As Idel scowled from behind, Dante took a step toward the two and calmly began to speak.
“Where did you go without saying anything? I was about to come find you myself since you hadn’t shown up.”
“You, young master? Oh, I’m so touched! I was out looking for water for you, of course. Although I did end up getting lost on the way back! Haha!”
Laughing heartily with a relaxed posture, Patrick clapped his hands, his eyes sparkling.
“Oh, Miss Gianna! This is young master Dante, whom I serve. He is the heir to the Knightley family. And Dante, this is Miss Gianna Clementine, whom you wanted to meet before you arrived.”
“Ah…”
Dante hesitated momentarily at Patrick’s introduction. However, after a brief pause, he straightened up and extended his hand to Gianna.
“I’ve heard stories about you from time to time, but it’s the first time meeting you in person. It’s a pleasure, Milady. You can call me Dante, if you like.”
“Hello! Oh, then please call me Gianna as well! And feel free to speak informally.”
“Thank you for your consideration. However, I’m more comfortable speaking this way… it’s alright.”
“Well, it’s because our young master usually associates with knights. He’s been training with the captain since he was five.”
“Ah…”
Gianna nodded in understanding at Patrick’s addition. It wasn’t a big deal.
With a bright smile, she shrugged and lightly shook the hand she was holding.
“Then it’s fine! What does that have to do with becoming friends?”
“That’s true.”
Idel, overhearing their conversation, couldn’t help but give a wry smile.
It wasn’t a summit meeting, but the sight of the two children seriously discussing “friendship” while holding hands was quite charming.
‘What’s with the grown-up way of speaking, though?’
It’s not like she’s following her parents.
Idel stared at them, unaware that Vilred was thinking the same thing about her and Sigmund.
Then it happened.
Just then, Patrick, who had been twitching his lips in a similar way to Idel, noticed her gaze and widened his eyes.
“Hmm? Oh dear, my apologies! We have another guest in the training ground!”
With his voice echoing loudly, everyone’s attention turned to Idel.
“Ah.”
She hadn’t anticipated this.
Sighing quietly at the sudden attention, Idel immediately adopted a sharp expression.
As she pondered what to say, the man feigning a stern expression looked at Dante.
“Young Master, you see! No matter how pleased I am to see you, how could you leave the young lady alone? You should have introduced us together! Didn’t we teach you better than that?”
“That is…”
“That is?”
Dante’s words trailed off and he looked flustered. It was partly because of what had happened earlier and partly because he still didn’t know who she was.
Gianna was the first to grasp the situation. As soon as she saw Dante’s gaze on Idel and Idel’s stubborn silence, she realized something.
“Hmm…”
Making a sound filled with meaning, she pursed her lips and focused her eyes.
‘Idel must have done it. Since Dante is a guest, it’s up to me to handle this…’
But Idel wouldn’t do something like that.
‘Seriously!’
Although her disappointment with Idel wasn’t entirely resolved, it was time for her to step in. After all, Idel was her younger sister.
As Gianna’s gaze met Idel’s, she approached her and took hold of Idel’s arm.
“Let’s go, Idel. These are guests invited by Father.”
“…Hmph.”
Despite her irritation, Idel followed Gianna obediently. She knew she had to uphold certain standards now that the Duke’s name had been mentioned.
Patrick tilted his head as he saw Idel following Gianna and asked her, “Oh? Do you know this person?”
“Hmm, let me introduce her properly. This is Idel Clementine, my younger sister! And Idel, this is…”
“The heir of the Duke Knightley’s family, right? I heard that earlier.”
“Really? Have you already met?”
Dante looked at Idel, who had her mouth tightly shut again, and briefly pursed his lips.
‘So, she’s Gianna’s sister…’
At that moment, the fragmented picture began to come together. He had thought he might have been mistaken or that his father had been confused…
‘I never expected she would be her sibling.’
It was understandable. Gianna and Idel had such different appearances that they didn’t seem like sisters at all.
Dante alternated his gaze between the somewhat sullen Idel and Gianna.
“Not all siblings look alike, but…”
They were indeed different.
In appearance, behavior, expression, and posture—everything.
Patrick, who felt a similar sentiment to Dante’s, rubbed his chin and called out Idel’s name softly, as if remembering something.
“Oh, Idel Clementine!”
“Patrick?”
“I was wondering who it was when you mentioned Gianna’s sister, but this young lady is…”
Before Gianna could step in, Idel shot a sharp glance, sensing the subtle nuance in Patrick’s tone.
“That symbol? Ha, you…”
“Hmm?”
Idel, who had been ready to confront Patrick like she did with Dante, paused for a moment.
She hadn’t noticed it from afar, but up close, something previously hidden became visible.
‘On his neck, that symbol…’
Idel’s eyes widened involuntarily.
Partially obscured by his collar, the symbol on the man’s neck was clearly ‘that’ symbol.
An inverted sword wrapped by a snake, with leaf-like wings extending outwards.
She quickly sketched the design in her mind and swallowed silently.
‘It’s definitely the same symbol as the one on the cufflinks.’
But why is it on this man’s neck…?
Idel’s eyes narrowed as she took in the man’s sly-looking face. Now wasn’t the time to worry about why he had the symbol.
‘What’s important is that I can’t let him realize that I’ve noticed the symbol.’
A strange intuition, similar to the one she had felt when chasing after the black magician at the wedding, washed over her.
‘I need to act as if Melisa is right in front of me to stay safe.’
The man had displayed the symbol in plain view without even fastening his button.
It was almost like a declaration of confidence that he was not afraid of being recognized.
‘Or perhaps he’s confident he can handle it if it is discovered.’
Thinking it was more likely the latter, Idel’s mind worked faster than ever.
Now was the time to hide behind the guise of a nervous and fragile child.
Idel, with intense focus in her eyes, trembled slightly while staring directly at the man’s yellow eyes.
“You…!”
“Hm? Are you okay, milady?”
“You…”
“Idel, no, wait a moment!”
“You’re just like the young master you serve! Ha, what a level.”
Before Gianna could intervene, Idel, who had latched onto Dante, continued with a sharp tone.
“One side suddenly claims they didn’t even know I was there, and the other stops mid-sentence? Why? Go on, say more.”
“Haha! Oh dear… It seems my words have offended you, Milady.”
Patrick, with a sheepish expression, looked at Idel and exaggeratedly sighed, shrugging his shoulders.
“After all, I’m famous for my sharp tongue even in the knight order. So it must be my fault this time as well.”
“…”
“Well, what I actually meant wasn’t anything significant. It’s just that I regret not recognizing you sooner, you could say.”
“…”
“Isn’t Miss Idel an ‘irreplaceable person’?”
Before Idel could even react to the odd and out-of-context comment, Patrick placed his hand on his waist and spoke to Dante.
“By the way, young master, what is this about? Have you had a quarrel with Miss Idel? You? ‘You didn’t know she was there’? How rude!”
With exaggerated gestures of covering his mouth with his hand, Dante calmly shook his head.
“I may have been in the wrong, but I never said that. That wasn’t my intention at all. I just mistook the lady for Lady Gianna…”
“That’s what I thought.”
“Idel!”
Hearing Gianna’s voice so close, Idel let out a sigh of relief inwardly. It was truly a timely intervention.
Suppressing the urge to hug Gianna immediately, Idel opened her mouth with a defiant tone.
“Enough, the good side is already decided, right? I’ll step back, so just don’t provoke me further.”
“What? Idel, you really…!”
Hearing Idel’s sharp words, Gianna’s lips quivered. The frustration she had been holding back surged again.
With tears welling in her eyes, she quickly turned away with a sniffle.
It was the start of the second cold war.
