Chapter 57 : The Past Mistakes Have Returned to Me Now

[To Count Christian]

When a letter with the royal seal arrived, I thought it might be a royal decree, but it turned out to be from Prince Reyzen.

There was no name written on it, but the handwriting on the back was his.

What could this letter be about?

Before even opening it, I felt uneasy, but I had to check it.

I tore open the envelope and unfolded the letter, my eyes quickly scanning the words written inside.

“Two days later…”

Starting with a light greeting, there were several lines written, but to summarize, it was an invitation to attend a diplomatic event at the castle with the Levath Kingdom.

It was sudden and somewhat bothersome.

Personally, I didn’t have any good memories of that country, so I didn’t really want to go.

But.

“You have to go.”

“I know. I know.”

Even if I didn’t want to go, I had no choice.

If it was a request between people, I could refuse on a whim, but when it’s a prince making the request, it’s a different matter.

It’s less of a request and more of a command.

Of course, I would try to overlook it, but there was no reason to refuse, so what could I do?

“Alright, I’ll just go and treat it like a little vacation.”

The alcohol at royal events was always delicious anyway.

I set the letter down and looked out the window.

The sun had already dipped beyond the mountain.

“Serena should be back soon.”

Barely finishing my sentence, someone knocked on the door and spoke to me from the other side.

“Master, the young lady has returned.”

“Alright, I know.”

Perfect timing for her to come home.

I stood up from my seat to go meet Serena.

*

“Reyzen called for you?”

“Yes. He said there will be a diplomatic event with the Levath Kingdom in two days.”

We were sitting together for dinner, and I told Serena about the letter I had received earlier while cutting the golden-brown roasted meat.

“He wants me to attend too.”

“Why you? You don’t have to go.”

That was true.

I nodded as I chewed a small piece of meat.

“Yeah, I don’t really want to go, but if I say no, there’s no real reason not to go.”

And, the fact that he called me means there’s probably more to it than just wanting to invite a friend.

Though it wasn’t written in the letter, something about it felt different.

I hoped it was just my imagination.

“He didn’t explain why? Just told you to come?”

“Well… there wasn’t anything written about that.”

“Hmm. How rude.”

Serena seemed to be upset, furrowing her brows.

She was probably talking about Prince Reyzen.

‘This is troublesome. They haven’t made any progress between them for the past three years.’

Just by looking at her attitude, it was clear that Serena and Prince Reyzen had no sign of becoming a couple, let alone getting married.

It had already been three years.

How much had I tried to help them get together?

During that time, they had just stayed friends, and from my perspective, it was hard not to feel frustrated.

‘I want to make them realize they’re more than just friends…’

Next year, both Serena and Prince Reyzen would be entering the academy.

If Serena were to fall for another man or get interested in something else, then all my efforts would be for nothing.

It wasn’t just a baseless worry.

In the game, there were as many as seven possible endings depending on how things went at the academy.

“…Hey, Serena.”

“Huh? Why?”

Since I had wanted to test her feelings, I decided to ask a bit more boldly.

“What do you think about Prince Reyzen?”

“What? Why are you suddenly asking such a random question?”

Serena swallowed the meat she was chewing, chuckled, and then spoke.

“He’s just a friend. Sometimes, he can be a little annoying, but that’s about it.”

“…Oh, I see.”

It seems there’s no hope.

Although I disliked pushing them together, I had to focus on developing their relationship before they enter the academy.

To calm my frustrated mind, I downed my wine in one gulp and said to Serena.

“Serena, why don’t you come with me to the castle in two days?”

“Huh? I was planning to go with you anyway.”

But seeing her innocent face, unaware of my intentions, made my frustration even worse.

Damn it.

She should show that cute side to the prince sometimes!

**

“Ha… what should I do?”

I sank my body into the warm bath, and it seemed like my troubled mind was somewhat eased.

However, even with my head cleared, I couldn’t think of a concrete plan for how to handle Serena and Prince Reyzen from here on.

I had invited them to the mansion many times and made various excuses to get them together, but they still saw each other as just friends.

At this rate, my plan to get them together before the academy might fail.

“Are they just dense, or do they not notice anything? How can they be so uninterested in each other?”

Even I could tell that they were a perfect couple.

So why weren’t they attracted to each other?

Had they seen each other too much, and were they used to it?

“What should I do… This skill of mine is useless at times like this.”

It might sound shameless from someone who has relied on them for a long time, but that’s how frustrating it was.

Just as I was lost in thought, I heard Serena’s voice.

“Sis, I’m going to join you.”

With her hair tied up, Serena stepped into the bath and naturally immersed herself next to me.

When did she come in?

Unlike me, who was flustered, Serena sighed lightly and lazily leaned her head back.

“It feels so good. Right, sis?”

“Huh? Oh… wait, did you not know I was bathing and just come in?”

I had definitely hung the sign on the entrance.

“I wanted to bathe with you after a long time. Why? Do you not want me here?”

“No, it’s not that.”

I was just surprised because I had been thinking about you and you suddenly showed up.

‘…Now that I think about it, it’s been a long time since we bathed together.’

Maybe because the heat from the water was cooling my head, this moment felt strangely unfamiliar.

When Serena was little, I used to bathe her, but as she grew, she didn’t need my help anymore, so we naturally stopped bathing together.

It made me feel a little nostalgic.

I missed the times when I could legally touch and rub her small, delicate body.

‘Now that she’s grown so well, I can’t do that anymore.’

But Serena had grown into a proper lady, so I couldn’t play such mischievous pranks anymore.

It was a bit disappointing, but what could I do?

I had to accept the passage of time.

“…By the way, sis. I was thinking sometimes, but it seems like your chest has gotten bigger?”

“Huh?”

Lost in my thoughts, Serena suddenly said something unexpected.

From my perspective, it didn’t seem like anything had grown.

At my age, growth was pretty much finished anyway.

“It’s just the water making it look like that.”

“It doesn’t seem like it’s that, though…”

“If you’re that curious, why don’t you check for yourself?”

At that moment, as a joke,Serena’s hand touched my chest.

“Eek?!”

In an instant, a faint electric-like sensation ran through my head.

Why is she so casual about touching someone else’s chest like this?!

“Hmmm. I guess it’s not that much different from before.”

“R-right? So, how about you let go now?”

With unnecessarily serious eyes, Serena continued to touch my chest and gave a sly smile.

“Now that I think about it, didn’t you also used to touch my body everywhere like this back in the day?”

“U-uh?”

“Why are you suddenly bringing up the past?”

“There’s a place I wasn’t touched by you, big sis.”

“Ah, hahaha. Did I? I don’t really remember…”

“Yeah. It’s fine. The one who was touched always remembers, you know.”

So then.

Starting with those words, Serena’s hands grabbed my chest.

“Haah?!”

“I’m going to make up for what I missed back then. Get ready. I’ll remind you of the old days.”

“What… are you trying to do right now?!”

Serena’s eyes were serious, making it hard to call it just a simple joke.

Only then did I realize the severity of the situation, but it was already too late.

After that, I had to endure having my chest thoroughly teased to the point where I couldn’t even speak about it.

I begged her to stop multiple times, but she didn’t listen.

Thanks to that, when I came out of the bathroom, my waist felt completely drained of strength, and my legs were shaking like a reed in the wind.

“I feel like I’m really going crazy…”

With the already hot air in the bathroom and the intense sensations overwhelming me, my head felt like it was going to turn to mush.

Serena, this little brat.

What the heck is she trying to do to her sister?

‘…But I guess I’m not in a position to talk either.’

But when I think about it now, I also feel like I deserved this.

In the end, it’s all my karma, right?

Still, I had affection for her.

In that sense, isn’t it a bit unfair for me to not feel a little wronged?

“Big sis, are you okay? Do you want me to lend you my shoulder?”

“No, it’s fine. I’m good with just this much.”

Serena, who came out of the bathroom with me, had an outrageously shameless smile on her face as she tried to tease me.

Do you think I’ll just let myself fall for it?

No matter how close I am to the edge, I don’t need any help-.

“You really don’t need to act all tough like that.”

But Serena forcibly grabbed my shoulder and tried to help me.

No.

Maybe she’s just trying to remind me that the revenge isn’t over yet.

“Why are you walking like that? Was it that hard?”

“Ah, no, it wasn’t.”

“Really. After whining like that, are you still going to act all tough?”

“What do you mean by that, talking to your sister like that…”

I must have picked up some weird words from reading romance novels that Lilia sometimes lends me.

The problem is, it wasn’t just the words I learned, but the strange sensation behind them.

The voice whispering in my ear was anything but innocent.

“Even if you say that, you like it, don’t you? Because you’re a pervert, big sis.”

For a moment, I couldn’t breathe.

It wasn’t that I was dumbfounded or anything.

The truth was, I felt somewhat good about it, and I just didn’t want to admit it, so I was at a loss for words.