The person who came in after my uncle was my cousin Krinum. She was the only one for some reason.
“Kafir… Actually, my wife won’t come out of the room. Could you calm her down?”
My uncle says something very pathetic and takes my father with him.
The rest of us looked at each other and smiled bitterly.
“Hello Krinum. It’s been a while.”
“Yes, Lycoris. Thank you for always writing to me.”
While greeting her with a smile, I was surprised at the change in her appearance.
She grew taller and my body became rounder and more feminine. She hasn’t gained weight, though; her waist and limbs are still as slim as ever. Because her skin is so pale, her dark freckles have faded considerably and will probably disappear within a few years. The balm in her hair smelled sweet.
My uncle probably doesn’t realize it because they live together, but compared to when I met her last time, she seems much more mature than I am. That’s probably because of her age.
“Krinum, you’ve become so beautiful since we last saw each other.”
“Eh?”
“You were always a beautiful girl, but now you feel like you’re closer to being a beautiful woman.”
“That’s too much praise, Lycoris. You’ve grown up quite a bit. You’ve always been worried about your slanted eyes, but it stands out because your outline is childish and round. I think you’ll become a great beauty.”
Krinum was clearly overstating. Maybe my face is red.
While this was going on, my aunt came over, escorted by my father. As expected from my father’s skill, he was quite quick.
Standing side by side, Krinum and my aunt look very similar.
“Hello, Lycoris. Thank you for coming today out of concern for Krinum.”
My aunt smiled weakly, and I replied, “No, not at all,” feeling apologetic inside.
“I was worried about Krinum,” was probably what my father had explained. I was certainly worried about Krinum, but the truth is that the main reason I came here was because I wanted to meet “Shade.”
When we rush headlong toward one goal like this, we may forget to be considerate of others. Let’s reflect on this.
So, what happened to that “Shade”?
He did not show up at this dinner, nor at any other dinners afterwards.
My aunt tells me why he doesn’t come out to dinner.
“He has no manners. He doesn’t like to attend these events.”
I think this is quite possible. Only the upper classes require proper etiquette at meals, and I doubt I would have been able to master the complicated etiquette of mealtimes had it not been drilled into me from an early age.
Even so, there was still a coldness to my aunt’s words. Considering that he didn’t want to appear in front of us, it seems that she has complicated feelings towards her stepson. Of course.
In response, my uncle said:
“That’s right, Lycoris. If you don’t mind, could you teach that kid some manners? He’s a little shy, but I’m sure he’ll open up to you since you’re the same age.”
Uncle, I think it takes a lot of positive thinking to believe that a “shy child” would open up to a female relative who suddenly appeared. Things don’t always go well between kids. I won’t say it though.
Krinum was very quiet throughout the dinner. To be honest, I was very curious as to what she thought of her brother, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask her directly.
And after dinner.
Finally, my uncle brought my father and I to meet Shade.
Shade was an adorable child, like an angel.
His curly golden-brown hair softly framed his cheeks, and his eyes were a darker brown… I thought, but upon closer inspection, they were more reddish than brown.
His skin was transparently white, and his cheeks were rosy. I never thought the day would come when I would seriously describe a boy like this.
However, his body was quite slender and thin.
When I think of boys of the same age, I can’t help but think of Wolf. He’s gotten a lot stronger recently, so he’s probably not a good comparison. But even so, he’s still thin. I wonder if he was malnourished as a child.
“This is Shade. Shade Rankrats.”
As usual, information flooded my head in response to my uncle’s words.
Shade. In the game, he is a fifth-year student at the same magic school as the heroine, meaning he is sixteen years old. I can picture him as a more mature, more masculine figure, completely different from how he is now. In the game stills, he is smiling cheerfully, or perhaps somewhat seductively.
In contrast to Wolfgang’s misogyny, Shade is a character who loves women. However, there is a slight problem with his love for women. He actively seduces women, enjoys sweet words, and then pushes them away. Then I guess he doesn’t like women, but if he just doesn’t like them, then he probably won’t get close to them. In other words, he has a love-hate relationship.
He’s bright and sociable, and he’s a good liar. He’s a smart character.
His mother is a prostitute. His father was a monkey aristocrat. Immediately after being separated from his mother, he was neglected by his stepmother, and when he managed to escape and arrived at the night street where his mother was supposed to be, his mother had already run away with a new man. Such a painful past… Wait a minute.
In this case, the father must be Uncle Narcissus. So this child is being abused by my aunt?
“Shade, she’s your cousin. She’s Lycoris. Next to her is Duke Lilia, my brother-in-law. Look carefully, both of you. This boy has red in his eyes.”
While this easy-going uncle was away, perhaps browsing or buying horticultural products?
Something terrible has already happened.
And it was closer to me than I thought.
“Duke. Lady Lycoris. Thank you very much.”
He… Shade was clutching his chest with his thin, small hands, but he still put on a smile and bowed his head towards me. A boy who is intimidated by the other person’s status, but still tries to be as respectful as possible. He looked like that.
You can’t know what’s really going on inside someone’s mind just by looking at them from the outside.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you for reading!
