Chapter 5

Her arrogant aura grew intensely as she looked at me. It was as if she didn't say anything wrong.

"And how do I know if you're a good person or a bad person? Are you sure the Grand Duke sent you?"

"Ha... the Grand Duke... You don't have any manners, do you?"

I didn't trust anyone.

I never had a good time trusting people.

It was the same this time.

Since my dad died, there had been only one person who I thought was a good person. He felt sorry for my mother and I, and he used to bring us food from time to time. But then that knight tried to kill us.

He was someone the empress had sent.

He was just pretending to be nice, bringing us poisonous food. After my father lost my brother, the first good man to reach out to me only gave me bad memories. After all, there are even more people who are unreliable than trustworthy people.

"I don't believe anybody."

Cecilia looked at me with ample emotion and leaned down.

"I can't help it if you don't believe me. I was told to treat you as the Grand Duke's child who suddenly appeared, but now I have to put up with this."

She grabbed me by the wrist immediately.

"It hurts!"

"I don't know how you got in here, but now that you're here, you have to deal with me. The princess and Grand Master here grew up in my care, so you have to listen to me."

"Let me go!"

Adults cannot be trusted.

I tried to escape the clutches of this Cecilia woman. However, I couldn't escape the grip of this adult.

"There's no point making a fuss."

The more I struggled, the stronger her grip was.

"I'm better at educating children than anyone else. Everyone went crazy at first."

"Let go of me! I don't want to be tutored!"

"Unfortunately, there's no use screaming. There's no one around here passing by. I've already taken measures to prevent anyone from interfering until the end of class. You have to stay with me until it's over. Until then, you're not allowed to leave."

It was then...

The door opened with a loud noise.

"Why are you so loud! I couldn't help but come in because of the noise!"

Unlike this person, the screaming man opened the door at the right time, as if he had been waiting.

It was a boy who was a little taller than me, or quite taller.

But he's too young to be seen as an adult.

"Young Master."

Cecilia, who had been treating me harshly a little while ago, bowed her head in a hurry.

"Why is it so loud?"

"It's...because she is just about to be educated, and she won't listen to me at all.

"Is this her?"

The boy with black hair and blue eyes stared at me.

Then, the corners of his mouth moved uncomfortably.

"She looks like a bone that's been eaten away."

"Look at how skinny you are. How old are you?"

Is he on my side or my husband?

Can I trust him?

But there's no information about this child in my life...

Because I was the only child I've met since birth.

The current emperor that killed my father had a daughter, but I never encountered her.

"...How old are you?"

"This big brother is eight years old! Ah! You don't know how old you are yet?'

"...I do know."

"Then how old are you?"

"...Five years old..

"Huh?"

The boy looked at me and shook his head.

"You can't lie."

"...I'm not lying. I'm really five years old."

"...This big? You're not, like three?"

"I'm not even three! I am five years old!"

I puffed up the insides of my cheeks.

At that time, Cecilia looked at us from side to side, before grabbing me from behind.

Then she lifted me up immediately.

"Wh-What are you doing!"

"Young Master, you shouldn't be here and acting like this. Until class is over, no one should meet her."

"Really."

"Yes."

"I see, I see."

The boy, who was looking at me a little while ago, nodded without saying much and turned away.

If he left, this woman won't let me go.

Her eyes were already full of venom. It was so frightening.

'Should I just grab onto him right now?'

It was then when I stopped struggling in the arms of the woman and tried to reach out to a boy.

"By the way..."

But the dawdling boy approached me again as he tried to leave.

"Don't you need my help?"

"What?"

"That's what her face looks like right now. I think she's saying "Help me"."

"I don't like her that much because she looks like a skeleton, but I'll help her if she wants. Just say "Brother, help me"."

"Y-Young Master! Don't you think it sounds like I'm doing something bad to her when you say it like that?"

Cecilia, who hugged me from behind, was more shocked than ever.

"You're right. She looks like she's about to die right now."

"No, that's..."

"So, tell me. I heard you're my sister now. If you ask me to help you, I'll help you."

The smiling boy reached for me.

It's so strange.

It's my first time seeing this boy today too, yet I'm strangely inclined to him.

Was it because he's not an adult or because he looked at me differently?

I put my hand on him without realizing it.

"Now say it one word at a time."

"What?"

"Call me Brother."

"..."

"I don't have a sister, so I wanted to hear you call me Brother. So go on and say it."

What is he saying?

What did he mean by 'Brother'?

I've only seen this in the book. It usually said that he was affectionately called by other family members, but when I looked at this boy, he showed signs of discomfort, as if we weren't even close with each other.

I looked at him from above. He had chubby cheeks.

He looked like a duck.

Screech. His mind was as sharp as a sword, yet he really does look like a duck.

"Go on, do it. Do you know how long I've waited for you to wake up to say that one word? I had to put up with it until you woke up."

"...Were you watching me sleep?"

"...No, I didn't. I was just waiting! Anyway, aren't you going to say it to me?"

Contrary to his appearance, the boy was very persistent.

"Come on."

"...Okay, Brother. Is that alright?"

The boy grinned as if he had earned everything with those words.

"I finally heard it! I'm your brother! I have a sister now!"

"I said it... so now you have to keep your promise."

I looked down at the hand that held me.

The boy clapped his hands, probably because he just came to his senses.

"Yes. Cecilia, put her down now."

"But Young Master, His Highness gave a direct command."

"Did Father tell you to pick on her?"

"I-I wasn't harassing her!"

With what he said, the child opened his arms towards me.

"Then you can let go of her. He doesn't like kids anyway."

"Y-Young Master..."

Cecilia, who mumbled towards the end of her speech, sighed deeply.

I opened my arms wide, as if gesturing to him to come to me. It was strange.

I remembered my father who passed away.

My warm father who always smiled at me.

"Come here, Brother."

"You can count on me. After all, I'm a big, reliable brother!"

Part of my heart calmed down when I heard him say I could trust him.

I didn't like adults.

People were not to be trusted...

Because everyone had always laughed at me and bothered me. Because they hit my mom. But strangely, the little boy in front of me hadn't lost his faith.

The child whom Cecilia called 'Young Master'...

So I reached out towards the boy.

In the end, Cecilia let me go since the child she called 'Young Master' shouldn't be disobeyed.

Thanks to her, she transferred me to the boy.

The eight-year-old boy was bigger and tougher than I thought.

"Oh, you are heavier than I thought."

"..."

"Forget my comment about you being three."

"Ugh, what do you want me to do? Come on, put me down!"

My mom always said I was light, but I was actually heavy!

Come to think of it, my mom hasn't been able to hug me lately.

She struggled with the feeling of being caught in disgrace. Then, without hesitation, the boy dropped me to the floor like a piece of wood.

"Ow, that hurts!"

"So? Did that hurt? You're weaker than I thought! In the future, you have to grow even more."

Then he slowly stroked my head as if he was an adult.

"But I've only got bones."

But Cecilia grabbed the boys hand hard.

"Young Master, please stop now and lets go back."

"Why?"

"We're going to start class now. As I said before..."

"Cecilia."

For a moment the boy's voice turned cold.

His tone itself was different from when he talked to me.

His cold voice made my body freeze for a moment.

"...Yes, Young Master."

"Am I just anyone?"

"No, you are not."

"You said she was just 'anyone'. But if I'm not anyone, why are you stopping me?"

"That's because I'm... teaching."

"Doesn't she look like she needs to be fed, not tutored right now?"

Only then did Cecilia bow her head.

"Has she been fed?"

"...No."

"Then bring her rice."

He looked just like the Grand Duke.

Cold yet sharp appearance. Those simple words he uttered didn't have any affection in it. The boy looked her in the eyes.

Cecilia, who was acting like she wouldn't back down, nodded belatedly.

"...Alright, Young Master. But the door is..."

"Don't worry! I'll be watching my sister, so don't worry and go."

"No, it's not that... Until the end of class, I should be here..."

"Don't make me repeat myself."

At that moment, I felt the air around me get cold. Even though he didn't use magic, the boy's body emanated a lot of mana.

'I'm not good at using my strength. I don't know how to say anything, and I don't know how to sort things out.'

I still looked at the boy.

Still, this child had a strength that was hard for ordinary people to stand on.

Spewed.

Eventually, Cecilia, sweating, nodded and took a step later.

"Alright, Young Master."

Once I heard her answer and left the room, the boy pulled my chin and looked at me.

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