Chapter 2 – Something That Comes To Everyone (Part 4)

Diana, watching Olivia add sugar with a fork in her mouth, shook her head as if her tongue was going numb.

“Make sure to brush your teeth before bed. Unless you want to be scolded by Mother.”

Olivia, seemingly delighted just by adding a lot of sugar, nodded while swirling her teaspoon.

“Yes, yes.”

Hugging a thick cushion, Victoria, who was organizing papers, clapped her hands a couple of times.

“Alright, let’s start today’s agenda.”

The reason they started this gathering was very simple.

「You do it.」

「I’ve been working all day too.」

「Are you the only one working in this house?」

As they met less frequently at home, they ended up quarreling more often.

Though it began with ambiguous feelings, now they all looked forward to this time. Victoria scratched her slightly damp hair and spoke.

“The first agenda item is from the conservatory.”

Glancing at Olivia, Victoria silently began to read the letter.

“…It’s about wanting to receive a graduation gift early.”

“…….”

There were only two rules to follow during this time.

“I reject it.”

“No…! Why?”

One was to maintain the pretense of anonymity, even if it was superficial—.

“Olivia Wiig, you are warned.”

The other was to use honorifics.

At Victoria’s warning, Olivia folded her arms with a sulky face.

At that moment, Lorraine, who had been silently observing, tapped the floor twice and spoke.

“I think it’s fine.”

Olivia’s face quickly brightened as she found herself no longer outnumbered.

“Yay!”

She threw the cushion she was holding far away and quickly linked her arm with Lorraine’s.

Then she looked at the last remaining person.

As all eyes turned to her, Victoria shrugged with a meaningful expression. Her bright blue eyes were full of mischief.

“Don’t joke around.”

“Oh, another warning.”

At Victoria’s remark, Olivia sat back down next to Lorraine with a sulky face.

“So annoying.”

At Olivia’s grumbling, Lorraine looked at Victoria with an expression that said she couldn’t be helped.

“Stop joking around and get on with it. She’ll sulk.”

“It’s fun.”

She smiled mischievously.

If Diana was like a mother to Olivia and Lorraine like a father, Victoria was a rival.

She always picked fights first and apologized first. Like a proper ‘older sister.’

“I think both the supporting and opposing sides have valid points.”

“Then…!”

Olivia’s face brightened again. But Victoria never let things go easily.

“That’s true, but….”

Diana, who yawned at the lengthy preamble, raised her hand.

“You’re talking too much.”

“Just be patient; I’m getting to the point.”

Clearing her throat, she tapped the floor twice and spoke.

“I agree. It’s a gift that needs to be given anyway.”

As soon as Victoria finished speaking, Olivia raised both arms triumphantly and looked at Diana with a smug face.

“Justice always prevails.”

Diana snorted as if she found it ridiculous.

Just as Olivia was about to retort, Victoria clapped lightly.

“Alright, let’s move on to the next item.”

“…….”

As Olivia grumbled and sat down, Lorraine smiled and patted her hand twice.

Whew. With Olivia’s sigh, Victoria, who was flipping through letters, spoke.

“The next item is from the judiciary.”

Like the first time, she read through the contents and summarized the conclusion.

“…It’s about the wedding anniversary of the Count and Countess Wiig. Oh, come to think of it….”

Counting the dates, Victoria nodded. After confirming the details again, she signaled Diana.

“I think we should discuss this separately.”

Actually, Diana detested this method of proceeding, saying they didn’t even do it this way in court these days.

“It’s from the judiciary.”

Nevertheless, she played along well.

“Although there are about three weeks left… I submitted this proposal to proceed after hearing everyone’s opinions.”

Diana, pushing up her glasses, handed out a catalog she had prepared to her sisters.

“What I have in mind is a trip to the south.”

[Head South with a Beautiful Ship.]

Lorraine, silently looking down at the headline, spoke.

“It’s a cruise trip.”

“Cruise?”

Olivia, stuffing a biscuit into her mouth and hastily dusting off her hands, mumbled. Then she reached out to Diana, signaling for the catalog.

At that moment, Victoria cautiously raised her hand.

“…Isn’t it dangerous?”

Victoria was the most safety-conscious among the four sisters.

“They’ve already operated safely several times. Don’t worry.”

Diana responded as if she had anticipated her question.

“Well then… I agree.”

“Me too. I suppose you didn’t consider any opposition when you planned this.”

Lorraine, understandingly, returned the catalog she had been flipping through.

Then Olivia raised her hand.

Her face was full of dissatisfaction.

“Isn’t this too different from earlier?”

Diana tilted her head and asked.

“So you’re saying you don’t want to do it?”

At the eldest sister’s question, Olivia, who had been so confident, quickly shrank and muttered.

“…That’s not it, but….”

“Then it’s settled.”

Victoria’s indifferent response made Olivia flare up again, raising her voice.

“No…! But isn’t this too different from when it was my turn?”

However, her provocation was easily dismissed.

“Are you the same as our parents?”

At the age of 18, Olivia Wiig lost to her sisters once again today.

***

“Lorraine! Over here!”

At the sound of her name, Lorraine turned her head to see Marianna and Louise sitting not far away. Lorraine instinctively checked the watch on her wrist.

There were about five minutes left until the promised time.

As she sat down, Lorraine said.

“You’re early.”

Louise, tucking her auburn bob behind her ear, replied cheekily.

“This is the difference between those with leisure time and those without.”

“Good for you.”

At that moment, Marianna, who had been watching them with a crooked face, spoke.

“She’s only been here for less than a minute.”

“Hey!”

Louise shouted softly at the betrayal of her trusted friend.

“I had a feeling you hadn’t been here long since you still have your hat on.”

When Lorraine pointed out with a hint of laughter, Louise finally took off the hat she had completely forgotten about.

“You should have told me if it seemed that way.”

As she grumbled, Lorraine shrugged nonchalantly.

“You were sitting so confidently that I thought you were wearing it on purpose.”

As she raised her hand, a server quickly approached and handed them the menu.

After placing their orders, Lorraine looked around at her friends and asked Marianna with a nod.

“Are you working today too?”

‘Surely not on this sweet weekend…?’

She frowned slightly at the mere thought of it.

Then Marianna, whose expression had turned sour, spoke in a gloomy voice.

“Don’t even mention work.”

She shook her head as if just thinking about it annoyed her.

Seeing Marianna’s reaction, Louise cautiously leaned sideways.

“Something must have happened, right…?”

Lorraine, casually poking at her salad, answered.

“It’s probably about ‘him’ again.”

As expected.

Marianna, as if waiting, began to speak harshly about her fiancé.

“That lunatic keeps putting me on night shifts. Is he out of his mind?”

She sliced her steak with irritation as if it were her fiancé’s head.

“That lunatic is your fiancé.”

Louise, twirling her pasta with her fork, replied indifferently.

“The funny thing is, he’s only on night shifts too. Is he picking a fight?”

“Right.”

Lorraine responded absentmindedly, stirring her potato potage with a spoon.

Marianna’s tone remained serious, seemingly unaffected by her friends’ reactions.

“Why is he doing this? Has he lost his mind?”

She wiped the steak’s blood splatter off her hand with a nonchalant face.

Louise, looking at the blood-covered steak with a disgusted expression, carefully picked one piece and ate it, then spoke.

“Did something happen? He’s not the type to do that on purpose.”

At Louise’s pointed question, Marianna rolled her eyes for a moment before muttering.

“…It happened.”

“What?”

“…It happened.”

“Can you speak up? You always lower your voice when things don’t go your way.”

Marianna, flaring up, shouted.

“I rejected his proposal!”

She put down her cutlery and gulped down her sparkling water.

Louise and Lorraine’s eyes met in the air.

‘This is bad.’

‘Indeed.’

This is why couples are a bad idea.

It was a rare moment of agreement between the two.