episode_0057

After returning to her home, Dorothy reported to her father, the Count of Lithuania, about her visit to the competition and locked herself in her room. This visit to the academy was shocking to Dorothy in many ways.

The first thing she could say was reuniting with Brianna, whom she admired greatly. Professor Brianna, whom I had not seen in a long time, looked just as I had seen her as a child.

He was cool-headed and rational at the same time.

It was a great inspiration to Dorothy to see that the object of her admiration remained unchanged. So much so that I wish I could stay there forever.

The next impressive thing was seeing Princess Serafina, her only student. Her manipulation skills were at a level beyond what I had heard.

As Dorothy was training to become a knight, she knew very well that reaching that level was not just about hard work. It was a place that could only be ascended through a combination of God-given talent and greater effort.

The moment Dorothy had another goal aside from Brianna was when she was watching her game. It was unclear whether he could rise to that position, but another object of admiration arose.

But there was something else that was most impressive and shocking. The one who made her decide to go to the academy and the one who made her feel so complicated now.

It was because of Gilbert Lionheart, the eldest son of the Hart family and her first brother.

I still don’t understand.

Dorothy lay on her bed, lifting the doll she had been cuddling since childhood with both hands and sighing. It was a kind of habit I did whenever I felt confused.

Dorothy, who was shaking her worn-out doll’s hand, quietly placed the doll on her bedside and closed her eyes. Even though it had been quite a while since I returned home, the image of the Giant God Soldier that Gilbert was controlling came to mind as clearly as if I was looking at a recording magic ball.

Gilbert consistently showed an overwhelming performance in competitive matches with more sophisticated manipulation skills than Seraphina. The solo effort that started in the preliminaries eventually led to the feat of winning the first-year competition.

Even in the event match against Seraphina, she did not show herself being defeated one-sidedly. Although he had a hard time in the event match, the skill he showed in manipulating the Giant God Soldier was deeply imprinted in the minds of everyone who watched the match.

One such person was Dorothy. I couldn’t believe it, but I couldn’t help but believe what I saw.

“But it wasn’t even a doppelganger…”

At first, I thought it could be a doppelganger that can mimic a person or a homunculus, an artificial life form, but as the competition went on, I had no choice but to erase that thought.

This was because the characteristics seen in doppelgangers and homunculi could not be found in Gilbert. Only then did I realize the reason for Anna’s attitude when she doubted Gilbert’s identity. It seemed that she had sensed that Gilbert was the real deal due to her basic skills as a maid.

If that’s the case, let me know in advance.

Although she grumbled inwardly, given Dorothy’s personality, the things she had doubted over and over again would have remained the same.

In the end, after going around a lot, I came to the conclusion that Gilbert had changed. I really couldn’t believe it.

Dorothy got out of bed and smoothed out her messy hair. If Anna had seen it, she would have scolded him for not being careful.

smart.

“Dorothy. It’s me.”

“Ah. Are you my second brother? Come in.”

Dorothy, who was calming down her spiky hair as well as her complicated mind, smiled at the familiar visit of Glinda. I was glad to receive a visit from my second brother, Glinda, who had taken good care of me since childhood, instead of my eldest brother, who was like a fool.

She ran like a hopping rabbit and opened the door wide.

The Hart family’s signature hairstyle is to grow the blonde hair long and tie it into a ponytail shape. Eyes as red as rubies, but unlike Gilbert’s, filled with warmth. And just looking at his tall figure and long arms and legs stretched out was refreshing.

Unlike his older brother Gilbert, his overall body lines were thin, so he didn’t feel bulky, but that didn’t mean he looked delicate either. The cracks in the muscles visible between the folded sleeves of the white shirt mercilessly caught the attention of girls of the same age.

As soon as Dorothy saw Glinda standing outside the door, she smiled brightly and jumped into her arms.

“Dorothy. A grown woman shouldn’t rush in like this.”

“Excluding my second brother!”

Glinda scratched her head as she looked at her still bewildered younger brother. Because the Hart family’s education method was strict, they accepted being held or held in their arms and rubbing their faces against their chest whenever they had the chance, and they ended up like this. Even Glinda couldn’t have predicted that being held by her older brother as a child because she thought it was cute would turn her into a severely spoiled child.

Still, it’s cute so I can’t help it.

Fortunately, as Dorothy got older and started to show her maturity, the number of times she was hugged gradually decreased. I started to look at the situation, and I started to restrain myself more.

Should I say that I feel like my daughter, whom I never raised, has grown up? Glinda felt a little bitter.

“By the way. Dorothy.”

“I suddenly saw that my second brother came to visit… I guess it was because of my first brother?”

“Okay. How was your brother?”

Dorothy, who was in Glinda’s arms, slowly lowered herself.

“It’s just as I received it. My first brother has changed.”

“I see… Brother…”

Glinda looked at Dorothy sitting across from her and stroked her chin. To him, his older brother Gilbert was always like a sore finger. For Glinda, who thought of Young Ji-min first, it was difficult to just watch Gilbert behaving viciously towards Young Ji-min.

So Glinda stopped Gilbert. I started to stop his crazy behavior and didn’t forget to make a stinging sound to make him come to his senses.

However, the result was a change in the structure of Earl Hart’s successor, not in Gilbert’s lineage. Naturally, Glinda began to be considered as a candidate for the position of the next Count of Lithuania, which was designated as the eldest son, Gilbert.

Everyone in the territory, including the loyal families who swore loyalty to the Hart family, began to desperately want Glinda to become the successor.

At that point, Glinda did not want Gilbert to be taken down from the position of successor, considering that no matter how bad her older brother was, she was family, but her heart was slowly shaking as she saw Gilbert’s unchanging appearance. This was because it was not necessary to imagine what would happen if Gilbert, who was still harassing the people of the territory, became Count of Lithuania.

In that sense, the recent news of Gilbert’s change was welcome news to Glinda. I don’t know if there was any change in my mindset after going to the academy, but it was fortunate that I became a new person from before.

Although not all of his evil deeds will disappear, it is encouraging to see that he has changed.

“Phew. My second brother is trash. The fact that my brother has changed is a good thing, right?”

“Dorothy. It is wrong to call your brother that way.”

“But it’s true. Do you know how many people in the territory are suffering because of their eldest brother?”

“I know.”

It was a good sign that Gilbert had changed, but it was also true that the public sentiment among the people of the territory was already not good. Even though what he had done did not cross the line, it could not be denied that it had gone too far.

As a family, we were happy for him to change, but things didn’t change dramatically. To be precise, it was correct that nothing changed.

Glynda rubbed her head in frustration.

“So. Dorothy, what did you think of your brother when you saw him?”

“It’s someone else. So much so that I thought it was a doppelganger or a homunculus.”

“Is that so…”

“And I really can’t guarantee that my eldest brother has changed. I’m thinking that it could be something like this due to a sudden whim.”

Glinda closed her eyes as she watched her younger sister say something she couldn’t bear to say. It’s not like he didn’t think like that either. Although his actions were too bold to be called whimsical, what she said made sense. It was usually impossible for a person to change in an instant.

Glinda recalled the image of a strict Lithuanian count. From a political standpoint, it was a good thing that Dorothy, the third daughter of the Hart family, frequently appeared at public events. It was a great opportunity to strengthen one’s political position by interacting with the children of each noble family.

However, the Margrave of Infractus, the Count of Lithuania, on the other hand, was not very pleased with his children going out into social circles. The intention was that, as a family that served as a shield for the empire, the power of noble families should not be gathered too much.

Since the Earl of Hart was a family that had long established itself as a strong imperialist faction, they were deeply involved in politics and were concerned that the power of the noble faction might increase. For that reason, the Lithuanian Count also forbade his three children to enter the social world more than necessary.

Except for cases where he had to attend as the Count’s representative like last time or an anniversary party hosted by the Imperial Castle, most people were prohibited from attending. In some ways, it could have been thought to be a tight policy, but considering what happened when he inherited the earldom from the previous Earl of Lithuania, there was nothing he could not understand.

“Because I will do the persuasion for you. Don’t worry.”

“Dorothy.”

“Second brother. No matter how much I think of my oldest brother as trash, I think of him as family. In that sense. At least I should know why my family suddenly became like that. Because I’m your younger brother too.”

Dorothy grinned at Glinda, who swallowed back what she was trying to say.

In the first place, there was no grand reason why she cared so much about her eldest brother, Gilbert. Although she really disliked her eldest brother, Mannini Gilbert, she at least wanted to know what was going on as a family.

“Okay. That would be you. Then, I will try to persuade my father.”

“I knew that would happen if you were my second brother!”

As she accepted Dorothy into her arms again, Glinda couldn’t help but smile at her sister’s consistent appearance.

But the faint smile disappeared, and Glinda’s expression hardened. Because the older brother had changed… Glinda’s worries became a little deeper.