Chapter 19 - Volume 2 (1/2)
Family Arc – Lycoris and the Voluntary Service
I’ve made the blunder of a lifetime.
What was it about?
It was about the time when I was clinging to that girl, shivering and shaking like a leaf.
After hearing about my real father through my mother, my life has been filled with troubles to the extent that it could be called a drama.
But no matter what kind of cheap drama this was, having the Duke’s Family take charge of the main character and having them all live happily ever after as the story’s conclusion might not be how the plot would go about being written. At the very least, the word『Duke』should not have been used.
What’s more, of the five Duke families.
In this country, it was only those five families and no other family, whose influence shined radiantly if seen from the viewpoint of the masses.
The Duke of Lilia, Kaffir Radiata, was in fact, a person worthy of respect.
To be upfront, my real father, Narcissus Rankgerüste, in comparison, was not.
Initially, for sure, I’d been vigilant against the impression of a crafty adult, however, he didn’t even have one unreasonable bone in him, he treated me the same way as he would his beloved daughter, Lycoris.
I definitely have no intention of saying this out loud, but at the time that my mother told me 『you know, your father is an aristocrat』, his conduct was what I’d imagined my father to be.
No, more than imagination, it exceeded that of being considerably indulgent.
And, supposed to be shining in the same influence was the duke’s daughter, Lycoris Radiata.
Although even to me, her demeanor and conduct were as one would expect from the duke’s daughter, the things she says when she opens her mouth are all considerably frank. Having observed my real sister, Crinum, I had been under the impression that this was what an aristocrat’s sheltered daughter was supposed to be like. For that to be the exact opposite of her disposition astounds me even until this day.
Lycoris had reluctantly accepted the fact that I became her step brother, but now that I was attempting to start a new life, she already seemed just like a mother bird building a nest since she tirelessly tended to my affairs.
「This is your room, right?」
「This is yours. Including me and Father too, if someone comes in without permission, it’s fine to get angry at them」
She had gone out of her way to do this task of explaining it to me.
That is to say, she was trying to make it clear what my so called privileges are with regards to this family. I won’t say that it was her endeavor, in particular, that had borne the fruit, but, while not very much time had gone by, I felt like my own room in the duke’s house became a『place where I belonged』. At the very least, the room was much more than what was given in the Rankgerüste mansion.
But, having said that.
There’s no way I’d say that with this I’d reconcile with her – no, with that woman.
The first of that woman’s unforgivable acts was, for sure, coming to wake me up early in the morning.
For me, who had been accustomed to the night street’s life since I had been aware of my surroundings, a life sleeping from the rising sun had been the norm. Though if that time was compared to the life sleeping at night that one gets accustomed to, I was weak in the morning.
That woman did it – roaring mercilessly close to my ear, tearing off my futon without exception; one time, I ended up dropping from the bed along with my futon. An apology immediately followed, but since there was laughter in her voice, I won’t let her off for this.
In addition, she’s been forcing me to eat breakfast without fail.
When I refused to eat, she’d have a smug look on her face, saying:
『That’s the reason why even though so much time has passed, you’re still skinny, you know. Although your arm is much more slender than mine, what’s with that – are you proud of it?』
Do you think there would be a possibility that I would be?
The second of that woman’s unforgivable acts was, the fact that she keeps tricking me into doing things using that eloquent mouth of hers.