Chapter 5
Luna de Mirage quickly got up from her seat.
The first thing she did after fully regaining her senses was to take a tour of the Mirage Countâs estate.
She knew the setting that she was the only daughter of the Countâs family, raised as a precious child between one older brother and one younger brother, but she had no idea what the actual Countâs estate looked like.
Siltburg was the name of the territory ruled by the Count, and Lunaâs father was called either the Count of Siltburg or the Mirage Count.
The word âburgâ itself meant a large castle, and the Count was a great lord who governed a fairly wide territory.
A house belonging to such a Count was more than worthy of being called a âtour.â
That was why sneaking around this huge house alone was impossible from the beginning.
So Luna decided to have her younger brother, Reizent, lead the way and show her every corner of the Countâs estate.
When she told him that she thought she had lost some memories after fainting, he did not suspect anything.
Besides, she could keep looking around with such a cute little brother by her side.
It was truly killing two birds with one stone.
âThis is the study. You didnât often come here, though, Sister.â
âThis is the dining hall. You used to sit on Fatherâs right side.â
âThis is Brother Prointâs room. After he passed away, we left everything untouched.â
âThis is my room. Itâs directly below your room, Sister. I originally lived in a separate annex, but after Brother Proint passed away, you told me to move into the main building. Do you remember?â
âYes, yes. Reizent, hearing you explain everything makes me feel like I remember.â
Luna felt warm inside just from watching Reizentâs small mouth move as he carefully explained everything.
Come to think of it, the fact that this child had lived separately in an annex until Proint died explained why he seemed so lacking in confidence.
Even if he was a child born from an affair, what crime did the child himself commit?
She was the same in her previous life.
A child whose very existence was denied by someone.
âShall we go outside now, Sister?â
Luna, who had fallen into thought, quickly came back to her senses at Reizentâs voice.
From Reizentâs perspective, Luna, who had cared for him even a little, must have been someone he was extremely grateful for.
Thinking about it, the young boy seemed very proud that he finally had something he could do for his older sister.
I should treat him better from now on.
âOur Reizent is such a good child.â
At Lunaâs words, Reizentâs face instantly turned the color of a peach.
âOur ReizentâŚ? A good childâŚ?â
After coming to this house, Sister Luna had treated him more kindly than the other members of the family, always speaking a few more words to him.
But ever since she fainted in the greenhouse a few days ago and woke up, she seemed even kinder.
Almost like a real younger brother.
In this house, he had always felt like a lonely island separated from everyone else.
Could he get closer to Sister a little more?
Reizentâs heart trembled, and because of that, his expression and actions became even more awkward.
âL-Letâs go outside, Sister.â
Reizent walked ahead, moving like a robot, with his arm and leg on the same side moving together.
Watching him from behind, Luna smiled.
âThis is the garden that the Mirage Count family is proud ofâŚâ
Reizent passionately explained the large and beautiful garden, but what Luna actually wanted to see was something else.
âReizent, where is the training ground?â
âDo you want to see the knights training?â
At Reizentâs excited question, Luna nodded.
Since she had decided to live in this world anyway, she might as well enjoy everything she could.
Survival was the goal, but she couldnât spend every day with a serious expression and a deep frown.
The pretty boys she wanted to see in this house were definitely at the training ground.
This was a BL world, after all.
There was no way Sowooju, who loved beautiful and handsome things, would gather only rough, black-bearded knights here.
I know that person better than anyone.
Besides, didnât she say this novel itself was a gift for Ruri?
Even if I canât have love, I can at least watch it.
Like the saying that even Mount Geumgang should be seen after eating, Luna decided to first cleanse her eyes with handsome men before thinking about what to do next.
âThis is the training ground. The Silt Knights are sparring over there.â
As Reizent pointed toward the training ground behind the main building, Luna followed his finger with her eyes.
She almost had a nosebleed.
To witness such a holy sight with her own eyesâŚ
BL forever!
A knight with long silver-gray hair reaching his waist, loosely tied with a hairband, and a knight with short brown hair swept to the side were sparring while holding wooden swords.
Both men had perfectly developed bodies.
Their large pectoral muscles, serratus muscles filling the area between their chests and armpits, clear abdominal muscles, and the external oblique muscles around themâŚ
There was not a single imperfect part on their bare upper bodies.
Every time their wooden swords clashed, veins rose on their arms, and their beautiful chest muscles moved slightly.
And that was not all.
Whenever the knights extended their legs, their firm gluteus maximus muscles tightened, clearly visible even through their tight training pants.
Wait, seriously?
They werenât living in this era while only working out and drinking protein shakes, so how did they have bodies sculpted like this?!
And their muscles werenât huge and bulky either.
They were perfectly made with just the right amount of attractive lean muscle.
This wasnât just one plus one.
This was one plus one plus one plusâ
The other knights watching the spar were also sitting around with their healthy upper bodies completely exposed.
I guess this is why I spent so much money on BL novels!
Sob!
And what about those sweat droplets on the upper bodies of the silver-gray-haired knight with overwhelming androgynous beauty and the brown-haired knight with rebellious eyes?
This was exactly the kind of situation where someone should take off their underwear and scream.
But she couldnât do that in front of her innocent younger brother.
Luna held back her excitement and pretended to seriously watch the knightsâ sparring from a distance.
Just before her eyes could turn into hearts, she grabbed onto her remaining sanity and looked down at Reizent.
But thenâŚ
Good heavens.
This kidâs expression was strange too.
Why was he clasping both hands together with such an excited expression?
Right.
Sowooju said that.
If ăLove, Promise of Flowersă became successful, she would show Reizentâs side story too.
A story about a slave sold to the Countâs family and a romance filled with obsession.
What?
Then this kid Reizent was a BL seedling?!
He was fourteen years old in this worldâŚ
Since adulthood was eighteen, it wouldnât be long.
Wait.
Then where was the slave who would be sold to the Countâs family?
Who was going to become the victim of this BL dreamer?
I canât just let the entire story go exactly the way Sowooju wants.
Besides, I decided to become a good older sister, but watching every single couple succeed in love without doing anything would hurt too much.
This older sister might die because of other peopleâs romances.
Should I interfere just a little?
Thatâs right.
You have to raise younger siblings strongly!
âReizent.â
âYes, Sister.â
Luna looked at Reizent with kind eyes and asked.
âWas there a newly purchased slave in our house?â
âA slave? Most of the servants were hired by Father through contracts. Ah! Recently, a lower-ranking noble who owed Father money offered a foreign slave he owned instead of payment. He had a rare appearance that is difficult to see in the EmpireâŚâ
âReally? Where is he now?â
But at that momentâ
The sound of wooden swords clashing rang out.
Thenâ
Bang!!
With a rough cracking sound, a broken piece of wood flew directly toward Luna.
The sudden loud noise made Luna instinctively turn her head.
Seeing the piece of wood flying through the air, she tightly closed her eyes.
Am I really going to die this pointlessly?
Thenâ
Thud!!
A breaking sound echoed.
However, Luna did not feel like she had been hit anywhere by a sharp, hard piece of wood.
InsteadâŚ
It felt like someone was embracing her.
When Luna slowly opened her eyesâ
What the?
A manâs jaw was right in front of her face, close enough that their noses could touch.
Looking again, the man was bent over, holding her protectively in his arms.
âSister! Are you alright?â
Reizent shouted in shock, his eyes wide.
âI-Iâm fine. Thereâs no need to make a fuss. But⌠could you let go of me?â
Luna looked up at the man hugging her tightly.
âAh, a-ah⌠yes!â
The man quickly released his arms and stepped aside.
Then Reizent approached Luna and checked her condition.
âYou almost got hurt, Sister. This person is the one.â
âThis person?â
The one?
The one who?
Ah!!
The slave who was supposed to be eaten alive by Reizentâs obsession in the side story?!
Only then did Luna come back to her senses and look the man up and down.
Long black hair.
Dark skin.
Red eyes like rubies.
Shoulders broader than the knights in the training ground.
A strong and solid body.
A huge man who looked at least 190 centimeters tall.
He was standing there with his face completely red, looking down.
âMiss! Miss! Are you alright?â
At that moment, the knights from the training ground rushed toward Luna and Reizent.
Among them, the silver-gray-haired knight, who seemed to be the owner of the broken wooden sword, stood at the very front.
âAre you alright, Miss? We were careless while sparring and failed to notice you. We have committed a serious mistake. Please punish us accordingly.â
The silver-gray-haired knight bent one knee and lowered his head.
Wow.
He looked amazing from far away, but up close, those lean muscles on his upper body were even more visible.
Oh, that pink color on his chestâ
Ah, no.
Get a grip!
You are the daughter of the Mirage family!
Luna cleared her throat and spoke.
âItâs fine. This happened because you were training seriously.â
âBut⌠Miss almost got injured. Also, that lowly slave touched your body without permission. Please punish him together with us!â
âPlease punish him!!â
The silver-gray-haired knight strongly requested it, and the other knights shouted together.
Punish the person who saved me?
What kind of ridiculous nonsense is this?
âHe was trying to save me. How could I punish him?â
âHowever, he is a lowly foreign slave. How could he dare touch your body? It is unacceptable.â
Seriously?
Someone almost died after being hit by a sharp piece of wood, and they were saying something like, âYour Majesty, please protect your precious bodyâ?
âNo. That makes no sense. Whoever he is, he saved me. I absolutely cannot punish him.â
Thatâs right.
I canât do that.
Ah!
I think the reason this man later fell for Reizent in the side story was because Reizent was the first person to call him by his name.
For a lowly slave, being called by his name probably meant being treated like a human being.
Could I use this to block the route where he gets close to Reizent?
Luna approached the man, who looked completely discouraged, and gently took his hand.
The man flinched at her touch.
âWhat⌠is your name?â
Just as Luna expected, the man looked extremely surprised.
âYou must have a name. What is it?â
When Luna asked again kindly, the manâs face turned even redder than before.
In a voice barely audible, he answered.
âR⌠Ray.â
âThatâs a beautiful name, Ray.â
Luna smiled brightly because she liked the name.
Seeing her beautiful smile, Ray looked like his face might burn away at any moment.
âSister, there is blood on his back.â
At that moment, Reizent, who was standing behind Ray, spoke.
âWhat? Blood?â