Chapter 10

"You will eventually become a Marquess."

This was a phrase that Sauri had heard many times from his mother since he was a child.

Sauri was born to parents who loved each other. However, his father had already married a wife through a political marriage, so he could not marry Sauri's mother officially. His mother, being the fourth daughter of a viscount's family, was of lower status than the marquess's daughter, so it was impossible to divorce her.

Sauri understood these circumstances well and did not bear any grudges. After all, his father had bought a house for Sauri and his mother and often came back to the house, so he had no particular complaints. Still, it was pitiful to see his mother looking lonely when his father was away.

However, this situation changed when Sauri was three years old. His father's original wife, who had always been in poor health, passed away. After the funeral, his father observed a month of mourning and then immediately welcomed Sauri and his mother into the main house.

The Merikanto Marquess family had only one daughter from the previous marriage. Therefore, everyone accepted that the heir would naturally be Sauri, a boy. His mother, who had become the official wife, became more energetic and worked hard as the lady of the house.

His half-sister, Bernadetta, the daughter of his father's first wife, was a quiet girl. Reflecting on it now, Sauri thought that, given that she had just lost her mother and her father had immediately brought in a stepmother and a half-brother, a five-year-old child would have been justified in throwing a tantrum. However, Sauri had no such memories. Bernadetta was a quiet sister.

But she was also a scary sister.

Sauri's memories from his childhood are vague, but he has no recollection of playing outside with Bernadetta. What he remembers is Bernadetta coming into a dark room carrying something heavy and large, reciting long incantations, and his mother's hysterical screams. When his mother pulled him out of the room, he turned back and saw Bernadetta's strawberry-like eyes faintly glowing in the dark room.

After that, Sauri has no memory of being alone with Bernadetta. According to his mother, Bernadetta used to read scary books to young Sauri.

His mother disliked Bernadetta, the daughter of the first wife, and the servants, trying to please the new lady of the house, did not side with Bernadetta. Bernadetta was quiet and did not act superior, so the servants gradually looked down on her. She also did not seem to be favored by her father, as she lacked charm.

However, there was one time, before Bernadetta entered the elementary department, when Sauri was about six years old. One night, when he got up to use the bathroom, he noticed light and voices coming from his father's study. Curious, he approached and saw his father talking quietly, while Bernadetta, with a bright and happy face, was asking various questions. Sauri was surprised to see Bernadetta talking so much and so happily. He had a vague feeling that he had seen something similar before, but he couldn't recall it.

Thinking he had seen something unusual, Sauri returned to his room and fell asleep. The next day, he told his mother about it. His mother's face changed, and she ran to his father. At dinner that evening, his father said:

"From now on, Bernadetta is not to enter the study."

Instead, Sauri was told to go to his father's study after dinner and bath, for the sake of his education as the heir. His mother, with a full smile, said, "Try your best." By this time, Sauri had a tutor and was praised by his teachers as "excellent." It was purely joyful and proud to receive guidance from his father. The thought that this time would be his alone filled him with a sense of superiority. At the same time, a faint memory of Bernadetta's happy smile that day made his chest ache a little.

At eight years old, Sauri entered the elementary department and consistently maintained top grades. In contrast, Bernadetta was slightly above average. While she excelled in etiquette, she was quiet and often looked down, making it seem like she had few friends. However, she appeared to be close to the daughter of the Percivalta Marquess, who was the fiancée of the first prince. Regarding this, his father had advised him at dinner to "form a different faction." Sauri, who by then had almost no opportunity to talk to Bernadetta, thought that as the future Marquess, he wanted her to behave more like a Marquess's daughter.

Sauri did not have a fiancée. This was due to his mother's wishes. His parents had met at the Royal Academy, but his father had already been engaged, so they had to give up. However, they reunited at a ball as adults and eventually married. Therefore, his mother believed that Sauri might meet his soulmate during his student days and, at his father's suggestion, wanted Sauri to have the freedom to fall in love. While Sauri thought his parents were wonderful, he had little interest in romance but nodded in agreement.

Just before entering the high school department, Aini arrived.

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"It's Aini! Nice to meet you!"

With fluffy pink-blonde hair and large, sparkling hazel eyes, Aini, who was always cheerful and small in stature, was unlike any other young lady Sauri had met.

Aini was the same age as Sauri and was originally a bastard child of a rural baron's family. She had awakened to the power of light magic and was to be enrolled in the Royal Academy to become a saint. She had been treated like a servant in the baron's household and had only received minimal education, so she would not be ready for the high school department for half a year. During this time, she would study under the Merikanto family, who had become her guardians.

Sauri immediately took a liking to Aini, who was the complete opposite of the gloomy Bernadetta. Aini was shorter than Sauri, which he found appealing, as she always looked up at him with a smile that bloomed like a flower.

"My hands are rough and ugly, aren't they? They're not like the beautiful hands of a young lady like you..."

Aini, who had been born to a servant and had done household chores, had several scars on her hands. However, to Sauri, they were endearing.

"That's not true. They're beautiful hands that have worked hard."

Sauri gave her a hand cream with a floral scent and pink nail polish, which she happily accepted.

However, Aini's education was supervised by a magic teacher, a study teacher, a etiquette teacher, and Bernadetta, leaving little time for Sauri to join. Even though Sauri could have taught her about the academy, his father had instructed Bernadetta to do so because she was a woman.

Still, Sauri could visit more freely than the other tutors, so he often went to see Aini during Bernadetta's lessons. Aini was always happy to see him, and Sauri began to attend her lessons more frequently.

"Uuuu, it's so difficult..."

On that day, Bernadetta was teaching Aini etiquette.

There was a separate etiquette teacher, but when it came to behavior within the academy, etiquette lessons were inevitable.

"You're doing it wrong, Aini. It's not about each individual situation; it's better to remember the overall flow and then think about what to do next."

"But even if you say that, there's so much to remember, it makes me panic..."

"Sister, you can't expect her to learn everything by cramming."

For the past few minutes, Bernadetta had been listing the noble families and the etiquette for each rank, which Sauri didn't think was helpful, especially since Aini had only received minimal education while working as a servant.

"You can't remember all the names of the noble families just by reading them on paper."

"But it's only the families of those enrolled in the academy, so you have to remember them."

"Can you remember all of them, Sister?"

"Yes."

Sauri knew that Bernadetta's grades were not particularly good, despite her confident response.

"Even so, Sister, you started gradually from elementary school. It's different to expect Aini to remember everything in this short period."

"But can't you remember them in a month?"

Bernadetta's puzzled expression and the way she treated it as someone else's problem irritated Sauri. Expecting someone to do something you can't do yourself is bullying.

Aini was a bastard child of a baron's family, and Bernadetta was the daughter of a prestigious marquess and earl, but that didn't mean she could look down on Aini. After all, Aini was to become a saint and would be given a rank equivalent to a high noble.

"I was in the top of my class in the last exam, and Sister's grades aren't particularly good. Don't push your own failures onto others."

"Really? I thought Sister had good grades."

Aini, who seemed surprised, didn't seem to be bothered by Bernadetta's bullying comments, probably because she had endured a lot in the past.

However, Bernadetta's comments didn't stop there.

When Aini suggested going outside to study practically, and Sauri, who thought Aini was a kinesthetic learner, agreed, Bernadetta frowned.

"But... if you don't even have the basics, what will you gain by going outside...?"

Sauri frowned at Bernadetta's condescending tone, despite her polite words.

"That's the kind of condescending attitude you often have. You're not that smart, so I really don't think it's appropriate."

This sister, who pretended to be quiet, occasionally made such condescending remarks. Despite Sauri's superior position as the heir to the Marquess and his better grades, she still spoke to him this way, which probably happened in the academy as well. She was particularly condescending towards Aini, a bastard child of a baron's family.

To protect Aini, Sauri often attended Bernadetta's lessons.

In contrast to the gloomy Bernadetta, Aini, who didn't seem to mind Bernadetta's condescending remarks, smiled cutely and demonstrated the etiquette Bernadetta had taught her.

"It's okay, Sister! Like this, right?"

Aini, always pure, innocent, and positive, was met with a cold, expressionless gaze from Bernadetta, who then said:

"Why can't you even do this?"

Sauri, who had taken Aini out to the city after she was shocked, felt a deep contempt for his sister. To criticize Aini's efforts and only bully her was despicable.

(I have to protect Aini...)

Sauri strongly vowed to protect Aini as the heir of the Merikanto family and as a man.

What was intended to be a one-part story turned into a two-part story.

Bernadetta, who was a bit gloomy, and her younger brother, who was aware of being looked down upon.