“Am I annoying?”

“Oh my. I didn’t say it was you, Marquis.”

Arinne tilted her head innocently, playing dumb. The meaning was clear: now that you know, stop being annoying.

“Hah?”

The Marquis twisted up only one corner of his mouth in disbelief. Judging by his expression, he definitely knew he was the target.

“…Then is it Ray?”

Ray, annoying? Ray, don’t like? Ray’s being annoying, so you hate him? Big sister, you hate Ray…?

The child’s eyes, which had become wrinkled circles with a tearful expression in an instant, poured out countless questions.

‘Ugh.’

Even Arinne had to raise the white flag at Ray’s fierce attack.

“You’re cute, so you’re fine.”

Arinne said firmly.

“Kyaaaa!”

Ray screamed and clung to her waist.

Even though he was only a five-year-old child, he already had good strength, and Arinne’s body swayed.

“My lady. Careful.”

The Marquis supported Arinne’s back with his forearm. There was an unexpected delicacy in how he extended his arm instead of his hand in that instant.

“Ray will… be careful…”

Reading the situation, Ray detached himself from her. Arinne roughly stroked Ray’s head to show it was okay.

“I’ll go ahead. It’s practice time now.”

“Jade.”

Arinne called out to Jade, who was trying to quietly slip away alone.

“I heard Sir Calon isn’t here today. If he’s not around, who supervises your practice?”

“That’s someone else’s… why are you asking that?”

Jade’s voice turned sharp. Jade lifted his chin stiffly and glared at her with quite fierce eyes.

“Good look in your eyes.”

Without avoiding his guarded gaze, Arinne smiled leisurely.

“The Marquis will watch today.”

Arinne pushed the Marquis’s back. It was an opportunity to escape from the Marquis, who seemed likely to act burdensome all day with his talk of observing.

“What?!”

“Whaat??!”

She didn’t care about the father and son who’d become bug-eyed.

“Jade’s entering a tournament, right? He practices very hard. Watch him directly sometimes. It’ll help.”

“Ah. The tournament…”

The Marquis’s mouth fell open stupidly. Like he was hearing it for the first time. Or like he’d forgotten.

Arinne narrowed her brow and grabbed the Marquis’s arm, pulling him back toward her.

“You didn’t know?”

When she whispered, conscious of the kids, he had a shameless face without any awareness.

“Why wouldn’t I know about the swordsmanship tournament?”

“Ah.”

Swallowing the deep irritation rising from deep in her chest, Arinne lowered her voice even more so only he could hear.

“That’s not it. I’m asking if you didn’t know Jade was planning to participate.”

“…I heard about it.”

Arinne looked at him pathetically. So he only knew about it but didn’t remember the details?

“Haah…”

The Marquis flinched at her sigh that burst out after holding back.

Arinne glanced at Jade.

With a face where confusion and expectation crossed, Jade was waiting for the Marquis.

Arinne barely suppressed the desire to sharply reproach him.

“Go.”

‘Because I want to hit you.’

Arinne thought that if the Marquis dragged his feet any more here, she might lose her temper and slap that handsome face.

Fathers who couldn’t act like fathers were one of her anger triggers.

“Go on.”

Even if it was someone else’s father.

“…A-alright.”

The Marquis, intimidated by her cold gaze, hesitated.

“Let’s go, Jade. I’ll watch you today.”

“Really…?”

Color returned to Jade’s face. He smiled gently at Jade, looking like he’d never hesitated.

“Why don’t you hold hands and go together?”

Arinne spoke languidly with half-dead eyes toward the two’s backs.

“Eek!”

“Hik!”

Like cats with their tail fur standing on end, the two jumped in surprise in unison and quickly stepped apart.

“Jade, sh-shall we hold hands?”

“N-no?!!”

“I see…”

In the midst of it all, the Marquis’s shoulders drooped after gathering courage only to be rejected.

Watching his dejected back, Arinne shook her head with a sour face.

“Big sister! Let’s hold hands!”

Ray tugged at Arinne’s dress. When she offered one hand instead of answering, Ray grinned broadly.

The child’s small, warm hand warmed her cool hand.

* * *

“Hurry…!”

Ray moved stealthily while watching his surroundings.

Main building second floor, the very last room on the left side of the corridor.

Ray stopped in front of it, carefully opened the door, and led Arinne into the room.

“This is Ray’s secret place!”

Only after she came inside too and he firmly closed the door did Ray raise his voice.

“Coming here is a secret!”

Ray drew the curtains open just a tiny bit so people wouldn’t notice from outside that someone was there. Ray’s actions looked very practiced, like sneaking into the empty room wasn’t his first or second time.

“Whose room was this originally?”

“Um, probably Ray’s mom!”

Ray answered cheerfully and pulled off the cloth covering the sofa. He jumped and sat on it with his small bottom. Ray coughed a few times at the fluttering dust.

“Cough, big sister! Sit here.”

After the dust settled a bit, Ray gestured to her.

“Why…”

Arinne stood there blankly, seemingly entranced. Ray thought she wasn’t moving because she was scared in the dark room, so he quickly ran to the window and opened the curtains a bit more.

The beam of light dividing the room became clearer.

‘Why do I feel Josephine here?’

Why would the room the Marquis’s wife used smell like Josephine’s perfume?

‘Is it because of those letters?’

Arinne stared at the wall surface where light rippled like waves along the curtains.

A wall where letters of similar shape were densely woven to form a bizarre shape…

The letters, which looked like they’d been scribbled frantically with something sharp, seemed like a picture at first glance. If it had been someone other than Arinne, they might have thought it was a picture.

“This… is? …ah, …ni, da?”

Arinne read the unfamiliar letters sporadically. There were only a few she could read. She couldn’t figure out the words formed when letters stuck together either.

‘It’s not like there’s absolutely no way to find out, but…’

Arinne couldn’t take her eyes off the horrifying wall.

“Big sister?”

Ray approached her as she stood blankly.

“If you stay still, I get a little scared.”

Ray gently held Arinne’s hand. His face showed he’d gotten scared on his own at her unresponsive appearance.

Only then remembering Ray was beside her, Arinne immediately picked up the child.

“I’m done looking. Let’s go now.”

“Why? Not fun?”

“Yeah.”

“…Tch.”

Ray, who pouted once, wrapped his chubby arms around her neck.

Like that, Arinne hurried out of the Marquis’s wife’s room while holding Ray.

That creepy and unpleasant room wasn’t a place for a child to go in and out of for fun.

“Ray, from now on… never mind.”

Arinne was about to tell Ray not to enter that room anymore but closed her mouth again, wondering if she had the right to say that.

After leaving the Marquis’s wife’s room, Arinne sent Ray, who wanted to go to Jade, off with the butler, and returned to her room alone with the excuse that she wasn’t feeling well.

“Did something happen?”

“No. Not really.”

While having Jo do her hair, she’d been staring blankly ahead when she suddenly turned her head sharply.

“Ah! You scared me!!”

Jo let out a shriek.

“Write your name and my name here. You know, those letters Josephine taught you that she learned when she was young.”

“Now? I haven’t written those in a long time… J-just a moment.”

Jo put down the comb on one side of the vanity and received the paper and pen Arinne handed her.

“Maybe like this? The circle, this doesn’t seem right… Ah! I remember!”

Jo muttered to herself and scratched the pen. Soon unfamiliar yet familiar letters slid across the paper.

“Phew. Your name is long, Miss, so it’s hard.”

Jo wiped away pretend sweat by brushing her fluffy forehead with the back of her hand.

「Arinne Sereta Marcedea」

「Jo Mullen」

Arinne snatched the paper into her hands and carefully scanned the letters Jo had written with her eyes.

“I think it’s right.”

“What is?”

The letters that densely filled the wall surface of the Marquis’s wife’s room were indeed the letters Josephine had taught them, saying she learned them when she was young.

‘What was it, that script?’

Arinne pondered whether to mention this or not. Jo would definitely be able to read it. Maybe even understand the meaning.

“I just suddenly remembered and asked.”

Arinne soon shook her head.

Just because she was curious didn’t mean she could dig through someone else’s traces as she pleased. Even if she found something out, it didn’t seem like it would help her life. Josephine said ignorance is bliss.

“I saw something I shouldn’t have.”

Arinne shivered slightly. The bizarre wall surface came to mind and goosebumps rose on the back of her neck again.

“What did you see to make you like this?”

“Ignorance is bliss.”

“But knowledge is power.”

True. Josephine also said knowledge is power. Ah. This isn’t it.

“Jo. Please stay still.”

Arinne looked back at Jo irritably. When she was seriously pondering, Jo always added comments like this.

“…Taking it out on the wrong person.”

“Mouth.”

Jo quickly pursed her lips.

That’s when it happened. Slam—suddenly the door opened without even a knock.