Chapter: 13
“Henri, no acting cute for a while.”
“Huh?”
Scrub, scrub—
I rubbed my eyes hard, trying to wash away the rose-colored filter clouding my judgment.
Then I opened them wide with determination.
But in that brief moment, Henri’s beautiful face had already moved right in front of mine.
“Big Sis, I’m good at picking apples too, so that makes me the coolest person in the world, right?”
I forgot my resolve in exactly one second and nodded enthusiastically.
“Yep! Of course!”
…Good grief. I’m far too weak when it comes to Henri.
At this rate, would I even be able to judge him objectively if he really was the culprit?
But…
If Henri really did do it…
I’m probably the only one who can stop him.
I have to set him straight.
Besides, a scheming little brat? That’s not a healthy character trait at all, Henri.
I widened my eyes sternly and said,
“Henri, I’ve always told you, haven’t I? I don’t like children who do bad things.”
“Ah, of course.”
Henri answered without the slightest hesitation.
“That’s why I’ve been holding myself back from doing anything mean, so you’ll keep loving me, Big Sis.”
…That’s right.
The current Henri had me in his life.
Maybe he really hadn’t done anything like that because he didn’t want me to hate him.
I hoped that was true…
“Big Sis.”
Henri leaned against me and wrapped his arms around me.
Then he lowered his eyes, cold as the dawn, before slowly closing them.
“You know, don’t you?”
“Hm?”
Out of habit, I stroked his silvery hair, which gleamed like a snow-covered aspen tree.
Henri opened his eyes just a sliver and whispered,
“How much I love you.”
“…”
The fact that he couldn’t even look at me while saying it somehow made it sound even more sincere.
“So…”
“…”
“I’ll definitely become… a good Henri.”
His lips trembled as he whispered those words with unwavering determination.
It sounded less like a promise to me…
And more like a solemn vow to himself.
Henri… I really hope you do.
Then Sisrain wouldn’t hate you either.
Then only a happy ending would be waiting for you.
Henri…
Do you know that your happiness is my greatest wish?
I smiled brightly.
“I love my little boy the most too!”
“…”
Henri’s face gradually turned bright red.
Oh dear.
At this rate, he might actually explode.
“I already know that. You don’t even have to say it.”
“Oh? Really? Then I guess I won’t say it anymore—”
“No! That’s not what I meant! Say it as often as possible! Every single day!”
Just as Henri was throwing a little tantrum, shouting,
“Take that back! Say you take it back!”
A tiny child, no bigger than an acorn, came running over.
“Henri! Teacher Mislin is calling for you!”
Henri answered lazily,
“What for? What a bother.”
“They say some terrifying villain turned all the apple trees in the orchard bald!”
Henri narrowed his eyes.
His expression practically screamed,
That villain is me.
“I’ll be back soon, so wait for me, Big Sis.”
“…Okay.”
Grumbling about how troublesome it was, Henri reserved the seat beside me before leaving the classroom.
“Phew…”
Only then did I finally let out the breath I’d been holding.
Quite a while passed, and the next class had already started…
But Henri still hadn’t returned.
Well, it was Teacher Mislin’s beloved apple orchard.
Henri had picked well over a hundred apples there.
It was only natural he’d get scolded.
Even though Julian had only picked one.
…Still, he’ll be back soon, right?
But contrary to my expectations, even after recess ended and another lesson began, Henri still hadn’t come back.
I slowly began to worry.
What’s going on? The meeting’s taking an awfully long time…
Would they really keep him that long just because he picked some apples?
I was deep in thought when—
“Look at this!!!”
“Ah! You startled me.”
Suddenly, a huge teddy bear brooch was shoved right in front of my face.
The teddy bear’s butt is way too close to my eyes.
“Hehe. Cute, isn’t it, Annette?”
The owner of the teddy bear was Reina.
She was nine years old this year, had awakened unusually early, and had recently completed socialization training.
“It’s such an adorable teddy bear.”
The little girl with blueberry-colored hair and matching eyes smiled sweetly, her eyes curving into crescents.
She’s like a giant smiling blueberry… so cute.
The Giant Blueberry—
No, Reina—clasped her hands together dreamily.
“I got it as a present from Baron Vivibo when I went to socialization training! He said he’s going to adopt me soon.”
“Wow! That’s wonderful, Reina!”
Baron Vivibo even has a good reputation.
He’d make wonderful parents for her.
Although many nobles adopted children just to display them like trophies, there were also many families who truly raised them with love afterward.
If it was Baron Vivibo…
He’d surely cherish Reina.
Huh?
Looking more closely, the teddy bear’s eyes sparkled brilliantly.
They were actually…
“S-Sapphire?”
“Whoa… This is incredibly expensive.”
“Hm? Really?”
Reina looked down at the teddy bear brooch with an innocent expression.
Marianne had quietly wandered over without anyone noticing and was examining it too.
With her usual absent-minded expression and soft voice, she said,
“…A teddy bear… with eyes this color… is… the legendary rare teddy bear…”
“Woooow! Really?”
Do none of these children know what gemstones are?
Apparently, the mystical appeal of a legendary rare teddy bear was far more exciting to little kids than the capitalist value of precious jewels.
Soon, children gathered around Reina like a flock of clouds, congratulating her.
Robert, whose wheat-colored hair contrasted with his healthy tan, asked,
“So this is the first gift from your future parents?”
Reina puffed out her chest proudly.
“That’s right!”
“Wow. Then it’s a really precious gift.”
“Yep! I’ll treasure it forever!”
A sapphire teddy bear definitely should be treasured.
That thing alone is worth two months of a noble’s living expenses in the capital.
I nodded, thinking rather cynically.
Of course…
There were precious things that had nothing to do with price.
Like this.
I took a smooth, glossy apple out of my pocket and breathed in its scent.
“Mmm.”
The fresh apple fragrance eased my tension and lifted my mood.
Hehe. It’s the very first gift my little boy ever gave me.
I loved the feelings contained inside that apple.
The innocent kindness of choosing the prettiest apple and giving it away without hesitation.
…Why does such a kind and innocent Sisrain have to suffer?
Sisrain never wished for much.
He never greedily sought some grand life.
All Sisrain and I wanted…
Was simply to leave that dark cave and live an ordinary life like everyone else.
To sleep without shivering from the cold.
To walk beneath warm, shining sunlight.
That was all.
…So why was even something so basic…
So impossible for Sisrain?
Maybe some people are simply born with unhappiness as their default.
As though misfortune had been carved into their destiny, forcing them to struggle endlessly just to live an ordinary life.
I’d met people like that in my previous life too.
If anything…
I had been one of them myself.
Maybe that’s why I couldn’t help caring so much.
Because I understood, at least a little, what that kind of life felt like.
Sisrain is still far too young to become accustomed to unhappiness.
To have a life filled with nothing but misery from the day he was born…
Just imagining everything he’d endured until now made my chest ache as though it had been scorched by fire.
“…”
I was holding the apple, lost in gloomy thoughts, when—
“Annette.”
A gentle voice drifted over from behind me like a spring breeze.
There was only one person in the world who called my name with a voice like that.
Still holding the apple, I turned toward the boy.
Then, as though I’d never been depressed at all, I smiled brightly.
“Sis, thank you so much for the apple. You know, I think it’s the prettiest apple in the whole world!”
Sisrain’s eyes curved playfully.
His warm crimson eyes quietly rested on me.
Then he said,
“Then I’m going to call you Apple, Annette.”
“Huh? Why am I an apple?”
I asked…
Then immediately realized why.
“…!”
Because I’d just said this apple was the prettiest one in the world…
So he was calling me an apple?!
My face instantly turned bright red.
As expected of the future obsessive male lead…
You’re only eleven years old, yet you say things like that already.
I stumbled over my words.
“…I’m not an apple. It doesn’t suit me at all, so call me Rambutan or Dragon Fruit instead…”
I randomly threw out the names of weird-looking fruits.
Sisrain let out a quiet laugh.
I cleared my throat awkwardly before carefully putting the apple away.
Then I began thinking to myself.
Should Sisrain know about what’s happening?
Strictly speaking…
This was something that had happened to him.
A little devil trying to drive him out of this forest.
The person involved can’t be the only one who doesn’t know.
But…
Wouldn’t it hurt him too much?
Remembering how he’d trembled so faintly in my arms before, I looked at him.
I couldn’t imagine how Sisrain would react after hearing the truth.
Then Sisrain asked first.
“Is there something you want to tell me, Annette?”
“Hm?”
He had keenly noticed that I was hesitating over something.
“…Ah… y-yeah.”
I have to tell him.
Please… don’t be too hurt.
I took a deep breath before quietly beginning.
“Sisrain, listen carefully. It wasn’t a coincidence that Viscount Puterio came looking for you.”
“…”
“Someone deliberately told the viscount where you were because they wanted to hurt you. And they even told his wife where your hideout was.”
“…What?”
The deep crimson in Sisrain’s eyes rippled with powerful emotion.
