“Enough.”

“I’ll bring it to you. Just wear it.”

“I said enough.”

Honestly, he never backed down. Yujin kept refusing, but I felt he would really catch a cold if I left him like that, so I quickly dashed up to the third floor.

Even though it was because of Yuri’s brother, I felt uneasy rummaging through Yuri’s room. Fortunately, there was a pile of laundry Yuri hadn’t sorted in the living room on the third floor. I grabbed a shirt from the pile and hurried back down to hand it to Yujin.

“Here.”

“……”

Even when I held out the shirt, Yujin just stared at it without taking it.

‘Is he already coming down with a fever from the cold? Acting dazed like this isn’t like him.’

I frowned in frustration when Yujin let out a hollow laugh and finally took the shirt.

“…Right, you said you live together.”

Geez, both Yuri and his brother certainly knew how to say things that led to misunderstandings.

Just a moment ago, I felt a bit sorry for him, but now irritation flared up again. Just as I crossed my arms and turned my head to say something,

Thud.

He started unbuttoning the shirt without warning. My face flushed instantly. I waved my hands and shouted, “Wa-wait a minute! I’ll go upstairs! Change while I’m gone!”

“Oh.”

Only then did Yujin seem to realize and stop. With my face burning, I hurriedly climbed up to the second floor, fanning myself with my hands.

‘Honestly, these high-ranking nobles!’

They must be so used to having someone attend to them that they don’t even care about undressing in front of me.

But I’m embarrassed!

I’ve never even seen my own brother undressed, and Yujin was practically a stranger.

As I stomped upstairs, a wave of embarrassment washed over me. I fiddled with my cold fingertips for a moment, then headed to the kitchen to clear my head. I grabbed the leftover milk from making cream pasta.

‘Two spoons of chocolate powder, a spoon of fresh cream, half a spoon of orange jam…’

As I slowly poured the milk into the pot and simmered it, a sweet aroma filled the second floor.

A little later, I poured the finished cocoa into a mug and carried it down on a tray.

“Have you changed?”

At my question, Yujin turned around. The shirt that had been roomy on Yuri looked quite snug on him. Yujin, rolling up the sleeves instead of fastening the wrist buttons, gestured toward the mug.

“What’s that?”

“Hot cocoa.”

With a slightly reluctant expression, Yujin obediently took a sip from the mug and then frowned slightly.

“…Didn’t you say you don’t like hot sweet drinks?”

I didn’t like them. I absolutely loathed them.

But sometimes, even I needed something sweet.

“Sometimes sweets can be comforting.”

“Comforting?”

Drinking something sweet definitely dulled the sharp edges of my nerves.

While he drank the cocoa, I put on gardening gloves and opened the sealed bag of soil in the corner. As I filled a pretty pot with the soil I had saved, I said, “I’ll replant the Pilea Peperomioides for you, but this time, don’t leave it where someone might throw it away. And cut ties with anyone who has the bad habit of tossing pots.”

“Ah…”

Yujin’s response was vague. As I carefully transferred the plant, making sure not to get any broken pot pieces in it, I pursed my lips.

‘Is he saying he’ll cut ties or not?’

Well, it wasn’t really my business anyway.

While I was transplanting the plant, Yujin quietly sipped his cocoa. For a moment, silence filled the first floor.

It was Yujin who first felt uncomfortable with the quiet. He asked from behind me, “Where’s Yuri?”

“I don’t really know. Yuri has his own life too.”

“Aren’t you curious?”

“If it was something I needed to know, he’d tell me, right? Otherwise, I don’t feel the need to ask. We’re not that close.”

“…”

Yujin was silent for a moment after my reply, then chuckled softly and muttered,

“Yuri would be disappointed. He draws attention wherever he goes, but you don’t seem to care.”

I was curious about the expression he wore while laughing, so I turned around, only to find Yujin’s face stiff with discomfort. I pouted and replied, “You’re the same, aren’t you? Mr. Yujin Esrenche, who has everything.”

“Has everything? Me?”

Yujin made a face.

“Since childhood, all the good things went to Yuri—the attention, love, and expectations of our parents.”

“Did they?”

It wasn’t something I expected to hear from someone from the richest family in the country, the Esrenche Count.

‘Being twins, they must have been compared a lot.’

I shrugged my shoulders.

“Maybe they were just worried because they didn’t know where Yuri would end up.”

Thinking of Yuri made me smile again. These days, he was tidy, but back when he lived under a pile of blankets and threw trash down the stairs, it had been truly shocking.

‘If I were his mom, I would have given him a good smack on the back.’

At the time, I had been too surprised to point it out, but now I would have yanked the blanket away and made him roll out of it.

‘On the other hand, no matter how discouraged Yujin felt, he wouldn’t do something like that.’

He seemed like the type to quietly deal with things, even if he was rotting inside. From a parenting perspective, he would definitely require less attention than Yuri.

“If I were a mom, I’d trust you more than Yuri. Not that I’m saying you have a good personality.”

Yujin’s eyes widened at my response. With his wet, disheveled hair and that expression, he looked just like Yuri.

‘Come to think of it, they’re twins, but they feel so different.’

Even siblings close in age get compared, so being the same age must have led to even more comparisons. Perhaps their completely different vibes and personalities stemmed from those comparisons.

‘Still, being born into the richest family in the country, should you really stress over such things?’

Everything in the world is yours. If it were me, I would live happily, spending money lavishly.

In that sense, I offered a bit of nonchalant encouragement.

“Why not just live happily without worrying too much?”

I stared intently at Yujin. Just when I began to feel awkward, wondering if I had said something unnecessary, Yujin asked in a heavy voice, “Are you not curious about me?”

“What?”

It was another unexpected question.

Yujin Esrenche was what one would call a golden spoon.

Born into immense wealth and honor, with noble blood, his life had been smooth—until he lost his parents at a young age and had to take over the family before even reaching adulthood, with no one to rely on.

People looked at Yujin with concern.

“He lost his parents too young.”

“Can a kid handle all that wealth?”

“It would have been better if Yuri became the head.”

“No one would underestimate him since he’s a mage, and even the vassals like and follow Yuri more.”

‘I don’t want to lose to Yuri.’

With that mindset, Yujin straightened himself up. He acted more strictly and tried to appear more mature.

‘I want to be recognized as the Count of Esrenche.’

That’s why, when Yuri first reached out to him,

“Yujin, help me.”

“…Handle it yourself.”

He turned away, barely acknowledging him.

Their relationship became irreparable, but he thought it couldn’t be helped.

After that, life simply rolled on. He focused on family matters and dealt with Sabina’s whims.

‘Is this how everyone lives?’

During those monotonous days, Titiana Este suddenly appeared.

When they first met, Yujin didn’t like her at all. She was annoying and boring, and her very presence irritated him.

‘Why provoke Sabina and create more work?’

The second time they met, he wondered why she kept ignoring him.

‘She smiles so warmly at Yuri.’

Reflecting on why things had turned out this way, he realized it was ultimately his fault. Remembering their first meeting, he felt a pang of regret toward her.

And when they met again, he had to admit it.

‘What is this woman?’

Titiana Este was unlike any woman he had ever known.

“I don’t feel the need to ask. We’re not that close.”

She was the first person to speak so casually about Yuri.

“If I were a mom, I’d trust you more than Yuri.”

She was the first to compare Yujin and Yuri so succinctly.

“Why not just live happily without worrying too much?”

She was the first to speak so lightly about the burdens he carried.

It was quite amusing. Such obvious words, yet hearing them made his problems seem to vanish, leaving him uncertain about what he had been worrying about.

In that moment, Yujin finally felt acknowledged as Yujin Esrenche, as an individual.