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Chapter 8
“Eria and Kaiden?”
Edward briefly recalled what had happened in front of her room earlier and what had happened during dinner.
“Eria… I thought she was a polite child.”
Even though she looked about five years younger than him, she seemed mature for her age, much like he was.
She knew very well when she should step forward and when she should stay back.
As always, Theodore had been the one to start the arguments or cause trouble. Eria had never started anything first.
In private, she had the boldness to stand her ground against Theodore.
And in a formal setting like dinner, she had the wisdom to handle things with a gentle smile.
“……”
The corner of Edward’s lips lifted slightly to one side.
Theodore became a little tense when he saw that expression.
It was a habit Edward had whenever something displeased him.
Just as Theodore expected, Edward felt strangely uncomfortable discussing Eria in this situation.
He did not particularly want to know the exact reason for that discomfort.
But the fact that his heart simply did not feel at ease was something Edward could not control at will.
“Kaiden… still seems inexperienced in many ways, but given the situation, I suppose that can’t be helped.”
“…Is that so?”
“But why?”
“It’s just that, Big Brother…”
You seem to dislike that girl quite a lot.
Theodore could not bring himself to say the rest aloud, so he swallowed the words.
He was two years younger than Edward, and he himself knew very well that he was even less mentally mature than his older brother.
But that did not mean he was unable to read the atmosphere.
Big Brother seems like he doesn’t want to show that he dislikes her.
It was the first time Theodore had seen Edward dislike someone so obviously, and honestly, it confused him a little.
It can’t be simply because she was adopted.
If that were the case, Edward would have reacted the same way when Theodore first came to this mansion.
Theodore reached up and held the silver locket pendant around his neck, gently rubbing it between his fingers.
It was a habit he had whenever he became unusually anxious or lost in thought.
“What am I? Why did you stop talking?”
Only then did Theodore realize that he had stopped in the middle of his sentence.
He quickly lowered the hand that had been touching his pendant and hurriedly made up something to say.
“I was just thinking… what if you are unnecessarily kind to her, and she becomes arrogant and ends up bringing shame to the Croyman family?”
“Hahaha. Eria? You should be more worried about yourself bringing shame to the family.”
Theodore had already realized that Eria did not seem like the kind of person who would do such a thing.
Still, Edward’s joke secretly hurt his feelings, and his eyebrows drooped.
Noticing his feelings, Edward lightly patted him on the shoulder.
“Sorry if that upset you. But Theo, even if you dislike her a little, don’t make it too obvious.”
“……”
“She must already be having a hard time adjusting to this place.”
Dislike her?
If he really thought about it, Theodore did not actually dislike Eria.
Honestly, when he first heard about her, he had even thought that he should treat her well.
Just as Edward had treated him when he first came to this mansion.
For some reason, whenever he looked at her, he was reminded of himself from a year ago—when he had lost his parents and had nowhere to go.
And apparently, that girl had traveled around alone with a dragon.
He became curious about how she had managed to get all the way here without a guardian.
But Big Brother’s expression when he was with her…
He had looked too shocked.
It was the first time Theodore had ever seen Edward fail to control his expression so badly.
Maybe that was why he could not treat Eria kindly.
For some reason, it felt as though doing so would mean betraying the older brother who had always treated him so well.
Theodore knew Edward very well.
He was the eldest son of the Croyman family, a family that was practically one of the foundations of the Empire.
He was the only direct descendant.
And because he was the heir who would inherit a position where he had to be perfect every moment, he was always carefully controlling how he presented himself.
There was only one thing about him that was less than perfect.
A fatal problem that made it impossible for him to inherit the position of head of the family.
Maybe that’s why Big Brother doesn’t like that girl.
Theodore lowered his head slightly.
He had thought that perhaps Edward would be a little more honest when they were alone together.
But apparently, even now, it was still difficult for him to open up and speak freely.
“I understand, Big Brother.”
“Okay. I’ll go first. If you’re tired, stay here and rest a little longer.”
“Yes, Big Brother.”
When Theodore lowered his head slightly, Edward gave him a small nod and left the room.
Theodore quietly watched the back of Edward as he walked away with a large book held against his chest.
For some reason, he thought his brother’s shoulders looked just as heavy as the book he was carrying.
Several days had passed since I entered the Croyman mansion.
Contrary to what I had worried about, everything was progressing as naturally as water flowing down a stream.
Except for the first day, I had not met any of my new family even once.
I wasn’t sure whether this was truly a natural way for things to go or whether I simply wasn’t fitting in and was being left on the outside.
Well, it’s not like they have much free time.
Luke, of course, was busy.
Edward also seemed to be busy attending various lessons because he was the designated heir.
The only person who seemed to have plenty of free time was Theodore.
But I had not even caught sight of the hem of his clothes, so I had no idea what he was doing all day.
Still, thanks to that, I could train with Kai comfortably without feeling pressured to behave well around them.
Fortunately, Kai also seemed to be adjusting to the mansion better than I had expected.
“Eria, cold…”
Kai, who had been sleeping soundly beside me, moved closer and tightly hugged me.
“Young Lady, are you awake? Oh my! Young Master! When did you come back again?”
Hmm.
Maybe I had let him get too comfortable here.
I gave Annie, who had just entered the room, an awkward smile as I explained.
“Baby dragons like warm embraces.”
“That’s true… but the servants who don’t know about Young Master will think it’s strange.”
I didn’t care.
Taking proper care of Kai was more important than the insignificant opinions of other people.
At Annie’s words, I gently patted Kai’s back as he burrowed deeper under the blankets.
“Kai, shall we get up now?”
I lifted the blanket so that Kai could feel the warm sunlight.
Kai frowned and buried his face against me but eventually nodded and moved away slightly.
“I’m sleepy…”
“Then do you want to sleep a little longer?”
“…What about Eria?”
“I’m going to get up now. The weather is nice, so I thought I might go for a walk.”
“Me too… I’ll go……”
Kai said that, but his face looked so sleepy that it seemed he could fall asleep again at any moment.
“No. Sleep a little longer. I’ll go out for a while and wake you as soon as I come back.”
Kai could not even answer me before falling asleep again.
Since he was still growing, it was only natural that he needed a lot of sleep.
I smiled softly and gently stroked his plump, soft cheek.
Then I carefully got out of bed without waking him.
I still had some time before I trained with Kai in the afternoon.
Maybe I should go to the garden.
I asked Annie to prepare things for my walk.
With her help, I changed into a light yellow dress.
I smiled and said,
“I want to take a quiet walk today.”
After hesitating, she slowly asked,
“Are you really sure it’s okay to go alone?”
“Yes. It’s inside the mansion grounds anyway, so there’s nothing dangerous.”
“But… the garden is very large. You might easily get lost.”
“It’s fine. If I haven’t come back by the afternoon, then wake Kai up.”
He’ll be able to find me quickly.
Dragons had extremely sharp senses.
“I understand. Please be careful.”
Annie bowed her head and stepped away.
Once I was alone in the room, I looked at myself in the mirror and awkwardly touched the hem of my dress.
…… Does anyone actually wear clothes this much like a little chick?
I quickly turned my head away and left the room.
Then I hurried toward the garden.
“Huh? A rabbit.”
After entering the garden and walking around for a while, as if taking a leisurely stroll, I saw a white rabbit hopping around among the bushes.
I knelt down on the ground and followed the rabbit’s movements with my eyes.
Perhaps it was wary of me, because the rabbit tilted its head toward me.
But it did not run away into the distance.
It was a familiar reaction.
The other animals I had seen in the research facility had behaved the same way.
Animals that were a little wary of strangers at first somehow became quite friendly with me.
Suddenly, I remembered what Luke had told me about Beast Tamers.
I had thought being a beast tamer simply meant that I could become friendly with animals more easily.
If I tame this rabbit, then maybe this little one too…
Would it simply obey every command I gave it?
