I couldn’t understand why Lupin was angry with me.
And I didn’t have the hobby of obsessing over problems that I couldn’t figure out, so I immediately brushed it aside and greeted him as usual.
“It’s been a while, Lupin.”
It was a welcoming voice. At the very least, there was no malice towards Lupin in my demeanor.
Although I had bullied Seria in the past, I decided to let that slide since I was hit by him once. Instead, I felt a certain closeness to him, as he was the younger brother of my on-friendly Senior Elsi.
However, the gaze Lupin directed at me was filled with suspicion.
“Smile a lot. This is probably the only time you can…!”
As he expressed his hostility towards me, Lupin suddenly erupted into a sinister laugh.
He regained his composure as if he were a scheming strategist. After shaking his head a couple of times, he smiled confidently.
“Hehe, aren’t you curious about what my sister is doing?”
“Oh, right. I was just about to go visit her. If I go to the dormitory…”
“Y-You can’t do that! You crazy idiot!”
Lupin looked horrified at my words, which I had thrown out thinking it was a fortunate coincidence, and swiftly stopped me.
I stared at him with a puzzled expression.
“My sister is in a state of shock! I don’t know why, but… how do you think she would feel if you just showed up out of nowhere?”
“And what about that?”
When I asked with sincere confusion, Lupin momentarily had a frustrated expression before shaking his head with a sigh.
He advised me, “Don’t do that; just wait. The plan I’m preparing is still in progress…”
As he spoke, Lupin left with a snicker and a sly grin.
Even after hearing that, I had no choice but to tilt my head in confusion.
What is up with him?
But as a younger brother, he must know Elsi’s feelings better than I do. I decided to find out what his “plan” was next time, and I greeted the remaining people.
I shared a long-overdue hug with Celin and Reto. Of course, Reto had just brushed me off bluntly right before that.
“Get lost; I don’t want to smell like a man.”
“I feel the same way.”
Thanks to that, Celin could monopolize my arms.
With a pleased smile, Celin buried her face in my chest and asked with her sparkling eyes filled with anticipation, “When are you planning to go back home, Ian oppa?”
“I should gather my things and leave soon. Why?”
Then Celin let out a soft, misty laugh. The sparkle in her eyes, however, felt somewhat dark, causing me to flinch for a moment.
“I’ve already asked for permission from my parents. I’ll be spending the summer vacation at Perkus Manor!”
“…Is that so?”
Yet, in response to Celin’s triumphant declaration, all I could do was ask back simply.
It wasn’t anything special. After all, Celin, Reto, and I have always played together since childhood.
I could naturally go to and fro the territory whenever I had the time. Since my parents were also acquainted with them, the Percus family wouldn’t be surprised if Celin came to visit right away.
I couldn’t understand why Celin was so excited about such ordinary matters.
Despite my doubts, Celin just chuckled with a grin.
“It’s been so long. Originally, Ian oppa was supposed to be mine… But once the vacation starts, it’s my turn anyway. Hehe, you silly girls. Stay up all night with your eyes wide open…”
Seriously, Celin’s obsession with me was too strong.
I looked at Reto with a bewildered expression, and he shrugged as if to say it was understandable.
Thus, Celin’s visit to Perkus Manor was decided. Reto also decided to tag along.
Aside from that, I couldn’t leave out the Yuridina sisters.
As soon as Seria saw me, she began to whimper and threw herself into my arms. The previously cold and haughty ‘Yuridina’s brat’ was nowhere to be found.
At least not in front of me.
Senior Delphine shook her head with a bitter smile, and I had to comfort Seria for a while, patting her head.
“Seria, it’s okay now. You don’t have to worry.”
“I-Ian seonbae… sniff, sob…”
Seria cried for quite a while as if shedding all the sorrow she had been holding back.
Her hands tightly gripped my clothing. Since Seria had buried her face on my chest, naturally, it resulted in her grabbing my collar.
With a tearful voice, Seria spoke.
“Ian, sob… I-Ian seonbae…”
“Yes, yes. Seria. What’s wrong?”
As I calmly embraced the girl’s gray hair, my head was suddenly yanked forward.
To be precise, I should say that Seria pulled my collar, and consequently, my head followed.
The girl who had been bowing her head in tears suddenly raised it.
In her deep blue eyes, the shadows were gone.
“…Why do you smell like another girl?”
It was a chillingly cold tone.
Before I had time to respond in confusion, I was saved by Senior Delphine’s half-hearted plea.
“Seria… what rudeness is this?”
With those words, the light that had disappeared from Seria’s eyes returned.
Realizing the situation, Seria immediately loosened her grip on my collar and took a few steps back. Her face turned bright red with embarrassment.
“Oh, ah, um… um, what I mean is…”
“Enough with the excuses; you need to step back. Remember that the actions of a daughter of the Yuridina family are tied directly to the honor of the Yuridina clan.”
Having met Seria, who was about to part from me at the first encounter, she looked quite wronged.
However, as she had committed a misdeed and could not defy the orders of her elder sister, who was the heir of the Yuridina clan, she had no choice but to respond in a subdued voice.
“…Yes, sister.”
As Seria stepped back, Senior Delphine approached me with a satisfied smile. Soon, my hand was clasped with Senior Delphine’s.
“Incredible, you won again, didn’t you? Against the imperial court.”
“To be precise, it’s not the court but the princess. Why, do you feel like rewarding me?”
At my joke, Senior Delphine chuckled as if she had heard something amusing.
Then she leaned in closer to my ear and whispered in a honeyed voice.
“…The prize is me, Master.”
Before I could respond, Senior Delphine distanced herself from me again. It seemed it was time for her to leave.
However, until the end, Senior Delphine winked and mouthed one last thing to me.
“I’ll be looking forward to the punishment next time.”
Punishment? She had become so brazen as to demand retribution even without having done anything wrong.
And that point made me recall the old Senior Delphine.
That day, we spent the entire time laughing and chatting.
It was a happy time, and for a moment I was able to forget the existence of the imperial court. However, this was also merely a temporary escape.
When night fell and I entered the dorm room alone, the sense of unease enveloped me once more.
Can I really handle this?
I had said it would be within a few days, so it wouldn’t be strange if someone dispatched by the imperial court arrived tonight. No, especially since it had already been two days, it would be reasonable for the connection to occur at least tomorrow or the day after.
After all, there are few things as urgent as the ‘Dragon Blood Character’ for the imperial court.
In my foreboding heart, I found it impossible to sleep. Ultimately, I got up and fiddled with the whiskey bottle I had put in the cupboard.
If I had to spend a sleepless night anyway, it might be better to down an entire bottle of alcohol and pass out.
In the midst of that contemplation, a noise suddenly broke my thoughts.
Knock, knock—the sound of someone knocking on the door.
My consciousness surged back to reality in an instant. Absentmindedly, I placed the whiskey bottle on the table and moved to open the door.
Then I saw the radiant colors of the night sky.
It was dark blue hair. Her fair skin and slate gray eyes, combined with her noble appearance, created a mysterious aura.
There was no need to ponder who this girl was.
The fifth princess of the empire, Shi-en.
She had come to see me all alone.
My speech froze at the unexpected visit. And it seemed the girl was not much different.
As soon as the princess met my eyes, she inhaled and held her breath.
As if only the girl’s time had come to a stop.
The time that had paused only began to flow again a few seconds later.
Finally regaining her senses, the princess exhaled the breath she had been holding. A series of cute, spluttering coughs followed, and soon her face turned beet red.
The princess’s eyes darted around. She waved her hands as if desperately trying to deny something.
Yet, there was nothing to deny in the first place.
“A, um, th-that is… Sir Ian!”
But her confusion did not last forever.
The princess, who had been mumbling incoherently, soon adopted a resolute expression and spoke to me.
It was soon revealed why she had come to see me.
“I’m s-so sorry!”
With a thud, the princess immediately pressed her head to the ground.
She had hit her head so hard that she inadvertently let out a yelping ‘ouch’ while rubbing her forehead.
It was an unreal sight in many ways.
My gaze momentarily blanked.
What is a member of royalty doing kneeling?
It was an action that was incomprehensible by common sense. Yet, rather than showing concern, the princess shivered on the floor with her head still bowed.
At that moment, I had no choice but to realize.
No matter how I thought about it, the princess was also not normal.
