Chapter 34

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“Hmm. My sister has already read this much? That’s amazing, right?”

“Ah. I can’t read the book yet but I will just keep it.”

“Just?”

“Yes… I wanted to set a goal for myself.”

Lestia’s cheeks turned red.

The book that Joel pointed to was one of the books that Lysian had read the other day. She placed it on her desk with the goal of reading it someday.

“Hmmm. Alright. Lestia, if you don’t know anything, you can always find me.”

“Ah. Can I really do that?”

“Of course, that’s only natural. It’s alright. After all, it will also be good for me since I can study with you while we’re at it. I should also take a look at next semester’s classes’ contents in advance. Will that be alright, Lestia?”

“I, I like that!”

Lestia smiled broadly.

Mathias couldn’t help but complain when he saw this scene.

“Liti! You’re so mean. You won’t hang out with me but you will hang out with Joel alone?”

“Ah! Then, do you want to study together with us brother Mathias?”

“W, what?”

Mathias was so shocked at Lestia’s words that he unknowingly took a step back. Then, he asked her as if he couldn’t believe what he had heard.

“Liti, did you just ask me to study?”

“Yes! Brother Mathias will also have to prepare for next semester’s class like brother Joel, right?”

“Huh? Th… That.”

Mathias did not know what to do with himself, he was having difficulties trying to hide his problems. Seeing this, Joel couldn’t hold back his laughter.

“Bwaha! Hahaha! Lestia. Mathias dropped out of the academy a year ago. He doesn’t need to study.”

“Yes? Dropped out? Brother Mathias, is that true?”

Lestia finally learned that Mathias had dropped out of the academy.

“I heard that it’s very difficult to enter the Imperial Academy but…”

Lestia recalled the conversations that she had with her tutors.

According to them, both the admission and graduation in the Imperial Academy were incredibly hard mainly because all of the talents from the entire Morcathium Empire had gathered in this place. However, Verchester Duchy’s children had all completed their degrees from one generation to another in this academy so they told Lestia that it would be better if she considered enrolling in the academy.

But right now, she heard that her brother had entered such an amazing place and dropped out. She thought that it was such a waste.

“…Liti, why? Do you think I’m pathetic?”

“What? Pathetic? Not at all! Brother Mathias must have a reason, right?”

“No, that’s…”

Mathias’ tongue was twisted once again. He felt really sorry for Lestia who firmly believed in him… However, he did not have any particular reason why he dropped out of the academy. It was mainly because he was rebelling against his father and eldest brother. When he had dropped out, he obviously thought that he would have no regrets in the future but he felt guilty seeing Lestia’s trust in him right at this very moment.

He felt embarrassed. He thought that he would be an unworthy brother if he just told her this matter as it was. So, he tried to reach the impossible.

“No, Liti. I’m just… I’m just taking a break to enjoy my life. I haven’t given up completely. I’ll probably come back again.”

“Ah! So that’s how it was!”

Lestia smiled broadly. She looked like she had been easily convinced with his words. Then, she immediately brought up her proposal again.

“Then, brother Mathias can still study with me and brother Joel!”

“Huh…?”

“Ah, you don’t like it? I thought it would be fun if we did it together but…”

“Oh. Fine! I will also tell Liti what she doesn’t know! Trust me, Liti!”

Mathias’ return to the academy was decided so unexpectedly.

“Hahahaha!”

Joel still couldn’t stop laughing at the situation. It made him like their youngest sibling more and more. No one in this house would not want to grab a hold of her hand as she brought fortune and warmth to this desolate home.

“What?! Joel, why are you laughing like that? Are you sick?”

Mathias was also embarrassed. This was the first time that he had seen Joel burst into loud laughter like that.

Just like that, an unexpected scene that has never been seen before had unfolded in Verchester Duchy.

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“Duke, young master Mathias, young master Joel and young miss Lestia are all studying in the study these days.”

“That punk?”

The news was so unbelievable that Gerard had to ask again when he heard the report about his younger siblings.

“Yes. He’s even going to return to the academy next semester.”

“What? Return?”

“Do you think we should… we should call for a doctor to see how he’s doing?”

Gerard replied briefly.

“Right, do that.”

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Lestia enjoyed her time self-studying with Mathias and Joel.

Compared to reading alone, she did not feel that lonely especially since she had someone next to her. Above all, she liked the sound of the person sitting next to her turning over the page of the book.

‘I think this is because of the habit that I picked up while studying with Lysian-nim.’

However, Lysian had never come to look at Lestia’s handwriting ever since they arrived at Verchester Castle.

“Gerard had brought better tutors. It’s better for you to ask them.” was what he told Lestia on the rare occasion that they met.

Lestia was quite disappointed with his answer. Among her four brothers that suddenly appeared, she thought that she was closest to Lysian. But she felt like the distance between them had widened in an instant.

‘How can I meet him?’

Lestia pondered over this matter before writing a greeting letter to Lysian, something that she had just learned recently. And she asked Dora to deliver it. However, Dora came back with a difficult expression on her face after trying to deliver the letter.

“My lady, young master Lysian wants me to tell you that he’s busy. He said that you will understand if I say that…”

“Ah, I see. He’s busy…”

She thought she had answered calmly but she still showed signs of visible disappointment.

“My lady! Don’t worry too much! Young master Lysian always liked to act alone! He’s always been busy.”

Dora made a fuss saying that Lysian was originally like that. However, Lesita was most concerned about the conversation that he had with Lysian on the ship. It was obvious that Lysian had been keeping the distance between them since that day.

‘Why in the world…’

She wanted to visit him right away and ask him why he was avoiding her.

‘…But even if he’s family, the etiquette teacher said that it’s not polite to visit without consent.’

Especially if the other party clearly refused. The teacher had told her that that was very impolite.

However, she thought that Lysian would grow distant from her forever if she kept the manners that she learned. That was why…

‘Then, I won’t go carelessly. We can just meet by chance, right?’

Lestia wrung out her mind for a plan.

‘That’s right. It’s not impolite if we just meet by chance.’

But even though she thought about it, she still wondered if she could really pull it off. However, she was really desperate to talk with Lysian.

‘But how can I meet with him…?’

No matter how much she thought, it was extremely difficult to meet with him by chance. Lysian and Lestia’s area of activity did not overlap at all. And Lestia was not even aware of what Lysian usually did.

Then, she suddenly remembered that Lysian always did sword training every day back in the capital.

She quickly grabbed Uiel, her escort knight, and asked him a question.

“Uiel! Do Verchester Knights train and practice swordsmanship every morning?”

“Yes, that’s right. It’s a must.”

“Then… Does Lysian-nim join you too? I think he always trains with you in the capital…”

“Ah, yes. Lysian-nim has never skipped training. It’s the same these days.”

Lestia brightened.

“But these days, he only trains very early in the morning. I don’t know it well but I believe it’s because he’s really busy.”

“Yes! Thanks for letting me know!”

This much information was enough.

‘I’ll have to run into him at the swordsmanship training ground at dawn.’

Lestia quickly made a plan. And to succeed with this plan, she needed to go to bed early.

“My lady, you’re going to bed earlier than usual?”

“I’m a bit tired, Dora. Can you wake me up a bit later tomorrow?”

“Ah, were you that tired? All right. Have a good night’s sleep, my lady.”

Dora heard that Lestia was tired so she was careful not to wake her up.

The next day.

It was still dawn when Lestia opened her eyes. It was still dark and chilly so she did not want to leave the bed at all. However, this was her only chance to meet with Lysian.

‘There’s definitely a swordsmanship training ground behind the watchtower.’

Lestia quickly wrapped a thin coat around her body as she left her room as she stepped towards the swordsmanship training ground where Lysian was training his swordsmanship.

Lestia’s footsteps resonated loudly in the quiet hallways of the castle for quite some time. She suddenly realized something and stopped after moving her feet without stopping.

“Ah, that’s right. Here…”

She recalled the words that her brother Mathias had told her. The hallway that led to the swordsmanship training ground was the hallway where ghosts appeared. If she bypassed this area, she needed to go around a very long distance before she could arrive at the swordsmanship training ground.

‘Should I go back? No. Ghosts won’t come out. Brother Mathias was just teasing me.’

Lestia carefully looked around to see if there were any ghosts around. There was not a single noise in the entire hallway.

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