Hari’s POV
Cabel, Erich, and Johannes return to Vastia for the vacation. The mansion, which had been quiet for a while, became more noisy than before.
As winter became deeper, there was a lot of time for indoor activities. Of course, I can’t stand such a life more than anyone else. It was the truth.
Cabel spent most of his time in the haze, but when he wasn’t, he sat down at Vastia mansion and stared at Johannes with that particular glance. Of course, Johannes treated such behavior of Cabel as usual.
Whenever he’s doing that, I’m embarrassed if it seen by the couple in
Vastia, so I gently send the second brother out or up to his room.
“Penny, let’s have a snack.”
“Woof!”
Meanwhile, Penny was the most excited
about Erich’s return to the mansion.
Penny came to Vastia together with us when we left Ernst, but he was forced to stay away from Erich during the semester because Erich couldn’t take him to the academy.
In the meantime, the people of Vastia and I took a good care for Penny since then and it didn’t seem like Penny was going to chase Erich to academy either.
However, it is natural that those two really love each other.
Huft. I hope you will continue to love me, Penny. I’m a little bit hesistant to disturb these two warm people…
No, I looked at a warm man and a puppy and glanced under each other nose.
“Louise, aren’t you going to use the piano room now?”
“I’m not. Sister can use it!”
She replied coolly as she looked at Erich as she approached Erich and Penny.
Then Erich turned to Louise. Shortly thereafter, he looked at Louise, who was
getting closer, and was frustrated.
“I want to touch a penny’s belly!”
“Why do you want to touch penny’s belly?”
“Why can’t I touch it? When he didn’t have brother here, I gave him a meal and gave him a snack and took him for walk!”
I looked at the two people who were friendly and then turned around because they were twice as warm as before. Both of them really cute. It seems that six years is definitely short.
When I see that they’re close enough to be teaming with Vastia. One or two people
went up the stairs and I headed to the room with the piano.
Cabel went to the field early in the morning and was insensitive to news, and Johannes was reading a book in the library.
Erich and Louise are playing with Penny downstairs and Vastia couple goes out. Because of that, the mansion was quiet now.
“Are you going to practice the piano, Miss
Hari?”
“Albert.”
At that time, a gray-haired old man with a pair of eyeglasses in front of my eyes appeared.
He was a gentleman who was regrettably ask us to call him an old man. He was the butler of Bastier, his name was Albert.
Our butler in Ernst, his name was Hubert, so if you listen to their name, it’s like a twin. Well, they’re not though.
“The piano sound was more turbid than before, so I called the tuner in the
morning and repaired it.”
“Oh, already? Is it done now?”
“Yes. And since the cleaning has just been done, you can stay at ease.”
“Thank you, Albert.”
This butler really is competently! I admired Albert’s fluttering heart again. The piano sound was just had problem yesterday. And now problem solved.
Hah, I’ve felt it before, but Albert’s promptness and accuracy is so great.
Our butler Hubert was, of course, competent, but Albert should be said to be more seasoned than him, or to have more experience.
I thought inside my head and opened the door of the piano room.
Since coming to Vastia, I have been studying the basic literacy of Lady with Louise.
It also includes musical instruments, so we learned the piano twice a week from a tutor. Our tutor, Mrs. Flora, was a sweet and friendly lady.
For this reason, she explained to Louise and me kindly, one by one, rather than being frustrated or yelling, even if there was some awkward part on us.
Indeed, as I came to Vastia, I just knew that it was impossible to be punished by a tutor!
From the viewpoint of educating children, it was said that punishment for corporal punishment was a great disgrace to the lady.
Furthermore, I heard that it was a shameful act to disqualify the tutor.
Knowing that, I got a backache and felt like throwing everytime I remember I was hit by madam, that damn lady…!
In the past life, and this time again, then, what have I been quenched with so that I deserve fire on my legs?
Damn, what would it be? It’s completely a caught up! How stupid, a stupid little girl who lived in a back alley and knew nothing.
Besides, even Mrs. Leonard, our guardian at the time, would have protected her, a contemptuous cloth they are. It must
have been easy to bully at least one girl.
On the day I first noticed that, I had to writhe all night in bed with a deep heart.
At least for a few years, I said, ‘I Quit! It was not worth it!’
Wow, I’m still far, still got many thing to learn. Not once, but twice innocently, by that wicked lady’s words.
What? It is a shame to receive corporal punishment, so I should hide it from others? All other noble lady take classes like that? Ah ah! Why I’m stupidly believing that word too soon!
I kicked this memories every night in humiliation, shame, anger and oppression.
In fact, in the past life, there were no peers, nobles, or wives who had personal acquaintances with me, so there was no comparative group to objectively examine my situation.
I wasn’t in bad term with my brothers, but that didn’t mean that I was close enough to share such a personal story, so I never realized that Madam deceived me.
Anyway, it was fortunate that my maid, who had been serving me clothes in Vastia, had seen my legs with traces of being ill.
If she wasn’t, I would have known nothing and being like a fool until now.
‘What? That insane woman said that she was punishing you by cane and was jealous of you?’
Countess Vastia, who was usually gentle, is so intense when she saw it for the first time, I was embarrassed by myself.
When I first came here, Vastia’s people who looked at my face and with a trace left by Mrs. Leonard in my legs made a startled look, it was still vivid in my memory.
That is why Mrs. Vastia, who learned about the tutor’s corporal punishment, was resentful and felt more compassionate for me.
Um, perhaps they seemed to think that after Ernst’s death, I was incredibly persecuted by Mrs. Lenoard.
Well, it doesn’t sound very wrong, but I guess it wasn’t as serious as they think….
Cool luck, of course, because even if I say
that, the atmosphere will not work, so I just stayed still. And at the same time, they finally understood why Eugene left us here.
That night before we left Ernst.
In fact, at that time, if no one had stopped Mrs. Leonard, I might have been immediately taken to an orphanage. Or maybe I don’t even want to imagine that much, but it must be a terrible place
than an orphanage. It might have been to.
The slowly rewinding memory for me stayed at that night again.
Then my hand that moving on the keyboard began to slow down a bit.
“It’s a pretty difficult song, but you’re good at playing it.”
As I turned my head, his figure standing by the door came into my view.
“When did you come in? If you come, you should tell me first.”
“Sorry if you were surprised. I like to hear your music so I was hesitant to interrupt
myself.”
Since Johannes never came to the room without knocking, it must have been clear that he had heard of another thought at that moment.
“I learned this before, but it’s been a long time since play it. Can you play it?”
“Yes, a little.”
Johannes smiled lightly and approached the piano. That’s it. Long, neat fingers on the keyboard as he sat down. The music I just played rang in my ear.
I followed Johannes with my left hand on the piano. Soon, the chords he and I made began to spread inside the room.
It seemed true that the player’s character was revealed in the piano notes. I felt it while I was learning the piano together with Louise, but Louise was giving a feeling of bravery and running alone.
So it was also difficult to match her when we playing together. On the other hand, Johannes is playing a delicate and caring performance. And the song is done.
Johannes smiled at me and I smiled at him too. At that time, outside the door, Bang!
A loud noise has been heard.
Considering that the piano room was particularly sound-proofed, it must be a
tremendous noise pollution.
Because the sound of running up and down was getting closer, Johannes and I stopped playing.
“What are you doing!”
It was the second brother who come in after opening the door.
I still have a few things to teach him, he’ve been teaches well for years, and yet, I’ve still had a lot of things to correct his behaviors.
Cabel used to be toxic to Johannes affairs. Why the hell aren’t these two getting any better?
“Brother Cabel, I’m surprised. Knock first when you come in.”
Johannes also opened his mouth after I contemplated the second brother.
“What do we do, you’ll be able to know if you have one of your eyes and ears open.”
“Are you laughing at me?!”
Well? Did they tell you to call me? Was it a time for Vastia couple to come home? Or else, it wasn’t that Cabel would have left Johannes to pick me up in the first place.
Perhaps the Vastia couple had just gone out and returned.
Even if I hadn’t responded to knock sound, Johannes would have just opened the door, and if he knew I’m in such a situation, he wouldn’t disturb me and just turned around quietly.
But he’s not. And now Cabel picking fight at Johannes like this now!
“Brother Cabel, what are you talking about when we just playing the piano
together?”
“I’m gonna play it too!”
“You never learned to play the piano”
“I’m going to learn to play the piano from today too!”
It was already a few years ago but you still want to compete with Johan in every little things! It was clear. Let’s just talk later.
“But why did they tell you to call me?”
“Oh, brother sent us a gift!”
Cabel said quickly, remembering why he came here. When I heard that, I got up from the chair. Johannes apologized to me.
“I’m sorry, I just forgot about it for a while as I coming, because I had something to say about my favorite piano song.
“No, it’s alright. It was fun playing with brother.”
I walked out of the piano room with in a friendly relationship with Johannes.
Next to me was Cabel. The second brother must not know that we are tired to
his rambling, he’s still be a scammers from the side toward Johannes.
He said, ‘He’s a noisy man,’ and he mumbled again.
Nevertheless, it’s more important to see our guardian now, and I don’t even know how wide Johannes heart is to keep up with Cabel like this. Is his personality and
temperament inherented from the Vastia?
“Hari, Eugene sent a gift, do open it.”
As we went down to the Vastia couple, they smiled and greeted us. It has been a long time since Eugene sent gifts to us this way.
I unpacked the purple ribbon of the big box that came to me and opened the
top. This gift was clothes.
Even if I pretend not to be awe at it, a light blue dress with a luxurious feeling caused a dazzling wave in my hand, as I lifted it up to my body and I inevitably laughed.
“Oh, it seems a little small.”
The growth period has come for me since late autumn. I start to feel my knees sore, but now that winter has come, I have grown taller than before.
I was a case where growth continued to slow and then grew rapidly. So maybe by spring I’ll be at least half the height my present height.
“I’m going to call someone to mend it.”
The clothes I wore last winter didn’t fit right now, so I had to call a tailor to get a new fit.
Mrs. Vastia said that it could be repaired it as if she was embarrassed herself, but she pretends not to be. It was not enough to be solved like that for me.
“I just want to have it as it is without any repairs.”
I said with a laugh, wanting to have Eugene’s present untouched.
Still, Eugene doesn’t know I’ve grown up more than before. Maybe I will continue to grow until next spring.
Of course, there must be a little more time for me to become a slender beauty whom
beautiful in and out.
Heck, that day feels so far, but the time has passed so fast, that day is probably will come too soon. I guess… ?
In addition to me, Cabel and Erich received gifts from Eugene, respectively.
In fact, it may not have been Eugene who picked the gift to send to us.
Normally, the aristocrats tended to give
instructions to their servant when doing this, but it was fine. I know that his heart for us is completely contained in this.
On a day like this, I wanted to see and talk
to Eugene through the communication sphere. In fact, I can still contact him at any time if I decide to do.
The communication sphere I used before
was still in my room, and even if it wasn’t, the Vastia couple would like to give us if we wanted to, but neither do I, nor the other brothers want to.
It was three years ago that we last got in touch with each other through face not correspondence.
And around that time, Eugene was attacked on the way home to Ernst. The criminal was arrested immediately,but Eugene was stabbed and had to be treated for quite some time.
However, two days after the incident, he show his face and talked to us through the sphere pretending nothing happened.
It was some time later that we got to know his news.
After that, first of all, Cabel opposed
Eugene from coming to Vastia to see us. Erich and I agreed there.
This is because Eugene, we were aware of the fact that we have been unreasonably unaware of his situation.
Since then, I have started writing letters to Eugene. As I was able to get in touch more often than using a limited number of correspondence sphere, I stopped using it.
And I was able to write down more detailed daily stories as I desired on the letter too.
Of course, if I sent the letter 5 times, Eugene would reply 1 time, but that was enough.
Time passed, and somehow I wasn’t using the communication sphere at all now.
“Today, the lamb is very soft.”
“The sauce they changed this time is very
deep, too.”
After the school’s in vacation, Vastia’s table became more noisy than before.
“So right now, is Ijekiel graduating this time?”
“Yes… it’s cool, but why are you interested in his jobs?!”
“It may be the same as academic academy, that I’d be wondering. I asked you because you are his closest friend.”
“I’m his closest friend…. Hung! Did you
know that now? If you have any questions, ask me all! I’m now Ijekiel’s best friend!”
No. Second brother, ah.. You seem to be laughed by Johannes right now? I don’t think you know that?
“Hey, stop talking and eat some food.”
Erich said with a cold face, he was colder than he usually as he could see Cabel’s excitement. Only the Vastias couple were making a happy face.
“I think our kids were also very influenced by you.”
Are you serious? Of course, there are years we spent together that it make sense that they would be influenced by us. Is that really a good influence?
But if you think about it, the Vastia have been looking at the authenticity of Cabel since the first meeting.
Even when they heard that he had a fight with Johannes, they laughed and were feeling satisfied. So, surprisingly, it could be sincere, not an empty talk.
“I’m still hungry!”
But the second brother, you need a little conscience! I looked at the Cabel ‘s elated face and made a cold expression just like Erich did.
The Vastia couple laughed again and Haha Hoho toward such a Cabel.
“Without you all, it will surely feel a big vacant seat.”
At that moment, our hands that sitting around the table stopped all at once.
It was the first time they had talked about our absence. The chest slowly began to run fast. Not only me, but Cabel and Erich felt the same thing.
“You guys have waited for a long time.”
The Vastia couple smiled at us and said,
“I think you can go back to Ernst soon.”
*******
That evening I took out all the gifts that Eugene had been sending.
What he gave me ranged from dresses and shoes, silk gloves and satin ribbons to jewelry and dolls, music boxes and books.
I wasn’t throwing away any clothes or shoes that didn’t fit right now and kept it in the box.
It was the sixth year since we already come to Vastia. So, let’s put together the things that Eugene send so far, and the amount was considerable much.
I unfolded the clothes I received this time and sooner or later I hugged it and fell
over the bed.
White blanket wrap me. And my long hair on the top of bed make my head dizzy. I exhaled slowly and closed my eyes for a long time.
“It’s not a dream.”
Finally, we return to Ernst. When I recalled what I heard from the Vastia couple at the dinner table, my heart began to thump
again.
Now we can meet with each other…
My nostalgic home. My nostalgic family.
“I can meet him……”
I don’t pull anything tight while lying in bed, but somehow my chest feel tight. I buried my face on the clothes I was holding.
It wasn’t the first time I felt sad after I came to Vastia, but I was happy too, so I felt like tears were coming. Good grief.
“Sister Hari.”
For some reason Louise came knocking in to my room.
“Louise, what’s going on?”
I was a little surprised because it was usually time to go to bed. What’s more, she came to my room in nightgown, and even had a pillow in her arms.
“Let’s sleep with me.”
It’s what I’ve been expecting since I saw Louise’s figure.
As she usually do, she want us to sleep
together and came to my room whenever she couldn’t fall asleep. It was extremely rare lately though.
“Yes, come over here.”
I was willing to allow it because I thought I knew why she was doing this.
After a while, we lay on the bedside side by side with only one light on the bedside. Under the soft light, Louise’s light hair colored orange.
“You know, I liked sister coming here and live in Vastia. Of course, I know it’s such an ironic sound.”
A small voice rang in my ear. I smiled lightly, facing her dark blue eyes staring at me.
“No, I like living in Vastia with you too.”
I sincerely thought we were lucky to be here.
Probably not easy to find, as wherever we go, they can’t treat us as heartily and warmly as the people of Vastia.
But nevertheless, this place could not be my real home.
“Even when I go back to Ernst, I’ll come to play here often.”
“Still. I don’t want to clean sister’s room. I’m going to leave it as it is.”
That night I shared this and that with Louise.
And by the time the words were sour, I could find Louise, unconciously asleep. I laid her comfortably on her side and
then lay down on my side.
But even when time passed, I couldn’t sleep. Should I go out and drink some warm tea?
I listened to the sound of the clock second hand moving, and then quietly left the room. Fortunately, Louise is in deep sleep and she didn’t wake up even when I was moving.
As I walked down the hall, I encountered Erich, who climbed the stairs. Ugh, I’m surprised. I thought it was a ghost for a moment.
“Erich, why didn’t you sleep?”
But it seemed that Erich was surprised to see me too. We looked at each other, stepped back reflectively, and quickly asked each other nicely.
“Then why you are?”
“I can’t sleep.”
Presumably, Erich probably didn’t fall asleep to the fact like me, that we can go home soon.
“What’s brother Cabel doing?”
“Asleep. He just lie down and fall asleep.”
“You go sleep too,” I said to Erich.
Then, Erich asked me a quick question.
“Do you like Johannes?”
Hah, what question is this suddenly? No, it’s really surprising during the night. Doesn’t he just mean you like people-to-people? Still, I replied as if I didn’t know.
“Of course. He’s a good person.”
But isn’t it a little too much to talk to you and ask me now?
“So, you want to hold hands with Johannes, you want to kiss, or you want to hug or go further with bare skin..”
“Hey, just stop it there!”
Is this an obscene devil? I’m getting more and more confused and I won’t let you go further!
“You and I are still young to talk about that!”
As I looked at my adolescent brother, he lowered his voice and shook his nose.
“What’s about age, just how young are
you?”
What? I don’t remember raising you like that!
“Anyway, you don’t think so.”
“Of course not!”
No, of course I’m an adult who is already
mature in mental age. But Johannes is not yet! It’s a crime to think like that against a minor, to Johannes!
“Oh okay.”
Erich seemed satisfied. The next moment, his hand was on my head. In succession, I shook my hand and hit Erich’s hand.
“Go to bed even if you don’t feel like sleeping, go quickly and sleep. So you’ll grow up.”
“I’m still growing though?”
What the-He ignores me for being short.
I’m going to be bigger in spring!
I stared at his back.