The week after Orca joined the Foranada family passed uneventfully. Or should I say, it passed without incident?
When people from the outside enter a house, there should be some sort of mishap. Despite this, not a single minor issue arose. This was clearly an unusual circumstance.
The cause was clear. Orca was too passive. He's as stiff as a frog staring at a snake and screams when someone calls out to him. And since he spends most of the day cooped up in his room, there was no way to even get to him.
Because of the circumstances of his arrival in Foranada, we had let Orca have his way for the past week. However, if he continues to reject his surroundings to this extent, I will have to change my strategy. I need to be more proactive in getting involved. The future of our relationship with him depends on the future of both me and Caron.
Therefore, I invited Orca to a tea party in the garden. Besides him, the participants are us, siblings, and Shion, who will serve us the tea.
I'm sure that the delicious tea and sweets in the gorgeous sunlit garden will bring us closer together. Shion's a clumsy girl, but she's strangely good at making tea.
Now, we were supposed to hold the tea party with great enthusiasm, but—
""......""
—It was too quiet.
Caron just sipped his tea with a blank expression on her face, while Orca was frozen stiff as usual. Shion and I watched the two of them with a sense of apprehension, and this kind of scene continued for about ten minutes.
I can understand Orca since his attitude is the same as it has been since he came to this house.
But, I don't know about Caron. She was happy when I invited her to the tea party, but the moment the members gathered together like this, she turned into a pouting face.
"Shouldn't we take some action, Zechs-sama?"
Shion puts her mouth close to my ear and whispers, perhaps unable to bear the agonizing silence.
There was no other option. I have no choice but to mediate between them as long as they don't act on their own initiative.
It's a bit too reckless considering the current situation, but the future of us siblings is involved in this. I guess I have no choice but to do my part.
"Both of you. Today's tea party is for the purpose of deepening the friendship between us. Can't you relax a little?"
I said so as I stifled a sigh that threatened to spill out. I was careful not to include any spikes in my words so as not to frighten Orca.
Then, Caron, who was sipping tea in a bad mood, placed her cup on the saucer and looked at me.
"Onii-sama."
"W-What is it?"
She was more intimidating than ever, but I stared back at her, feeling a little self-conscious.
Caron, on the other hand, continued with a sigh.
"I never heard a word about this tea party being a social gathering, did I?"
"Eh? Is that so?"
"That's right, I only heard that there was going to be a tea party. So I thought it would be just us, siblings."
"Ahh…I'm sorry about that."
Come to think of it, I may have forgotten to mention who's going to join us.
Caron is Bro-con, and she must have been very disappointed when she found out that we were not alone together. This was my fault.
However, it seems to me that there was something in the words that she said just now. especially the latter part.
Somehow, I think I understand why Caron is so hostile to Orca. I have had the experience of witnessing a similar scene in the nursery where I worked in my previous life.
Perhaps she's jealous.
When a younger sibling is born, two reactions can be observed with small children. Either they are proud and happy that they have been the one to take care of them, or they are jealous that the love they had received from their parents is now gone.
In Caron's case, it was probably the latter. She cannot stand the intrusion of a stranger between us siblings. It seems that these feelings were also added to the mix.
I want to hold my head…
There's no set solution to these mental problems. Sometimes they improve on a moment's notice, and sometimes they can be worked out through the mediation of a third party. Or sometimes time is the answer.
The worst case is when things stay bad.
It's rather possible, too, that the niggling awareness from childhood will persist into adulthood. Once this situation is in place, the difficulty of improving the relationship increases, so I would like to settle the matter as soon as possible.
Well, when I think about it, my course of action is not that wrong.
Caron's neither a shy nor a jealous child. This has been proven by her interactions with Dan and the others in the castle town. In this case, she's just out of control because of the fundamental bond she has with her beloved brother.
If that's the case, then as she gets to know the orcas, her attitude will soften somewhat. I don't want them to be good friends. At the very least, I wanted them to be able to converse with each other without any problems.
For now, we should start by giving each other profiles at this tea party. Let's take it to step by step and get to know each other.
I made up my mind to do so and immediately started talking to them.
"Since we're here, let's get to know each other. From now on, we will support each other as siblings."
"I would be happy if I could support only you, Onii-sama."
"Hii…"
"Don't say that, Caron. Orca's going through a lot too, and don't be so frightened Orca. My sister is really a kind girl."
Caron turns her sharp gaze on Orca, who shrinks back in fright. I have to hold these two together.
This is giving me a headache, but I know it's for our future. That's why I'm going to do my best.
In the end, the tea party ended on a sour note. I guess this is going to be a painstaking task to mediate between the two of them…