The three walked towards the woman standing at the start of the red carpet, but Gaius, for all his bravado, still had some misgivings. Isabelle’s elder sister was certainly a rather unique personage, and like everyone else who had four fellows to order about, she probably had a backer and a rather important position outside.

Either that, or enough money to buy their service. It wasn’t all that mutually exclusive.

“Sister,” Isabelle called out, her tone neutral.

The woman, Lia Lorenze, froze, turning around to face Isabelle a few seconds later. Gaius sucked in his breath, and to his side, Nakama made a little awed sound. Lia Lorenze could have passed for Isabelle easily — other than her height, her carefully sculpted features were almost the same as that of Isabelle’s.

But most importantly, the pupils of her eyes were prismatic. Gaius had never seen such a set of eyes before, and for a moment, he found himself enchanted by their beauty.

“Isabelle…” She laughed, producing a soothing tinkle that made Gaius’ eyes narrow somewhat. “I had heard from Leon, but I thought he was joking or something. You’re really here, in the flesh. Are you here to drag me back?”

“N-no.”

Gaius noted Isabelle’s nervous demeanour. He wasn’t any maestro at body language, but it was evident that she still hadn’t made up her mind on how to approach her sister.

“Then you’re really here to study?” She pressed on. “You took the special entrance test, which meant that someone must have recommended you. Was it our foolish father?”

“No,” Isabelle replied. “Father left us three years ago. Grandmother wrote it for me.”

Light flashed through Lia Lorenze’s eyes. “The old man passed away? What happened? Tell me!”

“The Second Extermination,” Isabelle replied. “He was killed when besieging one of the beastfolk fortresses.”

“Tch. Knew he would die that way eventually. Old man never knew what was really important. ‘Nobles!’ ‘Pride!’ ‘Dignity!’ Old fool.” She shook her head. “Didn’t even want me to get a proper education. Glad you’re finally free of this mess.”

This wasn’t exactly how Gaius expected Isabelle’s sister to be like, since Isabelle had reacted really badly to her implied presence back at the tournament. The boy looked at the two, and no matter how he cut it, it didn’t look like they had parted on bad terms after all.

“Haven’t you heard the news?” Isabelle asked.

“What news?”

“Our family is no longer a House. We fled to the Republic of Francois a year or so ago, and then settled down there,” Isabelle replied. “Most of the family passed away too, killed when they resisted arrest or just murdered outright.”

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“I was right in the end, then.” Lia shook her head. “And to think you had the nerve to yell at me the last time we met. I would rub it in, but…”

The graceful demeanour she had vanished. “…it’s my family too.”

“Sister…”

“Shush. Don’t say it. We both were wrong,” said Lia. “One last thing. Any news on mother?”

Isabelle shook her head mutely.

“Figured.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder, which created a spectacle bright enough to dazzle anyone’s eyes. “Anything else you wanted to ask?”

Isabelle brought down the hand she used to shield her eyes. “That palanquin.”

“Oh, you saw me on the way to school today?” She asked. “Yes, it’s a comfortable ride. Do you want to give it a try too?”

These words were apparently the last straw for Isabelle, and before Gaius’ eyes, the usually-calm and composed Isabelle snapped.

“No! Why would I?! It’s so embarrassing! Everyone’s staring at you and wondering what’s even going on! That red carpet, that mode of transport — even I feel awkward seeing you! I’ve been wanting to tell you this for years: you’re too high profile!”

She shivered. It was a rare sight to see her that flustered, and it would be a lie if Gaius didn’t somewhat enjoy the novelty. After spending a moment or so to take in her blushing face, Gaius clicked his tongue. “Looks like she’s weak to second-hand embarrassment. Nakama, can you give her a hand?”

Nakama nodded, and clutched Isabelle’s hand. The Knight jerked, and her face, already red, turned even redder somehow. For a moment, Gaius could see steam rise out of her head, and then she muttered something to the bemused Lia, who nodded dumbly.

Silence persisted for a while, and Gaius watched on, amused, as the elder Lorenze cast around wildly for a conversation topic. Her eyes, more than once, had landed on Gaius and Nakama, and the more he watched, the more he had the feeling that this Lia Lorenze was thinking of something very rude.

“It’s a bit late to ask,” said Lia Lorenze, “but is this kid a fiancée that grandmother arranged for you?”

“Wow. You had so many options, and you went with that one.” Gaius stifled some laughter. “Isabelle, your sister is truly someone unique. I see why you were that mortified now.”

Isabelle whimpered. It was somewhat fun seeing this new side of her, but the boy also felt bad in teasing her like this. Nakama, who was now holding on to Isabelle with both hands, tried to glare at Gaius, but Gaius didn’t feel anything from that.

Lia cleared her throat. “Ahem. My mind’s in the gutter again, so let’s put that aside for now. I don’t think we have cousins their age, Isa, so who are those two? The boy seems very dangerous too. Is he a bodyguard?”

“We have a very complicated relationship,” said Gaius. “Nakama, can you...?”

“We live together, eat together and sleep together!”

“STOP MAKING THINGS WORSE!” Isabelle covered her face with her hands, calming down a moment later. “This little girl is Nakama. She’s our adopted sister. This boy here is her brother. He’s something like my master.”

“Master.” Lia repeated that word. “Uhm. What kind of contractual obligations…?”

“What do you think it is?” Gaius asked, a smile on his face.

“Isa…? I didn’t you had such heavy tastes…” Isabelle’s elder sister took a few steps back. “What did you give up when you became a Knight?”

“You’re misunderstanding things! Shut up and let me speak!”