Episode 150

Edwin’s crooked grin left me a little dazed.

At the same time, it finally hit me—our posture right now was… pretty suspicious.

Me, clinging around Edwin’s waist. Him, hugging me tightly by the back.

It was only lucky that classes hadn’t ended yet; otherwise, anyone passing by would definitely get the wrong idea.

“W-what do you mean, a random guy…”

I hurriedly unwrapped my arms from around his waist.

“How is Joshua a random guy…”

Trying to cover my awkwardness, I started stepping back away from him.

‘Huh?’

But for some reason, the arm wrapped around my back wouldn’t budge.

As I panicked and looked up at him—

Tap tap tap!

“Tch. And you said family shouldn’t cling like that!”

Someone suddenly yanked me back by the shoulders.

“Ah, wah!”

Thanks to that, I finally managed to break free from Edwin’s arms.

“Big bro, you move too! I was talking to Belze nuna first, you know?!”

It was Josh—he was clutching my shoulders protectively, yelling with all his might.

Edwin, now left empty-handed, twitched his eyebrows dangerously.

Then he clenched his fist.

“You little brat. Is that how you act after seeing your brother for the first time in forever?”

“Ah!”

His fist hadn’t even swung yet, but maybe because of past experiences, Josh immediately let go of me and covered his head with both arms.

“E-Edwin!”

Startled, I quickly jumped between them.

After Joshua had grown healthier, the dynamic between the two had shifted into something more like normal brothers.

They bickered often, and it had gotten a bit rough too.

‘Well, they’ve always been a bit mismatched in temperament…’

Normally, I would’ve just let them fight it out, but today Josh had already been through enough.

So I planted my hands firmly on my hips and glared at Edwin.

“Why are you picking a fight the moment we’re all reunited? You’ve gotten weird.”

“Huh?”

“Hug it out, both of you! Properly greet each other instead of bickering over stupid things!”

I jabbed my finger at both of them, demanding they hug, and Edwin let out a disbelieving scoff.

Joshua, with a pout on his face, was equally unwilling to move.

I frowned deeply.

“Now! Or I’m telling His Grace!”

Widening my eyes in full warning mode, I threatened them.

Only then did the brothers grumble and start shuffling toward each other.

“Ugh.”

“Tch.”

Edwin opened his arms with a dead-fish look, nodding his chin like it was the worst thing in the world. Joshua, looking like he was about to die from embarrassment, stomped over and threw himself into Edwin’s arms.

Watching them, I clapped my hands happily.

“Welcome back, Eddie!”

* * *

Unfortunately, the next class bell rang soon after.

With only a brief moment together, we had no choice but to return to our places.

Josh and I went back to our classes, and Edwin, it turned out, had stopped by the Academy to file his return report as the commander of the subjugation unit.

We gathered again that evening, after the Duke returned from the palace, to share a family dinner.

“Let’s begin.”

At the Duke’s signal, the meal started.

Meals at the ducal house were always a delight, but tonight, the table looked especially luxurious, as if the head chef had put in extra effort.

‘The Duke must’ve known Edwin would be coming back.’

Rather than feeling hurt, I felt relieved.

Honestly, when he invited us for dinner early that morning, I had been nervous, wondering if he found out about what happened at the Academy and was going to interrogate us.

But thankfully, it was to celebrate Edwin’s safe return, not anything else.

‘Thank goodness.’

Feeling lighter, I scanned the dishes, debating what to eat first.

“Josh. Belze.”

Like a lie, the Duke called us.

Josh and I, who were sitting across from each other, flinched at the same time and lifted our heads.

“Y-yes?”

“D-did you call us, Father?”

Taking a sip of wine, the Duke nodded heavily.

“I heard something happened at the Academy recently.”

At the Duke’s meaningful words, Joshua tightly shut his eyes.

It wasn’t surprising — he’d been on edge for days, worried that if the Duke found out, he might be banned from attending the Academy altogether.

The Duke’s sharp gaze, as if he already knew everything, made my knees go weak.

Instead of frozen Josh, I quickly opened my mouth.

“W-well! There was a bit of an incident, but… nothing serious! We took care of it, so there’s nothing for you to worry about!”

I shouted in a voice full of forced energy, and the Duke slowly turned his head to stare at me.

Even Edwin turned, frowning like he didn’t understand what was going on.

‘I’m doomed…’

I could feel the despair sinking in under the weight of their stares.

The Duke took another sip of wine, then pressed me further in a heavy voice.

“I heard you called for Madam Cloud.”

“Ah, th-that, Your Grace… about Madam Cloud, it’s, um…”

“I’m disappointed.”

“…Huh?”

“I’m your legal guardian. Why did I have to hear from someone else that your guardianship might be transferred?”

“Uh…”

“Is it because you’re ashamed of me?”

‘Ashamed…?’

My mouth dropped open at his unexpected words.

But before I could answer, the Duke continued with a bitter expression.

“I see. I suppose, in the eyes of modern children, I must look rather outdated.”

“……”

“Maybe it’s time to have the butler overhaul my wardrobe…”

“N-no!”

I shouted instinctively before the Duke could actually carry out that idea.

“A-ashamed? Absolutely not, Your Grace! You’re not old-fashioned at all! Absolutely not!”

“Then why did Madam Cloud send me a letter saying she’s now your godmother and I should hand over the sponsorship papers?”

At his next words, I nearly collapsed from shock.

‘That wretched old woman! What did she do?!’

While I was still stammering, the Duke added with a grave look,

“And why wasn’t I invited to any Academy events for your guardianship? Not for you, nor for Joshua.”

“I-it wasn’t like that!”

Seeing the Duke glaring back and forth between Josh and me, clearly misunderstanding everything, I practically screamed.

Then I hurriedly lowered my voice.

“I-I asked Madam Cloud to represent you just because I thought it would be difficult for you to attend, Your Grace.”

“Why?”

“Huh?”

“Why would it be difficult for me?”

The Duke looked genuinely puzzled, and I felt completely helpless.

“You mentioned you had an important meeting today…?”

“That’s nothing. I could’ve postponed it.”

The Duke muttered coldly.

“Or just had it reported to me in writing.”

“O-oh… I didn’t know that was an option…”

I mumbled weakly, feeling like my soul had left my body.

“I’m disappointed.”

The Duke let out another low sigh.

I hadn’t expected this kind of reaction at all, so I was completely stunned.

When I glanced at Joshua, he looked just as bewildered.

‘We were sure he’d scold us if he found out…’

Especially after what happened — Joshua had practically handed over family assets without a fight. The Duke, who was usually strict and valued the pride of House Kallios, should have been furious.

‘But instead, he’s… disappointed.’

Thinking it over, I realized he did have a point.

A complete stranger had acted as our guardian in his place, and he only heard about it after the fact.

“I’m sorry, Your Grace.”

Feeling calmer, I apologized first.

“The reason we didn’t tell you was because… Joshua and I thought we could handle it ourselves, and I didn’t want you to have to deal with a bunch of overly fussy noblewomen.”

The main reason was that Joshua was scared, of course.

But I carefully chose my words to soothe the Duke’s hurt feelings.

“You know how the noblewomen would talk. I didn’t want rumors spreading that the Duke of Kallios had to rush to the Academy over his children.”

“……”

“And more than anything, I didn’t want you to see me as a problem child causing trouble the moment I entered the Academy.”

I gave him a sheepish smile as I added,

“No child wants to get caught doing something wrong by their parents, right?”

It was a roundabout way of covering for Joshua too.

For some reason, the Duke’s stiff expression softened instantly.

“……Hmm.”

He nodded and finally spoke again.

“But from what I heard, the issue wasn’t caused by you, Belze. There’s a different culprit.”

“Hic.”

At the Duke’s side glance, Joshua flinched visibly.

He might have been trying to soften it, but the meaning was clear.

“We’re family. Joshua’s problems are my problems too!”

I hurriedly threw myself back into the conversation, flashing an awkward grin.

“And honestly, I wasn’t exactly innocent either.”

“Hmm?”

The Duke tilted his head, confused.

I figured he probably didn’t know the full details of what had happened at the Academy’s main office today.

After all, there were barely any witnesses, and even if Madam Cloud wrote a letter, there were limits to how much she could explain.

And I was right.

“It was because of Gomgomdori. I used him to beat up the troublemakers.”

“Ohh.”

I whispered sneakily, and the Duke clapped his hands in admiration, wearing an amused smile.

“But still, it was Josh who knocked out Danvers Campbell, the main culprit.”

“Well done, Joshua.”

At my little fib, the Duke finally turned to Josh and praised him.