“And? How did you sweet-talk my brother?”
Smack.
“Sweet-talk…”
It seems she just said something horrible.
After the shock of meeting Katerina at the entrance, I mentioned greeting the Duke, his wife, and Bernhardt, but as if to say that I can"t run away, she immediately pulled me aside and brought me to her room. Having been separated from Tia, the cold sweat I"m getting from my conversation with Katerina won"t stop.
I don"t get why these siblings never stop to listen to what others are saying. All the more sitting next to me. Is it in their blood to do so? Wait, that sounds stupid.
“I mean, it looked like it! That absentminded, uninterested brother of mine all of a sudden proposed.”
Smack, smack.
“Y-yeah. Even I"m lost as to why Bernhardt-sama proposed to me.”
“Come on! Please stop being modest!”
Smack.
“As I said, I"m not being modest… Katerinsama, could you please stop hitting my arm with your fan!?”
I"ve been hearing the frequent smacking of her fan for a while now, but for her to hit her company with it when she gets excited. Although it doesn"t hurt as much, I unconsciously complained as she kept on hitting the same place over and over again. The next moment, I paled.
C-c.r.a.p! I immediately apologized to Katerina.
“Oh my, I apologize. Unintentionally hitting your arm”
Although Katerina excessively apologized all of a sudden, she looked as if she felt bad about it. I was a little taken aback at that.
Yeah. Even though Katerina gives off a scary image, she may not be that bad of a person.
“Did you not ask Bernhardt-sama, Katerinsama?”
“No… It"s because I can"t talk to my brother.”
“Eh?”
It sounds like the kind where they"re banned from talking to each other unless needed. Katerina is eagerly thinking of something as if not being able to hear anything.
“…That"s right! How it all started! Come on, tell me!”
This time, without hitting my badly beaten arm, she waves her fan instead. I feel like it"s probably more dangerous that way.
“The first time we met was at the tea party at the Royal Palace last month…”
“You were there? …I wonder if you were so plain that I simply didn"t notice you.”
“There"s that, but it"s also because I wasn"t feeling good and was in the corner.”
“Hmm, I see, and?”
“Bernhardt-sama approached me, and noticing that I didn"t look okay, accompanied me to a room.”
“Oh ho!!”
Isn"t Katerinsama enjoying this too much?
Begging with her sparkling eyes, I suspect that Katerina is the same as my mother who loves talking about romance. Thinking about it, although I had initially thought that it"d be impossible, I have a feeling I"ll get along with her. As long as I put up with her excessive talking and abuse with the fan, it might happen! Speaking of, I think I"ll be fine since in my previous life, I had friends who were straightforward! I won"t get hurt from that!
“And?”
“He accompanied me until the carriage came to pick me up.”
“Don"t tell me it ends with just that?”
“It does.”
“Huh–!?”
Katerina persistently held onto both my shoulders and shook them hard, saying ‘Don"t be shy and tell me everything!‘
Wai– Katerinsama! I"m gonna hurl! At this rate, I won"t just be talking, I"ll probably throw up the insides of my stomach! But I"ve really talked about everything… Ah!
“Hands! We held hands!”
“Oh my!!”
T-thank G.o.d… I nearly became a Merlion* towards a beautiful girl. I was scared that I"d have lost something important that I won"t be able to look other people in the eye after this~.
“Of course, my brother"s also a guy! If Edwin-sama and I… Oh, your face doesn"t look so good, Lizisama.”
“I-I"m okay.”
While thinking that it"s all his fault, I fixed my hair as Katerina huffingly watched with a face as if something bad had happened.
“I hate you. You got me too carried away.”
“Katerinsama…”
One way or another, I thought this girl doesn"t know how to apologize. Being a duke"s daughter, there was no other girl the same age as her that was the same status or higher aside from her brother and His Highness. She may have been raised not knowing how to apologize correctly.
“Katerinsama is a tsundere.”
“Tsundere?”
“It"s a type of girl that some men like.”
“Edwin-sama too!?”
“That, I do not know, but I"ve come to like Katerinsama just a little bit.”
Although I said that I like her, it may have instead been a little too mean if I said that I don"t like her. But as I wondered whether Katerinsama realized it or not, she looked happy as she blinked her pretty blue eyes.
“You"re very kind, aren"t you? I"ve decided! I"ll give you permission to call me onee-sama.”
I see, she just wanted me to call her that.
Little by little, I understood how to handle her. Instead, she looked as if she was smiling despite her high-handed way of speaking.
“Yes, onee-sama.”
Smiling as I called her onee-sama, Katerina happily smiled back at me from behind her fan.
“Then Lizia, take off your clothes!”
“Hmm?”
Although this was short, she became friends with Katerina! Next is Bernhardt"s turn.
*Kind of like this. She"s basically saying she"ll throw up like the Merlion.
I love Katerina, she"s so cute. I have a feeling she"ll be their #1 supporter. Short chapter, as mentioned in author"s note. Also, 3 chapters in one day. I"ll probably leave the 4th chapter for some other day. As always, if you see mistakes, feel free to point it out.
Also, Bernhard -> Bernhardt because it"s ベルンハルト