Side Story 5.3 - WHERE DREAM AND REALITY MEET (3) (1/2)
WHERE DREAM AND REALITY MEET (3)
As Bruno was heading down to the first floor, he discovered Evangeline sitting down at the corner of the staircase. The sight of the girl resting her chin on her small hand seemed serious.
He got worried she might still be in a bad mood, so he approached her carefully. When he quietly sat down next to her, Eve turned around slightly and from what he could tell, she seemed okay.
“Eve.”
Evangeline glanced at Bruno then she turned back again and sighed deeply, like a tired old man.
Bruno pressed his lips together to stop himself from laughing. The serious look on her face was so cute that he just wanted to hug her.
“Why do you look down? Are you still mad at Damian? Do you want me to scold him for you?”
“No. I’ve made up with big brother Damian.”
“Then what is it?”
“Pretty big brother.”
“…Hm?”
“I wish I had someone who likes me the most.”
“What? Of course, there’s someone who likes you the most, Eve. Both your parents and Damian, they love you a lot.”
“No, I know that. But Father loves mother the most. And big brother Damian loves mother more.”
“…”
Caught off-guard, Bruno couldn’t say anything. And he couldn’t reply that it was not just Evangeline complaining.
The Taran family’s father and son were both in the very tight grasp of the Taran Lady of the House. But it didn’t mean they didn’t love Evangeline. The familial love for Evangeline, and the other form of love for the Duchess were both absolute. Since Bruno could sense this, it was hardly possible that Evangeline couldn’t. On the contrary, because she was a child, she was more sensitive to it.
“Big brother, you like mother more than me too, don’t you?”
“Eve.”
Bruno didn’t know what to do. He wondered how best to explain this in a way that wouldn’t hurt Eve’s feelings.
“You can’t compare who like who more when it comes to this. Eve, can you say you like one of your parents more than the other?”
Evangeline was quiet for a while then she muttered.
“…Jude isn’t like that.”
“Jude isn’t like what?”
“Jude said he likes me more. He said he likes me way more than his mom and my mom.”
Bruno lip’s twitched upwards crookedly. That little rascal.
“And so you like Jude?”
“Mn.”
Ha, Bruno snorted. And he remembered the affable smile of Jude, the younger brother of his friend, Chris.
‘We shouldn’t underestimate him because he’s a child.’
Didn’t he sneakily ask Eve to marry him? He had thought it was just something an immature little boy said without really knowing what it was, but perhaps the boy’s intention was more cunning than he thought.*
Even if he was Chris’s little brother, Bruno couldn’t leave his precious little sister to be eaten up. Bruno’s fighting spirit burned against Jude.
“Then I will be the one Eve likes the most.”
Bruno smiled meltingly as he watched his sister’s eyes open wide. It was a sweet smile that might have caused the young ladies who were always peeking at him to faint from ecstasy if they saw it.
“Or do you like Jude but not me?”
Evangeline quickly shook her head. Then she grinned softly with rose cheeks.
How cute, Bruno rubbed Evangeline’s small head then he picked up the book next to her and stood up.