Chapter 45

‘Is he really only seven?’

Somehow, Aethlyn felt like she wasn’t teaching Arthur at all…

She was just getting in his way.

Suppressing the irritation welling up inside her, she said,

“Arthur. I’m only doing this because your mother asked me to.”

“Doing what?”

“Teaching you. I’m supposed to spend an hour with you every day…”

The boy scratched the back of his head and tilted it in confusion.

“Hmm. We were doing lessons?”

His large blue eyes blinked innocently.

“But, Sis… you’ve only been saying things that are wrong.”

Then how can you call that teaching?

There wasn’t the slightest hint of malice on his face.

With that, he left the dumbfounded Aethlyn behind and casually demonstrated another spell.

“[Atatria.]”

A balloon in the distance burst with a soft pop!

Aethlyn could only stare blankly.

Only then did she finally understand why all those highly paid private tutors had abandoned the estate despite their generous salaries.

Arthur was an even more difficult student than a child who openly caused trouble.

He didn’t even think of his teachers as teachers.

To him, they were merely…

…obstacles to his own growth.

Something unnecessary that got in his way.

Right now, Aethlyn was nothing more than one of those obstacles.

Remembering that made her shoulders slump.

You couldn’t force someone to learn if they had no intention of learning in the first place.

After countless failed attempts, they had eventually reached an unspoken compromise.

Study magic separately…

…without interfering with each other.

For both Aethlyn and Arthur, it wasn’t a bad arrangement.

Aethlyn liked it because she didn’t have to worry about him.

Arthur never said anything, but he seemed satisfied as well, since no one interrupted him.

The servants appreciated it too.

There was nothing dangerous to supervise.

Whenever Aethlyn and Arthur sat reading in the library, the servants simply dozed off at a nearby side table.

That wasn’t to say everyone was perfectly content.

Unexpectedly…

The loudest complaints came from someone else entirely.

“Whiiine…”

Aethlyn’s “good, well-behaved” dog.

The moment he realized he had to spend time with Arthur every day, he began expressing his displeasure as much as he could.

Granted…

His protests consisted of sitting at Aethlyn’s feet and whining…

Smacking the floor with his thick tail…

And stubbornly refusing to look up when Aethlyn called his name.

He usually held out until the second time she called.

To Aethlyn, it was astonishing.

No matter what kind of prank she had played on him before, he’d never once sulked.

Yet now he was making his displeasure so obvious.

More than anything…

She had never seen him dislike another person this much.

He even wagged his tail at Janet, despite the woman openly disliking him.

She simply couldn’t understand why he was acting this way.

‘Maybe… he knows it too. Just how strange Arthur is.’

Still…

There was nothing she could do.

She had made a promise to her stepmother.

So Aethlyn did everything she could to soothe him.

She petted him.

She spoke to him gently.

She even offered him strips of jerky.

But the dog remained stubborn.

Only after Arthur disappeared from sight would he finally settle down.

He refused to eat even his beloved jerky if Arthur was nearby.

Even now, apparently unhappy that Arthur was in the room, the dog let out soft, dissatisfied whines beside Aethlyn as she read.

But today…

She barely heard them.

Her attention had been drawn elsewhere.

To the thick book Arthur was reading.

The Fundamentals of Rune Magic.

She looked back and forth between her own book and Arthur’s.

One thought surfaced instinctively.

‘*Arthur’s book is much thicker than mine.*’

And rune magic…

…was still a profound field that even Aethlyn herself only understood in broad terms.

The realization that Arthur was already studying something beyond her own level suddenly made her chest feel as though a heavy stone had settled inside it.

Just then…

Janet’s words from a week ago resurfaced in her mind.

“So that’s it. You’re really afraid your little brother might catch up to you?”

“…!”

It felt as though someone had thrown a bucket of cold water over her.

Her mind cleared instantly.

‘What am I thinking…?’

She was feeling competitive toward her own little brother…

…a child so much younger than herself.

Wasn’t that exactly what her stepmother had accused her of?

An overwhelming sense of shame washed over her.

She couldn’t focus on her book anymore.

Carelessly placing it on the side table beside the sofa, Aethlyn stood up.

The dog, who had been whining at her feet all this time, immediately perked up his ears.

He seemed hopeful that she was finally going to grant his silent request.

Instead…

Things went in the exact opposite direction.

Aethlyn slowly walked toward Arthur.

The boy remained completely motionless.

“Arthur.”

“…”

“Arthur Wintercrown.”

Even after she called his full name, he didn’t respond.

Arthur had a habit of ignoring people, but even he usually acknowledged family members.

Something felt wrong.

Aethlyn reached over and pulled the book out of his hands.

The next instant—

“Mmm…”

Arthur’s small body pitched forward.

Startled, Aethlyn hastily tossed the book onto the empty sofa beside them and caught him before he hit the floor.

His small, slender body fell into her arms.

“Mmm… candy…”

“What?”

Ah.

Only then did Aethlyn realize.

Arthur had fallen asleep.

He had simply drifted off while reading.

The realization made her smile.

“So you’re still just a kid after all.”

Falling asleep over a book…

Seen up close like this, Arthur’s face looked incredibly young.

If anything, he looked far more like his age than he ever did while awake.

Behind them, the dog let out an unhappy grumble.

They remained like that for a little while.

Just as Aethlyn’s arms were beginning to tire, Arthur rubbed his eyes and slowly woke up.

“…Mmm. Sis?”

The moment he opened his eyes and saw Aethlyn so close…

He suddenly jerked backward as if startled.

“Wah!”

“What was that for? I just caught you before you fell.”

“A-Arthur.”

Arthur shoved Aethlyn away with surprising force using both hands. He was skinny, but stronger than he looked.

“I thought you were studying seriously.”

Arthur answered firmly, enunciating each word.

“I was studying.”

Embarrassed, the boy deliberately avoided her gaze. Watching him, Aethlyn smiled to herself. Even if he didn’t realize it, they were finally having something that resembled a normal conversation between siblings, and that made her happy.

Then a thought suddenly crossed her mind.

“Arthur’s still just a child. He’s only six years old. Right now, going outside to play in the dirt would do him far more good than studying magic.”

“Arthur.”

She called her younger brother again.

“What…?”

“Want to go outside and play?”

“What?”

The boy frowned deeply, as if wondering what nonsense she was talking about. It was the first time Aethlyn had ever seen an expression on Arthur’s face besides his usual blank look. That only strengthened her conviction.

‘That’s right. I should let him enjoy being out in nature.’

Touch some grass. Feel the sunshine.

She spoke again, more firmly this time.

“Come on, Arthur. Let’s go.”

“I’ve already told you I don’t want to!”

Not even ten minutes had passed since they left the estate, and Arthur had been complaining nonstop from behind Aethlyn. She didn’t even pretend to listen.

“Yes, yes. But for the next twenty minutes or so, I’m your guardian.”

Sigh. “But Sis, shouldn’t you be studying for the Academy? You still have one entrance exam left.”

“I’ve already passed the hardest one. So you don’t have to worry about your big sister.”

“Haaa…”

The boy let out an even longer sigh.

Aethlyn found his irritation strangely satisfying.

‘I’m glad I dragged him out here.’

He grumbled that the sunlight was too harsh, that the weather was too hot, that dirt was getting on his shoes—one ridiculous complaint after another. Aethlyn watched him with an amused smile.

In her opinion, this was exactly how children were supposed to act. Throwing little tantrums and whining was far more fitting than constantly wearing that detached expression while silently judging everyone around him.

“Stop complaining and keep walking. We’re going to the lakeshore.”

“…”

Behind her, Arthur stomped his feet in protest. She could practically picture him with his head hanging low and his lips sticking out in a pout.

Of course, Arthur wasn’t the only one in a foul mood.

The black dog following some distance behind them looked just as unhappy.

‘Now what’s gotten into him?’

She’d expected him to love going outside, but somehow he seemed even more displeased than before. When Aethlyn looked back at him with concern, he immediately turned his head away.

“Huh.”

He was sulking.

And not just a little.

Was he really that upset about having to be around Arthur?

‘There’s no reason for him to dislike Arthur, though.’

The dog wagged his tail even for the stable boys, and even for Ben, the gamekeeper who openly distrusted him. Yet for some reason, Arthur was the only person toward whom he showed obvious hostility. It was utterly baffling.