Chapter 02
“Ammon, would you come in for a moment?”
“Yes, young lady.”
Amy, who had been waiting, quietly came in at my call and bowed her head.
She had a pleasant impression and looked endlessly gentle, but I suppose you really can’t judge people by appearances alone.
“I was thinking of having lunch with Ammon, but I don’t know where his room is. Could you show me the way?”
“P-Pardon…? L-Lunch? You mean, young lady, with the young master…?”
Her expression, as if she needed to confirm what she’d just heard, was so full of shock that it left me feeling oddly unsettled. Was it really that surprising?
“Yes, lunch. Lunch. We’re eating together. You don’t know where his room is?”
I deliberately repeated myself slowly and clearly, so she would be forced to face reality sooner rather than later.
“N-No… but is it really necessary for you to go in person, young lady? I could go and deliver the message for you.”
“No. I’m going myself, so guide me.”
Leaving the fidgeting Amy behind, I stood up and even opened the door myself, signaling her to lead the way.
Amy rolled her eyes around with a helpless look, then, after meeting my firm expression, finally began to move her feet.
It’s just a single meal with my younger brother. To react like that just because I’m going to his room… I’m already tired. Honestly.
When I arrived at Ammon’s room, I found myself facing a situation that was, frankly, deeply shocking.
…I’m at a loss for words. Where should I even begin to point things out?
I already had a rough idea of the background Ammon had grown up in.
‘I never expected him to be living in a nice room to begin with, but…’
What unfolded before my eyes went far beyond my imagination.
First of all, the gap between the past recollections that appeared in Ammon’s monologues in the original novel and the current reality I’d learned after possessing this body brought me to a realization.
What had been described in the original novel was far more condensed than I’d expected—truly nothing more than a tiny fragment.
‘So in other words, reality is even more of a suffocating mess than what was shown in the original.’
The first thing that caught my eye was the room’s location.
Ammon’s room was attached directly next to the kitchen, and it looked like it had once been used as a pantry.
Because so many people passed through the area, it was located at the very end of the first floor, and the wind blew through it extremely well.
How did I know the wind blew through it so well?
Just standing briefly in front of the door, the wind was blowing like it had gone mad, so I couldn’t help but notice.
In short, it was freezing. A child’s room being this cold… honestly.
The size of the room made me suck in a breath in shock.
‘No, is this even a room? A solitary prison cell would be bigger than this…!’
In the narrow, cramped space, the only piece of furniture was a crude, small bed.
Despite the fact that there was nothing else in the bleak room, the interior already felt completely filled.
“…Ha.”
I was so dumbfounded that no words came out. He’s not a prisoner, for heaven’s sake…
The space was so unworthy of being called a room that no matter how hard I looked, I couldn’t find a single personal belonging.
It made me wonder whether it was even possible to live in a place like this.
‘He smiles so kindly at me and dotes on our Lili so affectionately, yet…’
They’re both his children. Both legitimate heirs.
When I thought of Duke Robert’s face, always wearing that kindly, affable smile, disappointment made my teeth clench.
Even if only for a moment, I felt like a fool for having been swayed by that gentle-looking expression.
Still, I’d at least expected him to be living in a normal room…
I forced myself to swallow down the anger rising in my chest.
Getting worked up and exploding here wouldn’t benefit anything at all. It would only scare the child.
I’d come to talk with him, but going inside that so-called room, there didn’t even seem to be enough space to stand.
If I were to sit, we’d have to sit side by side on the bed just to talk. Unable to decide what to do, I stood awkwardly at the doorway and looked down at Ammon.
The child seemed quite flustered by my sudden visit and was forcing himself to appear calm, but there was no hiding the way his pupils trembled.
I hadn’t meant to startle him.
As I stood there, pondering what to do while looking around the barely-a-room, a question occurred to me.
“…Ammon, I don’t see a bathroom. Where do you wash?”
My room had not only a bathroom, but also a dressing room, a powder room, a tea room, a private sitting room, and even a small study.
And not a single one of those spaces was smaller than this room.
If anything, they were so unnecessarily large that I’d thought of them as a waste of space—but Ammon’s room was the complete opposite.
It didn’t even have the bare minimum necessary for a human being to live.
“…There is a residence for the servants behind the main estate. I use the communal shower there and maintain my cleanliness at all times, so you needn’t worry, elder sister.”
“…….”
What the child just said as ‘you needn’t worry’ didn’t sound like at least I can wash, so don’t worry about me.
It sounded more like, although there’s no bathing space here, I always keep myself clean, so please don’t trouble yourself with unpleasant concerns.
I really hope I’m misunderstanding.
“I just… no, that’s not it. Amy, go bring the head maid, the butler—anyone. Tell them I’m looking for them. Quickly. Right now.”
“Y-Yes, young lady!”
I tried to respond to Ammon, but I didn’t know what to say, so I decided to deal with the immediate problem first.
The moment my words left my mouth, Amy hurried off somewhere.
Ah, so now it’s just Ammon and me. This is awkward… The more I think about it, the more awkward it gets.
I rolled my eyes to glance at Ammon, who was standing blankly beside me, and let out a sigh inwardly.
Ammon was looking at me as if I were the only thing in the world, like an obedient puppy.
After maintaining the awkward silence for a moment, I reminded myself of my original purpose in coming here and opened my mouth.
“Ammon, you haven’t had lunch yet, right? I actually stopped by to ask you to eat together, but I got sidetracked.”
At my words, Ammon widened his eyes and murmured as if he couldn’t believe it.
“A meal… you say? Elder sister, with… me?”
“Yes. You and me, Ammon.”
Unfortunately, since it hadn’t been long since I possessed this body, there was still much more I didn’t know than what I did.
Still, whether fortunate or unfortunate, thanks to the ability I gained through possession, I was managing somehow.
It was an ability I learned about after falling asleep on the first day of possession.
When I dream, the past memories of Rielie Robert are reproduced exactly. In my dreams, I lose control over this body, but in exchange, I can vividly observe this body’s past.
Even the emotions Rielie had felt at the time are crystal clear.
However, the past I experience through dreams isn’t a convenient system where I can pick and choose only the parts I want to see.
In the dream I had on the first day, I saw the day I first learned dining etiquette, and afterward, I dreamed various scenes in no particular order, from very early childhood memories to recent ones.
And in today’s dream, I saw memories of a happy time spent with the late Duchess when I was young.
But until now, Ammon has never appeared in my dreams.
Which means that I know absolutely nothing about the current child, as opposed to the ‘Ammon Robert’ who would exist much later in the original story.
Naturally, I also had no idea when we might have eaten together before.
“How long has it been since we last ate together…?”
When I asked in a probing tone, the child lifted the corners of his lips and answered.
“…This is the first time. Thank you for granting me the honor of sharing a meal with you, elder sister.”
Ammon’s amethyst-like purple eyes sparkled with expectation, curving beautifully into crescent moons.
…So, we really have never shared a meal.
I nearly failed to control my expression, but as I took in the child’s face, I steadied myself.
Ammon’s round, pale cheeks were tinged with a soft peachy hue.
The gentle upward curve of his lips made him look like a baby angel smiling sweetly.
‘To think that a child this angelic will later become the male lead of a bleak romance fantasy who torments the female lead…’
The world really is going to ruin. I sighed inwardly.
He was adorable, but at the same time, he looked genuinely happy over something as small as the suggestion of sharing a meal, and that made my heart ache.
“There’s no need to call it an honor. Let’s eat together often from now on.”
“…Yes. If it is agreeable to you, elder sister, then I will do so.”
Though a faint blush still lingered on his cheeks, Ammon returned to a neutral expression and answered while glancing at me.
But why does this kid use such extremely formal honorifics?
‘Who taught him to speak like that?’
Seeing a child this young being overly polite made me uncomfortable in a strange way.
“Ammon, who taught you etiquette?”
It had been nagging at me. In the original story, it was said that Ammon didn’t receive proper education until he was in his teens.
Yet the child standing before me was behaving like a young master who’d been impeccably educated.
“I did not receive formal instruction. I learned through books in the library. Is it still insufficient?”
Ammon glanced at me again, carefully watching my reaction as he spoke. He’s far too conscious of my every word.
…Don’t do that. Don’t speak while worrying so much about how I’ll react. How much have you had to read the room to end up like this…?
I hurriedly shook my head, denying his words.
“No, no! It’s not insufficient at all. I was asking because you know so much. You learned on your own through books?”
Wait—how old was his nanny when she stayed in this household? I’m pretty sure she was dismissed when he was still very young. Did she really teach him to read?
A number of questions flashed through my mind.
“Then who taught you how to read? Did your nanny teach you?”
“Yes. She taught me when I was young.”
He still seems young enough now, so how much younger could he have been back then?
“…How old were you when your nanny taught you to read?”
“I was three. She taught me simple words, and after that, I could no longer receive instruction, so I learned on my own through books.”
A strong sense that something was very wrong washed over me.
But since I’d already started asking, I should make sure to get to the bottom of it.
