The World Without My Sister Who Everyone Loved

As heavy velvet curtains covered the windows of the dining room, the sound of thunder and rain disappeared.

“I’ll bring out the appetizer.”

“Seafood delicacy soup.”

Sienna’s small silver plate also contained a ladle of unknown soup. It was steaming hot, but Sienna thought cynically.

‘Sitting with three out of four people, who don’t want to sit around a table, and eating something with unknown ingredients in it. I’m dying of joy.’

It’s a relief if you don’t have an upset stomach.

“If it doesn’t suit your taste, you can leave it.”

The Grand Duke hinted as if he had seen through her thoughts. But Sienna interpreted his words as this.

‘I’m telling you to have a drink.’

I had no appetite, but I couldn’t refuse. Sienna picked up a heavy silver spoon and dipped it into the soup.

Only then, as if time had stopped moving, did the Grand Duke and his sons also pick up their tableware at once.

“You said that the extermination with the monsters was going to be pretty rough, but you came back early. Father?”

“I’m glad it was over before the weather got bad.”

“Yes, The beasts tend to get worse when the weather is bad. It’s not a good conversation to talk about at a meal, though.”

Sienna decided to taste the food instead of listening to the conversation.

‘Hmm.’

The soup I had taken less than a spoonful of was surprisingly not bad.

‘The spoon is a bit heavy.’

I tried to hold it with my small hand, but the silver spoon only repeatedly confirmed to me that it was still heavy to handle.

It may be overly self-conscious, but it seemed that only my plate was making excessive noise.  I didn’t want to attract attention, so I moved the dishes as quietly as possible, so it seemed as if I was eating.

‘Well, I didn’t really want to eat it anyway.’

“Potato puree and grilled sea bream.”

“It’s a steak with cresson, grilled cauliflower, and pomegranate sauce.”

Sienna focused on listening to the rest of the conversation and pretending to eat the food set in turn.

“… You don’t seem to like it.”

Startle.

‘I didn’t think I’d get caught…’

Actually, Ashiel took things as they came, but kept an eye on everything.

Q/N: Basically, he is laid back but observant.

“I’m eating.”

“You didn’t touch the meat.”

As Ashiel pointed out, Sienna had not touched the main steak, but had only a slice of asparagus.

Have you ever observed me before? Sienna awkwardly apologized.

“I’m sorry.”

“No, that’s not what I meant…”

Ashiel narrowed his eyebrows. He didn’t know why, but he didn’t want to hear her apology. He felt terribly wrong.

“You don’t have to apologize for the food you don’t like.”

“Butler.”

When the Grand Duke intervened, the butler came. He received the words without hesitation.

“Yes, I’ll remind the chef to pay attention. What else would you like on your plate?”

Sienna shook her head gently in the eyes of the Grand Duke.

“That’s all right.”

If I eat anything more than this, I’ll have to get digestive medicine in about an hour.

“Hmm….”

If I said that they didn’t need to do that because of me, I would need to try to persuade them, but I couldn’t say anything, so I just cut it off and said it was okay.

“…Tell the maid if you are hungry later.”

Sienna nodded her head calmly, but she strongly felt that the Grand Duke would never do what she asked him to do.

‘It’s too soon… I didn’t know you prepared this kind of event.’

I belatedly thought I was being hasty, but I couldn’t help it. The Grand Duke hit his glass twice to signal he had finished eating.

The servants cleared the traces of their meal. But…

‘What is it?’

Instead of bringing dessert, the butler brought four small gold plates and put them in front of the Grand Duke.

The Grand Duke nodded and ordered.

“Bring the pomegranate.”

“What?”

The butler moved the ripe pomegranate from the golden plate of the centerpiece onto the gold plate of the Grand Duke.

‘…Wasn’t it just a decoration?’

It was a pomegranate the size of Sienna’s head, but it looked like a small orange in the Grand Duke’s hands.

It occurred to me that it didn’t seem to be just about sharing pomegranates.

Does the pomegranate mean anything? In a way, it’s more like a main dish than a meal.

In a room that was still enough to hear the sound of candles flowing, the Grand Duke cut the pomegranate in half along the open grain. Then, the broken pieces were carefully divided into two.

As he was tearing the pomegranate with his bare hands, red juice fell on his hands like blood.

The butler placed a piece of it on a gold plate and put it in front of Sienna. A kind smile filled my face.

“Congratulations, Miss.”

“….”

“In Nacht, when welcoming a new member, there is a custom of eating pomegranate handed out by the patriarch himself. It means to enjoy as many blessings as this pomegranate.”

Well, in Sienna’s view, the torn pomegranate in front of her looked like bleeding flesh rather than a symbol of blessing and hospitality.

Is this what Mrs. Deborah said?

…This is?

‘Their hospitality has a little bit of a barbaric aspect to it.

It was as if the wolf pack was sharing the prey the captain had been hunting. I was not the same as a wolf, but I was trapped and got a piece of raw meat, so I couldn’t help but feel embarrassed.

No, she wasn’t the only one who was in trouble.

‘I’ve never heard of or experienced anything like this when I was with Loreina.’

“I’ll hold it..”

While I was embarrassed by the first custom, my thoughts were cut off there. At the words of the Grand Duke, Ashiel and Michael began to eat pomegranates without a care.

Does not raising an objection mean that Sienna was welcomed, or does it simply mean that everyone agrees with the Grand Dukes’s decision?

It was just a few pomegranates, too little to find fault with. All together in this atmosphere, I couldn’t dare to question, “Why?”

Besides, it doesn’t mean that I could just eat this and get out of here, but it means welcome, so what objections should I even have?

Inevitably, Sienna roughly swallowed some red grains into her mouth.

Before I knew it, the Grand Duke, Ashiel, and Michael were watching Siena eating the pomegranate.

The three pairs of eyes were as red as the pomegranate seeds mashed in Sienna’s mouth now.

I got goosebumps.

‘…Stop eating.’

When I cleaned my hands with the napkin, the butler congratulated me by clearing the dishes.

“Good job. Now only the deep night and the power of Nacht will protect you.”

“Thanks.”

I don’t think it’s a good thing, but the congratulations only made me feel uncomfortable.

‘I feel like I’ve joined something I shouldn’t have…’

It was ominous. A few pomegranates now seem to lie within me now.

The Grand Duke words only showed how he misinterpresented Sienna’s quiet attitude.

“It’s okay if you don’t understand right now. We only need to understand the custom of recognizing you as Nacht’s child.”

“…For what reason?”

I tried not to ask, but I couldn’t hold it in…. Really Sienna had endured enough.

“I’m just an orphan. No matter what your expectations are, I won’t be able to live up to them.”

“Hey! What do you expect from us…”

Michael, who had managed to stay still until now, finally raised his voice, but the Grand Duke raised his hand to block him.

“…That’s m not an appropriate thing for a child to say.”

His red gaze was cold. Sienna thought that the criticism of being ‘insolent’ would fall roughly upon her.

‘You could now be cold-hearted about the favors you’ve already given.’

Or at least that’s what I hoped for. Sienna was determined and waited for his next word. But-

“Call Mrs. Deborah.”

He missed my expectations.

“It seems like someone has been talking, presumably, the head maid. I’ll ask the head maid and ask her personally.”

“Yes, Sir.”

She tried not to, but Sienna opened her eyes like a surprised rabbit.

“That….”

Without any time for Sienna to say anything, the maid waiting outside the dining room door immediately arrived.

“Well, Mrs. Deborah.”

When the butler delivered the message with a perplexed look, the head maid was startled.

“What?” Quickly, Mrs. Deborah bowed her head.

“Your Highness, I swear that Deborah never said that. I haven’t seen her for a long time, but she is calm and clear, unlike her peers, so the Grand Duchy’s judgment is correct. Please believe me!”

P/N: She’s saying that the Grand Duchy’s judgement in choosing her to be head maid is correct/ a good decision.

“……”

Sienna, who was worried for a moment that Mrs. Deborah might get a punishment, was speechless. It was inevitable that she was embarrassed.

“Then why did the child think that way? Don’t you have any idea?”

“I didn know she thought that way, but is there any chance…”

Mrs. Deborah replied, gritting her teeth.

“While she was unavoidably away, I might have been mischievous and impolite.”

All eyes were on Sienna.