Chapter 22

"So you told her to stop going out with that person, and she cried? Well, it's true that people of the Yurinova should be wary of weirdos approaching them, but...Your sister should have known that since she was a kid, right?"

"That child... doesn't know much about social disposition. She stayed somewhere else...for a very long time."

"Ah, that reminds me, you were late at the entrance ceremony because your sister collapsed. So she has a weak constitution... That makes it even more different from my monkey sister. But if that's the case, doesn't it mean that the friend with different social status is the first friend she's ever made?"

Alexei's eyes widened; he was taken aback by Nicolai's remarks. It must have been like what he said. He had received reports that when Ekaterina was at that place, the servants had hardly ever heard her speak; she hadn't opened her heart to anyone, let alone having friends. Ever since arriving at the Imperial Capital, Ekaterina had been acting so uncharacteristically bright that it became difficult to imagine she was the same person in the reports, even making him forget her actual state prior.

"If you insist so much about this, the situation can turn really bad. Is that classmate the unlikable, bad to associate with type?"

"No..."

Alexei recalled Flora talking about her background without humiliation. She was quite dignified for a poor noble.

"Just that... I want her to learn about socializing with other aristocrats. She still doesn't know anything, and she is too kind. I want her to get acquainted with people who can protect her..."

Alexei mumbled. Those of nobility ranks were treacherous; he knew it very well.

Suddenly, he wondered what his grandfather would do.

His grandfather Sergei utilized people for their talents, not their status. But that was with his subordinates; his close friend Forli was the third son of a Marquis. He later cut ties with his family, but Forli's lineage was worthy of his grandfather's friendship.

But then... There was his grandfather's younger brother from a different mother, his granduncle, Isaac. He was an illegitimate child. Even though they had different mothers, his grandfather and granduncle were close. It was said that his grandfather had adored his granduncle, who was younger by five years, since they were kids. Issac was a bit eccentric but kind, and he was also a well-known scholar. He was acquainted with people from different social statuses, so some of them must have been introduced to him by his grandfather.

It was difficult to imagine his grandfather saying anything bad if Alexei introduced a commoner friend to him.

Right, his grandfather wouldn't say anything. To completely reject a friendship due to a difference in social statuses was...

Alexei clutched his forehead.

Ekaterina...You were right.

Angry rants, like a raging inferno came back to torment him.

The one who would reject such a friendship would be his grandmother.

I was like my grandmother...Who persecuted my mother...

He had always considered his grandfather as his role model, and it had been his greatest goal to protect the Yurinova family from his grandmother's oppression. He was proud that it was him that took over the Dukedom and not his father. And yet before he knew it, he had been tainted with his grandmother's way of thinking.

That child too... She probably wouldn't ask him to hold her hands anymore.

Nicolai patted his shoulders.

"Duke, hey Duke, what's up? Yurinova Alexei."

Alexei returned to his senses.

"Are you alright? You don't look good. Are you feeling unwell?"

"No, I'm alright."

Alexei stubbornly shook his head, and Nicolai smiled wryly:

"It feels like the Ice Rose has melted and thawed."

"What...?"

"You probably don't know, but that's the nickname some girls gave you. Now, now, don't be so depressed. No matter what, siblings will always be siblings for life, and there will be some discord from time to time. The three years at school are for socializing and making friends, so can't you just permit it? As long as that friend doesn't coax your sister into doing weird stuff."

Alexei smiled slightly for a moment.

"...Just things like cooking."

"Ha?"

"She learned how to cook from that friend and brought it to the office for me. She said she wants me to eat properly."

"Does such a sister even exist in this world?"

Nicolai grumbled with a serious face.

"My monkey of a sister even eats my portions at mealtimes. But if I eat her pastries, she'll chase me around the garden with a pitchfork."