Yurik’s question made me dizzy. Both boys’ eyes were fixed on me.

“Lise.”

“Lise.”

Any answer was troublesome. At such a difficult time…

“I think it’s best for me to bring the chessboard. It’s in the study, right? I’ll get it!”

Avoidance is the best policy!

“The study door is locked right now, Lise.”

“Then…isn’t it somewhere? I’ll just look for it! Don’t worry. I won’t rummage through the rooms!”

I moved quicker than ever before. After climbing the stairs, I leisurely looked around the rooms.

I found Yurik’s door wide open. Sadly, there was a chessboard neatly on his desk.

I found it much quicker than expected. I moseyed into the room.

I casually examined Yurik’s desk and saw three books, possibly borrowed from the library, and one stuffed animal.

It was a bear plushie that suited Yurik’s taste. Despite its cute appearance, it was rather worn, and the stitches were clumsily tangled in places. It seemed like he tried to sew it several times but failed.

‘Should I sew it?’

After contemplating, thinking there was still time left, I picked up a needle. I had sewn my clothes alone several times as the maids’ hands weren’t familiar.

In my past life, how many times had I sewn? From socks to underwear, uniforms, regular Tshirts. There was almost no clothing I hadn’t sewn.

As I skillfully sewed Yurik’s plushie, I was initially proud but soon regretful. What if Yurik gets mad for touching his stuff without permission?

Thinking about it, it was strange. Yurik could have asked a maid to sew the plushie, but he didn’t, sewing it himself instead.

“I should have thought about it.”

Regret was late. In the end, I tore a page from a notebook on the desk.

This should be enough, right?

Had Yurik and Roger become friendlier in the meantime?

I heard that men grow by fighting. They’ve fought enough, so it was time to become friends. With a lighthearted heart, I came out of the room,

“Damn!”

“You won’t let go?!”

A noisy sound came from the entrance. An unusual noise led me to the stairs, where the sight of the two men fighting came into view.
Since when had they been fighting? Faces flushed red, Roger and Yurik were grasping each other by the collars. It was so severe that the maids who were working had to hurriedly try to stop them.

“……Gasp.”

This was a big problem.

“What on earth are you doing?!”

Quickly putting down the chessboard, I rushed to them. Roger and Yurik, gritting their teeth, extended their arms to try to hit each other one more time.

“Stop it! I said stop!”

I squeezed in between Roger and Yurik. Though they were young boys, their strength was no joke as men. It looked like I, who was innocent, might get hit in this situation.

“Lise, get out of the way!”

“Stay back, Lise!”

I absolutely cannot back down.

Forcing my way in, I spread my arms to both sides. As soon as their bodies were separated, the maids nearby grabbed Roger and Yurik’s arms. Fortunately, I succeeded in pulling the two apart.

“Let go! That guy insulted the Count of Kito!”

“Insulted? I just asked a question! There’s not a single person in the world I can trust!”

“Not a single person you can trust in the world? And yet you followed Lise?”

“Lise is…Lise is different!”

Even after they were separated, those mouths didn’t stop. The yelling from the two, with their faces bright red, made both my ears ache.

“I don’t know what you’ve been arguing about, but let’s resolve this through conversation. You may have misunderstood each other.”

“Hmph, if it could’ve been resolved through conversation with him, we wouldn’t be in this state. Lise.”

It’s not a brag! Roger.

I giggled and nudged Roger’s abdomen with my elbow. But it seemed that I hit him quite hard, as a groan escaped from Roger’s mouth. Roger suddenly collapsed.

“Roger?”

Was it too much? Perhaps he was injured, so I quickly approached Roger and examined his body. Contrary to my anxious gestures, Yurik cautiously called me from behind, but the situation was urgent, so I did not respond.

“Are you okay? Roger?”

Just as I was about to reveal his shirt to see if there was a bruise, Roger’s groaning stopped. Sensing something was strange, I looked up to see Roger’s shameless face. He tricked me!

“……Lise.”

“…….”

I heard Yurik’s voice from behind. This time, I really angered Yurik.

I unconsciously swallowed.

“I want to ask you something.”

“…….”

“Is it me, or him?”

What a question.

It was then. The sound of wheels came to my rescue. Within seconds, the door opened, and the figure of Duke Fenton appeared.

“Yo, your grace.”

“Huh? Lise? Came to visit?”

“Yes…….”

“Perfect timing! I had something I wanted to show you……Huh? There’s someone I’ve never seen before.”

“……Ah, he’s my friend. His name is Roger Bakers.”

I introduced him on Roger’s behalf.

“Bakers? Sounds familiar. Is he from the Bakers family of organist Reginald?”

“He’s Roger’s uncle.”

“Then tenor Rick Bakers is…….”

“He’s Roger’s father…….”

“What a coincidence! I went to Rick Bakers’ concert a few days ago, and I was amazed!”

Duke Fenton repeated word for word what Lady Fenton had said earlier.

Duke Fenton seemed quite pleased with the Bakers family’s story and went on.

“They’re all wonderful artists. They stand out for their efforts and talents in showcasing art.”

“That, that’s right.”

“Ah, but where did my wife go…….”

As Duke Fenton was continuing, he turned his gaze late and saw his son. Seeing Yurik’s injured face, his expression immediately hardened.

“Yurik! What happened to your face?”

“……It’s nothing.”

“Nothing? That’s a face that’s been hit. Who hit my son? Huh?!”

Yurik shifted his gaze to Roger. Following that gaze inadvertently, Duke Fenton’s mouth opened.

“Th, this is.”

“I tried to stop them…….”
Embarrassed to the point where I was stammering, I heard noisy sounds from outside again. It was Mrs. Fenton and Yune, who had gone to the market.

“Oh my, you’re here? But … what happened? Why is the atmosphere like this?”

“It looks like someone fought!”

Mrs. Fenton and Yune detected the tense atmosphere at once.