That Fleeting Moment Felt Like a Fantasy in a Dream
“So… what exactly brings you here?”
“Do I need a reason to come see my brother? I just wanted to look at your face.”
Aria Radner.
That bold little girl was Edward’s younger sister.
Of course, just like with Yohan, I had never met her before… yet somehow she felt familiar.
Was this another of Edward’s leftover emotions?
Either way, I had no memories of my own with this girl. All I knew were the fragmentary episodes I’d read in the book.
“By the way, Brother. This is delicious. Tastes just like the desserts in the capital.”
“That’s right. It’s a capital dessert.”
“Wow…”
Before I knew it, Aria had been toddling all over the mansion. She wandered into the dining room, snatched up the dessert I’d meant for Ania, and started gobbling it down as she spoke.
“You had a hobby like this, Brother?”
“I was going to give it to my wife…”
“Eek…”
Aria’s face scrunched up.
“Ania unnie hates sweet things, you know.”
“I didn’t know.”
“You didn’t know? You? The brother who used to go completely soft the moment anyone mentioned Ania unnie? What a surprise.”
Looking thoroughly unimpressed, Aria popped the last madeleine into her mouth. Then she patted her belly with a satisfied little smile.
“Thanks for the meal.”
“I asked why you came. Don’t tell me it was just to steal dessert.”
“Oh please… Do I look like that kind of freeloader to you?”
She absolutely did, but I didn’t bother saying it out loud.
Aria pouted.
“I couldn’t make it to your wedding… so I figured I should at least come visit now that you’re married.”
“What about the Academy?”
“What’s wrong with you, Brother? Vacation started ages ago.”
“Is that so.”
“Edward Radner. You marry a beauty and suddenly you can’t even keep your head on straight?”
Maybe that was true.
No—it wasn’t, not really. But nodding along would keep the misunderstandings simpler, so I just dipped my head.
“It’s already been a year since you graduated from the Academy and you’ve already forgotten? Anyway… where’s Ania unnie?”
Aria tromped out of the kitchen again, peering around in every direction. She was clearly looking for Ania.
“She’s sick.”
“What? How bad? Really bad?”
“She caught a cold about a week ago.”
“That’s serious!”
Aria seemed to know about Ania’s constitution. The book had mentioned they’d been close since childhood, so it made sense.
“It’s not that serious. She’s almost fully recovered now.”
“Ugh, honestly…”
Aria shook her head as if she couldn’t believe me.
“You idiot brother. Who on earth is fine when they’re sick?”
“Ania seemed fine to me.”
“She’s just pretending!”
When I answered so casually, Aria hopped up and bonked me on the head. It didn’t hurt much.
“Listen carefully, Brother. Nobody in the world is fine when they’re sick. They just act like they are.”
“I’m fine.”
“That’s because you’re a weirdo. Anyway, listen. Unnie pretends she’s okay because she doesn’t want the people around her to worry.”
“Hmm…”
Looking back, she was right.
Even with a fever boiling in her head, hadn’t she held my hand and smiled while asking me to sing?
Was that her own way of pretending she was fine…?
Or was it some scheme to seduce me?
The more I learned about Ania Brontë, the less I seemed to understand her.
“Here, take this.”
Just then Aria held out a box.
“What is it?”
“Green tea.”
“Green tea?”
“Yeah. The kind Ania unnie loves. The leaves only grow on land ruled by the Northern Grand Duke, so it’s ridiculously expensive. I had a hell of a time getting my hands on it. So don’t you dare drink it—make sure Ania unnie gets it.”
“I don’t even like green tea that much anyw—”
“Just say you understand!”
“I understand.”
When I answered with a gloomy face, Aria grinned.
“I was hoping to see unnie’s face after so long, but if she’s sick… I’ll have to come another time. See you later, Brother.”
“You’re leaving already?”
“Yep, I’ve got to go. I’m a busy woman, you know? Aria, top mage of the Academy!”
“Impressive.”
“Hehe…”
I walked Aria to the front gate as she prepared to leave in a hurry.
The Academy was quite far, so I asked Rictman to call a carriage. It arrived before long.
Aria complained that calling a coachman was too much fuss and insisted she could just go on her own, but she climbed into the carriage soon enough.
“Well then. You’re married now, Brother, so live happily.”
“Yeah. You study hard too.”
“Okay.”
Aria smiled brightly, then scrunched her brow in playful warning.
“You really can’t drink that green tea.”
“I won’t.”
“And… take good care of Ania unnie.”
“I will.”
“She’s someone precious. Someone you love, and someone I love too.”
“Someone precious, huh…”
“Alright, I’m off!”
With that, Aria left in a whirlwind.
Fortunately, a few days after Aria’s departure, Ania’s cold vanished as if it had been washed away.
And we returned to ordinary married life.
We ate together. Ania fed me bites of food…
Of course, that dull routine didn’t last forever.
Ania Brontë was a duke’s daughter, and I was the eldest son of Count Radner.
Nobles, by nature, were always busy even when nothing special was happening.
If anything, the peaceful honeymoon period had been the stranger part.
“An invitation to a ball has arrived.”
One day at mealtime, Rictman said as much.
“A ball?”
“Yes. Count Orland’s ball. Count Orland runs large-scale farms in the west and maintains a very close relationship with our ducal house.”
Count Orland…
Thinking back, I did remember him.
He had inherited the farm business from the previous generation—a classic second-generation chaebol who loved nothing more than loafing around and living large.
Put kindly, he was generous with his money. Put unkindly, he was a wastrel.
Beyond that… nothing particular came to mind.
But I didn’t particularly want to go to a ball.
I barely knew noble etiquette to begin with, and there was always the risk someone would notice I wasn’t the real Edward.
Getting caught would be a disaster.
“Do we have to go?”
“…… Young Master. You of all people know better than to make a joke like that.”
When I asked Rictman, he tilted his head as if wondering what on earth I was talking about.
Among noble houses, an invitation carried deep meaning.
It meant: We respect you and wish to treat you well, so please come and enjoy yourself…
Moreover, balls and social gatherings were where the children of other noble houses formed connections.
Anyone who would one day inherit a countship or dukedom needed to solidify relationships with other nobles.
Business was never done alone, and the day would come when you needed help.
In other words: networking.
“Tell them we will attend.”
Ania cut her steak into small pieces and popped one into her mouth as she spoke.
“With my husband.”
“Yes, my lady.”
Attendance had already been decided; he had only needed Ania’s answer. Rictman turned without hesitation and left the dining room.
Then Ania looked at me with a sly little smile.
“You don’t seem to like the idea of a ball.”
I tried to read the meaning behind her words.
You don’t want to go to the ball with me?
Or are you embarrassed of me?
Something along those lines, probably.
I offered the most plausible excuse I could.
“I’m not very confident with dancing or singing.”
“If you’re not confident, you can simply stand still…”
Was that allowed?
Weren’t balls supposed to be events where everyone danced to the music?
Ania slipped a piece of broccoli into my mouth as she continued.
“You don’t necessarily have to dance at a ball. And if you do want to dance, you may do so with me.”
After finishing her meal, Ania rose from her seat. She extended one hand straight out and drew the other long and low in front of her waist.
“Or shall I teach you right now?”
“……”
“I’ll teach you.”
Whatever she made of my silence, Ania took my hand and pulled me to my feet.
“Here, take my hand…”
Ania laced the fingers of her right hand through mine. Then she took my left arm with her left hand and guided it to her waist.
“This is how you hold the position.”
She explained diligently, but the words barely reached my ears.
Ania was simply… too close.
Close enough that our noses might brush at any moment.
“Edward.”
Hearing her call me by name made me flinch and look down. There was Ania’s face, gazing up at me with those star-filled eyes.
“You have to hold my waist properly.”
As she spoke, Ania pressed her waist firmly against my hand.
That alone was enough to send strange thoughts blooming through my mind.
“Now… just follow me and move your feet slowly.”
Ania began to hum softly under her breath.
It was only a light waltz rhythm, yet the sound was breathtakingly beautiful.
“That’s it. Good.”
For a long while we danced in step.
I nearly stepped on her feet more than once, but each time Ania deftly slipped her foot free and simply laughed.
And with that alone, the dark dining room with its long table transformed in an instant into a glittering ballroom.
Ania’s everyday clothes became a gown; her quiet humming became the music of an orchestra…
That brief span of time… felt exactly like a fantasy from a dream.