“Ugh… mmm!”

“Li… Lize… No, don’t.”

There was a commotion on both sides.

‘It’s my fault for saying I’d sleep here.’

Unlike me, who was sleeping quietly with my hands folded neatly in a straight line, Roger tossed and turned frequently, and Yurik was talking nonsense enthusiastically.

“Ugh, get off.”

“Mmph!”

Roger stuck to my side like a koala. Even if I pushed his side with my foot, after a while the situation would return to the same as before.

“Why do you keep groaning? Are you having a nightmare or something?”

Roger was one thing, but Yurik was moaning and groaning so much that I got up several times to check his face.

Now I’m exhausted.

I pushed Roger next to Yurik and lay down curled up at the edge of the bed. I tried to pull up the blanket because I was cold, but Roger, with his rough sleeping habits, put one leg on top of the blanket.

“Damn it, Roger.”

He’s so strong when he sleeps that even if I pull on the blanket, Roger’s leg firmly holds it in place.

In the end, I gave up on the blanket. I didn’t have a pillow either.

Will I be able to sleep? Contrary to my anxiety, my eyes closed, probably because I was tired from today. Although I couldn’t sleep deeply because my body was cold, it was quite sweet.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Ah! You, what are you doing!”

“That’s my line!”

I heard the noisy voices of two men next to me. Unable to hide my disappointment, I opened my eyes and bright light pierced my vision. It must be morning, as I could hear birds chirping beyond the window.

“Why am I stuck next to you first thing in the morning? It’s disgusting!”

“What? I was just lying still, you’re the one who clung to me.”

“Even if I clung to you in my sleep, you hugged me back!”

“Th-that’s because I thought you were Lize…!”

They were noisy even while sleeping, and it was even worse when they woke up. The two bickered as soon as they got up, seemingly tireless.

I covered my ears and closed my eyes, but the bed kept shaking. Their petty verbal argument seemed to have escalated into a minor physical fight, as the two were fighting with pillows.

‘Come on, guys… please…’

Let me sleep a little.

This isn’t going to work, I should go back to my room right now, even at this moment.

“Wh-why are you so stro- Ah!”

“…?”

As soon as I raised my waist, a shadow appeared. Just as I lifted my head, Roger’s back came crashing down on my face. Roger had lost his balance after being overpowered in the pillow fight.

I tried to roll to the side to avoid the collision, but it was too late. Yurik, who belatedly noticed my predicament, reached out and grabbed Roger’s clothes.

– Thud!

Damn it.

“…Hey. Are you okay?”

“Lize. Are you hurt anywhere?”

In the end, I was the only one who fell off the bed. At the same time, I was completely awake.

I glared at Yurik and Roger on the bed. They gulped as they saw my furious face.

“I won’t say much.”

“……”

“……”

“Hands up, both of you.”

[This is the timeline separator]

Yurik and Roger were good at causing trouble, but they were equally good at following orders. I told them to raise their hands in anger, but I didn’t expect them to actually kneel down and raise both hands.

Now I should scold them, but I have no idea how to phrase it. I’ve never scolded anyone in the first place.

“My shoulders are just aching.”

My shoulders hurt from sleeping curled up all night. Having fallen off the bed with those shoulders, they were throbbing even when I was still.

“Lize. Couldn’t you sleep? You look very tired.”

“Yurik. If you have any conscience, keep your mouth shut.”

“…If your shoulders ache, shall I massage them?”

That was a bit tempting.

“Alright. Yurik, you can lower your arms and massage my shoulders.”

“What? Then me too!”

“Roger. You stay put.”

“Tch.”

Roger slightly lowered his arms but quickly raised them again. Meanwhile, Yurik came behind my back and massaged my shoulders.

It was completely different from when Yurik massaged my shoulders last time. Back then, my shoulders hurt a lot because Yurik’s hands were too strong, but today was different.

He relaxed his hands sufficiently and targeted only the sore spots with appropriate strength.

“How is it?”

“It feels good…”

“How about here?”

“How do you know exactly where it feels good?”

“Recently, I studied from a book… well, not really, I just thought it would feel good if I massaged here.”

You did study from a book, didn’t you.

As I was enjoying Yurik’s massage skills with satisfaction, his hands moved closer to my neck. I suddenly got goosebumps.

“Ah, it hurts!”

“Sorry! Are you okay?”

“Ugh.”

“Th-that’s strange. The book clearly said it shouldn’t hurt much even if you apply pressure here.”

Yurik looked at me worriedly as I winced in pain. So he really did study from a book.

“Ugh, it hurts.”

“Well, who told you to sleep curled up at the edge of the bed? It’s all your own fault.”

Roger, who was still trembling with his hands raised, said. Whose fault is this in the first place!

“Roger.”

When I glared at Roger, he flinched and raised his arms even higher.

“What. It-it’s true, isn’t it?”

“What are you talking about? This happened because you kept clinging to me!”

“What?”

At my words, Yurik glared at Roger with sharp eyes. Roger’s face turned bright red, seemingly flustered.

“Who clung to whom?”

“You! You, Roger Bakus! You were hugging me so happily! Even when I kicked you with my feet and pushed you with my hands, you kept coming to my side!”

“……”

“That bastard… Lize, just say the word. I’ll teach that idiot a lesson this time.”

Yurik approached Roger as if he really intended to fix Roger’s mindset. Seeing Yurik approaching, Roger got scared and stood up abruptly.

“Damn it! I’m wronged!”

“Stop right there!”

As Roger ran out the door, Yurik chased after him. They looked quite healthy, being so energetic first thing in the morning.

‘Fine. What was I expecting?’

It’s my fault for being scared and sleeping with them.

I roughly tidied up the bed and went out of the room to wash up. Then I heard light footsteps crossing the hallway.

“Elder sister!”

It was Yune. She came running with her arms spread out and hugged me.

“Yune?”

“Elder sister, good morning! Did you sleep well?”

“Are you feeling better now?”

I examined Yune as she rubbed her head against my chest. Just yesterday, I was trembling with fear thinking that something might really happen to Yune. Now, unlike when she was sick, she was smiling brightly, seemingly feeling fine.

“I’m fine! Thanks to the doctor’s good treatment, I got better. Though that strange water tasted bad.”

The strange water seemed to refer to the tea made from elm bark.

“I’m so glad.”

“Yes. It would have been difficult without the doctor.”

I wonder if Yune doesn’t know about Roger treating her with folk remedies yesterday.

“The doctor helped, but Roger made you better yesterday.”

“…Huh? Who?”

Yune wiped the smile off her face at the mention of Roger.

“I mean Roger. It seems one of his parents is a doctor, so Roger knew a bit about folk remedies. Maybe you should thank him later?”

It might be unnecessary meddling, but I spoke up because I was bothered by Yune always being awkward around Roger.

Yune’s lips quivered. From the beginning, Yune would close her mouth whenever she saw Roger. At first, I thought it was just because he was unfamiliar, but even as time passed, Yune didn’t let her guard down. I thought that was strange.

“Are you uncomfortable with Roger?”

Yune hesitated, then nodded.

“He may be a bit sensitive, but he’s not a bad guy.”

“…I know.”

“Even though he has a temper, he won’t be mean to you.”

“…Yeah.”

“He can be honest, and sometimes he can be helpful. …Maybe.”

I was unintentionally defending Roger. I felt guilty even as I spoke.

“Yeah, I know.”

Yune just said she knew without adding anything else.

“Then why do you avoid Roger?”

“…He’s handsome.”

Huh?

“What did you say?”

“He’s handsome.”

“Who?”

“That… elder brother.”

“Yurik? Yes, Yurik is handsome.”

“No, not elder brother.”

“…Then me?”

“Not you either, elder sister.”

If it’s not Yurik and not me… could it be Roger Bakus?

Yune smiled shyly.

I slowly parted my lips in shock. If we’re just talking about looks, Roger Bakus was indeed handsome with his sharp and distinct features.

If only he would keep his mouth shut. If only he would stay perfectly still.

Come to think of it, I also thought Roger was handsome when I first saw him. But that was before I knew his true nature, wasn’t it?

Yune knew Roger’s true nature well too. Roger often clashed with Yurik in front of Yune, and Roger showed his personality and sarcastic tone to Yune.

But why? Why would the angelic, doll-like Yune…?

“If it’s about being handsome, Yurik is handsome too.”

“You mean our elder brother? What’s handsome about our elder brother?”

Yune uttered another absurd statement. She tilted her head as if she really didn’t understand.

“Well… he’s not ugly, is he?”

“He is ugly! Roger is handsome!”

What unique taste.

Just then, we heard Roger’s scream as he desperately tried to escape from Yurik. Instead of being surprised by the strange sound, Yune looked at Roger below the railing with sparkling eyes.

…What a situation.

“Children!”

At that moment, the lady who had been outside the villa appeared.

“We’ll be leaving soon, so get ready now!”

[This is the timeline separator]

The weather was clear and clean after the storm had passed.

‘…I hope Yurik and Roger are good at lying.’

About two hours had passed since we got on the carriage. Familiar sights came into view, indicating we were close to arriving at the village.

Now the time of reckoning had come.

I wondered what Isabel was doing now that she had discovered I hadn’t gone to the camp. Of course she would be very angry, and she might be having the maids search the entire village.

Or on the contrary, she might not look for me and just lock the doors of the mansion.

Both were the worst-case scenarios.

As the carriage got closer to the village, my legs trembled with anxiety and nervousness. Just in case, I had explained the situation to Duchess Penton, but it didn’t ease my heavy heart.

“We’ve arrived at the village.”

Duchess Penton said. The village we arrived at first was none other than the Roskov artist village where the Bakus mansion was located.

As the carriage reached the Bakus mansion, a familiar figure was seen in front of it.

“Mother?”

Roger stood up and hit his head on the ceiling. The same happened to me, but pain wasn’t important right now.

Isabel was also standing next to Mrs. Bakus. They were looking at the approaching carriage with ominous eyes.

The carriage door opened in front of the ladies. Roger and I bowed our heads and carefully got out of the carriage.

“Mo-mother.”

“Um, we-we’re back.”

We clasped our hands like criminals. They just looked us up and down without saying anything. The silence was uncomfortable. It would be easier on my mind if they shouted or cursed at us.

“Hello, Lady Marsen. Lady Bakus. I heard the situation from the children.”

Duchess Penton, who got out of the carriage following us, continued speaking.

“I’m truly sorry to meet you under these circumstances. I should have contacted you first… We were originally supposed to come to the mansion yesterday, but there were circumstances.”

“It’s been a while, Duchess Penton. And you’re quite lucky. We were just about to go to the authorities to file a missing persons report.”

Isabel’s low tone was sharper than I had imagined. She looked at me with downcast eyes.

“Yesterday, we searched for the children until dawn. Mrs. Bakus cried all night and her eyes are swollen. The maids pushed all their work aside and walked until their legs nearly broke, searching even the nearby villages. We even searched the bag of the man who came to deliver the mail several times.”

“……”

“Is that all? We went to the camp administrator and threatened him. We even raised our voices at the professor’s mansion after a long time, but it seems it was all for nothing.”

“But, mother! There were circumstances for all that…!”

I tried to make a useless lie out of guilt, but Isabel’s hand was faster. She snatched my bag and shook out all the contents onto the ground.

“There’s not a single item related to the camp.”

This is bad.

“My lady, please calm down for a moment, this is all my…”

“Duchess Penton. I don’t think this is a matter for you to interfere with.”

Isabel cut off Duchess Penton’s words firmly and then grabbed my arm.

“You must have had a lot of trouble because of Lize too, Duchess. So from now on, you won’t have to see Lize’s face again.”

“Mother! Wa-wait a moment!”

This was the first time I had seen Isabel so angry. She forcibly dragged me by the arm and pushed me into the Marsen family carriage.

Unable to say a proper word, I was trapped in the carriage and met eyes with Yurik. But only for a moment, as Isabel covered the outside with curtains.

The carriage departed.