Beggar Siblings – Adopted Son and Daughter
“Hiya!”
Lena’s kick sliced through the air of the spacious garden within the family estate. Leo, though slightly surprised, effortlessly blocked the kick that carried a fair amount of weight.
“Wow! Our little sister is good at everything. Such a precious thing.”
“Let go of me!”
He easily approached his sister, who was bristling like a hedgehog, and pinched her cheek.
Her elbow shot upwards in retaliation, aiming for his jaw, but Leo effortlessly dodged it with a slight tilt of his head.
Lena soon gave up, her cheeks puffing out in a pout.
“Hmph… Nothing works…”
“Hahaha. How dare you try to hit your amazing older brother? But you’re doing really well! You surprised me.”
Lena was learning Hiberuna, a traditional martial art.
It was a style used by the soldiers of the Akaian Empire, but with the advancement of various weapons and armor, its value had diminished, and it was no longer used by the military.
However, it was still very useful for self-defense among civilians.
Even knights referred to it when learning martial arts, so Leo Dexter knew it to some extent, and Leo, having experienced his body, was also somewhat familiar with it.
“Tsk. Just you wait.”
Lena frowned. His sister didn't seem very satisfied, but Leo thought she was doing great.
‘It's only been a while since she started learning…’
His younger sister, Lena, was very talented.
She was a fast learner and very good at utilizing what she learned.
‘Maybe it would be better to teach Lena swordsmanship?’
A thought occurred to him. What if his sister Lena became the youngest Swordmaster ever?
It was absurd, but the thought alone was so amusing that Leo burst into laughter.
Lena was a quick learner, but not to that extent. Swordmasters were geniuses of swordsmanship, gifted by the heavens. A talent like Lena’s, where she excelled at everything, had its limits.
‘Honestly, with her looks alone, she's the best on the continent, and if you add to that the talent to be good at everything… It's already excessive.’
God's dice couldn't be that unfair. Look at Lena Einar. She's good at nothing but swordsmanship.
As Leo chuckled to himself, imagining Lena Einar's eccentricities, his sister interrupted him.
“What’s so funny? Are you laughing at your sister’s skills?”
Lena narrowed her eyes and glared at him.
Oh no. He was about to get scolded. Leo quickly waved his hands, denying it.
“No, no way. I’m just impressed. It hasn’t even been a few months since you started learning. You’re doing great at this rate. I guess I should be worried next time?”
“Hmph, you’re just trying to flatter me.”
His sister must have run out of energy because she plopped down beside him.
It was a bit hot even in the shade. Leo handed his sister some water and looked around. In the distance, across the spacious garden, some family members were chatting, but there was no one around them.
He cautiously started speaking.
“Lena, there’s something I need to tell you.”
Lena gulped down her water and replied with her beautiful, expectant eyes, “Tell me.” Leo lowered his voice, wary of eavesdroppers.
“About the Marquis’ estate we visited last time… let’s go there as adopted children.”
- Pffffft!
Lena spat out the water she was drinking.
“Ugh! What was that for? You got me all wet.”
“Cough, cough, brother. What, what do you mean, adopted?”
“Yeah. You as the adopted daughter, and I think I’ll be the adopted son.”
“Really? You’re not kidding?”
“Yeah, for real. Isn’t it great?”
“...”
Lena’s face darkened.
“What’s wrong? You don’t like it?”
“...Yeah, I don’t.”
“Why? You saw it last time, that grand estate. And he’s a nobleman. We can become nobles.”
As Lena watched her brother waving his arms excitedly, she recalled the mansion she had seen before and the man called the Marquis.
And the image of her brother, so tense and on edge…
Suddenly, Lena realized something, and her mood darkened even further. Her voice was devoid of any energy as she replied.
“...So that’s why you took me there. To show me off to that old man.”
“...”
Leo was so surprised that he couldn’t say a word, and Lena firmly shut her mouth.
It had been almost a year since she had come to live in this mansion. She had spent her time studying and getting along with the other children.
The boys her age all tried to show off in front of her. Even the older men treated her with special kindness, and Lena felt a strange dissonance.
She received much more kindness than the other girls. The difference was so obvious that she couldn’t help but notice.
The women also adored Lena, but their words always carried a hint of worry.
They would emphasize that she needed to be careful and find a good husband, but they never told her specifically why she needed to be careful or what kind of bad things could happen to her.
However, she was able to deduce that men might act inappropriately towards her because of her appearance.
Lena could now understand, to some extent, her brother's past behavior.
Leo always smeared dirt or grime on her face.
When they were begging in a small village, he would hide her under the village wall and go in alone.
He desperately tried to hide her face.
‘He was trying to protect me…’
When she realized that, Lena understood what a burden she had been to her brother.
She wasn't just tagging along and pestering him for food. Her brother was doing so much more.
To protect her from those ‘bad things’.
Lena looked up at her speechless, fidgeting brother. Her heart ached a little.
‘I should have realized it when he made me wear those clothes and jewelry…’
At first, she liked the clothes because they were pretty. When she entered the grand estate, she understood. She thought it was only polite to dress up when having lunch at such a magnificent house.
But there was another reason why her brother brought those clothes.
He was packaging her.
“...I’ll go.”
With a voice mixed with resentment and disappointment, Lena left her hesitant brother behind and returned to her room.
The cool breeze from the wide-open window blew in, but it wasn’t refreshing at all.
As she slammed the door shut, the wind stopped.
The laughter of the family could be faintly heard through the open window. She could also hear the children playing happily, shouting “Wow!”
No. She couldn’t hear anything at all.
Lena lay down on the bed. She couldn’t help but clutch her chest with both hands at the dull pain in her heart.
She was sad, but no tears came.
She lay there for a while, then weakly thought of her brother.
‘…I should listen to brother.’
The best thing she did in the world was listen to her brother.
Following him around…
Eating whatever he gave her…
‘…I should listen to brother.’
Everything her brother did was for her.
Becoming the adopted daughter of a noble family must be the same. It may seem like he’s using her looks, but that too…
…must be for her own good.
‘…I should listen to brother.’
She thought of Tian and the family she had grown fond of.
If she became the adopted daughter of a noble family, she wouldn’t be able to come here again, would she? She wouldn’t be able to come back, would she?
‘Still… I should listen to brother…’
Lena pushed herself up from the bed, her thoughts coming to an end. She felt bad for leaving her brother alone.
When she went back down to the yard, her brother was still in the same spot, clutching his head.
Lena felt sorry for her brother’s shrunken figure and pulled herself together. She approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Brother.”
Leo turned around in surprise. Lena, seeing him at a loss for words, spoke in a subdued voice.
“I’ll go. I’ll be the adopted daughter.”
It was her dream to live with her brother forever. If she wasn’t going to the Marquis’ estate alone, but with her brother… then that was enough.
“But I have a condition.”
She set a condition for her brother, whose face had brightened up. It was the first time she had ever contradicted her brother.
It’ll be fine, right? — she thought.