By the time the two arrived at their destination, the sun had already set.
Wilhelm’s house was in a townhouse complex where civil servants lived.
Marie knew his address because she had occasionally ghostwritten letters that her father sent to his eldest son when he was still alive.
After becoming bedridden, Paul Klein had attempted reconciliation with his estranged eldest son several times, perhaps missing him, but no reply ever came.
When Wilhelm finally appeared at the baronial residence as Paul was near death, Paul became furious, believing his son had come for the inheritance, and would rage whenever his son entered the room.
‘Oh my, how did I end up born into such a dysfunctional family……’
Marie shook off her idle thoughts and rang the doorbell.
Soon after, a maid came out from inside.
“Hello. What brings you here?”
“I’m Marie Klein. He’ll know who I am if you tell him my name.”
Surely he hadn’t forgotten her name too?
Fortunately, it seemed he hadn’t forgotten her name, as the maid returned from speaking with her master and showed the two inside.
“The master is having dinner and asked me to escort you to the dining room.”
“What? My brother wants to eat with me?”
“Yes, that’s right, but……”
The maid trailed off, surprised by Marie’s startled reaction.
Siblings sharing a meal wasn’t anything extraordinary.
But that was for normal families, and Marie had never dined at the same table with her sisters or brothers.
“I understand for Miss Marie, but I’m just an escort. Are you sure you heard correctly?”
“He said he’s glad to see both of you after so long and to bring you both in.”
Marie finally understood her dear family register mate’s intention.
‘Trying to manage your image in front of your wife and children?’
It seemed her utterly cold eldest brother was unexpectedly henpecked.
Curious to see how happy his family might be, Marie entered the dining room only to be surprised once again.
With no conversation taking place and everyone focusing on their meal with cold expressions, Marie and Hans had no choice but to silently force food into their mouths for a while.
Marie couldn’t tell whether the food was going into her mouth or her nose.
After what felt like an eternity of silence, Wilhelm, seated at the head of the table, wiped his mouth with a napkin and placed it neatly on the table.
As his lips finally parted, Marie prepared herself, expecting him to ask why she had come.
“I’ll be leaving now. Take your time, wife.”
“I understand. Take care.”
Marie and Hans couldn’t believe this was truly a conversation between a couple who had lived together for over a decade.
‘Wait, wasn’t there a reason you called us in here to eat together?’
Was he just planning to feed them and send them away?
She shot daggers at the back of her brother’s head with her bewildered expression as he left the dining room.
Whether he felt her gaze or suddenly remembered something, Wilhelm stopped midway and turned around.
“Marie.”
“Y-yes?”
At her eldest brother’s low voice, she unconsciously jumped to her feet.
Though they were thirteen years apart in age, if Wilhelm had made a mistake at fourteen, he would have been almost old enough to be her father.
Among all her siblings, Marie found him particularly intimidating.
She instinctively stood at attention, unsure if it was the authority he represented or just her brother himself that frightened her.
“Are you finished eating?”
“Yes, I’m done.”
“Then follow me to the study. Leave your escort to finish at his leisure.”
Hans, who had started to rise, awkwardly sat back down at those words.
He probably wanted to escape this suffocatingly quiet space as much as she did.
Marie whispered an apology and followed her brother out of the dining room.
Hans quietly looked down at the small heads of the children who were eating without making the slightest sound.
Even the children in this household were remarkably quiet.
Hans briefly recalled the short time he’d spent at Marie’s home.
Mealtimes with Marie were always noisy.
Marie constantly chattered away like a baby bird, and when she, Gretel, and the cook exchanged jokes, their meals often stretched well beyond an hour.
“My goodness, Miss, how do you manage to talk the most yet finish eating first?”
“Hehe, I’m just a fast eater.”
“I don’t think Gretel’s comment was a compliment.”
“Eh, really?”
“Miss, you should chew slowly and thoroughly for your health.”
“Gretel is right about that. Miss, no one is chasing you, so please eat slowly.”
“Wow, is everyone ganging up on me? Aren’t I the employer here?”
Then all three would pretend to prostrate themselves at the table and worship their employer with serious expressions.
The four of them would burst into laughter simultaneously—truly a boisterous table.
For Hans, who had studied in the capital, eating had merely been about sustenance.
But while living at Marie’s house, he discovered the joy of sharing meals with others.
Having experienced such lively meals, even briefly, this setting felt extremely foreign to him.
“I thought you looked familiar, and now I remember.”
Suddenly, Wilhelm’s previously silent wife spoke to Hans.
“Pardon? Were you speaking to me?”
“I saw you once when I attended a court hearing.”
With those words, he realized there was no point in denying it.
“But why are you here as an escort? What happened?”
“Will you tell Wilhelm about this?”
“We’re not the type of couple who shares personal matters.”
She recited in a calm tone.
Indeed, she was now having a longer conversation with Hans today than with her husband who had been eating with her.
“Does Miss Klein not know? About what you did in the capital?”
“She doesn’t.”
His face stiffened slightly as he answered.
The kind friend who had promised to take responsibility for him didn’t know.
About Hans’s true identity.
※※※
At that moment, the Klein siblings were heading to the study together.
With her brother striding ahead on his stork-like long legs, Marie, suddenly reduced to a sparrow, was busy trying to keep up with him.
So “together” wasn’t really an appropriate description.
When Wilhelm stopped midway and Marie thought she had finally caught up with her brother, they had already arrived at the study.
“I didn’t expect you to come looking for me.”
He said after entering the study and taking the seat of honor.
Then he naturally lit his pipe and put it in his mouth.
In this world, indoor smoking was a common cultural practice, but Marie still hadn’t gotten used to it.
Although Baron Klein hadn’t been a good father, he was an uncommon non-smoker for his age, so Marie had been grateful she could enjoy clean air at the baronial residence.
‘Don’t you know how dangerous secondhand smoke is?’
—Of course, she couldn’t say that.
Instead of protesting, Marie scooted her bottom along the long sofa to sit as far away from her brother as possible.
Nevertheless, the acrid smoke gradually spread throughout the room.
She tried to quickly pull out her handkerchief to cover her nose and mouth, but a cough escaped even faster.
“Cough, cough.”
After coughing, she felt self-conscious and glanced sideways at her brother, sensing him staring at her.
Wilhelm suddenly stood up and headed toward the window.
Wondering what he was doing, she stretched her neck like a meerkat and saw him opening the window and putting out his pipe.
‘Did he put it out because of me?’
Unlike her hot-tempered second brother Felix, she knew her eldest brother was calm and gentlemanly, but she hadn’t expected him to be considerate of her.
After this unexpectedly touching gesture, Wilhelm returned to his seat with an indifferent expression.
Marie remembered he always maintained this poker face.
The only time she had seen his expression change was during the recent inheritance dispute when he fought with Felix.
Even when Wilhelm had conflicts with their father over politics before Baron Klein’s death, he always remained calm and countered with facts rather than anger.
It was always their father, Paul, who would grab him by the neck in fury.
Wilhelm sat back down.
“Felix inherited Father’s title and the property attached to the barony.”
The rational, cultured man’s lips parted.
Marie didn’t immediately grasp his intention and blinked with a blank expression.
“What?”
“We still haven’t resolved the inheritance of Father’s personal assets. Because the will is nowhere to be found, we couldn’t reach an agreement and are each preparing lawsuits. It’s going to be a messy fight.”
She finally realized her brother was updating her on their siblings’ situation.
Since she hadn’t had any contact with her siblings after leaving the baronial residence with Hans that day, she wasn’t aware of the news.
“Perhaps declaring forfeit from the beginning and walking away from this fight, like you did, might be the wisest choice.”
“That’s……”
“You don’t have any greed, do you?”
Wilhelm said, staring intently at his youngest sister.
