As Etienne, wearing a mischievous expression, tried to read the diary, Shioana jumped far up from her seat and tried to take it back.
"Peeking into someone else's diary is an uncultured act. Your Excellency the Duke knows that much."
"I apologize, young lady, but I am nothing more than a slave of Regbell, so I have absolutely no refinement."
As Etienne, grinning slyly, turned the page of the diary, Shioana let out a sigh of resignation. Her husband had a persistent streak, so it was obvious he would nag her relentlessly before he had even skimmed through it.
"It was written when I was young, so there's nothing worth seeing."
As Shioana easily stepped back, Etienne sat in a chair and pulled her wrist. As a result, Shioana ended up sitting on his thigh and suddenly found herself reading her diary with him.
"It seems our young lady neglected her handwriting practice when she was young."
Etienne made fun of her misspelled words here and there and her handwriting that looked like a worm crawling.
"It took me a long time to learn it on my own."
The late Countess Evgenia educated only sons. She believed that it was a virtue for daughters to simply obey their father and older brother, and later their husband. It was said that Shioana's life goal was to become a virtuous wife.
'But I have a lot of questions.'
Shioana, who had many things she wanted to know, secretly eavesdropped through the window while Eli was taking private lessons. Then, at night, she opened a book and fumbled through it to learn it.
Etienne, who was well aware of Shioana's efforts, gently widened his eyes.
"...You are great, Miss."
As Etienne lightly pressed his lips against the crown of her head, Shioana was startled.
"Stop calling me 'Miss.' Aren't you afraid someone might hear?"
He would sometimes call her that even when Harriet and Larissa were around, and every time, the children's eyes would widen.
"I'm the one calling my lady, so why should I care about others?"
"Never mind. I shouldn't have said anything."
Shioana, who knew all too well how childish Etienne was becoming, just sighed.
As Shioana leaned against Etienne's broad chest, he continued flipping through the diary. There remained traces of Shioana's scribbles and practice signatures.
And as he turned a few pages, a piece of writing that looked like a diary appeared.
To my beloved mother
The Regbell is really windy again today. Aren't you cold, Mom?
Martha said she would knit a new tassel for me. I would like it to be pink, but there is no yarn of that color here.
Will Father buy me a dress when he returns from the capital? But it's okay if Father doesn't give me a gift. Really!
※P.S. I really want to receive a new book!
The diary was mostly in the form of letters sent to her deceased mother, but Etienne's hand stopped after turning a few pages.
To Mom
Something truly amazing happened.
My father returned from the capital with some slave.
I’ve never seen such a filthy child in my life; their eyes were bright red. He didn’t seem to know how to speak, and just stared at me, which was a little scary.
Martha said that the child was like a hell bird and told me never to look into his eyes. She even scared me by saying that if I looked into them, my soul would be stolen.
But I has already looked into the slave's eyes several times. What if my soul has already been stolen?
I'm really worried.
As she read the diary recording their first meeting, she felt as though zhe had returned to Regbell, which was covered in bushes on all sides, rather than the Bernhard Mansion.
When Etienne first arrived, Shioana could not sleep well due to a strange sense of excitement.
'Maybe they'll play with me.'
Eli cursed the slave, saying he was too dirty and unsightly, but Shioana became curious about the boy with red eyes.
In the desolate city of Regbell in the northern part of the Caspian Empire, there were no peers to be found. The only person she could play with was Shioana's older brother, Eli Evgenia, but he never let her get close to him.
'What a pathetic girl.'
'You should have died instead of your mother. You're useless and just waste food; how are you any different from an animal?'
Eli shouted at her and hurled insults at her just by making eye contact.
However, it was not easy for Shioana to get along with the slaves.
Eli hated the slave for some reason he didn't like it.
'Hurry! Shioana! Spit on that bastard!'
He tormented the slave so severely that she flinched just by watching. Her brother forced Shioana to curse at and physically abuse the slave in the same way.
However, Shioana simply could not do that. Even though their social statuses were different, the other person was a child her own age.
'If I pretend to kick, you'll fall backward. Got it?'
So, she deceived Eli and helped the slave. However, the slave, who had already been tormented by Eli, collapsed just like that.
Shioana was so worried that the slave might die that she even secretly visited the barn at night.
Fortunately, under the protection of the goddess Diana, the slave recovered his health. Although his shaggy hair almost completely covered his face, Shioana thought that the glimpse of his face was quite beautiful.
'I've never seen such a handsome kid before.'
Of course, it was a bit funny to say this, since she had never once left Regbell in her life.
Shioana used to secretly observe the boy while pretending to go for a walk.
Joseph made the small boy do a lot of work that was too difficult for him. He made him load mountains of straw onto a cart and carry them, or clean up the filth piled up in the barn.
However, the boy silently carried out the work he was told without ever frowning.
'Seeing as he understands what I'm saying, I wonder if he might be able to speak someday.'
She could probably make a friend without even having to say a word, but she still wanted a friend she could talk to.
Their eyes met a few times, but each time Shioana feigned ignorance. However, only she was conscious of it. The slave didn't pay much attention to Shioana.
'Why won't you even look at me?'
It was always her who followed the slave, and the boy did not even give Shioana a glance.
'As Eli said, I am a little ugly, but.'
Shioana found it difficult to refute her brother's criticisms regarding her appearance. Whenever she stood next to Eli, who possessed a beauty like blue jewels embedded in his shimmering blonde hair, she looked like a pathetic weed.
Shioana sighed as she stroked her thick brown hair.
'Martha said I was the prettiest one in Regbell.'
Was that actually a lie?
Shioana's shoulders slumped as she watched the back of the slave pulling the cart and disappearing into the distance.
There was an incident that made her a little more conscious of slaves.
Shioana, who was left alone in Regbell, ended up feeding the hunting dog.
It was raining so heavily that visibility was poor. Shioana felt like she was going to faint from the growling of hungry hunting dogs and the sound of rain pounding on the ground.
Just as she was getting really tense, loud thunder and lightning set a large tree in the mansion's backyard on fire, and it was split in two.
It was that very boy who saved Shioana after she fell backward in surprise. The red-eyed slave she had secretly watched over time and secretly befriended countless times.
The slave offered his back to her as she fell in the rain.
'You want me to ride on your back?'
But she couldn't.
She was a young lady of the Evgenia family, and her opponent was nothing more than a slave.
However, because she was unable to move, she eventually returned to the room carried on the back of a slave.
And when Martha returned and asked who had nursed her, Shioana stammered.
"Oh dear, it looks like our young lady lied to Martha?"
Etienne smiled as he tapped Shioana's nose.
"I fainted back then, so I don't remember clearly. It's not like I necessarily lied."
It might be a bit of a stretch, but it was true.
She remember being carried on Etienne's back while soaking wet from the rain, but she don't remember being laid down in bed.
"This is a bit disappointing. I remember that night vividly."
Etienne, who had been grinning, reminisced about the past.
He was lying in the barn trying to sleep when a hunting dog started barking like crazy, so he went outside to investigate. There, he saw Shioana, who was stunned by the thunder and lightning.
'With the rain pouring down like this, are they out of their minds to let such a young girl out?'
Shioana even tried to feed the hunting dog. He had never heard of a young lady from a noble family doing such menial work.
'Then again, considering it's the family, it's not that surprising.'
Viscount Evgenia and the Young Viscount ignored the girl lying in the mud over there. As a result, the girl was always timid and hesitant. She tried quite hard not to let it be noticed, but she could not fool Etienne.
'Because she's just like Edwin.'
So, strangely enough, it kept bothering him.
"Etienne, why the sudden sad face?"
As Shioana stroked his cheek, Etienne smiled faintly.
"It reminded me of Edwin."
"...Ah."
Etienne used to often tell her stories about his deceased younger brother. He was an angelic person who worried about Etienne being left alone until the moment of his death.
As if his sadness had been contagious, Shioana, with tears welling up in her eyes, buried her head in Etienne's arms.
"Etienne, don't cry."
But it was she, not him, who was crying.
Etienne gently stroked the back of Shioana, who was sobbing uncontrollably. His touch was so careful, it was as if he were touching a porcelain doll.
"You might be someone Edwin sent to me."
The one and only person who laughs and cries for him.
Shioana was the reason for Etienne's life, and his everything.
"...Yes?"
As Shioana, who hadn't heard him well because she was crying, pulled her head away, Etienne quietly looked down at her.
"My face looks ugly right now, so stop looking."
As Shioana tried to move her head away, Etienne grabbed her cheeks tightly with both hands.
"You are always beautiful."
"Why, why the look in your eyes?"
A reddish tint flickered in the corners of Etienne's eyes, who had been wearing a sad face just moments ago thinking of his younger sibling.
"Seeing you cry."
Etienne slowly lowered his head with a look of helplessness on his face.
"I don't like acting like this after crying."
Shioana's grumbling protest soon seeped between Etienne's lips.
It was a kiss that tasted salty and bitter.
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