Is that to your liking? This child seems to have similar tastes as your brothers.”
Alpheus grabbed the neck of the black-marked doll and leaned against Thiel, murmuring.
With the fluffy black-marked doll tightly held in her arms, Thiel looked up at Alpheus and asked, “Yes! I really like it. But… my brothers?”
Now that she thought about it, besides Thiel, there were two more children between Lena and Cassius.
Zender Nestian would grumble every time he scolded Thiel, saying, ‘I should have brought those guys along.’
Instead of the useless mutt Thiel, he thought it would have been more helpful for Nestian to raise those guys.
Thanks to that, Thiel knew that he had two more brothers.
That her siblings are far superior children than she is. however.
‘I forgot because I was distracted.’
After Thiel came to Asterian, no one in the mansion had talked to Thiel about the “brothers,” and Thiel had never encountered any other child in the mansion, so she had forgotten about it.
As Thiel blinked in confusion, Alpheus turned to Lia and spoke.
“Yeah, your brothers. Haven’t you explained about Perdi and Ludian to Thiel yet?”
“Yes, I thought it would be better for the young lady to adapt to the mansion first, so I haven’t mentioned it yet.”
“Is that so? Thiel, you have two brothers. The firstborn is Perdi Asterian, and the second is Ludian Asterian.”
Alpheus gently stroked Thiel’s small head as he spoke.
“You’ll probably meet them soon. On the day you arrived at this mansion, I informed them that they had a younger sibling.”
“Then…”
“Yes, it seems like they’re in a hurry to come back from the academy. You’ll be able to meet them soon.”
Thiel’s hand, holding the black-marked doll, tightened.
The child lightly pressed her face against the fluffy fur of the doll and rolled her eyes.
‘What if they hate me?’
Fortunately, Cassius and Alpheus seemed to like Thiel.
The other servants in the Asterian mansion were the same. But…
‘Grandfather said that Mom died because of me.’
Zender would always yell at Thiel, saying, “Lena died because of you.”
So Thiel firmly believed that Lena died because of her.
And Lena was also the mother of Perdi and Ludian.
In other words, it meant that Perdi and Ludian’s mother died because of Thiel. As Thiel thought about that, her face quickly turned pale.
Alpheus, finding her appearance strange, looked at Lia and asked, “Why is the child suddenly like this? Her face turned so pale…”
“She’s someone who often hides her face, so maybe she’s not ready to meet the young masters yet?”
Lia gently lifted Thiel in her arms.
Thiel held onto the doll tightly, burying her head in Lia’s embrace, making sure not to let go of the doll.
Alpheus’s face, which just a moment ago had seemed proud of scoring points with his granddaughter, now turned gloomy.
He cautiously touched Thiel’s small hand and spoke softly.
“I’ll have the gift boxes sent up to your room. You can open them whenever you want to see what’s inside. Understand?”
“Yes, thank you…!”
Thiel was about to add the title “Mr. Alpheus” but hesitated for a moment, gauging Alpheus’s reaction.
“… Grandfather”
She added cautiously. It was a delicate as if taking the first step.
At that moment, Alpheus’s wrinkled face brightened up.
He smiled brightly and nodded his head.
“Yes, my child, now go upstairs and rest.”
After Alpheus finished speaking, Lia apologized to him and carefully carried Thiel in her arms as they left the room.
Alpheus quietly watched Thiel and Lia moving away.
‘… Grandfather.’
It was a title he had always heard from Perdi and Ludian, but why did it feel so different now?
The corners of Alpheus’s mouth twitched, lifting up slightly.
***
The toys Alpheus had given were more numerous and prettier than the ones Thiel had seen in Rowan’s room.
There were beautiful wooden rocking horses, mobiles adorned with various gems, numerous dolls, and even wooden blocks.
Thiel’s spacious room was filled with toys that Alpheus had gifted.
As Lia had anticipated, she became Thiel’s personal maid. Thanks to indulging in high-quality food for a few days at the Asterian mansion, her complexion had become fair and rosy.
So, there was no problem at all.
Except for one thing.
“Why can’t I freely control my abilities?”
Rowan and Zender were able to manipulate their abilities as they pleased.
It was said that abilities were innate powers that you should naturally be able to control from birth.
However…
Thiel looked down at her palm. A faint light appeared on her tiny palm.
Paah-!
Soon, the light grew a bit larger and transformed into the shape of a small fish, swirling around on her palm.
Thiel smiled at the fish.
Although she couldn’t create a large and powerful light like that day, through practice, she was able to create a small fish little by little.
The fish still had short fins and an incomplete form, making it a bit ambiguous to call it a fish. But still, it was a fish!
“Let’s not be too hasty. One day, I’ll be able to use my abilities as I please.”
Lord Cassius said I am a special child with special abilities. So, eventually…
I will definitely be able to be of help to the Asterian family.
At that moment, the fish floated in the air as if trying to comfort Thiel and gently settled on her nose.
“Are you comforting me? Thank you.”
Thiel’s eyes softened and a rosy blush spread across her tender cheeks.
The fish swayed its fins.
Soon, a warm glow enveloped Thiel’s vision gently.
Knock, knock.
At that moment, a knocking sound was heard.
Thiel turned her head and looked toward the direction of the door.
The fish that was swimming above her nose had suddenly disappeared.
Soon, the door opened and Lia appeared.
“Miss, it’s time to have a meal. Lord Alpheus and Lord Cassius are waiting.”
“Do we go down to eat today?”
Thiel tilted her head in curiosity.
During this time, Thiel had been having meals in her bedroom, thanks to Cassius’s consideration, so she had never been to the dining room before.
“Yes, today you will go down to have a meal. Is that inconvenient for you?”
“No! It’s fine.”
Thiel quickly nodded and then got up from her seat, holding Lia’s hand.
The path to the dining room was quite long. However, thanks to Lia matching her steps with Thiel’s pace, the journey didn’t feel difficult.
The servants who were standing in front of the dining room opened the door when they saw Thiel.
Lia lightly let go of the child’s hand.
“Well then, please go inside, Miss.”
“Yes.”
Thiel nodded and took a step into the dining room.
The first thing that caught Thiel’s eye was a magnificent chandelier and a large dining table with a white tablecloth spread wide.
It was similar to what she had seen in Nestian, but much larger and more splendid.
At the end of the spacious table, Lord Alpheus Ewald Asterian, the host, was seated, with Cassius sitting right beside him. And…
“…?”
Two boys, with similar faces, sat across from Cassius, holding their utensils.
Thiel instinctively recognized that the two boys were her older brothers, the sons of Cassius and Lena.
She couldn’t help but notice. They resembled Cassius astonishingly.
“Thiel, come here.”
Cassius called Thiel with an affectionate voice at the right moment.
Thiel rolled her large eyes for a moment and then ran towards Cassius.
Cassius lifted the child lightly and sat her on the seat next to him.
To ensure that Thiel, who was small in stature, could comfortably have her meal on the dining table, several soft cushions were placed under the chair.
While Cassius spooned food in front of her, Thiel glanced at the boys sitting across from her with a curious expression.
With their strikingly similar faces, the boys looked like they could be brothers.
Black hair represents darkness and golden eyes. Large, beautiful eyes and a sharp nose. Even their well-defined lips were smooth.
Both of them were extraordinary beauties. If there was any difference between the two strikingly similar brothers…
‘Their hairstyles are different….’
The boy sitting closer to Alpheus had his hair tied up, while the boy next to him had short hair.
But if it weren’t for their hairstyles, it would be difficult to tell them apart.
“Hello.”
At that moment, the boy with neatly tied black hair looked at Thiel and greeted her with a kind voice that made Thiel’s worries fade away.
“Thiel, these are the older brothers I talked about last time.”
As Perdi greeted Thiel, Alpheus, as if he had been waiting, carefully set down the utensils he was holding and pointed toward the two boys.
“Hello, I’m Thiel.”
I’m seven years old. Thiel added a remark while observing their reactions.
However, she couldn’t bring herself to meet each other’s gaze. It was because Perdi and Ludian were still a little intimidating.
“Really small, is this my little sister?”
“Ludian, be careful with your words. She’s your little sister.”
The former was Ludian, and the latter was Perdi.
Ludian pushed a mouthful of food into his mouth and raised his eyebrows, looking at Thiel with curious eyes.
“But this kid is a bit strange, isn’t she? Having Snow leopard’s fur and black leopard’s eyes. Usually, they don’t come out mixed like that.”
