Chapter 3
The moment I realized what it was, I was already being lifted into the air.
“Our little rascal, you’ve grown a lot!”
A familiar nickname, a lively voice, and curly silver hair flashing past my eyes.
“…Little brother?”
I murmured blankly, still dazed, and Verner grinned.
“Ah, so close. If you got it wrong, I was going to keep holding you.”
His teasing voice finally brought my senses fully back.
“Have you been well?”
Verner von Valentine.
The second son of the Valentine family and my little brother.
As my awareness returned, I opened my arms and hugged him tightly.
“Brother! When did you get here!”
I shouted in delight, and I could feel Verner smiling in satisfaction.
“Ahem. I came because I missed our little rascal—”
But his boasting didn’t last long.
Just as Verner was puffing his chest proudly, I was lifted up once again.
“How long are you planning to monopolize Rowel by yourself?”
A slightly lower, calmer voice than Verner’s, and a sturdier, more stable embrace.
It was broad and solid enough that it was hard to believe it belonged to a boy.
And there was only one person I knew like that.
“Big brother Kizef!”
“Hello, Rowel.”
His sharp eyes—so much like our father’s—softened gently.
Kizef von Valentine, the eldest of the three siblings, heir to the family, and my big brother.
The two brothers who had been away at the academy and on estate duties had returned home.
Verner, having lost me to Kizef, puffed out his lips and grumbled.
“Tch. Why is he ‘big brother Kizef’ but I’m just ‘little brother’? Hey, you’re being unfair.”
“What unfair treatment?”
Kizef ignored Verner’s complaint and remarked in mild admiration.
“You saw me last month, but you’ve grown again since then.”
“I’m a growing kid!”
I declared proudly.
Maybe it was because both my parents were tall, but I was growing faster than most children my age.
Walking, crawling, even speaking—everything developed quickly. For someone with memories of a past life, that was very fortunate.
Just thinking about the time when I had to rely entirely on others made me feel gloomy.
‘Come to think of it, Jin was pretty tall too… maybe around Isid’s height? If I keep growing like this, I might end up tall again.’
As I thought about my past life as Roel, I remembered I had been a half-human, half-spirit being.
The Valentine family genes were certainly strong.
But that pride didn’t last long.
“…Huh?”
After being set down from Kizef’s arms, I felt something strange.
Something was off.
I looked closely and realized—Kizef’s eye level had gotten higher.
I turned to Verner.
“…Did you two grow taller too? Little brother looks taller too.”
“Hehe.”
Kizef didn’t deny it, and Verner smiled proudly.
‘Seriously…’
I had thought I was growing fast every day, but compared to them, I seemed modest.
‘Well, they did inherit more of father’s genes.’
Still, I wasn’t particularly jealous.
But Verner, on the other hand, had declared war on Kizef.
Of course, Kizef only found it amusing.
“I’ll catch up to you soon.”
“Confident, aren’t you?”
“I’ll definitely be taller than Father too. You’re nothing!”
“Kizef, Verner.”
Their argument—well, Verner’s one-sided provocation—was meaningless, but oddly comforting.
As I watched them with a small smile, a low voice came from behind me.
When I turned around, I saw a man so tall that even compared to his unusually tall sons, he was on another level.
Calypse von Valentine.
The master of the estate, Duke of Valentine, and our father.
“Father.”
“We’re back, Father.”
“Well done.”
He placed a hand on each of the boys’ shoulders in turn, then finally lifted me up.
No matter how stable Verner’s arms were, or how steady Kizef’s grip was, neither could compare to Father’s.
Even the nanny Basha admitted defeat when it came to him.
Raising three children personally, Father was something of an expert in childcare.
Holding me, he walked toward the dining room.
I gently kicked my feet in his steady arms, then leaned closer.
“Father.”
“Yes.”
“Did you know? That the brothers were coming together?”
I glanced back at the two of them—Verner chattering endlessly, Kizef ignoring him as usual.
“I’ll beat you within a year. I’ll be taller than you, for sure!”
“….”
“Why are you ignoring me!”
“That’s nonsense.”
“Hmph. You say that, but you’re actually worried, right? If I grow taller than you, Rowel will like being held by me more!”
“Highly unlikely.”
“…Honestly, you’re no fun at all. No warmth either. How can you never lose to your little brother? I don’t want you to lose on purpose either though!”
“Ha…”
It was a familiar scene—but one I hadn’t seen in a while.
Kizef, now thirteen, had entered the academy last year and was living in the dorms. Verner had gone down to the estate two months ago in Father’s place.
It hadn’t been long, but absence always made a gap feel larger than it was.
“I knew,” Father said quietly.
When I looked up again, his calm, gentle eyes met mine.
“They asked me to keep it a secret. They wanted to surprise you.”
Figures.
“Let me guess… that was Verner’s idea?”
“Most likely.”
Father’s usually firm lips softened slightly as I chuckled.
Today really did feel like a good day.
After dinner—
“Rowel, try this too.”
Verner slid another plate toward me, but I shook my head.
“I’m full now.”
“What? Already?”
His eyes widened.
Of course—his plate was still full of meat, and he could probably eat another one after that.
“I can’t eat as much as you, Brother.”
I had already eaten more than usual due to the lively reunion meal.
“Our little rascal, your stomach is so small. You need to eat more to grow… hmm, though I guess I don’t mind if you don’t grow too much more.”
‘It’s not that my stomach is small, it’s that yours is abnormal. And not growing would be a problem.’
I swallowed the words rising to my throat.
Watching Verner happily devour his food, I decided it wasn’t worth arguing.
Besides, compared to my age before death, getting worked up over this was ridiculous.
‘If anything, I was older than Father…’
I shook my head to clear my thoughts.
No need to tangle up my neatly adjusted new life.
“Father, how was Kizef at the academy?”
I also wanted to know, so I looked at Kizef.
He paused mid-meal, then calmly wiped his mouth with a napkin.
“Nothing special happened. However, I was offered early advancement.”
“Early advancement?”
“Yes. They asked if I would move directly into the third year of the middle division after the break.”
My eyes widened. Verner’s jaw nearly dropped. Even Father looked slightly surprised—but Kizef himself remained completely calm.
“And your answer?”
“I intend to accept.”
“So you will.”
“There is no reason to refuse.”
Father nodded.
“Very well. Let me know if you need anything.”
“Yes.”
The quiet father-son exchange ended.
“…Wait, seriously? You’re actually skipping grades? That’s not a joke?”
Verner looked like he had swallowed several flies.
The Imperial Academy was the most prestigious institution in the empire—and arguably the entire continent.
So being offered early advancement after only finishing first year middle school was extraordinary.
“Why would I lie?”
“…So this semester too… you were top of the class?”
Kizef nodded as if it were obvious.
“Yes.”
He had been top of his class last semester too. And the semester before that. And the entrance exam.
Well… then early advancement made perfect sense.
“Big brother, that’s amazing!”
“Thank you, Rowel.”
As I clapped sincerely, Kizef smiled softly.
He resembled Father almost exactly—but that smile carried a trace of Mother’s warmth.
It suited him well.
I swallowed the thought quietly.
It would be strange for a six-year-old to say such things out loud.
