Chapter 27

***

My father’s face quickly became sullen at my sister’s sharp words.

Looking at them like this, my sister and father resemble each other a lot.

‘It’s the same as when my sister gets sullen.’

Either the angle at which the eyebrows droop or the shape of the corners of their mouths.

Though of course, my sister is about a hundred times cuter.

Yet seeing the father and daughter, with a similar aura, face each other made my heart feel warm for no reason.

My sister’s side is brighter and is like cotton candy, but they both have very lovely pink hair.

“And you know, Lara and Shasha won’t be here for long.”

“How come?!”

My father looked very shocked at my sister’s words.

Then my older sister tapped her father’s arm and talked as if patiently.

“Mom said that, since Dad is working, don’t disturb him for a long time.”

“My daughters’ coming is not a disturbance at all though?”

“You can’t do that, dad. Mom said that even I should do the things I don’t like in order to be a good child.”

Then, my older sister giggled and spoke about the very difficult thing she had done today.

“That’s why Lara ate bell peppers and spinach today! No matter how much you want to play with us, during working hours, you have to do work, that way you can be nice!”

I could see who she was imitating by her image when she disciplined our father.

The act of patting our father’s arm with one hand was a habit of our mother when she disciplined him.

Although she was scolding him, she wasn’t saying this because she hates him, it is a gesture to ease him.

My father’s mouth opened wide at the image of my small and young sister.

I’m sure he felt the same way as me.

That tone, gestures, and serious expression.

I felt a little sorry for my sister, but she was so cute.

The corners of my mouth felt ticklish to the point that I unknowingly burst into laughter.

“Kyaa.”

Of course, because it was a baby’s body, a baby’s laughter burst out.

This is beyond my control.

Then, the two pairs of green eyes, slightly different colors from each other, turned to me.

“Shasha laughed!”

“I know right, our youngest laughed, huh?”

My father then patted me on the back and talked as if he was slightly victimized.

“Is it that fun seeing dad get a scolding?”

Hing, no, it was just because my sister was cute.

“Dad, why are you trying to make our Shasha a bad child!”

“Huh? I’m not making her a bad child—.”

“Shasha also wants to say the same thing as me!”

Then my sister looked at my smiling face with a bright face as if she liked the expression and opened her mouth.

“Right, Shasha? You want to say that Dad also has to do the things he doesn’t like in order to get compliments, right?!”

My sister seemed very happy to share the same feeling as me —though truthfully, it wasn’t true—.

Of course, rather than my father’s sadness, my sister’s joy comes first.

“Woo!”

My cute and baby elder sister’s face brightened once again.

* * *

From then on, I held my sister’s hand throughout the afternoon and stopped by the children’s library filled with picture books and looked at the pictures for a while.

My sister stuttered as she read me a fairy tale.

“Rain…..bow? You…ou? Mo! Eeunn?”

[tn— i translated it literally according to the raws, except the rainbow idk the rest]

My older sister’s reading was very slow compared to my older brother or Mikhail’s but,

‘To be honest, I think it’s amazing that a five-year-old can read this much.’

Aren’t my brother and Mihail too fast?

In fact, I heard that my brother was a genius.

If Mikhail had an outstanding talent for using his body, then my brother had an outstanding talent in using his brain.

It is said that he started reading when he was three years old, and finished reading all the basic etiquette books of noble children by that year.

‘It wasn’t even on the pace level of a great man’s.’

[tn— great man is literally a man that is great, (ex) Scholars, philosophers and all. Its not exactly specified in the raws so I just put its exact translation]

I’d say that he was like the genius in a great man’s biography I read before. The genius finished the Thousand-Character Classic at the age of three, and at the age of four, he mastered things such as Sohak or Daehak in a row.

[tn—Sohak and Daehak are textbooks used to teach noble children in the past Korea. Sohak is an elementary level textbook and Daehak is a university/college level textbook.]

Well, you can say that he’s a genius because he has an unbelievable learning pace.

In fact, when he first read a book to my sister and I, my brother brought a thick and boring book like an encyclopedia.

Though he picks out my sister’s favorite fairy tale books now.

The sound of my sister reading a book was as soft as my brother’s and didn’t easily stick to my ear.

But I very much liked my sister’s voice too.

‘It’s like the sound of a sweet summer day.’

It was like the sound that rang brilliantly whenever the wind blew in quietly.

Yeah, my sister is really like a fine summer day.

Is it because I diligently walked around holding my sister’s hand.

Or is it because, before we came to the library, my sister gave me a lot of snacks and so my stomach got full.

Without realizing it, I fell asleep listening to my sister’s voice.

* * *

“Sa, saseu? Seu mi….”

[tn— she’s trying to say deer]

Laurentia, who didn’t even know that Anastasia fell asleep, struggled with the fairy tales for a while.

Then, when she lowered the book with an upset look because the letters were so difficult, seeing the appearance that came into view, her mouth soon loosened.

‘Shasha fell asleep!’

For Laurentia, reading a book is like a ritual before going to sleep.

Besides, due to the prolonged time with their father, Duke Endeblanc, today’s expedition was only a very small part of what she had planned.

‘Did, Did I put Shasha to sleep?’

She very much felt like she became an older sister.

A feeling of pride and accomplishment.

Laurentia looked at her little sister who had fallen asleep on the floor and thought carefully, then took out her deer doll from her bag.

‘Shasha’s neck looks uncomfortable. I’m going to support it with my deer.’

She was worried about what to do if she woke up, so she barely supported one side with the doll’s leg.

‘Lara is an older sister. An older sister takes care of her little sibling well.’

Laurentia is very happy today.

When they went to see their father, Anastasia laughed as if she was very happy listening to what she said.

Seeing her smile with her soft cheeks spread out to the side always made Laurentia’s heart ticklish.

“Shasha is my younger sister, right?”

She said it very quietly in case she woke up but, Anastasia’s mouth mumbled.

As if she were replying yes.

Laurentia lay side by side next to Anastasia and looked at her younger sister’s face.

The chubby cheeks sagged in contact with the floor.

‘Cute, my little sister. You’re this cute and you’re my little sister. Not Mikhail, But my little sister!’

[tn— Lara meant ‘Mikhail’s’ but the raws literally meant Mikhail w/o —’s so maybe it’s just part of her improving baby talk, Lara is still young after all.]

She felt a little sorry for her brother Damian, but thanks to the exploration with just Shasha and her, She was so happy to be able to enjoy a siblings-only time which is a nap time.

[tn— She’s referring to nap time as a siblings only time.]

Laurentia gently tapped her finger on Anastasia’s fist, which was tightly held like a habit.

Her little sister’s hand opened, and as if it were natural, she clenched it again with the finger.

Her heart became fluffy again.

The sound of light breathing, the soft carpet covering the library; as it was made for children.

The wind gently blew through the slightly open window.

The small whispers of the maids,  Anastasia’s back which moved up and down in a rhythm.

Watching those things, Laurentia too, fell asleep without realizing it.

A little bit later

The two sisters’ shoulders were covered with blankets.

“Only I didn’t know that my younger sisters went here?”

[tn— said in a playful tone like ‘My sisters were here~?’]

It was Damian who saw the maids following carefully from behind and followed them.

[tn— basically Damian saw the maids following the 2 and followed them as well]

Damian looked at his sisters who were sleeping soundly, and put the pillows he had brought under their heads.

After putting the deer doll Anastasia was using between Laurentia’s arms, Damian also tried to take a short nap.

It was a nap time for the three siblings, who were very happy, even the mature first child.

* * *

Playing mansion exploration with my sister has become my new routine.

After that time, I held my sister’s hand for nearly a week and ran around the mansion.

Every day, my sister goes to a different place.

As a result, it has become a hot topic among the mansion employees.

“Where are you going for today, My lady? Can’t you tell only me, a little bit?”

“My lady, please come to the training grounds too! We’ll prepare delicious snacks and wait for you.”

“That’s right, not only snacks, we can also do high and high. We can also make you float!”

[tn— maybe they’re talking about lifting them up (if its high, then probably on the shoulders), throwing them up in the air]

The employees seemed to be immensely looking forward to my sister and me visiting.

For reference, even our father’s office aides

secretly visited my sister around lunch and hinted at her.

“My lady, can’t you drop by around this afternoon?”

“That’s right. If my lady comes—”

Then they got caught by Father.

“Where do you think you are, that you’re playing dirty tricks on my daughters?”

“Pardon?! What do you mean by tricking? It’s not like that. Your Grace!”

“It seems that you’re all free these days.”

“Pardon? No! No, Your Grace. It’s just that, because if the young ladies come, Your Grace would be very happy. Really, really, From the bottom of my heart—, Your Grace!”

The desperate screams of the aides a few days ago were even a little pitiful.

Poor people.

I’m sure they were sentenced to night overtime.

That’s why, if you are going to devise a scheme, you should have done it more cleverly.

It’s really a relief that this isn’t a world rampant with covert fights, mister aides.

Anyway, as a result, I rarely stayed in my room in the afternoons.

I was roaming around the mansion.

That’s why there was one thing that was bothering me.

“Today as well, the youngest lady isn’t here again? Where did she go?”

“Exploring the mansion, Damian, you know where she went, right?”

“I want to play with the youngest lady, too…”

I wasn’t exactly going to listen to that.

As I stealthily listened to the sounds of the mansion, the voice of that mean guy reached my ears as well.

‘What if he somehow ends up doing something strange at this rate?’

Besides, according to Choco.

“Every time he went back, he had a face full of regrets! Isn’t he falling for the Demon King’s charm? He must also know that the Demon King is cool! Kyang!

Choco wanted to be the only one who knows that Demon King is cool! Hiing.”

No, he’s just a sibling addict who wants to have a younger sibling.

Although, he is a bit like a child acting his age in that way.

Anyway, for that reason, when it was around lunchtime, I wondered if I should ask my sister to take a break from exploring today.

“Shasha! Sister is here!”

Just in time, my sister came into the room.

These days, I can see that my sister’s expression has become noticeably brighter.

‘How could I think of rejecting it?’

Seeing my sister’s face, my thoughts disappeared.

Mikhail can be a bit disappointed!

Since my sister and brother always yielded to him, I guess it’s time for him to return the favour.

But then.

“I also want to explore together.”

Mikhail, who looked breathless, shouted from the doorstep.

Then, at almost the same time as that shout.

“No!”

My sister made a loud noise.

My sister loudly said something to Mikhail?

At that too, without even hesitating?!