Summer Plans at the Lake Island Villa
In the story I was rewriting, after yet another deeply satisfying breakfast, Rene and I headed to our room with one of the servants for our studies.
“Ugh, I don’t wanna study…”
“You said it looked like it would be fun at first.”
“That’s because I didn’t know what studying even was back then!”
Rene grumbled with her shoulders slumped, then swung her little fists wildly at my retort. The adorable sight made both me and the servant walking behind us burst into quiet laughter. She puffed out her cheeks in protest, but the moment we reached the door to our sisters’ room her whole body shuddered at the sight of the quasi-noble tutor already waiting there—the man responsible for teaching the etiquette and common knowledge every aristocrat should possess.
“Um… I just need to…”
“Miss Rene, you may not run away.”
The servant, who had instantly read her desire to escape the day’s most tedious lesson, gripped her small shoulders firmly. Rene’s wide, doe-like eyes sparkled with desperate appeal, but when he refused to budge she began to wriggle in earnest.
“Heek… heek…”
Her struggle to break free from the smiling servant ended far more quickly than her usual playtime flailing; she tired out almost immediately. When he finally carried her over, the tutor greeted the sight with a warm, kindly smile.
“Miss Rene is certainly full of energy this morning.”
Adding that he hoped the same vigor would appear during class, the tutor walked past a tightly-lipped Rene and turned to me. I offered the polite greeting I had learned in our last lesson. He returned it with a pleased bow and a gentle smile.
“Miss René learns quickly.”
“You flatter me.”
“Not at all. Among all the young lords and ladies I have taught, I can say without hesitation that you are the finest.”
The tutor continued to lavish praise on my near-perfect greeting. I answered with a smile. When I glanced sideways, Rene was watching me with a sullen pout. While the servant and tutor were busy exchanging pleasantries, I stretched my cheeks out as far as they would go, making the most ridiculous face I could manage. Her sulky expression instantly melted into bright, ringing laughter.
“Why did Miss suddenly…”
“She must have thought of something funny.”
I feigned innocence at the startled pair, offered a faint smile, and slipped into the room first. Rene followed and immediately copied the exact face I had made. The tutor entered behind our giggling selves, took a short break, reviewed the previous lesson with a few questions, and then began today’s studies.
“Thank you for your hard work today.”
“Yes. I look forward to seeing you next time.”
Keeping in mind our young age and the fact that play still held more appeal, the tutor had kept the lessons light. Once they ended we gave him the proper farewell we had learned. He left the room wearing a deeply satisfied smile. The moment the door closed, Rene flopped onto the floor as though she had reached her absolute limit.
“Here, at least eat this.”
“Hehe, thank you, René.”
Seeing how drained she looked, I produced the snack I had secretly stashed away. Her face brightened at once, blooming into a lovely smile. Deciding the sight was far more pleasant, I wandered toward the window, drawn by the sunlight.
The rays passing through the clear glass and brushing my cheek had grown stronger now that summer had arrived, yet compared to the scorching heat I remembered from my previous life, the weather felt wonderfully comfortable. I let out a soft sigh of admiration.
“As expected of this world… even summer isn’t nearly as horrifically hot as Korea.”
This, I thought, was what it truly felt like to live in a proper place. I added one more entry to the mental list of ways this world was better than Earth. As I seriously began to wonder whether Korean summers had simply been too cruel, a knock on the door pulled me from my thoughts.
“Rene, René. May I come in?”
“Yes!”
We turned toward the door at the familiar voice of our mother and answered together. She stepped inside, and Rene immediately dashed over to be swept up in her arms. Mother stroked her light-green hair with slow, gentle hands.
“How was your studying?”
“It was so hard!”
“It was fun!”
We sisters answered at the exact same time with completely opposite replies. Mother chuckled at the way we whipped our heads toward each other, then told us we had both worked very hard today.
She settled on the edge of the bed, and we sat on either side of her, happily enjoying the soft hands that continued to stroke our heads.
“By the way, I haven’t chosen the exact dates yet, but I’ve been thinking we might spend this summer at the villa. What do you two think?”
Now that we had grown a little and lived peacefully without any major incidents, Mother suggested a family retreat. We blinked at her in surprise.
“What’s a villa?”
“Ah…”
When Rene tilted her head, Mother gave a small start, then smiled softly and kindly explained what a villa was. She went on to say that this particular villa stood on an island in the middle of Lorelan Lake, a body of water managed by the Lorelei family. The moment I heard that, the original story’s epilogue flashed vividly through my mind.
The family-owned island… So that’s where Rene left from.
Certain that the place where the original Rene met her tragic end after being abandoned by her love was that very island, I set my previous life aside for a moment and spoke up.
“I love the idea! I really, really want to go!”
I played the part of an innocent child excited by the unknown. Mother pulled me into her arms as though I were utterly adorable and kissed my forehead. A wave of self-loathing rose inside me, but I pressed it down, reminding myself that I needed to witness the heroine’s ending with my own eyes.
“If René wants to go, then I want to go too!”
“Hehe, then this summer the whole family shall head there together.”
Rene’s eyes sparkled as she echoed my enthusiasm. Mother smiled, overflowing with happiness, and embraced both of us.
With the matter settled, the three of us—mother and daughters—chattered about what we had learned that day and what we might do in the afternoon. When the servant came to call us for lunch, we left the room together.
“Brother, it’s summer, sure, but you should still wash up.”
“…You little—”
Arlan had arrived first and was waiting, gulping down cool water after his physical training. He tossed the teasing remark with a mischievous grin. Aran growled back, then stuck his tongue out in retaliation. At Mother’s sigh and our steady stares, both boys hurriedly schooled their expressions.
“It’s already too late anyway. You can keep going.”
“Ahem… What are you talking about, René?”
“As expected of twins with Rene. Saying such strange things.”
“…Second brother, what does that mean?”
My coldly delivered words made them try to play innocent, but when Rene frowned they scrambled to soothe her. It took quite an effort.
“René, don’t be too hard on them.”
“Yes, Mother.”
I nodded at her quiet whisper, deciding I should show a little more restraint, and waited for Father while watching the two older brothers squirm.
“Sorry I’m late.”
Father soon appeared, apologizing to everyone for being delayed by urgent business. Mother gave him a gentle smile that said it was perfectly fine. Arlan and Aran nodded in understanding. Rene started to complain, but I quickly covered her mouth.
“You just stay quiet here.”
Seeing the dissatisfaction in her eyes, I promised to share half my dessert after lunch, which finally calmed her down.
“We’ve prepared dishes excellent for restoring vitality in honor of the summer season.”
Once Father took his seat, lunch began. The chef had clearly put extra care into the meal; every bite was superb. The fish dishes had many small bones and required careful eating, but the flavor more than made up for the effort. I filled my stomach contentedly, then gave half my dessert to Rene as promised.
Watching her cheeks puff out with happiness filled me with satisfaction, but I quickly ate the remaining half in case she tried to claim it like before.
“Dear, how would you feel about spending this summer at the villa?”
“The villa, you say…”
While we busily finished our dessert, Mother brought the suggestion up to Father. When she mentioned that both Rene and I were already looking forward to it, Father declared without long deliberation that we would spend the summer there.
“There are staff who live on-site to manage the villa, so that should be fine. However, we haven’t visited the island for several years due to various matters… I’ll need to send people ahead to tidy everything up.”
Thinking of his young daughters, Father immediately discussed the necessary arrangements with the head butler. When he mentioned sending the family soldiers along for training as well, I reflected that soldiers in this world were not treated so differently from those in my previous life.
“If you’re not eating that, I’ll take it!”
“Ah! I was saving it for later!”
While I was lost in thought, Rene snatched the last piece of fruit I had deliberately left for the end. Reason told me to let it go because she was only a child, but emotion reminded me that I was also a child right now, so it was fine. I pinched her soft cheek and tugged.
“Sigh, I’ll give you mine, so stop.”
In the end Arlan shared his own dessert to resolve the situation. In the afternoon we played together, though we kept a little more distance between us than usual.
“Kyaaah!”
“H-hurry, run!”
Even that didn’t last long. While playing in the garden we spotted a palm-sized spider with bright, multicolored patterns—nothing like a caterpillar and thoroughly creepy. We fled together, and our playtime dissolved into chaos.