Chapter 88
“Ah, well…”
Summer hesitated, and just then Adrian appeared.
“Miss Summer, why don’t you change into this for now…”
In his hand was a very familiar dress.
“Isn’t that my dress?”
This brother of mine—now he was trying to hand over his little sister’s clothes to his girlfriend?
Of course, they were still only in the flirting stage, but it was absurd all the same.
When my expression darkened, Summer pulled a mournful face.
“I’m really fine. I can go back to the mansion like this…”
“How could you go anywhere looking like that? This happened because of me—let me at least do this much.”
What was that? Why was he acting like this?
Watching my brother show off in front of Summer made my stomach churn.
Then Adrian turned to soothe me.
“I’ll buy our Delly a new one. It’s just that the dress shops are closed at this hour. You’re okay with it, right?”
I honestly wanted to hit him just once.
Who did he think I was—a sister so desperate for clothes she’d lose her mind?
I had plenty to say, but I swallowed it in front of Summer.
I snatched the dress from his hand and gave him a bright, flowery smile.
“Of course. That goes without saying. But I’ll give her something else instead. This one is hard to get in and out of on your own.”
After shooting him a quick glare, I turned to Summer.
“Follow me. Oppa, you stay right there.”
At my sharp-toned words, Adrian clasped his hands together in a pleading gesture.
Ugh, what was that supposed to be?
Annoying as he was, what could I do?
He was family, after all.
Now that the reason to pair Summer with Alferen had vanished, cheering on my brother’s romance didn’t seem so bad.
In fact, it might even create a buffer to soften his siscon tendencies, wouldn’t it?
Still convinced that my own love life mattered far more than his, I smirked wickedly and led Summer away.
* * *
While Summer changed, I heard the full story from our ever-faithful maid, May.
While Alferen and I had been sweetly wrapped up in each other on the terrace, Nanael and her group had picked a fight with Summer.
“You know those young ladies who used to trail after our young master like puppies? The moment they saw Miss Summer, they pounced on her like starving wolves. And when the young master tried to stop them, it only fanned the flames.”
I could guess the rest. Adrian had always treated every lady with equal courtesy, but his special attention toward Summer had sparked this.
It had started the moment he volunteered to be her debutante partner—an eye-catching move from the very beginning.
In the end, one lady, blinded by jealousy, had tripped Summer, causing her to collide with a passing servant and get doused in wine and cake.
“I’d never seen the young master move that fast!”
Adrian had witnessed it, scooped her up in a perfect princess carry, and swept her out of the hall—a flawless cliché.
Wow. Seeing things like this, you really understand how the protagonists’ love line just sails along on its own.
Honestly, with Adrian’s personality, sending Summer home in that state would have been unthinkable.
Of course, bringing her all the way here probably came with some ulterior motives, but I pretended not to notice.
Just moments ago, I’d been uneasy about Adrian and Summer getting closer.
Now that there was no reason to feel that way, I figured I might as well let him handle it himself.
After all, if you left them alone, the whole universe seemed to conspire in their favor.
It irked me a little that my brother was so ridiculously lucky, but it didn’t matter anymore.
Because Alferen is my lover now!
It still didn’t feel real.
The sensation of his lips brushing my cheek as he dropped me off lingered so vividly, yet everything felt strangely dreamlike.
Honestly, my brother’s love life had already slipped completely from my thoughts.
Just then, Summer emerged, changed into the new dress.
“Thank you so much, Your Ladyship.”
“You’re planning to take that one with you?”
“Ah, yes. It was a gift.”
“If you leave it here, I’ll have it laundered and sent over. The fabric is delicate—if it’s washed wrong, it’ll be ruined.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that.”
Blushing, Summer handed the soiled dress to May.
I felt a quiet swell of pride that she cherished the dress I had given her.
“You must really love the dress.”
“It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever worn. All the dresses I’ve had before were so uncomfortable, but this one fits perfectly.”
“Right? It’s a new design from the Rosie Atelier. Starting tomorrow, they’ll probably sell like hotcakes.”
With Summer as the model, the outcome was obvious even without seeing it.
Then Summer blushed and murmured shyly.
“No wonder. It’s from a famous atelier. If not for the young lord, I never would have worn something like this.”
“Hey, you can wear as many as you—”
I rubbed my nose, embarrassed, then froze mid-sentence.
A single word had grated on my ears.
“The young lord?”
“Ah.”
Summer’s eyes widened as she realized her slip too late.
After a moment, she fidgeted with her fingers and explained.
“The truth is… the young lord has been anonymously sponsoring me for a long time. I only recently discovered it was him, and I’ve been wondering when would be the right time to say something.”
“???”
What was this now?
Why had I suddenly become Adrian Peris?
Caught in a moment of cognitive dissonance, I pressed a hand to my forehead and asked again.
“So… you’re saying our oppa has been sponsoring you?”
“Yes. Oh, please keep it a secret from him. He wanted to hide his identity, so he’d be terribly embarrassed if he knew I found out.”
Innocent Summer smiled brightly.
My mind, watching her, was pure chaos.
Good heavens. What kind of misunderstanding is this?
I couldn’t begin to fathom how Summer had mistaken me for Adrian.
Trying to stay calm, I asked,
“But if it was anonymous, how did you figure out who it was?”
“The perfume he wears lingered faintly on the letters. And the handwriting was exactly the same, so I knew immediately.”
Wow. It actually worked out like that?
I blinked at the unexpected twist.
Summer was surprisingly perceptive. The only problem was that she had firmly latched onto the wrong person.
The very precautions I’d taken to keep my identity hidden had led to this.
So the reason she never wrote back was because she was absolutely convinced Adrian was my “Daddy-Long-Legs”?
According to Eden, Adrian had practically been clocking in at the magic tower every day.
No doubt he’d been using “visiting Alferen” as an excuse to see Summer.
And none of it would have been possible without Alferen’s help.
And the reason Alferen had stepped in to help their romance in the first place… was me.
Is this brother destined to stumble across gold even in his sleep? Seriously. Everything just falls into place for him again.
Some people toil for months just to get a romance off the ground.
Yet the protagonist couple—even their misunderstandings worked in their favor.
Summer murmured shyly,
“He’s been coming to the tower much more often lately. I think he wants to check on me himself. Well, he did sponsor me for so long—of course he’d be curious now that I’m in the capital.”
No. He just wants to see you.
“Actually, my younger sibling wants to meet the young lord, so we’ve arranged to have dinner together soon.”
No—that seat is supposed to be mine, not his.
But at this point, Summer’s misunderstanding ran too deep to correct easily.
As I stared into an uncertain future, wondering where to even begin untangling this,
“Are you done?”
Adrian, unable to wait any longer, called from the doorway.
Watching Summer check her hair in the mirror one last time, I let it go.
Fine. This might actually be for the best. I only need Alferen anyway.
If my actions had helped bring them together, that made me happy too.
I decided I’d clear up the misunderstanding when the right moment came, and opened the door.
Adrian, who had been about to pull the handle himself, blinked in surprise.
I swept a sharp glare over him.
He still hadn’t changed out of his formal clothes—his intentions were transparent.
I couldn’t help but smile.
“Oppa! Take Miss Summer home safely.”
Yes. Your little sister is rooting for your love too.
