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“What do you mean ah, right? We practiced already, didn’t we.”
RosĂ© sighed as though she thought her twin was a lost cause, and Ferre felt sad, especially when RosĂ© called him an idiot. RosĂ© had promised Sera before that she wouldn’t use bad words anymore. At this, Ferre pouted.
‘Of course, of course. How could they have possibly grown up that fast.’
Aushuvel glanced at Helios with a look in his eyes that tried to say, ‘You must be having a hard time, too’, but Helios was already in the middle of RosĂ© and Ferre, who was already about to cry.
“RosĂ©, you said that you won’t say bad words anymore, right?”
“Yeah! You said a bad word. RosĂ© called me an idiot! I’m going to tell Sera everything.”
“Hey, that’s not fair! Why are you gonna tell Sera!”
“Ferre, RosĂ©, calm down now, both of you. RosĂ©, you have to apologize to Ferre.”
“Uuuuuuugh. Don’t wannaaaaa.”
RosĂ© clung to Helios’ arm. Her long silver hair and bright eyes didn’t change from before. Helios’ subtle smile meant that he was unaffected by her whining.
“Come now, RosĂ©. You knew that the bad word would hurt Ferre’s feelings. You have to apologize to your brother.”
“Noooooooo. Oppaaaaa.”
“RosĂ©. What you did was wrong. If you keep being this way, it’s not Ferre who’s going to do it anymore. I’ll tell Miss Popo everything. I’ll tell her that RosĂ© is a very narrow-minded child who can’t even apologize to her younger brother.”
Helios was firm this time.
“Oppa! Aren’t you being unfair if you’re the one who’s gonna tell Sera?”
Rosé’s eyes widened, but Helios shook his head. RosĂ© immediately lowered her tail because she knew that her puppy dog eyes wouldn’t work here, seeing how firm Helios was being.
“I’m sorry, Ferre. But please don’t tell Sera.”
“Ah
 I got it. O
Okay.”
“Oppa, it’s my fault and I’m sorry. So don’t tell Sera.”
Helios patted Rosé’s head.
Aushuvel, an only child, sometimes looked at RosĂ© and Ferre and thought that it might be nice to have cute younger siblings. But oh, as expected, he probably wouldn’t be able to handle it.
If Aushuvel was Helios, then he would have wanted to bam, hit his younger siblings lightly with his knuckles if they wouldn’t listen to him. It’s cute to watch from the sidelines, but really, Helios was the only one who’d be able to speak gently in such a situation every single time.
“Must be tough, Heli.”
Aushuvel spoke low as he walked past Helios. Then, he carried Rosé in his arms.
“Shu Oppa!”
RosĂ© smiled broadly and brought her arms around Aushuvel’s neck to return the hug and so she wouldn’t fall. This was how she would hug Helios as well.
“RosĂ©, you’ve gotten so much prettier!”
“I know I’m pretty, but Shu Oppa, you say that to every girl you meet!”
“But it’s true though, RosĂ©?”
Aushuvel strode forward and seated Rosé in her chair.
The table was already perfectly set for their dinner. There were many elaborately cooked luxurious dishes made with ingredients that wouldn’t be found in the northern region.
Helios was at the head of the long table, while Rosé and Ferre were seated at either side of him. At the seating arrangement that he found unfamiliar, Aushuvel again felt that his aunt and uncle, who never failed to welcome him before, were really gone.
He felt despaired for a moment, but his sadness wouldn’t be able to compare to that of the three people here who lost their parents. They must be in so much more pain.
So, he smiled brightly and raised his glass. With a child-like charm, Rosé and Ferre also raised their glasses.
“For Heli.”
* * *
While eating, they talked about their daily lives. With this, Aushuvel heard one name that kept being mentioned over and over again.
“Shu Oppa, do you know what a sticker is? It’s so pretty and shiny. Sera made it, so I’ll show some stickers to you next time.”
“Shu Hyung, I got a birthday present from Sera. Have you seen a carriage toy that changes? It’s a carriage at first, but then bam, bam! It turns into the sword that Heli Hyung always carries around!”
“Shu Oppa, Sera teaches us lots of things, too. If we’re not quiet, Sera asks us to sing a song like, The crab goes ouchie! The crab goes ouchie! It’s a song that bites your lips! Have you heard this song before, Oppa?”
“Hyung, Hyung, you know, Sera can do everything. She can draw well, she’s good at math, and her writing is also so beautiful!”
“Oppa, Oppa, do you wanna play a game with Heli Oppa? It’s a game that Sera made and it’s really fun. Last time, Oppa and Sera played together, but Heli Oppa was so boring when he played. But it’s a really fun game!”
From beginning to end, ‘Sera’ was constantly mentioned by both RosĂ© and Ferre.
Helios also mentioned that person a while ago—it was the name that startled RosĂ© and made her apologize to Ferre. Helios also didn’t seem to be surprised that the only topic of the conversation was ‘Sera’, as though he was very used to this already.
“Miss Sera Popo is RosĂ© and Ferre’s tutor.”
Knowing that Aushuvel would be curious about the name he didn’t know, Helios said this to his cousin. However, RosĂ© and Ferre butted in as though they judged that this explanation wasn’t enough.
“She’s not just a tutor, Shu Oppa. She’s good at everything!”
“And Sera’s reeeeally pretty, Hyung.”
At Ferre’s additional remark, Aushuvel laughed loudly. From what he knew, tutors were usually over the age of forty or fifty, so he didn’t expect to hear that Sera was very pretty.
If there was a tutor that could rival the beauty of his aunt, the late Empress Charlotte, then he would have known about it and he would have likely remained in the empire.
It didn’t make sense that Aushuvel wouldn’t know about such a beautiful woman, let alone the imperial prince and princess’ tutor. At the very least, he would have run into her at a banquet before.
“Really? Then Ferre, you made me so curious. What kind of person is she?”
The moment Aushuvel expressed his interest in Sera, Ferre set down his fork on the table.
“Her eyes are blue and her hair is black. But anyway, she’s really, very pretty and she’s so kind and nice. And Sera’s 4532 years old, but she looks younger than Hyung. And and! Hyung and Sera kissed!”
After Ferre’s sincere stream of compliments, the word ‘kiss’ suddenly popped up.
Helios felt like food had gotten lodged in his throat. He turned his head away and coughed. Meanwhile, Rosé nodded as though to say that Ferre was right.
“That was while we were reading you guys a book, Ferre.”
Helios’ composure quickly returned as though nothing happened just now, then he smiled at Ferre.
But Ferre and RosĂ© glanced up at him with a knowing look about what’s important.
It’s true that you kissed!
“Still though, Hyung and Sera did it! You kissed!”
‘Oh, what’s this
?’
Watching the three siblings exchanging silent glances, Aushuvel reached for his wine glass. The taste of wine, which lingered at the tip of his tongue, was exceptionally sweet.
He had a feeling that something very fun was about to happen.