Volume 5 Chapter 193, The Middle Siblings’ Assessments and Past Stories_3

Translator: Nonon

Proofreader: Silavin

 

“Normally I should have been the one to come to greet you, so I apologize for making you come all the way here instead.”

“Y-yes, no, I’m the – I am the one who is sorry for a sudden visit.“

“Y-yes, and we even interrupted when your classmates had been visiting.“

 

Although they were my Older Siblings, they were still guests, so I guided them to the guest room, where we introduced each other and continued our conversation. There were four of us in the room: me, Lady Violet, Gen and Sumi. Also, standing behind them were Gen’s butler (John-Brian) and Sumi’s maid (Cork).

By the way, Ms. Kriemhild and the others were…

 

“Well then, we’ll be off, so you youngsters should enjoy the rest of the day!“

“I’d like to retort to your choice of words too, but at the very least we’re the youngsters here.“

 

Declared so and left. Her cheerfulness is something I would really like to learn from.

Also, when Gen saw Ms. Mary, he looked strange and said a few words to her. I wonder what that was about… Ms. Mary might be attractive, but surely he would never think to cheat.

As for how Gen and the others were able to enter the mansion, which was supposed to be locked, apparently Gray and Gen had made up a secret signal, and Gray had guided them in by following that signal. Gray himself was currently busy making coffee and tea.

 

“I can’t believe you’re the Territory Lord of… I have heard that it’s a wonderful place, and I’m sure it’s the result of your hard work.”

“Yes and no. While I am the Territory Lord, most of it is due to Father

…my Wife’s Father, and I have little to show for it.”

“…Lady Sumi, I’ve heard that Viscount Lime is an excellent man who succeeded his Father, who succeeded his Father after the latter passed away at a young age. I’m sure he only achieved this because of your support.”

“Yes and no. His reputation is due to my Husband’s hard work, and my support is insignificant. But thank you for your kind words.”

“…”

 

And now, despite talking about how they would see whether she was worthy to be the Wife of their Younger Brother before coming here, they’re giving military-style responses and nervously checking her reaction.

According to the rumors, she’s a prideful, selfish and self-centered noble lady from a Ducal Family whose engagement was called off after a duel. In terms of personality, they must have imagined somebody like our Mother or Royle, our Eldest Sister.

 

“…Lord Gen, Lady Sumi. It’s true that I was formerly a member of a Ducal Family, but I no longer have any power in the Valentine Family and am now a member of the Heartfield Family. I would be grateful if you could treat me like your Sister-in-law.”

 

However, contrary to their expectations, the woman speaking to them was a woman with an aristocratic posture and manners in a good way.  It might have even made them think that the rumors were a lie and her ducal family still had its power.

Putting aside the credibility of the rumors, it would be unlikely if you just thought about it calmly, but you could be easily misled if you looked at her dignified demeanor and composed voice. As a result, their speech had become strange, and although they said they would be assessing her, they actually ended up just observing the situation.

That being said, Lady Violet’s polite tone is refreshing. She used honorifics when speaking with His Highness, but she generally uses strong language, so it’s nice to see her speaking politely with Gen and the others like this.

 

“Yes, I will… I’ll do my best.”

“I’ll take you up on your offer…”

“… Fufu.”

 

Wow, Lady Violet laughed. So cute.

But why did she laugh?

 

“What’s wrong, Lady Violet?”

“Oh, excuse me. I was just thinking that Lady Sumi and Lord Gen are truly Lord Clo’s Siblings.”

“Pardon?”

“Well, the way they panic and their expressions. It’s exactly like you, Lord Clo.”

 

Wait, is this how I look to the people from the outside?

… Eh? Really?

 

“Please wait a minute, Lady Violet. Are you saying that I’m like my Siblings, who tried to look cool, but couldn’t even stand on the battlefield, let alone fight?”

“Lord Clo, it’s not right to disrespect your Siblings.”

“I do respect them, but it makes me feel complicated to be seen that way,,, are we… that similar,,,?:

“Hey, what’s with that way of talking about your Older Brother? While you’re at it, why don’t you start addressing me more politely like Miss Violet?”

“That’s right, you’re being too rude. While you’re at it, call me Big Sis Sumi like you used to as a child!”

“Shut up. And I told you I have almost never called you Big Sis Sumi!”

“See? You sounded exactly the same just now. Especially when you’re not using a polite tone.”

 

No, that’s just my commoner way of talking as somebody with memories from my past life where I was a humble working adult. In fact, the problem is with my Older Siblings who resemble me… I wonder if they were actually influenced by my way of talking. I remember them observing me when I was younger.

 

“It’s fine. You can also call me Big Brother like you used to. I remember you used to follow me around asking me to teach you in the past.”

“That’s right, you can act spoiled to your Big Sister too. You’ve been shy ever since my chest developed, but we can still sleep in the same bed.”

“Yeah, he used to sleep with us because he would get scared during thunderstorms.”

“Yes, together with Gen. He was even scared to go to the bathroom.”

“Oh, so Lord Clo had that kind of time too.”

 

That’s because you guys were just saying things like ‘you’re afraid of thunder, right? We’ll sleep with you”, or “the house is scary at night, right? We’ll go with you’ and acting like you were doing me a favor.

Okay, time to stop them before they give Lady Violet any more weird ideas.

 

“If you keep making up more stories, I’ll send Mr. Lime and Ms. Cosmos the poem Gen wrote when he was thirteen and the romance novel Sumi wrote about herself before entering the academy.”

 

The moment they heard those words, my Siblings froze up.

 

“Wh-what are you talking about? Don’t just make up stuff!”

“Romance… uu. My head…! I d-don’t know anything about that…!”

 

Oh, you want to play dumb? That’s fine.

Hmm, if I remember correctly…

 

“~For the sake of my future self~ Searching for tomorrow~ and ~The Wolf Prince and the Commoner me~ were the titles, and as for the content—“

“”Stop it!””

 

They frantically tried to hold my mouth shut, but it was too late. I already gave the title to Mr. John-Brian and Ms. Cork. It’s their fault for talking about things that didn’t happen in front of me.

 

“It’s good to see that you all get along so well.”

 

She said it earnestly and seemed envious, but I didn’t feel too happy about it.

I wonder if Lady Violet is actually starved for friendship, love and things like that. Alright, I’ll talk a lot to her later so we can become closer.

 

“Lord Clo, May I?”

“Yeah, you can come in, Gray.”

 

As we were making a ruckus, I heard Gray’s voice, remembered that he was gone too long to be just making coffee and responded to him. He came in after excusing himself, but although he had been making drinks, he had nothing in his hands, neither a tray nor the drinks.

 

“What’s wrong?”

“Yes, excuse me.”

 

Gray approached me and made a certain report close enough that only I could hear.

 

 

“Lady Apricot, Lady Cyan and Lord Orchid noticed Lord Silva’s strange powers, and they are about to start a duel. What should we do?”

 

… What should I do about those guys?

 

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Author’s note:

Cosmos Heartfield

Gen’s Wife. An airheaded young lady.

She loves her Husband.