Despite keeping his composure, Zeke could feel his skin crawl under his brother’s stern gaze. As he opened his mouth to speak, Lysander beat him to it, starting with a low mutter. “…Silas.”

“Yes?” Zeke leaned back against the couch, hoping that the softness of the cushion against his skin would help lessen the tension.

”You see,” Lysander kept pausing in between his words, slowly replacing Zeke’s nervousness with irritation, yet he swiftly pushed them down before they could hang on his sleeve. “During the banquet a few days ago…I met this lady,” at that moment, Zeke noticed a flash of unease flickering across Lysander’s face, turning his brows upward in surprise. “Lady Penelope Beaufort, you should know her, right?”

“Yes,” Zeke responded, confusion clear in his voice. The mere recollection of the lady’s name brought back memories rooted deep within Silas Salvador’s body. “She’s the daughter of Baron Beaufort…the house that owns territory and mines near the mountains. Why? Did something go wrong with the trading routes again?”

After the Mana Bloom event, aristocrats whose territory lay closest to the empire’s borders often get bombarded with constant monster attacks. It’d been the reason why Earl Goldwyn earnestly gave his daughter to Creston in return for protection. House Beaufort has the same reason for forging an alliance with House Salvador, apart from the fact that the soldiers clean up trading routes instead of guarding the house itself.

“No, everything is perfectly fine,” Lysander disputed Zeke’s thoughts, causing him to frown deeply. As Lysander locked his fingers together, he continued with the typical stern look on his face, but Zeke noticed the uncertain glint in his eyes beyond his confident facade. “I need your opinion on how I should…approach Lady Penelope.”

“…The fuck? Am I dreaming? Is this guy seriously asking for ‘that’ kind of advice?” Zeke’s face luckily didn’t betray his thoughts, and while he internally thanked Creston’s genes for his stoic resting face, he responded in a careful tone. “Approach…as in, you’d like to be in a relationship with her?”

Without missing a beat, Lysander nodded sternly. “Yes, you understood me correctly. I believe consulting with an experienced person would yield better results.”

“Woah, he’s dead, fucking serious. ‘That’ is the face of someone in love?” Zeke could barely hold back the grin from reaching his face. “I thought he only had Creston and swordsmanship in his brain…Apparently I was wrong. Finally, twenty-year-old Lysander Salvador has found the third thing he likes in this world.”

Before his silence could drag on for too long, Zeke nodded to his brother’s words and crossed his arm, pretending to be in deep thought. “But shit, I’m not in a real relationship, how the fuck am I supposed to give him advice?” As he kicked those thoughts from his mind, Zeke brightly smiled. “You came to the right person, brother.” No you did not. “First of all, not all women are the same, so you can’t use the same method for every lady, keep this in mind.”

After seeing Lysander nod, Zeke continued. “Now, analyze your tar—objective of passion, unlike Lady Ruelle, Lady Penelope is quite timid, and is especially shy around men—”

“Lady Ruelle isn’t timid?” Lysander raised an eyebrow.

“Fuck, I mixed up Ruelle with Circe.” Keeping a steady smile, Zeke responded. “My apologies, my lady isn’t as shy with me as she is with other people, I sometimes forget that she doesn’t do very well in crowds,” before Lysander could start thinking too deeply, Zeke swiftly got back on topic. “Anyhow, approaching Lady Penelope in a normal way would be too risky, she might feel intimidated…especially since you’re of a higher standing than her.”

“That is true…” A frown darkened Lysander’s face. “Then what do you suggest I do?”

“To be honest, I don’t know either,” Zeke’s thoughts ran faster than they ever had in his life, as if racing against an invisible time limit. “How do you ask a woman out on a date? Damn, Circe would’ve been a much better consultant than me, a woman would know how she wants men to ask her out, right? Shit…Uh, maybe…”

“How about you create a ‘coincidental’ scenario?” Zeke wanted to hide in a hole at that moment, but he kept his thoughts well-hidden and persevered. “Getting a woman to like you is like overcoming a wall, but you mustn’t climb over it or break it. You must be gentle, and push the wall away little by little. So if you start approaching her while she’s in a safe space, she might feel more comfortable letting you get closer. Start with visiting her house and accidentally meet her under the guise of you being there for business.”

”Oh, that makes sense.” As Lysander nodded in understanding, Zeke wondered whether he should feel grateful or horrified that Lysander didn’t even question the logic of his advice. “But will that guarantee that I meet her?”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“Shouldn’t be too difficult to find her, no?” At that point, Zeke continued to speak whatever came to his mind, feeling the pressure of his mountain of nonsense he kept stacking atop one another. “But if you really don’t see her in the mansion, then another option is to ‘catch her off guard’.”

Lysander tilted his head. “Did you not say to approach her carefully?”

“I did, but I was bullshitting you moron.” Nodding, Zeke replied. “I did, although if you don’t let the shock and confusion sink in, you could use that chance to ask her out. The moment you accidentally bumped into her, just say: ‘Oh, I’m sorry, I did not see you there. As a token of my apology, I would like to treat you to dinner.’ Something like that.”

“…What if she rejects it?”

“Then say that you insist, because it’d make you feel at ease.” Zeke wondered if he should laugh after seeing Lysander’s impressed expression, but luckily managed to distract himself before he could burst. “If you’re sincere with her, then she should see your efforts and give you a chance. Women like sincere men, Lysander, so be honest with her, confess when you’re at dinner while you’re at it.”

“Hm, yes, alright. I understand what I should do now.” Lysander abruptly stood up. “My apologies for keeping you here for so long, brother. Thank you for your wonderful advice, you can get going now.”

“Ah, it’s nothing, of course I’m happy to help you. Have a nice rest of your day!” Zeke forced a smile as he rose from his seat, and after giving Lysander a bow, he swiftly walked out of the room before his brother could say another word.

Having escaped the snippet of hell, Zeke let out a long sigh of relief. “Thank god I read all those romance novels, I’m just taking cliches out of their books for that whole conversation.” As he took a deep breath to calm his racing heart, Zeke dragged his feet across the hallway.

.

.

.

“So there was this time when—“

‘Knock knock’

Rowena’s words halted as she turned towards the door. “Who is it?”

“Silas Salvador. Is Lady Ruelle in there?”

“Yes,” a small frown crept up the girl’s face. Glancing at Circe for a moment, she responded back to the voice outside in a stern tone. “But you may not enter.”

“…” There was a moment of silence. “What?”

Circe didn’t hold back her chuckles, covering her mouth with her hand to prevent herself from bursting into hysteria. As the image of a fuming Silas Salvador invaded her thoughts, Circe spoke to Rowena, lowering her hand. “Rena, you can let him in.”

“Huh?” The little girl stared at her with disappointment gleaming in her eyes. “But…But this is our girl talk! Boys aren’t allowed!”

“Oh my god, what do I do with this cuteness?” Circe smiled and turned towards the door. “Oh dear, Lord Silas. Did you hear that? Lady Rowena said that this is our girl talk and boys aren’t allowed.”

Rowena’s hands shot to her mouth, her eyes sparkling with joy. “Big sister…!”

“…Fine, I’ll leave.” Frustration etched in his tone as the sound of heavy footsteps faded into silence. When the two girls turned to face each other, they bursted into a fit of laughter.

”Sister Ruelle is such an amazing dog whisperer!” Rowena clapped in excitement as she leaned back against the couch, her small feet lightly kicking the edge of the coffee table in glee. “I’m glad that it’s you who’s going to be my sister-in-law! I’ve always dreamed of having a big sister like you!”

“The honor is mine, Rena,” Circe chuckled. “Well now, what were you about to say before you got interrupted?”

“Oh right! So there was this time when Eldest Brother fell down the stairs. He got up and acted like I didn’t just see him slide down the steps like a sheet of paper!”

“She sure talks a lot about Lysander…is he her idol?” Deciding not to dwell in her thoughts, she asked. “You have quite a lot of stories to share about Lord Lysander, do you perhaps look up to him?”

The sudden question made Rowena think for a moment, a light frown creeping to her brows. “Look up to…No,” Rowena stared at her with determination. “I want to surpass him! I’ll beat him in swordsmanship and show Father that he’s not all that special!”

“Oh…so it’s more like sibling rivalry.” Intrigued, Circe inquired further. “That’s quite the goal, I’m sure you’ll succeed since it’s you, Rena. Although, does that mean you dislike your brother? Because he’s the opponent you need to beat?”

Rowena shook her head. “Nope! I like Eldest Brother, he taught me many things,” as she picked up her half-drank cup of orange juice from the coffee table, she continued. “It’s just that sometimes Father looks at Eldest Brother all the time and doesn’t come to see me very much…I’m either at the training ground or spend time with my nanny…I want to show Father that I’m capable too!”

Behind her child-like voice, Circe could hear Rowena’s loneliness through her words. “She’s only around ten years old…you’re telling me she’s been swinging a weapon around and not receiving love from her father?” Circe hid her worries behind a smile and spoke. “What about your mother? I’m sure Lady Esmeralda wouldn’t mind spending time with you.”

“Really?” Rowena looked at her with a hint of disbelief. “But…I never saw her outside of photos…and she doesn’t come to see me either so…I don’t think she likes me.”

”That’s not true at all!” Circe took a deep breath and calmed herself down, careful not to raise her voice. “Lady Esmeralda…is a delicate lady, but I can tell you that she loves her children very much. Instead of her disliking you, the marchioness is more likely to believe that you hate her, Rena.”

“But why would I hate my mother?” Confusion flashed across the little girl’s face.

“I can’t exactly tell her that I know about Esmeralda briefly from reading it in a game and that it’s her real feelings about her children.” Circe brushed away her thoughts. “She has her own circumstances…because she doesn’t believe that she could raise children properly for the Salvador house, they assigned nannies instead. Perhaps she thinks that you would hate her because she was never there for any of your important moments.”

“…How can anyone hate someone whom they’ve never met?” Rowena stared at her own reflection in the juice, seeing the confused little girl look back. “I don’t understand…”

“You don’t have to understand it right now, but maybe later in the future.” Circe’s genuine smile replaced the fake, feeling a sense of relief wash over her. ‘Thank god she still has the innocence of a child even in a family like this.’, the thought briefly crossed her mind. “How about we go meet Lady Esmeralda together? I’ll come with you so you won’t be alone.”

Rowena seemed hesitant as she glanced up from her drink. “Will she really not hate me?”

Circe dawned a confident smile. “I’ll give Lord Silas a punch in the gut if I’m wrong.”

At her promise, Rowena’s face lit up instantly. “Alright! Then I’ll go!”