The qualitative difference between siblings in this family was profound. Only Julian was always entitled to favourable treatment. Typically, he was either drinking tea with young women or enjoying horseback riding. Incidentally, the horse that Julian rode was an imported swift from a foreign country that was highly desired by many people.
Julian was a kind and considerate brother; in short, he wasn’t a horrible brother. He was sociable and fun-loving. Besides, like Irene, he showed little interest in Satias or Bianca.
Given that she had been placed under house arrest for some time, Bianca wasn’t expected to make any preparations for the evening party; all she had to do was smile and welcome everyone. While her eldest brother was still occupied assisting her father, Julian was surrounded by ladies who arrived at the villa one after another. He was as popular with the ladies as ever.
These days, she often wondered whether her father was truly working. Perhaps he was actually delegating the administration of the estate to her eldest brother.
Bianca obediently followed her father’s orders and welcomed the guests. As expected, she couldn’t afford to rile her father up anymore. Unfortunately, though, that Third Prince, Stuart, had been invited as well.
Her father had just asked her to have a dance with Stuart. Having heard of his philandering and having seen him hanging around with Flora at the academy, she was reluctant to get betrothed to him again.
“Bianca, don’t push yourself.”
Bianca, who has been standing and welcoming guests for a long time, was given a word of concern by Julian. Right, he was not a bad brother. In fact, he was very perceptive and considerate. For some reason, he tried to keep his distance from Bianca, though…she found her family more of a hassle than strangers.
As recommended, she drank a glass of cold fruit water and rested for a bit. However, that was short-lived as Stuart arrived and the whole family greeted him.
After that, she finally caught hold of her eldest brother.
“Brother, who am I supposed to dance with first? Is it with Brother Julian again?”
“No, not Julian. It’s me today.”
“This is my first time dancing with you, right Brother?”
Bianca was rejoicing. Speaking of which, she hadn’t seen him dance since losing her memory.
“Julian has a partner today.”
“Huh? Brother Julian, has his fiancee been chosen?”
“It’s still unofficial, but it’s complicated. Just because he dances today doesn’t mean it will be announced.”
“Why is it that you have no fiancée, yet Brother Julian comes first?”
That was awfully unsatisfactory. But the real question she wanted to ask was why was Satias not the heir to this family.
“I am not popular with the ladies, but Julian is. I guess that’s the reason.”
For some reason, that didn’t convince her. She reckoned her brother was immaculate in looks and capabilities, yet somehow he didn’t attract the ladies.
“Hey, Bianca.”
While talking to her eldest brother, her mother, who was at all times indifferent to her daughter, came over to her. It was rare for her to initiate a conversation with her. Bianca wasn’t someone Irene particularly disliked. She simply had no interest in her daughter.
“His Highness is here today. After the dance, you don’t have to force yourself to stay with him.”
Her eyes widened in response to her mother’s words.
“Huh?”
“I mean, you don’t like it, right? It would be awful to get engaged again to someone you broke it off with. Plus, there are other potential fiancés out there.”
“Yes…”
To hear Irene say such a thing was unexpected. It seems, she was thoughtful of Bianca, at least a little. She was a mother, after all. That made her feel slightly warmer.
When she glanced up at Satias next to her, she found that he was casting a disgustingly icy gaze at Irene.
After dancing with the prospective fiancé her father had chosen for her, Bianca promptly withdrew to the wall. She even danced with the third prince, but it didn’t really matter. It was an obligation.
To her surprise, her eldest brother was the easiest to dance with. In any task he was assigned, he was probably the best. She initially assumed he may be a sore loser, but there was nothing glaring about him; he simply performed what needed to be done without fuss and was the greatest at it.
Was her father irked by this? All she could think was that her father was jealous of his exceptional son. She could somewhat understand how difficult it would be for a high-ranking aristocrat not to possess magical power. Having said that, wouldn’t he be proud if he had a child that was born with a powerful magical power and overflowing with talent?
Bianca could have been envious of Satias at the time, despite the fact that her brother had said he had no interaction with her before she lost her memories.
To be honest, being constantly compared to her brother could be suffocating at times. She didn’t want to compete with him, no matter how much their father pushed her to. She respected him, found his teaching to be understandable, and despite his outward appearance, she found him to be a compassionate man. He even put up with Bianca’s complaints on top of that. He was the only person who seemed like family.
Therefore, the icy stare he gave Irene earlier bothered her. Was there still something going on in this house? She was a little fed up.
“Bianca, can I have a word with you?”
When approached by a familiar voice, she looked up and saw that it was Stuart, the third prince of this country. For the record, Flora was present today as well.
She wanted to ask, “Why did you invite her?” She understood that the relationship between aristocrats was not something that could be settled by likes and dislikes. Nevertheless, her father didn’t seem to have a natural understanding of people’s sentiments.
And as for Flora, before long, she was with Julian. They seemed to be enjoying themselves. This gave her a bad premonition.
Woohoo, there’s more chapters!
Thanks for the translation!