As I blinked in bewilderment, Cedar awkwardly pushed my back.

“Now that it’s just the two of us, let’s have a serious talk.”

“What kind of talk?”

“Did you know Grisha before?”

“We studied together at the academy to become magicians, didn’t we?”

“Ah, I see.”

At the indifferent response, Cedar covered his mouth with his palm.

It felt like he wanted to talk with me about something, but couldn’t find an appropriate topic.

I blinked and took another look at Cedar’s face.

His classically handsome, stern features were enlivened by a slight scar at the tip of his chin.

‘Even the silver-gray color of his eyes is mysterious.’

They say that if eyes are metallic like gold or silver, people feel uncomfortable facing them. Because it doesn’t look natural.

‘But it suits Cedar perfectly. Because Cedar is a swordsman.’

With his strong appearance, the silver-gray eyes themselves seemed to symbolize the sword, which looked good.

‘He really doesn’t resemble Grisha at all.’

Their black hair was somewhat similar, but even that felt slightly different.

Grisha has straight hair that flows smoothly, while Cedar’s hair looked like it would be stiff.

Tilting my head and trying to find any resemblance, I asked in a puzzled tone.

“Are you really Grisha’s elder brother?”

At my question, Cedar finally seemed to regain his composure and gave a sneer, his characteristic cynical-looking smile.

“Is there such a thing as a fake brother? Of course, there are relationships worse than strangers, but still.”

It was Cedar’s habit to answer sarcastically no matter what was said. I shrugged.

“Grisha never talked about his family. Even when I asked about his surname, he never answered. I had no idea he was Cedar’s younger brother.”

“We don’t look alike at all, right?”

“No.”

“You’re honest.”

Cedar brushed back his hair.

Though it was a simple action, his thick forearm flexed, clearly showing the muscles moving in sequence like dominoes.

“I take after our father. Grisha takes after our mother.”

“I see.”

Since I had already seen Cedar’s mother, I had guessed that Cedar must take more after his father. I nodded readily.

‘Grisha’s mother must be very beautiful too. I wonder if she was a delicate beauty like Grisha.’

You must have liked beautiful women very much, Duke Granite.

As I was adding one more conjecture about the Duke Granite whose face I didn’t know, Cedar rubbed his eyes tiredly and explained.

“As you may have guessed to some extent, Grisha and I are competing for the title of Duke. So we can’t get along. The reason my mother came last time was because Grisha graduated from the academy and returned home.”

“Ah.”

I had wondered why they suddenly sent an assassin now, when it would have been much easier to send one when I was really in a vegetative state.

It seems they became anxious because of Grisha’s appearance.

‘Of course, that doesn’t explain everything.’

If anxiety was enough reason to kill people, there wouldn’t be a single person left in the empire.

But there was also a part of that anxiety that I couldn’t understand. I tilted my head and asked.

“Is competition possible? Your mother is currently the Duchess Granite, and you’re the eldest son of the ducal family, aren’t you?”

It’s not unusual for title competition to occur in a family like the Granites, but it’s rare when the eldest son’s position is so secure.

It’s not like Cedar is lacking in ability either.

Cedar answered in a concise tone, as if announcing, ‘Today’s lunch is fresh salad.’

“I’m the illegitimate child.”

“Ah…”

So that beautiful and frightening noble lady who was kicking the main gate with her high heels, threatening to break down the door, was the mistress?

The illegitimate child is older, which means he had a child with another woman before getting married?

I couldn’t imagine how the situation came to be, so I just pressed my lips together.

I just added one more line of information about Duke Granite in my mind.

The Duke Granite, whose face I don’t know, seems to have been quite a playboy.

‘Ah, so that’s why Lady Briar was so angry when Cedar said he didn’t want to inherit the title of Duke back then.’

Even if he was in the position of an illegitimate child before, now Lady Briar is the Duchess, and Cedar is a publicly recognized Swordmaster.

She must have thought the title of Duke was finally within reach, but then her son says he’ll give up the title to his half-brother. No wonder she was furious.

‘But that’s something that would upset Lady Briar, it’s a different issue from the two of them not getting along.’

No matter what, I couldn’t understand why the brothers had a bad relationship.

“My husband said he doesn’t want the title of Duke. If you convey your true feelings, wouldn’t Grisha understand? It would be nice to get along well as the only siblings, wouldn’t it?”

Surely there aren’t any more half-siblings? I carefully asked Cedar.

Cedar sighed through his nose.

“There’s too much history between us for it to be resolved so easily.”

Though his tone was calm, he cut off my words sharply, leaving no room for argument.

I nodded. It wasn’t an issue for an outsider like me to comment on.

“And what I want to talk about now isn’t about me.”

“Then what?”

Despite bringing up the topic first, Cedar hesitated for a long time without continuing.

What great thing is he trying to say? After waiting, blinking my eyes, Cedar finally spoke, slightly blushing.

“That… is it true that he’s someone you can trust and rely on?”

“Pardon?”

“I’m asking if it’s true that he’s someone you can trust.”

“You mean you, my husband?”

“Not me! I’m talking about Grisha!”

“Ah.”

Why is he getting angry at me for not understanding when he spoke without a subject? I shrugged.

“Grisha is the one who helped me fall into a vegetative state. If it weren’t for Grisha, I might have already been killed by Diana.”

“…I see, that’s right.”

With that answer, Cedar seemed to understand the trust between Grisha and me. But he continued to hesitate as if he had more to say.

Wondering why he kept hesitating like that, I whispered in a small voice.

“You can go to the bathroom if you need to.”

At my words, Cedar’s eyes widened more than I’d ever seen.

Then in an instant, his face turned as red as a tomato and he shouted.

“That’s not it! Don’t bring up the bathroom to me!”

“There’s no need to be embarrassed. Everyone goes to the bathroom.”

“I said that’s not it! I’ll take care of it myself, so don’t even mention the word bathroom to me!”

If it’s not it, then it’s not, why is he yelling like that? I pouted my lips in displeasure, but I didn’t say anything more out loud, fearing Cedar’s nagging would go on.

Even after I fell silent, Cedar muttered things like ‘I can’t believe this’ several times before scratching his head.

“You made me forget everything I wanted to say.”

“Oh dear.”

“It’s because of you! Don’t look at me with those pitying eyes!”

“Should I raise my hand and apologize then?”

“You…!”

Fearing Cedar might really make me kneel in the corner with my hands raised, I covered my mouth with my palm. Cedar turned his head with a long sigh.

His flustered face revealed his complicated feelings, despite trying to hide them.

I patted Cedar’s shoulder, meaning I understood everything without him having to say it.

“I understand both of your situations. I know it’s a sensitive situation, so I’ll be careful with my words from now on.”

Cedar sighed again. Then, stroking my head with his large hand, he replied in an indifferent tone.

“Never mind. You’ll probably say something weird again while trying to be careful. It’s best if you just act like yourself.”

“…You’ll get angry again like before if I say something.”

“That’s why it’s better. And I’m not really angry at you when I yell. My voice just gets louder because I’m flustered and embarrassed.”

Cedar’s face was flushed red again as he said that. I smiled brightly.

“Cedar and Grisha do have something in common.”

“What? Where?”

“It’s a secret.”

I’ll tell you when the problems between the two of you are resolved. Until then, I’ll keep it to myself.

“You wanted to say that Grisha and you are half-brothers, and that I don’t need to worry about it, right? Is this conversation over? I’m going up now.”

So can I go in and do my own thing now?

I’m originally an introverted person, and I was tired from dealing with people for too long.

‘I feel like I could go three days without saying a word.’

At my words, Cedar’s eyebrows rose slightly, and then.

“This woman, really.”

“Aaack!”

Suddenly he messed up my hair completely!

“My hair has turned into a bird’s nest!”

Cedar snorted at my protest.

“It’s always a bird’s nest. You never comb it anyway.”

“S-still!”

I quickly combed my hair with a hand comb. How did he know I don’t comb my hair?

“Anyway, I’m going to…”

“So, are you thinking of asking Grisha for help now?”

“What?”

Cedar cut off my words and asked in a lowered voice.

I opened my eyes wide. Cedar awkwardly rubbed his chin.

“I’m asking if you’ve made up your mind.”

Why would he ask such a thing? Especially in this situation.

No matter how I thought about it, there was only one intention of Cedar that I could guess.

“…Are you telling me to leave this house right now?”