Joyce McKinnon. Neris was momentarily confused upon seeing his face, memories flooding back.

Fortunately, since he continued to focus on Dianne and ask about school life, Neris was given more time to think about the past.

“You’re not uncomfortable? Brother was right to say he should take you home?”

“He wasn’t right, you know? I’m completely comfortable and having a great time.”

“Still, do you want me to take Fioni?”

“That’s ridiculous. If I take Fioni, who’s the chef, what will happen to the kitchen?”

“We can hire a new chef.”

“No, Fioni would feel bad.”

“Our baby used to eat delicious food made by Fioni every day, and when she went to the academy far away, everyone was worried that she wouldn’t like the ingredients, right? Are you eating well? You’re not too skinny?”

“Don’t call me a baby!”

“Alright, if our angel says not to, then I won’t. My sister, do you know what happened while you were gone? Uncle Sibna talked to me about someone named Le Martre….”

Joyce, with his solemn face, often used expressions like our baby, our angel, the most beautiful sister in our world, when speaking to Dianne.

Whenever those words were used, Dianne would glance at Neris and blush bright red.

Neris smiled faintly, finding the shy expression cute and seeing the background of Dianne’s bright personality.

Following his sister’s gaze, Joyce also glanced at Neris. He then spoke to her with a cold and distant demeanor that suited his expression.

“I heard that my immature sister is relying a lot on you.”

“No, Your Grace. It’s me who’s relying on her.”

With a strange feeling, Neris looked at him and replied.

Joyce was momentarily lost in thought, taken aback by Neris’s flawless pronunciation and accent, considering she was from the countryside.

From the first letter sent immediately after her younger sister went to the academy, the name Neris Trued never failed to appear. Knowing his sister’s boundless nature once she started liking something, he only believed in the praise contained in the letter to some extent.

But seeing it for himself, there was no falsehood in what Dianne had written in her letters. Though a lower knight’s daughter, her manners were more precise and elegant than many noblewomen in the imperial social circles.

Could that be true? Should he not be on guard? He silently looked at the friend his sister had brought with great approval, one that he didn’t seem to like. Dianne did not like her brother’s gaze.

“Brother, don’t glare at my friend.”

“I’m not glaring.”

Neris knew that Joyce did not like her, but she didn’t particularly care about that itself. However, every time she looked into his calmly settled green eyes, her chest felt restless.

He was, Joyce McKinnon was.

If her memory wasn’t mistaken, he was the one who denounced Angelo and was driven out of Vista by Duke Elandria in her previous life.

It was strange. The McKinnon family had enough influence in Vista even when Neris was the crown princess.

She, mainly in charge of diplomacy, didn’t have much interaction with the McKinnon family, who were involved in domestic commerce, but she still knew the faces of Earl McKinnon and his wife.

If he was such a grown heir, there should have been contact other than the denunciation. They must have encountered each other at some party.

But why didn’t she remember seeing him at any other time?

And if he had been defeated and driven away, why did the McKinnon family remain?

Right, now that she thought about it, she had definitely heard his name at the time. But Neris had assumed that he must have been disinherited.

‘Why did I think that?’

Although Joyce had turned his head long ago, Neris’s face was not so calm. Dianne spoke with a sorry face.

“I’m sorry, Liz. Everyone says my brother looks scary when they first see him. But my brother is kind.”

From Dianne’s perspective, it made sense to think of him as kind. Neris quickly took her eyes off Joyce and spoke to Dianne calmly.

“I’m not scared. Dianne, didn’t you say you only had one brother?”
“Yes. But I have many cousins, sisters and brothers. Two uncles and one aunt. Originally, my youngest uncle’s daughter Muriel was the youngest, but then I was born.”

Joyce joined in.

“Everyone was happy when the angel was born.”

“Oh, brother!”

You must be crazy, with friends too! Acting like a baby! Diane was disgusted.

Neris gave a faint bitter smile and soon returned to a calm expressionless face.

It seemed good to find out as much as possible about what had happened in the McKinnon house during the holiday season.

(This is a time separator.)

“Welcome, Miss.”

By the time Diane got off, the McKinnon house’s servants who saw the carriage approaching were already gathered in front of the main building.

The happy faces welcoming her revealed how precious a being Diane was to everyone in this house.

“I’m here! Has everyone been well?”

Diane greeted cheerfully as Joyce hugged her down from the carriage.