3-4 - Stepsisters Are Romantic Interests, Right?

A few weeks later, I was visiting House Sphiel again, but—

“Welcome, Lord Leon and Lady Claireridil. Lady Sophia will be here shortly, so please make yourselves comfortable.”

Just as Regis, the butler who greeted us, had said, Claire-nee was somehow standing beside me. Apparently, this was what she’d been plotting last time.

“I’m surprised you managed to get permission to come along.”

“Well, Sophia-chan and I already know each other, and when I told Mother I wanted to pay her a visit to maintain our relationship, she agreed immediately.”

She agreed immediately, huh? Caroline-san, of all people, had given Claire-nee permission to go out with me? Was I being overly suspicious for thinking there had to be something behind it?

Well, there was no point dwelling on it.

“By the way, when you say you already know each other, are you close?”

“Our families have known each other for ages. Didn’t you know?”

“Ah… I feel like I might have heard something about that. Or maybe not.”

As I searched my memory, Claire-nee gave me an exasperated look.

“Little brother, you know an incredible amount about all sorts of things, but surprisingly, there are some things everyone should know that you have absolutely no idea about.”

“Urgh.”

She’d hit a sore spot. My only sources of information were Milly and Alice, so my knowledge was rather uneven.

“What’s wrong…? Oh, right. You never had a private tutor… I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. It doesn’t bother me. Besides, you’ve helped me with so many things, Claire-nee, that I’d feel worse if you started worrying about it.”

“…Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. More importantly, Sophia’s coming. If you keep looking gloomy, she’ll wonder what’s wrong.”

Hearing footsteps tapping along the corridor, I cautioned Claire-nee. Shortly afterward, Sophia arrived with Regis.

As Sophia entered the room, she looked around until she spotted me, and her expression blossomed like a flowerbud opening. Then she hurried toward me, her golden, shoulder-length hair swaying.

“Leon-oniichan, you came!”

“Of course. I promised you I would, Sophia.”

“Ehehe, I’m so happy!”

She practically bounced with delight right in front of me. Seeing her pure, innocent smile, free of any ulterior motives, made me feel happy too.

“—My lady, you haven’t finished greeting your guests yet.”

“Huh? …Lady Claireridil!?”

Apparently realizing her mistake after Regis pointed it out, Sophia hurriedly turned toward Claire-nee.

“It’s been a long time, Lady Claireridil. Welcome to our home.”

Composing herself, she gracefully pinched her skirt and bent her knees in a curtsy. Although she’d been distracted by me and had greeted Claire-nee late, Sophia was only seven years old. I’d say her response was more than satisfactory.

And yet—

“…I’m not satisfied.”

Claire-nee brushed back her platinum-blonde hair with a displeased expression.

“I-I’m sorry. I was so excited when I heard Leon-oniichan was coming today. If I’ve offended you, please accept my apologies.”

“No, that’s not it. Leon is my little brother, and you call him your big brother. So that means you should call me Claire-oneechan, doesn’t it!?”

…………Sigh. I’d had a feeling it would be something like that. But Sophia clearly hadn’t expected it. She blinked in astonishment.

This was strangely nostalgic. Claire-nee had said something similar to me when we first met, and I’d reacted much the same way Sophia was reacting now.

“Uh, Sophia? If you don’t mind, could you call her your big sister? It’s sort of Claire-nee’s way of showing affection.”

Probably, I added silently.

“Claire-oneechan…? Would that really be all right?”

“I’d be happy if you called me that, Sophia-chan. Of course, if you don’t want to, you can keep addressing me as you always have.”

Claire-nee told Sophia to decide for herself, looking directly into her crimson eyes. …Wait, did Claire-nee know about Sophia’s blessing?

No, she probably did. Claire-nee met Sophia’s gaze head-on and smiled calmly.

…Huh? That was strange. Claire-nee actually looked dignified. What had happened to the Claire-nee I knew?

“Leon-oniichan is thinking something naughty about Claire-oneechan!”

“—W-wait, Sophia!?”

I panicked at the unexpected accusation. But it was already too late, and Claire-nee turned toward me with a bright smile.

“…Little brother?”

“I-it’s a misunderstanding! I’ve never seen you acting like a proper young lady before, Claire-nee, so I was just thinking how refreshing it was!”

“Is that really all?”

“Really, really! Anyway, look, Sophia’s already calling you Claire-oneechan!”

“Oh, that’s right…”

Claire-nee turned her attention back to Sophia. Phew, that was close.

“Sophia-chan, are you really going to call me your big sister?”

Claire-nee asked for confirmation, and Sophia smiled a little bashfully.

“Claire-oneechan. Um… I hope we’ll get along!”

“~~~~! What is with this girl!? She’s too adorable! Little brother, can I have her?”

“…Of course not. Seriously, calm down a little.”

We weren’t getting anywhere, so I grabbed Claire-nee by the collar and pulled her back into her seat. Then I turned toward Sophia again.

“There’s something I’d like to discuss today. Sorry, but could you spare me a little time?”

“What do you want to talk about?”

“Actually—”

After a brief introduction, I honestly explained that my stepmother regarded me as an enemy because I was a concubine’s son, and that I was trying to start my own business to gain my freedom.

I finished by asking whether she could help me arrange a discussion with Carlos-san, the head of House Sphiel, but—

“…Leon-oniichan, do you not want to marry Sophia?”

Her reaction was so unexpected that I struggled to answer.

“N-no, that’s…”

“Do you not want to?”

“No, that’s not what I mean. We’re still children, right? So it’s a little early to be thinking about things like that. Um…”

This was troublesome. She’d been reluctant to meet me when I first visited, so I’d assumed Sophia didn’t want an engagement arranged by her parents either. I hadn’t expected this reaction at all.

While I was thinking that, Claire-nee gave me a look that seemed to say, Leave it to me. Would this really be all right…? I had a feeling she’d only make things worse, but she looked confident, so I decided to trust her.

When I conveyed my agreement with a glance, Claire-nee nodded slightly and turned toward Sophia.

“Tell me, Sophia-chan. What do you think of my little brother?”

“Leon-oniichan? Um, Leon-oniichan has a really beautiful heart. That’s why I feel so safe when I’m with him.”

…Ah, I see. Because Sophia’s blessing allowed her to sense other people’s emotions, she probably had trouble dealing with people whose outward behavior didn’t match their true feelings. In other words, Sophia’s affection wasn’t romantic love, but familial affection.

Claire-nee seemed to have realized that too, because she smiled reassuringly.

“You see, Sophia-chan, my little brother doesn’t dislike you. He just wants you to become his little sister through adoption.”

“…Really?”

Sophia looked at me anxiously before timidly taking my hand.

“…Leon-oniichan, you don’t dislike Sophia?”

“Of course not. I really enjoy talking with you, Sophia.”

Those were my genuine feelings.

It was just that Sophia seemed far too young mentally for me to think of her romantically. If anything, she reminded me of Saya when she was little, making me want to protect her.

“…I see.”

Had she sensed my feelings? Sophia shook her golden hair and turned toward Claire-nee again.

“Hey, Claire-oneechan. If Sophia becomes Leon-oniichan’s little sister, can we stay together forever?”

“Of course. If that’s what you want, Sophia-chan, you can always be together.”

“I see! Then Sophia doesn’t mind being his little sister! Oh, but…”

Her happy smile lasted only a moment before her expression clouded.

I couldn’t understand why, but Claire-nee apparently did. Her eyes softened as though she were gazing at something precious.

“Don’t worry. Even if you decide you want to marry him someday, there won’t be a problem. In fact, you could even say it puts you at an advantage. After all, my little brother is the sort of person who can only fall in love with his sisters!”

—W-what!? I hurriedly swallowed the shriek that nearly escaped my throat.

Seriously, what the hell was this idiot sister saying!? That made me sound like some kind of pervert whose sister complex went far beyond anything normal!

Besides, saying something so ridiculous would only disgust Sophia—

“Oh, I see! That’s why Leon-oniichan and Claire-oneechan are so close! Then Sophia wants to be his little sister too!”

—She accepted it!?

No, no, no. I certainly couldn’t deny that Claire-nee and I were close, but that wasn’t the reason! And what did she mean by wanting to be my little sister because of that!?

Besides, Sophia was supposed to be able to sense people’s emotions… Wait, did that mean that deep down, I actually…? No, no, no, surely not. Hahaha…

This was no time to escape reality!

“Claire-nee, that’s enough! You’re giving her a completely wrong impression!”

“Oh? But I was only putting your feelings into words, wasn’t I?”

“What are you talking abou—”

“I. Was. Only. Putting. Your. Feelings. Into. Words. Wasn’t. I?”

“………………”

Overwhelmed by Claire-nee’s pressure, I fell silent. Incidentally, her green eyes seemed to be saying, Are you really going to reopen the matter after I just settled everything?

I certainly didn’t want to reopen the discussion, but at this rate, my entire character would come into question. On the other hand, without Claire-nee’s help, I wasn’t confident I could convince Sophia… Grrr.

Calm down. I needed to think this through.

If I accepted Claire-nee’s nonsense here, Sophia would think I was someone who could only develop romantic feelings for his sisters, and she’d find me disgusting… Except she clearly didn’t, though it was still rather embarrassing.

But then again, if I properly explained myself, I’d have to convince Sophia all over again. And since I couldn’t think of any way to persuade her, I might end up making her sad… Huh?

…Wouldn’t it be more peaceful to just accept things as they were?

“—For now, I’ll leave things to Claire-nee. Having made that decision, Leon remained completely unaware that Claire-nee was steadily maneuvering him into a position from which he could no longer escape.”

“Hey, Claire-nee!? Stop slipping in weird little narrations under your breath! And it’s not that I haven’t noticed. I know perfectly well what’s happening! I’ve just given up because I can’t think of another way!”

I protested in a whisper, but the moment I admitted that I’d given up, I’d already lost. Claire-nee probably understood that too, because she let out a quiet chuckle.

Somehow, that was incredibly frustrating.