The inside of the rattling carriage was filled with an unusual tension.
Yui’s older brothers, Cecil and Carlo, were sitting in front of her. Next to her was the source of this tension—their father, Arthur O’Brian. None of them spoke. Yui felt uncomfortable in this silent space, and she flattened herself against the door to be as far away from her father as possible.
She had ended up in this situation because of a tea party that was being held at a certain noble’s mansion. Normally, Arthur would’ve had only her two outstanding brothers come with him. He hated to bring Yui out in public, so he usually left her at home with Sherina. But this time, a client of an O’Brian business had said that he wanted to see a Liefe, so with no other choice, Arthur had made her come with him. This was incredibly rude—the man was telling Arthur to show Yui off to him like she was an exotic animal—but Yui had no right to refuse.
The mansion where they were heading was significantly more imposing than the O’Brian mansion, and the garden they were led through was amazingly beautiful. The garden had many tables laden with simple foods, and there were already people everywhere with plates in hand having friendly conversations. Yui rarely participated in noble gatherings, so all of this seemed to glitter brightly. However, her fun mood was soon shattered by her father’s next words.
“Don’t do anything without my permission. Only answer what is asked of you. If you do anything to tarnish the O’Brian name, you won’t like what happens. Got it?”
Yui paused for a moment. “Yes, understood.”
“I’m going to go around and greet people for a while. Don’t move from this spot.”
“Okay.”
Arthur left. Cecil and Carlo, who had been by her side the entire time, glared hatefully at him as he went. When he disappeared into the crowd, the expressions on her brothers’ faces changed so completely that she almost doubted that they were the same people. They smiled gently at her.
“You don’t have to worry about him,” Cecil assured her.
“I know, Yui,” Carlo said. “Do you want any sweets?”
“Yeah, sure,” Yui said.
“All right, we’ll be right back, so just wait here for a bit.”
Her brothers both left to get some food and sweets they thought she’d like, and then they enjoyed a meal together. Thanks to that, her gloomy mood improved somewhat. After a while, one corner of the garden got noisy.
“What’s that? Did someone just arrive?” Carlo wondered.
“Are they important?” Yui asked. As they examined their surroundings, Cecil, who had left his seat to get drinks, returned.
“It seems like His Majesty, the former king, and His Highness, Prince Filiel, have arrived incognito,” Cecil explained.
“I get why the former king might be here, but His Highness too?” Carlo asked.
“Yeah.”
Carlo seemed surprised, but Yui didn’t quite understand the situation. She tilted her head. “Saying ‘His Majesty’ and ‘His Highness’ means they’re important people, right?” she asked. She was only eight years old, and she didn’t attend noble social events often, so while she knew of the royal family, she didn’t quite know how important they really were.
“That’s right,” Cecil said. “You can’t be rude to them, so don’t approach them, no matter what.”
“If you do, you’ll be tarnishing the royal dignity, and you’ll be decapitated!” Carlo said jokingly.
“Decapitated?!” Yui exclaimed.
Cecil sighed, exasperated. “Carlo, don’t teach her words she doesn’t need to know...”
Yui paid them no regard and swore in her heart that she would never get near the two royals.
As the three of them were having a fun time talking, Cecil’s and Carlo’s faces suddenly stiffened. When Yui followed their gaze, she saw that their father was approaching them—he was with a fat older man with a large, hanging belly. Her expressionless face tightened even further.
“You two, go somewhere else,” Arthur demanded.
“We’re with Yui,” Cecil said.
“Can you hear me? Get lost.” It was hard to imagine that he was speaking to his own children with such a cold, inhuman voice.
Cecil and Carlo gnashed their teeth so loudly that even Yui could hear them, but they nonetheless turned their backs and walked away, unable to stand up to Arthur.
“So this is one of those Liefes?” the older man said.
“My name is Yui.” She curtsied so as to not be disrespectful.
“Light brown hair, pale blue eyes, and porcelain skin,” the man said. “It really is a beautiful, doll-like coloring. However, she’s awfully distant.”
Arthur shot her a harsh glare that said, “Smile!” She made an effort to obey, but her face wouldn’t move as she wished.
“My apologies. Liefes have all sorts of various defects,” Arthur said obsequiously.
“Oh, it must be awful. You’re quite compassionate indeed to be raising a defective girl as your daughter, when she’s not fit for even a political marriage. I would’ve shipped both her and her mother off to an institution the day she was born.”
Yui strained to empty her mind, trying desperately to withstand the unending insults that flowed from the men despite her being right there in front of them. After a while, she didn’t know whether the man lost interest, or if he just gave up because of her lack of response, but she was finally released.
Yui walked around the garden, searching for Cecil and Carlo. She quickly found them, but she stopped in her tracks, unable to move a single step forward. There were a bunch of other children their age surrounding the two of them. She saw her brothers in the center, smiling and chatting lightheartedly. However, Yui felt unable to enter the circle, so she turned back.
Without anything to do or anywhere to go, she wandered aimlessly around the garden. Suddenly, a girl caught her eye. The girl was about her age, or slightly younger, and she was laughing joyfully as her father picked her up in his arms. When Yui saw how the girl’s father looked at her with a kind, loving gaze, she felt like she was going to cry. Arthur had never, not in her entire life, held her in his arms or looked at her that way. She had come to the party with the faint hope that maybe, if she was able to be of some use to him, he’d treat her like how that girl’s father treated her. But in the end, her father was the same as always.
If only I weren’t a Liefe... If only I were as talented as my brothers...
As she repeated these words in her head, tears welled up in her eyes. But she couldn’t cry here, not with so many people around—her father would scold her. She moved deeper into the garden, searching for a place without any people. Yui felt fed up with herself. She had tried to be good so that he wouldn’t hate her, but he had still been cruel. It was disappointing.
Finally, she found somewhere quiet where no one could interrupt her, and there, she shed her tears alone.