Young Lady Albert Is Courting Disaster: Volume 5 E-Book

Saki

• Herausgeber: J-Novel Heart
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Serie: Young Lady Albert Is Courting Disaster
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Seitenzahl: 273

Beschreibung

There is but one burning question on everyone’s minds: Who will be House Albert’s successor? A buzz ripples through high society as onlookers wager which of the equally worthy Albert twins will be the heir to the nation’s most powerful noble family. But Mary’s brothers have a knack for being just as eccentric as she is. Instead of vying for the successor’s seat, the twins busy themselves with fawning over Mary, bullying Adi, and being reined in by Adi’s older brother, Roberto. With the gleeful Lang and gloomy Lucian so disinterested in the family legacy, the spotlight begins shifting to none other than Mary herself.

However, Mary’s facing problems of her own. A certain rumor about Alicia is spreading among noble circles, and her daily visits to Albert Manor suddenly cease. Have her humble origins once again cast a shadow over her? And can Mary find a way to help her friend while wrapped up in House Albert’s succession dilemma?

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Cover

Characters

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Epilogue

The Crybaby Lady’s Point System

Beneath the Starry Sky

Afterword

About J-Novel Club

Copyright

Landmarks

Table of Contents

Prologue

Mary Albert started her day late.

They were having a long vacation at college, so by the time Mary finally got out of bed, the sun was already high up, and the clock by her bed indicated it was almost noon. This was quite unbecoming of a lady her age, and when the maid came in to bid her good morning, she smiled wryly at Mary.

That expression made Mary feel awkward, as if she were a child who’d overslept. She glanced aside with a huff, and her slightly disarranged hair swayed.

Although she’d vacated her bed, there was still another mound under the covers. The mound moved up and down gently in time with the quiet sounds of breathing. Golden locks peeked through the gaps in the covers. It was almost as if someone else was sleeping in the bed.

The maid was completely unperturbed by this sight. “So it happened last night too?”

“We lost the defense,” Mary responded. “Gracious! To think she’d just barge in like that so late last night and kick up a fuss about a sleepover. I can scarcely believe she’s our princess! She’s utterly disgraceful and bothersome, and I didn’t get a wink of sleep because she was in the way.” She scoffed at the mound (which was, of course, Alicia) while she complained.

The maid giggled at her words. “Indeed, I can tell you didn’t sleep very well,” she said, referring to the way Mary had stayed in bed until noon.

Having such a thing pointed out to her, Mary directed her anger at the bed, where Alicia was sleeping. Despite her harsh glare, however, the mound continued peacefully rising and falling.

Even though Alicia usually showed up first thing in the morning, now that her nocturnal assault had been a success, she was sleeping soundly atop someone else’s bed. How maddening!

“If our princess lives by the peasantly schedule of waking up when the chicken crows, then I live by my own schedule as well,” Mary proclaimed. “If morning comes when the chicken crows, then I say morning comes when I wake up. So right now it’s morning, and I started mine early!”

“Indeed, you’ve woken up very early, Lady Mary,” the maid said by way of appeasement. “Now, what would you like for breakfast? Or would you prefer lunch?”

Mary paused. “Lunch, please... Let’s say that I was in my room reading all morning, and I got so absorbed in it that I forgot to have my breakfast.” As she devised her oversleeping cover-up plan, she finished changing clothes and seated herself at her dressing table.

Giggling again, the maid stood behind Mary and gently scooped up her hair. Mary’s bed hair was worse than usual due to her oversleeping, but it wasn’t on the level of drills. The maid started to comb through it.

“What kind of hairstyle would you like today, Lady Mary?”

“Since it’s a bit hot, I was thinking of a braided updo so I can keep cool.”

“Braided updo...? That would be fine, but...”

Wondering why the maid’s voice had suddenly lowered, Mary tried to gauge the woman’s appearance through the dresser’s mirror. The maid seemed to be struggling to find the right words, her expression troubled.

Perhaps there was some issue with Mary’s request? But it wasn’t as if the maid was contending with the steel drills of the past, which wouldn’t have accommodated even the slightest hairstyle change. (This brought up an abominable memory of when the maid had tried to braid Mary’s ringlets once, but they’d entwined around her fingers instead and had caused her to scream, “Oh no! I’m trapped...!”)

But all of that was history. Now Mary’s soft, gently swaying silver hair was well under control, whether it was being combed or braided.

“Is there a problem with having it braided up?” she asked the maid.

“No, it’s not an issue with the hairstyle itself...but it will expose the nape of your neck,” the maid said gravely.

The amount of question marks floating around Mary increased. Indeed, her neck would be exposed—there was nothing unusual about that. She raised her hand to her nape, wondering what on earth the issue could’ve been. If anything, during her ringlet era, Mary often used to experiment by moving the ringlets around to try and get a nice breeze on her neck. (Although, the ringlets had been more like a heat-retaining wall.)

“What’s wrong with my neck being exposed?”

“It captivates Adi so much that he misses his footing and runs into walls. We refer to this as number seventy-five.”

“Ah, that would explain why he sometimes trips even if nothing’s in his way, gets caught in the door, falls into pits, or gets his head caught in a piece of cloth set up in the gap between the door and the wall.”

“We call those latter scenarios number fifty-eight.”

“I see... So the traps set up by my brothers are called number fifty-eight,” Mary surmised, to which the maid nodded in affirmation.

Mary already found it bothersome that matters pertaining to Adi were referred to as number seventy-five, but she felt all the more regretful to find out her brothers’ antics had a designation too. She expressed her appreciation for the servants’ efforts, and then grumbled, “I do wish they’d finally start acting like grown-ups.”

Or at least, she wanted them to stop setting up traps all over the mansion.

“Father should give them a good talking-to. It’s a shame he spoils us so much.”

“His Grace treasures his family greatly, so he wouldn’t do anything harsh,” the maid replied, chuckling at his compassionate nature as she combed Mary’s hair. The conduct she described might’ve been unexpected of the head of a distinguished noble family, but it was terribly fatherly.

The maid split Mary’s hair evenly, neatly braided it up, and attached a light-blue ribbon as a finishing touch. She then patted Mary on the head as if to soothe her anger, and Mary felt the frustration that had risen up in her chest slowly fading away in response.

“All done, Lady Mary. As there are a lot of visitors today, I tied your hair a little tighter than usual so it won’t come apart. Please let me know if you feel any pain,” the maid said once the ribbon was in place, looking at Mary through the mirror.

Mary’s hair was braided beautifully, and each time she moved, her hair and the ribbon fluttered elegantly too. Normally, she would’ve smiled at the sight and thanked her attendant. But today, the maid’s words rang in her head.

“So there are lots of guests today too, huh...?” she murmured with a sigh, her shoulders sinking.

Anyone would’ve sighed if they were forced into a busy schedule right from the moment they first got up. Still, at least she’d been able to sleep until almost noon... That thought made her picture her father and brothers, who’d likely been preoccupied since morning.

Had nobody come to wake Mary up because they wanted to let her rest during her holiday? Or were they spoiling her? Or was it because Princess Alicia was here too? Whatever the case, if there were lots of visitors today, then Mary also had to play her part and entertain them.

Steeling herself, she took a moment to make sure her hair and outfit were looking good, and then turned towards the mound in her bed. Swiftly, she threw off the covers to find the still-dozing Alicia lying there. Mary lifted her index finger, and...

“It’s about time you start acting more princessly!”

...raised her voice, while at the same time poking the birthmark right next to Alicia’s belly button.

Alicia let out a high-pitched (and extremely idiotic) shriek and sprang up. She hurriedly covered her stomach and glanced around in confusion. Upon spotting Mary, she seemed to realize what had happened, and her expression lit up.

“Good morning, Lady Mary!”

“Here’s your good morning shot!” Mary responded, mercilessly flicking Alicia’s forehead.

Alicia’s hands, which had been on her abdomen, quickly moved up to cover her forehead instead. She puffed out her cheeks, looking displeased to have Mary enact violence upon her from the moment she woke up.

But Mary was more within her rights to be dissatisfied than Alicia. “How many times do I have to tell you to cease your nocturnal assaults? All your talk about sleepovers and pajama parties is just vulgar! Don’t you have any self-awareness as a princess?!”

“Those are two separate matters. My self-awareness as a princess and sleepovers go to different stomachs!”

“Don’t word it like sleepovers are some kind of dessert! Goodness, I can’t believe a country hick like you is supposed to be a princess,” Mary huffed, casting Alicia a dubious glare. “Could it be that you’re not actually a royal?”

“What?!” Alicia exclaimed in shock, her eyes growing wide and her hair swaying. Those purple eyes and golden locks were traits only the royalty could inherit, so Alicia was without a doubt the princess—the same princess who’d been abducted by a fortune teller when their prediction that the king and queen would have a son failed to come true.

However, that wasn’t the point of Mary’s complaints.

“I have some doubts. Are you truly Their Majesties’ child?”

“How cruel, Lady Mary! I am definitely my mother and father’s actual child!”

“No, I doubt that. You think it’s morning when a chicken crows, and you charge-attack like a wild boar. Your parents are obviously a chicken and a boar!” Mary determined, pointing a finger at Alicia.

Alicia gasped in astonishment. Her pupils and body were quivering, and her hair shook from the movement as well. “But...if my parents are a chicken and a boar...which one is the mother?”

“I don’t know, but if it’s the chicken, that means you came from an egg.”

“An egg...? So I hatched?!” Alicia whispered in a trembling voice, hugging her own body tightly. She cast her gaze aside, her shapely lips shut in a hard line. Her eyes were swimming with doubt, her brows were slanted down, and she looked awfully fragile.

Seeing the other girl like this, Mary let out a sigh and closed her eyes for a moment. “I can’t keep up with you,” she muttered, flicking Alicia’s forehead again. This signified the end of the charade. “I’m leaving now, and you should get out of bed too. I bet you plan on taking your lunch here? Go have a seat in the next room over.”

“Unfortunately, I’m very busy today, so I’ll have to head back to the palace right away,” Alicia answered.

“My, is that so?”

“Yes... I’m really sorry that I can’t take you up on that invitation...” She hung her head dispiritedly.

“I see...” Mary said, and then screeched, “Why are you making it out like I invited you?! If you’re so busy, don’t come to stay at someone else’s house in the first place!”

With that, she once again attacked the other girl’s forehead.

Chapter 1

That same day, Albert Manor was overflowing with visitors. Or perhaps it’d be more accurate to say, “today as well.” Or even, “it’s been happening constantly lately.”

The guests consisted of those who lived far away and weren’t on particularly close terms with the Alberts, and those with whom they’d only had a casual relationship until recently. There were even those with whom the Alberts had never spoken before, using their friends and contacts in order to pay a visit to Albert Manor.

The Alberts had also been receiving twice the usual amount of invitations to parties, and they’d even had to free up a room in the estate to accommodate all of the gifts they’d been given.

Leaving Alicia behind in the bedroom, Mary walked around Albert Manor. She noticed a few maids rushing about, and when she asked them what was going on, they hurriedly informed her about today’s visitors.

Apparently, someone had arrived without prior notice, saying, “I know you’re probably busy, but I thought I’d at least stop by and say hello.” It seemed that despite keeping a low profile, this person had no intention of backing down.

In fact, they’d probably visited because they knew the Alberts were busy. They must’ve thought that they might as well show up and see what happened, as they knew the Alberts couldn’t just coldly ignore them. The individual’s forceful methods were nothing praiseworthy, but it might’ve been a wise plan considering the current state at the mansion.

“Is that person hoping to see my father, or my brothers?” Mary inquired.

“It seems like anyone’s fine. They just insisted that they wanted to greet somebody...”

“I see, so they’re pushy and don’t care about how rude they come off. Yesterday, father said he had some research to do, so I’ll bet he’s in his study. My brothers should be in their room around this time, if they haven’t already been caught by someone,” Mary said with a shrug as the maid thanked her. “I do hope they haven’t been caught, though...” she murmured under her breath with a hint of concern.

The head of House Albert and his sons were already plenty busy, even more so now that they were in constant demand by all these recent visitors. Catching a hold of any one of them was a nigh impossible task at this point. However, the Alberts couldn’t just neglect the guests, and a lot of the manor’s servants had been prowling the place lately in anxious search of them.

“I do need to get someone...” the maid said.

“If you can’t find anyone else, then feel free to present the princess in my room,” Mary suggested. “She claims she’s busy, yet she still carries out her nocturnal assaults. She’s the perfect sacrifice.”

“Goodness, no! I couldn’t be so rude towards Lady Alicia! However...a sacrifice might be a good idea. But rather than sacrificing Lady Alicia, Lady Mary might make for a better—”

“Don’t you turn this around on me!”

Hearing the maid conjure up such unsettling schemes out of desperation, Mary made her displeasure evident. She then quickly retreated, as she didn’t want to risk the maid going through with her plan. Mary escaped to a certain place, putting on a nonchalant facade as she walked through the mansion, to avoid being asked to do anything troublesome.

⚜

The servants’ canteen had another alias: Mary’s evacuation shelter.

It was almost lunchtime, so this cafeteria-slash-kitchen was all the more busy, with the chefs rushing to and fro. There was no way they could serve leftovers to an illustrious family like the Alberts, but because each member of the house was so busy, they often shifted their mealtimes around. As such, the chefs were locked in a constant battle against time.

That was why nobody paid Mary any attention (though perhaps that in itself should’ve been questioned to some degree). This busyness was exactly what she’d been hoping for, and she smirked to herself. “Nobody’s going to find me here! They’d never guess I’d be in the servants’ canteen!”

“There you are, milady.”

“I’ve been found in a flash!” Mary exclaimed in shock, turning around. “Why?!”

Adi gazed back at her with wide eyes. “Why...? I mean, this has always been the place you’d escape to.”

“O-Oh, is that so?”

“Yes,” he affirmed. “Just the other day, you said, ‘That Alicia’s even more excitable than usual... I can’t handle it. I shall retreat at once!’ and then ran over here.”

“But she anticipated it, intercepted me, and hugged me anyway,” Mary said, pressing a hand to her forehead. What a tragic incident that was...

Even as Mary had made her escape to the canteen, Alicia was already waiting for her with both arms spread open. Poor Mary hadn’t even had the chance to put up a fight before those arms enveloped her, and the croquettes she’d eaten as Alicia clung to her tasted saltier than usual.

Mary narrowed her eyes at the memory. It made her want to go back to her bedroom just to smack Alicia’s forehead one more time. When she told Adi as much, he gave an apology for the failed defense during last night’s battle. He could never have imagined Alicia would show up at such an hour, and with such fervor... His expression was full of regret as he despaired over his inability to defend his wife’s peaceful sleep.

“It’s all right, Adi,” Mary said to comfort him. “I avenged us by prodding her in the stomach this morning. I wish you could’ve heard the sound she made!”

“You may have taken your revenge, my lady, but please rest assured: next time, I will carry out a successful defense,” Adi declared. “Once that is completed, we should be able to seal off Alicia with a secret ritual...!”

“Huh? Once what is completed?! What secret ritual?!” Mary shrieked, terrified of this battle for the sake of protecting her good night’s sleep.

Seeing this, Adi let his suspicious grin fade away as he snapped back to his senses and patted her on the arm reassuringly. Touched by the gesture, Mary calmed herself down by deciding perhaps this was something she could accept after all. She had no idea what Adi meant by “that,” but everything he did was always for her sake. Though his unsettling choice of words piqued her curiosity, her trust in him won out in the end.

“Since it’s your idea, I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Mary concluded. “It’ll be a counterattack against Alicia, right? But...she does seem to have some moderation, since she always quietly goes back home if I’m in your room,” she pointed out, to which Adi nodded in agreement.

Although they were married, Mary and Adi still stayed in separate rooms. Mary slept in the main estate, while Adi in the dormitories. Things had always been this way, so it was hard to tell when they’d change.

Of course, they did spend time together in Adi’s room, but only stayed the night together about half the time. And whenever they did, Alicia always abandoned her nocturnal assault. According to those who dealt with her when she came by, she’d always excitedly ask where Mary was, but upon hearing that Mary was in Adi’s room, she’d giggle and leave all by herself.

“Based on the fact she doesn’t interrupt our time together, she seems to have a smidgen of understanding of moderation,” Mary said.

“W-Well in that case, this may not be the best time to propose this, but how about the two of us finally mo—”

“I know! I could give her an in-person lecture about common sense. It’s about time I drill some etiquette into that girl’s head, given she’s a member of high society now... Oh my, Adi. What’s wrong?” Mary asked. She’d been quite excited to share her own brilliant idea, until she noticed the way Adi’s shoulders were slumping.

“The two of us...” he mumbled, his tone of voice sounding melancholy.

Mary peered at his dejected countenance. “What were you trying to say earlier?”

“N-No, nothing... Don’t worry about it...”

“Really? Then let’s change topics. Otherwise, I’ll feel like blaming that girl for everything and rush back to my room to smack her,” Mary said. She was about to brush her fingers through her hair, before she recalled it was in a braided updo. She touched it delicately to fix it up, causing the light-blue ribbon to bounce.

This is no time to be lecturing a princess about common sense, Mary told herself before turning back to Adi. “By the way, you came here to find me, right? Is that because you’re planning to present me as a sacrifice?” she asked, giving him a mistrustful look.

But Adi just stared at her. Even when she called his name, he stood there vacantly and didn’t respond. Right as Mary was considering waving her hand in front of his face, he seemed to snap out of it, jolting in surprise as his eyes widened.

“Adi, were you listening?”

“Y-Yes... Something about a sacrifice? Why would I do that to you, milady?”

“Since my father and brothers are busy, I thought you were looking for me in order to send me out to the guests. The maids have been rushing about too, and I bet they’re after me.”

“We do have a particularly large number of visitors today,” Adi confirmed with a shrug. “Everyone’s been frantic, and you can occasionally hear them screaming.”

It was only noon, yet they already had a disaster at hand. Mary sighed—she could only wonder how much worse things would get in the latter half of the day. Recently, this had been the situation at Albert Manor from dawn till dusk. There was no way Mary would get any rest during her vacation if matters carried on like this.

“They should just decide already,” she murmured in exasperation.

By the way, what Mary was referring to was the very reason Albert Manor was so busy these days: the matter of deciding House Albert’s heir.

At present, Mary’s father was the head of the house. He was intelligent and highly esteemed, which made him worthy of ruling over the country’s most illustrious family. Mary herself held a familial affection towards him, while also respecting him as a fellow member of high society. Whether in their nation or abroad, there was surely no man more exceptional than him.

That said, no matter how exceptional one was, nobody could win against time. Hence, the time to change the head of the house had come.

Considering the man’s age, the timing seemed right. It would’ve made sense if he decided to step down as soon as tomorrow, or even today. Both his sons had talents similar to his, and there’d be nothing stopping them from following in his footsteps. It was in his best interest to yield his seat as soon as possible, and spend the remainder of his life taking it easy together with his wife—or so their relatives advised.

This led to the problem of which son should inherit the family. However, neither he nor the twins showed an inclination of making a decision anytime soon.

“Father’s already advanced in age. Even if he doesn’t want to retire yet, he could at least decide the heir,” Mary complained. “Don’t you agree, Adi?”

“Indeed, His Grace is aging like fine wine.”

“Because he’s shown no inclination of deciding, everyone else is confused since they don’t know which of my brothers they should pay attention to. People are even making passes at me as a result, which is dreadfully inconvenient. Isn’t that right, Adi?”

“Yes. His Grace’s eyes, overflowing with affection, his gentle and soothing voice, and the dignity emanating from every single one of his gestures...!”

“Stop singing praises to my father while ignoring your wife standing here before your very eyes!” Mary rebuked sharply, which finally returned Adi to his senses as he awkwardly cleared his throat.

Adi had always been blindly devoted to the head of House Albert, but that became even more clear now that the man was his father-in-law. Adi would constantly say things like, “How magnanimous of His Grace, to have permitted our marriage despite our rank differences!” Mary just found it all off-putting.

To top things off, Patrick also agreed with Adi’s sentiments. Lately, even House Eldland’s Gainas had started showing signs of blind devotion by saying things like, “I wish to become a distinguished head of the house, just like him.”

Considering all of that, Mary harbored some suspicions that her father was giving off some kind of pheromones which ensnared young men.

“But it’s just as you say, my lady,” Adi went on. “His Grace has become even more elegant and charming with age, yet he often mentions how he feels his stamina falling behind. He also said that it’s taking him longer than usual to recover from his cold. His voice sounded pained because of his sore throat, and the low, husky tone of it carried a sense of mature dignity.”

“I still detect some grossness in your words. But I suppose that’s nothing new, and I clearly lost my final chance to do anything about it, so I’ll give up. But goodness, father!” Mary said with a sigh.

In fact, the storm of visitors had first begun when her father had gotten sick. It wasn’t anything serious—just a cold. Their family doctor had said it was nothing to worry about, and that the man would recover with a few days’ rest. The sight of her father laughing while apologizing for having worried everyone had relieved Mary, and thus the incident had ended there.

Or at least, it should have.

However, for some reason, this little episode had caused a stir among high society. Everyone was convinced that the head of House Albert must’ve been feeling the effects of his advanced age, and had surely started considering retirement. This made them wonder which of the twins would inherit the family, as they all wanted to know which of the two they needed to be more careful of. Everything had been the result of the other nobles’ senseless assumptions.

The most desperate of all were the families that had up until now been at a bit of a distance from House Albert. If the head of the Alberts would be changing, this was their prime opportunity to curry favor with them. Should these families make themselves known to the heir, they could earn the regard of the head of the next era’s premier family. Of course, those who had already been close to House Albert shared similar sentiments, and wanted to stay near to the potential heir for the same reasons.

So despite the fact that the man himself never mentioned anything, attempts at predicting House Albert’s next successor became a hot topic among high society. Everyone had busied themselves with trying to butter up the twins, leading to the present moment. Since nobody knew which one would be the heir, they were twice as busy with their attempts to flatter them both.

“And now they’re trying to probe me for information too, even though I have nothing to do with it,” Mary whined. “I can’t stand it.”

“Alas, this is the heir of House Albert we’re talking about. It’s not something that can be decided at the drop of a hat,” Adi said.

“Then let them draw lots! We can make a replica of the pocket watch which signifies the head of the family, put it in a box along with the real one, and have my brothers draw from it. Whichever one pulls out the genuine watch will become the heir!” Mary declared proudly, her eyes shining.

If both of her brothers would make for equally capable heirs, then they might as well reach a decision quick and easy by drawing lots. They could even invite guests to an event called the “Lottery Party for Deciding House Albert’s Heir.” It was the perfect way to announce the succession.

Adi sighed upon hearing Mary’s proposal. He looked at her with a deep level of exasperation unexpected from a man gazing at his beloved wife. He was about to offer a rebuttal, but before he could say anything, the sound of vigorous applause stopped him.

“Excellent idea! Bravo, Mary!” someone called out in praise. “Indeed, ruling over a family takes fortune too. You could even say that if someone doesn’t possess the ability to draw fortune towards them, they aren’t fit for being the head of the family. Your idea is both sharp and innovative!”

“Oh my. Hello, Lang,” Mary said, turning around to face her brother.

He was Lang Albert, the older of the twins who were the center of high society’s attention at present. He had silver hair and blue eyes, and there was still a trace of youthful innocence in his features. Combined with his small stature, this made him appear younger than his actual age. When he stood next to Mary, they almost looked like twins themselves.

“I see you made your escape to the canteen as well,” Mary remarked. “Unfortunately for you, Adi and I got here first. We’re over capacity.” She stuck out her tongue at him impishly.

Bewildered, Lang blinked a few times. Then, he took a moment to deliberate over something and finally turned to Adi, who was about a head taller than him. Lang stood on his tiptoes, desperately trying to shorten the gap.

“How deplorable! Just when did our adorable little Mary become so ill-tempered? It must be the fault of a certain someone who stole her from us! Don’t you think so too, Adi?! I wonder who on earth it could be?!”

“Er, no, I mean... I believe milady’s always been ill-tempered...”

“We always doted on her! She was so very cute when she was younger, and she adored us and followed us around everywhere... And yet, some poor suitor stuck to her out of nowhere! What do you say to that, Adi? I want to hear your opinion!” Lang demanded, couching his direct allusion in roundabout language.

“Well... If I had to say, it was you and your brother who always followed milady around...” Adi answered falteringly.

Originally they’d had a master-servant relationship, but ever since Adi and Mary’s wedding, Lang had become Adi’s brother-in-law. In other words, from Adi’s perspective, Lang was someone who outclassed him in both public and private life. Even leaving that aside, as the younger one, Adi had always been on the receiving end of the mischievous brothers’ pranks.

Mary was well aware of all of that, and unable to bear it any longer, she stepped in between them. She stood in front of Adi defensively, casting Lang a scowl. “Stop teasing him.”

“What is this...?! That sweet, adorable Mary is glaring at me!” Lang exclaimed. “But you see, the only reason I’m being strict is because I care about your happiness, Mary. All of this is for your sake,” he admonished softly.

Moved by his words, Mary felt her frown lessen as her expression morphed into a look of confusion. True enough, her brothers had always doted on her. Just a little bit, every now and then... Or in fact, it had been so very often that Mary openly loathed them for annoying her and skillfully shook them off her trail. So when Lang had said he cared about her happiness, he couldn’t have been lying.

And even as the twins adored their little sister, Mary, they also thought of Adi as their younger brother. (While they doted on Mary, they teased and pranked Adi—which was a form of doting when it came to male siblings.)

Now that Mary and Adi were wedded, it was possible that while the twins were happy for them, they also had complicated feelings on the matter. And those complexities must’ve only deepened given that Mary was a noblewoman, while Adi was a servant.

“I suppose you’re right,” Mary found herself saying.

This time, Adi called out to Lang first, giving him a hard stare. However, his gaze was directed downwards slightly because of their height difference.

“I know I have plenty of flaws, Lord Lang. However, when it comes to milady...or rather, my wife, my feelings are honest and true.”

“Adi, I wish for my sister’s happiness more than anything,” Lang replied. “That’s why I’ve always said I’d only accept a groom I could acknowledge as worthy of her. And yet, the one Mary chose was you...”

“I’m perfectly aware of the difference in our status.”

“You’re a servant, and I’ve seen you as my younger brother for a long time... When we were ten years old, you were our height. When we were eleven, you were taller than us. And now you’re needlessly taller than us and everyone else besides! As if I’d ever acknowledge a man like you!!!”

Adi paused. “So you’re still going on about that... That’s the one thing I can do nothing about,” he said, his shoulders drooping in unison with Mary’s.

Where did Lang’s earlier sincerity go...? Mary thought with a sigh.

Lang didn’t seem to have noticed that he’d annoyed his younger sister, still glaring harshly at Adi. Because of their height difference, he was looking up, which must’ve been a further source of discontent for him.

“I truly do congratulate you two on your marriage. So shrink! Hurry up and shrink!!!”

“I told you that’s impossible.”

“Apart from your height, I acknowledge you. I know there’s no better man for Mary. But the one thing I cannot stand is that you’re taller than me!” Lang declared, continuing to command Adi to shrink.