/
“
What did Sera say?”
Rosé bit her lower lip after asking straightforwardly. Her eyes, which were already drooping even though they were still cautious, had the same look whenever she would think of making up excuses before she could be scolded.
But inwardly, Helios thought, ‘Ack!’ There must be a reason why Miss Popo had lied to him, so he hurriedly recalled the compliments Sera gave them.
“I heard you did a great job today. You wrote pretty letters, and she praised you a lot about being able to read now. And she saw that you both can draw very well.”
“Really, Heli Oppa? Sera said we’re good?”
Rosé’s eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected answer.
‘Oppa can’t lie, but did Sera really only say good things? Before she went to see him, she made a promise not to talk about it. But I didn’t know she would say compliments. Sera must really be a nice person. Even though I hurt her a lot today.’
At the guilt that rushed in, Rosé felt miserable and so her shoulders drooped. She had the thought that she should be nice to Sera in the future.
When she buried her face in Helios’ arms, she could sense the faint scent of their mom and dad who she missed very much. Then, she felt better.
Not wanting to lose to RosĂ©, Ferre also buried himself in his brother’s arms.
“She said that there’s no other model student who’s better than you both. Are you curious about what compliments she said? Or what happened?”
“No, it’s just
”
Rosé and Ferre were much calmer now than a while ago. Helios laid down the twins and sat next to them on the bed.
“Hyung, do we have to sleep now?”
“Can’t Oppa sleep here, too?”
“Hyung, please pat me on the back.”
“Oppa, can’t you read us a book just until we fall asleep?”
Ferre and Rosé begged Helios with wide eyes.
Should he be fortunate to say that he wouldn’t be able to sleep. After touching his younger siblings’ soft, jelly-like cheeks, he eventually went to get a fairy tale book that looked interesting. Then, he returned to his siblings’ side.
“Home Alone.”
Helios read the title of the book as he opened it. He had read quite a lot of children’s books because of his younger siblings, but this was an unfamiliar title. The cover also looked unique.
There was a boy sitting in front of a big castle, and at the side were one tall man and one plump man. The clothes worn by the two men weren’t complex looking, with just black and white lines over them. It was different from the clothes seen in the Empire.
“Hyung, that book is really fun. It’s about a 7-year boy catching thieves. Sera wrote it!”
Ferre was so excited under his blanket that he struggled to sit up again.
When Helios saw how his younger siblings were waiting sparkling eyes, he realized that he might have chosen the wrong book.
‘What kind of book is this?’
He looked at the cover, wondering if it was a famous book, and under the title, he found a familiar name.
“Writer, Sera Popo
”
‘She must be a writer, too. She’s such a multitalented person.’
Did she write this book in the same straight-forward handwriting in the same way that she wrote the contract? Helios briefly imagined how serious Sera might have looked while writing the book.
He chuckled for a moment, then he started reading the book quietly. His gentle tone didn’t go well with the story of the fairy tale, but it was perfect for RosĂ© and Ferre to go back to their dreamscape.
* * *
“Sera!”
“Se-ra!”
“Seeera!”
“Seeeeeraaaaaaa!”
‘Just what is going on?’
Sera looked down at the twinkling eyes that looked more like gems than anything. Their large eyes blinked under long lashes. Wearing matching pink clothes, Rosé and Ferre had very bright smiles on their faces.
‘Your eyes are sparkling extra bright today, hm? Goodness
’
As they clasped their hands together and raised their faces like that, Rosé and Ferre looked just like

‘Puppies!’
She could practically see tails wagging vigorously behind them.
Truthfully, Sera had been feeling flustered since this morning. Over the weekend, the children’s attitudes had changed completely as though they had eaten crow meat.Âč
Since she scolded them last time, she thought that they would feel awkward around her.
But no. Rather, it was the opposite.
RosĂ© and Ferre clung to Sera’s side at all times, never letting her go even for a moment. Of course, it wasn’t that she didn’t expect a new wind to blow when it came to her relationship with them after the last incident, but

‘I didn’t know you’d hang onto me like this
?’
It was like that now. Sera, who was only going to the bathroom, was being followed by the twins as though she was a mother hen, and until she came out again, they would just wait in the hallway.
“Sera! I waited for you.”
RosĂ© and Ferre rushed to Sera and took one slender arm each. Sera’s shoulder was pulled down because they hung onto her closely.
“I know, I know. You sat down here and waited for me.”
Sera, who didn’t hate this treatment, smiled and gave her hands for them to hold.
RosĂ© and Ferre held one each of Sera’s hands and walked side-by-side with her. From a distance, Sera looked like she was being dragged by them when they started running.
“Sera likes when we’re waiting for you, right?”
Rosé’s voice was already filled with delight.
“Of course, I like it a lot. But what kind of wind is blowing today that you can’t let me out of your sight for a moment? You met me at the entrance of the Star Palace today and took your classes very seriously. You didn’t even play any pranks.”
The twins, who were already ahead of Sera, let go of her hands and turned around. Their shiny clothes and hair fluttered.
A silver fairy and a gold fairy! It was the perfect description for them today.
“We like people who keep their promises.”
“Right. I liked Sera even before that.”
“From now on, we won’t play tricks and we’ll study even harder.”
“Yup! RosĂ© also told me that we shouldn’t play pranks anymore. But I told RosĂ© that we should stop even before that.”
Ferre smiled with an innocent expression and sparkling eyes, saying this without noticing how Rosé was frowning.
“Yes, yes. I like you both a lot, too. Shall we go to the study now?”
Sera, who read Rosé’s eyes, snatched the hands of both children and ran quickly. She swayed them to and fro, then made them do a spin as though they were dancing. RosĂ© and Ferre laughed and were in a better mood.
“Today is a special day, so we have to go and finish what we have to do. Let’s hurry now, let’s go!”
t/n:
Âč an idiom to express how drastically a person has changed.