PMZ 030 – 3 seconds

There is a saying that a person’s first impression is decided by the first three seconds.

I think that’s pretty accurate because right now, I couldn’t feel anything but “cute” after that three seconds.

(Cute ……)

No, that’s wrong! Remember, why did I come here for?

Yes, it’s to give thanks to them and reveal their true colors.

Stuart’s young lady, whom I had never met before, is staring at me with a worried look on her face. It seems she had judged me as an outrageously rude man.

Sorry to scare you, I thought as I talked to the Duchess.

Just as my sister said, it seems they don’t have any desire to do anything weird to her just because she is a commoner.

I was half relieved and half disappointed at the simple reality.

It can’t be… they are just kind by giving her that prosthetic arm and job?

It was hard to believe, but the ward has proven that they didn’t have malicious intent.

When the conversation was over, the Duchess smiled cheerfully and said, “Please come back and visit us again.”

I was confused about why she didn’t get angry with me, except for some word of warning from Mr. Jeffrey, that is. I felt like my image of nobles had been repainted (a bit) by our meeting.

That evening, when I returned home, I listened to my sister happily recounting the events at the Duke’s house.

“You know, at that time, Miss Alice, suddenly forced to change and asked me to practice drinking tea with her.

I don’t know that I need to practice drinking tea. I was surprised.”

Does it related to her work? But since I had no way to know how noblemen think, especially that young lady, I just nodded and listened to Lav’s story.

The combination of what my sister told me and the image of the lovely young lady in my head made me smile.

A couple days after that, the name of Duke’s first son started to come up in my sister’s small talk.

“You know, whenever we pass each other in the corridor, Akyls-sama always stands up and greets me. He is so cute…”

“Cute?”

What are you talking about, isn’t he… a man?

“Lav, you okay? A cute is a word more suitable for that young lady.”

“Yes, I guess you right, but……. wait, Brother! what did you just say?”

“I said cute is a word more suitable for that young lady.”

My sister backed away with her mouth hanging open.

“My brother, the idiot except in combat…. finally recognized the face of a girl.”

“Don’t call me an idiot. I know what people look like.”

“That’s totally not true!”

She sits back down and let out a long sigh.

“Hey brother, …are we so hopeless to have Duke’s family member as our first love?”

I don’t know why she casually includes me, but my sister has apparently fallen in love with Aklys.

“it is… you know there’s no hope in that relationship.”

I just met that young lady, she is indeed pretty and seems to be a sweet person, but I’m not close enough to say that I like or dislike her.

But I do know that they are unreachable people.

It’s a status difference that would normally make it impossible for them to even talk to you. When it comes to houses of that caliber, I’m pretty sure even their servants have noble blood in them.

“ahhh, was it so hopeless that even my brother understands it?” she said that while laying her body on the table.

“What do you mean by that? I can read what inside people’s hearts pretty well, you know?”

“Well, only on the surface, though, in your case, you always act like it’s somebody else’s business.”

I couldn’t deny it.

I’m aware of the fact that there are a certain number of girls who are interested in me. But it’s hard for me to accept them.

It’s not like I want to intentionally hurt them. If I said it, I would be filled with guilt for a little while, and that kind of thing is happening several times a day.

If they just asked me to hang out, I could just say, “Sorry, I’m busy right now,” but when they ask me to be their boyfriend, that’s when it’s hard to say anything.

So I decided to pretend to be a dense person, but I think I really become one.

Overall, I’m glad, I think.

Because it was only when I stopped thinking about it seriously that I realized they weren’t really serious about it either.

They usually find a new love right away and are enjoying themselves with their lovers. I’m sure I can’t make them look that happy.

Love or love stories, none of it was my business.

I just felt sorry for my sister, who couldn’t keep her feelings of longing to herself.

A few days later, I received a call from the dukes.

I was wondering what was going on, but it was about my sister and Aklys getting engaged.

“What!? What does that mean!?”

It was so out of the blue that I couldn’t help but shout out in the parlor where all the members of the Duke’s family were present.

It’s not too long ago since she started working for the Duke family, even if we put aside the status difference aside for the moment, and it was only a few days ago that I heard that my sister had a feeling for Akyls.

“Isn’t this too early!!”

“I know exactly how you feel. But my brother is very much in love with Lav… your sister.

I’ve been watching him the whole time, and he when he asked for her hand in marriage even before he ever touches it. I was also surprised.”

The young lady’s calm voice has soothed me a little.

This kind of talk is not uncommon among aristocratic society, but that kind of talk usually involves some sort of political deal behind it.

…this whole thing is just too clumsy; don’t you think so too?

The two people in question were still cuddling at an awkward distance, and on closer inspection, I saw that my sister’s right arm had been replaced with a new one; the color and texture of that new hands made it looked like the real thing.

It’s a new prosthetic hand. It was so natural that it takes me a while to notice.

“Lord Aklys, Are you the one who made that prosthetic hand?”

“Th-That’s right!”

When you call out to him, Aklys reacts in a rigid movement, he almost jumping up from the sofa.

…is this what my sister means by cute?

Honestly, I don’t know what’s going on, but I could tell that he will take good care of my sister.

When I saw my sister smiling happily with a ring with a huge stone on her ring finger on her left hand, I decided not to say anything anymore.

“I see… Lav, be happy.”

Then she smiled, and they both laughed shyly.

I thanked Aklys and left the Duke’s house for the day.

It was decided that we would sit down again on another day to talk about the details.

In the evening of the same day, my sister, who returned home in the Duke’s carriage, spoke happily for a while, and then said…

“Brother, after this, Miss Alice will be our sister-in-law, what a strange thing to happen.”

That angel is my sister-in-law?

The phrase that comes to my mind by reflex was carrying quite a punch, and in that instant, the image of the young lady was decorated with white feathers in my mind.

Oh, this isn’t good.

How could this happen when we’ve never even talked that much?

If this is was my love, then it’s really hopeless.

The problem is different from my sister, who was proposed by a Duke’s son.

You can’t just say to a young lady of noble lineage, “I’m just a commoner, but please marry me.” That was plainly impossible.