Chapter 8
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The room was filled with my parents and Leon desperately trying to calm down a selfish little chick — that is, me.
It reminded me of when I’d thought of Louis as “such a childish brat.”
But this selfishness, I was going to push through no matter what.
“Helen and Rufus will be eleven next year, so they’ll be able to attend the academy. Please allow them to go. I also want them to have a tutor who can teach them the minimum education they’ll need before they enroll.”
Helen and Rufus both cried out, “Lady Marie!” and rushed in to stop me.
During our happy lunchtime a few days ago, I’d casually asked them about the academy.
Even if they hadn’t become orphans, they told me they were too poor to go. They had always admired that place.
Apparently, while there were small private tutors here and there, academies were mostly for nobles.
They never said it outright, but I could feel how much they longed to study — even when we talked in the library, Helen would look sadly at the books she couldn’t read.
These adorable angels were staying by my side because I’d asked them to.
Then the only thing I could do was help make their dream come true.
“Marie… I always liked your requests. But this time, your wish isn’t for yourself — it’s for someone else. I think I love your requests even more now.”
“Kind Marie… you make us proud. Don’t you think so, Leon?”
“…Heh. I’ll make a request too — while Helen and Rufus are at the academy, I’ll stay by Marie’s side the whole time.”
It passed! See? The selfish chick’s attack is the strongest weapon of all!
Still… I can’t help but wonder if being spoiled so much made me crave being mistreated later — maybe that’s why I was okay being a chair before?
No, that’s nonsense. I’m not becoming a chair. Waste of thought.
“Helen, Rufus — will you grant my lovely daughter’s wish?” Father asked.
Helen and Rufus burst into tears and nodded again and again, saying thank you each time they did.
“Helen, Rufus — I’m the one who should be thanking you. I give thanks every day for the miracle that you were born into this world and that I got to meet you. Ah, if you cry that much, your beautiful eyes will overflow. Hurry and stop, or I’ll just have to eat you up!”
My parents held hands and smiled warmly at each other…
But Leon’s face was serious.
Why so serious? Did he somehow realize I was a pervert?
Also — what did he mean the other day about strangling me with a rabbit?
Never mind. I’ll just forget about it.
The day after the “letter incident,” Helen and Rufus were assigned a tutor.
Father’s quick work impressed me.
While they studied, I’d hang out in Leon’s room.
Helen and Rufus were officially “mine,” so they didn’t do any housework — I didn’t mind if they spent lots of time learning.
I’d sit on Leon’s lap, cling to his back, mess with his silky hair, roll around on the bed dragging him with me, nibble on his shoulder, ask him to read me picture books and close them mid-page just to annoy him — basically, I spent my time being a total nuisance.
He didn’t flinch. He was completely used to having a hopelessly silly little sister.
I’d had a younger sister once, but she was never the type to use me as a toy — we’d just play together sweetly.
Compared to that, Leon’s “big brother tolerance” was inhuman.
Even when I snatched his scarf and threw it out the window, he just smiled and looked happy.
Being toyed with clearly made him happy — no matter what I did, he looked delighted.
He acted mature in conversation, but when we played — or rather, when I played with him — I realized he was still just a child too.
“If this room were the whole world, and time just stopped like this forever… with only you and me here — I’d be happy. Everything you do is precious to me, Marie.”
He said things like that all the time — pure escapism.
He was a year older than me, so he had far more lessons with his tutors.
Heir to a duke’s house — while I, until recently, couldn’t even say my own name.
Naturally, his education was far more advanced.
Leon studied etiquette, dance, academics, music, swordsmanship, military science, politics, economics, diplomacy, leadership, and imperial governance — his days were packed.
As for me: etiquette, dance, academics, music, and lady’s education — less than half his hours.
And “academics” itself was a huge umbrella — history, geography, medicine, literature, and more.
Apparently, most countries in this world shared the same language.
Even better — both the spoken and written language were Japanese!
Since the original otome game used Japanese dialogue and letters, that made sense.
Still, some words were different — kind of like how a fantasy game mixes in foreign terms.
For example, ladybugs were called “tentou-mame-mushi” or “mizutama-kusa-mushi.”
Other words changed by just one syllable.
No one corrected me if I used the wrong word — just being able to talk earned me praise for being “such a clever girl.”
Beds were called betto, and in medicine, terms like gauze, gips, and vaccine came from German.
When I said “bed,” no one corrected me — probably because it was normal for me to make mistakes.
It was convenient in a way.
They had words like yakimochi (jealousy) even though there were no rice cakes here.
When I asked about its origin, they said no one cared where words came from.
Still… yakimochi made me crave mochi.
This definitely wasn’t Japan — but maybe somewhere in this world, it used to be.
There was no Valentine’s Day, Christmas, Halloween — not even New Year’s.
For a romance game world, that was disappointing.
As I pondered all that, I snatched Leon’s newly replaced scarf again and threw it out the window.
“Heh… you’re adorable. You’re jealous of the scarf because it touched me, aren’t you?”
No, I just wanted grilled mochi.
“In literature, we learn vocabulary, and there are tons of dictionaries. Sometimes I think reading them is more useful than the textbooks. The ones with illustrations — storybooks, plant dictionaries — they’re fun. The plant books even include flower meanings, gem dictionaries list gem symbolism, and there’s even something called star meanings.”
“It’s proper etiquette for nobles to know that sort of thing when giving gifts. Do you want a gemstone, Marie?”
“No.”
“…You’d be happy if you got one, though.”
Helen, meanwhile, was happily reading books about flower meanings in the library, while Rufus studied adventure books and asked her about words he couldn’t read.
He’d look up words in the dictionary, and when he couldn’t read the explanation, he’d ask Helen.
It would take time for him to get the hang of it.
“If a jewel is shaped like a flower, the petals might poke you. Maybe a round one… but then again, round jewelry isn’t really…”
“Do you want jewels, Leon?”
“My jewel is you, Marie. No gemstone could shine brighter than you — they’d all fade next to you. Won’t you be my jewel and stay by my side forever?”
“Nooo.”
“You shouldn’t say no.”
“But I don’t want to. Staying by your side just to decorate you forever sounds awful.”
“I want you beside me — shining more beautifully than any gem. Like how Father and Mother are always together.”
“But Father and Mother are married. You and I are siblings — it’s not the same.”
“We’re not really siblings, Marie. You’ll always be by my side.”
“We’ll always be close, sure — but someday, I’ll probably get married and go somewhere else.”
“You won’t. Don’t you want to be my wife instead?”
Ah yes, that phase every family goes through — “I’ll marry Daddy!” or “I’ll marry my big brother!”
But reality matters. It’s the first step to growing up.
“Leon, we’re siblings. I’ll marry someone else someday — I’m not going to marry you.”
“………”
Leon’s smile vanished completely.
He silently walked away… and returned carrying a huge birdcage.
He placed it in front of the sofa, picked me up, and locked me inside.
“Let me out, Leon!”
“Reflect on what you said.”
“You’re the one who should be reflecting right now!”
“Then you’re staying in there. You’ll always be here — no academy, no friends. I’ll let fresh air in from the window sometimes.”
“Waaahhh!!”
“Write this, and I’ll let you out… hehehe.”
“Hic… sniff… waaah…”
I couldn’t even read what he wanted me to write — my tears blurred the ink.
I stayed locked up for a while, until Father and Helen came to rescue me.
Thanks to them, I managed to make it to dinner.
That day, the silver chick couldn’t leave Father’s side at all — because Leon’s eyes had been terrifying.
I learned something that day: while reality is important, bluntly stating it to someone who doesn’t understand jokes is not.
If I stray too far from his “ideal family,” I’ll be locked away in a birdcage again…
