episode_0038

“Hoo… ”

A silver-haired woman sitting at her desk sighing heavily

Helios Northhellat Dragona.

After processing the paperwork related to her freshman admission, she felt a little tired and put down the fan that she had been moving endlessly.

‘The entrance ceremony should be over by now, right? I wanted to show my face at least once, but it was too much.’

To be honest, if it was a regular entrance ceremony, there wouldn’t have been much reason to care, but today was the day that her youngest sibling, of all people, was entering school.

Even though we weren’t that close, it would be a lie to say that I didn’t care at all as an older sister.

Considering the child’s surroundings, there were some areas that required caution. But apart from that fact, she was just a young girl who had just turned ten.

There was no need to treat him so coldly, as he was a naive child who knew nothing about politics or power.

‘And… didn’t your mother say that before? Katlena wants to be close to me. So she asked me to be a little closer to the child. And since my mother, who is actually the biggest victim, thinks of the child as her own daughter, I should treat the child as my own younger sister.’

With that thought in mind, it felt a little awkward, but Elios decided that he would have to set up a meeting with his younger brother at least once if he had the chance. That was when he made up his mind.

-Knock knock knock-

“Come in.”

Elios allows entry at the familiar knocking sound.

Immediately after, her eyes caught sight of the familiar, if slightly boring, face of that man.

“Hello, Chairman! Did you have a good day today?”

“Haa… ”

A woman with unnecessarily high tension opens the door and comes in.

Looking at her, Elios felt as if his spirits were being sucked in, and he sighed deeply.

“What’s going on this time? I’m sorry, but I’d rather not accept that ridiculous sentinel budget proposal I asked for last time than have the sky split in two…”

“Ah, don’t worry about that. I took care of it myself without having to ask the chairman for help.”

“..I’m really curious about how to handle it, but let’s move on for now. If you have something to say, say it quickly.”

Elios speaks with a slight frown.

Seeing her prickly attitude, the other person spoke in a bright voice as if a flower had bloomed.

“Hey, I wonder if our great chairman doesn’t know why I’m here right now? Of course, it’s to see our cute youngest’s face! Since the entrance ceremony just ended, let’s go eat together.”

“… Sigh..”

At her words, Elios let out a deep sigh.

Then she slowly looked at the face of ‘that girl’ who was sitting with her buttocks on the desk and looking down at her with a lively look.

Red hair, hazel eyes, and a face that so vividly reminded her of the face of the person she most admired and loved.

In a word, right now, in front of Elios’ eyes was her mother.

There sat a girl whose appearance seemed to have shrunk the age of Duchess Mina Rosebetta Dragona to sixteen.

Senel Polena Dragona.

A woman who is the younger sister of Elios and the older sister of Katlena.

Among the sisters, she resembled her mother in appearance, but unlike the always elegant and refined Rosebetta, her personality was always lighthearted and her tension seemed to pierce the sky.

That is, from Elios’ perspective, she was a younger sister who gave off a rather strange feeling.

‘Personally, I’m sure the reason my father smiles bitterly whenever he sees this guy is for the same reason as me…’

With that thought in mind, Elios gets up from his seat.

Although it was sudden and not something she really wanted to do, she remembered Katlena’s words that she wanted to become close to her, and decided to accompany Senel on his freewheeling journey today.

“Okay, let’s go. Do you know where those kids are?”

“Of course, I’m just leaving the entrance ceremony hall.. Judging by the general direction, I think I’m heading to a nearby tea house.”

“… Oh, really? Okay, then let’s go right away.”

Senel speaks with a voice full of conviction, not speculation.

Listening to her, Elios broke out in a cold sweat and showed an awkward smile on his lips.

‘The distance from here to the entrance ceremony hall is approximately 1km.. At only 15 years old, you can unleash your magical powers so easily? As expected.. This guy doesn’t only resemble his mother in appearance.’

Elios was once again amazed by his younger brother’s incredible talent and left the president’s office with his younger brother.

‘If you think about it, this isn’t so bad. I also happen to have something I want to recommend to those kids..’

*

Immediately after the entrance ceremony was completely over, Katlena took in the view of the Academy as it began to come back in.

‘… I’m back. Back here again..’

The Academy’s appearance has become so familiar to me after living there for 10 years.

As it was a place she had been going to until just a year before she died, Katlena began to naturally walk around the school grounds with Zeros on without getting lost.

The scale itself was as large as a town, and there were not only educational facilities, but also shops and restaurants.

Now that the entrance ceremony was over, there was nothing special planned for the time being; all I had to do was get into the dorm before the sun went down.

So, Katlena took a moment to reminisce about her past and headed towards the teahouse she had frequented for ten years in her previous life.

‘Ah… there it is. Looking at it like this, it seems like nothing has changed there in 10 years.’

So, feeling happy but also a bit strange, Katlena sat down with Zeros.

“Then let’s take a break here. What do you want to drink, Zeros? I’ll buy it.”

Catlena talking naturally while looking at the menu.

Looking at her like this, Zeros began to sense a strange atmosphere, different from the one at the entrance ceremony just a moment ago.

‘After school, a boy and a girl go to a tea house together… Except for the age difference, this is totally a date, right?’

Zeros had already started to care more about Katlena after giving up on the Elios route.

Before, I had intentionally tried to keep my distance from her, but now I no longer had to do that, and I could say that I was in a position where I had to become as close to her as possible.

Somehow… a slim survival route…

To achieve the daunting goal of preventing Katlena from being designated as the next duke.

But even leaving aside the part about survival, Zeros honestly had to admit it to some extent now.

He also sees this girl in front of him.

The fact that he was starting to like this girl who always gave to him with a pure heart.

‘It wasn’t described much in the original, but… seeing this, I think I understand why Zeros was so obsessed with Princess Katlena.’

With that thought, I felt my face turn slightly red.

Zeros slowly turned his gaze and began to look intently at the tea and snacks placed in front of him.

“Let’s go in. The price is a bit cheap, but the snacks here taste better than expected… . I think.”

“Ah. Yes. Your Majesty.”

Zeros carefully puts tea and snacks into his mouth as per Katlena’s advice.

As for the tea, it was not a luxury product from the East, but a mixture of grains and honey… if I had to use a metaphor, it was something like cool powdered millet, and the refreshments were a bit more rustic than those occasionally served in Sophia’s palace, but they had their own flavor.

‘In other words, it’s a cheap and delicious cafe… you could say it’s truly a generous cafe. I guess this princess isn’t as lucky in taking pictures as I thought.’

While thinking about that, Zeros glanced at Katlena, who was taking a snack right in front of him.

Her appearance radiates beauty, dignity, and cuteness at the same time.

At this, Zeros felt like he was looking at a precious kitten being raised by a royal family, and for a moment, he began to feel the urge to pat the head of this cute creature.

Of course, regardless of her appearance, she is clearly her own master and such behavior would not be tolerated.

Feeling a little regretful, Zeros reaches out for the snacks again.

Meanwhile, a quiet smile began to form on Katlena’s lips as she watched him like this.