Chapter 1 (1/2)

Translated .

Heart Break Arc 1

「I don't like that woman. In fact, I hate her. I really hate her.」

Surrounded by several girls, he spat out those words.

With words that indicated clear rejection, his eyes filled with an unpleasantly cold sharpness.

I wonder if the cracking sound I heard had just been an auditory hallucination that reverberated in my mind.

— Right now, anyone’s fine, I just want someone to sympathize with me for being treated as 『that woman』 by the person that I was in the midst of having a puppy love for.

There had been an orphanage that was managed by Alan-ojisama, an old friend of Father’s, who was the feudal lord’s aide. The inst.i.tution was situated relatively near my home, the Barette residence. Reiss was the new boy that had been entered there.

Although Father went there to teach the orphanage’s children penmans.h.i.+p in his free time, I, Suria Barette, often accompanied him there to play.

Since Father splits the kids to teach depending on the day, whenever he was teaching, I’d act like an older sister and volunteer as a playmate for the other smaller children. As an only child, the younger children who affectionately call me「Suria-oneechan」were all my beloved little brothers and sisters.

When we met each other, I’d been 11 years old, and Reiss had been 9.

At first, the boy who was two years my junior had also been one of the little brothers that was supposed to be in my care. On top of that, he’d been a 『handful』 .

It was right after he came to the orphanage.

Reiss had been all skin and bones, which was uncommon in this country, with his blood-red eyes along with hair that was pitch black like the dark night, he looked eerie like a ghost that haunts old castles.

Even though he had a beautiful symmetrical face when you looked closely, he always had a dull look in his eyes. I think his lack of expression ended up isolating him from everyone. The other children naturally avoided him and didn’t attempt to approach him either.

「This won’t do!」

With my heart set on making things better, I journeyed to the orphanage on my own, even on the days my father did not go. Encouraging him to eat his meals, forcing him to finish reading the books, and dragging him outside to play, I energetically meddled in his business. When he tried to act irritated or attempted to get rid of me, I continued to interfere with some mysterious will-power.

It was touching when my efforts bore fruit and he came to me from over his side, calling out to me by my nickname, 「Su」 for the first time.

When I replied, he furrowed his brow deeply. Then, he smiled with the cheeks that had turned a healthy shade of red. It was a little hard to explain, but you try being smiled at by him.

So it wasn’t my fault when I’d hugged him without realizing it. He soon tore away from me, though.

Reiss’s growth had been amazing after he opened his heart for me like that.