Chapter 50 : I was just being affectionate as an older sister

As the sky began to turn orange, Mrs. Linz and Lilia returned home. 

They promised to visit next time with Serena and me.

“How was it? Did you have fun playing with your new friend?” 

“Yeah. She was fun.” 

When I called her to ask, it seemed like Serena liked Lilia. 

They both loved books, and most importantly, Lilia appreciated the cuteness of Serena’s precious doll, Pumpkin. 

She seemed like a very peculiar girl, but more than that, there was something else I really wanted to ask.

“…By the way, Serena. Did you two happen to say anything strange to each other?”

When I secretly overheard them, I heard some ambiguous words. 

It was possible I misheard, but I couldn’t just leave it without checking. 

If it turns out Lilia really taught Serena something inappropriate… I wouldn’t be able to forgive her. 

But I believed there couldn’t have been any such improper conversation between them. 

“Strange words? Like what?” 

“Like… topics that are too embarrassing to talk about in front of others.” 

“Oh… well, that’s…”

Serena blushed slightly and avoided eye contact. 

If she hadn’t done that, I would have just passed it off as a misunderstanding. 

But this reaction was practically confirming my suspicions. 

With my hands and feet trembling from the shock, a small rage began to rise in my heart. 

I couldn’t stand the thought of my Serena being influenced by an outsider girl like that… I could never forgive it. 

Linz’s daughter or not, I won’t let this slide…!

“R-Really, she taught me what a kiss is…” 

“What? I didn’t think she would—how did that—?”

Wait, what did you just say? 

“Could you say that again? I’m sure I misheard.” 

“A kiss! Don’t make me say it twice, it’s embarrassing!” 

When I asked again to confirm, Serena answered in a sharp voice. 

That’s what she meant, right? 

A kiss, like a peck on the lips?

“…Phew. I was worried over nothing.” 

A sigh of relief escaped me at the surprisingly innocent truth. 

It’s something girls of that age would talk about. 

I thought Serena was already stepping into adult territory. 

Thank goodness, it was just me overthinking things.

“Why are you reacting like that?” 

“Ah, well. I just thought you were having fun like kids do. Ah, how cute.” 

“Don’t treat me like a kid.” 

As I patted her head, Serena glared at me. 

Even though she said that, she didn’t push my hand away or avoid me, so it seemed like she was actually enjoying it. 

It’s nice to see that she can talk about such innocent topics. 

Serena is still a girl at heart.

“So, what did you talk about with your little lady about that? Huh?” 

“…She said a kiss is something you do with someone you like.”

That’s right. 

I nodded in agreement with her words. 

“Exactly. One day, when you have someone you like, you’ll do it too.” 

“…What?”

However, after hearing what I said, Serena suddenly swatted my hand away.

I was momentarily startled by the unexpected resistance, but the sharpness in her gaze, different from before, made my shoulders tremble slightly.

Her eyes, cold and sharp like a finely honed blade, reminded me of a wife who had caught her husband cheating.

Though I wasn’t married, and I hadn’t done anything to deserve such suspicion.

“Why, why are you acting like this? Did I do something wrong?”

“You’ve done it to me plenty, and now you say that? Don’t you have any conscience?”

“What? What do you… Ah.”

I wondered what she was talking about, and then I realized she must be referring to when I sometimes kiss her on the cheek or forehead.

Honestly, I didn’t think it was something to be upset about, but since it seemed like there was some misunderstanding, I had to clear it up.

If I didn’t, the common sense might get twisted.

“Serena. I know what you’re talking about, but that’s not what I’d call a kiss.”

“What…? But Lilia said it’s something you do with someone you like…”

“That’s true. But the case Lilia was talking about is a little different from ours.”

The concept of “liking” that Serena probably had in mind might be a bit broader, but usually, when people talk about a kiss, they mean the act between lovers.

Of course, there are many kinds of love.

But for me, it’s more like an expression of affection.

“What I did isn’t really a kiss. Let’s just call it ‘no count,’ shall we?”

I was relieved that I could clear up the misunderstanding before it got worse.

If I hadn’t, someone might have gone around saying I’m always kissing people.

I couldn’t let that happen, for both my sake and Serena’s.

But why is she staring at me with such a furious look?

“You said you liked me… You said I was the most precious in the world…”

“Se, Serena? Are you mad?”

“I don’t know! Stupid pervert Ershi! I’m not talking to you anymore!”

“Wa, wait, Serena?!”

Shivering with rage, Serena spat out insults and stormed out of the room.

What’s going on with her all of a sudden?

Is this the early stage of puberty or something?

“What did I do wrong? I don’t think I did anything wrong…”

Left alone, I thought about why Serena was angry, but all I could come up with was that I hadn’t made any mistakes.

*

As expected, the best way to understand someone’s feelings is through conversation.

It’s the only method that can’t be solved by skills.

Serena tends to ignore me when she’s upset, but this time, I thought it was just a simple case of her being moody.

That’s what I thought.

“Serena~. Can you talk to me for a second?”

As soon as she saw my face, she ran away.

“Today you’re cute too~. The weather’s nice, what should we do for fun?”

“…”

Even when I intentionally annoyed her, she just kept quiet and didn’t answer.

“Hey, please, can you tell me why you’re doing this?”

“Hmph.”

Even when I begged, she just ignored me with a dismissive snort.

She even refused when I tried to read her a book at night.

It felt like she didn’t even want to be in the same space as me.

“What did I do wrong for her to act like this…?”

I had never seen her this angry before, so I had no idea how to resolve this. 

I had to sit down and think hard.

Asking my skills wouldn’t help, and Serena definitely wouldn’t answer if I directly asked her.

It felt like I was facing a problem where I wouldn’t be given the answer until I solved it myself.

It was so frustrating.

So in the end, I decided to seek advice from a third party.

The person I always rely on, my steadfast ally, Ord.

“…Something happened, and I’m not sure what to do about it. What should I do?”

“Mm…”

When I explained what had happened, Ord also let out a low groan and fell into thought.

“This is indeed a tough problem.”

“Right? I can’t figure out why Serena is acting like this.”

“Yes. That’s the problem. What should we do about the young mistress?”

“…Huh?”

But the one I trusted the most turned the arrow towards me.

Why am I the problem?

Before I could ask, Ord continued speaking.

“When I was in the knight’s order, something like this happened. One day, one of the soldiers came to me, saying he needed advice and wanted me to accompany him.”

“What’s that… Ah, never mind. Keep going.”

Suddenly, he brought up an old story, which seemed unrelated.

Still, it seemed like he had something he wanted to say, so I decided to focus on listening.

“Yes. 

This soldier told me that one day, a woman confessed to him. 

She was the daughter of the owner of the bakery he frequently visited. 

He said they had become quite close because they met often, both professionally and privately. 

Then, one day, when he visited the bakery as usual, she confessed her feelings to him.”

“Ooh, that sounds romantic.”

It was quite interesting, but what does this have to do with me right now?

“This soldier was married.”

“…Huh?”

The story suddenly shifted from a romantic melodrama to a scandalous drama.

Though that part was more exciting.

“So, what happened?”

“Naturally, he rejected her. He told her he had a wife. Then, she became furious and attacked him, saying that if he was married, he should have mentioned it earlier, and why was he leading her to believe something else.”

“Yeah, that’s definitely the guy’s fault.”

“But the real problem came when his wife found out, and by the time the soldier came to me for advice, he had even been told by his wife that they should get a divorce.”

That’s to be expected.

Why would a married person be hanging out with another woman?

If he had maintained proper boundaries, they could have remained good friends, but it turned into a mess because of his own actions.

“Hmm… so what do you want to tell me?”

But I could tell that there was something Ord was trying to convey through the story he just told.

I couldn’t figure out what, so I asked.

“The words you said reminded me a lot of that soldier. Even though it wasn’t intentional, the way you acted made people misunderstand you, just like him.”

What? 

You’re saying I’m like that womanizer? 

That’s not a nice thing to say.

And what do you mean by “making people misunderstand”?

As I thought about what that meant, I suddenly remembered something Serena had said to me.

“You said you liked me… You said I was the most precious in the world…”

Wait a minute.

“No, no, it’s different. It was just an expression of affection, that’s all.”

I knew I had crossed the line a bit, but I thought it was just a gesture of care, not something to be mistaken for romantic love.

“But you care more about Serena than anyone else, don’t you?”

“Well, that’s true. But still, it’s completely different from what happened with me, right?”

In the end, I didn’t want to admit it was my fault, so I tried to make a weak excuse.

But Ord sighed and shook his head before saying this.

“Master, at Serena’s age, she doesn’t know any better. How are we supposed to expect someone that young to differentiate between the types of affection that even adults get confused about?”