It Doesn’t Help

At the Artin Mansion, Reina stretched as she woke up in the morning.

After getting up in her room, rather than immediately calling for maids, she got out of bed alone and headed to the mirror.

‘Mirror… I used to hate looking at it.’

Reina didn’t particularly like mirrors.

Rather, she tended to dislike them.

Most girls born with pretty appearances would enjoy seeing their pretty reflections in the mirror and feel satisfaction.

But whenever Reina looked in the mirror, she often felt miserable.

Her reflection in the mirror, clearly showing the distinctive features of House Artin, made it all too obvious that she was the sister of the ruffian William.

But now looking at the mirror, Reina didn’t think of William.

‘Brother Theodore, Sister Yuria.’

Looking at the mirror, Reina thought of Theodore Skyroad, who looked very similar to William but was completely different from him. She also thought of Yuria Arsein, who was more beautiful and kind than anyone she had ever seen.

‘Today is their first day of classes.’

Today was Monday, the day the two of them would have their first classes at Minst Academy.

Normally, one would worry about people suddenly coming to a foreign academy adjusting properly and hope they could adapt well.

But Reina knew there was no need to hope for their good adaptation.

‘They’ll do well on their own.’

She had heard that Theodore and Yuria’s skills ranked them first and second at Jeiha Academy. Moreover, from what she had briefly looked into, Theodore’s skills were especially versatile, making her think, “So there really are people like this.”

‘Swordsmanship, magic, spirit arts, and also skilled in various martial arts and all kinds of weapon techniques.’

The more she checked, the more she felt that it would be disrespectful to even compare him with William.

‘I should visit them later.’

They had said she could visit anytime.

However, Reina felt it would be inappropriate to visit empty-handed.

They would probably welcome her warmly even if she came with nothing. But Reina was thinking of making sandwiches herself to bring along when she visited them.

‘Should I make a cake too?’

This thought also occurred to her, but she didn’t know what kind of cake they liked.

It would be awkward if she made something and they didn’t like sweets.

‘I should ask them various things when I go today.’

Reina gently placed her hand on her chest.

The thought of packing food, bringing it to them, and having warm conversations with the two of them.

Just thinking about it made her heart race and she felt it would be enjoyable.

‘Is this what a sanctuary for the heart is like?’

Feeling happy as she thought about making various foods and visiting them often in the future, Reina moved away from the mirror and headed to the bathroom by herself.

Without calling the maids, she washed her face simply by herself. The feeling of looking forward to seeing the two after their classes ended gave her a sense of what it was like to anticipate a specific time.

She found it difficult to recall a time when she had experienced waiting eagerly for something to happen.

‘I hope afternoon comes quickly.’

With anticipation of visiting their mansion in the afternoon, Reina called for the maids.

“I’m up. You can come in.”

At her words, the maids waiting outside opened the door and entered.

“Then, miss, we’ll help you prepare for today as well.”

“Yes, please do.”

Looking forward to the afternoon, Reina changed her clothes with the help of the maids and put on a neat blue dress. Then she headed to the dining room for breakfast.

“You’re early, Reina.”

The Duke and Duchess Artin had already arrived and taken their seats.

However, William was nowhere to be seen, which wasn’t unusual considering that from the age he became capable of having sexual relations, he rarely attended family meal times.

Rather, Reina would have been more surprised if he had been there.

“Yes, good morning, Father, Mother.”

Reina greeted them with a slight bow of her head and took her seat.

“Haah… Theodore…”

Ceres was still calling Theodore’s name and giving off a gloomy atmosphere. Elliot was looking at his wife with concern, but his expression wasn’t very good either.

He was probably conducting separate investigations about Theodore Skyroad, who was starting classes today, and would be having various questions.

‘They’re probably wondering if Brother Theodore is Brother Theodore.’

The suspicion that Theodore Skyroad might be Theodore Artin had still not disappeared from them.

Not only Ceres, but Elliot also seemed to be starting to doubt Theodore’s identity.

Originally, he had mostly given up on Theodore, though he couldn’t completely shake the thought that he might still be alive.

But now, his appearance seemed to have changed to one where suspicion had arisen.

Looking at her parents, Reina wondered what she would think if Theodore was indeed her eldest brother, Theodore.

‘What would I think now?’

How she might have thought a few days ago wasn’t important.

What mattered was how she thought now.

And Reina gave herself an answer to this question.

‘It doesn’t matter to me either way.’

Even if Theodore’s identity was Theodore, such a thing now had no meaning to Reina.

It was true that she had thought it would be nice if Theodore Artin happened to be alive.

But she, who had never even faced Theodore, had no opportunity to build sibling affection with him.

How could there be affection or family love when she didn’t even know his face?

‘I just wanted someone to rely on.’

The reason she had longed for Theodore’s existence was because in her painful reality, she wanted someone she could properly rely on, not a ruffian like William or parents she couldn’t depend on.

If he was Theodore, of course she would be happy.

But even if he wasn’t Theodore, she was already sufficiently happy.

Thinking this as she began to eat breakfast slowly while seated, when the meal ended, she immediately stood up with a greeting.

“Thank you for the meal. I’ll be going now.”

“…Alright.”

Since there was still a long time until the afternoon, Reina first checked if William had caused any trouble again.

And what she learned was an unexpected fact.

“Brother William is staying away from women?”

“Yes. It seems he’s distancing himself from all the women he’s been involved with. I heard that after seeing Lady Yuria Arsein, he says no other woman catches his eye…”

“…That bad brother is now eyeing Sister Yuria.”

Reina’s eyes turned cold.

She recalled the beautiful appearance of Yuria, who treated her kindly. The man who should be by her side was not a ruffian like William.

The only man who could stand by her side was the kind and capable Theodore Skyroad.

‘But that’s strange.’

Reina, who was initially angry, soon felt a sense of discomfort.

She knew well what kind of person William Artin was.

‘Even if he’s targeting Sister Yuria, rejecting all other women? That’s not like him.’

William Artin was a greedy person.

The fact that he was targeting Yuria was probably true, given that he had even sent assassins and attempted direct kidnapping.

But he was absolutely not the type to focus on just one woman, rejecting all others to the extent of only thinking about Yuria.

‘He’s definitely the type who would think of enjoying himself messily with numerous women simultaneously.’

Reina’s mind worked quickly.

It seemed like he was just using Yuria as an excuse.

And when lunchtime came, William made a sudden move.

“Father, Mother. Forget about Theodore Artin now!”

Appearing suddenly during lunch and starting to talk about forgetting Theodore, Reina found him truly suspicious.

He didn’t attend classes at Minst Academy well, and would have normally resolved lunch by teasing beauties at some restaurant. For him to suddenly appear at the family lunch time and come out with these words was not normal by anyone’s standards, not just hers.

“What are you saying?”

Elliot asked with a hardened face. And Ceres was looking at William with an even more hardened expression.

“The rumors that Father and Mother can’t forget Theodore have spread widely! What is this behavior, really! Moreover, there are even some who spread false rumors that I’m not the real Chosen One, and it’s really disgusting? I’m telling you to officially announce Theodore’s death and cover this issue now!”

As he acted violently, Reina felt her contempt towards him growing even stronger.

‘I can’t stand the sight of him.’

At that moment, William’s gaze turned to Reina.

“Hey, you fucking bitch! Are you glaring at your brother?”