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“I beg of you, don’t go, please… I adore you!”

There was no one else on the balcony. The other balconies were nearly overflowing with people awaiting the fireworks, but this place was traditionally reserved for members of the House of Jurnova alone.

Aleksei let out a small sigh and turned back to Kira.

“I recall you hating the color of my eyes.”
“No, I have always thought they were lovely! The one who said she disliked them was Lady Aleksandra.”
“And you came to tell me that, every single time.”

There was no anger in Aleksei’s tone—only weariness, a dry, exhausted voice.

“I-I wanted to talk to you! Please remember, Lord Aleksei, you were always alone, and I was the only one who ever spoke to you… Talking with you, seeing even the slightest change in your expression, made me happy. It was because I loved you! I was Lady Aleksandra’s favorite. If only you had accepted me, I intended to teach you how to behave in a way that would please her. The clever way to do it.”

At that, Ekaterina reached out and covered Aleksei’s ears.
She smiled brightly.

“Onii-sama. There is no need to let the buzzing of insects reach your ears.”

So she enjoyed making him look uncomfortable.
Calling flattery toward that old b̲i̲t̲c̲h̲ “the clever way to do things”—what is she even saying?
What’s most incredible is that even now, she can say all this openly, without the slightest remorse or doubt about what she did.

So, Drill-Hair girl. In short, you were the type who bullies the person you like to get their attention.
“Teasing because you like them” is usually associated with boys, but some girls do it too. And whether you’re a boy or a girl, if you harass someone, they’ll just hate you. Obviously.

I really can’t understand it. When you like someone, don’t you want to be kind to them? Don’t you want them to be happy, with all your heart? Isn’t that what “liking” someone is?
Maybe there are as many forms of love as there are people.
But my brother is someone who loves wholeheartedly. I want him to meet someone who will love him in the same wholehearted way.

Aleksei smiled.

“There is nothing to worry about. I was not paying attention to insects to begin with. So let go of me—your hands are blocking even your voice.”

He gently moved his sister’s hands from his ears and placed one against his cheek. His neon-blue eyes softened sweetly.

“Your voice is like that of the wondrous songbird said to dwell in the gardens of the heavens. Its song is as sweet as the gods’ ambrosia, intoxicating the soul. And the words you speak are always gentle. Your voice is the most delightful music to me.”

“Oh my, Onii-sama…”

Sound effects included. No blind spots in the sister-complex filter, I see.

“That’s cruel!”

Kira glared at Ekaterina, her eyes boiling with hatred.

“Why her, and not me? That is the place where I should be standing! Those are the words I should be receiving!”

In her dreams, Aleksei would have thanked Kira and whispered gentle words at her side.
And Kira would have become the duchess, wrapped in the highest honor, enjoying a life of splendor and luxury.

“It’s your fault! You stole my place!”

With a scream bordering on madness, Kira lunged at Ekaterina.
Ekaterina could not react at all. Only the thought flashed through her mind that Kira’s upturned eyes and expression looked exactly like a hannya mask.

But—

Suddenly, Kira flew into the air, flipped forward once, and was slammed flat onto the balcony floor.

.

(…Huh?)

Why did she suddenly turn into an acrobat? She’s a count’s daughter, you know. And yet—slam.

After question marks raced through her head, Ekaterina finally noticed Mina the maid and Yvan the servant standing on either side of Kira.
She had not seen it at all, but one of them must have grabbed Kira’s arm, swept her legs, and thrown her. —Probably.

“My lady. I apologize for frightening you.”

With her usual expressionless face, Mina apologized to Ekaterina.

“…I didn’t even have time to be frightened. That was very fast—an admirable response.”

When Ekaterina praised her, still somewhat dazed, the corners of Mina’s mouth lifted ever so slightly.

“She attempted to harm the mistress of House Jurnova. Inform them to deal with her appropriately.”

Aleksei ordered this calmly, without looking surprised at all. Unlike Ekaterina, he had known that Mina and Yvan were guarding her, and had surely seen their movements.
Mina and Yvan bowed, then carried off the unconscious Kira—her eyes rolled back—by her arms on either side.
She is a count’s daughter, at least, yet her toes dragged along the floor as they hauled her away. That felt a bit too rough. Even Ekaterina found herself feeling a little sorry for her.

As a fellow villainess, the condemnation scene from the game came to mind, and it was frightening—but the “slam” stole the whole show. Compared to this, the game’s Ekaterina, who didn’t end up in a gag-like finale, almost seemed fortunate.
More than anything, Onii-sama held me close.

Farewell, local villainess.
I hope you never get involved with my brother again, but I do wish you salvation in your future. You’re still only fifteen, after all.

.

“Now, look at the sky.”

Aleksei gently placed his hand on Ekaterina’s shoulder and guided her gaze upward.

“There is no need to concern yourself with people like that. Enjoy yourself.”

At that very moment, the first firework rose into the air.

.

“Oh—how beautiful!”

Ekaterina exclaimed.

She had heard that fireworks in the Edo period had no color—not the vibrant variety of modern ones, but merely golden flowers of light.
But the firework blooming in the sky now was a great blue blossom.
They probably couldn’t change colors the way modern fireworks could in her previous life, but they seemed more advanced than those of the Edo period.

“Jurnova’s fireworks are famous for their colors. This too is the result of Great-Uncle Isaac’s research.”

I see—colors change by adding metals, so with the contribution of our mineralogist great-uncle… Amazing! Such a wide range of achievements!

Fireworks rose one after another. Gold was the base, mixed with red, green, pink, blooming in succession. Some were single-colored, some two-colored, and some formed two-color combinations by being launched almost simultaneously. The craftsmen’s ingenuity was evident.
The guests at the banquet also looked up at the sky from the garden and balconies, and loud cheers rose each time a firework burst.

“…I wish that only beautiful things like this would be reflected in your eyes. I am sorry that my power does not reach far enough.”

Aleksei murmured softly between explosions.
And Ekaterina thought again: how much of today had gone according to her brother’s expectations?
She herself had anticipated that Novadine would attempt something. Had Aleksei grasped even the details? Perhaps—to some extent—he had.
But for some reason, he had not told his sister beforehand.

With how strong Onii-sama’s sister complex was, he might have wanted to lock me in a treasure chest and never let me see a scene like this.
Yet in order to deal the greatest blow to the opposing faction, he must have judged that confronting Novadine here, before everyone, was optimal. And he had executed that judgment coldly.

Cool, hyper-competent big brother. You really are exactly my type! Capable men are wonderful!

“Onii-sama, even if I am not someone who sees only beautiful things, I wish to see the same things you see. So that I may help you. But of course, you are the head of the house. If you believe I should not see everything, I will follow your judgment.”

Maybe he decided not to tell me so that my reactions wouldn’t tip them off that he planned to strike back. Yes, I’m aware that I wasn’t raised as a noble, so my social skills are low. I’m not very confident in my ability to hide things with my expression.
So even if he doesn’t tell me everything, I won’t sulk or get angry. Even in my previous life, there were times when information was restricted due to management decisions. I know that what one sees from their own position is not everything.

But I want to be his strength, not just someone protected alone inside a treasure chest.

“My Ekaterina.”

Aleksei spoke her name slowly, deeply.

“You always understand and forgive. My clever, kind sister. You may have some special magic, after all. Though you were raised without knowing the world, you see through everything far too well.”

I don’t have special magic. It’s just that I’m an overworked office worker in my thirties on the inside—sorry!
There is absolutely no way I can say that though!
I’m sorry that I’m nothing like the princess character my brother imagines, and actually packed with exhausted working-adult elements. Truly sorry.

“What I possess is only my love for you, Onii-sama. I have heard that love can bring about miracles.”

When Ekaterina said this primly, Aleksei laughed.

“Then perhaps miracles will happen for me as well. I love you.”

.

The next day, Ekaterina received a report from Raisa.

Last night, the territorial guard and the knight order had raided many of the estates belonging to Novadine and others in his faction. While the masters were absent at the banquet, evidence of bribery and dealings harmful to the duchy had been seized, and when they returned from the banquet, they were all arrested.
However, Novadine himself escaped after being captured at Jurnova Castle, and is currently listed as “missing.”

Wow… it really was a full-on trap.
I’m glad I didn’t know. Otherwise I definitely would have looked at them with pity, thinking, “All of you are finished today…”
Onii-sama, you’re wonderful!

My brother complex has only grown stronger!