Arriving at the inner room’s door, guided by the servant, I felt a slight tension as I carefully stepped inside, where the servants had opened the door.
And there, the first thing that caught my eye was a large table and my father, Count Turun, sitting at the head. Right beside him sat a dignified middle-aged woman and a young lady.
In that moment…
-Scrape!-
The middle-aged woman suddenly stood up, pushing her chair aside as our eyes met.
She approached me slowly, her expression tense.
And then…
“…”
“My dear…”
Overcome with emotion, she grabbed my hand tightly. I had no difficulty recognizing who this person in front of me was.
“…Mother?”
“My child!”
Without hesitation, she pulled me into a warm embrace, and while I felt a bit awkward, it wasn’t a bad feeling either. It was reminiscent of the embrace from my late mother during my childhood.
Although the circumstances then and now were quite different, I thought back to that moment and gently reciprocated by hugging “Mother.”
“Thank you, oh Lord… truly… thank you so much…”
She expressed her unfiltered joy at having found the child she thought she had lost. I felt a slight pinch of guilt at her joy, but I quickly shook off that feeling and stood there to match the atmosphere.
A little while later, seemingly having let go of her pent-up feelings, my mother slowly released me from her embrace and tenderly touched my cheek, smiling with tears of joy.
“You’ve really grown so much… Just as your father said, you’ve become quite the gentleman.”
“…I’m sorry. No matter what, I should have at least sent news…”
“No, no. What does that matter now? You’ve returned, having grown up so wonderfully. Just knowing that is enough for me. Come, sit and relax. I have so much I want to hear from my son after such a long time.”
Even though my father had likely told her the gist of things, it seemed that my mother had a lot of stories to share after reuniting with her son.
Observing this, I slowly took a seat where tea and snacks were laid out, stealing a glance at the young woman who was staring at me with a slightly stiff expression.
‘That person… Seems younger than me. Could she be Dust…?’
In the original work, Count Turun had three daughters. All three were skilled mages who had made significant contributions in the Bohemia army.
Considering her youthful appearance, which looked like she had just entered her late teens, I suspected that the young woman in front of me was the youngest among them—Dust Andreas.
‘This is… somewhat anticipated, but she gives off a really prickly first impression.’
Dust’s personality in the original work was indeed similar to what I was seeing before me. She was often dissatisfied and quick to annoyance.
Despite her outstanding magical talent, her personality didn’t leave a good impression on those around her, which is why she hadn’t stood out in the war compared to her two sisters.
Keeping that in mind, I glanced at my ‘younger sister,’ who had maintained such an unpleasant expression, and my father smiled slyly as he addressed us.
“By the way, I think it’s time for an introduction. You may not remember, but this girl is your younger sister, Dust. When you left home, she was just six years old, and now look at her, all grown up.”
“That’s right… this is the one…”
Dust, with hair that had a slight reddish tint, black eyes, and skin as pale as milk, looked similar to me.
Seeing her, I smiled warmly as an older brother and said, “Hello, Dust! It’s been so long.”
“…”
She responded by silently nodding her head without a word, which could be seen as rude towards an older brother. However, knowing her original personality, I chose not to take it personally.
But it seemed that my parents, especially my mother, couldn’t let this attitude slide.
“Dust… even if it’s been a while since your brother came back, what’s with that? Say proper greetings.”
“…Hello.”
In a voice that suggested she really didn’t want to, she responded briefly to my mother’s nagging.
My mother sighed deeply, and looking at me said, “Haah… I’m sorry. She’s a bit sensitive these days due to her adolescence. It might be that she hasn’t realized her brother has returned yet.”
“Haha, it’s alright.”
Seeing my mother overly apologetic, I felt a bit burdened, and to change the atmosphere a bit, I cautiously inquired about my two sisters.
“By the way… I don’t see the other two around. Do you know where they went?”
“Oh, as for your two sisters, it seems they might take some time. You know the situation has been uneasy lately, and they’ve got quite a lot on their plates. It’ll probably be a few days before you see them.”
“I see… That makes sense; they must be quite busy.”
Knowing roughly what my two ‘sisters’ might be doing from the original work, I nodded along and then started to notice Dust again, who had been glaring at me.
‘It doesn’t seem like I have anything on my face… Could it be…?’
Dust continued to look at me with a displeased expression. Suddenly, a thought occurred to me.
It was the cliché usually found in melodramas…
A rich heir or heiress feeling threatened by a suddenly appearing sibling due to succession issues, letting jealousy take over.
Of course, a part of Dust’s prickly personality contributed to this, but I leaned toward thinking that this might be the reason behind her behavior.
So, with my rather unpleasant ‘sister’ behind me, I answered the many questions my mother had for me.
“You must have faced many inconveniences living in Milano. I’ve heard that there are quite a few rough people among them…”
“Well… it wasn’t too bad. Sure, there were not-so-nice people, but I met quite a few kind ones around me.”
As I was pondering the situation and responding to my mother’s eager questions, something happened.
-Scrape!-
“..!?”
“…”
“…Dust!”
After some time had passed, Dust abruptly shot up from her seat, as if unable to stay any longer. Without even acknowledging Count Turun’s call, she stormed out of the room.
“…Haah…”
“It’s really something, isn’t it? After so long, and she reacts like that…”
My parents sighed heavily at Dust’s attitude. In the end, the only thing she had said since coming in was ‘hello.’
With her behavior, I felt that it would be difficult for me to get close to her, so I decided not to worry too much about it. I had much larger issues at hand that required my attention.
*
“…Haah… Haah…”
Once out of the room, Dust Andreas entered her own room and shut the door tightly. She leaned against the door, trying to calm her racing heart.
Unlike her stiff demeanor earlier, her face was flushed, and she was at a loss.
At that moment, she recalled the reality that still felt like a dream and couldn’t help but smile uncontrollably.
‘…He’s back… Finally… he’s finally back… Santana, older brother…’
