‘Silvie! What were you thinking!’

I shot her a look full of reproach. She gave a dismissive snort and turned her head away.

“Sister.”

I had been about to go after Silvie, but Benjamin calling my name stopped me in my tracks. He pulled the jacket more firmly around my shoulders and continued.

“You have never been able to lean on me, Sister. I know I’ve been an unreliable little brother.”

“That’s not true at all! Ben, you have always been a brother I’m proud of.”

“But just a moment ago, didn’t you flinch when you saw me?”

“That, that was……”

That brief moment when I had tensed up, caught up in memories of the original story, had not gone unnoticed by his sharp eyes.

‘It really wasn’t like that! I’m such a fool. Getting startled over and over again, still trapped in the original story.’

I reached out first and took his hand. The small hand that used to fit entirely inside mine when we were children was now much larger than my own.

“I was just a little surprised, that’s all. Why would I ever want to push you away?”

And holding his hand like that, a thought crept in quietly.

‘……Isn’t it the same with Karl Drian?’

It was only me, still caught up in the original story, who was fretting and doubting his sincerity.

‘Just because he loved Georgiana in the original doesn’t mean he’ll love her again this time. The only point of contact between Karl Drian and me was a Drian family party I attended when we were children. If he fell for me at first sight back then, seeing me from a distance eating marshmallows with Nanari…… wait. Would Viviana have even attended that party if I hadn’t transmigrated into her?’

She was the type who loved to show off. And her mother had just died, so she might have acted out even more aggressively, desperate for attention.

But I was no actual child, and by that point I already had plenty of responsibilities as the young lady of Goldworthy. I had wanted to rest.

Maybe the original story had already been twisted from that moment on.

Of course, I couldn’t quite understand how someone could fall head over heels at first sight from a distance, but it was possible.

‘He must be sincere.’

From everything I had observed, Karl Drian was not the kind of person who played games with someone’s feelings. Nor was he the kind to throw around empty words.

‘So I need to face this seriously too. I’ll set aside the worry about what happens if he goes berserk when I turn him down…… set it aside?’

Wait. That was not something I could afford to set aside. Sea of flames ending!

And just like that, my thoughts went around in circles and landed right back where they started. My vision swam. I pressed my palm to my forehead and steadied myself against the table with my other hand.

Benjamin reached out to catch me as I swayed, and called my name with a puzzled tone.

“Sister?”

“Sorry, Ben. My head is really pounding.”

“Then you should go to your room and rest.”

He must have had so many questions he wanted to ask, and yet my sweet little brother immediately turned his concern to me.

Knowing that made me feel guilty for putting him through unnecessary worry. I took both of his hands in mine, patted the back of his hand, and let my honest feelings spill out.

I couldn’t tell him everything, but at least a little.

“Whatever you may think, I didn’t hide where I was because I couldn’t rely on you, and I wasn’t tense just now because of that either. It’s the opposite, actually. You are a very precious little brother to me.”

“Thank you, Sister.”

My feelings must have reached him, because his expression brightened, if only a little. He withdrew his hand, straightened his back again, and spoke to me with composed dignity.

“Go inside and rest for today. I’ll have your meal brought to your room.”

My head was already throbbing, and the only reason I had come out at all was because I was worried about the shop. I glanced over and caught Silvie nodding, as if to say everything was fine.

‘If even Silvie is saying so, maybe it’s alright to go in and rest.’

I slowly turned to go. But an inexplicable sense of dread seemed to grab me by the back of the head and yank.

I stopped and turned around again.

“Ben?”

“Yes, Sister.”

He stood perfectly still, not a single movement out of place. And yet that very stillness unsettled something deep in my chest. I stood there looking at my brother for a moment, then carefully opened my mouth.

“……You’re not planning to do something reckless, are you?”

“Whatever do you mean?”

“You’re not following me in despite me saying I’m not feeling well, and you’re just lingering here. That’s suspicious. You would never normally do this.”

After our mother died, he grew anxious and on edge whenever I left his sight, as though I might drop dead at any moment. He had grown out of it over the years, but he was still sensitive when it came to my health.

And this was the boy who wasn’t following me to my room even though I’d said my head hurt?

‘Something’s off.’

I narrowed my eyes at him, but his expression didn’t change. He gave a light shrug and answered.

“I didn’t follow you because I wanted you to rest comfortably. If you’d like, I’ll stay by your side.”

‘Was I being too paranoid?’

Even looking at the composed Benjamin in front of me, an alarm was still blaring loudly inside my head. I tapped the floor with the toe of my slipper and asked.

“You’re not sitting here having made some decision like, while Sister’s in her room I’ll cut down every one of her suitors, are you?”

At my question, he gave a faint smile.

“……”

And yet he never said it wasn’t true. That was as good as a yes.

The moment I realized what he was planning to do while he tucked me away in my room, I grabbed him with both hands and stopped him.

“No!”

Did he even know who he was dealing with? This child was going to get himself killed!

I quickly explained the two proposals I had been agonizing over. And I pleaded with him.

“Do you understand? You absolutely cannot reach for your sword first. Do you hear me?”

“I cannot make that promise.”

“Ben!”

I had explained it clearly enough for anyone to understand, so why was he being so stubborn?

Out of sheer desperation I beat my fist against my chest as I tried to talk him out of it.

“The other parties are the Second Prince of the Northern Kingdom and the firstborn son of the Drian family! These are not people you can handle by force.”

“You were the one who taught me that you never know until you try, Sister.”

“It’s not that I’m afraid you’d lose! Winning would be just as much of a problem!”

If the Second Prince of the Northern Kingdom got so much as a scratch fighting Benjamin…… it was too horrible to even imagine. The same went for Karl Drian. He was the symbol of this country’s military might. If a man like that lost to Benjamin, it could escalate into a full-blown challenge between houses.

Benjamin pushed back, word by deliberate word.

“But Sister, you said your head hurt. Isn’t that because this isn’t a proposal you actually want?”

The words cut straight to the heart of it, and I froze, eyes wide. He continued, just as measured.

“I don’t want Sister to be swept along by circumstances into making an important life decision. If you are unable to refuse on your own, I will handle it myself.”

“Ben……”

His love and sincerity toward me came through so deeply that I was moved. But there was no time to linger in that feeling. I sensed a presence outside the shop.

The heavy, deliberate footsteps of someone carrying a sword.

The moment I sensed it, Benjamin reached for his scabbard.

“Speaking of which, let’s start with whoever is walking in right now.”

“No! I said no!”

I threw myself at him to stop him, and in that same moment the door swung open and a stranger walked in.

She was taller than most men, with striking, clean-cut features that made her a genuine beauty. Silver hair tied high swept behind her like a horse’s tail.

She swept her gaze around the shop and spoke.

“Is Lady Viviana Goldworthy present here?”

“Who are you?”

Who was looking for me? Tense, I instinctively ducked behind Benjamin’s back. But the next words had me stepping right back out.

“I am Nanari of the Drian family.”

Nanari Drian!

My long-time pen friend had come in person.

❀❀❀

Nanari Drian, my long-time pen friend.

Even when Georgiana Goldworthy kept showing up no matter how hard I tried to change things, even when Crown Prince Adolf said something insufferable and scraped my nerves raw, writing letters to her made me forget every last worry.

We had only met once when we were children, and her face had grown hazy in my memory, but if I were to count the people precious to me on my fingers, she would always be among them.

‘Nanari Drian came to find me!’

I had given her my café’s address after she kept asking, but she had only sent her brother while never coming herself, and I had been quietly hurt by that. So for her to show up today!