It Doesn’t Help 2

Reina, who was about to have lunch, was taken aback by William’s sudden profanity.

“William, what do you think you’re doing?”

Elliot sternly reprimanded him, trying to prevent William from roughly grabbing Reina’s hair as he had done a few days ago.

But William didn’t stop.

“Oh, come on! Father! Don’t you see this bitch glaring at me disrespectfully? Damn it, anyway, this sister doesn’t help her brother at all!”

Witnessing this atrocity of William, Reina felt that nothing good would come from remaining in this place.

Even if she were to be assaulted again, William wouldn’t even receive proper punishment.

“I’ll be going now.”

Having lost her appetite for lunch, Reina got up from her seat to leave.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

“Kyaah!”

As Reina tried to leave, William roughly grabbed her hair, blocking her movement.

Elliot and Ceres jumped up from their seats, startled by William’s action of grabbing her long hair.

“William, what are you doing!”

“William, please stop!”

When William’s hand finally released due to their intervention, Reina quickly fled.

She didn’t want to stay there any longer.

‘No. I don’t want to stay anymore.’

Reina’s heart began to beat frantically.

Unlike the excited heartbeat of anticipation for meeting Theodore and Yuria in the afternoon, this was her heart racing due to fear.

‘I’m too scared to stay.’

She was afraid of what harm William might inflict on her next.

Reina even thought that William’s sinister gaze seemed like he was thinking of someone else while looking at her and taking out his anger on her as a substitute.

It wasn’t certain, just a feeling she had.

Having escaped, Reina thought it would be better to go to Theodore and Yuria’s lodgings early.

‘If I stay here, I don’t know what might happen to me…’

With that thought, she hurriedly went to the kitchen and used the ingredients there to make sandwiches herself.

Having made sandwiches with good ingredients, she thought that since it was lunchtime, Theodore and Yuria would probably be at Minst Academy’s cafeteria rather than at their lodgings, but she figured it would be better to wait there.

Thus, rushing out of the Artin Mansion with one maid, Reina headed to Minst Academy and arrived at the main gate.

“Thank you for your work. I’ll go alone from here.”

“Pardon? My Lady, but…”

“I’ll contact you later, so return for now. That’s an order.”

Reina sent the maid straight back to the Artin Mansion.

Though it could be dangerous to move alone, she immediately headed towards the area where the mansions that served as lodgings for Theodore and Yuria were located.

And upon arrival, she encountered an unexpected situation.

“Oh my, Reina! What brings you here at lunchtime?”

Yuria Arsein, who came running with her dazzling silver hair fluttering, asked with a kind smile.

“Si-Sister Yuria? Aren’t you at the academy cafeteria?”

Reina was surprised to find her here, having naturally assumed she would be at the academy cafeteria during lunchtime. Yuria smiled gently and explained.

“I was going to, but… Lord Theodore said he would make lunch himself, so I came back. Lord Theodore sensed you were coming, but since he’s busy preparing lunch and can’t move easily, I came instead. Have you had lunch yet?”

“N-No, I haven’t.”

Reina shook her head. The mention of lunch inadvertently made her stammer as the image of William with his ominous presence from earlier came to mind, but Yuria didn’t question this.

“Then would you like to join us? Lord Theodore also asked me to invite you to eat together if you haven’t had lunch yet.”

“Ah…”

Despite it being just an invitation to eat together, Reina nearly collapsed from the kindness Yuria showed her.

She was so grateful and happy.

Experiencing such consideration again made her feel as if the shock she had received from William until just now was subsiding.

“Yes…”

Nodding, Reina took Yuria’s outstretched hand and walked together to the mansion.

‘Sister Yuria is indeed so kind.’

Feeling that her brother William, who harbored dirty desires towards such a kind sister, was even more unforgivable, Reina resolved to do her best to prevent William from targeting her, even if her efforts were meager.

‘Of course, Brother Theodore would protect her even without me stepping in.’

With that thought, Reina looked at Yuria’s profile.

As if to prove that this was what perfect beauty looked like even from the side, Yuria was breathtaking from any angle.

It was a beauty that seemed unbelievable even when seen with one’s own eyes.

‘Her hands aren’t soft.’

However, Yuria’s palms didn’t feel soft. The calluses felt all over her palms testified to how hard she worked as a swordswoman.

But her slender arms and legs, including the back of her hands, boasted skin as white as snow, making Reina think her skin was also very fair and pretty.

Thinking this as they walked together, Reina suddenly realized they had arrived at the area where the mansions serving as lodgings for Theodore and Yuria were gathered.

‘Ah, we’re already here.’

It was instantaneous as she walked while thinking about Yuria.

Though the distance wasn’t far to begin with, it still felt too quick.

‘How long has it been… since I felt time passing this quickly?’

But it was clear that it had been a long time since she had felt this way.

“This is troublesome.”

After sending Yuria out, Theodore thought as he simmered beef stew alone.

‘Yuria Arsein, not only is that woman quite something beyond expectation…’

Yuria Arsein had made him feel affection for her as soon as they arrived at Minst Academy.

Originally, he would have told her to go have lunch at the academy cafeteria on her own, but now he couldn’t do that.

Once he had developed the desire to feed her something better, even wanting to feed her food that he personally prepared with care, he couldn’t do otherwise.

However, there was another person here who exceeded his expectations and had a significant impact on him.

Reina Artin.

‘She’s almost here now.’

From earlier, when he felt her coming this way, his emotions had been fluctuating in a direction he couldn’t control.

He couldn’t help but understand what it meant for her to visit at such an early hour.

‘She must not have been able to endure it.’

It was clear she had fled the Artin Mansion, unable to endure William.

As he thought this, Theodore could feel anger arising from a reason other than himself.

‘I thought I could think calmly, but I guess that was a mistake.’

No, if it had been just about his own matters, he truly could have maintained calmness while being angry.

However, what kept unsettling his heart was the fact that there was another victim of the Artin Mansion like himself, and that victim was his blood sister.

“Lord Theodore, I’ve brought Reina.”

Yuria knocked lightly and immediately opened the door to enter. And when the black-haired girl holding her hand appeared, Theodore was moving a large pot of stew that had just finished cooking to the dining table.

“Welcome.”

Theodore felt himself smiling at Reina.

What kind of smile would his be?

The answer was a gentle smile, like the one he would give to Judith.

Just as Yuria was now giving Reina the gentle smile she would give to her younger sister Lilia, he too was giving the smile he would give to his younger sister Judith at House Skyroad to his blood sister.

This pointed clearly to one fact.

‘I’ve already accepted Reina as my sister.’

It wasn’t because he had thought deeply about it.

Nor was it because he had even slightly organized his thoughts.

It was just emotion—his emotion arbitrarily recognizing her as his sister, becoming angry at her situation, and shouting at him to help her.

‘These emotions really don’t help with thinking rationally.’

He felt that emotions, which kept stirring people up, truly didn’t help.

However, Theodore didn’t feel the desire to defy those emotions.

“You came early, Reina. If you haven’t had lunch, would you like to eat together?”

Reina’s existence didn’t change the purpose for which he had come to Minst Academy, but it was changing the process.

“Yes, Brother Theodore.”

Seeing Reina’s happy smile, Theodore was certain that he had already reached a state where he couldn’t make any other choice.

‘I guess I’ll have to contact Father and Mother.’

It seemed like he would need to contact the Duke and Duchess Skyroad a bit later.