…Nevertheless, my sense of superiority only lasted for a few years.

At that time, we were 13-years-old. Lelouche would be having her social debut next month. Meanwhile, my own debut would occur approximately three months later. For the sake of her final training before her debut, Lelouche came to stay at the royal palace. From that time on, she wouldn’t act informal with me anymore. To everyone, she always acted like a proper noble lady.

While nothing was wrong with that—I felt lonely.

On the morning of the second day, Lelouche’s eccentricity was revealed to my brother. He went to protest to my mother, “As I thought, Lelouche is overly stressed by mother’s education!” Afterwards, he even summoned a doctor for her.

“I feel wronged!”

Shortly after her physical condition was examined, Lelouche became very angry. Even if her phrasing was formal, I noticed that she was openly expressing herself.

“Does he honestly think I have gone mad—!? Don’t you think it’s terrible—!? What’s wrong with wanting to dive through a ring of fire—!?”

“Ah… well, I think you should refrain from doing such dangerous acts?”

“That’s why I’m practicing from the basics!?”

…That’s not the problem, here.

I pulled a round chair over with a bitter smile and sat beside her bed.

“What, does Lelouche want to impress my brother through a display of acrobatics?”

“That’s right! After all, His Highness Sazanjill has never witnessed anything like that before! Isn’t that a waste!?”

“…Is that all?”

“Also, what’s wrong with trying to improve your physical abilities? There are no drawbacks to it. I mean, what if I get assaulted by a beast? What if the castle is set on fire? Surely, my training would be put to good use!”

“…Lelouche, what is your true purpose behind all this?”

I asked her with sarcasm, but she proudly answered.

“In this word, you only succeed—or you learn! If you have the opportunity to learn something new, isn’t it the responsibility of someone as high-ranking as me to do my best?!”

“…As expected of the Queen of Hearts, your ambition is so good, it brings tears to my eyes…”

“Fufu, I’m honored to be complimented.”

I realized when I saw Lelouche’s impeccable smile.

She knew it was a sarcasm and triumphed over me with her last retort.

As I thought, I can’t win against Lelouche…

However, her mood didn’t seem like it could be fixed just by playing with me.

“That’s right, I can’t believe His Highness Sazanjill! He went out of his way to summon a doctor for me! Without any reservation!”

“That just shows how important Lelouche is to him, doesn’t it?”

 “That… well, perhaps…”

Oh, how cute.

Despite pouting, her cheeks had turned slightly red.

What’s that…

…I kind of didn’t like it.

Even if it’s a little mean of me, it won’t lead to anything serious, right?

“…Doesn’t my brother think too lowly of Lelouche?”

“…Hm?”

“He always protests about your education against our mother. I believe my brother must see you as his sister, instead of someone of an equal standing. Otherwise, I couldn’t think of any reason why he’d be so overly worried…”

“…his sister?”

Her dark eyes widened immensely. Towards that Lelouche, I dared to continue to speak gently, as if to advise her…

“…But that may be unavoidable. After all, my brother has been watching over you since you were little. So, why don’t you show him how independent you are through your social debut? Besides, because he spends so much time with Lelouche, his grades at school are suffering. As such, for my brother’s sake—”

“—There’s no need to say anything further.”

Although Lelouche cut off my words, she didn’t seem angry. She just lowered her face in contemplation.

“…I’m sorry, I want to be left alone for a while. Therefore, can you leave?”

“Ah, of course…”

I turned on my heels.

Yes, think slowly… and give me a good show.

If not, isn’t it unfair?

The two most wonderful people of my life had always been close with each other. Meanwhile I, who always had eyes for her, could only watch from the side.

I laughed a little at the dignified profile that was in serious thought.

Afterwards, I gently closed the door.

Then, I saw it. The back of my older brother who was shocked when Lelouche suggested that they should put some distance between themselves.

It was more refreshing and pleasant than I had imagined…

…The show was getting better and better.

On the other hand, from the time I made my social debut, the number of matchmaking stories revolving around me continued to increase.

Apparently, my parents wanted to decide on my fiancée before my enrollment. It sounded troublesome. Well, my numbers of ‘girl friends’ increased every time I went to a dinner party. I was sure that they were worried.

My first candidate for the matchmaking was Lala Fable, the daughter of a duke. As she was of the same stature as Lelouche, there shouldn’t have been any problems. Rather than a foreign lady, I seemed to be being advised to pick a domestic one. In a sense, it was a matter of balancing. Lelouche was the representative of the foreign faction, while Lala was a representative of the domestic faction. I was sure that my parents had settled upon such a decision.

…But, I personally disliked Lala. It was because compared to Lelouche, she was a lowly existence to me.

“Why do you loathe it so much? What’s so awful about Ms. Lala?”

I decided to answer my father’s question.

—Because she resembles me.

That girl was quite haughty. The other day, I saw her basking in pleasure as she bullied a lady of lower stature than her. It wasn’t something that Lelouche would do.

Really, her ugliness was just like mine. She was jealous of what others had. Then, instead of challenging herself to improve and fight, she just harassed people from behind the scenes.

…How wicked.

Hence, I lied that day as well.

“I don’t particularly hate Ms. Lala. I just want to learn more about other women.”

“…Is it because you’re young? Do you want to play around?”

“Well, it may be unavoidable for my words to be taken that way. After all, the world consists of men and women. Meanwhile, the only women my brother knows are his mother and Lelouche. If so, in the future, as a supporter of my brother, I want to familiarize myself more with the thoughts of women and attain broader insight.”

“As usual, you have a smart mouth.”

Is my father aware of something?

But it’s part of the reason, though?

I hung my head.

“I, Zafield Lewis Lapisenta, promise you that I’ll decide on a spouse upon graduating from the academy. So until then, please give me an opportunity to deepen my insight.”

Once we graduated, Lelouche would officially marry my brother. Then, my faint first love would be over. After that, I was sure that I’d spend empty days watching over the two happy people with a woman who wasn’t Lelouch beside me.

My father sighed at me.

“Alright, but do be careful. The number of ladies frustrated by you has been increasing day by day.”

“Of course.”

Well, while saying that, I tried to persuade other girls while keeping only Lelouche in my sights.

---

***T/N: Zafield OTW learning the Ultimate Jutsu of Fakboi-ness

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