The time before reversal.
To Carlos Schteizen, Angelina had been a sister he was proud of.
As the daughter of Duke Schteizen, she was flawless, in both intellect, and in the beauty she'd inherited from their mother.
Carlos had the same blue hair as their father, while Angelina had the same pink-blonde hair as their mother.
Although their hair colours were different, they both had the same sky-blue eyes.
Their eye colour was the clearest indication that marked Carlos and Angelina as siblings.
The Schteizen house was a model noble household.
Their father's loyalty lay with the King and the Kingdom, and he prioritized the standing of the family above all; you could call him a true noble through and through.
Neither Carlos nor Angelina held any grievances against such a father.
Before their mother passed away from illness, the bonds of "family" had perhaps been a little stronger.
Angelina also seemed to have grown up a bit after their mother's death.
After that, Angelina had been chosen as the Crown Prince's fiancée, and grew up to behave more like a high-ranking lady.
She no longer broke into broad smiles, but instead met those around her with a lady's composed smile.
Carlos had no particular complaint about this side of his sister either.
He thought she was getting along well with Prince Leonhardt, too.
He thought Angelina would surely be able to support His Highness properly.
In fact, he could glimpse a mutually-supportive bond between them, like they were comrades-in-arms.
Carlos had no fiancée himself.
Normally, the heir's fiancée was decided first, and the younger sister's afterward.
But Angelina had become the Crown Prince's fiancée ahead of her older brother, and would become the future queen.
For that reason, the political marriage that would secure the family's standing fell to Carlos.
Carlos didn't hold any resentment towards this.
It was just that he had a perfect noble lady, Angelina, near him.
So he'd hope that his own fiancée, even if she wasn't perfect like his little sister, would at least be a "clever woman".
Even after he entered his second year at the Royal Academy, Carlos still had a great many fiancée candidates.
Although Leonhardt's fiancée had been decided, there were still many houses who thought, "it should be my daughter," and as a result, many young ladies were still without a fiancé.
That extended even to the Lordic house, the duke's house at the head of the rival faction to the Schteizens, and their daughter Sandika.
Sandika, who was a year his junior and the same age as Angelina, also had no fiancé yet.
The fact that the duke's daughter and the duke's heir had not gotten engaged yet led to rumours like, "Carlos and Sandika may be engaged."
Carlos paid them no mind whatsoever.
Given the circumstances at the time, the Schteizen house had no reason to ally with the Lordic house.
If a house had risen high enough to threaten the two great duke houses simultaneously, the possibility might have arisen, but at present, even the leading marquess house did not reach that level.
"Carlos. Is there any young lady at the Academy who has caught your eye?"
"Father. A young lady who caught my eye, you say... There is no one in particular."
"I see."
"You may continue to look on your end, Father."
"Understood. I shall do so."
Carlos had never been the type to "lose himself" in romantic feelings.
He was always observing the world around him with composure.
At the Academy, some referred to him as "the Ice Prince."
His blue hair, and his cold attitude toward all were what had earned him the nickname.
Carlos himself paid that nickname no heed.
There were many young ladies who wished to marry Carlos, but none of them, despite them believing they could melt his "cold" heart, had been able to stir him.
"... How boring."
Everything was perfect. Everything was in order. He had no complaints.
Angelina was a sister he was proud of. She would, in the future, become an excellent, splendid queen.
Even from his perspective as the next Duke Schteizen, his sister was worth supporting.
By nature, Carlos was a man of few emotions. He hadn't experienced any trauma that had caused him to be this way.
The thing that had moved him most was their mother's death, but even then, he had not been so shaken; he had accepted it stoically.
Angelina probably held more emotions than him. His sister had wept at their mother's death.
Though she came to accept their mother's death in time.
Angelina had perhaps grown closer to Carlos from that time.
She shed her childishness and became a woman befitting of her high status.
Through her queen education, she became all the more refined.
"... I..."
Carlos had no complaints. But he was hollow. He could not grasp what it was that he truly sought.
Perhaps, he needed someone's "help" to move him.
What did a cold man like me hope for? What does he wish for? Live for?
Is it okay to stay this way? He felt unease.
He probably felt something like "kinship" toward Angelina, who was undergoing queen education and turning into a lady who wore a cold mask.
Cold enough not to show emotion, yet never forgetting that she was a noble; with high integrity.
Watching his younger sister grow into that person, Carlos felt as if he had been validated.
He felt that it was alright for him to stay the way he was.
... But then, he met Merc.
"I think you should live more freely!"
"What?"
"Um. W-well. It's just... you look... uncomfortable, is why?"
"Me?"
"Um, I just thought you should be allowed to live the way you want! I mean, we're students, after all!"
"... What are you saying?"
"A-ah, well. Because! The period when flowers bloom is very short, you know!"
"Eh...?"
Carlos could not understand what she meant. What did she want to say?
"Um, in any case, that's all I wanted to say! Bye!"
"... Hey?"
He was still baffled as the black-haired student fled from him as if she was escaping.
"... What was that all about?"
Carlos could only wonder. Just what had she wanted to tell him?
Unlike the other young ladies, that black-haired woman didn't want to have a relationship with him.
Flowers do only bloom for a short amount of time. Was she trying to express that in a poetic way?
Even so, he had no idea what she was trying to say.
And so, before he knew it, he found himself drawn to Merc.
... And then. From a "certain moment" on, Carlos's opinion of his younger sister, Angelina, changed completely. For the worse.
The catalyst for that had been something Merc had given him.
From that point, Carlos had been deeply disappointed in Angelina, and the respect he had for her up until then vanished.
"Angelina, you..."
Had she been twisted by jealousy? Even so, that was unforgivable.
Before time had reversed, he had managed to preserve the duke house's dignity.
"... How ironic."
Now, after regression, Angelina had, astonishingly, chosen that Margrave Baltzrein as her fiancé.
As though fate were guiding her.
True, at this point in time, Angelina likely hasn't done anything to Merc.
But the doubts he harboured towards her before the regression weren't so easily dispelled.
Carlos attended the Royal Academy and watched over Angelina with vigilance.
Things must not turn out the way they did last time. But some things are different now.
Perhaps she would get through this without causing any problems at all.
"... Ash Baltzrein, hmm."
This was the first time Carlos had come to know the Margrave's character.
Of course, he didn't know everything about him yet.
For the time being, it seemed that he was getting along well with Angelina.
The sight of them together was heartwarming and was incomparable to the woman who had once been Leonhardt's fiancée.
"............"
Angelina was in love with Ash. That younger sister of his.
Almost like a young woman of her age, Carlos thought.
"Is it because she... isn't receiving queen education? Or is it because of the man she's with..."
She must be in love, Angelina. It was not as though he could not understand the feeling.
In the previous time, he too had certainly loved Merc.
But, from a certain time on, he began to feel guilt towards Merc that went beyond his love for her.
He regretted that his own sister had humiliated her and that he had been unable to stop it.
"Haa..."
Many things had changed from the previous time.
For now, his priority was to make sure Angelina didn't cause trouble for anyone.
Carlos went about his school life with that in mind, determined to stop her from behaving recklessly.
And then it happened.
"Carlos Schteizen. May I have a moment?"
"... Draught-sensei?"
Carlos was addressed by the academy teacher, Niel Draught.
There, Carlos was told the truth about why he had regressed to the past.
And the huge "mistake" he had been holding within him.
Carlos Schteizen's regressed life would, from this point on, change greatly once again.