I Was Reincarnated As The Older Brother Of A Villainess Destined to Die, So I Want To Change The Future By Raising My Younger Sister With My Own Hands. I Am The Strongest In The World, But My Little Sister Must Be The Cutest In The World - Volume 4 Chapter 15.2

Stay calm, Minerva. Despite the surprise that briefly sidetracked my thoughts, I had initially intended to offer advice. Marina and I were good friends, as I mentioned before.

Looking back, I couldn’t help but chuckle. If my younger self had heard that a duchess was giving advice on a commoner’s love life, she’d probably have fainted. I’ve changed quite a bit over the past few years.

“Let’s set aside the noble stuff. I’ll help with your inquiry,” I said.

“As expected of you, Minerva-san. After all, you’re the only one who has ever kissed Prince Zex!” Marina replied.

“Wait a minute. How do you know about that?”

I cancelled my confident posture and firmly grasped Marina’s shoulders. I peered into her eyes. She seemed frightened, but that was irrelevant.

“Why do you know about the kiss between him and me? That happened in his private quarters, and no one else should know about it. I even asked him to keep it a secret,” I said.

“C-Calm down, Minerva-san. It’s scary, you know!?”

“You better talk quickly. Spit out the source of this information!”

“I-I’m scared. I’m telling you now, so please calm down!”

She hesitated for a moment but eventually revealed the source of her information.

“Was it Caroline who told you?”

“Yeah. She told me not to tell anyone, so I haven’t mentioned it to anyone else,” Marina explained.

“Of course not. If you had blabbed about it, there would have been consequences,” I said.

“Eek!”

I had confirmed at the time that no one was lurking around us. At most, there might have been servants waiting by the door, but they weren’t peering in. I was quite disoriented at the time, but I had still managed to confirm the situation, so there was no mistake.

But the source of the information was Caroline. She displayed an insane obsession with Zex, so it wouldn’t be surprising if she knew. Well, it was overwhelmingly strange if you thought about it realistically, but…

I sighed and let my shoulders drop.

“Fine. We need to be patient when it comes to Caroline.”

She was a topic that should never be touched. Ignoring her was the best option.

More importantly, let’s deal with Marina’s problem now.

I gathered my resolve and decided to continue Marina’s love advice discussion. I had probably intimidated her a bit too much, so I waited for her to calm down before resuming.

“So, you’re having trouble having a proper conversation with Zex?”

“Yeah. When I’m in front of him, my mind goes completely blank,” Marina admitted.

“Have you had a chance to talk to him a few times?” I asked.

“Yes. He even set up opportunities for us to talk alone multiple times. But I couldn’t say a word,” Marina replied with a frustrated tone.

“So, that’s why you came to seek advice,” I concluded.

Marina nodded in agreement, looking somewhat dejected.

I had a general understanding of her situation now. If someone had taken the time to create opportunities for me, only for me to squander them due to nervousness, I’d feel terribly sorry as well. I could imagine myself bedridden with self-recrimination.

Now, the question was, what advice could I offer?

I covered my mouth with my hands, deep in thought.

Well, the most effective solution would be to eliminate the root cause of her nervousness. In Marina’s case, it was her excessive admiration. She had recounted the story of how they first met, and it was clear that she held him in high regard.

“There’s one thing I can tell you. Zex is just a human being. He’s far from perfect, and he makes mistakes. You should try to understand that,” I advised.

“Just a human being…” Marina murmured.

“But changing your perception overnight is difficult. I think these kinds of issues require time and patience,” I continued.

I, too, had spent nearly seven years with him and still couldn’t be completely open with him. Yes, I knew I should be making progress, but it was easier said than done.

In the end, I had no right to act self-righteous. I needed to become mentally stronger as well. I was aware of that, even though it was challenging.

I took a sip of my now-cold tea and glanced at Marina.

She was deep in thought, pondering my advice and contemplating her own feelings. She was truly a good girl. I wondered why there were only wonderful girls around him. It was a constant source of concern.

“I need to work on myself too,” I admitted.

A life filled with rivals could be tough, but it was also incredibly fulfilling. At least, that’s what I believed.