Siraiya didn’t have a fiancée or a title to inherit either.
The heroine’s actions were the main factor behind his transformation into a yandere character. She got what she needed from him and then threw him away like garbage.
But if someone took the time to carefully tend to his tattered heart, he could very well grow into the ideal husband—someone devoted solely to his wife, who could love and support her as he grew alongside her.
Most importantly, this was a character without a happy ending between himself and the heroine.
However, I couldn’t simply speculate about his personality as I had with Eddie. I didn’t want to end up in that situation again. For now, I needed to get a better sense of who he was as a person.
“This seems like fate,” I began. “May I have a moment of your time? I’ve been wanting to speak with the Lord Brooke whose name I always see at the top of our class grade postings.”
“…Huh? …Speak…with me?” Siraiya suddenly looked flustered.
He didn’t seem to expect a request like that at all. The grumpy look on his face vanished. It was actually kind of cute.
“If it’s too much trouble, then I’d be happy to leave.”
“…Ah, no… It’s not any trouble.”
He practically jumped to his feet.
Is he starved for socialization? He cast a timid look my way, seeming to fear the prospect of my leaving. Such a pitiful sight made my heart ache. Was he stirring a newfound protective instinct in me?
“All right, then let’s talk. There aren’t any benches nearby, so may I sit beside you?” I requested.
“Sure… Ah, no, one moment.”
Siraiya removed his jacket, quickly brushed the dust off of it, then laid it down on the staircase without a second thought.
He was quite the gentleman. Eddie would have merely chuckled and told me to sit next to him. No, I need to stop comparing everyone to him. I made up my mind to never bother with that man again.
“Thank you, that’s very kind of you. I didn’t mean to inconvenience you.”
Since he was the one offering, I decided against rejecting the gesture.
As I sat down on his jacket, I considered taking it home to wash and returning it to him the next day. But then I realized his father may not have even purchased him a spare uniform. If this were his only set, running away with his jacket would be quite the inconvenience.
He was still the son of a duke, and I had no obligation to be so concerned about someone of his rank. Still, knowing his upbringing, it was impossible not to sympathize with the young man.
“…You don’t want to sit down?” I called out to him, seeing him still standing at the bottom of the stairs. Siraiya’s eyes darted around awkwardly.
“Unmarried men and women shouldn’t get too close. Especially someone like me… I mean, I’ve heard you’re currently searching for a new fiancé, so I wouldn’t want anyone getting the wrong impression.”
He was gentlemanly and honest. Handsome, too. And a brilliant student.
“So you do know who I am. I’m embarrassed by the recent events in my life, but it is an honor to know that the brilliant Lord Brooke, top student in our class, would remember a person like me.”
“You don’t have to be so formal… In fact, I’m the one who’s honored to hear you say all that about me.”
Having played the game before, it was easy to tell what was going on in his head. He was trembling, overcome with emotion. After all, I was the first person to ever positively affirm all of his hard work.
Our simple words exchanged were enough to bring tears to the eyes of a person as lonely as he was.
Siraiya kept his green eyes pointed at the ground, hoping I wouldn’t notice. But I could tell he was welling up.
“That’s not something just anyone could accomplish,” I said. “I truly respect your hard work. I’ve tried dedicating more effort to my studies as well, but I just can’t seem to reach the top of the class.”
“But that’s because you also have to learn how to manage your family’s territory. I’ve heard that you’re a reliable person who’s always working toward your own future. You’re plenty brilliant if you’re able to balance all of that with your schoolwork.”
That came as a surprise.
We lived in a world where a woman becoming the head of her family was something of a joke. Commoner men would hardly ever praise my hard work so smoothly like that, much less an actual nobleman. Now I was the one getting emotional.
“Th-Thank you very much.”
Suddenly, I felt sort of shy. My voice probably shook as I responded to him.
Siraiya’s cheeks were pink, but I felt my face heating up, too. We were both blushing up a storm.
“Um, I think your silver hair is very beautiful, Lord Brooke. I was captivated just now as I walked by you, watching how it reflected the sunlight from above.” I tried changing subjects to make the mood less awkward, but as soon as I said that, Siraiya furrowed his brow and looked up at me.
“…I thought you didn’t like my hair.”
“Huh? What do you mean? I’ve never felt that way…”
“…When you excluded me as a marriage candidate, you said my white hair made me look like an old man…and that it gave you the creeps…”
“Whaaat?! You were excluded?! I don’t remember receiving an engagement request from you, and I look over all of them personally…!”
Had my parents intentionally kept it from me? I couldn’t see them doing something like that. But what other explanation could there be?
“Oh, no, it wasn’t anything recent,” he corrected. “It was when you were ten. I wasn’t accepted as a candidate, and then you chose Lord Eddie Dorris later on.”
“Ah! I see. So it was right when I began to entertain the idea of getting engaged.”
That was when I had my heart stolen by Eddie’s gentle personality, so I probably didn’t give the other boys much consideration. I was still young back then, and there was nothing I could do to change the past now. Yet, still…
“But I’ve never once had a negative thought about your hair, Lord Siraiya Brooke,” I insisted. “I promise you that I have never insulted it in private either.”
“I see… My brothers were the ones who told me that, so they were probably just teasing me. Sorry for what I said.”
Ngh! My heart ached just imagining how his family treated him at that house. I remembered how, in the game, they mocked his unique silver hair—something he inherited from his mother.
“Well, it’s incredibly beautiful,” I said. “In fact, I would call it one of my favorite hair colors. But I’m also fond of gray hair. My mother’s and father’s hair has started to gray a bit, and I think it’s quite stylish. It almost looks like they have highlights. Whenever your silver hair does start to gray, I think it will turn you into a very good-looking gentleman.”
I simply laid out my honest thoughts, causing Siraiya to purse his lips and squint at me as if he were staring directly into the sunlight. His cheeks were even redder than before. He took a moment to catch his breath before finally sputtering out a response.
“Thank you…”
He was just so…adorable.