Betrothed to My Sister's Ex

Hello. My name is Cedric Chadelan.

I’m six years old. I have two elder sisters. The color of my hat is blue. My favorite animal is a donkey. My favorite food is also donkey meat. My friend Joshua is taller than me.

I don’t have a job yet. I plan to enroll in Lezamond Memorial Academy, a school in the northern district of Dilz Royal Capital.

Right now, I live and sleep in the school dormitory. Every day, I head from there to the school buildings on campus and attend classes. This one-month period is also the entrance exam. I want to become a student of this academy, so I’m studying hard.

Joshua lives in the same room as me. He’s the same age as I am but is in the fourth grade.

This academy promotes students based on academic ability rather than age. Joshua is the child of a marquis family and has been learning foreign languages and arithmetic at home for a long time. He’s amazing.

When we first met, Joshua said to me:

“Chadelan Territory? Oh, that’s some backwater at the edge of the kingdom. I once stepped over it during a trip. The smell of cows came all the way into the carriage—I thought I’d die from it.”

I was delighted and said:

“You’ve been to our territory? Well then, you should have come to visit our house!”

“...No. Why? That was half a year ago. Today is our first time meeting.”

“Oh, right! Then it’ll be during summer vacation this year. Don’t worry, there aren’t any cows at the mansion, so it doesn’t smell. We’re poor, so we can’t keep cows ourselves; we get milk from dairy farmers.”

“Too many things to respond to; I can’t keep up...”

Joshua held his head and muttered. I tilted my head in confusion but suddenly realized something and exclaimed:

“No, wait! I’m not going back to the Chadelan family anymore.”

“...What did you say?”

“Our home was taken over. So now, my home is Granado Castle.”

“...G-Granado!?”

Joshua fell backwards in surprise. I was surprised that he was so shocked, but I had expected it, so I wasn’t really surprised.

“Granado is a big name, second only to the royal family... Who on earth are you...!?”

Even if you ask who I am... it’s not because I did something that this happened. It’s a complicated story.

The day I first spoke with the Granado family—on the day after I first came to the castle—

Before me stood Elder sister Marie, Elder sister Anastasia, Lord Cyrus, their mother Lady Ryuu-Ryuu, and even Prince Ruifeng, all lined up to talk to me.

“Cedric, this is something that will decide your life, so listen carefully and think it over slowly.”

Elder sister Marie really spoke to me slowly and explained everything.

Unlike Father and Mother, who said, “Children don’t need to understand anything, just do as you’re told,” she didn’t say that. I was very happy.

First, Elder sister said that the Chadelan family had made mistakes. To recover from that, we were going to be under the care of the Granado family. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for the Chadelan family. Although it was a bit difficult to understand, it was something I’d somewhat sensed, so I understood it well. When I nodded, Lady Ryuu-Ryuu sighed with relief and said, “Good, he’s a smart child.”

Then Elder sister Marie and Elder sister Anastasia spoke one after another.

“If you want, you can live in the Chadelan house with your mother. You can go to a local school and maybe someday become the head of the Chadelan family.”

“But that’s all it would be. Running the baronial estate isn’t something ordinary people can do with just reading, writing, and arithmetic. Even if you become the head, the Granado family or the country will still intervene in the territory.”

“...I could join the family and support you behind the scenes... Father thought so... but sorry. I’m not going back to the Chadelan family anymore. My home is here, at Granado Castle, and Lord Cyrus and the others are my family. ...Right, Elder sister Anastasia?”

Being put on the spot, Elder sister Anastasia made a subtle sound, looked away awkwardly, then nodded.