“I like pearls.”
At those words, Raymund inwardly admired her. Seiana and pearls. It was a combination that suited her well just by imagining it.
Come to think of it, wasn’t there a tiara made of pearls in the imperial palace? It was passed down through generations, so currently, it belonged to the Empress, but she didn’t use it anyway. He wondered if he should bring it to her.
‘It would suit Seiana much better.’
And Raymund vowed to only wear pearl ornaments from now on. Because he liked anything she liked.
As he was contemplating what pearl accessories could be shared between a man and a woman, Seiana spoke with a weak smile.
She said that she and pearls didn’t go well together.
Raymund’s eyes widened at the absurdity of her words. Why would she think such a thing? When he listened, she was saying that it was because her hair color was pale. Not that it just didn’t suit her, but that it looked strange.
‘That can’t be right.’
Although pearls and Seiana’s hair were similar colors, their textures were completely different. Just as sunlight and moonlight are both light but are completely different.
Raymund thought it was fortunate that there was a pearl brooch among the accessories he was wearing today. He didn’t know why Seiana thought such a foolish thing, but if he showed her directly, she would understand that she had been mistaken.
Holding Seiana's hair, Raymund took the brooch from his lapel and placed it on top. The pearls suited her well. As Seiana said, they certainly didn't look like a tangled mess of hair.
Despite having shown her directly how beautiful she looked, Seiana's uncertain expression made Raymund puzzled. He felt a sense of déjà vu seeing her lack of self-confidence.
She's just like me.
Just as he had feared meeting people because no one paid attention to him when he cried, got angry, or pleaded, Seiana was consumed by the belief that pearls didn't suit her.
Seeing that his words about her beauty didn't seem to reach her, Raymund pinned the brooch onto the doll's head like a hairpin. The pearl brooch, resembling Seiana herself, complemented the doll perfectly.
If the reason pearls didn’t suit her was her delicate color and nothing else, then they shouldn’t suit this doll either.
Whether it was because she'd seen the truth or because the blindfold had been removed, Seiana seemed to have realized she'd been holding a false belief.
How could I have thought such a stupid thing?
She hadn't thought it didn't suit her, so someone must have put that nonsense in her head... But it couldn't have been her family.
They were the kind of people who would applaud even if she wore rags.
To think such a vile creature was by her side.
It was unforgivable. What could her family have been doing, allowing that wretch to remain?
There was no choice. If they wouldn't act, then Raymund would have to.
“So, who is that foolish bastard?”
“Huh…?”
Seiana, who had been smiling at Raymund, trembled slightly at his question. She tried to gloss over it by saying there was just someone like that, but even though he persistently asked, he couldn’t get an answer.
The arrival of the refreshments he'd promised earlier proved to be the perfect interruption.
"Huh? Brother? Why?"
The person who entered after knocking was none other than Sinclair. Normally, a maid or servant would handle such matters, but the young master himself had come to serve.
He must value his servants greatly.
Though Sinclair was likely just as intimidated by Raymund, he'd probably come personally to prevent frightened servants from making mistakes.
Under normal circumstances, this would be unusual, but with a royal guest present, it wasn't considered improper for the young master to serve personally.
“Brother. Leave. We’re going to talk by ourselves.”
Seiana, who had been surprised by Sinclair’s appearance, soon gave him a suspicious look. Once he had placed all the items on the nearby table, she ordered him out.
Sinclair seemed hesitant to leave Seiana and Raymund together, but when she started pushing him out, he disappeared with a hurt look.
Raymund’s heart pounded. He felt a thrill at Seiana’s action of sending Sinclair away so they could be alone, but at the same time, he felt a sense of unease.
‘Why did she send him away? Did she notice something strange?’
Perhaps she had noticed that people were afraid of him and deliberately sent them away, or something like that…
Raymund tensed, wondering if Seiana had realized that he wasn’t just a young, harmless child. However, the reason she sent her brother away was nothing of the sort.
“Isn’t our brother really funny?”
“…Huh?”
"Look! What kind of young master serves like a servant? And he's not even a servant. This is clearly..."
"What... what is it?"
When Raymund asked nervously, Seiana leaned forward with a serious expression. She lowered her voice as if sharing a secret.
"It means he's ambitious."
"...Huh?"
Suddenly? What connection was there between serving and ambition? Raymund racked his brain trying to follow her logic, but he couldn't keep up.
"He was making a name for himself to become a royal confidant! There's no other reason for it!"
Seiana's claim that her brother was actually ambitious, despite her previous belief in his purity, made Raymund relax and chuckle.
Seeing Raymund laugh at her words, Seiana pouted and demanded to know why he was laughing. Her stubborn insistence that she was right was endearing.
Raymund didn't care about anything else as long as Seiana wasn't afraid of him or aware of his peculiarities. Whether Sinclair was misunderstood or not mattered little to him.
But......
‘Would it be better to put him in debt?’
Raymund thought that perhaps it would be better to help Sinclair and make him help him someday, rather than letting Seiana misunderstand and making Sinclair feel wronged.
“Perhaps the young master wasn’t trying to serve because of his own ambitions.”
“Then?”
“Well, perhaps… he didn’t like the idea of a man and a woman being in the same room? Because he cares for you, Seiana.”
Although he had taken her side after a short deliberation, Seiana made a strange face at Raymund’s explanation. Then, she let out a small laugh.
That can't be right. Raymund’s face almost hardened at Seiana's voice of denial. His mind became complicated, wondering what part of his words Seiana was denying.
She couldn't be denying that Sinclair cared for her, so was she denying that he disliked the situation of them being in the same room?
Or…
‘Is she saying that my relationship with Seiana isn't that of a man and a woman?’
His heart felt cold. In reality, they were indeed a man and a woman in terms of gender, but they weren’t old enough to be conscious of each other as the opposite sex. If her denial was truly about that…
Even Raymund himself was unsure whether the feelings he had for Seiana were just obsession or love.
Therefore, whether they would remain friends in the future or not was uncertain, but not being considered as a potential partner at all was a bad thing. It would mean losing the opportunity before even trying.
That was when Raymund was feeling the seriousness of the situation.
“…He didn’t care even when I was in the same room with…ro. Unless it was my second brother. It’s definitely not about a man and a woman being in the same room.”
He hadn’t heard the beginning properly because he was lost in thought, but judging by the context, it was clear that the person whose name ended in “-dro” was a man. He didn’t know who it was, but he felt jealous.
Raymund wondered if he should ask who that guy was, but he couldn’t easily open his mouth, afraid that Seiana might find his obsession creepy.
Unaware of Raymund's turmoil, Seiana grumbled about her brother's grand ambitions.
Raymund hadn't thought much about it, knowing Sinclair's heart wasn't in it. But Seiana's constant warnings about not falling for her brother's schemes hurt his feelings. It felt like she was drawing a line between them.
“Seiana, do you not want the young master to become close to me?”
When he asked, unable to contain his hurt, Seiana fell silent. She seemed to choose her words for a moment, rolling her eyes slightly in thought, then spoke.
“That’s not it… Well, if Ray needs our brother’s ability and wants to make him a close aide, I don’t care.”
Her face became serious.
“But if the reason for making him a close aide is simply because he is my brother… I dislike that. Of course, my eldest brother is smart and capable enough to do anything he is asked to do, but…”
But that wouldn’t be right. Saying that, Seiana shook her head with a stubborn expression.
Raymond understood what Seiana was trying to say. If he chose people based on connections like that, there would inevitably be shortcomings somewhere.
She likely wished he wouldn’t even accept her brother to avoid a situation where Raymond would be put in a difficult position because of those shortcomings.
Nevertheless…
“I want to give Seiana everything she wants… because she is my precious friend…”
If she wished it, he could even obtain the Emperor's crown for her. It might be impossible right now, but if she truly wanted it, he would bring it to her.
Seiana couldn't read Raymund's thoughts, so she burst out laughing in admiration of his friendship and loyalty.
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