Episode 149

I stared blankly at Joshua, who suddenly burst into tears.

Ever since he regained his health, he hardly cried anymore.

Compared to his older brother’s childhood, Joshua still had a lot of boyishness left, but I knew very well how hard he had tried to act mature between me and Edwin, who were quite precocious for our ages.

“Huuuuh…”

I looked at Joshua, who was crying sorrowfully with big teardrops falling, and felt a pang of sadness.

Then I gently pulled him into a hug.

He used to be about my size, our heights were almost the same.

But now, his body had grown taller and stronger, feeling unfamiliar against me.

‘When did he grow up so much?’

Even so, he would always be my closest friend, like a real younger brother.

The one I saved even by twisting the original story.

My first patient, and my precious starting point.

I hugged him tightly and patted his back.

“Don’t cry, Josh.”

“Huuu, huuuh, Siiisssss…”

“Life’s like that. Sometimes there are people who like you unconditionally, and sometimes there are people who, without any reason, act nasty out of a bad heart.”

I understood exactly why Joshua was so upset.

It wasn’t just because he was helplessly bullied by Danvers Campbell’s gang.

It was probably because he had genuinely cared for them at one point.

Because he was so happy and thrilled to have new friends for the first time.

He couldn’t have even imagined that the money and jewels he gave them little by little would lead to all this.

As someone who spent a past life being relentlessly bullied, I could completely empathize with Joshua’s loneliness and sadness.

When you’re always left alone, even the smallest gesture of kindness from a passerby feels unbearably sweet.

Just like me — who, in this life again, found myself drawn into the Duke who sponsored me, and Edwin, who comforted me when I cried over Diana so long ago.

“…Not everything will go the way we want. All we can do is give our best in the moment and be satisfied with that.”

“B-But…”

At my gentle voice, Joshua lifted his head, his shoulders trembling.

“I’m just a stupid idiot who couldn’t do anything…”

“Shh, where did you learn to talk like that?”

I frowned at his harsh language.

Then I pulled a yellow handkerchief out of my pocket.

It was the one Edwin had once handed me right after my regression to wipe my nosebleed — now worn out and fraying at the edges.

With it, I gently wiped Joshua’s tear-streaked, messy face.

“I learned it from you…”

I lightly ignored his small muttering and continued.

“From the eyes of a third party, you actually handled yourself pretty well for a high-ranking noble.”

“R-Really?”

“Yeah. It’d have looked ridiculous if a Duke’s son got stingy over a few coins.”

“……”

“And you cleverly used the fact that jewels and accessories bearing the Duke’s insignia can’t be easily resold.”

“Th-that’s…”

Joshua mumbled gloomily in response to my comforting words.

“Honestly, I didn’t really know what I was doing. It’s just… the accessories I gave to the maids would end up back in the jewelry box after a few days, so…”

I remembered little Josh from childhood, cluelessly handing out accessories everywhere.

‘This probably would’ve resolved itself even if I hadn’t stepped in…’

It was obvious who had orchestrated it.

After all, no one would know a child’s kind and gentle nature better than their own parents.

Smiling a little, I answered Josh.

“It’s fine as long as you know now. If something like this happens again, you’ll be able to handle it better.”

“…….”

Hearing that, Josh’s gloomy expression visibly brightened.

Still snuggled in my arms, he stared up at me with those round, sparkling eyes for a while.

Then, swallowing back a little sob, he suddenly asked,

“…Sis, hic.”

“…….”

“Sis, we’re the same age… so how do you know everything so well?”

“Huh?”

“How do you always… handle things so maturely? Sometimes, when I look at you, it’s amazing. You feel more like Edwin’s friend than a twelve-year-old.”

I was a little flustered by his unexpected words.

It really hit me then—Josh was old enough to start feeling that gap between us.

‘Well, of course… I’m not actually twelve.’

But since I couldn’t just tell him the truth, I gave him a sheepish smile and came up with a half-baked excuse.

“I guess… it’s because I’ve met a lot of people running the shop?”

Thankfully, Josh accepted it easily and moved on.

“Is running the salon fun?”

“Fun? It’s… just tiring in a lot of ways…”

“What are you two doing over there?”

It was right then.

Someone suddenly called out to us.

“Get away from each other. You shouldn’t be clinging together like that, even if you’re family.”

Not far from us stood a guy, leaning lazily to one side.

Wearing a sharp blue uniform, golden eyes gleaming brightly under the sun.

His skin looked a little tanner than before, his shoulders broader.

I rubbed my eyes, not believing what I was seeing.

“Ed-Edwin?!”

“B-big bro…?”

While Josh and I stared at him, still unsure, Edwin frowned and jerked his chin at us.

“What if someone sees you two acting like that…”

“Edwin―!”

Before his nagging could even finish, my body moved on its own.

Tap-tap-tap!

“Careful…! Ugh.”

Edwin, startled by my sudden dash, still caught me easily with practiced hands.

I buried my face deep in his firm chest, breathing in and out in big, silent gulps.

A warm, familiar scent, like sun-dried fabric, filled my nose.

‘Edwin’s scent.’

A rush of heat swelled up inside me.

It had been about three weeks since I’d last seen him because of the subjugation campaign.

Barely a couple of weeks apart, and yet, feeling this heartache and longing—guess I’m seriously hopeless.

At that moment—

Pat, pat.

As if he understood exactly how I felt, Edwin gently patted my back.

‘Maybe… you missed me too, even just a little?’

Feeling his tender hand comforting me, a small lump formed in my throat.

With each passing year, he was growing bigger, closer to becoming an adult.

And yet, sometimes, I still felt like I was stuck at five years old—the age when I first met him.

Like a silly kid, helplessly yearning in front of her first love.

My feelings only grew stronger with time…

‘But it’s okay.’

I tried to calm my racing heart as I thought.

‘This time, he came looking for me first, not Diana.’

Still resting my face against his chest, I finally managed to fix my expression and lift my head.

“When did you get here? You should’ve called. Is the subjugation finished now? Why did you come to the Academy first…?”

“One question at a time, one at a time.”

Seeing me bombard him without even a breath, Edwin muttered lowly as if telling me to calm down.

The strong arms still wrapped around my back made me finally realize—he was really back.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No.”

“Really? Truly?”

“Someone packed half my luggage with every medicine imaginable. I didn’t even get a chance to feel sick.”

Hearing his nonchalant answer, I blushed a little.

In my previous life, I found out much too late that the reason he hadn’t come home was because he had been out on subjugation missions.

Edwin had always hated anything bothersome, and without a proper mistress managing the duke’s house, there was no one to fuss over him.

Naturally, he was the type who wouldn’t bother to pack even basic first aid supplies.

I still remember the day he came back severely wounded in my past life.

The fact that he kept it hidden and had Grandpa Gordon heal him instead of telling me had left a scar on my heart.

So this time, determined to prevent that, I had made sure he was properly prepared…

“Are you moving house or something? With all that stuff, it looks less like a subjugation and more like a full-on march.”

I recalled his reaction when he saw the mountain of supplies Grandpa Gordon and I had packed after much discussion—and felt embarrassed all over again.

I hurriedly changed the subject.

“What about His Grace? Did you stop by the duchy first?”

“I just arrived.”

His blunt reply made me pout a little.

“Then you should’ve gone home first. You must be exhausted. You should rest…”

I scolded him out of worry, but he only narrowed his eyes and stared at me.

“I heard you’re attending the Academy now.”

“Huh? Oh, yeah.”

Come to think of it, I’d been so distracted by Josh’s incident that I hadn’t had a chance to tell him about it.

I averted my eyes awkwardly and mumbled,

“Uh, somehow, I ended up enrolling last week…”

“And here I am, rushing back without even sleeping properly.”

“Huh?”

“And what do I find? You’ve enrolled in some place crawling with guys, and then the moment I show up, you’re hugging some random boy.”

His golden eyes, shining like the sun, glared at me fiercely.