[V8EX2] May Your Future be Filled With Happiness

Claudia still remembered the day her father brought in a new addition to the family.

“My name is Cyril, and I will be joining this family starting today. It’s nice to meet you, Claudia.”

He was a boy with his silver hair tied behind his head. The way he extended his hand to Claudia with a tense smile implied genuine sincerity.

Their father probably gave the boy brand-new clothes right before entering the mansion. The outfit suited him fine, but he didn’t seem comfortable wearing it.

As Claudia remained silent, Cyril grew increasingly anxious. As if trying to overpower his anxiety, he even puffed out his chest in an attempt to maintain his composure.

Meanwhile, Claudia directed her gaze at the boy’s head.

“I heard I was getting an older brother… turns out, it was a younger one.”

Indeed, Claudia had been taller than him back then. But in hindsight, perhaps this was the comment that prompted her stepbrother to start competing with her.

＊　＊　＊

When asked what she thought of her stepbrother, Claudia’s honest answer at the time was, “Nothing in particular.”

She had always hated it when people relied on her.

In that sense, she did not hate Cyril, who always behaved like her older brother, rarely asking her for anything.

However, she did find it annoying that he attempted to compete with her at every opportunity.

Apparently, Cyril believed that he needed to be as capable as Claudia in order to become a worthy successor. Thus, he always considered Claudia as his benchmark, which led to pushing himself to the point of collapse. How foolish could he get?

But strangely enough, Cyril never resented or envied Claudia, despite constantly trying to compete with her. He still tried to act as her older brother, saying things like, “Is there anything bothering you?” or “Count on me if anything comes up” with complete sincerity.

Once, Cyril came back from horseback riding practice, covered in scratches and limping from a sprained ankle.

But once he saw Claudia, he immediately straightened his posture as if nothing was wrong, said, “I’m back,” and limped back to his room with teary eyes.

He wanted to be the perfect older brother whenever he was in front of his sister.

(What a handful he is.)

Claudia had already lost track of the number of times she found herself thinking this.

＊　＊　＊

A short time after Cyril transferred into Serendia Academy, he invited Claudia to the tea room. Though unusual, it seemed he had something he wanted to discuss.

That said, Claudia already knew what the topic would be before Cyril opened his mouth. After all, she had seen him speaking with her fiancé, Neil.

“I met your fiancé recently,” Cyril began.

Claudia waited silently for the words that would follow.

——Neil Clay Maywood. The son of baron, making him far below her in noble rank. He was an inconspicuous young man, completely ordinary with a plain appearance and short stature. What was so great about him?

…Claudia had heard such comments countless times.

However, Cyril simply began sipping his tea as if the matter was settled.

“…And?” Claudia prompted Cyril to continue.

“Hmm?”

“Don’t you have anything else to say?”

Cyril furrowed his brow in contemplation, then placed the teacup back on the saucer before continuing.

“We only spoke for a little bit, but… I found him to be sincere and trustworthy.”

“…Is that all?”

Cyril puffed out his chest, adopting the ‘dignified older brother’ posture he often displayed in front of Claudia.

“Of course, I gave him a proper greeting befitting a future brother-in-law, asking him to take good care of you… Was there a problem with that?”

“…Did you call me out just to tell me that?”

Upon hearing Claudia’s response, Cyril pursed his lips in slight annoyance.

“I am greeting the person who will be your future husband, you know. It’s only natural that I inform you.”

Cyril was still shorter than Claudia, clumsy at riding, and often collapsed to acts of recklessness. But strangely, he now felt more like an older brother than ever before.

＊　＊　＊

The wedding between Claudia and Neil took place at the Maywood estate, with only close relatives from both families invited, making it a moderate but lively gathering.

Normally, a marriage involving a marquis household would require renting out one of the palaces and inviting many nobles for a grand celebration. However, this celebration was tailored to fit the rank of Baron Maywood instead.

It was Claudia herself who asked for this, and her father respected her wishes.

Most noble brides wore a luxurious dress made of brightly colored fabric adorned with gold thread embroidery, topped off with jewelry and a white veil. However, Claudia’s dress was made of a gentle orange fabric only decorated with white and yellow flowers.

Choosing a dress that couldn’t be easily reused was a sign of wealth and power. Yet Claudia deliberately selected a dress that could be worn at other events, and adorned herself with flower accessories instead of jewels.

She had always possessed a beauty that stood out against dazzling dresses and large gemstones. Even so, Claudia wanted to stand next to Neil not as the daughter of a marquis, but as the wife of a baron.

“Man, that lovely dress suits you, Claudia. I kinda wanted to see you in a more extravagant one, but well, this isn’t half bad either.”

These words came from her cousin, Curtis Ashley, who approached her in the middle of the banquet.

He was a handsome man with similar hair color and facial features to Claudia, but the aura he gave off was the complete opposite, happy-go-lucky and carefree.

Claudia simply stared back in silence as Curtis took a sip of his wine glass and continued speaking.

“I have to say, it’s a good thing you guys adopted Cyril. Father was seriously planning to marry me to you. Can you imagine? You and I as a couple! A chilling thought!”

Claudia genuinely agreed with this opinion, as she disliked Curtis quite a bit.

Curtis was someone who didn’t hesitate to rely on others and had no sense of responsibility. He had neither the ambition nor the will to serve as marquis, so he was thrilled to hear of Cyril’s adoption.

Coincidentally, these were the words Curtis spoke to Cyril upon their first meeting: “Cyril-kun! Thank you so much for coming, you have my eternal gratitude! Now I don’t have to marry Claudia! You’ve saved me!”

As one might be able to tell, he was very reluctant at the idea of marrying Claudia and assuming the title of Marquis Highown.

“Hello Curtis-niisan, it’s been a while.”

Cyril broke into the one-sided conversation and offered Curtis a polite greeting.

Curtis had taken good care of Cyril when he was first adopted, teaching him social customs, introducing him to noble children of a similar age, and just generally looking out for him. Thus, Cyril held Curtis in high regard, like one might treat an older brother.

“Hey Cyril-kun, long time no see… Oh, you’re not drinking today? Again?”

“My apologies, I’m… not good with alcohol.”

“You’ll have to get used to it sooner or later, you know? Come to my place the next time you’re close by, I’ll teach you how to enjoy wine. Mmm, delicious.”

With a cheerful laugh, Curtis took another sip from his wine glass.

This display only made him look like a moron to Claudia, but Cyril apparently interpreted it as ‘Curtis-niisan is good at recognizing flavors.’

Noticing Cyril’s impressed expression, Curtis winked.

“There’s nothing better than alcohol if you need to loosen up. By the way, you’re moving your right hand and right leg at the same time again, Cyril-kun.”

“Eh?”

Cyril flinched, and the anxiety became visible on his face. After all, the next event was him greeting all the new relatives on the Maywood side as Claudia’s stepbrother.

Cyril took out a small piece of paper from his pocket, checked its contents, and began muttering to himself.

“First, I’ll talk about my first impressions of Neil, then I’ll mention some memorable episodes from our time in the student council… Wait, maybe I should do it the other way around…?”

At this rate, he would grow anxious enough to move his right arm and leg at the same time again.

Claudia let out a sigh.

“…What an unreliable brother.”

Cyril pursed his lips and put on the ‘dignified older brother’ face. But before he could say anything, Claudia took one yellow and one white flower from her dress and fixed them onto Cyril’s chest.

Surprised at this uncharacteristic action for Claudia, Curtis widened his eyes.

“Oh, sharing the happiness, huh? Quite generous for you, Claudia.”

It is said that flowers worn by brides bring happiness, especially yellow ones. And if the bride personally gifts these flowers to another, it symbolizes the sharing of happiness.

Cyril looked alternately at the flowers on his chest and Claudia with a dumbfounded expression. But Claudia simply gave her bewildered stepbrother a wicked smile.

“Time for you to go greet the Maywood family… Please do your best, Onii-sama.”

“Of course. I’ll make sure to give a greeting befitting a brother-in-law.”

After saying this in the tone of a perfect older brother, Cyril headed towards the table where the Maywood family was seated. This time, his right arm and leg were alternating properly as he walked.

“He seems pretty reliable now, huh?” Curtis commented.

“Perhaps so.”

Claudia gave such a casual reply that Curtis couldn’t quite decipher if her affirmation was sincere or sarcastic.

As she watched her brother’s back, Claudia spoke in a hushed tone, as if talking to herself.

“…He hardly ever relies on me.”

The only times Cyril has ever asked Claudia for help were related to a certain girl, such as sending her to the dormitory or lending her a dress. That said, this was probably done unconsciously.

After all, Cyril was wholly unreliable when it came to matters of romance.

“So, I felt like I might as well share a bit of happiness at the end.”

Claudia did not particularly like her stepbrother, nor did she hate him; she just found him to be a bother sometimes.

Even now, he hasn’t outgrown his habit of competing with Claudia, he still overexerts himself to the point of collapse, and he’s indifferent to his own affairs despite constantly worrying about his sister’s love life. At today’s wedding, he was the first to burst into tears out of overwhelming emotion——Truly, what a handful. That part has never changed.

(Even so, I’m glad he’s my brother.)

Of course, Claudia had no intention of telling him this, since it would only make him more annoying.

The Ice Scion was actually rather depressed when his chilly aura made the horses hate him, since he spent so much time practicing horseback riding. Once that problem was fixed, he gave a silent fist pump.

His cousin Curtis also made a minor appearance in Gaiden V3C7. He refers to Cyril as ‘Cyril-kun’ with a slight emphasis on the ‘-kun’ part.

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