FWTR Chapter 43

Chapter 43 – Eat Alone

Estelle had expected two possible reactions.
Even if he didn’t openly cry, she thought he might at least feel somewhat bitter.
Or…

‘I thought he would blame me for bringing up the funeral.’

But Rahelrn’s face showed no emotion at all. It was as if he was hearing about the death of a passing stranger.

‘So that’s why he didn’t come—not to Grandfather’s funeral, nor to mine.’

He hadn’t considered them family, so their deaths meant nothing to him.
It was entirely different from Lucas, who at least tried to hold back his tears.

Even if they had been apart for a long time, how could he be so indifferent?
They shared the same blood, after all.

A wave of disgust boiled up inside Estelle and burst out before she could stop it.

“What does family mean to you, Lord Rahelrn?”

Rahelrn threw the disc far into the distance, ensuring the dog would take some time retrieving it.

“I’ve never really thought of it that way.”

And that was his answer.

He never even considered them family.

“Are you angry?”

“…I just find it fascinating. Even if you rarely visited, he was still your grandfather.”

“You still have that habit of saying ‘fascinating’ when you’re actually angry.”

No one could provoke others as effortlessly as Rahelrn.

‘At least Lucas is simple-minded.’

Trying to suppress her emotions, Estelle inhaled deeply before responding.

“Don’t misunderstand. It’s not that I don’t consider you family. You’re my sister. Lucas, too.”

“…What?”

What kind of ridiculous excuse was that?
He didn’t consider the Count of Madel family, but he considered Estelle and Lucas his siblings?

‘More than that, has my eldest brother’s personality changed?’

Rahelrn had never been the type to correct misunderstandings—he never cared whether people misinterpreted his words.

“The Count never considered me his grandson. No matter how much my mother tried, he never acknowledged me.”

His words filled Estelle’s mind with confusion.

‘Grandfather never acknowledged my eldest brother?’

She had no idea why.

To Estelle, Count Madel had always been a kind man.
Even in his final moments, he worried about her, and even though he often scolded Lucas, it was clear he cared about him.

‘Wait. Now that I think about it, Brother wasn’t mentioned at all in Grandfather’s will.’

The Count had left nearly half of his wealth to Lucas and Estelle.
A man who made no distinctions based on gender or age had left nothing for his eldest grandson, Rahelrn.

‘It doesn’t make sense to say it’s because they had little interaction—he treated me the same way.’

As she retraced her memories, she realized that Count Madel had never once asked about Rahelrn.

‘Even in the letters he sent long ago, he only asked if I was getting along with Lucas.’

At that time, Rahelrn had also been staying at the Winchester estate. Yet, the Count never mentioned him.

‘Why did Grandfather disapprove of my eldest brother? Even if he resembled the Duke, who opposed their marriage, he was still his grandson.’

Now, she could finally understand Rahelrn’s cold attitude.

‘Well, the Duke hated only me among his children, so I guess it’s not so surprising.’

If he had never been treated as family, it made sense that he would return the sentiment.
It was the same for Estelle.

‘Something must have happened between him and Grandfather, but I can’t pry into that. He wouldn’t answer me properly anyway.’

The reason she had initially asked was because she resented him for not attending her funeral in her past life.

‘I had worded it that way on purpose, but now I can’t even ask further.’

Estelle turned away, intending to walk over to the dog playing with the disc.
She figured that, having exchanged enough greetings, Rahelrn would return inside on his own.

“Estelle.”

Today, nothing seemed to be going as expected.

With a steady yet firm voice, he called her name, as if telling her to stay put.

“You’ve changed.”

“I’ve… changed?”

The shock made Estelle flinch, and she pressed a hand to her chest, where her heart was suddenly racing.

‘Could it be… that my eldest brother also remembers everything and returned to the past?’

Trying to appear calm, she slowly turned back to face him.

“You used to cling to me all the time, asking me to play with you.”

“…Ah.”

Her tension dissipated in an instant.
Of all things, Rahelrn was talking about their childhood.

‘That’s true. Unlike Lucas, who always shouted at me, or Father, whom I could barely meet…’

Rahelrn never openly disliked Estelle, so she had sought him out often.

She had hoped that if they grew closer, he would come to care for her.

However, from the moment he started pushing her away, saying he had no time to play, she had stopped going to see him.

‘He always seemed busy, and it was clear he had no interest in me.’

Estelle had no intention of resenting him any further for his indifferent view of family.
She had already given up expecting anything, and there was no point in wasting emotions on something that had nothing to do with the current him.

‘That doesn’t mean I have any reason to get closer to someone who didn’t even come when I died.’

Suppressing her bitterness, Estelle stroked the dog, who was whining for her to throw the disc.

“Lord Rahelrn, I won’t bother you like before. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but I’m getting married to Prince Michael soon. Before long, I won’t be a ‘Winchester’ anymore, so you don’t have to concern yourself with me.”

Whether he already knew or was just skilled at hiding his emotions, Rahelrn merely blinked.

“Just because you get married doesn’t mean you’ll stop being a ‘Winchester.’”

“The moment I take another surname, I’ll be no different from a stranger.”

They had been as distant as strangers to begin with.

“And for the record, I never found you bothersome.”

Liar.

‘Big Brother, good morning! Did you sleep well? Um… if it’s okay, would you like to go to the dining hall with me?’

‘I don’t usually eat breakfast.’

‘Then… I’ll come back at lunchtime! Oh, if you’re busy, dinner is fine too, or even tomorrow!’

‘I don’t like eating with others. Eat alone.’

There were emotions that didn’t need to be spoken aloud to be understood.
Having spent her life reading the room, Estelle had become highly sensitive—and that meant she realized it even faster than others.

She knew when someone found her bothersome.

‘It was strange from the moment he said he considered me and Lucas family. Why is he suddenly trying to get on my good side?’

It didn’t seem like he was trying to improve their relationship for political gain, knowing she would soon be part of the imperial family.

‘Michael’s status is weak because of his illegitimacy. I won’t be of much help to him politically.’

Besides, in her previous life, when she had been formally engaged to the crown prince, Rahelrn had remained cold toward her.

“I heard you’ve become the Margrave of Luenbien.”

“…Yes.”

So that was it.

That was why he was suddenly trying to be nice.

“I also heard that since you’ve never wielded a sword and are still adjusting, Lucas is handling the duties in your stead.”

As the heir of Winchester, Rahelrn knew better than anyone how much influence Luenbien held.

Realizing the reason left Estelle feeling both relieved and empty.

“I’ll teach you. The knowledge you need to live as the Margrave of Luenbien.”

She had been planning to find a teacher anyway.

She couldn’t rely on Lucas forever, and learning swordsmanship at this stage wasn’t feasible. What she desperately needed was the ability to manage administrative duties.

‘He grew up in the territory and received perfect heir training from a young age… and he even graduated early.’

Unlike Estelle, whose grades had been average aside from the entrance exam, Rahelrn had always been top of his class.

As the heir to Winchester, he had been trained thoroughly—he would certainly be a good teacher.

Moreover, with Count Madel’s recent passing, she was using her grief as an excuse to avoid official duties. If word got out that she was struggling with administration, it could be dangerous for her standing.

Still, accepting this offer meant she would have to spend more time alone with Rahelrn.

‘…What matters most right now is securing my position as quickly as possible.’

There was no room for pride.

“How long do you plan to stay here?”

“For a while. I’ll have to visit the territory a few times, but…”

“Then let me know when you have time.”

His eyes curved slightly.

“There’s a condition. Since I’m setting aside my time for this. It’s not much—just two things.”

*“…If it’s payment—”

“Estelle. Do you really think I’d ask you for money?”

Unbelievable. He was insufferable.
She had to think back on whether he had always been this irritating.

“Tell me what they are. But if they’re too much, I’ll pretend this offer never existed.”

She braced herself, wondering if he was after Luenbien’s wealth.

“Stop calling me ‘Lord Lahelren.’ Call me ‘Big Brother.’”

“…And the other one?”

She had been keeping a polite distance, assuming he would appreciate being addressed formally.
But this was unexpected.

That was all he wanted?

“Have dinner with me.”

Hearing his second condition, Estelle realized he was messing with her.

‘He told me eating with others was uncomfortable. And now this?’

“I’ll agree to one of them.”

“One?”

“Big Brother. I don’t eat dinner. Eat alone.”

“Hah.”

Rahelrn let out a rare laugh.

Estelle barely stopped herself from asking if he had lost his mind.

Hey guys now you can read advance chapters of this novel on Patreon.
If you liked my work and want to support me then you can visit my page for tips. As I can’t create Kofi because of the unavailability of Paypal in my country, I’ve made this tier which is being updated every week so that you won’t be charged again till you want to donate again by yourself or you can exit the tier after donating 🙂.

Happy Reading 🩷