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Chapter – 36
Only then did a response finally come.
“…I’m not opening the door, so just go away.”
“No. Menroni can wait. I’ll stay right here. The thirsty one’s the one who should dig the well.”
“…Where did you even hear that?”
“I read it in a book.”
At least he answered.
Thank goodness—seems he hasn’t completely decided to cut himself off from the world.
I leaned my back against the door and sat there for about two hours.
People who passed by kept stopping and staring at me.
“Miss? Why are you here…?”
“I came to see my big brother.”
“Ah! Stay strong! I hope you get to see him soon.”
“Yep.”
A few who sympathized with my vigil brought me a cushion, a blanket, and even snacks.
They really didn’t have to.
For someone who used to live like a street beggar, the hallway of a ducal mansion was nothing.
But I can’t ignore people’s kindness.
So I nibbled on cookies and sat, then lay down on the soft cushion, waiting for Louis.
In the end, Louis was the first to raise the white flag.
Just when I started wondering if I should eat lunch out here, the door quietly creaked open.
“…Come in. If you want.”
“Oooh, yep!”
At his prim little permission, I quickly shoved myself through the crack in the door.
“Idiot, you’ll hurt yourself doing that…!”
Louis jumped to his feet at my reckless intrusion.
“Hehe. What if big brother changed his mind? Had to act fast.”
“…You’re really such an idiot.”
Louis muttered that and crouched beside his bed.
I took the hint and crouched next to him in the same posture.
“So, big brother. Why didn’t you come out of your room?”
“Just because.”
“Just because?”
“…Yeah. Just because.”
Liar.
But instead of prying, I simply nodded.
“And you… why did you come looking for me?”
“To say thank you.”
“…What?”
His wide eyes snapped toward me.
“For saving Menroni back then. Big brother was really cool.”
“…Why would you thank me for that.”
“Mm?”
“Why would you thank me?!”
Louis cried out, shoulders shaking as he gulped for air.
“In the first place, it’s because I said mean things to you! That’s why they saw it and bullied you!”
His voice grew wetter and wetter.
I looked at him in surprise—there was a little walnut-sized tremble in his chin.
“I—I didn’t want to be mean to you.”
“…Then we could just get along.”
“That’s not allowed!”
“Why?”
“Because…”
Louis buried his face hard into his knees.
“Because being friends with you… would be a betrayal to my brother!”
…Huh?
A betrayal?
The reason Louis had always avoided me—I finally heard it.
But I still didn’t really understand.
‘Why would being close to me be a betrayal?’
Why?
“Why’s being close with Menroni a betrayal?”
“…If I get close to you, that means I’m acknowledging you as my little sister. That means admitting you really are my uncle’s daughter.”
And why was that a betrayal?
Fortunately, Louis didn’t stop talking there.
“Originally, the one meant to inherit Grandfather’s title wasn’t Uncle—it was my mom.”
“…Mm.”
I already knew this much from the duke, so it wasn’t surprising.
Though I hadn’t heard the detailed story.
“Mom was incredible. Grandpa and Uncle both said she’d make an amazing duke. But… she fell into a coma after the carriage accident. And Uncle became the duke.”
Sniff.
Louis wiped his tears quickly with the back of his hand as he continued to recall those days.
Four years ago.
After the carriage accident that left his mother in a coma…
“Louis, I’ll find a way to wake your mother up. So don’t worry. Just wait for me.”
His father began leaving home to search for a way to wake her.
Now they only saw him maybe once or twice a year.
With their father gone, their grandfather and uncle took responsibility for the two brothers.
“Just think of me as your father. You’ll see me more often than your real one anyway.”
“You fool! Is that something you say in front of the kids?!”
After handing the ducal title to his brother, their uncle called Louis and his older brother over.
“This position was originally your mother’s. So someday, I will return it to you.”
“…But if you have a child of your own, wouldn’t they need to inherit?”
His older brother asked quietly, and Uncle firmly shook his head.
“That won’t happen. I don’t plan to marry or have children.”
“…I’ll work hard, then. I’ll work hard to be a successor you won’t be ashamed of.”
“You don’t need to work for my sake. Just be at ease. You’ve never been someone I’d be ashamed of.”
His uncle said so, but his brother didn’t accept it.
From that day on, his brother lived fiercely.
“I’ll earn Uncle’s recognition. I’ll become someone he can confidently pass the title to.”
Uncle said he already recognized him regardless of effort—but his brother couldn’t believe that.
Louis grew up watching all of that.
How hard his brother worked.
How desperately.
He remembered the sight clearly—his brother plugging his nosebleed with cotton and studying until dawn.
“And if I acknowledge you as Uncle’s daughter… then brother, he…”
A small, wet whisper followed.
I looked at Louis with pity.
…Now it makes sense.
Louis avoided me because he was afraid.
A sick mother. A father who was gone.
Two brothers raised by their uncle and grandfather.
The older brother striving to fulfill a dream their mother couldn’t.
And the younger brother watching him.
Then suddenly, a duke’s illegitimate child appears.
That’s practically a disaster.
No matter how illegitimate, blood ties take precedence over nephews.
Of course I would threaten his brother’s position.
Louis tried to protect his brother by refusing to acknowledge me.
My heart hurt.
If I hadn’t shown up, he’d never have had to worry about any of this.
Honestly—
‘I’m not actually the duke’s daughter, so don’t worry. We’re only in a contract. The ones the duke truly cares about are you and Asder.’
—I wanted to tell him.
But that was impossible.
So what I can do is…!
I sprang to my feet.
Louis lifted his head in surprise.
“Big brother, I’m not gonna be a duke.”
“…What?”
“I’m happy being a lady. I get three meals a day, snacks, lots of books. It’s warm. And I love grandpa, father, and my big brothers. That’s enough for me.”
His eyes trembled violently.
Good. He was shaken.
“And Louis, you work suuuper hard every day. And Asder works even harder than you.”
“That’s true. Brother works much harder than me.”
“So Asder big brother should be the duke. Not someone like me.”
I nodded confidently.
Louis’s face stiffened.
“Someone like you? Why do you say that?”
“…Huh?”
I blinked, caught off guard by the unexpected objection.
“My mom said putting yourself down is bad. I get that you’re trying to comfort me, but don’t talk about yourself like that.”
“Oh… okay.”
I nodded blankly.
Why did that feel like I was hit on the back of the head?
Meanwhile, Louis wiped his eyes with his sleeve.
“After hearing you… I feel lighter.”
“…Because I won’t be a duke?”
“To be honest, that is part of it. It’s really petty, but yeah.”
Louis admitted openly, wrinkling his nose.
“But that’s not all.”
“Then what is it?”
Louis took out a pair of gloves from his pocket.
The ones Asder gave him.
“I realized I’ve been misunderstanding something all this time.”
