“Everyone, hurry out! Quickly!”

It was before the carriage completely overturned. The coachman was holding onto the tilting carriage with his entire body, but there was a limit. The duchess pushed our backs and swiftly made us escape from the carriage.

Even outside was a problem. The wind was fiercer than expected, making it difficult to even move forward. I wondered if my body would float into the air at this rate.

Looking around, I spotted a nearby villa. I tried to head there, but my untied hair blocked my view. Naturally, I couldn’t take a single step properly when I couldn’t see in front.

“Lize! Grab my hand!”

I briefly saw Yurik’s outstretched hand. After waving my arm in the air a few times, I succeeded in grabbing his hand.

Following Yurik’s lead, I slowly moved forward, but the blocked vision and the strength of the wind remained unchanged. My precarious body lost balance and staggered, unable to find its center.

“Hey! Be careful!”

Fortunately, Roger, who was behind me, supported my back before I fell.

“S-sorry.”

“I’ll support you, so walk properly!”

If it weren’t for Yurik in front and Roger behind me, I might have already rolled far away. Thanks to them, I reached the front of the villa safely. The duchess, who came carrying Yune in her arms, was the same.

-Thud!

At the dull sound, I turned around and saw the carriage that had finally overturned. Fortunately, the coachman, who had moved his body before the carriage overturned, was not injured. The problem was the horses.

The coachman tightly held the ropes so that the horses could not run away. As the horses moved arbitrarily due to the strong wind, the coachman had a hard time. He groaned several times, and when things didn’t go as he wished, he spat out a small curse.

“I should go help.”

Yurik looked at the coachman.

“Will you be alright?”

“Yes.”

When the duchess asked in a worried tone, Yurik nodded. I also tried to tie my hair to help, but Roger blocked my way.

“You stay put here since you’ll just get in the way.”

“In the way?”

“I’ll go since my arm strength is much greater than yours.”

With those words, Roger broke through the wind again along with Yurik.

I watched the backs of the two boys heading towards the coachman with my heart in my mouth. Although they were still young, as men, it was amazing to see them walking without losing their balance.

Yurik and Roger helped the coachman, each grabbing the reins of a horse. The frightened horses made loud noises and moved around.

“Are you alright?!”

Even with the duchess’ question, everyone was too frantic to answer.

“Brother! Hang in there a bit longer!”

Yune also raised her voice.

Without any major issues, everyone approached the villa. I just hoped the horses would enter the stable without making a fuss…

One step away, the horse Roger was holding seemed to step on something sharp on the ground and convulsed.

-Neighhh!

“Damn it! What’s wrong with you?!”

“Roger!”

The horse turned in place, changed direction, and quickly moved somewhere. Roger’s body, unable to let go of the reins, moved along with it. Before he got farther away with the horse, I reached out and tightly grabbed the hem of Roger’s clothes.

“Ah!”

“Eek!”

Roger’s body, who had let go of the reins, overlapped with mine. At the same time, we fell forward and collapsed onto the ground.

“Lize!”

“Lize! Are you okay?”

I heard the voices of the duchess and Yurik from behind. The impact had startled my muscles, but there was no major problem. The issue was Roger. Lifting my head, I examined Roger’s face right below me.

“Roger, are you alright?!”

“…I’m not alright.”

“Where are you hurt? Where? Where!”

Holding Roger’s cheeks, I examined his face. After confirming there were no injuries on his face, my hands naturally felt Roger’s chest, and my gaze moved lower.

“I-I’m fine, I said. Get off, you’re heavy!”

“Ah, sorry.”

Roger pushed me away and spoke, panting. Seeing him get up on his own, it seemed Roger wasn’t seriously injured either.

“What should we do about the runaway horse, Duchess?”

“It can’t be helped. For now, let’s shelter the horses in the stable and warm ourselves up. There should be blankets inside the villa.”

At the duchess’ words, everyone moved busily. After the situation was somewhat settled, we took shelter to avoid catching a cold.

* * *

The windows shook as if they would shatter. Aside from that, it was a fairly sturdily built villa.

On the floor made of wooden planks, there was a spacious front room and a large fireplace, and although narrow, a dining room and kitchen were also equipped.

Going up the wooden stairs next to it, a 2nd floor corridor appeared. There were rooms where even the servants could all stay, and the inside was fully furnished.

“Is this a Penton family villa?”

When I asked while drying my wet hair with a towel, the duchess shook her head.

“No, it’s not. It’s a villa of a friend I’ve known for a long time. I asked to borrow it for this trip. As you can see, there’s nothing around here, so we can enjoy our rest without worrying. We have the sea in front all to ourselves. Most things are available in this villa, so we don’t need to go to the village.”

“If only the weather was good, it would have been perfect.”

“The storm will pass with time, so don’t be too disappointed.”

Still, the regret was unavoidable.

“Madam. What should we do about the carriage? Last I saw, it seemed one of the wheels was broken.”

The coachman, wiping the sweat from his forehead, approached the duchess.

“For now, we’ll have to wait for the weather to calm down. When the wind subsides, it would be best to go to the nearest village. I heard there’s a small village after riding the horse for a short distance.”

“Understood.”

I hoped the storm would pass quickly as the duchess said, but it seemed the gloomy weather would continue for a long time. If the wind doesn’t stop by tomorrow, it will really be a big problem.

‘Mother knows the schedule is just one night.’

If I’m stuck here due to the storm and don’t return to the mansion, what will Isabel think? She’ll immediately contact the camp and realize Roger and I didn’t participate… Let’s stop imagining.

The weather needs to improve quickly.

“Lize. Cover yourself with the blanket, it’s cold.”

“Hey, where’s mine?”

Yurik handed me the blanket he received. Then Roger, who was shivering, quickly came over and asked.

“Here, this is yours.”

“Brr, it’s still cold even with the blanket. This won’t do, Lize. Let’s share it.”

Roger snuggled close to me and wrapped the blanket around us together. Sharing the warmth seemed to ease the cold a bit, as Roger’s stiff shoulders relaxed.

“Hey, get away from Lize.”

However, Yurik’s gaze, looking at Roger next to me with dissatisfaction, became even fiercer. He stared at Roger as if he would kick him away from my side at any moment.

“It’s okay, Yurik. You come here too. Let’s share it together.”

“Is that really okay?”

“If you don’t want to, then don’t.”

“No! There’s no way I wouldn’t want to!”

He quickly sat next to me and wrapped his blanket around my shoulders as well.

“It’s warm.”

It was warm with the three of us. The bodies of Yurik and Roger on either side of me gradually heated up. In turn, my icy cold body seemed to melt. At that warmth, words came out without me realizing it, and Yurik came even closer to me, sticking to my side.

His shoulder bumped into mine. Seeing that, Roger also clung to me, not to be outdone.

“…Hmm?”

…Isn’t this a bit too much contact? I feel trapped rather than just close.

-Growl.

A loud sound shattered this stuffy atmosphere. It wasn’t a sound from my stomach.

“Roger. Your stomach is noisy too.”

“What? I-It wasn’t me!”

“What? Then who…”

My head and Roger’s naturally turned towards Yurik. Yurik kept his mouth shut tightly and avoided eye contact, not intending to make excuses. Judging by those reddened ears, the source of the sound was immediately identified.

“You stupid fellow, if you’re hungry, you should…”

Roger, who was about to sneer, was skillfully jabbed in the side with my elbow. Roger screamed and glared at me fiercely.

“What are you doing?”

“Roger. You don’t seem to be hungry. Then we can eat lunch without you!”

“Wh-What?”

“Actually, I’m very hungry too.”

When the situation turned against him, Roger was flustered.

“Now that you mention it, it’s time for lunch.”

The duchess, who had been listening to our conversation, checked the time.

“Madam, shall I prepare the meal?”

“That would be good.”

“Um… Madam. Then I will go check on the carriage. The wind has weakened a lot, so I think I can move the carriage to the stable now.”

The coachman spoke, looking at the improved wind strength compared to earlier.

“Wouldn’t it be dangerous?”

“If it seems dangerous, I will only salvage the bags in the back.”

“Alright. Be careful.”

Now that we had warmed up, the maids headed to the kitchen, and the coachman went back outside. The duchess, assessing the situation, looked at Yune in her arms with a dark expression. Yune’s body, completely drenched by the rain, still seemed cold, as she pulled the blanket tighter around Yune.

“Mother. Is Yune unwell somewhere?”

Yune was unusually quiet today. When Yurik asked with concern, the duchess stood up, holding Yune.

“Her body is very cold. I’ll put her in bed, so call me if anything happens.”

“Don’t worry.”

I blankly watched Yune’s back as she was in poor condition. It was a trip I had been looking forward to, a trip I wanted to go on in a good mood. But from the weather to physical conditions, everything was a mess. At least Yune could have lifted this gloomy atmosphere, but she was sick.

“It’ll be fine.”

Yurik reassured me, but I felt depressed.

“What if the weather stays like this?”

“What do you mean, what if? We won’t be able to go home, that’s all.”

“If we can’t go home, they’ll find out we lied.”

“You’ll get scolded terribly.”

Roger’s answer made me even more depressed. His nonchalant and dry way of speaking was also a bit absurd. Isn’t Roger in the same situation as me right now? We can’t return home. Then naturally, the lie we told Mrs. Bakus will be exposed.

“Only I will get scolded? You’ll get scolded too.”

“…I know.”

I said it out of anger, but Roger’s voice was strange. Glancing at Roger, he had his head deeply lowered.

“Mother will surely be disappointed in me. I’ve never lied to her once in my life.”

“Roger.”

“What should I do?”

He was serious.

Yurik and I were both startled by Roger’s choked up voice. It was not a mood that could be resolved as a joke.

“U-Um, Roger. I’m sorry. It’s all because of me. B-But still, Mrs. Bakus won’t be disappointed in you just because you lied once. Everyone lies at least once in their life.”

“Have you lied before too?”

“I lie more often than I go to the bathroom.”

“I figured you would. Then, you blockhead…”

Roger’s gaze fell on Yurik. As if Yurik didn’t expect Roger to ask him as well, he hesitated a bit before nodding.

“I have.”

“Really?”

Yurik firmly nodded. Even he has lied. This was unexpected.

“When was the last time you lied? What kind of lie did you tell?”

When Roger persistently asked, Yurik thought for a moment and suddenly blushed. Seeing his visible reaction, Roger waited for an answer.

Instead of answering, Yurik only moved his lips and avoided speaking. As the silence stretched on, I awkwardly laughed.

“Why can’t you say it when you’ve made us curious? Did you perhaps secretly look at something naughty?”

It was just a joke. It was a joke, but there was no answer from Yurik again.

Ah.

“…”

“…”

“…I didn’t look at anything. There are no such books in the mansion! I-I just had that kind of dream…”

This time, a very heavy silence descended.

How old is Yurik now?

It hasn’t been long since his birthday passed. So he has truly turned twelve.

Usually, boys at that age…

…I see. Congratulations.