A feeling of coldness ran through his entire body.
“Brother, what are you doing here?”
“…”
Lillia couldn’t tell whether Victor was aware of the current situation or if he was completely oblivious, so she kept glancing at him.
‘Hey, Victor Diollus! Don’t you think Ruby would feel closer to you if it weren’t for this girl? Because of her, Ruby probably thought you and your brother were pretty much the same.’
An inner Victor, who often burst out in anger, once again provoked the one trying to restrain himself this time.
‘Ruby was stressed because of her appearance, and you probably had some influence on that. You always discouraged her whenever she asked for fitness advice, saying she didn’t need to lose weight.’
“Brother! Can you hear me?”
‘Yet, because of this girl, you turned into a pathetic brother who bashes Ruby from behind and compares the two girls.’
Victor clenched his teeth. “Hey, you.”Lillia, who had been staring at Victor’s horrifying expression, was taken aback.
At the same time, Victor heard Rubette’s voice urging her repeatedly…
“Do you remember what I said this morning?”
What did Ruby say? What was said in the morning?
Before he could recall, Victor’s hand rose, beating his mind to it.
‘Yeah, go ahead and give this devil a good talking to! No matter what she’s done to Ruby, our foolish brother will stick by her side for life! If you’re a real brother, you should avenge Ruby!’
Lillia was momentarily startled.
“When you speak and act, always take a moment to think twice before doing it.”
Finally, Rubette’s words from the morning came to mind.
“Thank you for getting angry on my behalf, but please think carefully whether it’s something I’d be happy about. Got it?”
The hesitant Victor looked up.
This was his little sister’s workplace, and everyone was watching. Colleagues, Lillia, and even the young ladies from noble families were around…
‘Don’t hesitate! Just go for it! I can’t stand to look at her face!’
Victor’s hand was eventually lowered and reached Lilila’s head.
“…?” Lillia, who had tensed up, then blinked again when Victor’s hand was affectionately placed on her head.
“Long time no see.”
“Huh?”
Quickly retracting his hand, Victor added, “It’s tough to see each other even though we live under the same roof.”
Victor chuckled as he spoke, and Lillia’s friends behind her blushed and giggled.
“Oh, Princess Lillia. It must be so nice. We’ve heard that your older brothers are all handsome and affectionate.”
“Could you introduce us too?”
“But what is he doing here? I thought he worked at the palace…”
Thanks to Victor, Lillia was feeling quite smug. Her friends were looking at her with envy, admiring her good-looking and affectionate older brothers…
Lillia pouted and playfully punched Victor’s arm. “I don’t get to see you often because you’re so busy, Brother!”
“…”
Either because she couldn’t recognize the stony-faced Victor or because she simply didn’t care, Lillia continued to tease. “But seriously, what are you doing here?”
“Oh, I work here.”
Victor’s immediate response made Lillia narrow her eyes suspiciously.
‘Wow, Rubette’s really out of her mind. Is she trying to use someone who used to work at the palace as a model for her shop’s clientele? Why did Victor agree to such an absurd request?’
Lillia scanned the puzzled expressions of the young ladies and quickly improvised, “Oh, I see. It looks like my older brother is quite close to the madam here, and he’s just helping out for a moment.” Lillia winked at Victor and then led her friends away. “We’re going to check out some clothes first. We planned to look at the new catalogue, remember?”
“Um, yeah.”
“We’ll talk more later, okay.”
The ladies expressed their disappointment as Lillia led them away.
Victor, who had glanced back, stood again with an expressionless face.
“Princess.”
One of the young ladies browsing the displayed dresses and catalogs approached Lillia. Her name was Rose Tayla.
Eighteen-year-old Rose, from the renowned Marquis Tayla family, was quite well-known in high society as the second daughter.
“Yes, Miss Rose.”
“We were planning to have dinner together today, and I was wondering if Sir Victor could join us?”
“Yes?”
Judging by her expression, Rose had taken quite a liking to Victor.
“I’d like to get to know him better.”
Everyone who had come with Lillia today belonged to families that deemed it necessary to establish close connections. Among them, Rose had already firmly established herself in high society and was one of the most important figures to be on good terms with.
“Well, um…”
Lillia hesitated. Unlike Viego, Victor wasn’t the type to nod in agreement just because it was Lillia’s request. While he did seem pleased to see his younger sister’s face after a long time…
“If it’s your word, my lady, your brothers would bend over backward,” Rose said. “Please give it a try. Okay?”
“Hmm.”
Rose urged with a disappointed tone, and the other two young ladies who had joined them by now had excited looks in their eyes. Lillia glanced back at Victor, standing at a distance, and then nodded. “Okay, I’ll ask.”
“Wow!”
Lillia, flushed with determination, turned toward Victor, and the young ladies followed closely behind her.
At that moment, Victor Diollus…
Maintained his emotionless expression but was internally experiencing the limits of his patience with great difficulty.
Lillia was openly pestering him, and Rubette’s diary was constantly swirling in his mind, but he held back, held back, and held back.
There was only one reason for this.
“Let’s work on controlling that temper this time. It won’t be good if there’s any trouble in the store. You’ll really get scolded.”
Because Rubette had strongly advised it!
“Brother, when will work be over? Soon? We were the last customers…”
However, this oblivious little devil, whether deliberately or not, kept pestering Victor, who was holding back.
“Yeah.”
“That’s great. This is Rose from the Marquis Tayla’s family. We planned to have dinner together today, so why don’t you join us?”
“I…”
“Nice to meet you, Sir Victor. I’ve wanted to meet you for a while, and today’s the perfect chance. I’m Rose Tayla.”
“Oh, my lady. We should introduce ourselves too. Sir Victor, I am…”
“Oh, really. Me too. — ——.”
“—— — ——.”
Victor’s head began to ache, and his vision went white. He couldn’t even hear the voices chattering away.
“Hehe, are you coming?”
Lillia clung to him.
“Look at your pretty little sister’s face after a long time.”
“Oh my, look at that cuteness. Sir Victor is so lucky.”
“Even if he agrees, my brother won’t show it. How upsetting.”
Enough…
Just please, give me some space.
‘Hey, Victor! Let’s give her a real talking to this time! We’ve had enough!’
No conscience at all. Not content with tormenting Rubette, she even disturbed her older brother. And that word ‘Brother’ keeps coming out of that mouth.
“Get…” …Lost, you devilish brat. If you were a boy, I would have dealt with you long ago.
Finally, just before the words he had been holding back burst out.
Ding!
A savior-like figure appeared.
With a silver-white hairstyle and a small handbag, the boss, Rubette, entered the store elegantly.
“Haah.” Victor let out the breath he had been holding. The heat that had risen to the top of his head seemed to dissipate like a splash of cold water.
“Madame Ruby?”
“Oh my.”
At that moment, Rubette paused briefly as she realized the unexpected situation. Victor’s reddish-purple face, the young ladies surrounding him, and in between them, Lillia.
‘Oh, my goodness.’
She had thought that since Lillia knew Madame Ruby’s identity, there wouldn’t be any fuss in this shop…
‘That brat really has some nerve.’
Rubette quickly approached Lillia, who was avoiding her gaze with a gloomy expression.
“Lovely ladies, did you have a good time?”
“Yes, we did. The new winter dress designs are so beautiful.”
“Thank you.”
As they laid eyes on Madame Ruby, one of the most famous figures in society, the young ladies all brightened up and admired her elegant presence.
“Just a moment.”
Rubette, who had made her way through the group, gently pulled Victor’s arm, standing there. And it seemed like she was doing more than just tidying up his attire with affection.
“Was everything okay today?”
“…Yes, ma’am.”
The young ladies’ eyes widened.
Rubette removed the name tag from Victor’s left chest and tucked it neatly into the jacket’s front pocket. Then, with a smile directed at the bewildered individuals, she spoke, “Well, I have another appointment, so I’ll take my leave. Have a pleasant evening.” With a friendly pat on Victor’s arm, they exited the store together.
“Wow…”
The mouths of the young ladies who had been closely observing the seemingly unusual relationship between the two fell open.
“I heard that Sir Victor was close to Madame Ruby…”
“They were, indeed?”
“…”
Lillia, who had tried to introduce Victor to her friends to improve their relationship, felt embarrassed as she watched Rubette, who had just snatched her brother away from her, walking away from the store’s glass door.
“It’s not what it looks like…” Lillia tried to explain.
***
“Now, follow my lead. Hoo!”
“Hoo!”
“Haah.”
“Haah…”
I quickly moved the time bomb into the carriage and disarmed it to prevent it from detonating. It felt like I had become the protagonist of a spy movie, narrowly escaping an imminent disaster. Even when I was actually shooting spy movies, I wasn’t this nervous…
“Are you okay?”
“Haah.”
Victor placed his hand on his chest and took a few more deep breaths.
Seeing Victor finally calm down, I sighed in relief. “Wow, you held up well. I didn’t expect her to come here.”
If I had been just one minute late… I shuddered, wondering what could have happened… I was impressed by how well my brother had held his composure, so I patted him on the back.
“Ruby.”
“Yeah.”
“You see…” Victor, crouching and regulating his breathing, suddenly raised his head and grinned while pointing to the opposite side. “Why is this person here?”
“Um, well…” I awkwardly smiled and then glanced at Lark, who had been waiting with a smile.
Lark, who had been chuckling along with me, spoke seriously as if confessing, “I’ve come to fetch you, Sir Victor.”
“Ha.”
“Come back to me.”
“Oh my.”
What’s with this romantic dialogue? Unlike Victor, who looked disgusted, I felt slightly fluttery.
***
The drinking session that had started on my second floor from the early evening was still going strong, even though the clock had passed midnight.
Lark, who had felt greater difficulties than expected due to the absence of the vice-captain, had come to find Victor. He wanted to relieve the pent-up emotions between them and help persuade Victor.
“To be honest, I was quite disappointed in Your Highness as a human being.”
“I know, I know. Victor, I completely understand your feelings. Here, have another drink.”
Lark gently reassured Victor as he refilled the beer glass that had been emptied several times, so much so that I couldn’t even remember. Watching them exchange drinks and words, I chuckled as I sat beside Victor, munching on peanuts.
“I may be a lousy older brother, but… no matter what, shouldn’t I know more about my little sister’s affairs than a complete stranger?”
“That’s true. I understand your feelings of being hurt.”
“But I thought I had built quite a long-standing relationship with His Highness, though.”
“Well, then…”
The moderate level of alcohol had made Victor quite honest and docile, like a domesticated animal. It seemed that Lark’s claim that conversation flowed more easily with a little alcohol was not a lie.
“Also, could you please stop running me around the training grounds so much? In principle, I should only be responsible for the 2nd Order, but why do you keep involving the 4th Order?”
“Really?”
When I raised an eyebrow, Lark hesitated momentarily and then let out an apologetic laugh. “Was it tough? Sir Victor has such good skills and stamina…”
“I get tired too, you know!?”
“Sorry, sorry. I was in the wrong.”
“Yeah, His Highness was in the wrong.” I chimed in, and Victor, seeming to be in a better mood, poured Lark another drink with a smile.
“Drink up.”
“Ugh, this stuff is strong.” Lark, who seemed just as intoxicated as Victor, tilted his head back and emptied his glass.
“But still… if one had to choose a man to spend my life with, there’s no one but His Highness one would consider.”
“Huh?”
“If I marry you, wouldn’t you take better care of me than my awful dad and brother? You wouldn’t tell me to run around the training grounds anymore either, right?”
“What?”
“…?”
Both Lark and I exchanged puzzled glances at Victor’s partially mumbled words. The sudden and unexpected turn in the conversation was entirely out of context from what we had been discussing so far. It sounded odd and peculiar.
With a furrowed brow, Lark asked, “Victor, are you very drunk? Why are you suddenly saying such things?”
“Well, if one were to have a child… it would be incredibly beautiful, wouldn’t it? I mean, not that I should be saying this, but you and I rank first and second in looks among the knights.”
“…? Sir Victor? Are you serious right now?”
Unbelievable.
Lark was genuinely shocked by Victor’s statement, which seemed like a strange confession. I was equally taken aback. We exchanged bewildered looks.
Clearly flustered by our reactions, Victor slammed his face onto the table, emitting a muffled sob as if we had driven a stake through his heart.
“I… I also… like Your Highness. If I had to choose one person to entrust life to, there’s no other man like you in this country. But… my heart feels a bit confused…”
Thud. The peanuts I had been eating fell from my hand.
Victor remained collapsed, looking up at me with teary eyes, seemingly oblivious to what we had just witnessed.
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