“Elder sister.”

Edmond opened his mouth with a troubled expression. He seemed cautious, as if his voice might become a blade and cut.

Lilien piled used tissues on the table and sniffled, dabbing her tears with a new tissue. Even after explaining what had happened and a long time passing, her tears showed no signs of stopping. After sniffling for a while, she finally raised her flushed face.

Lilien stared at Edmond, repeatedly blinking her swollen eyelids.

“Edmond, I…”

As if her hoarse voice wouldn’t come out, she took a deep breath. At the fragile sound of her breathing, Edmond’s eyes sank heavily. It was a faint apology for allowing feelings for Etricia to accumulate like snow. But he knew from years past that his sister, as always, would bestow forgiveness as if a saint had been reborn.

“I… I’m not going on vacation.”

However, the statement Lilien uttered in a steady voice was unexpected.

Simultaneously, Edmond’s eyes widened slightly. The sister he knew should have forgiven Etricia. But why… However, as Lilien burst into tears again, there was no way to resolve the question.

Ha, Edmond rubbed his forehead and let out a cold laugh. Putting aside the question, what kind of person was he to harbor doubts when he should be comforting his sister’s heart? It was truly a mix of emotions.

After listening to her sobbing for a while, Edmond calmly opened his mouth with lowered eyes. First, he needed to understand his sister’s intentions and soothe her wounded heart.

“Have you come to dislike that person?”

Lilien shook her head vigorously. He spoke again.

“Then have you come to hate her?”

She shook her head again.

Edmond whispered in an even lower voice.

“Do you resent her?”

This time, as if close to the correct answer, Lilien glanced at him with raised eyes and pulled out a new tissue. Edmond stared at her with a serious expression before hesitantly opening his mouth.

“The harm done to you was an impulsive act. It seems she committed it impulsively while drunk, due to her mother-in-law’s cruelty and her husband’s betrayal.”

“…”

“The next day, she tried to cancel the request at the guild, but since it was already in progress, she went to rescue you herself.”

Lilien, who had been listening with her head bowed, flinched. Seeing her pale complexion, it seemed she was shocked to learn she had been on the brink of death without knowing.

“It seems she intended to stay for a day when the mansion burned down and her residence disappeared. I was the one who kept her there for surveillance when she tried to leave the mansion.”

Although it might seem shameless to stay so comfortably as if it were her own home after such an incident, thinking about it now, it seemed to be entirely due to Etricia’s quick adaptability.

“That person likes you.”

Although he had received reports from Rail about their daily routines and relationship progress, he could have known even without the reports.

He could predict it from the excited footsteps hurrying to greet Lilien upon her return, audible even in his office, or the eyes glancing at the door as if waiting for Lilien who was late for breakfast, or the smile that subtly spread when looking at Lilien. Yes, that must be why. Why he was making excuses for her like this.

She was a glib person, good at feigning ignorance, but it was clearly evident in front of his sister. While busy hiding her true feelings in front of him. He frowned and then relaxed his eyes, feeling strangely uncomfortable.

“Of course, it may seem shameless and somewhat…”

He paused briefly and chose his words. Instead of expressions like cunning or shrewd, he chose more pleasant vocabulary.

“…crafty to associate with you so casually, but from my experience, she’s not someone who would carelessly harm others. Since it arose from a misunderstanding-”

Edmond, who was about to speak again, stopped abruptly. He swallowed the words he was about to blurt out impulsively. He had barely stopped at the point of almost crossing the line.

However, Edmond, the owner of those unspoken words, knew what they were. His eyes wavered roughly, confusion spreading.

To ask for forgiveness, and for someone who tried to kill his sister. That meant he had forgiven her.

Ha. A momentary bitter laugh flashed across his lips before they pressed together again.

Yes, he had felt sympathy for her. He even felt a sense of kinship with her, who had been betrayed by someone she trusted, pursued a path of revenge, and shuddered from nightmares.

But that was just an emotional reaction to a temporary incident. No matter how pitiful she was, no matter how regrettable, no matter how much his sister liked her. The truth that she had tried to take away his only remaining family was immutable. That is, unless the past could be changed.

So he thought he was still maintaining a sharp edge. Who would have known that an emotion that should have passed by fleetingly would break down a solid wall and nest inside him?

Edmond groaned and rubbed his face dry, overwhelmed by self-mockery and bitterness. It felt as if his former self from a month ago, who had vowed never to let his guard down, was now mocking his current self.

Meanwhile, Lilien, who had only been crying, suddenly stood up. She wiped her tear-stained eyes with the back of her hand and said,

“No, it’s not like that, so don’t say anything to Lady Etricia.”

“Elder sister?”

Edmond’s questioning voice struck Lilien’s back as she dashed out, kicking the door open. Finally, with a bang, the door closed, and he slumped back against the chair.

Edmond groaned and pressed his temples firmly. Since childhood, Lilien had been someone who would hide in a cave to have her own time when emotional knots formed. In this situation, there was nothing to do but wait until his sister’s thoughts were sorted out.

But the problem was,

“Damn it…”

It wasn’t just his sister who was confused.

“Lilien, good morning. Did you sleep well last-”

Bang-! Tap tap tap-

Lilien, who was entering the dining room, startled at the sight of me and fled.

Because of that, my half-raised hand became awkward.

I lowered my hand and sighed.

This morning has repeated for 5 days already. Perhaps that’s why I wasn’t surprised, but the pain, like needles pricking my chest, was unavoidable.

I momentarily met eyes with Edmond. When I gave a faint smile, his eyes wavered for an instant before he averted his gaze first.

Oh. He had turned away his gaze when flustered by my teasing before, but he had never acted so noticeably without reason.

Last time, an awkward atmosphere was created due to my mistake, but he wasn’t one to drag emotions this far. He was always calm the next day, without a trace of agitation.

Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind.

“Young master, do you perhaps know why Lady Lilien is acting this way?”

Though his expression remained impassive, the elegant hand gripping the glass trembled slightly. He knows!

I hastily opened my mouth.

“Young master, if you know, please tell me the reason-”

“Alright, that’s enough.”

Edmond, who had placed his napkin on the table, stood up, answering Rail. His intention to not listen to me was clear.

“Pardon? I didn’t say anything…”

Rail, who had been standing quietly, replied with a dumbfounded voice. Edmond’s eyes flashed sharply as he brushed past Rail with somewhat hurried steps. Reading the look that said ‘shut up and follow me’, Rail asked a maid to attend to me and disappeared.

‘What on earth…’

I let out a groan at the chilling sense of discomfort, then stood up.

Considering Lilien’s timid nature, I had hesitated, thinking that forcing the issue might backfire, but at this point, it’s a head-on confrontation.

Finally, I took a deep breath in front of Lilien’s room and knocked.

“Lilien, it’s me.”

The sound of something tumbling over came from inside, followed by the voice of Mari, Lilien’s personal maid, exclaiming “My lady!”

It was an intense reaction. When silence fell on the other side of the door, I spoke again.

“What’s wrong? You didn’t even eat breakfast.”

There was no response.

As expected, silence reigned beyond the door. The spirited feeling I had when dashing out of the dining room deflated little by little.

“Perhaps…”

Perhaps you found out about that incident, is that why you’re avoiding me? I swallowed hard the words that were rising in my throat.

If Lilien didn’t know about ‘that incident’, it might lead to the unfortunate situation of having to answer her. Lying was easy, but I didn’t want to do that to her.

As I turned around with a sigh, I came face to face with a small window opposite her room.

Below it, the rear garden was visible. And under a large tree, a flower bed could be seen. The leaves rustled in the wind, breaking the sunlight shining on the flower bed.

It was the place where I enjoyed chatting over tea with Lilien, who tended the flower bed daily. It was also my favorite time of the day. Though we hadn’t been able to do it for several days now.

Before I knew it, I had approached the window closely, lost in thought, when my eyes widened.

‘That’s it.’

A smile of relief spread widely across my face reflected in the window.

Long after Etricia had disappeared, Lilien, who had been lying face-down on the bed, got up staggering. In just a few days, her eyes had become hollow and her hair as rough as straw.

When she received a hand mirror from her maid, Mari, Lilien in the mirror lowered her eyes. Mari, watching carefully, asked.

“My lady, both the master and the countess have been asking if you’ve been eating, and I’m having a hard time in between. I’ll bring some warm soup, so please eat just a little.”

Lilien glanced at the whining Mari and nodded reluctantly. Mari disappeared with a bright smile, and Lilien collapsed to the side.

As time passed, her eyes began to moisten again.