Chapter 1

Tick, tock… tick, tock…

The steady sound of a clock’s second hand echoed through the room.

Other than that, only the two people’s gazes existed. Neither of them spoke.

At this rate, we’ll be here until sunrise.

Standing some distance away, Elysia watched the pair.

The air in the office felt so heavy it was hard to breathe.

Yulias sat at his desk without moving. He simply stared at his younger sister, who was much smaller than him.

It felt like thirty minutes had already passed, yet the two only looked at each other. Neither seemed willing to open their mouth first.

Unable to watch any longer, Elysia gestured toward Yulias.

You said you’d definitely apologize today.

Yulias understood her signal and twitched his eyebrow.

His expression clearly said he knew and that she should stop pressuring him.

If you know, then why not try starting a conversation first?

Elysia let out a small sigh.

But in the silence, even that sigh seemed unusually loud.

[Are you busy?]

What caught his eye was the writing on a piece of parchment.

The one holding it was Sheyla, the Grand Duchy’s only young lady and still a very young child.

She had not even made her debut in society yet.

But perhaps because they were siblings, the way she looked at Yulias was anything but ordinary.

“As you can see.”

Yulias shifted his gaze to his desk.

It was piled with documents he needed to review. In fact, he had already finished a considerable amount of work specifically so he could spend time talking to his sister.

[I see.]

As if she had prepared it beforehand, Sheyla flipped the paper over.

Seeing that, Yulias frowned.

His already cold appearance became even fiercer.

After glancing at his desk, Sheyla finally looked at his face and hesitated.

When Elysia saw the girl slowly stepping backward, she urgently signaled to Yulias.

Smile. You need to smile. We practiced this!

Faced with Elysia’s passionate stare, Yulias pressed his fingers against his brow.

“Sheyla.”

After thirty minutes of silence, Yulia finally called her name.

Their orange eyes, reminiscent of a sunset sky, met once again.

“So…”

Yulias was the first to look away and fumble over his words.

It was obvious he wanted to say something but was hesitating.

Sheyla did not avoid his gaze and simply waited.

Maybe just a little more effort will do it.

Elysia watched him with hopeful eyes.

Just say it. “I’m sorry for being cold to you yesterday.” You can do it, Your Grace!

Cheering him on inwardly, she clenched both fists.

But the words that came out of Yulia’s mouth were completely different.

“How long do you plan to keep skipping the Academy?”

“……”

There he goes again.

Elysia squeezed her eyes shut.

Meanwhile, Sheyla openly looked away, her expression filled with boredom.

It was the look of someone thinking, I knew this would happen.

A look that seemed far too mature for a child.

Even Yulias let out a quiet groan as if he knew this was not what he should have said.

“You are the daughter of the Grand Duke’s family, are you not? If you keep refusing to go, you’ll eventually be expelled from the Academy.”

Hearing the conversation veer in a completely different direction, Elysia muttered inwardly.

We’re doomed.

“Y-Your Ladyship, what His Grace means is…”

Elysia was just about to step in and make an excuse for him.

But Sheyla looked as though she might burst into tears at any moment.

Seeing that expression, Elysia quickly opened the office door.

“Your Ladyship, may I speak with His Grace for a moment?”

When Elysia carefully asked, Sheyla tugged on the hem of her skirt.

It was her way of saying, Let’s leave right now.

“Just… just a moment, please.”

Elysia spoke awkwardly.

In response, Sheyla slammed the office door shut and walked away.

… And now I’m getting caught in the fallout too. Do you know how hard I worked to earn her trust?

Suppressing a sigh, Elysia turned to Yulias.

He looked restless, like a puppy that had just caused trouble.

“You said you would definitely apologize today, Your Grace.”

“…I’m simply not used to it.”

“Not used to it? You didn’t apologize at all.”

“How can I just start with an apology out of nowhere?”

“You can. You could simply say, ‘I didn’t realize how difficult life at the academy was for you. I want to help you from now on. ‘That’s all.”

“Then you should have told me earlier that was what I was supposed to say.”

“…Was I supposed to explain that too?”

“Yes. Then I could have prepared myself.”

Does this man really need instructions for every single thing?

He was a man who handled paperwork, monsters, and military command flawlessly.

Yet he couldn’t manage a single apology to his younger sister.

“Your Grace…”

Elysia made a strained sound, holding back countless things she wanted to say.

Maybe the world really was fair.

A man blessed with such looks and intelligence knew absolutely nothing about his own sister’s feelings.

After thinking for a moment, Elysia walked over to his desk.

“Your Ladyship is waiting. Let’s practice one more time. A short version.”

“……”

“Repeat after me. “I’m sorry for everything until now, Sheyla. I’ll try to become a better brother from now on.’”

“……”

“Go ahead.”

Even repeating someone else’s words seemed difficult for him.

He opened his mouth several times only to close it again.

Patiently, Elysia waited.

“Until now…”

She looked at him expectantly.

After hesitating, Yulias rubbed his forehead and continued.

“Wasn’t all the time you spent at the Academy a waste?”

“……”

Hopeless.

Did this man have any intention of apologizing at all?

Even Elysia ended up looking at him with cold eyes.

Yulias groaned and ran a hand through his hair.

“Do I really need to apologize? Can’t I just show it through my actions?”

“Judging by your actions up until now, absolutely not.”

“Why? I’ve supported her generously and even bought her gifts.”

“Your Grace, as I’ve said before, material things aren’t everything.”

“If a few words could solve everything, then why do wars happen?”

Here we go again.

Elysia was reminded once more that Yulias was a man completely incapable of understanding things from a child’s perspective.

Knock, knock.

Someone knocked on the office door.

Since Sheyla had not gone back to her room alone, it felt more like a demand for Elysia to hurry up and come out.

Elysia gave a formal bow and turned to leave.

“Wait.”

“Pardon?”

“What if…”

What now?

The atmosphere between the siblings was already completely ruined.

“If I force her back to the Academy… do you think our relationship will get even worse?”

“……”

Elysia truly felt she would never understand how this man’s mind worked.

No, she should simply stop trying.

She opened her mouth, then closed it, and merely nodded.

A firm, unmistakable, absolutely yes.

Bang! Bang!

The office door rattled from rough impacts.

Whether Sheyla was knocking or kicking, it was impossible to tell.

She was clearly protesting for Elysia to come out already.

“Your Grace.”

“What is it?”

“You really do want to become close siblings with Her Ladyship, don’t you?”

“That’s why I had you sit here and… practice with me.”

Why did he hesitate so much when saying the word practice?

Was he embarrassed?

Or perhaps…

Surely it wasn’t wounded pride.

…Hopefully not.

“What?”

“Huh?”

When Elysia stared at him, Yulias narrowed his eyes as though asking why she was still standing there.

“Go. Sheyla is waiting.”

Like brother, like sister.

After giving a respectful bow, Elysia left the office.

She had thought Sheyla might have gone back already, but the girl was leaning against the wall, waiting.

Sheyla grabbed Elysia’s hand and pulled her along.

“You waited for me, didn’t you? I’m sorry, Your Ladyship.”

Without saying a word, Sheyla crumpled the paper in her hand and threw it onto the floor.

Elysia picked it up and forced a smile.

“Why are you picking it up?”

“Don’t worry. I’ve been keeping them organized.”

“You can throw it away. I don’t need it.”

The young lady, who normally communicated through written notes, only spoke aloud to one person.

Elysia was a rookie maid who had joined the Grand Duke’s household just three months ago.

And restoring the relationship between those two siblings was not the only thing occupying her thoughts.

…What reason should I give this time for why another piece of paper got crumpled?

The Grand Duke usually barely spared the notes a glance.

Yet the truth was that he carefully checked every single written conversation his sister had.

And Elysia was the only person who knew that secret.