“Should I at least be grateful there’s no wind?”

When the first snow had only been drifting down lightly, it had felt atmospheric. It had been genuinely nice. So why did that damn snow show no sign of stopping?

[It’ll probably stop around tomorrow. Some crops end up with poor harvests if they don’t get a certain amount of snow.]

“Really?”

She felt like she might have heard something like that back in the other world too.

Hadn’t they said barley harvests failed if winter was not cold enough? There must be crops like that here too.

“By the way, I guess those kids aren’t cold at all.”

Camilla’s gaze turned back outside. She could see children running through the snowfield, sinking all the way to their ankles like puppies.

Just looking at them made her feel cold.

Dive, Rio, and Sena were all out there playing together in the snow.

Maybe it was because they were kids.

It was a little strange how quickly they had started getting along not long after meeting.

Dive, who instinctively bristled in his relationships with other people, did not do that with Rio.

No, more accurately, he had not been able to.

“Big brother! Big Brother Dive!”

“Yeah, Rio.”

“Big Brother Dive is the most handsome big brother I’ve ever seen!”

Right then, thanks to Aisla’s power, the children’s voices came drifting in.

Camilla kept snickering at the situation, which was not much different from the first time they had met. Dive’s face turning bright red was probably not just because of the cold.

“Thanks...”

“Should we go inside after we finish the snowman? Me and Big Sister Sena and you can all stack toys together!”

“Okay.”

Should she call it Rio’s power?

After showering Dive with praise that would have made Arsian feel terribly left out if he had heard it, Rio made himself another friend in an instant.

Of course, Sena and Dive were still a little awkward with each other, but neither of them seemed to care much about that.

Just then, Ravi and Ludvill came over to Camilla’s side.

“What, are you watching the little brats again?”

The two of them followed her gaze, checked the children beyond the window, and then, for some reason, put on sulky expressions. What was wrong with them?

“And why did you come again, brother?”

Camilla glared at Ravi with all her might. She seriously had no idea what had gotten into him lately.

“What do you mean, why did I come? I brought you a snack. Can’t you see this? It’s cake.”

“Since when did you get a job as my attendant?”

Should she fire Dorman now?

“I get yelled at even when I look after you.”

“It’s because you’re acting weird.”

These days, Ravi showed up everywhere she went.

At first, she had thought he was acting like that because he had made her younger, but apparently that was not it.

“Brother, I’m only asking just in case, but you haven’t started seeing that little kid as a rival, have you?”

“W-What are you saying all of a sudden?! Why would I!”

Well, it was true the two of them had no reason to compete...

Was she imagining it?

Why did it feel to her like her brother was failing to act his age and trying to compete with a child?

‘Hey, what’s that?’

‘The chocolate I bought for Dive... why are you eating it, brother? I said it’s for Dive!’

‘I like chocolate too.’

‘I know perfectly well all the men in this house hate sweet things, so what nonsense are you talking about?’

‘Big brother likes this too. Big brother, have some!’

‘Okay.’

Was he insane?

The sight of those two stuffing themselves full of chocolate with their brows deeply furrowed was so absurd it went beyond ridiculous.

‘Hey, eat this.’

‘It’s a cookie? I don’t really feel like eating right now.’

‘You ate the one that little brat gave you earlier! Are you discriminating now? Eat it! Right now! Big brother! Hand over the one you brought too! Eat all of this too!’

‘Ugh, what is wrong with you!’

Had they lost their minds?

Watching Ravi force cookies into his mouth, determined to see him eat at least one bite, she had nearly punched him for real.

Well, fine, that thoughtless idiot Ravi was one thing.

But why was Ludvill siding with that bastard too?

“When is that little brat going back?”

“He’s barely been here at all.”

“I don’t like him.”

“Dive probably doesn’t like you much either, brother.”

What on earth had their Dive done wrong to make him so displeased? She truly could not understand it.

“Stop talking nonsense and stop coming around so much. Don’t you have anything to do? Why do you keep coming here?”

“Why are you only like this with me? Big brother comes every time too!”

“Would you like some tea, Ludvill?”

“Yes.”

“Hey! Why are you treating us differently?!”

“Ugh, you’re loud. Fine, I’ll give you a cup too, so drink it and leave.”

As if he had been waiting, Dorman brought tea over and quickly set it down on the table.

“By the way, brother.”

“What?”

“When am I going back to normal?”

“...What?”

“I asked when I’m going back.”

“......”

...Huh? Did you ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) just avoid my eyes?

“Hey, brother.”

“Yeah?”

“Am I not going to be able to go back? Is there no way?”

“No! Absolutely not! I finished the magic formula as of yesterday.”

“Really?”

“Really!”

...Somehow, she was still very suspicious.

“Then what was that reaction just now?”

“M-My reaction?”

“Don’t stammer! You’re making me anxious again!”

“What do you mean anxious? I told you the magic formula is really finished! Don’t you trust your brother?”

Look at the state of you. Did you really look trustworthy?

There it was again.

He had just looked away again.

Camilla narrowed her eyes even further as she stared at Ravi.

“Then what is it? Why am I still like this?”

“That’s because of you!”

“Me? What did I do?”

“Who told you to get so young and so cu—!”

Cu—? Cu what? What is wrong with my ears?

“......”

Ravi once again avoided Camilla’s gaze.

As he had just said, the magic formula to return her to normal was already completely worked out.

All they had to do was engrave the formula into a mana stone again like last time, and then have Camilla break it herself.

However...

‘This fast? I think it’d be fine to leave her like this a little longer... Ravi, you look very tired too, so let’s do it later. Take it easy and get some rest.’

‘Excuse me? Father, I’m fin—’

‘For the first time, we agree. Taking care of the child and doing research must have been exhausting. We can look after Camilla, so you rest. Honestly, that girl’s legs are so short, but somehow she keeps running all over the place.’

‘What exactly are the two of you talking about?’

The Duke of Sorpel and the Duke of Esclara. The two of them had joined forces and were working very hard to stop the spell from being cast.

To begin with, Camilla had never gone scurrying around anywhere. They had carried her around so much under the excuse that she must not get hurt that she had ended up fleeing to his lab just to get away from them.

When he merely stared blankly at the absurd rewriting of history, both dukes hurriedly started making excuses.

‘I never saw Camilla at that age. I’d like to watch her current self a little longer.’

‘Even so, you were at least with her from the time she was seven. I never saw that child’s younger years at all.’

‘That really is unfortunate... Right! Since it’s come to this, Ravi, why don’t you try using that magic too? If a smaller version of you stays by her side, Camilla will feel much less anxious.’

‘That sounds reasonable. I’ll prepare a mana stone right away—’

‘I’ll be going now.’

“Brother? What are you thinking so hard about? Are you sick?”

And—

“You don’t have a fever.”

“......”

He, too, wanted Camilla to stay like this a little longer.

Ravi gently caught the little hand that had come up to feel his cheek and pressed a small ribbon into it.

“What’s this? A hair tie?”

“I found it on the way.”

“What are you talking about... Are you really sick somewhere?”

“You complain even when I bring you things.”

A hairpin in a design Camilla had wanted a very long time ago sparkled in her tiny hand.

Apparently it had looked very pretty in a child’s eyes, because for quite a while Camilla had kept lingering in front of shops that sold ribbons, making one excuse after another.

She had probably thought no one knew, but as if that could ever be true. Ravi had seen right through it back then.

The memory of those childhood days, when he had watched her drooping shoulders and still turned away in the end, had always bothered him.

Trying to hide the turmoil in his heart, Ravi deliberately crooked the corner of his mouth.

“Just eat this already.”

“What are you feeding me now? Stop bringing me food!”

“Just eat it!”

So he could do, even a little, what he had not been able to do back then.

*****

“Big brother! Big Brother Dive! Look!”

Dive, who had been rolling snow around, turned his head at Rio’s shout. At some point, a large snowman had already been built beside the child.

And there was one more pair of hands finishing that snowman.

It was Sena.

“You made it well.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

Rio broke into a broad grin and took off the scarf around his own neck, wrapping it around the snowman.

“Pretty, right? This! Big Sister Camilla gave it to me.”

“Big sister did?”

“Yeah! She bought me these gloves too!”

“...Those too?”

“Yeah! I love Big Sister Camilla so much!”