101CF 03

Chapter : 03

“Now, Herwin. This is Lucas Agnes, heir of the Agnes family, and his younger sister Lucia Agnes. Lucia is the same age as you, so I hope you two get along while you stay here.”

Herwin quietly looked at his mother, then turned his gaze to the Agnes siblings standing before him.

“Hello, I’m Lucas Agnes. I look forward to getting along with you.”

“I’m Herwin Peneus. Pleased to meet you.”

After exchanging greetings with Lucas, Herwin turned his head toward Lucia.

The moment his eyes fell on her, his eyes widened slightly in surprise. But soon, his expression returned to normal as he stepped closer to her.

“Hi?”

“……….”

“Lucia, what are you doing? You should shake hands.”

Having awkwardly frozen, Lucia finally flustered under her brother’s urging, and she timidly placed her hand in Herwin’s.

“H-hi…”

Unlike the fleeting moment when their eyes first met, Lucia couldn’t look at Herwin directly when he was standing close.

She stole a sideways glance at him, only for Herwin to notice her gaze. The corners of his lips, usually expressionless, lifted ever so slightly.

For an instant, Herwin looked so beautiful that Lucia thought an angel had descended.

“You’re so pretty…”

But his faint smile vanished in a flash. Seeing his hardened expression, Lucia flinched.

“Don’t call me pretty.”

“Huh…?”

“I’m not pretty. I’m handsome.”

Herwin suddenly snapped, leaving Lucia bewildered.

She had only meant it as a compliment—he was so angelically beautiful that the word ‘pretty’ naturally slipped out. Was that really something to get angry about?

Timidly, she tried again while watching his reaction.

“But… I said you’re pretty because you look like an angel…”

“Tch, I told you not to call me pretty!”

Herwin harshly shook off her hand.

“Hey, why are you yelling all of a sudden!”

Lucas quickly stepped between them, shielding his sister. Standing taller, he cast a protective shadow over Lucia, causing Herwin to instinctively step back.

Lucia, who had been stunned into silence, soon felt her eyes welling up with tears.

“Uu… the angel hates me…”

Lucia, the cherished daughter of the Agnes family who had only ever known unconditional love, was experiencing rejection for the very first time.

And it was from the very person she had liked at first sight, who had just shaken off her hand with anger. Unable to endure the sudden sorrow—

“Uwaaah!”

Lucia burst into tears, startling the adults who had been chatting happily nearby.

“Lucia, why are you crying all of a sudden?”

“There, there, sweetheart. Don’t cry.”

Julian and Johan rushed over to console her.

But being comforted only made her sob harder.

As her crying grew louder, the bewildered adults turned to Lucas and Herwin for answers.

“He made Lucia cry!”

Lucas fumed, pointing at Herwin. Under the sudden weight of so many gazes, Herwin shrank back.

“The young master did?”

Johan and Julian looked doubtful, while Hael and Scarlett, who knew Herwin well, were baffled—he wasn’t the type to make a child cry.

“Son, did you really make Lady Agnes cry?”

“I-I…”

Scarlett’s gentle voice still scared him. Surrounded by accusing stares that felt like judgment, Herwin felt wronged and cornered.

Unable to explain himself properly, he stammered through tears:

“She—she started it first…!”

“Uwaaaah!”

His voice soon broke down into sobs, the words incomprehensible.

Hael simply scooped his son into his arms, patting his back to calm him.

The wailing of Lucia and Herwin overlapped into a disharmonious duet.

Hael and Johan, both holding their crying children, caught each other’s eyes. Neither could help but laugh awkwardly as they patted their little ones’ backs.

It took quite a long while before the two children stopped crying.

“Aha, so that’s what happened.”

“Oh, I see. Nothing serious after all.”

“But I’m not pretty.”

Once everything had settled and the families were back inside the mansion, they finally got the full story.

The entire fuss had started because Lucia had called Herwin “pretty.”

“Lucia, Herwin doesn’t like being called pretty. That’s probably why he got upset. It’s not that he dislikes you.”

Scarlett explained kindly to Lucia, who was nestled in Julian’s arms.

Lucia slowly peeked out from her mother’s embrace.

“Then… the angel doesn’t hate me?”

The word “angel” caught Scarlett off guard. When she realized Lucia was referring to Herwin, she cleared her throat.

“Angel? Ahem… Anyway, no, he doesn’t hate you. Right, Herwin?”

“Hmph. Whatever. I don’t want to be friends with her.”

Herwin had already judged Lucia.

She was the girl who had offended him.

He decided then and there that he would never befriend her.

Hearing that, Lucia’s lips trembled as she teared up again.

“Sniff… so he does hate me…”

Scarlett shot Herwin a sharp look, making him avert his eyes.

“Lucia, you shouldn’t call a boy pretty. You should say he’s handsome.”

Before she could burst into tears again, Lucas spoke up.

“Huh?”

“I like being called handsome more than pretty too. He’s a boy, so you should call him handsome, not pretty.”

“Really…?”

“Yeah. Though, I don’t start crying just because someone calls me pretty.”

Just as Herwin had passed judgment on Lucia, Lucas had also judged Herwin.

He was the petty kid who made his sister cry.

To an older brother who adored his sister, Herwin was now a suspicious troublemaker to keep an eye on.

Herwin bristled at Lucas’s words.

“I wasn’t crying!”

“You were bawling your eyes out just now, tears and snot everywhere. A boy shouldn’t cry over something so small—so petty.”

“P-petty?”

“Yep. Totally petty.”

Herwin’s whole body trembled with anger, while Lucas grinned smugly like only a child could.

“Lucas! That’s no way to act as an older brother!”

Johan scolded, making Lucas sulk and stop teasing.

“I apologize that my children troubled the young master…”

“You needn’t apologize, Count. Children always squabble as they grow.”

“Yes, don’t worry about it. Herwin was at fault too.”

“Mom! I—”

“Quiet. The adults are talking.”

Feeling ignored, Herwin sulked.

When he glanced over at the Agnes siblings, Lucia was sneaking curious looks at him, while Lucas glared at him with open displeasure.

“I’m sure they’ll warm up to each other in time.”

But hearing that, Herwin thought bitterly:

‘I’ll never, ever be friends with her!’

Thus began Herwin and Lucia’s long, rocky relationship.

“U-um…”

“……….”

“H-…Herwin…”

Tap, tap—

Lucia called his name repeatedly in a muddled voice, but Herwin gave no reply.

The enormous playroom held only the two of them, an arrangement neither wanted.

Herwin wanted nothing more than to leave.

But regardless of their quarrel, the Peneus family had already agreed to stay at the Agnes estate. They couldn’t just change lodgings now, nor could the children spend their days at odds.

The adults wanted them to reconcile, so they had nudged the three children into the playroom. Before long, Lucas had left for his tutor, leaving only Herwin and Lucia behind.

If not for the bitter cold that kept them near the fireplace, Herwin wouldn’t have sat anywhere near her.

Lucia’s plump cheeks sagged in discouragement as her calls went unanswered. Hugging a pair of dolls tightly to her chest, she sat down.

The crackle of burning logs and faint noises from the hallway were the only sounds in the otherwise silent playroom.

Still harboring resentment toward Lucia, Herwin hugged his knees tightly.

‘If I’d known, I wouldn’t have come.’

He had been so excited—this was his first time leaving the northern lands for the capital.

He’d imagined making friends his age.

But the very first girl he met called him pretty.

Adults said “pretty” was a compliment, but to Herwin it was an unbearable word.

‘I’m a boy. Why do they always call me pretty? They could say handsome instead.’

Because “pretty” was always followed by things like:

“Oh, you’re a boy? For a boy, you look so delicate. If you were a girl, you’d be a real beauty.”

“Ha, you’re lying—you look just like a girl! Why say you’re a boy?”

“A dress would suit you much better than pants. Why don’t you try one on?”

He’d heard things like that countless times, and the memories haunted him still.

If only Lucia hadn’t called him pretty, maybe they could have been friends.

Herwin pouted in frustration.

When he first stepped out of the carriage and saw the Agnes family, he had been struck by Lucia’s appearance.

‘She looks like a fairy.’

Her short brown bob framed her chubby cheeks, her blue eyes sparkled brighter than the sky, and her pink dress bloomed like a rose.

At first glance, he thought of a fairy. The large ribbon on the back of her dress even looked like wings.

His first impression of her had been very good—until her one word ruined everything.

Sniff—

Lost in his thoughts, Herwin suddenly noticed the sound of someone sniffing.

He paused, then glanced over his shoulder.

Lucia was sitting with her back to him, her little shoulders drooping.

Sniff, sniff—

The sound of her sniffling continued.

Herwin told himself it wasn’t his business, but when the sound wouldn’t stop, he jumped to his feet.

“Seriously, are you crying again? You’re such a crybaby…!”

He strode over, worried he might have upset her again—

“Sniff, sniff! Hm?”

But she wasn’t crying. She just had a runny nose.

Herwin froze mid-step.

“Hehe, so you’re not mad anymore?”

Lucia beamed at him, oblivious to his inner turmoil.

Her cute smile sent heat rushing to his face, and he quickly turned away.

“N-not mad! Who said I was?”

“But you came over to me.”

“That’s only because I thought you were crying… Forget it.”

Herwin tried to dismiss her, turning his back again.

But then—Lucia grabbed the hem of his clothes.

“…What?”

“I’m sorry.”

His sulky lips relaxed a little.

He hadn’t expected her to apologize so easily—not without being pushed by adults.

Herwin cracked one eye open and glanced down.

Her clear blue eyes reflected him like a mirror, making him swallow nervously.