Chapter 22 My Absolute Fave and I Gained a Little Sister

Translated by: chocolalaProofread by: Kitje

Finally, the time had come. I became a big brother! 

Mother safely gave birth to a girl–my little sister! Her hair was silver, same as Brother, and her face was lovely with drooping eyes just like Mother.

“So cute…!”

“She looks just like Alba. Very cute.”

Brother and I looked into the gorgeous basket made for babies1 and admiring the newborn baby. Father immediately named her Luna, after the goddess of beauty and love, Luna Grace. 

“If she resembled Brother more, she would have been a great beauty.”

“But I prefer the Alba look-alike face, it’s so reassuring.”

As he caressed my fluffy cheeks with his fingers, he said that with a face full of compassion, and I received a critical hit for the first time in quite a while! Ugh, I almost let out a weird shriek right then. However, thanks to Bruno’s medication, the seizures were becoming really rare, which was a big help; I could now enjoy the lovely and divine sight of my brother to my heart’s content.  

What a feast for the eyes. Is this heaven? I’m so glad to have been born.

With wet eyes, I said: “Thanks for giving birth to her, Mother,” to which she chucklingly replied, “I’d never thought Alba wanted a little sister this much,” as she stroked my hair.

Although my message came across in a completely different way, I was honestly happy about the birth of my sister, so let’s just put it that way.

Since Luna’s birth, Father had become a bit scatterbrained; he would tremble in excitement for every little motion that Luna made. I had the feeling that he was going to be the kind of father who would never marry off his daughter.

Seeing Father’s silly figure, Brother cast him a cold gaze and then let out a helpless sigh.

I wondered if Brother wished Father, who was so full of love and affection that it even made the him a little unapproachable because he was so in it, to love him as well. Maybe that was why he sighed?

This, if left unattended, Brother might fall into darkness…! If that happened, this would lead to the ending where he would fall in love with the MC after receiving encouragement and forming a bond.

I, I don’t want that.

I frantically tugged at Brother’s sleeve and appealed, “Erm, instead of Father, I will shower you with overflowing love, so please don’t hate me… I will give you a lot of love and affection on behalf of Father…!” 

At my words, Brother and Father’s eyes popped out in shock.

“Huh?” I inadvertently exclaimed out loud and at the same time, my grasp on Brother’s sleeve tightened. 

Then Father patted me and Brother on our heads with such force that it hurt a little and he said, “Alba, that’s like saying I don’t love Orsis.” 

“Alba, why did you think I would hate Alba?” Brother’s eyes were looking straight at me even as our hairs were both being made into a mess. 

That gaze of his pierced straight through my heart; I almost moaned in excitement. Brother looked so reverent2 as he looked at me with his straight gaze. The expression on his face that showed the complexity of his feelings–both angry and sulky–was a sight to behold.

“Well, Luna looks just like Floro, a super pretty angel. But you know what, Alba? To me, Orsis is also my precious child. Of course, Alba as well. If Alba, who has taught me this, told me something like that, I’ll be very sad.” 

“I seriously do feel Father’s love for me, you know. Alba, do you think I’m so dense so as to not be able to realise that? As for your overflowing love, I’ll receive them all, but how can I dislike Alba because of something as trivial as Father’s affection?”

Without hesitation, Brother remarked Father’s love as something trivial, but I’d just pretend I didn’t hear that. Whatever the case might be, it should be safe to say that even if Father poured his affection towards Luna, there would be no problem now.

Sandwiched between the two angry, sad faces, I couldn’t help but smile in relief.

“Brother, I love you!”

“I love you too, Alba.”

“Alba, how about me?”

“Oh yes, I also love Father too,” I answered Father’s question while clinging to Brother, and he held me in his arms as if to tear me away from Brother. 

Ah! I just got to fully enjoy Brother!

“But I don’t like Father who pulls me away from Brother!”

When I complained while being carried in Father’s arms, he lowered his eyebrows pathetically. Brother had a fit of laughter, but was there anything to laugh about? 

“When I carry Alba in my arms after I hold Luna, I can tell that Alba is growing up properly,” Father loosened his mouth in delight as he gently put me down when I started to get violent. 

“Of course! I’m nine years old. I’m not at that age to be carried like this anymore. In two years, I’ll go to junior high. There’s only going to be one year where I can go to the same academy as Brother!”

“Yeah, so your main focus is your school life with Orsis. You sure are easy to understand.”

“I’m so glad you understand!”

“Alba, Father is feeling dismayed, can’t you see.”

“Orsis, that’s not it. I just think our Alba is so lovely.”

I stressed out loud that the lovely one was Brother, not me; Father and Mother burst into laughter while Brother wryly smiled. But even his wryly smiling face was too beautiful!

At the sound of their laughter, Luna, who had been asleep, opened her eyes and began to whimper, which made my mother’s room very lively. I glimpsed at Sven’s face in the corner of my eye and he had a very affectionate smile on his face, the look of a grandfather looking at his grandchild.

Just the addition of a baby made a big difference to the liveliness of the house. This kind of situation felt pretty okay.  

Today, after seeing my brother off as usual and finishing my studies in the morning, I quietly went to see Luna. I found that Father had brought half of his work into Mother’s room to be done there. I wondered if Luna’s crying would only slow down his work, but Sven told me that his processing speed was even faster than before. 

Why? Was it a given that the father to my absolute fave–a crackerjack3–would be a crackerjack too?

Furthermore, the reason why his working speed had risen was that he wanted to spend more time with Luna and Mother. With moist eyes, Sven told me how deeply moved he was to see his master could appear so loving, but I basically saw Father as someone motivated by emotions.

I convinced Sven by saying how Father had always been affectionate, and he only answered in affirmation with wrinkles at the corner of his eyes; he truly saw me as though he was looking at his own grandson. That smile of his was so benevolent that I considered Sven like a real grandfather.

My real grandparents from the baronial family were kind too, but sometimes they were tired, and when I was asleep they would sit beside me with a sigh and spill out complaints that they would never say when I was awake. On the other hand, my step-grandparents in this household were akin to my enemies, so I never saw them as my grandparents.

I didn’t want to disturb Father, so I slipped away from the entrance of the room to wait for them in the dining room. Sven, who had noticed me, gently leaned in and pulled my hand towards him.

“Young Master Alba, you might as well join them.”

“But they looked so happy together, and I don’t want to disturb them.”

“Both Alba and Orsis have all the rights to be in there. I’m sure the Master and Mistress will be very sad to learn that you have been so reserved.”

“I’m not sure about that.”

“Of course, sir.”

But how should I say it, it seemed like an ideal family: Father, Mother and Luna–a child born between the two of them. Although that didn’t make me any less important, but as Brother’s nemesis had said before, I didn’t have the blood tie to this ducal family.

Brother was angry for me over that statement, but every word he said was right on the mark. Moreover, I was the second son. Once I grew up, I would have to leave this place, make a living and live on my own.

Live on my own… I used to live alone in my previous life, so it was not an impossible task, but I had been under the same roof with Brother for so long that I couldn’t imagine life without him, and when I tried to imagine it, my spirits dropped precipitously.

But then…

I gulped a sigh as Sven pulled me by the hand and I stepped forward. 

Alas, I didn’t think I had the courage to live in this house while watching Brother take someone as his wife and lead a lovey-dovey life as a newlywed.