Chapter 69: CH 69

“Because I’m going to be a civil servant!”

I shouted out my ardent dream. Kir could not hide his absurdity. Then his cheeks puffed up

and twitched, and his eyes glistened as if he remembered something, and he smiled like a winner. I think that guy is thinking of something arrogant again. His haughty posture, leaning back slightly, made him ominous.

“You don’t have to worry about that. I can make you do it. Isn’t it strange that you think you can’t be a civil servant?”

I am the Grand Duke’s son. The future grand duke is me. There’s nothing hard about getting you in. It sounded like that. I raised my eyebrows as Kir’s shoulders showed his proud feelings.

“I told you not to use your power like that. The higher you are, the more fair it should be, right?”

I pointed out Kir’s fault. Unlike last year, I was able to say this directly through words to the 9-year-old Kir. He did not reach in a fit of anger as if I said something offensive. However, not all of my points were received by Kir.

“It’s you, not anyone else.”

Just like now.

Kir’s dazed gaze did not understand why I was rejecting it. Even if he does not wield his power as recklessly as he did before, he thinks it is natural to use it to some extent. As expected, Kir is still Kir.

I know it was just for me. However, I was a little annoyed because it seemed like he was ignoring the years I had been studying hard. And if I got my place thanks to Kir, I felt sorry for anyone who would be forced to lose it because of me.

At one time, I, too, envied an easy life. It’s not that I didn’t even think about living comfortably by accepting the things that others give me. Because Kir himself is a ready source of income. If I properly brainwash Kir from now on, I will be able to lead a comfortable life.

But when I think about it, I think of my past life, and I feel injustice and guilt. I have decided to live this life to the fullest without regrets like the last time. So I wanted to have my place with fair competition and my own strength.

Once a person has tasted an easy way, they will keep looking for it. I wanted to be a person who works hard and achieves it by trying.

“Do you think it’s okay to do it for me?”

“Yes. It’s you, so I can do it.”

He gave a no-nonsense answer. But it felt a little strange because someone absolutely trusted me as a child. Some will like Kir’s honest reaction, some will not.

“How far? Will you do anything I want?”

“I will do anything I can do for you.”

It was a slightly sarcastic tone here, but it made me feel even more strange when Kir said it like that. Kir’s confident eyes were sincere. When I received such a gaze, I felt something was ticklish, but on the other hand, it was uncomfortable. If Kir was so sloppy like that, I should have been more meticulous.

“Then you should be more careful. If you discriminate against someone you are close to, you will only be left with flatterers. To be a Grand Duke, you have to be fair.”

I tried to loosen up my mind and gave him importante advice. Kir’s lips clenched tight and his cheeks bulged. His expression was full of dissatisfaction but he had nothing to say.

Kir’s vocabulary was significantly weaker than mine, and of course he lost any argument with me. But the biggest reason I was able to spend close to a year with him wasn’t just with arguments. Kir was kind to me. Probably because I’ve been satisfying his secret desire – a slap on the cheek – but Kir has listened to me quite well.

At first, because he had been raised preciously, he was startled by the situation, but he began to read me. The more we got together, the more Kir tried to fix what I pointed out, and he tried not to do it if he shouldn’t, and he understood that if it was bad, it was bad. He noticed what I liked, even though he grunted he tried to give me more.

Should I say that he was reading me? Kir sometimes looked at me with respectful eyes, and it seemed that he felt that I was more powerful than him. In fact, looking at it from a child’s point of view, I’ll look very mature and great. Wouldn’t Kir think of me as a respectable older sister?

And the Grand Duke noticed Kir’s thoughts and made me his friend. A much more effective role model than a tutor. That raccoon-like* Grand Duke. This kind of unpaid work is a no-no.

“I have you.”

“What?”

I didn’t listen to what Kir had to say, as I was contemplating extorting a reward if I had a chance to meet the Grand Duke. Then Kir spoke again with a sullen face.

“I have you, the one who speaks bitterly at me.”

A smirk came out because Kir couldn’t hide his sullenness.

“Do you hate me for being bitter at you?”

“No. If you’re being bitter, do I really need someone else?”

I only need you. It seemed like he was making such a fuss. I was almost thrilled that he was only looking at me with an angelic face. And it sounds very dangerous. Does he really depend on me that much?

“The more people you can help, the better. And if you have the skills, you can even speak bitterly. Saying something you don’t know is just nonsense. Do you want to hear such a thing?”

“I can believe whatever you say.”

Wow, that’s why I’m reducing the number of teatimes. Kir was very honest about his feelings with me. Although I knew it was childish, my hands and feet trembled at his blind reaction.

Footnote:

*) A Korean idiom for people whose inside and outside are different. They’re sly and snarky and unpredictable.