even answering aloud.

“Yes.”

Still holding me, the Grand Duke sat back down at the head of the table. I tried to slip away from his lap.

“I suppose I’ll have to feed you myself to feel at ease. With arms this slender, can you even manage to eat properly? I can’t help but worry.”

Basha stepped forward, saying she would do it, but the Grand Duke refused firmly.

Sitting on his knee, I took spoonfuls of soup as he fed me.

Even when I was full, I couldn’t bring myself to refuse; only after I’d eaten everything he offered was I allowed to leave the hall.

I had never eaten that much in my life; I was used to tiny portions.

Naturally, I ended up terribly sick. When I began vomiting, the entire Calix household flew into a panic.

I heard that even my father, Grand Prince Raymond, scolded his own father, the Grand Duke.

Perhaps because of that, when I recovered and returned to dine in the hall, no one ever urged me to eat more again.

They merely watched me with sparkling eyes as I ate—which was, frankly, its own kind of pressure.

Several days passed. On the day of the first snowfall, the Calix estate was, rather wondrously, free of chill thanks to a warming spell.

Maintaining magic like that must consume a great deal of mana stones; to me, it was astonishing.

Thanks to it, despite winter, the air felt cozy. I hadn’t caught a single cold.

Before my return, my hands and feet were always freezing in winter; the cold was agony.

And because he claimed warmth dulled the mind, my maternal grandfather deliberately kept the house cold.

Every winter, I fell ill; those memories bubbled up.

My first winter at the Calix estate was, in its own way, satisfying.

At an hour I never would have dared before, I rose, opened my window, and looked outside.

I reached a hand to catch the falling snow when Johan’s voice called out,

“Rov, what if you catch a cold?”

“Good morning.”

In that moment, I learned how he’d been coming and going through my window—his room was right next to mine.

True to form, Johan clambered over the sill into my room and shut the window. Then he tucked me back under the blankets.

“This is overprotective.”

“Nonsense—it’s a brother’s love for his sister.”

To be continued.