It was troublesome. The maids watching and Yurik seemed to hope I would give a wise answer. The problem was that the answer wasn’t what Yune wanted.

I thought about what to say in a short time.

“Look, Yune. I can’t answer because it’s uncomfortable…”

“Brother, be quiet!”

Yune cut off Yurik’s words. Surprised, Yurik could only slightly purse his lips without making any retort. Witnessing this right in front of me, I quickly grasped the Penton siblings’ food chain structure.

Yune is a bit higher up!

“Sister Lize. Now speak comfortably.”

“No. Well… you’re cute?”

That was why I blurted out the answer Yune wanted.

“See! Unlike brother, Sister Lize says I’m cute. Brother, come sit here quickly. Ah, we should lay out a mat first!”

Yune spread out a mat where I had found a spot and sat down comfortably. When I hesitated beside her, Yune forcibly grabbed my wrist and made me sit down.

As I awkwardly took a seat next to Yune, Yurik’s expression hardened.

“…”

‘His gaze is quite fierce.’

He still seemed displeased with my presence. Sighing quietly without sitting down, he moved his feet.

“I’ll go buy some juice.”

“Why? We can ask a maid for juice.”

“I want to go myself.”

“Then orange juice for Yune! What about you, sister?”

Yune looked at me.

“I don’t need any…”

“Huh? You don’t have to refuse! Brother said he’d buy it!”

That’s why I wanted to refuse even more.

I glanced at Yurik, who frowned as if telling me to answer quickly.

“I’ll have the same.”

“…Haa.”

Yurik let out a big sigh and went to buy juice. As soon as he disappeared, Yune made a sullen face.

“Brother is always like that. He always seems displeased when I get close to someone. Could it be he doesn’t want Yune to have any friends?”

Yurik’s behavior wasn’t entirely incomprehensible. The only peers Yune could befriend were the nobles living in this area, and Yurik didn’t view them favorably.

It was because Yune had once come home after being severely teased by the neighborhood nobles. Thinking about the original content, Yurik had also briefly attended school around this time before quitting soon after.

There was a difference in level, but he also grew tired of his peers full of vanity and arrogance.

“They’re all just putting on a facade, not revealing their true black hearts. This village is full of such nobles.”

Of course, the Marsen family was included in that.

“Sister? What are you thinking about?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. You just seem close with your brother…”

“Don’t you have many siblings too? I heard from mother that there are six siblings in your family?”

Yune, seemingly envious, begged me to talk about my siblings.

“Is it nice having many siblings? What’s it like?”

“Rather than nice, it’s more chaotic.”

If all those siblings were as kind and gentle as Yurik, it would feel like heaven. But unfortunately, reality was different.

Most of my siblings teased me nastily and acted spitefully. However, since they didn’t openly dislike me, I couldn’t hate them either.

If there was a sibling who showed mutual affection, it was only Rodney, who was currently living at a boarding school.

“Isn’t it good to be lively?”

“It’s not always good. They all bully me.”

“Really? Yune has never been bullied by brother! Though he has gotten angry at me… sometimes.”

So Yurik gets angry sometimes too.

“But I still like brother. Though he says he wants to enter a boarding school later.”

“You can go to boarding school from age fourteen, right? There’s still a lot of time left, isn’t there?”

“But I don’t want to be apart from brother now, or even two years from now.”

Unfortunately, according to the novel’s content, Yurik stays at a famous private boarding school as soon as he turns fourteen.

There, he makes new like-minded friends, gains wisdom, and later cherishes that time.

“If brother really goes to boarding school, who will I play with? Hmm… Sister, won’t you go to school?”

“No.”

Isabel wouldn’t let me go even if it killed her.

“Ah, come to think of it, they say you need to study well to go to boarding school. Sister, are you not good at studying?”

“…”

“Then sister, play with me!”

“Huh?”

“I’ll show you my treasures too!”

The maids approached carrying large bags. They contained various toys and dolls. Yune boasted that they were all precious things as she showed them to me.

“This is a snake-shaped toy!”

The shapes and forms of the toys were all unusual. They were bizarre and even a bit eerie.

For example, the headless scarecrow toy in Yune’s hand, or the dice with curse words written on them. They seemed far from normal.

Is there nothing ordinary?

Soon I spotted a rabbit doll with a large red ribbon on its head. Its pure white color and round eyes were so cute that I kept looking at it.

“…Ah, that doll? It’s cute!”

“It suits you well.”

“No way! That’s brother’s most cherished doll!”

“…Huh?”

“Brother always carries it around wherever he goes. He even hugs it while sleeping sometimes.”

“W-who?”

“Brother!”

I thought I had misheard, but Yune said it again clearly. I picked up the rabbit doll and examined its appearance. Could there be important things hidden inside its body?

“Oh? Brother!”

Yurik, who had brought glasses filled with juice, was walking towards us from afar. He looked at us without much thought, but soon discovered the rabbit doll in my hands. That’s when he noticeably became agitated.

‘W-what is it?’

Yurik’s steps quickened. As he approached with a terrifying expression, my body stiffened.

“You, you, you and that doll!”

He pointed at the doll in my hand.

“Huh? Ah… it’s cute.”

“Of course it’s cute… no, why are you holding that doll?”

“Ah, sorry. You said it was precious, right?”

Feeling embarrassed, I handed the doll over to him, and Yurik dropped one of the glasses. The juice in the glass seeped into my skirt. Feeling the sticky liquid on my bare skin, I stood up abruptly.

“Brother, what are you doing? Sister’s dress is all wet now!”

“Yune! What did you say to Marsen?”

“Huh? I just said this rabbit doll is something brother cherishes.”

I hurriedly took out a handkerchief and wiped the juice off my dress. If Isabel found out the dress was soaked, she definitely wouldn’t let it slide.

The dress was already light-colored, so the distinct orange hue stained it clearly.

Unlike me who was troubled, Yurik didn’t even care about the dress. Rather, he was making an unpleasant expression as if juice had spilled on his own clothes.

“Damn it, why did I have to get involved with someone from the Marsen family.”

Yurik muttered quietly, but I heard it quite clearly. His tone sounded genuinely angry, and I felt wronged.

All I had done was exchange a few words with Yune. And then my dress was ruined by the juice he spilled.

“Um, I’m sorry for touching the doll carelessly. But…”

“Why are you wandering alone in this park? Not moving in a pack with the Marsen family people as usual.”

“Moving in a pack… That’s true, but still, that’s a bit…”

“It’s not wrong, is it?”

“Brother, why are you acting like this? Sister’s dress got wet because of you! You should apologize!”

At least Yune was on my side. When she snapped at Yurik, he finally looked at my soaked dress.

Seeing the dress more stained than he thought, Yurik was silent for a moment before turning his head away abruptly.

“…Right, I’m sorry for wetting your dress.”

Yurik, who I thought would be stubborn, easily admitted and apologized. I didn’t want to argue with him further either, so I was about to let it go.

“But I hope you won’t make a fuss about it.”

“…What?”

If only he had left out this last part, everything would have been perfect.

‘When did I make a fuss?’

I was angry. Even if he was the male protagonist I once liked, I couldn’t tolerate being disrespected.

Yurik seemed more concerned about his rabbit doll than my dress, as he kept glancing at it.

Did he really hide a fortune in gold and silver inside that doll?

It seemed like arguing would only lead to a quarrel. I spotted another glass filled with juice. I picked up the glass and poured the remaining juice completely over my dress.

It was enough to draw attention. Both Yurik and Yune were speechless at my sudden action.

“…W-what are you doing?”

“My dress is completely ruined now. Isn’t it?”

“…What?”

“So now I can make a bit of a fuss, right?”

I opened my mouth while meeting Yurik’s gaze directly.

My action was unexpected, silencing Yurik who had been chattering away.

“…”

“…”

The atmosphere grew quiet. I thought I might have gone too far, but Yune took out a handkerchief and started wiping my dress. I noticed her unique handkerchief with a dull gray color and a skull-shaped logo.

“What’s this? Sister, isn’t it uncomfortable? It must feel sticky! I absolutely hate that kind of thing.”

Yune, who I thought would be angry, was fortunately worried about me.

“It’s okay, Yune.”

“It’s not okay for me!”

Even though I tried to stop her, Yune’s hand continued to rub my dress. The maids, belatedly coming to their senses, also began helping Yune busily.

Only Yurik, who had provoked me, stood still, staring blankly at the situation.

“Brother! What are you doing? Why aren’t you helping to wipe?”

Unable to bear it any longer, Yune spoke up, making Yurik’s shoulders flinch. He fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief. It was a pretty yellow handkerchief with a cute rabbit picture on it.

Yurik took out the handkerchief and then, as if realizing something, quickly pulled his hand back.

“Sister, isn’t it damp?”

“Really, it’s fine.”

“No way! I’d be so upset if my dress got wet like this!”

“Really? I’m not particularly…”

I glanced at Yurik surreptitiously. After some hesitation, Yurik seemed to decide to help wipe my dress and approached me.

“Oh come on, brother! Why are you acting so frustratingly?”

“W-what…!”

“I’ll wipe the bottom of the dress, so brother, you wipe here, the top!”

Yune, seemingly frustrated, grabbed Yurik’s hesitating hand. But that wasn’t the end of it. She pulled Yurik’s hand towards my chest.

I was also taken aback. If his hand touched my chest, it would obviously be awkward for both of us.

Fortunately, before reaching my chest, Yurik dropped the handkerchief.