Ch.91Epilogue – Struggle, ESTL! (3)

“What?!”

Eshtiel let out a shrill cry of surprise. For a moment, she thought Tesser had blurted out a question based on some misunderstanding.

“N-no, you’re joking, right? Brother Tesser…”

“That’s… what I want to ask.”

“This can’t be…”

Yes, there was no other way to express it than to say it was impossible. Because it was practically a foregone conclusion that she and Tesser would end up together in the future.

“Eshtiel.”

“Yes.”

“First… may I ask why you thought that way?”

“You’re… asking because you don’t know?”

“…… I’m terribly sorry, but… yes.”

“Ha…”

My goodness, should she call him a sinful brother? If he’s asking because he truly doesn’t know, he’s even worse than Rahilt used to be. At least, that’s what Eshtiel judged.

“Look here?”

“Yes.”

“Brother Tesser, what is marriage?”

“It means a man and woman are joined in matrimony and become family.”

“Then what is needed for that process?”

“I suppose discussions between families to coordinate their interests.”

“No! Not at all! What on earth are you saying?”

Eshtiel suddenly lost her temper. Tesser, not understanding what was happening, was quite perplexed. Still, he wasn’t particularly flustered since he had long been accustomed to Eshtiel’s impulsive nature.

Soon, Eshtiel lowered her voice and spoke again.

“Marriage, you see, requires love. Brother Tesser.”

“Well, I mean…”

He wouldn’t deny it, but it wasn’t entirely correct either.

In aristocratic society, there were still many conservatives opposed to love marriages. The majority arranged marriages for the benefit of their families rather than for love. Therefore, Eshtiel’s teaching had an innocent, girlish quality to it.

“Well, okay. Let’s say Eshtiel’s opinion is correct. But what does that have to do with me?”

“Hmph, really. How can you ask that, Brother Tesser? It’s more embarrassing for me to say it myself…”

“No, no, I really don’t have any idea what you’re talking about.”

“Sigh, you really… I guess I have no choice. I’ll have to tell you myself.”

Eshtiel shook her head dramatically.

It was her signature gesture that somehow irritated anyone watching. Tesser, witnessing Eshtiel’s specialty after a long time, couldn’t help but twist his lips slightly.

However, her subsequent words were powerful enough to blow away any trace of annoyance.

Eshtiel said:

“You love me!”

“…… What…?”

Love, she says.

Love.

Love.

Who? Whom?

Judging from the flow of conversation, it was crystal clear that she meant he loved Eshtiel.

His mind, which had gone blank for a moment, regained its color.

…Along with an almost scream-like shock.

“L-love?! Eshtiel… you…!!!”

“Oh come on, don’t be shy now. That’s why I said it would be difficult for me to say it myself…”

“What on earth… are you talking about!”

“Why are you suddenly playing dumb, Brother Tesser?”

“No, Eshtiel… you…”

Tesser was genuinely perplexed. It was unclear what path her perception had taken to reach this point. Who would have thought that Eshtiel, whom he had always considered a cute little sister, would set off such a magnificent firework?

She had always been excessively innocent, but this was quite extreme.

‘Stay calm…’

Eshtiel was truly a girl who could be called an influential figure in the empire.

From being the beloved little sister of Rahilt, which was already a prestigious position, to being adored by Serin who had become the Grand Duchess. She even frequently visited the imperial palace and monopolized the affection of both her mother and father—the Emperor and Empress.

It was even more so because Serin, who had not a speck of cuteness since childhood, had gotten married. The Emperor and Empress treated the adorable Eshtiel almost like their own daughter.

From Tesser’s perspective, they seemed to indulge her whims even more than they did with Serin, their actual daughter.

Tesser, who had unknowingly been chosen as the marriage partner for such a girl, was now extremely bewildered.

‘There must be a point and reason why Eshtiel misunderstood.’

Since when?

He had always been kind to her because he found her cute too. If such accumulated kindness had led to this misunderstanding, it was quite a perplexing situation for Tesser.

Rather, he wasn’t entirely innocent of causing the misunderstanding.

‘Well… since it’s Eshtiel, it’s better to ask directly than to speculate.’

Tesser expertly utilized the know-how accumulated through their overlapping years.

“Eshtiel. Let me ask you first.”

“Yes, anything.”

“What makes you so certain?”

“Certain?”

“I mean… why are you so sure that I love you?”

“Ah, that?”

Eshtiel crossed her arms and proudly puffed out her chest.

“Because Brother Tesser has liked me so, so much since before.”

“I did? When exactly?”

“Hmm… it was when you were attending the Academy, so 7 years ago!”

“That’s almost from when we first met?!”

To be precise, they first encountered each other at an imperial banquet held 8 years ago. Tesser could easily recall Eshtiel witnessing the scandalous scene of young noble men and women. And how he covered her eyes and guided her to the exit of the maze garden…

‘Come to think of it, she did ask me outright if I liked her back then too…’

Was it her inflated self-esteem born from her innate ability to enchant people? Even now, Eshtiel from that time was hard to understand.

While Tesser was briefly reminiscing about the past, Eshtiel continued speaking.

“I still remember it very clearly, you know?”

“… What?”

“You said you loved me so much, but it was a crime because I was too young. So you said you’d wait until I grew up.”

“Isn’t your memory… quite distorted?!”

“And you said you’d give me a candy if I kept it a secret that you liked me. I remember this super clearly, so don’t try to deny it.”

“No, that’s…!”

…… Indeed…!!!

‘This is one thing… I can’t make excuses for right away…!’

It was a deception he had immediately come up with to resolve Eshtiel’s baseless misunderstanding. However, at that time, he had expected the still young Eshtiel to forget it soon. Even if she didn’t forget, he thought she would realize it was just a joke as she grew older.

He never dreamed that such a playful remark would encourage Eshtiel to this extent.

‘Would it be okay to explain the circumstances now…?’

It seemed Eshtiel had believed in that one statement and been convinced for 7 years that he was her marriage partner. If she learned that all those years were just based on a joke meant to defuse the moment, her world would surely crumble.

… This wasn’t a metaphor; if tears were to fall from Eshtiel’s cheeks, there were more than a few people who would bring down the world, which was troublesome.

Moreover, if it was due to a man trampling on her affection that had the weight of 7 years behind it… it was terrifying to even imagine.

‘Except for the day I cleared up the misunderstanding with my sister, I’ve never seen Eshtiel cry even once…’

That’s how preciously Eshtiel had been raised, a treasured child.

Given this, the weight of her tears would be comparable to a raging tsunami.

Tesser’s thoughts began to spin like a whirlpool.

“… Eshtiel.”

“Are you admitting it?”

“…”

“What? What’s the problem, Brother Tesser?”

“The truth is.”

Tesser firmly established one fact. The fact that he would eventually have to betray Eshtiel’s heart.

If that was the case, there was only one point.

Using Eshtiel’s logic, soften Eshtiel’s heart. Even if it meant being branded with the stigma of turning away from the girl’s feelings.

So, Tesser declared:

“For quite some time now, I’ve had someone I like.”

“…… Huh?”

“You said it yourself, right? That you’d consider it if I still liked you when you grew up. But unfortunately, it seems I couldn’t do that. It can’t be helped. I guess I’m not worthy of receiving your love.”

Tesser awkwardly pretended to be disappointed.

7 years ago.

The young Eshtiel was the superior, and Tesser was the subordinate. Through some inexplicable thought process, Eshtiel became the approver of love, and Tesser became a beggar pleading for love.

Which means that even if Tesser gave up on begging for love, by Eshtiel’s logic, she couldn’t blame him.

Who could point fingers when the subordinate couldn’t endure and gave up on the superior!

‘A perfect response!’

Tesser swallowed what was truly a foolish delight.

Originally, Tesser wasn’t such a silly young man, but facing Eshtiel’s disastrous confession so suddenly, his mind had slightly malfunctioned.

In reality, beneath the philtrum he covered with his hand as if in distress, Tesser’s lips were curved into a smile.

“Brother Tesser…? What do you mean…? Someone you like? This is the first I’m hearing of it.”

Of course it was, since he had just made it up.

“Are you giving up on me? No, right…? Brother Tesser…”

“I’m sorry, Eshtiel.”

“Wait, just wait…”

Eshtiel tried to stop Tesser with a trembling voice. However, delaying any further would also be a great sin against Eshtiel.

“You are…”

Tesser delivered the final blow.

“Too young.”

“…”

At that moment, the events of the day flashed through Eshtiel’s mind like a kaleidoscope.

Young.

Too young.

Child.

Youngster.

Cute, cute, cute, that damned “cute.”

The past where everyone treated her like a child knocked on Eshtiel’s head, engraving reality.

That she was still too young to be treated as a woman.

Clench.

Eshtiel’s small hand tightly formed a fist.

The darkness thickly settled under her eyes was ominous.

The atmosphere suddenly turned chilly, as if frost was falling around them.

Being someone who couldn’t fail to notice this, Tesser cautiously called the girl’s name.

“Eshtiel…?”

“…”

When there was no response, Tesser’s head also cooled down simultaneously. Only then did Tesser realize the truth that he had made a half-witted, stupid excuse.

“I, well…”

It was then.

“Brother Tesser…”

Without even getting a chance to correct the truth, Tesser had to accept Eshtiel’s eerie question.

“That person you say you love… that woman…”

Those cute, round eyes that had been nothing but adorable until now.

It was the moment those bright, silver eyes turned triangular.

“Who is that bitch…?”