Throughout the entire night, Lyr felt like he hadn’t slept for long.
In fact, for most of the time, his consciousness had remained wide awake.
Perhaps he was used to being unfettered in the past, and now, suddenly being arranged by someone else without his consent, a sense of irritability that was hard to suppress welled up within him.
When he originally wanted to leave the Knights, his family hadn’t offered any opposition, and the same was true when he wanted to head to the Frontier.
For the first half of his life, his family had given Lyr too much freedom.
Of course, Lyr believed he wasn’t the type to go astray, which was why his family felt so at ease with him.
If there was any downside, it was a slight lack of planning for the future; he basically just followed his heart in the moment.
‘But what exactly is going on now?’
By morning, Lyr still hadn’t figured it out.
Having barely slept all night, his eyes were sore and heavy, and his spirit was equally exhausted, though he didn’t feel particularly sleepy.
Lyr kept rubbing his temples, trying his best to clear his head.
Arriving in the living room, Lyr found Tif already there eating breakfast.
Today was the first day of the Academy semester.
Since Tif wasn’t staying at the Academy, she inevitably had to set out a bit earlier.
Compared to Tif’s energetic appearance, Lyr looked completely haggard, his shoulders slumped in a state of lethargy.
“Why are you up so early?” Tif asked, unhurriedly tearing off a small corner of bread and placing it in her mouth.
She only glanced at Lyr out of the corner of her eye before quickly returning her attention to the book laid out on the table.
Even though she was his younger sister, Lyr felt as if she had an air of being in total control.
It was as if she could perceive any change within a certain range.
“I still can’t really sleep,” Lyr muttered, his mouth twisting.
He had no appetite; the irritability churning inside him suppressed all his usual senses.
Tif paused for a moment, recalling Lyr’s appearance from the previous night, her brow furrowing.
Lyr definitely had something on his mind, but since he wouldn’t tell her, there wasn’t much she could do about it.
“Then you should just stay home and rest.
Anyway, you said you’d be staying at home for a while; it’s probably because you haven’t adjusted yet.”
Tif found an excuse for Lyr, and in doing so, found one for herself as well.
She lightly clapped her hands to brush off the breadcrumbs, then stood up and straightened her clothes.
“I’m heading to the Academy.
I won’t be staying in the dorms tonight, so I’ll be back in the evening.”
“Oh, oh, okay.”
Conversations between the siblings were always this simple and lacked much emotion.
However, Lyr could feel that Tif’s attitude toward him was much better than yesterday, though he wasn’t sure if it was just an illusion.
That Academy Uniform was said to have been specially designed by the Academy after Lyr graduated; it looked quite form-fitting on Tif.
Even Lyr felt a bit dazed.
The little girl who used to wait for him to return from the Academy was now a student there herself.
It felt as if their situations had swapped.
Seeing Tif about to head out, Lyr suddenly thought of something.
“Tif.”
“Hmm?” Tif turned slightly, half of her face toward Lyr.
Lyr scratched his head, his face full of embarrassment.
“I have a question I’d like to ask you.”
“Ask me? Go ahead,” Tif replied, somewhat puzzled—or rather, curious.
Currently, she was being somewhat cold to her older brother, but in her memory, he was someone who knew a bit about everything.
This was the first time he had ever asked her for advice like this.
“I want to know, what do they usually do in the first class at the Academy nowadays?”
Tif paused, her gaze lowering.
To anyone else, Lyr’s question would have seemed strange or nonsensical, but Tif actually began to think about it seriously.
“The first class… in the few years I’ve been there, we basically don’t have a real lesson during the first period.
If it’s a Teacher I already know, they just tell me about the important content we’ll be learning this semester.
If it’s a new Teacher, it’s all self-introductions; the Teacher needs to get to know us, and we need to get to know the Teacher.”
“I see.”
Lyr gained some clarity; it seemed that was indeed the case.
This gave him some peace of mind.
At least he knew what to expect, and most of the irritability in his heart vanished.
“But why are you suddenly asking about this?”
Tif’s confusion hadn’t diminished, and Lyr’s look of relief puzzled her even more.
Remembering Lyr’s visit to the Academy yesterday and his words last night, a suspicion flashed through her mind.
Tif’s eyes widened suddenly, then blinked several times.
“You wouldn’t actually…”
She hesitated, then finally shook her head.
“Forget it, it has nothing to do with me.”
After muttering to herself, Tif walked out without looking back.
Lyr didn’t pay any mind to Tif’s mumbling just now.
The information she provided allowed him to rehearse in his mind.
What to say, and what not to say.
Fear often stems from the unknown.
Now that a bit of that unknown had been pierced, Lyr wasn’t quite as nervous.
***
Sitting in the carriage bound for the Academy, Tif recalled Lyr’s expression just now and subconsciously pursed her lips.
She acted so indifferent on the surface, but how could she truly not care?
Combined with how Lyr looked last night, she was genuinely a little worried.
Last night was the only night she hadn’t slept soundly.
“Miss, is something troubling you?” the Maid sitting opposite her asked out of concern.
For a long time now, she had been the one accompanying Tif to the Academy.
Usually, Tif would be reading a book, but instead, she was staring out the carriage window as if something was on her mind.
Tif sighed.
She also felt that her state was different from usual.
“Am I being too… deliberately distant with Lyr?”
She started to call him her brother but chose to use his name instead halfway through.
The Maid chuckled softly.
Tif still didn’t quite know how to hide her feelings.
She clearly didn’t want to be treated like a child, especially by Lyr, her older brother.
But at her core, she was still just a child with a significant part of a child’s temperament.
Her current behavior was just like a child sulking with their family, which was why she spoke of deliberate coldness and distance.
“I think it’s fine.
The Young Master doesn’t seem to take it to heart too much,” the Maid replied.
“On the contrary, he’s become somewhat restrained, not knowing how to interact with you.
I imagine the same is true for you, Miss.”
Recalling how Lyr had been lectured by Tif upon his return, the Maid found it a bit amusing.
In the past, Tif used to cling to Lyr, but who would have thought that one day she would be the one scolding him like that?
The two siblings hadn’t lived together like this for too long; they just needed some time to adjust.
“Mhm.”
Tif nodded, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
If she were to treat her older brother the way she used to, Tif would likely be the one feeling embarrassed, and it would only make her feel even more like a child.
Tif couldn’t even bear to think about that possibility.