.jpg)
“Lara?”
“The lectures are way too long! I'm so bored I can't wait any longer.”
“Oh dear. Has that much time passed already?”
Burying my face in my mother's lap, I whispered to Ivan, who was sitting in the opposite chair.
“You're welcome.”
If it weren't for me, who knows how long he would have had to listen to that. Ivan shrugged and whispered back.
“Just this once.”
“Larisa, Ivan. You are being impolite in front of Mother.”
No sooner had Vasily disciplined us with a stern voice than Tatyana squeezed herself in between Vasily and Ivan.
“You must have been very bored, Tanya.”
“No, I was waiting patiently. I simply followed Lara because I wanted to see your face even a moment sooner, Mother.”
“Yes, yes.”
The sibling Mother trusted most was Tatyana. She was the only one among us whom Mother didn't periodically summon for meetings or nag out of habit.
When I asked her for the secret, her answer had been: ‘There is no secret. It's just that compared to you all, I'm the most ordinary and the most sensible about not causing trouble. Being quick-witted is a bonus. I just don't do things that get me in trouble.’ Am I not like that? I really can't see the difference.
Looking up at those beautiful light-green eyes right in front of me, my mind grew calm, and I felt all my recent anxieties and worries crumble and vanish into dust. Mother sat me up straight and left a long kiss on my forehead before asking.
“My baby. Have you been doing well while I was away?”
“Of course.”
“You have a look on your face that says you're itching to tell me something.”
“How did you know?”
“Everyone except you knows how you behave when you have a request.”
No way, I thought, but the expressions on my three siblings' faces were not surprised in the slightest.
“So... what on earth is this business my daughter has been holding in for a month?”
I cleared my throat with a short cough. For the past few days, I had been agonizing over 'how to pique Valentin's interest.' However, no matter how much I racked my brain, no suitable answer came to mind.
In the past, I would have just tried something before asking or arguing, but for some reason, I couldn't even picture a plausible plan this time. Why? Was it because Valentin was a formidable opponent? Or because he was the fiancé of Emma, whom I liked?
“There's someone I've been following around lately, but he won't even give me the time of day. But I really want to get his attention. What should I do?”
A brief silence fell over the area.
Ivan's brow furrowed deeply, and Tatyana's expression hardened as if she had suffered a crushing defeat in a bet with a nemesis. Vasily was staring at me, having forgotten to even pretend to be surprised. He must have been shocked that I was asking such a precocious question.
Mother looked toward Tatyana with a bewildered face.
“Surely this child hasn't fallen in love?”
Love? Are you crazy, Mom?
“We'll have to find that out. Lara, do you perhaps want to marry this person?”
Now marriage? Am I going to end up in a romantic feud with Emma? However, it was a question worth pondering.
'What exactly is the desire to marry?'
I had realized from the start that love and marriage were different. I'm not some thirteen-year-old kid living in a fairy tale, after all.
Besides, wasn't Valentin quite an excellent candidate for a marriage partner? Recalling that Emma had said something similar... While I was delaying my answer, Tatyana grabbed my face and rubbed her cheek against mine.
“Like this. I'm asking if you want to rub cheeks with him.”
“Absolutely not. I don't have that thought in the slightest.”
Tatyana pulled away, her expression significantly relaxed.
“Hmm. Then what is it about him that you like so much that you're following him?”
What do I like about him? There's no such thing.
“Nothing in particular comes to mind.”
“Then, what strengths do you have that you want to emulate?”
“I think I have more strengths than he does.”
Probably.
“My baby. I hope such a sad thing hasn't happened, but did he commit a great offense against you?”
“No. It's very trivial. If you think about it, I've been bothering him for fifteen days, so we're even. I sent him nine invitations in fifteen days.”
“Nine times? My goodness.”
With that one comment, the stiff atmosphere in the room slowly thawed. Had they realized who the person I wanted attention from was? Ivan clicked his tongue, his tension completely gone.
“At least you have a conscience.”
“I don't understand, Lara. If you don't like him and you're not harboring a desire for revenge, for what reason on earth are you following him?”
If I started from our first meeting, the story would be unnecessarily long. And if I revealed my plan—'to get his attention in order to stop my interest in him'—it was obvious I'd be treated like an immature child. I decided to get straight to the point.
“Valentin says I'm annoying.”
“Valentin? Oh, heavens. I wondered who it was... I never imagined that name would come up.”
“But he said I'm just annoying, not that he hates me. I heard it directly from Valentin's own mouth, so it's certain.”
“Ha. He dares? Who dares whom?”
The one who asked back in a tone of utter disbelief was Tatyana. She downed some of Mother's cold tea and pressed me for an answer with a look of clear hostility. Who else? Valentin.
“Valentin is the first person to treat me this way. I don't want to be someone who is annoying and bothersome to him. What should I do?”
“Is that why you're following Count Valentin? It seems our baby wants to be friends with him.”
Friends? Surprisingly, that cliché word cleared my head instantly.
My goodness, isn't that quite plausible? The fact that I keep glancing at him without realizing it (I hate to admit it, but it's true) and that I want to pique his interest. If the reason was that I wanted to be friends, it seemed like a quite convincing excuse.
“Think of Lara from Martha. Do you want to tame Valentin Dmitriev like Lara did?”
“Watch your words, Tanya. Valentin Dmitriev is a person, not a horse. Who is taming whom?”
Lara from Martha. The Lara who abandoned her principles and threw herself at Valentin...
“You're the one who shouldn't nitpick over useless details, Ivan. You don't seem to care that the man ignored your sister like a pebble on the road, but hearing that she should be treated accordingly seems to grate on your ears? Is your sibling us or that man?”
“Tanya, calm down. We are gathered here to give Lara advice on her worries, not to fight among siblings.”
“Yes, I'll calm down. Calming down is always my specialty.”
Taming. Once tamed, the opponent becomes obedient. An obedient Valentin? Not bad. No, not just not bad—it's actually great.
Imagining him kneeling with that arrogant face, swearing, 'Imperial Princess, please give me any command. I will obey unconditionally,' a warm sensation filled my chest and a sense of satisfaction welled up.
I looked at Tatyana and nodded.
“I think that's about it.”
.jpg)