The Eldest Sister Is Strangely Cold (2) (Illustration 2nd Revision)
The Eldest Sister Is Strangely Cold (2) (Illustration 2nd Revision)
I was in Charl's arms, whining for affection, when she turned serious and peeled me off.
"Sis...?"
"Yunes. You are ten years old now. You should refrain from throwing yourself into a woman's arms like this."
Still, you were stroking my hair just fine a moment ago.
The thought came with a touch of sullenness, but I pulled away quietly. She had just come home after several years away. She was probably tired and a little prickly right now.
"Okay! Then tell me the stories later!"
"...I'll think about it."
But from that day onward, my sister began treating me with an odd chill.
"Charl~ play with me~."
"...I'm busy right now. Later."
"Mmm. Fine! I'll come back!"
When I went to her room asking her to tell me about the academy, she routinely sent me away, claiming she was busy.
"Charl! Nibuer gave me these cookies, and they're super tasty. Have one, sis!"
"I don't care for cookies. You eat them, Yunes."
"But they're really good? Mmm~ sho yummy~ I wish you'd have one too."
"...That's enough."
"Tch."
Even when I tried offering her a cookie, my heart swelling with emotion, she refused.
At some point, I began to feel she was avoiding me on purpose. But the instincts of a manly man who had spent two years charming countless people were shouting at me. This wasn't because she found me annoying or hated me. A tree doesn't fall with one swing of the axe.
So even when she refused, I kept acting cute. I kept waiting for her to open her heart.
...Though it did sting a little every time she turned me away.
* * * * * *
From then on, Charlotte kept avoiding Yune. She was certain she'd end up changing into someone else if she stayed by his side.
But her attempts to avoid him were far more noticeable than she thought. Enough for even the oblivious Margarete to pick up on it.
"Charl. Did Yune do something to you?"
"Nothing in particular. What brings this on, Mar?"
"You've been avoiding Yune lately."
At Mar's direct hit, Charlotte pressed a hand to her forehead. She'd thought she was hiding it, but apparently it showed.
Yet she couldn't exactly confess the truth—that her little brother was so adorable that the moment she let her guard down, her Northern Grand Duchess act would shatter. Not when she admired and emulated the Northern Grand Duchess.
So she muddled through with a vague excuse.
"Yunes is ten years old now. That's no small age for a man. In a few more years, he'll grow into a figure who will set countless women's hearts aflutter."
"Right? Father was handsome, so there's no doubt Yune will grow up to be incredibly striking too. He's still a kid right now, though."
"But at present, Yunes has not a shred of wariness toward women. However close family may be, a woman is still a woman. How can a man bury his face in a woman's chest? It's vulgar and shameful."
"...Sis, did you think that when Yune was hugging you? Ugh. That's a bit much."
"That's not what I—!! ...Ahem. Hmm."
But Mar's sudden riposte shattered her performance. Charlotte coughed for a moment, then continued as if nothing had happened.
"Anyway. Someone must correct Yunes's behavior. Otherwise, he'll end up in serious trouble one day. What will become of him if he throws himself into the arms of the wrong person?"
"That's true, I suppose. Is that really why you're avoiding him? Are you worried his habits will get worse if you indulge his whining?"
"Yes."
"Hmm... I don't think so."
"Let's end this discussion. Whatever you say, I have no intention of changing my mind."
But despite her excuses, Mar's narrowed gaze refused to budge.
It looked as if Mar was saying, 'I know exactly what you're thinking.' Charlotte smoothed her expression as much as she could and averted her eyes.
* * * * * *
After that, Charlotte heard similar words from Albert. She answered similarly, and received a similar look.
But the more that happened, the more defiant she became.
'...Everyone is far too soft on Yune. I really do have to be a little cold toward him. Like a proper successor to the Northern Grand Duchess!'
She steeled herself once more. Yet her resolve didn't last even a single day.
Because the Northern Grand Duchess herself—the person she wanted to emulate—summoned her.
"Charlotte."
"Yes, Head of House."
"...Have you come to dislike Yune?"
"!?"
Erengard got straight to the point. Charlotte's breath caught for an instant.
"That cannot be."
"No. I too think there can be no one who dislikes Yune. Any woman, at least, would adore him. Yune is perfectly lovable."
"...."
What followed was such a doting remark. Even Charlotte, who normally revered her, found herself thinking, 'Is our Head of House perhaps a fool for her child...?'
But not a trace of embarrassment showed on Erengard's face as she continued.
"Yet lately I've sensed you avoiding Yune. Refusing food he offers at meals, or coldly brushing him off when he pesters you for a hug."
"...There was a reason."
"Hm. Explain."
Charlotte recited the excuse she'd prepared. All of this was to implant a proper sense of propriety in him, she said; she wanted him to realize that acts like a man burying his face in a woman's chest were normally shameful, even within a family.
Erengard listened quietly, then shook her head.
"Charlotte. Have you ever told Yune the reason you treat him so coldly?"
"...No."
"I see. You resemble me. Down to your clumsiness in such matters."
An exclamation mark and a question mark floated inside Charlotte's head at the same time.
Surprise that the Head of House she admired had told her she resembled her, and the question of whether the Head of House had any clumsy sides at all.
Before the confusion could clear, Erengard dealt her a powerful shock.
"I know. That you wish to be like me."
"...!? W-What do you mean, all of a sudden? That can't be."
Caught off guard by the surprise attack, Charlotte's speech had already reverted to its natural state.
But Erengard gave her no time to collect herself.
"A green child forcing herself to mimic my manner of speech, copying my clothes. Now your hair has come to look exactly like mine. How could I not know?"
'She already knew I was copying her!?'
Realizing her imitation of the Northern Grand Duchess had been exposed, her ears flushed bright red with shame.
Erengard looked at her and sighed more deeply than before.
"But I find it thoroughly displeasing that you are trying to emulate even the parts I now regret. Which is why I chose to speak with you."
"Parts you regret... What do you mean?"
"The obstinacy of reaching a conclusion alone and telling oneself it can't be helped because it's for the other person's sake. The arrogance of never considering how the other person might feel about it. Those are not things you should emulate. Rather, you ought to cast them aside."
And then Erengard gave her advice borne of experience.
The brutally difficult training she had forced on her children after Jürgen's death. She had reasons, in her own way, but she'd always regretted never having told those reasons to her children.
Charlotte sensed the remorse that colored those words. She couldn't bring herself to reply anymore and closed her mouth.
Then Erengard tossed one more remark her way, so that Charlotte would not make the same mistakes by following the same path.
"As your mother, let me give you one piece of advice. Go to Yune right now, and tell him honestly why you have been avoiding him."
"Would that make any difference?"
"It will. Far more than you think."
Erengard told her to go to Yune at once. She rose as if to say her piece was done, and headed toward the desk where she did her work.
Charlotte realized that was a quiet summons to leave. She bowed her head in a silent salute and left the Head of House's Office.
And as her eldest daughter departed—her eldest daughter, whose clumsy side even mirrored her own—Erengard looked after her out of the corner of her eye.
She murmured to herself.
"I leave the rest to you. Yune."
* * * * * *
Afterward, Charlotte roamed the estate, searching for Yune. Changed as she was, she still meant to follow the advice of the Head of House, who remained like the heavens to her.
"Excuse me, Head Butler. Have you seen Yunes? He wasn't in his room."
"...? I've heard no word of the young master Yune going anywhere."
"Could he have gone out to the gardens?"
"No. By the Head of House's orders, the young master must be accompanied by at least five escort knights whenever he goes to the gardens, and I haven't seen that many people coming or going."
"Hm. I see."
Yet Yune was nowhere in the estate.
Charlotte assumed he had probably gone to the restroom for a moment, and moved her steps toward the gardens. She needed to sort out the storm that the Head of House's words had stirred inside her head.
And then, a small voice reached the ears of the girl walking idly through the gardens.
"...Charl?"
"Yunes?"
The voice that came from the bushes was unmistakably Yune's.
Wondering why Yune, whom she'd failed to find, was out in the garden, she strode over briskly.
And what lay there, cleverly concealed behind the undergrowth.
Was Yune, crouching completely naked.
"Yune?!"
"Sis. Can you bring me some clothes from my room...? It's the favor of a lifetime...."
Yune looked up at her with a deeply troubled expression.
Her reason... exploded.
"Wh-What in the world is that getup!? What happened to your clothes!!"
"Shh! Don't shout. What if someone sees? More importantly, just get me some clothes from my room. Please."
"O-Okay! Okay, so just hide well for now!"
For a moment she considered stripping off her own clothes to give him, but then realized she would be the one naked.
She immediately gathered mana into her feet and shot toward the estate as if flying. At a speed beyond her limits—a speed rivaling the Head of House she so admired.
What drove her beyond her usual limits was... the desperate need to cover up her little brother's private shame as quickly as possible.
'Wh-What is this! What!!'
How could Yune have come to the garden naked without even the knights noticing?
She only heard the reason after she had returned from his room, carrying the clothes and shoes that had been scattered across his floor.