~Chapter 44~
“Enough. If you’re going to eat, sit down and eat. What if you drop it?”
“So what if I drop a little?”
“No. The daughter of House Lucert must always be perfect.”
Cecilia answered firmly, then looked down at the ice cream in her hand with a complicated expression.
“Actually, eating ice cream outside like this is already something that shouldn’t happen…”
“……”
I see.
Cecilia must have lived her whole life under pressure like that.
Milena quietly looked at Cecilia’s elegant side profile, then suddenly spoke.
“Even if you’re not the daughter of House Lucert, you’re still just my sister.”
“…What?”
“I don’t like you because you’re a noble lady. I like you because you’re a good person.”
Hearing that, Cecilia asked defensively,
“What do you even know about me?”
“At least I know that you’re a kind person.”
“Kind?”
Cecilia let out a disbelieving laugh.
But Milena looked straight at her with steady eyes.
“Yes. Even when I was a maid, you cared about all my difficult situations.”
“……”
“Even when you caught me crying. Normally you would fire me, or keep me watched for twenty-four hours so I couldn’t speak about it.”
Milena spoke quickly, then took a deep breath.
“But you didn’t do that. You just made me your personal maid.”
“That was…”
“And when I said I was worried about my mother, you even allowed me to go in and out freely to see her. Isn’t that true?”
Milena asked firmly.
Cecilia let out a small laugh.
“You really say such carefree things.”
Maybe she could say such kind words because she was the real daughter of the Duke’s family.
Even so, Cecilia was honestly grateful to hear them.
But Milena, annoyed by the indifferent reaction, suddenly turned toward her.
“That’s not being carefree—!”
The problem was that, at that moment, the chocolate ice cream in Milena’s hand slipped.
Plop.
The ice cream fell right onto Cecilia’s dress, leaving a brown stain before dying a heroic death.
Cold silence filled the air.
“……”
“……”
Milena felt a chill run down her spine like cold water had been poured over her.
Slowly, stiffly, she lifted her head.
“U-um… Sister?”
Cecilia quietly looked down at the stain on her chest.
Then she spoke in a dark voice.
“Milena… what exactly is this?”
“S-sister! I mean, this was an accident—!”
Milena hurriedly tried to explain.
But at that moment—
Cecilia lifted the ice cream in her hand.
Then—
“Take this.”
She rubbed the ice cream right onto Milena’s cheek.
“Eh?”
Milena blinked in shock.
Did Cecilia just… smear ice cream on my face?
At the same time, Cecilia said calmly,
“Revenge.”
“……”
It was true—when you’re too surprised, words don’t come out.
Milena stared at Cecilia with wide eyes like a startled rabbit.
“Where do you think I’m from?”
“……”
“I’m from an orphanage.”
Cecilia shrugged proudly.
“Childish pranks like this? I’m better at them than you. So don’t even think about beating your older sister. Got it?”
At that moment—
Milena’s green eyes flashed dangerously.
She wiped the ice cream from her cheek with her hand—
and smeared it onto Cecilia’s cheek.
Cecilia gasped.
“W-what are you doing right now—?!”
Milena smiled brightly, her face full of mischief.
“Sister… try to catch me.”
And with that, she ran away as fast as she could.
Cecilia watched her run farther and farther away.
Then she touched her cheek.
Melted ice cream stuck to her fingers.
Her beautiful teal eyes flashed.
“Hey! Stop right there!”
Cecilia ran after her like a madwoman.
Seeing her chasing so fiercely, the smile slowly disappeared from Milena’s face.
Milena’s face turned pale as she ran faster.
Th-that’s scary!
Ten minutes later…
The two girls were a complete mess.
They collapsed on separate benches, breathing heavily.
“Haah… haah… Sister… why are you so fast…”
“Y-you too… haah… anyone would think I was trying to eat you…”
“That’s because you chased me so terrifyingly…”
“Well maybe you shouldn’t have put ice cream on my face…”
Both girls had messy hair.
Their dresses were wrinkled and covered in dirt.
Even their shoes and hems were stained with dust.
Cecilia finally regained her senses—and her face turned pale.
“W-what should we do now?”
She desperately brushed the ice cream stain and dirt off her dress.
But instead of getting cleaner, the stain only spread more.
“This is terrible… my dignity as a noble lady…”
At that moment—
A calm voice called her.
“Cecilia, Sister.”
Cecilia slowly lifted her head.
The sunset burned golden in the sky.
Milena was standing there, looking straight at her.
“No matter how hard I try, I probably can’t completely understand how you feel.”
“…Milena.”
“Our situations are different. To be honest… I probably have more peace of mind than you.”
Milena took a deep breath.
Then she finally said the words she had been holding in her heart.
“After all… I’m the Duke’s real daughter.”
“……”
Cecilia pressed her lips tightly together.
Milena was like warm sunlight in spring.
She easily found the shadows Cecilia had tried to hide—
and shone light on them.
And just like snow melting under sunlight, Cecilia’s hardened feelings slowly melted away.
“Still… I wish you could relax your heart a little.”
Milena smiled awkwardly.
“How can anyone be perfect all the time? It’s okay to lose your elegance sometimes.”
“But if I do… the family might be disappointed…”
“I understand why you worry about that. But to me…”
Milena’s smile grew warmer.
“Family isn’t a relationship where you struggle to show only your perfect side.”
“……”
“It’s a relationship where you show your weakest parts, get angry sometimes, cry sometimes… and face each other honestly.”
Milena shrugged lightly.
“At least… that’s how it was with my mother.”
The “mother” Milena spoke of was probably the adoptive mother who had raised her with love when she was young.
