The Count’s family has children, each with their own distinct fame. Officially known as being born in consecutive years, these children with their openly known secret origins possess unique charms that are quite distinctive and special, earning the affection of many.

The first child was Alesia. She stands as the only daughter among the five family members, with a lively and cheerful temperament and a sharp, biting way of speaking. Her almond-shaped eyes, elongated horizontally, sparkle with intelligence and curiosity about the world, while her well-formed lips chatter incessantly.

True to her vibrant personality, her black swordsmanship flows light like a dance, yet delivers devastatingly powerful and lightning-fast strikes. People call her a once-in-a-lifetime genius knight. Though her two younger brothers also receive praise as geniuses that might appear once in a century, she, as the eldest, commands a different level of reputation.

With a height far exceeding the average woman and a muscular physique, her talent perfectly mirrors her father’s excellent qualities as a knight, combining to produce an extraordinary effect, and her name grows more prestigious with each passing year.

And the second child, Cecil. He can be simply described as someone pure like a lily of the valley. Not talkative but calm, he blends well with anyone, but as time passes, he reveals a strong presence and fragrance similar to the small white delicate flower.

Compared to his siblings, he might appear plain at first glance, but describing it as a kind of ephemeral beauty rather than plainness seems more appropriate. It resembles the beauty of dawn on a spring day, the rippling surface of water at daybreak, or the wavering of vapor that disappears when flames rise. In that sense, though not flashy, he often catches the eye first.

Cecil also practices a swordsmanship style that matches his temperament, earning him the embarrassing nickname “Knight of the Lily of the Valley.” Whenever he hears this nickname, he blushes bright red and tries to hide behind his sister or brother.

Yet this behavior only ignites passion in women’s hearts, creating fervent followers. Not only that, with his characteristically gentle and attentive nature, he shows kindness to everyone, which gives him a tendency to be somewhat misunderstood, earning him the dubious distinction of being “everyone’s lover.”

And then there was Cyrus. If the eldest, Alesia, resembles their father Leira with a sun-like brilliance, then he has the full moon’s splendor, having inherited the other father’s features exactly.

The unique decadence of his face always makes him somewhat bothersome yet simultaneously an object of envy. His bright blonde hair shines brilliantly like the sun, and his blue eyes resemble glaciers more than the blue sky. His appearance seems to embody all bright and cold colors gathered and molded together.

This Cyrus possesses a somewhat unique personality, and his extremely poor social skills define precisely that.

He commonly speaks only with his family members, and when he needs to be alone, he always buries himself in the training grounds or library to pass time. He differs completely from his fathers who, whether by choice or not, always find themselves surrounded by people.

When people’s attention turns to him, he tries to hide his body that can’t be concealed behind his sister or brother, but even this unsociable behavior, combined with his picture-perfect appearance, creates a unique charm. The object he loves most is not the book or sword he always holds, but a person—none other than his older brother, Cecil.

‘That’s exactly the problem.’

Cyrus got up from bed with a cynical smile. Looking beside him, Cecil had already woken up early, with the bedding neatly folded.

“You could have woken me up.”

Even though no one remained in the room, Cyrus muttered alone, resenting the one who had left. It had been since that day. Since that day, when he was crying in the forest, Cecil began to distance himself from Cyrus, and even while sharing the same room after entering the academy, he didn’t engage in casual conversation.

After that day, Cecil became less talkative, and when Cyrus came near, he didn’t avoid him but didn’t act as actively as he did when they were younger.

Checking the clock, there was still plenty of time before class. Then when did he wake up? Moreover, it seemed astonishing how quietly he must have moved to not wake Cyrus, who was a light sleeper.

After washing up hastily, Cyrus followed Cecil’s scent outside and saw students gathered at the training ground.

“Cecil! Left! Attack the left!”

“Alesia! Don’t go easy on your brother!”

Excited voices could be heard. Cyrus sighed as he looked at the gathered crowd. He didn’t want to join them, but it seemed Cecil was sparring with Alesia from early morning.

As he approached reluctantly, those who recognized Cyrus glanced at him and made way.

“How’s it going?”

“Uh… Cecil is losing.”

When Cyrus, who was usually difficult to talk to, spoke first, an academy classmate answered with surprised eyes and hesitation.

‘If he’s losing, he should just lose comfortably.’

His brother didn’t seem to think about how frustrating it was for those watching. It seemed rather amazing that Cecil could block Alesia’s sword, which moved incredibly fast. Every time the silver swords clashed, a clear sound rang out. Having been cut by that sword once, Cyrus knew how formidable Alesia’s destructive power was. So watching made his heart pound anxiously.

“Your sister is really amazing.”

“…”

The classmate who had bravely tried to start a conversation awkwardly rubbed his face after receiving no response. Cyrus, regardless, watched intently with his arms crossed.

Alesia charged forward, kicking off the dirt ground. She moved with incredible speed. Cecil held his sword in a straight line, taking an offensive stance. Then Alesia raised her sword above her head.

Crack!

With a sound like rocks colliding, the sword flew through the air in an arc. Cyrus caught the sword that was flying in his direction in one swift motion, and the final round ended instantly.

It was Cecil who had fallen to the ground, and Alesia who stood proudly with her sword pointed at his chin.

“Wow, you really can’t win even once.”

“Keep talking.”

As Alesia laughed and extended her hand to her brother, cheers erupted. There was a mix of joy and sorrow among the students who had placed bets.

“Cecil! You should win at least once! I bet on you!”

“Sorry.”

Cecil laughed awkwardly and looked around for his sword with a chuckle. Then Alesia, with her keen sense of smell, detected the direction the sword had flown first and patted Cecil’s shoulder.

“Cyrus caught it.”

“Here.”

“Oh, you caught it?”

“Yes.”

Cecil smiled apologetically as he took the sword Cyrus handed him and sheathed it. From behind, Alesia approached and wrapped her arms around Cyrus’s waist. Though Cyrus frowned slightly, he didn’t remove her arms.

“Cyrus, want to have a match?”

“No thanks.”

“You never agree to even one match.”

“What’s the point when I know I’ll lose to you anyway?”

“You’re no fun!”

As Alesia grumbled and started walking back to the dormitory, the two followed. More precisely, Alesia and Cecil walked ahead, engaged in conversation, while Cyrus followed a step behind.

Admiring glances and greetings followed the famous trio like a song as they passed by. Hello! Yes, hello. Hello! Yes, hello to you too. When Cyrus didn’t respond to greetings directed at him, Alesia answered on his behalf and firmly stepped on his foot.

“…That hurts.”

“You should answer too.”

“Don’t want to. You do it.”

“I can’t live because of you.”

Despite her grumbling, Alesia handled all those who threw curious glances at her brother.

“What classes do we have today?”

“History, Artin language, and the last one is swordsmanship.”

“Only one fun class.”

“When have you ever found classes interesting, sister…”

When Cecil muttered softly, Alesia glared at him with flashing eyes. Cyrus casually covered Alesia’s eyes with one hand. It meant not to glare. Cecil felt strange for a moment at that kind gesture, but soon smiled calmly.

“Let’s hurry. We don’t have time if we want to wash up again before class.”

Soon, in front of the dormitory, the three split into one and two. Watching Alesia’s back as she met two female students at the dormitory entrance and went in cheerfully with her arms around their shoulders, Cecil shook his head.

“I don’t know where she gets all that energy.”

Cecil muttered to himself as he entered the dormitory room. Only then did Cyrus open his lips to ask what he had wanted to ask all along.

“Did you plan to spar with sister?”

“Yes. You saw it.”

His smiling face shone freshly in the morning sun.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t not tell you. I just remembered this morning.”

“You could have woken me up.”

“You were sleeping so soundly.”

Cecil answered nonchalantly and burst into laughter with a deflating sound.

“What, were you upset?”

“It’s not that.”

“Looks like our youngest felt left out. Sorry, I won’t forget next time.”

A softly laughing voice brushed past Cyrus. Cecil gathered clothes to change into and a towel and walked toward the bathroom.