IBTDRI 3

Episode 3

“Who… are you?”

I stepped forward.
Whoever he was, he had to be one of the guests visiting our house.

Tani had already hidden behind my back.

The boy, seeing us like that, gave a faint smile and held out Tani’s rabbit doll.

I quickly took it, and then he spoke slowly.

“I am—”

“Hello! I’m Julia. Julia Ward!”

But Julia, rushing in from behind, shouted in a hasty voice.
Her cheeks were noticeably flushed.

“Do you want to play with me? Those boys over there are playing too.”

“…Pft.”

A small laugh escaped me.

Julia actively trying to win someone over—that was rare enough. And besides, this boy looked at least three years older than them.

‘He looks ten at least. He won’t want to hang out with little brats.’

That was exactly why they excluded Tani, wasn’t it?

“……?”

But then my smile faltered.
The boy’s gaze had shifted to me, and our eyes met.

“Why are you—”

“……”

Just as I opened my mouth, he turned his head away, as if his interest had vanished.

Then he replied gently to Julia.

“Thanks for the offer, but I’d rather read quietly.”

“A-ah…”

Julia’s face turned beet red.

Only then did I notice the large, heavy book in his arms.
I couldn’t even guess what sort of book it was.

‘What kind of ten-year-old reads that?’

Suddenly, a deep, adult voice rang out from behind him.

“Goodness, even if you’re in a hurry to make friends, you shouldn’t run off without your uncle.”

Behind the boy, a tall, well-built man was approaching.

My eyes widened.

“Marquis Persis!”

I hurriedly grabbed Tani’s hand and the rabbit doll, running toward him.

The Marquis greeted us with a warm, fatherly smile.

“You’ve grown so much, Edel. And happy birthday, Tani.”

“Marquis, I missed you so much!”

The Marquis was one of my parents’ closest friends. Among the noble circle, his status was the highest, yet he never drew strict lines—he was well-liked by everyone.

Though he had no children of his own, he always looked longingly at the other families’ children.

“I missed you as well. Now then, have you met my nephew?”

“Nephew?”

That boy had now come to stand at the Marquis’ side.

The Marquis laid a hand on his shoulder.

“This is my distant cousin’s son, Zar. Zar, these are the young ladies Edelweiss and Titania Nightley.”

“Hello.”

“A-ah… nice to meet you.”

I shook his hand awkwardly.
From behind me, I could feel Julia’s furious glare stabbing into the back of my head.

The Marquis gave Zar a gentle pat on the shoulder.

“Well then, Zar, take care of the others and play nicely.”

“Mm… understood, Uncle.”

“See you later, children.”

And with that, the Marquis turned and walked away without hesitation.

“Um…”

Julia, hesitating and glancing after him, tried again to approach Zar. But he cut her off with a polite smile.

“Sorry. But keep it a secret that I followed Uncle here. Don’t tell the maids either.”

“Eh? O-oh…?”

Speaking as if it were nothing, he simply walked past Julia.

Not only Julia and the boys, but even Tani and I stood frozen, watching his retreating back.

“Aah… no, I wanted to play with him…”

Julia’s voice trembled as if entranced, unwilling to take her eyes off him.

But as quickly as she seemed to fall under a spell, she shook her head, regaining herself.

“No, I can’t stand this—I’m going after him.”

…So she hadn’t regained herself after all.

“What? Julia! What about what we planned today?”

“It won’t change anything. You two carry it out as planned!”

‘Planned…?’

I frowned, puzzled, but Julia quickly glanced at the maids standing in the distance.

Then she suddenly screamed.

“Kyahhh! My bracelet! My bracelet is gone!”

“Lady Julia?”

Startled, the maids rushed over.

Julia, feigning tears, clutched her wrist.

“My bracelet—it’s missing! Father gave it to me as a gift. I must have dropped it before I came to the garden!”

“Oh my, I’ll go search for it right away!”

“This estate is far too big for one person to search! Both of you, go! I’ll come with you as well!”

“Th-that’s…”

The maids looked toward me uncertainly, but I nodded quickly.
If Julia didn’t get her way, she always caused trouble elsewhere.

With everyone’s attention snared, Julia whisked the maids away.

But the last smile she threw at me was the smug grin of someone convinced she’d already won.

‘What exactly is she planning…?’

As I felt a shiver of unease—

“Hey, crybaby and crybaby’s sister. Where do you think you’re going?”

Jeremy sneered as he stepped closer.

Then he suddenly snatched the rabbit doll from Tani’s arms.

“Kyaa! T-Tosoon…!”

“What are you doing!”

“Chanseton, give that doll back to Tani!”

“G-give it back…!”

But instead of returning it, Jeremy tossed the doll to Illan.

“Illan, catch!”

“Got it!”

Illan grinned as he tied the doll to a thick arrow with rope.

Tani’s trembling lips finally burst into sobs.

“Uwaaaah…!”

“Tani…!”

I quickly pulled her into my arms.

‘She’s been crying all morning already…!’

Grinding my teeth, I glared at them. Illan smirked, swinging the tied-up doll mockingly.

“Want to cry too? Come get it if you can!”

The bowstring drew taut.

And then—

Twang!

The arrow shot high, sailing into the air.

“Whoa!”

It caught on a branch of the great tree, the doll dangling miserably from the rope.

“Tosoon, Tosooon! Waaahhh!”

Seeing her beloved doll hanging there, Tani wailed until she nearly choked.

“Wow, Illan, that was amazing!”

“I told you, I’ll be the youngest to join the knights!”

They laughed among themselves, oblivious to her distress.

And something inside me finally snapped.

“I can’t… take this anymore!”

Thud!

“Kyaa!”
“Argh!”

The noisy garden fell silent at the sound of a louder crash.

‘Oh.’

From the tree where I sat, I watched Edelweiss Nightley’s head smash directly into Illan Nenery’s nose.

‘This is more fun than I expected.’

Truthfully, I had wanted to wander the estate, but as a “guest child,” I had to heed my uncle’s words and return to the garden.

Still, at least this way I’d gotten rid of that annoying girl.

And now, this scene unfolded before me.

“B-blood! My nose is bleeding!!!”

Edel, who had been clutching her forehead, snapped her head up in shock.

Blood trickled in two crimson lines down Illan’s face.

“Pfft…”

I almost laughed aloud, but quickly clamped my hand over my mouth.
I didn’t want to lose the amusement of watching these unpredictable children.

Besides, with Julia gone dragging the maids away, this would last even longer.

“Uh…”

But unlike me, Edel looked panicked, her face pale.

‘Hmm… so it wasn’t intentional.’

My budding interest cooled slightly.

“O-oh, h-hic, s-sister…”

My gaze shifted to Titania, who was sobbing uncontrollably.

“…If she keeps crying like that, it’ll harm her health.”

But this wasn’t my role to play.
Not yet.

So I leaned back against the tree and reopened my book.

“You wicked girl!”

“Hold it in, Illan! We’re in the Nightley estate!”

“Let me go!”

“No! Julia said no fighting in public!”

The sound of Edel and Illan scuffling broke through the turning of my pages.

“B-big sis… Tosoon, Tosoon…”

“Tani, breathe slowly! We need adults to get Tosoon—”

My hand froze mid-turn.

Titania’s breathing had grown ragged, almost suffocating.

‘…If she dies, that would be troublesome.’

After all this, for her to die before I’d even spoken to her properly? Unacceptable.

I rose to intervene.

But then I blinked at the sight below.

Edelweiss, kicking off her shoes, gripped the base of the enormous old tree.

‘She’s… climbing it?’

The tallest, oldest tree in the entire garden—easily ten times her height.

And yet she was really going to climb it.

“Amazing…”

At first her face was twisted with pain, and I thought she’d give up quickly.

But with gritted teeth, her small body clawed its way upward.

Then—

“Ah!”

She slipped, a scream tearing from her throat.

I scowled. She barely managed to catch herself again, but the scent that wafted toward me was all too familiar.

Blood. Her leg was bleeding badly.

But she didn’t stop.

At last, she reached the branch, pale as a ghost, and untangled the rope. The doll tumbled free.

Her body sagged with exhaustion, every ounce of strength spent.

There was no way she could climb back down.

“This… wasn’t part of the plan.”

And so, I finally stood to act.