Chapter 03
“Jenuer.”
Mother warned him in a low voice.
“Can’t I even speak?”
He answered slyly, just like a troublemaking son.
Then he gave Mother a small smile.
“I’m sorry.”
“Apologize to Esta.”
Jenuer turned his head sharply toward me.
“Sorry.”
He apologized so quickly that I was the one who felt awkward.
“It’s okay, Brother.”
Jenuer blinked at me.
“Brother? Since when do you call me that? You used to say ‘Hey, Jenuer.’”
“Huh? Did I?”
“You’ve been really strange since yesterday.”
His eyes narrowed. Under his suspicious gaze, sweat started running down my back.
I didn’t expect to be suspected this fast!
“Jenuer, that’s enough. You’re making Esta uncomfortable.”
“Sorry.”
His apology was quick again. I thought he was a wild jaguar, but he was actually a well-trained house cat in front of Mother.
Whenever his sharp eyes turned to her, they curved gently with a smile. If she asked, he looked like he would even roll over and do tricks.
Mother smiled faintly, as if she found him cute, and patted his head several times.
“Don’t bully your sister too much.”
“Yes, Mother.”
“And Mayer, stop reading your book.”
“Yes, Mother.”
Mayer’s voice was much deeper than I expected. His calm half-closed eyes made him look like someone who had already understood the whole world.
His indifferent gaze briefly touched me and then moved away.
“Then let’s eat.”
Father suggested with a warm smile.
The maids brought out the main dishes, and breakfast began.
“Eat a lot.”
Father kept looking after me.
Such a warm family. I didn’t seem very close to my brothers, but that was fine. We could get closer from now on.
Smiling, I reached for the salad.
We continued small talk while eating. Jenuer especially seemed to adore Mother, and Mayer kept glancing at his book during the conversation.
It was like he was looking at an ex-girlfriend he still missed dearly.
“Lately, I heard Esta hasn’t been leaving her room much.”
Father suddenly turned the topic to me.
Everyone’s eyes focused on me, but I handled it calmly.
My body was fifteen, but my mind was already an adult.
“It’s nothing. I was thinking of losing interest in Kainess and trying out a new hobby.”
“You?”
Jenuer mocked me out of habit.
He was younger than my real-life self, after all.
I smiled slightly and tilted my head.
“Yes. By the way, Brother, you’re good with the sword, right? If you have time, would you teach me?”
Jenuer, who had clearly been uncomfortable with me all morning, looked flustered.
“You… a sword? No, more importantly, you’re giving up on Kainess?”
“Yes.”
I thought he would refuse. He had looked uncomfortable all through breakfast. But his answer was unexpected.
“Fine.”
…What? I thought he’d say no.
“If you learn the sword, maybe your rotten mind will improve.”
“Jenuer!”
Mother scolded him sharply.
He ran a hand through his hair awkwardly.
“You have to fix her attitude this time. It hasn’t even been long since the drug incident, and yesterday she tried to feed him cookies again.”
“Cookies?”
There had been cookies at tea yesterday. Kainess didn’t even touch them. He hadn’t even taken a sip of tea.
It sounded random at first. Then a memory flashed through my mind.
The so-called “love potion.” She must have thought that if Kainess drank it, he would fall in love with her. But it was… an aphrodisiac.
It was absolutely not something a thirteen-year-old boy should drink.
When Kainess fainted after drinking it, both the Bailey and Feisia households were thrown into chaos. It was serious enough to discuss breaking the engagement.
Father had been furious and locked Esta in the annex for a week. She simply wasn’t allowed out, but she suffered terribly.
Because she couldn’t see the Kainess she loved so much.
‘What was she even thinking, giving something like that to a child?’
“Kainess didn’t touch the cookies. Really.”
As I said that shortly, Mother looked at me.
“Is that true?”
“He did eat a cookie. But there was no drug in it.”
Her gaze held faint suspicion, but she didn’t get angry.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Ha……”
“My dear, don’t get upset. Your health isn’t good.”
Father wrapped an arm around Mother’s shoulders and gently patted her back. Jenuer also came close, trying to comfort her.
Even in this messy atmosphere, Mayer only quietly watched Mother.
…This is because of me, right?
Because of Esta’s extreme obsession with Kainess, the family must have been very worried.
“Um… I have something to say.”
I raised my hand slightly in the quiet room.
“I really don’t like Kainess anymore. I won’t chase after him.”
“Haha… Are you lying again?”
So she had said that before?
“You’ll start following him again in less than a week.”
I heard Jenuer grind his teeth.
Mother held his left hand as if to stop him.
Looking at her tired eyes, I spoke firmly.
“You may not believe me right away, but it’s true. I like Kainess only as a childhood friend. Nothing more. I promise I won’t cause any more trouble.”
Jenuer still looked suspicious. My parents looked like they wanted to believe me, at least a little.
Mayer’s reaction was the most surprising.
He quietly closed the book he had been holding open and stared at me.
“That’s… really a relief.”
Mother’s voice trembled slightly.
Esta’s obsession with Kainess must have gone too far. They must have been deeply worried.
It wouldn’t have been easy to strongly stop their only daughter. Her obsession had been almost like a sickness.
“Please believe me.”
After that, breakfast continued.
The atmosphere was painfully awkward, but I was still glad I said it.
I had been afraid that my parents might have already given up on me.
After the meal, as I was about to return to my room, Father called me.
He gave me a warm hug and kissed my forehead lightly.
“Thank you for changing your mind.”
Embarrassed, I rubbed my forehead. Then Mother did the same.
“My good daughter.”
Good? In what way did Esta look good?
I tilted my head in confusion.
“Jenuer.”
“….”
Jenuer stood in front of me with a very unwilling expression.
Why was he looking like that? Then he slowly lowered his head.
W-Wait a minute!
“I don’t want to either.”
Even while looking displeased, he kissed me lightly.
Startled, I looked up. His ears were red.
“Why…?”
“It’s our family tradition.”
“…What?”
Without hesitation, Mayer leaned down and kissed me lightly too, then returned to his book with an indifferent face.
T-This is family tradition…? They’re way too close…!
Aren’t siblings supposed to fight and ignore each other?
While I stood there blankly, Father patted my head with a smile and left with Mother.
Jenuer followed them.
I remained standing there for a moment before trying to head back to my room.
Mayer and I stood up at the same time and awkwardly met at the door.
I smiled as prettily as I could.
“Have a good day.”
His expression didn’t change. His emotionless eyes simply stared at me.
Did I do something wrong?
Sweat formed on my back again. Then his slightly larger hand gently landed on my head.
He ruffled my hair messily. My hair was ruined, but I was more shocked by him than by that.
“There’s nothing to worry about. The second rascal likes you too.”
“…What?”
“You have a good day too.”
He went upstairs without looking back.
I stood there in a daze.
What kind of family is this…?
They were so harmonious that I couldn’t understand how Esta’s personality had turned out that way.
“Hey.”
The next day, according to Mayer, “the second rascal of this house” came to see me.
His eyes looked rebellious, but his clothes were neatly buttoned up to his neck.
It felt like Mother probably forced him to dress like that.
“What is it?”
“Take this.”
“…It’s a sword.”
“Change your clothes and come out.”
Then he turned and left the room.
I stared at the place where he disappeared with a confused expression. Ellie explained from behind me.
“I think he’s going to teach you swordsmanship.”
“Th-That was a joke.”
I had planned to live comfortably without working hard.
Jenuer’s unexpected enthusiasm made me nervous.
“But I should go… right?”
I didn’t want to be disliked even more by my already annoyed second brother.
Mayer’s words from the dining room came to mind.
“There’s nothing to worry about. The second rascal likes you too.”
So it was pure concern…
Still, the way he barged into my room and threw a wooden sword at me was so aggressive that I could clearly imagine myself being dragged around all day by Jenuer.
