Lucio, holding Diana, turned first and went down the stairs, so we quietly followed him. I thought it was quite noisy before he appeared. Surprisingly, everyone became incredibly quiet, as if they had promised. But Allen, as if he couldn’t bear the silence, sneaked up and said.
“Lia, get better quickly.”
“Yes?”
“Then I’ll let you have the chocolate fountain again. You like that.”
Even though he was very arrogant, I couldn’t help but laugh at the way he seemed to be checking my reaction to see if I liked him. I didn’t have a younger brother, but Allen was so cute that I wondered if it would be like this if I had one.
“That’s right, I like it. As expected, the little master is the best.”
As expected, Allen seemed to be satisfied with what I said, and the corner of her mouth twitched. Unlike the Master, who didn’t even flinch an eyebrow when I gave him a compliment, his reaction was so honest that I felt like I was doing the same.
‘Besides, the chocolate fountain is really the best, so that’s not a lie.’
As I felt better and started laughing, Allen suddenly closed his eyes and made a blank expression. When I turned my head in embarrassment, Jack also had a strange expression on his face.
‘Did I do something strange?’
I blinked in confusion.
* * *
In a subtle atmosphere, they arrived at Lia’s newly decorated room.
“Wow.”
Lia was surprised by the room, which was larger and more comfortable than her previous guest room at her residence.
“Now, be careful.”
As soon as Teiz set Leah down on her soft bed, Lis exclaimed, “Aww!” she shouted. She had a pink dress and Bianca’s letter lying on a large, soft bed that looked like she could roll around with Diana. The dress, which I thought had been ruined from last night’s incident, was clean, and the letter, which had been crumpled, was in good condition. Lia, holding the dress and letter in her arms, realized that the Duke and Duchess had done it for me, and she was thrilled. Seeing Lia’s eyes become cloudy, Allen frowned at her. As a cool breeze blew through the wide open window, the scent of the fresh flowers that decorated her room filled the room, making Allen’s mood even more unpleasant.
“Haha. Do you think that if you come and do something like this, who will notice?”
Allen said dissatisfiedly as he lifted the vase filled with flowers from the garden, which were in full bloom after the rain last night. Only then did Lia discover the flowers that beautifully decorated her room. At the same time, the presence of her maids, who had been glancing at Lia with nervous eyes since they arrived in her room. Was he expressing his regret for the past by decorating his room like this? Lia had been ignored and looked at harshly all her life, and when she faced these complicated feelings of guilt and favor, she felt a little awkward.
“Are you okay too? Should I throw this away?”
“No!”
At that time, Allen held up a vase and asked, and Lia quickly shook her head.
“I like it.”
The bodies of the workers who had been tense at Lia’s answer relaxed. And Allen became even more upset.
‘Isn’t he even angry? Why do you look so stupid?’
But she said she was fine and had nothing more to say, so Allen shut his mouth in dissatisfaction and she put down the vase.
“Put it down!”
At that time, Diana got down from Lucio’s arms and started running around as if looking around her room. He seemed happy that Lia was staying in the room next to mine. Lia, who was looking at this with pleasure, turned her gaze to Lucio.
“Master, please give me the book.”
The sight of him holding a book was on her mind the whole time, so she quickly held out her hands.
“…!”
And then I flinched and trembled without realizing it. The sound of intake of breath could also be heard nearby.
“Tsk. At best, I just put it on a little bit.”
Lucio, who had taken a step closer as if to hand her the book, grabbed Lia’s wrist and muttered.
“It looks like it might break at any moment.”
Even though he was a child, Lucio frowned as he looked at the slender wrists that could be held with one hand and still had room for a long time. In his eyes, Lia’s wrists looked weaker than bare tree branches in winter.
“…”
Lia was taken aback as she watched Lucio repeatedly gently grasping and releasing the wrist as if it were his own. He didn’t know how to react, so he couldn’t take his hand away and just rolled his eyes. Allen, who looked as if he had seen a ghost, Taise, who had a dumbfounded look on her face, and Jack and Diana, who had their eyes wide open, were watching this scene. Lia’s face lit up in an instant. She looked at Lucio again in confusion, but he seemed not to notice the attention of those around him.
‘Does this person have no shame?’
I knew he had an indifferent personality, but I never thought he would care so much about others.
‘Of course, it’s obvious that you’re just pitying the poor child!’
Still, Lia couldn’t overcome her embarrassment and quickly pulled her wrist away from him. Fortunately, I didn’t hold it too hard at all, as if it seemed like it would break if I applied too much force, so I was able to escape Lucio’s grasp. However, Lucio narrowed his eyebrows as if he was displeased with that. And he stared at Leah in silence. As time passed, the gaze became more intense, and the atmosphere in the room, which had been filled with silence, gradually became strange. Lia, unable to bear it any longer, wiggled her fingers and quietly asked.
“Master, why do you look at me like that?”
“…”
Lucio was silent. Even so, I couldn’t say it out loud because I felt sorry for his pale complexion after being sick all night.
“This is the key to the main library.”
After a moment of silence, Lucio, who had put the book down on the nightstand next to the bed, took a key out of her pocket and handed it to Lia.
“I’ll be heading back to the Academy soon, so you can keep it while I’m gone.”
“Ah…”
“Open and come in whenever you want and make yourself comfortable.”
“…”
Lucio narrowed his eyes as he looked at Lia, who had a blank expression and no answer. I thought she would definitely like it. The reaction was different from what I expected.
‘Is that why you’re worried?’
Laughing uncontrollably or chattering excitedly is always in front of other people. I always see this stiff, tense look.
“If you don’t need it…”
“No, no!”
Lia shouted urgently as she made a gesture that seemed to remove her keys again. And she quickly took the key from Lucio’s hand and looked up at him, holding it tightly in both hands, in case it was taken away. The sight looked like a squirrel holding an acorn, and Lucio laughed inadvertently.
“Omg.”
Allen, who had always looked possessed by a ghost, rubbed his eyes and brought his face closer to Lucio.
“Bro, are you crazy?”
When Lucio frowned at her not-so-classy words, Allen quickly swallowed his saliva and corrected her.
“No, I was in pain somewhere.”
“I’m fine.”
“But why… Isn’t there really a problem? Was the academy exam that hard? It may not be easy to always be the top student, but you still have to think about your health.”
“Allen.”
As if to stop Allen, who was constantly muttering, Lucio called his name. However, Allen raised his voice in protest.
“That’s because my brother is acting strange all of a sudden! Don’t you think so too?”
Allen urgently asked Teiz, who knew Lucio’s usual appearance, as if seeking consent. When the topic was suddenly brought up to me, Teiz, who was already sweating profusely, blinked in embarrassment. When Lucio’s cold gaze fell on him, as if asking him to answer, Teiz cleared his throat and quickly turned his head. And that was when the eyes of Jack and Lucio, who were watching the scene from the side, met.
“I guess you like your sister too!”
Diana exclaimed and fell into Lia’s arms. Lia’s shoulder bounced and bounced, but Lucio just patted Diana’s head without responding. In her mixed mood of astonishment and bewilderment, in an indescribable mood, Leah smiled awkwardly.
* * *
“Haam.”
I let out a long yawn and enjoyed the sunlight in a drowsy mood. Thanks to the Duchess who wouldn’t let me leave my bed, let alone my room, until I recovered, I had been living a lazy life like a lazy cat for several days. When I was in orphanage or when I was a street beggar, it was something I couldn’t even dream of, and even after entering Terencium, I was busy learning various things and carrying out my duties every day, so I never had this kind of leisure time. I loved the leisurely and peaceful daily life I had for the first time in my life.
“Still, it’s a bit frustrating to be stuck in the room.”
I, who had been leaning in front of the window and bruised, stretched and moved my body. Now I feel fine and no longer have any pain, but when I try to stay still and do nothing, it hurts. I’ve already read all the books Lucio brought me, and Diana often visits with Allen, but for some reason, it was quiet today. Viscount Bardot, who came to check on her condition in the morning, said it seemed like she could start moving now, so he decided to play hide-and-seek with Diana.
“Ah! I’ll have to ask you to send me a letter.”
While I was looking for an excuse to go out, I groaned and got off the sofa in front of the window. And last night, I finally held my completed first letter in my arms. While I was thinking about replying, quite a bit of time passed with various things happening. He might not be waiting for my reply, but I left the room with the intention of sending it anyway.
“Oh!”
The maid who was sweeping her hallway suddenly opened the door and looked surprised to see me coming out. Then she ran straight up and asked.
“Are you okay? Can I come outside?”
—————————————————————
Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
Next post will be released on November, 25.
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