CH 8

Chapter 8 – Brother, Please Accompany Me

Descending the dining hall was her mother, Irene. She often accompanied Julian, the second brother; therefore, it was rare for her to be by herself. Figuring it was a timely opportunity, she asked about her former fiancé.

“Mother, who was I engaged to?”

“Well, that’s already in the past.”

Irene appeared to be taken aback. It was inevitable since Bianca had never expressed interest in the subject and had been preoccupied with her academics.

“I was wondering if I could remember anything after hearing his name.”

While she still felt like it was someone else’s business, it was quite a shock that her engagement had fallen apart. It might stimulate her memory to learn about her former self, and ideally, it would jog her recollection of her academics.

Her mother made an unexpected remark nonetheless.

“If you don’t know someone, it’s all the better. You would not feel uneasy if you happened to run into someone you didn’t know, right?”

After hearing that, Bianca got convinced that it might be preferable to remain in the dark regarding his identity. Since she was now amnesic, it may be better for her to forget the unsettling recollections. Given that her mother mentioned it, she must be right.

Ever since she was tutored by her brother, she has acquired a remarkable level of understanding of the subjects. Satias refrained from adopting overly complicated technical terms as the private tutors did. His explanations employed easy language that even Bianca, with her lack of knowledge, could follow.

However, she was still unable to recall anything about herself or her family. On the other hand, her mannerisms were second nature to her. It was a rather mysterious feeling as if she were living another person’s life.

Am I truly the daughter of this family?

The feeling of incongruity was hard to dispel. It made her flinch at the scarcity of her familial ties. The monastery where they were all huddled together was much more intimate.

After half a month since her return to the capital, it was time to finally attend the academy. At first, she wondered what would happen to her studies, but now she remembered a lot of them. It was thanks to the help of her eldest brother. Even so, she had to catch up on almost three months of classes.

Even though Satias suggested to his father that it was still too early for her to start school, it went unheeded.

On the first day of school, she was with Satias at the breakfast table. This was the first time she had experienced a meal together with him since coming to the house.

“Where is Brother Julian?”

He was absent at the dining table.

“He has already left,” replied the older brother, sipping his teacup gracefully. His words were as direct and concise as ever.

“He’s quick, isn’t he?”

“He’s in the equestrian club and has early morning practice. I suppose you haven’t heard anything about that, Bianca.”

“That reminds me, Brother Julian doesn’t speak much about himself.”

It felt like he was being mildly evasive. She stopped talking much about her thoughts as Satias instructed her to abstain from uttering such things in front of the servants because, at this moment, a butler was in the dining room.

After finishing his meal quickly, the older brother left his seat.

“Oh, wait, Brother!”

Bianca was in a hurry.

“What is it? You’re eating too fast.”

Seeing this, the older brother chuckled.

“It’s too early to go to school. Why don’t you take it slowly?”

“No. Because you’re leaving already, aren’t you, Brother?”

“Yeah.”

“Then I’ll accompany you.”

Bianca munched the last of her salad as if she were shoveling it down.

“You’re not well-behaved with that.”

At her brother’s stern rebuke, Bianca shrugged it off.

“There is no need to be in such a hurry. You have your carriage. You can come later.”

“Huhー! Why are we taking separate carriages when we go to the same school?”

“Eh?”

Her usually composed older brother wore a rare stunned expression on his face. Bianca hastily got up to leave after finishing her meal.

“Now, Brother, shall we go?”

“Oh, I don’t mind.”

As if carried away by the momentum, Satias gave a nod. Little did he expect that he would be followed everywhere by his sister after that.

As she alighted from the carriage, Bianca was mesmerized by the imposing stone building, which was suffused with a historic ambiance.

“It makes me nervous. I don’t know all these people.”

In the carriage, she was chatting to Satias, perhaps out of nervousness. Even now, after arriving at the academy, she continued to walk behind her brother in bewilderment.

The institution had numerous substantial, opulent structures where students from the same generation came and went.

“Bianca, the junior classrooms are over there.”

Satias pointed to the building next to him when he was about to enter the building he was supposed to be in.

“Huh, Brother, won’t you guide me?”

“Why?”

The icy response from her brother stunned Bianca. She instantly felt uneasy. For Bianca, this was her first time at the academy.

When Satias refused Bianca’s request, her shoulders slumped, and a heavy sigh escaped from him.

“There is no helping it. Follow me.”

Bianca’s face lit up, and she joyfully followed her brother.

In the end, he dropped her off at the classroom. During this time, the siblings garnered a considerable amount of attention. The rumor of Bianca’s discovery at a monastery in a seaside town had spread throughout the school.

“Thank you, Brother!”

When Bianca thanked him in high spirits, for some reason, her brother flashed a slightly tired smile.

“Stay out of trouble,” he added.