Betrothed to My Sister's Ex

“L-Lord Cyrus…!?”

In my hands, Marie let out a scream-like voice. But it didn’t stop.

I bound her head gently with my palm and confined her against my chest. The tighter I held her, the more rigid she became, and I bitterly mocked myself.

“Sorry. This will be the last time.”

I brushed her hair once. Then I released her.

Marie didn’t run away. She just stood there, lost and dazed. Her expression, in one word, was confusion—I apologized once again.

“...Y-yes... No...”

Marie looked down, shrinking into herself.

She appeared extremely uncomfortable and restless. Could it be that she was trembling?

I felt ashamed of my lack of self-control.

She was a fiancée brought here by her parents. A girl who had been sold off, unable to refuse a marriage proposal from a higher-ranking noble.

This is an arranged marriage; she believes she can’t escape—it was her conviction. Marie couldn’t reject me, even if she despised me. I want to protect her, but how can I when she’s afraid of me!?

I hurriedly put some distance between us.

“It’s okay, I won’t do anything. So don’t be afraid. Please don’t run away.”

Ah, isn’t that exactly something a perverted man would say?

Marie looked confused again. She didn’t seem to know how to take it. Still looking down, she murmured quickly.

“Um... will you be going out for work again soon?”

Was that a subtle way of telling me to leave? I wished she wouldn’t be so scared.

I needed to reassure her. I don’t like talking about work, but I had no choice.

“I won’t be going far anymore. I’ve already taken care of stocking and handovers. But I need to send thank-you notes to attendees of the engagement ceremony. Since they involve multiple languages, I’ll be holed up in the library for a few days.”

“In that case, I’ve already finished everything.”

Now that I think about it, Ryuu-Ryuu had mentioned something like that.

What a bother. I no longer have an excuse to leave the mansion.

What should I do? If I stay near Marie, I’ll probably end up hugging her again…

As I frowned and groaned, Marie seemed to misunderstand something. She gasped, then deeply bowed her head.

“I’m sorry! I acted selfishly.”

“Hm? No, what you did was really appreciated. It must have been difficult.”

“No, I like writing letters... and besides—”

“—Besides?”

Marie stopped mid-sentence.

When I prompted her, she muttered something embarrassingly and shyly.

“I wanted to… be of help to Lord Cyrus…”

Her face, cast downward, was flushed red.

I reached out with both hands—but she swiftly darted away like a squirrel and dashed out of the room. Through the wall came her rapid speech.

“So, you’ll be able to stay home for a while now, right?”

“Y-yeah. That’s why I packed everything. I’ll be here until the engagement ceremony.”

“I see, that’s good. You must be tired, so please rest well for today. Then…”

“No, I’ll join you for tea.”

I tried to follow her, but she was already gone.

“That’s right. Then let’s go together.”

A voice came from around the corner. I replied and approached, but she was nowhere to be seen. From behind a marble statue, a flash of red hair peeked out.

I silently hurried over. Spreading my arms, I blocked her escape and peeked behind the statue.

Of course, Marie was there, curled up with her back turned and frozen. In that state, she said,

“I wonder what kind of tea sweets we have today. I’m looking forward to it.”

“Marie. Can I hug you one more time?”

Marie shrank even smaller.

And then we remained stuck like that.

I don’t know how much time passed before Mio came calling, “What are you two doing?” We had stayed like that for quite a while.

We moved to the dining hall and gathered around tea sweets with everyone in the castle.

Marie, Mio, Ryuu-Ryuu, Wolfgang, Cecilie, Toppo, Tunic, Johan—all together, making for an unusually lively table.

Naturally, I sat beside Marie, and everyone else sat close around her.

Marie seemed to have completely warmed up with them. She smiled and chatted; the servants even joked with her. Suddenly, Tunic stood and began styling Marie’s hair. Marie didn’t protest; the twin tails were soon completed. The women chorused, “So cute!” Marie didn’t downplay it but asked curiously, “How is this done?” while looking around for a mirror.