Returning to the lord's office, Yeriel retrieved her childhood diary. It lay in an old, dusty drawer, its pages filled with long-forgotten memories.0

Today, I didn't get scolded at breakfast. Maybe that's why my brother talked to me. It made me happy all day.1

At dinner, I dropped my knife. My brother gave me a disappointed look. It was my fault, and I felt really sad. I need to do better, even if he doesn't scold me. I'll try harder tomorrow.0

My brother hates it when I cry, but I couldn't help it. Why can't I stop myself from crying?2

"... Idiot," Yeriel muttered, unable to read any further. 0

She closed the diary with a sigh, wondering why she had been so weak and foolish. As she glanced at the gloves on her desk, a lavish gift from Deculein, another sigh escaped her.3

“Present, my ass,” Yeriel muttered under her breath.0

She no longer remembered the days when she longed for Deculein’s brotherly love. The child who trembled at his every word was gone. All that remained were painful memories she wished to forget.0

“I won't fall for it, you idiot,” Yeriel muttered as she grabbed the gloves, ready to throw them away. “... Damn it.”0

Her arm wouldn't move. It was the first gift she had ever received from him, as she had never even had a birthday celebration. Even if his words were empty, she placed the gloves back in the drawer.0

"I just won't use them," she whispered to herself, nodding.4

***0

It was 9 p.m., and many people had gathered in the forest behind Hotel Hadecaine Romance. They were there to watch magical fireworks on the first night of their three-day, two-night Educational Retreat. With loud cheers, sparkling magical streaks shot up into...0