“…?”
“Sidri, come here.”
Was Sidrion hearing things incorrectly? No, no, he wasn’t. He repeatedly heard the same thing pronounced clearly.
If it wasn’t that he was suddenly experiencing hearing problems, then surely, he was not hearing things incorrectly.
“…”
Sidrion turned around. He scanned his surroundings while he was at it. There was no one around, of course.
Apart from her.
“…Are you talking to me, by any chance?” Sidrion asked, pointing to himself with an incredulous look.
Liliana smiled.
“Yes, you. Sidri.”
“…”
“Sidri is right, since you’re Sidrion.”
“Well, I mean, why are you…”
“Sidri, hurry up and come here.”
Sidrion furrowed his brow.
Curse that nickname. Even if Liliana was speaking casually to him because she was a noble, Sidrion found the nickname “Sidri” offensive.
For some reason, it seemed like he’d have to listen to whatever Liliana said.
Sidrion swallowed down a sigh and then approached Liliana. He intended to look her in the eye up close and confront her about the ridiculous nickname.
But upon actually coming closer to her, Sidrion realized that no matter what he said, it would be of no use.
‘She’s drunk.’
At first glance, she looked fine, but her eyes were unfocused. Liliana was drunk.
“Huu.” Sidrion let out a sigh instead of holding it back upon learning that Liliana wasn’t sober.
Liliana spoke.
“Come here and sit down.”
She tapped on the window ledge her arm was perched on.
‘How am I supposed to sit on that?’
Was Liliana so drunk that she thought Sidrion was a small housepet? Indeed, it did feel like she was doting on a small animal with the nickname and her tone of voice.
It would be difficult to expect a drunk person to think rationally if he were to ask where exactly she thought this cute pet of hers was.
Sidrion stood in place and replied with his arms crossed.
“I’ll just stay here.”
“Why?”
“Just because. Do you have something to say? Go ahead and say it, I’ll be listening from here.”
“…”
Liliana, who had been staring at Sidrion blankly, nodded her head soon after.
“All right. Listen to me from there then.”
“…”
“You know, I have a younger sibling…”
‘Edward Sorte? Or the duchess?’
“And several months ago, she got married.”
‘So she’s talking about the duchess.’
“She got married and all, but…”
“…”
“I don’t know why she did.”
“…?”
“Funny, right? She won’t tell me the real reason why… she got married… or why it had to be her. I see that she’s hiding something, so I can’t even ask.”
‘From my understanding, it was a marriage for business purposes, but is that not all there was to it?’
Sidrion listened to Liliana quietly.
Liliana continued. “What in the world is she thinking?”
“…”
“What burden is she carrying all by herself, with that delicate body of hers…”
“…”
“Is it really okay for me not to know? I’m her older sister and all…”
“…I don’t know about anything else, but.”
Sidrion opened his mouth.
He didn’t want to give friendly advice to a drunk person, but he thought he could at least say this.
“The duchess looks happy, from what I’ve seen at the ducal castle.”
“…Really?”
“Yes.”
He wasn’t making this up to comfort Liliana; it was the truth.
Sidrion thought about Kaywhin and Yelena. It hadn’t been that long since the two met each other, but they suited each other well as if they were meant to be together from the start.
One could tell just by looking at them, that there was such a thing as a relationship where two people needed each other, and they made the other happy and content just by being at each other’s side.
‘This is what people would call a fated partner.’
Did everyone have a fated partner? Or was it a blessing bestowed upon only a specially fortunate minority?
If it was the latter, Sidrion didn’t think he was part of the fortunate group of people.
“Happy…”
Liliana’s voice abruptly broke Sidrion out of his thoughts.
“She’s happy… I see…”
“…”
“…That’s good.”
Liliana smiled brightly. It was the smile of someone who was truly happy, relieved, and assured.
“Thank you.”
“…Don’t mention it.”
“You know, you’re really nice. Sidri is a wonderful person. Sidri is friendly, kind, handsome…”
‘All of a sudden?’
Liliana’s compliments about Sidrion came to a sudden stop. But that wasn’t all.
Liliana didn’t budge an inch from where she was laying her head on her arm that was on the ledge.
Sidrion broke the silence.
“Lady Sorte.”
“…”
“Miss Liliana?”
“…”
She gave no response.
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