âYouâre nineteen now, so that means youâll become a man soon.â
âThatâs enough.â
âWhy? Come on; I can introduce you to a nice lady.â
âI donât need that.â
Thatâs nonsense.
While I was peeking in the hall for a moment, strange conversations came and went from behind.
I frowned and looked back at Valer and Cito; Valer was acting up again.
âDoes he have no shame?â
Soon, Cito hit him and became calm.
Graecito made Valer quiet and turned around to me.
âRia, so you came.â
âItâs your birthday. Of course, Iâd be here.â
He only said he didnât know I would come as a show of his modesty, but it still made me feel upset.
Iâd come no matter how busy I was.
Cito was smiling at my pouty response. Cito used to be fluffy like a rabbit when he was young⦠but now that he had grown up, he became more like a deer. His eyes seemed so benevolent that itâs hard to believe heâs a knight.
I felt sort of proud since he grew up so well. Heâs quite popular too.
âTsk, you used to fight with the twins all day when you were little.â
âDonât be so rude to your big brother.â
âBig brother? Whoâs my big brother?â
Graecito nodded at my answer.
I just laughed. Even though I wonât acknowledge it, Graecito still insisted that heâs my older brother. He felt like that sometimes, but it would mean I was surrendering if I admitted it, so I was against it.
Cito gently looked down at me.
Huh? Did he see something on my face?
By the time I tilted my head and wondered what his gaze meant, he smiled.
âYou look beautiful today.â
âIâm always pretty.â
The atmosphere froze as if cold water dropped towards us after my response. Graecito, who was smiling, and even Sanse and Valer, who were just watching us, all stared at me with their mouths shut.
What, why?
ââ¦â
ââ¦â
Did I say something wrong?
It was true, wasnât it? Wasnât that obvious?
What else would I say? I had nothing to be ashamed of; I just said something obvious.
I shrugged, beckoning anyone to argue about it; suddenly, Valer threw a word through the heavy silence.
ââ¦itâs true, but⦠itâs kind of annoying to hear you say it. It makes me want to deny it.â
âBe quiet! Do you want to die?â