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“Ekaterina!”

Of course, Aleksei, his face pale with shock, rushed over and embraced his sister.

“What’s wrong? What’s been troubling you? How could anyone do this to you? Whoever it is, I’ll never forgive them for making you sad!”
“Onii-sama~~…”

Ekaterina could do nothing but sob.
Just then.

“Ohohoho!”

A loud, villainous young lady’s laugh rang out.

No, the villainess noble lady was the one clinging to her brother and sobbing. The one who let out that laugh—so typical of a villainous young lady—was Marina Krymov, a dazzling, glittering young lady with a cat-like facade: straight, medium-length red hair streaked with gold.

“Oh ho ho ho ho! If you’re going to blame anyone, please blame your own overflowing intelligence, Lady Ekaterina!”
“Lady Marina!”

Lifting her face from her brother’s arms, Ekaterina cried out.

“How dare you—how dare you completely overturn all of my suggestions! Since you turned our class project into a play and made me the scriptwriter, the role you’ll be playing, Lady Marina, is that of a monkey!”
“Ohohoho, I accept the challenge!”
“Wahaha.”

Nikolai, who had been standing with Aleksei, burst out laughing. He’d looked worried when Ekaterina started crying, but those words seemed to have made it clear to him that this wasn’t a serious matter. Even though he might look like a muscle-headed brute, he’s actually a smart guy.

“That’s a piece of cake for her. She’s already a monkey just by being herself.”

Marina dashed forward.
And then—thud!—she stomped on her brother’s foot.

“Ow!”
“Oh my, dear elder brother, what’s the matter?”

Marina dashed back to Nikolai, who was hopping on one foot, and said this while turning her nose up at him. She seemed to be pretending she hadn’t done anything, but her breath was coming in gasps and her words were choppy—it was so ridiculous that I felt like I’d lose if I called her out on it.

The cats she’d been carrying must have abandoned ship the moment she dashed off. It looked like only one cat was still clinging on by a claw.

“Lady Krymov.”

Unfazed by such triviality and displaying his typical overprotective brotherly attitude, Aleksei spoke in a stern voice.

“My sister is frail. That is why I specifically told her not to overexert herself at the Academy Festival. And yet…!”

But Ekaterina tugged gently at her brother’s uniform.

“…Um, Onii-sama…”

Gently lifting her face, Ekaterina looked up at her brother from beneath her long eyelashes.

“By the unanimous decision of our class, we’ve decided to put on an opera for the Academy Festival, and I’ve been put in charge of the script.”

In reality, the class had almost unanimously decided that Ekaterina would take the stage as a performer (the lead role), but she’d managed to wriggle out of that one. In the otome game, Ekaterina was supposed to star in the play—she didn’t want to do the same thing!
After thinking hard, she argued that if they entrusted her with the script, she might be able to work hard and introduce some novel songs… That was the deciding factor that allowed her to avoid appearing on stage, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that she’d dug her own grave. Here, being in charge of the script meant not only writing the script but also handling casting and direction—a role akin to a stage director. Isn’t that a lot of work…?
That said.

“So… I thought to myself. Since things have turned out this way, wouldn’t it be wonderful if you come to see the play I’ve conceived and enjoy it…?”

The tension drained from Aleksei’s body. In short, it seemed the earlier exchange between Ekaterina and Marina had been nothing more than a charade to secure Aleksei’s permission.

“Ekaterina, but…”
“Please, Onii-sama, just hear me out. I want you to take care of your health and make the most of your time. However, as a third-year student, this is your last Academy Festival. Yet you’ve spent the whole time working—all for the sake of our family… That’s what made it so hard for me. But surely you could find time to watch the play my class is performing. I thought if you took just a little break from work, you could soak up the atmosphere of the Academy Festival and enjoy yourself… I hoped you’d remember this moment from your final Academy Festival.”

It seems Onii-sama isn’t particularly interested in theater, though. He doesn’t like novels either, and he doesn’t tend to enjoy creative writing. He does read poetry collections, which has honed his skill with flowery language—which is a bit of a mystery. It seems his interest in poetry stems from the influence of his old friend, Vladimir; I suppose Vladimir still holds a place in Onii-sama’s heart.
My Onii-sama is a siscon whose love for me is as deep as the ocean, he would surely come to see a play his little sister conceived.
If he could immerse himself in the atmosphere of the Academy Festival like that, it would surely become a memory of his school life, however small.

“I want you to have fun, Onii-sama. You’ve spent your whole life protecting our family. I want you to forget your duties for just a moment and enjoy yourself. So please, Onii-sama, I beg of you. Please allow me to participate in our class’s performance.”
“……”

Aleksei let out a deep sigh.

.

“You’d do all this, for me… Your kindness will overcome even the fiercest heat and melt everything away. To think that even your schemes are nothing but compassion.”
“Will you forgive me?”

Aleksei smiled gently at his younger sister, who looked up at him with excitement in her eyes.

“I swore to grant all your wishes, my queen. But please, take good care of yourself and never push yourself too hard.”
“Thank you so much…!”

Ekaterina’s face lit up with a radiant smile.
And Marina let out a joyful squeal.

“By the way, Ekaterina. Was that exchange with Lady Krymov just for my benefit?”
“I just really, really wanted to get your permission, Onii-sama…”

Teased by Aleksei, Ekaterina looked embarrassed.
Although her role for the Academy Festival had been decided, Ekaterina had been worrying about how to get her brother’s permission—and it was Marina who had suggested this plan to her. Flora, the pure and virtuous heroine, had said, “I think His Grace would grant permission if Lady Ekaterina were to simply ask,” but Ekaterina had inadvertently gone along with Marina’s plan.
Incidentally, Flora has been standing by her side from the start, smiling wryly.

If it had been anyone else, she wouldn’t have dragged her into a charade like this—one that could easily set the siscon Aleksei off. However, Marina is a member of the Krymov family—Aleksei feels indebted to her because of her grandfather’s beloved horse, Zephyrus. Was it a bit underhanded to calculate that there was no need to worry about Aleksei directing his anger at her…?
But Ekaterina also found herself wondering if this sort of student-like banter might actually be precious to Aleksei, who is usually kept at arm’s length by those around him…
Ekaterina deeply respects and admires Aleksei’s earnest nature. But she wondered if it might be okay for him to have a few moments of relaxation every now and then.

Aleksei let out a soft sigh.

“I’m always willing to listen to what you have to say, so just speak normally. There’s no need to go out of your way to put on a skit.”

A skit?!

“Onii-sama, did you just call it a Skit?!”
“Ah… forgive me. Did that offend you?”
“No! It seems like a word you’re not familiar with, but I’m impressed that you used it correctly! I just learned that word from Lady Marina myself. You’re truly remarkable, Onii-sama!”

Ekaterina, deeply moved to discover that the Japanese term “小芝居¹” had a perfect equivalent in the Imperial Language, spoke passionately. However, she was also a bit afraid that if she learned too many words unsuitable for a duchess’s vocabulary, she might accidentally let slip something she shouldn’t say.

Aleksei narrowed his eyes, looking amused.

“To get so excited over a single word—you’re such an innocent child. You’re surprisingly intelligent, but in that respect, you’re childlike and adorable. I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself.”

……Actually, I’m sorry—I’m in my thirties and from another world.

.

Beside the two of them, Nikolai was rubbing Marina’s head, berating, “I bet you just dumped another whim of yours on her again,” while Marina was squealing in anger.