The smiles gradually faded from my brothers’ faces.

The atmosphere would definitely turn sour at this rate.

“Roger, come on! You’re acting overly reserved! What’s with the meaningless talk?”

So I stepped in.

“What are you talking about? I don’t have a problem with—”

I hastily covered Roger’s mouth.

“And Roger never liked anyone touching his instrument. You all know that, you’ve all learned the violin. Even a slight touch can loosen a string and mess up the sound. Right, Roger?”

“Even if that weren’t the issue, I don’t like when anyone touches my instr—”

“See? He doesn’t like it. So let’s go upstairs now, Roger, and I’ll show you my room.”

Before Roger could spout any more nonsense, I forcibly grabbed his wrist and pulled him along.

As we climbed the stairs, the murmurs of my brothers became faint. They definitely had a low opinion of Roger. I resented Roger for making needless remarks and getting disliked by everyone.

“Why did you cover my mouth?”

“Be quiet. I’m holding back the urge to sew it shut.”

He furrowed his brows, still not comprehending the situation.

“Are those really your brothers?”

What? My brothers?

My brothers may have carelessly touched the violin, but Roger had done nothing to irritate them until that point. In fact, they had subtly tried to impress Roger, who seemed oblivious to their efforts.

“Let’s go inside first.”

“This is your room? It has everything it needs, not too cramped…”

Roger looked around the room. Apparently surprised by its neatness, he tapped the desk lightly.

“It’s flawless.”

He was equally impressed by the sturdy desk and the soft touch of the bedspread. Undoubtedly, the desk and bedspread in Roger’s room would be superior.

I blocked Roger who was tapping the furniture while spouting nonsense.

“What did you do to my brothers?”

“What’s wrong with your brothers?”

I firmly stepped on his foot as he spoke.

“Hey! What the—”

“Who are you to badmouth my brothers?”

He flinched when he saw my enraged face. My brothers may be mischievous and love pranks, but they were not so bad as to warrant insults from others.

“…Hey, you shouldn’t be so protective of people who mistreat you. Why are you defending brothers like that?”

Roger hesitated before spitting out something absurd, avoiding an apology.

“Mistreat me?”

“You think I don’t know they’re bullying you? They’re not hitting you, are they?”

Roger thought my brothers were bullying me. He genuinely checked my arms and legs for bruises or scars.

I was so flabbergasted that words failed me.

“It’s not what you think! My brothers and I are pretty close.”

“Then why are they insulting you? Saying you’re incompetent?”

“That’s just a joke!”

“A joke? With your brothers?”

Roger shook his head as if bewildered. Did having brothers mean we had to get along well all the time?

Perhaps it’s because he didn’t have any siblings. He viewed our relationship negatively, as we talked openly about each other’s flaws.

Then I thought about it; the closest thing Roger had to a sibling recently were the Fenton siblings. It’s possible he found our relationship odd because he was used to seeing Yurik and Yune, who rarely fought and seemed to be considerate of each other.

“Really, Roger. We might tease each other, but we also have each other’s backs. Like last time.”

“What was that?”

“Just because they’re siblings doesn’t mean they have to be like the Fentons. And Yurik and Yune fight more often than you think. Like the Marsen siblings.”

Seemingly appeased by my earnest defense of my brothers, Roger’s expression softened. It seemed the misunderstanding was cleared up. Lowering his eyes slightly, he set down the violin case he had been holding.

“I’m sorry.”

Roger apologized to me. Since the whole thing had stemmed from a misunderstanding, my anger had subsided as well.
“It’s fine. Anyway, I’m not sure why Mother arranged for us to meet, but it’s good to see your face, Roger.”

“Were you scolded a lot by my lady?”

Ah, I see.

I noticed that Roger knew about my birth. That explained why he had been inspecting my room and furniture to see if anything was amiss.

‘He must be worried.’

Roger had a finicky and sensitive disposition. Coming from a family of artists who aimed for perfection, I thought he would naturally have prejudices against a child born out of wedlock.

But no.

“No, I wasn’t scolded much. Just loafing around, living a very lazy life.”

Roger fumbled in the pocket of the violin case as he sat on the bed. His hand went deep into the pocket and came out.

A crumpled piece of paper was in his now empty hand.

“Here, this.”

I took the paper Roger handed me. It looked like garbage at first glance, but on closer inspection, it was a chess record.

“What’s this?”

“I visited the Fenton mansion a few times, thinking you might be there.”

“Really?”

“But you weren’t there. I met Count Kito a few times instead.”