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Chapter 24
“Is it alright if you call me Adrien? Adriana is fine too.”
“I’m fine with it, Adriana. But please, feel free to call me that too.”
As a gift, not for any real reason, but to remind him of happier times, Adrien gave Samuel a nickname, and Samuel gratefully used it right away.
“Samuel. I can’t excuse it this time, but don’t do this next time. What would you have done if it was someone else? It’s rude.”
“I didn’t mean to overhear. I just heard that you came with someone, so I….”
“Anyway.”
“I’m sorry.”
…Isn’t it rude to me too?
Adrien, who had been smiling warmly at Samuel, hesitated at that moment.
Both Cyril, who was scolding, and Samuel, who was being reprimanded, seemed to treat Adrien as an exception.
The subtle tension, as if Adrien was neither family nor stranger, was palpable.
“I’m sorry, Adriana.”
“It’s fine, Samuel. I’m okay.”
Somehow, it seemed like this time it was Adrien’s turn to forgive.
Adrien crossed his hands toward the dejected Samuel. Seeing his downcast eyes made her feel uncomfortable.
“Cyril, why are you scolding him so openly?”
“If he made a mistake, I have to point it out so he can fix it.”
The arrows of blame immediately turned to Cyril. Adrien decided to speak on Samuel’s behalf.
“Couldn’t you have said that after I left? What did Lady Parthe say?”
“She told me not to ignore mistakes.”
“…Well, that’s true.”
“She also said that the shame isn’t in the mistake itself, but in refusing to accept it.”
“That’s true too—”
Cyril was being a textbook example of a well-behaved student.
Looking back, Cyril rarely got scolded during etiquette lessons. Occasionally, he’d be told off, but it was usually more of a playful reprimand for teasing Adrien….
The more Adrien thought about it, the more confusing it became—who was teaching whom?
How was Cyril able to remember every single detail so perfectly? At this point, it was almost as if he was torturing his own brain with the effort.
Adrien, in comparison, was simply sitting back and letting her mind wander, squeezing out whatever thoughts she could.
“—And she also said not to forget the spirit of tolerance and understanding.”
“Right. I pointed out the mistakes, and you showed tolerance, so we shared the lesson.”
Listening to this, it seemed that Lady Parthe had two exemplary students.
Since everything they said was accurate, Adrien also kind of wished Cyril had been a little bit right. But she couldn’t hit Cyril in front of her younger sibling.
In any case, there was no winning an argument here. Cyril had been caught off guard easily when they were younger, but now, how had it all turned out like this? Sighing about it wouldn’t change the past.
“Ugh.”
Life wasn’t easy, huh….
Adrien, lost in her thoughts, was suddenly interrupted by a suppressed chuckle. It was Samuel, who had clearly been holding back his laughter.
Bowing his head, Samuel snickered quietly. He only noticed the gaze on him much later, and with a slight adjustment, he straightened up.
“Ah, sorry. It’s the first time I’ve seen my brother do that….”
“Let’s keep the greetings short and have a meal together next time, alright? Samuel, we have things to discuss, so go wait outside, okay?”
Just as the explanation was about to begin, Cyril cut it off mercilessly.
Their eyes, almost identical except for the different shades, locked onto each other.
Samuel, who had seemed to have something to say, shrugged his shoulders and got up from his seat. “I’ll see you later, Adriana.” He even remembered to say goodbye. He was still a polite kid right until the moment he left.
“Was the one who wanted to meet me… Samuel?”
“Yeah. I don’t know why, but he insisted on coming to see me while he was here. I didn’t expect him to act so casually. Sorry about that.”
“It’s fine. I’m glad. I thought I’d never see him again, but here we are.”
Samuel had been so insistent on passing messages about her, even when he claimed he’d never remember.
The memories of their playful arguments were still vivid.
It was hard to believe that the Samuel from those childhood stories had already grown so much. Time felt like it had passed faster than she realized.
“Forget Samuel. What’s this?”
“Oh, right.”
Adrien had momentarily forgotten the purpose for which Samuel had arrived, distracted by his face, which reminded her of a younger Cyril.
She quickly retrieved an envelope she had hidden earlier and placed it on the table. Then, with a deliberate gesture, she pushed it toward Cyril.
“…Are you getting married?”
Cyril, who had been glaring at the red envelope as if it were an enemy, finally spoke.
“I guess so.”
“‘I guess so’?”
The response felt so dismissive that Adrien wanted to dismiss it outright.
Meanwhile, Cyril’s eyes were still fixed on the envelope, as if he couldn’t bear to touch it.
“Don’t you want to see it?”
Adrien prompted, but Cyril’s gaze remained locked on the envelope, not moving.
Is he in shock?
Surely, if Cyril had suddenly told her he was getting married, Adrien would have been in shock too. It would be like seeing siblings getting married.
But she couldn’t wait any longer.
Adrien glanced behind her. There was a mirror hanging on the wall opposite Cyril.
“Cyril.”
“…….”
After a long time, Cyril’s eyes finally met hers.
Adrien moved one seat over and spoke again.
“I want you to meet him, my husband.”
Seeing himself in the mirror, Cyril’s eyes widened in disbelief. In hindsight, this was probably expected.
