I was resting after playing to my heart’s content with the baby Dragon when Yon knocked on the door.
It was still a long way off from dinner time.
When I asked what brought him here, the young servant offered the following answer.
“You’re going to introduce the Familiar to your family, aren’t you? So, I thought it would be best if you went looking your best, and I came to help you get ready~!”
I didn’t have even a speck of desire to introduce Yor to the people of the Austri Family.
However, I hated the idea of introducing Yor while looking unkempt even more.
Therefore, I decided to willingly accept Yon’s help.
With a bit of acting added in.
“I didn’t think you’d care about something like this… Um… thank… you….”
As I avoided his gaze while fiddling with my hair and spoke in a small, crawling voice, the young servant’s expression filled to the brim with pride and joy.
“I only came to do what I ought to do! After all, I am Lord Karbaldr’s servant!”
“That’s true. Yon, you are my servant.”
“Heehee, then I’ll help you change your clothes first!”
Under Yon’s devoted care, I changed into clothes that were closer to formal wear than everyday attire.
Afterward, I sat in front of the mirror, entrusting my hair to his touch as I casually threw out a question.
“Come to think of it, does the fact that a family dinner is scheduled mean that my brother is also here?”
“Yes, that’s right. The second young lord arrived yesterday around evening.”
Yon told me not only what I asked but even the date and time Valtraus arrived at the Duke’s Territory.
Thanks to that, I was spared the trouble of asking additional questions.
“Didn’t my sister and brother both stay at the Town House in the Capital before coming here? So why did they come separately?”
“I wonder. Perhaps the lady had work left to handle in the Capital this morning, so only the elder young lord returned first?”
“Even if that were the reason, they could have waited and come together…. Could it be that the relationship between the two is very bad?”
Among the materials provided by the family, there was almost no information regarding the people of the Austri Family.
Name, age, and current position.
That was it.
‘Well, the one who organized the materials must have been the Duke’s closest vassal!’
What the Duke’s children were like in terms of personality, how they treated each other, and so on.
Leaving a document that evaluated them this way or that was likely a risk they couldn’t dare to take.
Since I didn’t have to hide the fact that Karbaldr had amnesia from them anyway, I wouldn’t need to act as if my memory were intact in front of those two.
In the Original Work, descriptions of Karbaldr’s older siblings hardly appeared as well.
This is a very natural thing.
Describing how his father, Hard, treated him was enough to explain the story of Karbaldr growing up without feeling affection.
Illuminating all the family members of a minor villain would just be a waste of space.
Thus, I knew nothing about the first and second children of this household.
That was why I had started asking questions to acquire at least a minimum amount of information before attending the family dinner.
Unfortunately, Yon only gave an ambiguous answer.
“I wonder? I don’t think it’s to the point where you’d say it’s bad…? Since you’ll be meeting them soon anyway, wouldn’t it be more accurate for you to see and judge for yourself?”
Though he was still young, it seemed he had been properly taught that he shouldn’t speak carelessly about those he served.
The signs of avoiding the answer were clear, and while Yon wasn’t wrong.
If I were just going to listen to something like that and let it go, I wouldn’t have brought up the question in the first place.
“But…, I need to know at least the minimum amount of information to be mentally prepared, don’t I?”
“Mentally prepared?”
“While riding the carriage together, I could see how indifferent my sister is to me. But if she gets along well with my brother, I feel like my mood would be a bit… how should I say? Ah, that doesn’t mean I want the relationship between the two to be bad. That would be uncomfortable in its own way…”
I unnecessarily looked down and murmured softly with a hint of bitterness.
Then, the effect was immediate.
“If that’s the case, you don’t have to worry! Since they are competing for the position of successor, their relationship isn’t exactly good. But it’s not to the level where they consider each other arch-enemies, so you won’t have to walk on eggshells between the two of them.”
As if he had never been reluctant to speak, the stories I was curious about began to flow out of Yon’s mouth.
Pretending to be relieved at those words, I muttered to myself, “That’s a relief,” and then brought up the following additional question.
“What was the attitude of those two toward me, and what was my attitude toward them?”
“First, in the case of the lady, you traveled in the carriage with her, so you must have felt it already. She’s very…, cold? No, I think it’s more accurate to describe it as dry. However, you followed her quite well.”
“Even though my sister was indifferent to me?”
“Ah…, yes…………….”
“Looking back, my sister resembles our father quite a lot. Could it be because of that…?”
“Rather than that, I think you might have thought of her as a replacement for the late Duchess.”
“Now that I hear it, it seems you’re right.”
I nodded and agreed with Yon’s opinion.
Since Karbaldr’s mother died while giving birth to him, he had zero memories of his mother.
Whether Ragfrid’s appearance and personality were a carbon copy of their father’s or not.
Just the fact that she was a female sibling ten years older than him might have been reason enough for him to expect the role of a mother from her.
Especially since his father, Hard, failed to fulfill his own role.
“What about the relationship between my brother and me?”
“Well, the elder young lord is a bit…”
“A bit…?”
“………Since it seems best for you to be mentally prepared, I’ll just be honest with you.”
Yon showed a look of hesitation, but when his eyes met mine reflected in the mirror, he made up his mind to answer the question.
“He openly disliked you. So, you used to avoid him.”
“The reason?”
“That, I’m not sure… Even before I entered the Duke’s Territory, the relationship between the two of you was already fixed that way….”
“Still, wouldn’t there be stories you’ve picked up here and there while working? Are you saying that even though you are my exclusive servant, you had no interest in the reason why my brother dislikes me…?”
The strategy of acting pitiful worked incredibly well on this young servant.
It was the same this time.
When I made a listless face and expressed disappointment and hurt, Yon opened his mouth urgently as if his feet had been set on fire.
“No, no! It’s not that…! The story I’m about to tell is merely what I’ve heard, and it’s not certain, so I was just starting by asking you to keep that in mind… And if possible, I’d like you to keep it a secret that I said such a thing….”
“There’s no need to worry. There’s nothing good about letting family matters out to the outside world, and you’re the only one close to me within the Duke’s Territory. To whom would I possibly say what?”
“O…….”
Yon couldn’t hold back a sigh, even stopping his hand as he tidied my hair.
I wondered if the act of being pitiful was a bit excessive, but anyway, I was able to hear the explanation I wanted.
“The Duchess died while giving birth to you, right? So, there were people who said that’s why.”
It was so typical and obvious that I felt absurd.
I wondered if he had avoided answering because it was difficult to bring up such a cliché-like story.
‘Come to think of it, did they say the second child, Valtraus, has a 7-year age gap with Karbaldr?’
If the setting of the Original Work were modern rather than fantasy, Valtraus would have lost his mother at an age when he had just entered elementary school.
So, even if he hated his younger brother in his young heart, it was something that couldn’t be helped.
However, isn’t it quite a problem that he’s still doing that even now that he’s an adult?
“That’s not my fault, is it?”
“That’s right! You were just born, after all!”
“If we’re going to be technical, it’s probably the fault of our father for not using proper contraception.”
“That…… would be hard to see it that way, wouldn’t it…?”
Yon reflexively agreed with my words but quickly tried to cover up his speech after realizing too late who the arrow of blame was pointing at.
Even though the only ones in this room were me, Yor, and himself.
I knew it already, but I think once again that Yon cannot be considered entirely my person.
“Anyway, thanks, Yon. Thanks to you, no matter what my brother says to me, I think I’ll be able to move past it without being hurt or flustered.”
“I’m somewhat proud that I could be of help to you. Hehe.”
The hair styling finished not many minutes after we concluded the conversation.
The young servant finished the grooming by picking out a few accessories and having me wear them.
This time, he picked up a paddle brush made of boar bristles and approached my baby Dragon.
‘I also brushed Yor’s mane every day, but…’
For some reason, after the servant’s touch passed through, Yor’s fur was incomparably silkier and glossier than usual.
Despite using the same brush.
As expected, even if he is young, a professional is different.
I should learn exactly how he did it before returning to the Academy.
Even after finishing brushing Yor’s fur, the professional’s hands did not stop.
He tied a silk scarf with a luxurious pattern around Yor’s neck and chose one of Karbaldr’s brooches to fix it in place.
Even though the scarf must have been stifling and uncomfortable.
Instead of forcibly tearing it off, the baby Dragon flew toward me and showed off his well-decorated appearance.
‘To think such a cute, cool, and lovely creature could exist…!’
The fact that I don’t have a smartphone in my hand right now is no ordinary regret.
I left the room with Yor, harboring a wish in my heart that personal cameras would be popularized as soon as possible.
Thus, when we arrived at the Dining Hall, the seats were still empty.
Following the guidance of the old butler waiting there, I sat in a seat one spot away from the head of the table.
According to the order of seniority, the first and second children of the family would likely sit to the left and right of the head seat.
‘Is the place for the Familiars over there?’
In one corner of the Dining Hall, three rugs that looked soft were laid out at regular intervals.
It was a look that seemed to claim, ‘This is the place for the Familiars,’ no matter who saw it.
But as you could guess just by the expression ‘three rugs,’ there was no place for Yor there.
Currently, Yor took a spot next to me.
In other words, a position two seats away from the head seat.
A set of cutlery for Yor, a water glass, and a napkin were all prepared on the table.
This could not have happened if Hard’s permission hadn’t been granted.
‘Did he receive information that Yor knows how to eat using tools and think he should see for himself if that’s true? Or did he want to check from up close if Yor’s eyes are really sky-blue?’
He has no interest in his youngest son, but he seems to have a lot of interest in the Familiar.
Whatever the purpose was, I hoped he wouldn’t say anything bad to Yor, and as I was stroking the baby Dragon’s head.
The second child of the Austri Family entered the Dining Hall with a White Cheetah.