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“What do you mean?”
I turned my attention to Finn-sama. He didn’t break his smile.
I really couldn’t read what Finn-sama was thinking.
“Henry loves Alicia. And even up until now, if there’s been any kind of gathering, it’s been about Liz or Alicia.”
“But things have changed a lot since then.”
I smiled, not to be outdone by Finn-sama’s dazzling smile.
“…Well, if Henry called us in the morning, I guess, maybe he didn’t want Alicia to see us.”
Curtis-sama interrupted the conversation.
I could certainly agree with that. But it was pretty much impossible for me to avoid seeing visitors when I lived in this mansion, you know?
“It’s Henry’s fault for not anticipating Alicia’s early morning sword practice in the garden.”
“Yeah, it’s his fault. We didn’t expect Alicia to be here, sweating and swinging around a sword.”
“That’s exactly what Alicia would do, though.”
…You two had been somewhat rude to me since the beginning, you know?
And the way you said about me swinging around a sword! Say that I was practicing with a sword!
I scowled at them both, and Finn-sama looked pleased to see me glaring at him.
I wondered if he had any fear. I had never seen Finn-sama scared before.
“That’s amazing, right!”
I tilted my head at Finn-sama’s words. He looked at me with a sparkle in his eyes.
“Because Albert never won!”
“Even though he’s one of the strongest among us.”
Curtis-sama, that one word excessively gouged Big Brother Albert’s heart.
I mean, Finn-sama was relentless, as well. You should have covered up for him instead, even by a little. I couldn’t really say something about it from my point of view.
It must be humiliating to lose to a girl. And yet, he lost to not only a woman but his younger sister who was five years younger than him, the damage must have been worse.
I wanted to be strong enough so that no one would underestimate me, and I had trained myself accordingly. I aim to be as strong as I could be, even surpassing a man’s level.
That was why I trained dozens of times more than other people.
I also had pride. I worked hard and honed my skills until now.
I would hate for them to underestimate me.
When I thought about it, I realized that Kushana’s power was monstrous.
She was so refined, and she didn’t waste any of her movements. And she had such power in her body. I didn’t win, but I was proud to have had the chance to fight her.
“Albert, are you hurt or something?”
Hey, Finn-sama!
How dared you ask my brother like that with that angelic face of yours! You’re going to make him cry!
Curtis-sama was also careful about what Finn-sama said, telling him, “Don’t ask that”.
But from big brother’s point of view, this concern had the opposite effect.
“…I knew Alicia was strong, so I’m not really hurt. It’s just that I’m too unworthy.”
The air was awkward, with no one able to say anything.
Finn-sama did not seem to feel bad about what he said. Rather, he looked at me with a stare that said, “Say something”.
Perhaps this was Finn-sama’s way of showing consideration.
I let out a small sigh and spoke.
“You can get stronger from here on. Swordsmanship is just a skill. Fortunately, skills can be honed as much as you want with training.”
I was not the kind of person to offer words of comfort.
I could never be a sweet little sister. But that was fine.
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