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Chapter 9
Seidy and Valentin spent the entire bus ride home chatting pleasantly together. Tracy was happy to see them getting along, but at the same time, she felt uncomfortable, so she tried not to look at either of them.
Of course, Seidy was the one who quickly noticed what she was doing.
“Teety. Is that person making you uncomfortable?”
Tracy flinched when Seidy lightly nudged her side and whispered into her ear.
“What are you talking about?”
“You keep watching yourself around her.”
“…Of course I do. There’s a huge difference in status, and she’s Sergeant Haskins’s friend.”
“……”
Seidy’s expression became sullen at her sister’s answer. Valentin then joined the conversation.
“When you suddenly whisper like that, I assume you’re talking badly about me.”
Seidy turned her body in the opposite direction, smiled brightly, and covered her mouth with her hand.
“Oh my, how could we possibly dare speak ill of a colonel?”
“My subordinates do it just fine even right in front of me.”
“Ahaha, it must be difficult leading such mischievous people.”
“You have to put up with being cursed at when you’re in a high position.”
While the two exchanged jokes so comfortably, Tracy was the only one who felt left out. Every now and then, she also caught the surprised looks of the other passengers after hearing the word colonel, which made her sigh.
Still, Seidy is having fun, so that’s enough.
At least there was one good thing: her beloved younger sister looked brighter than usual. Her expression was completely different from when she had met Tracy six months ago, and Tracy actually found herself grateful to Valentin for that.
Yet at the same time, the fact that she couldn’t treat Seidy as warmly as he did weighed heavily on her heart.
Amid her complicated thoughts, the bus approached their home. Seidy jumped off lightly with a bright smile, but as they drew closer to Todd’s residence, the smile disappeared from her face.
Tracy noticed her mood as well and opened the door first.
“Why did you take so long? You even shoved some woman I’ve never seen before into the house.”
The moment the door opened, they were greeted by Todd’s irritated joke. Normally, he would have made a genuinely intimidating face, but with Valentin present, his tone was slightly softer and his words more restrained.
Tracy immediately straightened herself respectfully.
“I’m sorry. It’s been a long time since—”
“You came quickly enough. Besides, she’s going to be family, so I thought it would be good to go and introduce myself first.”
Valentin cut her off and entered the house ahead of her. He held up Seidy’s bag, which he had somehow already picked up, and even gave Todd a questioning look as if asking where he should put it.
Todd let out a hollow laugh.
“Colonel, are you trying to become in-laws with us? Isn’t that a little shameless?”
“What are you talking about? I’m just taking care of one of your people. Besides, you and I aren’t actual brothers, so technically, this isn’t a double in-law relationship either.”
“I just meant that’s what it looks like.”
The wrinkles between Todd’s brows didn’t disappear, but Valentin didn’t seem bothered at all. He simply smiled.
“I happened to get some more chocolate-chip cookies today. Since the sergeant was going to visit her younger sister, I thought I’d give her some as a welcome gift.”
“…Tsk. I’ll let it slide since there were some among the gifts you brought yesterday too.”
“I’m so grateful.”
Thanks to that, Todd’s attitude softened. Seidy gave Valentin sparkling eyes for smoothly handling the situation and linked her arm with her sister’s.
“He’s such a nice person.”
“…Yeah.”
When she received such a lukewarm response, Seidy glared at her.
“That’s it?”
“What else am I supposed to say?”
“…Sigh. Teety, you’re just too—”
“Let’s close the door. Don’t you know we’re letting in a ton of dust?”
As Seidy narrowed her eyes, Tracy turned around and quickly shut the door.
“I’m sorry.”
“Good grief. I have to teach you every little thing.”
“Don’t waste your energy being annoyed. Save it for negotiating on behalf of our country.”
Valentin gently calmed Todd down and led him toward the living room. Seidy’s luggage was taken by Camilla, who had been standing nearby and cautiously observing the situation.
When she made eye contact with the sisters, she gave them a small smile.
“My name is Camilla, and I’ll be working as the housekeeper starting today. You must have had a long journey. You must be tired, right?”
At Camilla’s kind greeting, Seidy instinctively lifted the corners of her mouth into a smile.
“You’re the person the colonel mentioned earlier. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Camilla’s eyes widened at the refined yet unarrogant greeting.
“Oh my, please speak casually with me. I’m a commoner, so there’s no need to use honorifics with me.”
“Ah….”
Seidy still hadn’t been able to shake off her habits from the academy. Minor nobles and fallen aristocrats worked as both servants and teachers there, so students were required by school rules to treat them respectfully.
Tracy understood and gave Seidy a faint smile before nodding.
“Thank you, Camilla. Then, could you take Seidy’s luggage to her room?”
“Sis.”
Just as Tracy turned toward the kitchen, Seidy grabbed her arm and stopped her. Her expression seemed to ask, What are you trying to do right now?
Tracy slightly raised the corners of her lips and took Seidy’s hand.
“I was going to look at the ingredients I bought earlier. Chocolate-chip cookies aren’t enough to fill your stomach.”
Seidy’s brows immediately furrowed.
“Don’t tell me you’re going to cook yourself?”
“…I told you, I just bought them.”
“Hah.”
Apparently dissatisfied with the answer, Seidy gave a hollow laugh. She walked over to Camilla, took back her luggage, and stared sternly at Tracy.
“Look at me, Sis. Camilla, I’ll leave the food to you.”
“Uh, yes….”
Camilla’s voice became small at the situation, which seemed to have completely reversed their roles.
Tracy watched Seidy’s back as she headed toward her room with an uncomfortable expression, then slowly followed her.
Thud.
The two sisters entered the small room prepared on the first floor. Seidy firmly set down her luggage, straightened her chest, and stood in front of Tracy.
“What are you doing?”
“…Seidy.”
“I thought something was missing from the colonel’s story.”
“It’s not like that.”
Tracy tried to stop her and deny it, but Seidy’s gaze only grew sharper.
“It’s not? Anyone could see that you were acting like someone who was naturally going off to work.”
“I told you. I was just checking on things.”
“Don’t lie to me. If you keep doing that, the moment Haskins says something, you’ll try to do everything yourself again!”
Thanks to Todd, they had been able to set foot on the land of Sahiris, once an enemy of their homeland. Because of that, Tracy had no choice but to obey whatever she was told. But young Seidy had rebelled against it. Todd repeatedly became angry because of her, so Tracy had eventually been forced to act first to prevent trouble.
“Seidy. Watch what you say.”
“No, I won’t. You said you understood what I told you last time. He’s going to receive a ducal title soon, and Teety is going to become a duchess. So what if, instead of ordering you around, he makes you do everything yourself?”
“…Ha.”
At the sharp words that came from those peach-like lips, Tracy closed her eyes and pressed her fingers against the furrow between her brows.
“First of all, regarding the appointment, he hasn’t received the ducal title yet.”
“What?”
When Seidy asked in disbelief, Tracy rubbed the space between her brows with her fingertips.
“They said the negotiations were likely to take a long time, so they decided to postpone it. That’s why we held a small, informal engagement ceremony at the victory banquet this time.”
No answer came.
At the hollow sigh and drooping shoulders, Tracy lowered her hand. The moment she saw Seidy’s disappointed expression, she sighed.
“Yeah. I know what you want to say. But you know that I don’t have any decision-making power. I can only do what Sergeant Haskins tells me to do.”
“……”
“And it really was a very simple ceremony. The dress was ordinary, and all we did was introduce ourselves to acquaintances. Everything was arranged so suddenly that I didn’t even have time to send you a letter, so I couldn’t tell you beforehand. But it wasn’t the actual wedding, which is the important part.”
Tracy had said everything she could, yet Seidy’s expression only grew more troubled.
“Fine. Let’s say the engagement and marriage are like that. But you didn’t say a single word about what happened yesterday.”
“Yesterday couldn’t be helped. There wasn’t a housekeeper.”
“That’s exactly what I’m asking about! Why wasn’t there a housekeeper in the first place? What has Haskins been doing all this time? Is he just satisfied with going from superior officer to sergeant? Even so, how can he treat the woman who’s going to be his wife the same way he used to?”
As Seidy pointed a finger and even moved her face closer, Tracy leaned her head back.
“Seidy.”
“Am I wrong? You were a proud noble lady, and you even signed an agreement promising that you could become a duchess. And yet the way he’s treating you—”
“Seidy!”
Tracy raised her voice, and Seidy stopped speaking. After drawing in a ragged breath, she took several deep breaths and composed herself.
“Neither the sergeant nor anyone else knew when I would be discharged, and we didn’t know when his work would end either. I only returned to my normal life three days ago. As for him, he’s just finishing up the urgent matters before taking a short break.”
At her sister’s explanation, Seidy lowered her eyes. Tracy gently took her by the shoulders and lowered herself slightly to meet her gaze.
“They said they couldn’t leave someone they didn’t trust in charge while I was away. You agree with that, don’t you? Then you should understand that there was nothing we could do yesterday either. And the colonel is the sergeant’s friend, so it’s fine for me to take care of her.”
Only after a short while did Seidy look up and pout slightly.
“Teety.”
“…I know you’re the only person who worries about me, Seidy. That’s why I’m always grateful. But you don’t have to worry about me that much. You know better than anyone that I don’t act without thinking.”
At the softened tone, Seidy lowered her head and nodded. Only then did Tracy straighten her back.
“Enough serious talk! Now listen to what I have to say.”
Seeing her younger sister drag her toward the bed, the corners of Tracy’s lips curved into a smile.
At last, it felt as though she had gotten her ordinary life back.
At least for the moment, they set aside the lingering uneasiness between them.
