I finished writing the draft. While looking through it, I can't help but wonder where are my previous life's siblings live now and how old they are.

By calculating my age and at the time I died, I was 17 years old. So my mental age would be that of 31 years old. I figured that my siblings would be around 32-40 years old by now.

I decided that my first goal is to know their whereabouts and be able to help them if needed. Now that I am done writing my objective, maybe I should start off writing a letter to my fianc—

Suddenly the door burst open again, and this time, four finely dressed youths with picturesque figures, all came rushing in.

I immediately store the draft inside the drawer. Of all people, I don't want them to discover it by any chance.

"Greetings, elder brother! It is I, your dearest brother, Olexei! When I received the terrible news of your accident, I rushed to see how're you doin—ughyuu!"

My two younger sisters, Irina and Nicolette, came rushing forth, pushing Olexei away, knocking him over and onto the floor.

"The souvenirs inside the luggage~! It was taken into the evidence room! This is the worst~ you need to get it back for us, big brother!" 

"Dearest brother Lian~ you promised me you'd get me that hand cream from Castile!" 

I was surrounded by this noisy duo that I couldn't help but flicked their foreheads. Can't you see I'm still recuperating here? All you could think about were souvenirs, and you don't even care about my condition.

After my graduation at the Iscania Academy, I didn't go home immediately. Instead, I went on a spending spree around Iscania.

The previous Lian has a reputation of a spendthrift, so every time I came home, these two sisters would wait for me at the door like two puppies waiting for their master. But at this moment, rather than puppies, they're more like rabid dogs.

I turned to glance at Olexei, to see if he's alright. Good thing, he wasn't unconscious and already receiving help from Seth in getting up. Considering his lanky body, a mere push might hurt him and get him blown away.

"That hurts~!"
"Aauuu~."

"Would you young ladies conduct yourselves properly? Otherwise, I will not give you any souvenirs!"

Irina, age 13, with golden-brown hair and sky blue eyes, is an aggressive lass who behaves like a spoiled child even though she's the eldest sister of the family.

Nicolette, age 11, with medium brown hair and gray eyes, was originally a timid girl, but due to the influence of her elder sister has become somewhat overindulged.

Their features are that of our Mother's, delicate and beautiful. But these sisters, far from being meek and modest, hide beneath their demure appearance rude and loud personalities.

"What?! Why wouldn't you, you spendthrift big brother! I will tell Mother that you bought those books! Hmph~ Come on, Lettie. Let's go!"

"Aau... Dearest brother, please don't get mad. In exchange for souvenirs, I'll give you anything you want, even my share of desserts, alright? Laters~!...Hey sis, what kind of book was it?"

What? To get what you girls want, you resulted in bribery and actually sought to rat me out?? Now that I think about it, how did you know about the books, Rina? It's not even mine… It's the previous Lian's books!

Surely, this can't be right! As their eldest brother, I need to be strict and give these young miscreants a good dressing-down.

"Eldest brother, I'm relieved that you appeared to be uninjured. Pardon us for coming here and disrupt your time of recovery." Seth calmly apologized.

"Thank you for your concern. I appreciate it you guys coming here to visit me. I'm fine now, so don't worry anymore, Seth, Ollie."

Seth, age 11, the youngest and twin brother of Nicolette, has a stern look like Father and me. Of all of us siblings, he has a calm demeanor and is very intuitive. His bearing seems to resemble that of a right-hand man of some prince.

Olexei, age 12, has caramel blonde hair and gray eyes, just like our father's. But he got his looks from our mother, delicate and beautiful. He would surely be angry if I say this to his face.

"But of course, why wouldn't I be worried about my elder brother? You're very important to me because I have a favor to ask of you today." Olexei said with a satisfied smile.

So, it's like that, huh. This is one of his skills, being nice to get something from others. I sighed. It made me a bit worried about what was coming up. 

"Elder brother Olexei, don't make trouble for the eldest brother, he's still recovering."

"It's alright, Seth. My head doesn't hurt anymore so I can at least listen to what he wants to say. You can go now if you want."

"Well then, if you'll excuse me, eldest brother, elder brother, I'll go back to the library."

When the door closed, I immediately got to the point.

"Ollie, are you alright? Your nose is bleeding."

He was also looking disheveled like he was run down by a stampeding bull. I can't say it's not true about the 'bull' though. How did he even get to that state with just a push?

"What?! Why didn't anyone says so in the first place? Oh, my poor handsome face!"

Yep, he's vain. But I can't blame him. He's terribly the most good-looking sibling in all of us. If I didn't know any better, I couldn't tell if he's a boy or a girl. 

"With all the raucous, how could I point that out?" I said.

I wanted to get this done because I'm starting to feel unwell with all that commotion.

"What is it this time, Ollie? Make it quick."

Knowing Olexei, he likes to request absurd things from time to time.

"Elder brother, it's about my engagement."

"Oh? I see... You're about to have your ceremonial engagement, huh. Has Father chosen yet?"

By the time a noble boy reached 13, his parents would have to choose a favorable noble family to ask for their daughter's hand in marriage and deliver an engagement proposal to their manor.  

"He hasn't chosen yet, I don't know why but that doesn't matter now since... I want a certain young lady from the Ravenlows."

The Ravenlow Family is not one of the elite nobilities. They have few resources and assets. Now I know why he approached me. Father probably wouldn't approve of this, even though he's relatives with them.

Marriage means business, not just for Father but for the entire nobility class—it was also the case for the previous Lian. Father painstakingly planned to take in a daughter-in-law from one of the elite houses and, without a doubt, he will likewise arrange a favorable engagement for Olexei. Now, Olexei favors a girl from a lower faction, and he wants me to convince Father.

I press my fingers down on my temple. I feel a headache coming.

"Why? Have you had an encounter with the Ravenlows before? I haven't recalled having an encounter with them, though."

The Ravenlow Family is a very distant relative of Father's. They are a noble family with the title of a Baron located at Iremagen Village. Iremagen is situated on the Northside of Estrir Kingdom. It takes about five days to get there by carriage.

"You were at Iscania Academy when we met up with the Ravenlows, elder brother. They visited us a few months ago. It seems they were negotiating a business deal with Father. And then I saw her, she was with Baron Ravenlow. I knew then and there that she must become my fiancee! Please help me, elder brother."

"How would you know that she wasn't engaged to someone yet?"

"It's because Baron Ravenlow was talking about it in the study. He was repeatedly saying it every ti— What?... I-I was not eavesdropping,  alright? I coincidentally happen to hear it when I pass by."

Yeah, right. You just coincidentally heard the Baron saying it 'repeatedly'. Did you pass by in slow motion or what?

Now that I think about it, it seems Baron Ravenlow was subtly offering his daughter's hand in marriage. I wouldn't be surprised since our House is very influential. We received countless engagement proposals for our sisters now and then.

If Father perchance approves of the negotiations with the Ravenlows, he wouldn't mind if Olexei marries into that family. Knowing Father, if he accepted a business deal that means he's alright with marriage too.

"Why not talk to him yourself? You are already a young man, and yet you act like this? It's your proposal we are talking about."

"But elder brother... I don't want to mess this up. Please, just this one time. Please help me just this one time! Father always listens to you."

"You know, you are feeding me to the lion¹... What will I get out of this?"

"You are the lion, elder brother. Don't worry; Father's the sheep when he's with you!"

I didn't mean a lion literally!

"...A lion, eh? I see... you want to see a lion that badly, huh..."

"Huwaa! No, no, spare me! I take back what I said! You're the sheep~!"

I can't help but get irritated. I don't know if this guy is deliberate or had just plain stupidity. I'll give up for now since he's just a kid.

"Enough! Fine. I'll talk to Father about it first. Until then, you'll have to wait."

"That will be enough, elder brother! Thank you!"

I shake my head exhaustedly. Now that he got to convey his message, he dashed away from the room as if nothing happened — what a rascal!

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[1] - Feeding him to the lion means he was being sacrificed to ruin/destruction.