The wait finally ended as the doors swung open. A man with wavy dark green hair and glasses, walking into the room at a leisurely pace, adjusting his collar as he did. The moment Father laid eyes on him, he practically leapt from the sofa.

So, this is Uncle Tenard.

He looked exactly as I remembered him from my memories: tall, gentle, and profoundly tired. Those bags under his eyes could probably rival that of a kangaroo’s pouch.

“Ah, Tenard!” Father boomed, going in for one of his signature bear hugs. Uncle Tenard barely managed to brace himself, awkwardly patting Father’s back in return.

“G-Good to see you, Your Grace,” Uncle Tenard said, his polite smile looking just a tad forced. His gaze swept across the room. “I trust everyone’s journey went well?”

“Hardly,” Mother interjected, her tone as frosty as the weather in the capital during winter. I swear I saw Uncle Tenard flinch. Clearly, he’d been through this dance before.

“But,” Mother continued, her voice softening into something almost warm, “that can wait. It’s good to see you doing well, Tenard.”

“A-Ah, the honor is mine, Your Grace!” Uncle Tenard stammered, visibly relieved.

“Oh, come on!” Father slung an arm around Uncle Tenard’s shoulders. “Enough with the formalities! We’re family, aren’t we?”

“P-Please, Your Grace. That’s hardly appropriate,” Uncle Tenard protested, though he didn’t make much effort to push Father away.

Mother held her head and sighed. I figured it must be because Father got overly casual again, but I couldn’t blame him. If I had a sibling and hadn’t seen them in ages, I’d probably act just as clingy.

Just not with Fray though. 

She’d kill me with kindness in the form of a hug.

…

The two of them launched into a back-and-forth conversation about the most mundane things like: how they’d been, the state of business, even the cloudy weather lately. Fun stuff. They seemed engrossed, though, so I wouldn’t dare interrupt them.

“And Lady Carine,” Uncle Tenard said suddenly, turning his gaze on me. “It’s been quite some time, hasn’t it? You’ve grown so much since I last saw you.”

I nodded politely, giving him my best smile. “It’s good to see you again, Uncle Tenard.”

“U-Uncle?” His hands fumbled with the rims of his glasses. “My, that’s a first… But it’s lovely to see you too, Lady Carine. Ranette will be thrilled you’re here. Unfortunately, she’s tied up at the moment.”

Ah, Ranette. My cousin. The handful of times I’d visited the main estate, she would always peek at me from behind doors, but never saying much. Looking back, I probably should’ve made more of an effort to talk to her. She was the closest thing I had to a sister, after all.

Then I asked myself, why was I an only child? What would happen if anything happened to me? The whole bloodline would be doomed, right? Wouldn’t it make better sense to have two or five potential heirs, just in case?

I didn’t say I was unhappy with being the heir, just that I found it a bit weird, that’s all.

“You’re putting Ranette to work already?” Mother asked, arching a brow. “I understand the value of teaching them young, but aren’t you worried she might mishandle something important?”

Uncle Tenard chuckled sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck. “Actually, she volunteered to be my assistant. If I’m honest, she’s better at organizing things than I am.”

“Impressive.” Mother nodded, her lips curving into a rare smile.

Seeing my cousin getting praise made me a bit envious and a little bit afraid. I hoped I wouldn’t be compared to my cousin for the foreseeable future.

The rest of the gathering unfolded in a blur of polite conversation and clinking tea cups. I was glad I got tea etiquette training, so I managed to drink tea without much worry. Really wished such formalities stopped happening altogether though, especially at family gatherings. I just wanted to sip tea, dammit. Not worry about my pinkies.

As I continued being a silent observer of my parent’s interaction with Uncle Tenard, I noticed something odd. Uncle Tenard was formal, as expected as someone faced with the head of the family, but it was starting to seem a little too formal.

For someone allegedly being family, Uncle Tenard acted more like a dutiful servant. He called Father “Your Grace” along with Mother as well. He seemed to shrink slightly whenever Mother glanced his way, although I figured that was just his survival instinct kicking in, it also started to look suspicious to me.

Not once did he relax. His back was straight as an arrow and that polite smile stayed firmly in place, no matter how casual Father tried to be.

I continued watching and sipping my tea silently, figuring it must be me overthinking things. But then, the teapot ran out.

“Your Grace, shall I have the servants prepare more tea?” Uncle Tenard asked, already halfway to standing.

Father groaned, waving him down. “Oh, come on, Tenard! Enough with the ‘Your Grace’ nonsense. Just call me brother, like you used to!”

“Y-Your Grace, I shouldn’t call you that. After all,” Uncle Tenard fixed his glasses again. “We aren’t really brothers.”

Wait… what?

“Haha! Stop joking around,” Father said, laughing it off. “We’re practically brothers already!”

What do you mean “practically”?

I mean, I was rarely in the main estate, sure, so I never had much time to talk with Uncle Tenard. But all this time I was taught by Father that he was his little brother, AKA, my uncle.

“Lady Carine?” Uncle Tenard’s voice broke through my thoughts. “You seem a little out of sorts. Was it the journey?”

Even Uncle Tenard could see my stunned expression. Those four eyes weren’t for nothing.

I needed to know the answers, and being vague about it probably wouldn’t help me. So there wasn’t any point in being subtle. “Uncle Tenard, what does Father mean by ‘practically brothers’?”

His gaze shifted to Father, who suddenly found his teacup very interesting.

“You… haven’t told her?” Uncle Tenard asked.

When Father continued to avoid eye contact, Uncle Tenard sighed and turned back to me, adjusting his glasses again. “I’m not your father’s brother by blood. My family descends from a branch line, far removed from the main branch. The Sareid vow separated us from the direct line generations ago.”

Wait, okay, so… I’ve been lied to my whole life? Why didn’t anyone tell me about this?!

I opened my mouth to say something else, probably something smart or dignified, but all that came out was: “Does this mean I have to stop calling you Uncle?”

‘Uncle’ Tenard blinked, clearly unprepared for the question. “I… suppose not?”

Honestly, what else could I say? My brain was still buffering, and I really didn’t want the awkward silence to drag on. It was the best I could come up with. 

My super eyes didn’t come with super brains, ‘kay?

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep