---------------
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the ‌‌‌latest releases, please read directly on our official ‌site: valirscans.org
---------------

Chapter 34
Ishuel was the third child ‌‌‌of ‌‌‌‌House Basilian.
Though he was a twin ‌‌‌‌with Karha, he became the third because ‌‌he was born later.
Yet he was only nominally the ‌‌youngest.
Ishuel had ‌‌never truly considered himself the youngest child.
Because I was far more mature than Karha.
I revered Belzeon as my elder brother and trusted him completely, but honestly, since Karha was so childish, I believed it was only right that I held the position of older brother.
My perspective shifted somewhat after Mother's death.
On a day when torrential rains poured down, a funeral held with a coffin overflowing with flowers alone.
Young as I was ‌‌‌then, I ‍‌‌‌could not comprehend death.
I only wondered where Mother had vanished to in that single moment.
So I wandered searching for her ‌every single day.
Though my small feet cracked and my legs ‌‌swelled from the constant walking, no ‌‌one ‌‌stopped me.
Or rather, they could not. ‌‌‌
Everyone in House Basilian was utterly lost in grief.
Kieran, Belzeon, the Castle servants—all of them.
None had the capacity to look after me.
Kieran especially....
It was a mercy he did not take his own life to follow Mother.
In place of the deteriorating Kieran, Belzeon gradually assumed administrative duties, while the Castle servants labored to assist him.
Everyone exerted themselves to the utmost so that House Basilian would not crumble, so they could endure until Kieran regained his senses. ‌‌‌
A young child like me wandering inside and outside the Castle all day searching for Mother was hardly worth their attention.
It was understandable they had no mind for it.
The only one who looked after me then was Karha.
"Hey. Where are you going alone again?"
"To find ‌‌‌‌Mother."
"She's gone, ‌‌‌I'm telling you."
"That's why I have to look for her!"
When I threw a tantrum, Karha would pretend to be helpless and follow along.
That wild beast of a boy actually played the role of older brother quite well back then.
I still had no intention of treating him as my senior, but I began to see him as someone I ‌‌‌‌could rely on to some degree.
When ‌‌we both returned home at dusk, exhausted from wandering outside all day. ‌‌
I ‌‌‌felt quite grateful toward Karha.
I should treat him well too.
I thought such things often.
And I genuinely tried ‌‌‌to do right by him.
As I looked after Karha, I felt a sense of pride.
Though the void left by Mother's ‌absence was vast, it seemed we were ‌managing well enough on our own.
That delusion shattered before long.
It was ‌‌‌the day I was searching the area near the Castle alone.
While rummaging ‌‌‌through the underbrush, Ishuel overheard the castle workers exchanging gossip among themselves.
"Did you see what they were wearing?"
"Good heavens, how could they?"
"Don't even mention it. I'm embarrassed just watching the ‌‌‌Basilian young masters parade ‌‌‌around like that."
The moment I heard the name "Basilian," my heart plummeted.
I buried myself deeper into the underbrush.
"Still, they're from a prestigious family in the Eastern Region.... Do they have no sense of shame?"
"Well, there was that major incident recently. We should pity them, really."
Beneath their sympathetic words lay a cruel, barely concealed mockery.
They all burst into laughter.
Someone shrugged as they spoke.
"It really shows—the lack of a mother's touch."
In that instant, it felt as though someone had set my face ablaze.
My cheeks burned crimson with the searing heat.
Shame consumed me utterly, yet I couldn't bring myself to cry out.
Terrified they'd discover I'd been eavesdropping, I could only ‌‌flee in panic.
Back in my room, I stood before the mirror.
"...."
Staring back at me was a shabby, unkempt ‌‌‌child.
Hair so tangled it hadn't been properly combed.
A ribbon tied crooked.
Shirttails hanging loose.
Trousers wrinkled and worn, knees exposed, the hem ‌‌‌hanging wrong.
Shoes caked with dirt from trudging through the earth.
A face bronzed and darkened by the sun.
This was no reflection of the third son of House Basilian, rulers of the Black Forest.
What was I supposed to do? ‌‌‌‌
I stared blankly at my pitiful, shabby appearance for a long moment.
Then, hesitantly, I reached up to my hair.
Running my ‌‌fingers through it roughly, it seemed to look slightly ‌better.
Emboldened by this small improvement, I attempted to retie my ribbon.
But having never done it before, it felt awkward and clumsy.
I tried several times, yet couldn't achieve ‌a result I was satisfied with.
I was still struggling with the ribbon when—
"Hey, what are you doing?"
Karha burst through the door.
He looked at me standing before the mirror with a puzzled expression.
"Not going outside today?"
I scrutinized my twin brother carefully.
Karha did everything half-heartedly except for sword training.
Indeed, Karha looked even worse than I ‌‌did.
As I stared at him, Karha tilted his head and asked.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm not alright!"
Suddenly, my heart sank.
The ribbon that wouldn't stay in place, Karha's disheveled appearance, and myself—running away before those who cursed Count Basilian.
I hated it all.
Ishuel burst into tears.
"It's not because Mother is gone, ‌it's not!"
Before Ishuel, wailing and flailing, Karha scratched the back of his head.
"Why ‌‌are you like this..."
Then he awkwardly pulled out a handkerchief and attempted to comfort me.
But when Ishuel saw the handkerchief—unironed, creased, and frayed at the edges—I cried even harder.
"I really hate this!"
That entire day, weeping bitterly, I made a firm resolve.
That such a thing would never happen again. ‌‌‌
Never.

***
"Well, that's roughly why I became interested in clothing."
Ishuel continued matter-of-factly.
"Funny, right? At first it was out of obligation, but now it's different. Once I started ‌‌‌paying attention, it became genuinely enjoyable."
He lifted his ‌‌‌‌chin with arrogant pride.
"I love being beautiful. Having been born with such looks, shouldn't I refine and ‌‌‌cultivate them for the sake of ‌‌‌‌the continent itself?"
While the words alone might have sounded conceited, looking at Ishuel's face made the statement remarkably persuasive.
Chesa found herself nodding along without realizing it.
Hata, listening alongside her, ‌‌‌‌also nodded in agreement.
"Anyway, I hope there's something worthwhile at the ‌‌‌Hat Shop. This is House Basilian's debut into High Society, after all. I wanted to make sure no one could look down on us."
Ishuel poked Chesa's cheek with his finger as he spoke.
"And I'm going to dress my little sister in the most beautiful gown."
Watching him smile brightly, Chesa felt something swell in her chest.
Unaware of Chesa's feelings, Ishuel chuckled softly.
"This is the first time I've talked about ‌‌‌such things."
He'd never told Karha either, Ishuel said with a shrug.
"Isn't that strange? With you, I always want to talk about everything. Having you nearby somehow puts my mind at ease. Karha too, and my older brother, and Father... It seems everyone becomes gentler with their youngest sibling." ‌‌‌
The words that drew her into the family's embrace came naturally.
Chesa hugged the puppy in her arms tightly, then suddenly spoke.
"I'll go to Chesa's room."
"Why? Did I bore you with my stories?"
I forcibly separated myself from Ishuel, who ‌‌was whining for me to stay and play with him.
"I'm tired, so I'm going to bed early."
Claiming exhaustion, I refused more ‌‌firmly than usual.
Ishuel, who had been whining, finally relented.
"Then at least let me walk you to your bedroom."
Chesa carried the puppy while Ishuel cradled Chesa in his arms. ‌‌‌‌
As he slowly escorted me ‌‌to the bedroom, Ishuel kept coaxing me to play with him.
He even made an unprecedented offer—if I was truly exhausted, he'd read me a fairy tale before sleep.
But Chesa kept her lips sealed in a tight triangle and ‌‌‌pretended not to hear. ‌‌
With no other choice, Ishuel set me down at the bedroom door.
"Sleep well, little sister."
"You too, big brother."
Click.
The door closed.
Once inside the bedroom, I set Hata down on the floor.
Then I stood quietly for a moment, lost in thought.
Ishuel, casually laying bare his past like that.
The dress that House Basilian should have possessed but was stolen by another family.
'I tried to ignore it...'
My heart kept wavering and trembling with unease.
"Hata."
"Yes, Lichesia!"
Hata raised her front paws and responded. ‌
I confessed my impulsive decision to her.
"Open the shop for a bit."
"Yes!"
Hata answered reflexively, then jumped back in surprise.
The small puppy bounced in place and cried out.
"...What?!"
"And contact Miya's Tailoring Shop too."
I ‌‌‌‌declared with grim determination.
"I need to wear the finest dress possible."

---------------
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest ‌‌‌releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
---------------