Reincarnated As The Only Son (18 years old) Of The Arrogant And Wicked Marquis Family.

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Elena Turning Red.

The day after that.

*RingRingRing*

Dozens of minutes had passed since the chime that signaled the end of fourth period and the shift to lunch time.

“—I see. That’s tough.”

As Beret was eating a sandwich in the classroom that a servant had made for him, he was hitting an aizuchi.

(note : hitting an aizuchi = making sounds during a conversation to show you are listening and engaged, something like ‘Ah I see’, ‘Oh’, ‘Hee…’, etc.)

He sat next to Elena, listening to her talk about her problems.

“It’s not easy. Ever since my brother told me that he was going to be in charge of the new restaurant, he has been staying up late.. every night. I’m worried about him because he doesn’t listen to me when I tell him what to do.”

“So that’s why you were tired, Elena.”

“What? You noticed? I’ve been trying to hide it from you.”

Elena put her thin fingertips to her mouth and blinked quickly.

“I saw you repeatedly yawning during class. I thought maybe you were having trouble falling asleep.

“…You were looking at me even though we were in class.”

Immediately, the tone of her voice changed to a teasing tone. I looked next to her and she made a look that said, ‘I knew it.’.

“What’s with that ‘were you watching me?’ look. I only looked at you sideways. I was sitting next to you, so I had a view.”

“Compliment me, even if it’s flattering. That’s not going to make you irresistible.”

“I don’t care, because I’m not popular in a good way in the first place. After all, there are only bad rumors about me that are spreading.”

“…Ahh, Fufu~. I guess the enemy sees you before I can say the member of opposite sex sees you.”

“Yes.”

“It’s a pity. You have a nice face, but you can’t fall in love.”

I just got a compliment, but if I prolonged the conversation in response to this, I might not be able to get back to the main topic.

I would think about what Elena said later and get back to the subject.

“So, I don’t know if this is a good time to ask this, but how old is your little brother, Elena? Actually, I don’t know much about him. I don’t think we’ve ever met face-to-face.”

“Ohh, I see… My brother is a sophomore in high school. One year below us.”

“Oh, so he’s a student and in charge of a new restaurant? I can understand your concern.”

“Right? Our father is really impatient. He wanted to give him such a big responsibility while he was still a student. Why didn’t he take more precautions?”

Elena folded her arms and went on the worry and whine course again.

I guessed she felt she had to say it out loud to get it out of her system. Conversely, that was how worried she was about her brother.

It was me who was encountering a funny scene.

“So, what is your request after all, Elena? You know that talking about it won’t help, don’t you?”

“Yes, of course I know that. I have only one request. I want to know if you have any advice for me.”

Elena brought her face close to where I was eating my sandwich.

A beautiful, doll-like face.

No, I don’t know why she approaches me here…

I guessed she did it unconsciously, but it was distressing for me.

I took a little distance while putting the jasmine perfume she was wearing in my nose.

“What kind of advice do you want?”

“Well, let’s see… Like how should my brother move on…?”

“What? You know, I can’t give you that advice. I’ve only heard intermittent things from you, Elena.”

If the brother himself had asked for advice, the story would be different, but there was too little information from what she had told me.

I could only give him obvious advice like, ‘You just have to hang in there.’.

“B- because the management side of this thing is so difficult that I can’t give you the details… It can’t be helped…”

“I know you can’t give the details just like that even if you want to. I know you’re worried about your brother and can’t relax, but at least make a note of what you need to discuss beforehand.”

“…Hmmm. Don’t be so righteous.”

Elena’s jewel-toned purple eyes narrowed and her mouth twitched.

I had never seen her like this before, but I guessed she was showing her true colors due to the shortening distance between us and the lack of space to spare.

“No, you don’t have to sulk like that.”

“I’m not sulking… You make me sound like a child.”

“It’s true.”

“Huh… But it’s true. If I want your advice, I should do what you say. It will really help…”

She let out a sigh and slumped her shoulders.

I didn’t intend to depress her in the slightest, but when I saw her like this, I had to follow up with her.

“Well, it’s going to be a tough world, but I’m sure things will turn out better in the long run.”

“…Things will turn out better?”

“Because your father is giving him opportunities while he’s young, letting him gain experience, letting him learn from his mistakes and his successes, you know? He couldn’t ask for a better environment.”

“W-Well, it doesn’t matter if it’s after graduating from college, or even after slowly building up your skills.”

“I understand what you are saying, Elena. But there is always a point of view that you can only see when you are young. And the power to pursue ideals is strong when you are young. I think your father is counting on that.”

It was all just a prediction. But the Count Leclerc had developed a restaurant business so large that everyone in the city recognized it.

There was no way that the mainstay of the family would be proceeding with a story in a hit-or-miss manner.

“Beret.. You need to explain it more clearly. You’re making too many muddled statements.”

“Y-yeah, I guess…”

I couldn’t help but frown at this question.

I didn’t mean to muddy the waters myself.

It was difficult to explain because there was so little information and we could only speculate.

“I’m sorry to say, this is a rough example, but if… Elena, you wanted to harness the power of the sun, what would you do?”

“The sun? Of course it’s impossible. We can’t fly, we can’t even reach the sun.”

“The point is, you’ve given up on harnessing the power of the sun at that point, haven’t you? Or not even thinking about it.”

“That’s right. In fact, it is impossible.”

“What if you can’t face that reality?”

“Ehhh…?”

It was a mistake to use the sun as an example, which everyone knew. But Elena, who had a good foundation, took a few seconds and answered with a tilt of her head.

“Th-Then… you think about how it can be used…? Even if it’s by force.”

“Yes, yes. The point is that the pursuit begins before giving up. If one decides that it is impossible, then another idea may come to mind, such as the possibility of using the sun’s rays.”

“…”

“I think management is similar to that. Because you can’t look directly into the future, you have to work hard to achieve your ideals. If we hit a wall in the process, we will consider things from a different perspective and work on them. As a result, we sometimes end up with something better than what we have built up until now.”

I might not be saying the right thing. However, this was the best I could do to explain myself right now.

“I’m only talking about the benefits, and I’m assuming you can recover from your mistakes, but if you have the foundation to take on the challenge, it’s worth doing now. If your brother is on the wrong path, your father will stop him.”

“…ah”

“Ahh?”

“…Y-you are right! I’m sure Father will be able to help him, right?”

“I don’t know about your father, so I can’t say for sure, but he’s a kind man, right?”

“He’s always putting the work first. He’s always putting work first, but he’s a kind man.”

Elena, who was dissatisfied with her father’s response because of the concept of ‘lending a hand’ had not been in her mind… chewed these words, and her voice tone became bright and her face happy.

“I know he’s a student and he should concentrate on his studies, but… your father is probably making the choice because he believes in your brother, so why don’t you believe in him too, Elena? Merit over demerit. Your father and your brother.”

“Uh-Yes!”

And then I met her eyes as she nodded honestly and grinned hopefully.

“…”

From there, there was no conversation. We kept looking at each other, and then suddenly there was silence.

I wondered how long this period of silence would last.

Elena’s white cheeks gradually turned red.

She began to act suspiciously and began to fidget.

When I thought she would begin to speak, she turned away and got up in a bad mood.

“Sh-shut up …Nevermind. I’m going to the cafeteria. You go eat your bread by yourself.”

There was something obviously wrong with her. She was restless, no longer making eye contact, and red from the neck up, where her choker was wrapped around her neck.

“Ahh, by any chance, are you embarrassed?”

“!! Of course not. Idiot.”

“Yeah…”

The last words of farewell, Elena left the classroom at a quick pace.

Did I offend her?… I’ll apologize later…

I was so sorry that I started to eat my sandwich by myself.

After finishing my meal, I took the romance novel I had finished last night and went out to the library where Luna was supposed to be.