I'm the heroine's dead twin... nice! (BL)

10.5

Arielle POV

I don't know how long we stayed like that but it sure as hell wasn't long enough.
But of course, the hag just had to ruin the moment as he cleared his throat, "Escort her to her room and clean her up. Arius, I hope you remember about our talk from last time." He first turned over to the servants and then to Arius.

I turned my head to him with a blank stare, despite his words making me curious. "Of course, your Grace.", Arius gave the duke a shockingly cold reply without a trace of any emotion he just showcased. I gave him a questioning look which he ignored and I still couldn't see his face properly since he had taken a step forward, his hair blocked my view of him.

Thankfully, he didn't seem to make me wait for much longer, because he was the one to break the silence, "Now, if you would excuse us, I would like to spend some time with my sister. Farewell." He gave our relatives a quick bow and escorted me inside while holding my hand tightly, with a few maids following him. When we arrived, he let me go in first and came in himself after a few moments.

Only after a black haired young maid had closed the door, did he fully turn to me to face me directly, letting me get a good look at him for the first time ever. 'How TF do those donkeys even sleep at night?!'

Sebastian wasn't lying when he said we resembled each other a lot, neither was anyone else who did. He had long, silky and straight silver hair that was braided over his shoulder, silver lashes that were actually longer than mine, a button nose, soft ivory skin. 'He's so adorable!' He must have caught me staring, for his cheeks flushed pink before he calmed himself, looked me in the eyes and gave me a radiant smile, "Hello Arielle, my name is Arius Conrad Ambrose. As you must have known by now, I'm your twin brother, and also the one who is going to help you adjust." As he walked closer to me his took on a softer tone and his eyes twinkled with relief, "I'm really glad to have finally met you. Welcome to the duchy, sis."

He stopped around a meter in front of me and looked me up and down with a furrow on his brow, he swiftly turned his gaze to the maids in the corner -who all had a flowery smile on and looked content with their lives- and urgently told them to get me cleaned up and fed, "I don't want you to get sick." He said.

So now here I am in the bathtub with only Ophelia washing me upon my request.

There was a comfortable silence before I broke it, "Sebastian told me that you are our nanny, could you please tell me more about brother Arius?"

Her hands that were washing my hair paused. Curious, I slightly tilted my head back to see her give me a soft smile, "You want to know more about young master, huh? Of course, my lady, you can ask me anything."

Since she offered, I just went ahead with my first question, "What is the relationship between my twin and the other family members like? When I arrived, the three of them were standing close together, but only Arius was standing at a distance."

For a moment, no answer came from Ophelia, before she decided to tell me anyway, "Well, you see my lady, the young master doesn't have the friendliest relationship with his family. As to why it's like this, I don't think it would be appropriate for me to tell you without asking for his permission. Although most can guess why, he only ever gave me a confirmation of his reason." She then proceeded to wash away the soap and gently turned me around to face her.

She still had the same soft smile on and I could now also see the fondness in her eyes when she looked at me. Of course, this woman was the primary reason why I didn't go mad in the past. "But I'm sure that he wouldn't hide it from you if you were to ask him. I don't know if you already know this, but it was young master Arius who arranged your bed chamber and schedule."

I didn't know that. No wonder it was more organised and high quality than the one in my previous life. It made me both happy and angry though, because although it was really sweet, this meant that the duke had basically let his own child -and his youngest child nonetheless- take responsibility for his other child. Accommodating was the job of the duchess (in this case the duke's) or the heir's at least.

I was definitely going to bring these two topics up to Arius, but I had other questions too. "Really?! That's so impressive! He must be really smart." But first, I had to act like a child.

"It is, right? Master Arius always has been very smart. There are times where I can't even believe he's real. He's also always ahead of his studies, even his tutors have a hard time keeping up with him sometimes. In conclusion, if you're ever stuck somewhere, he'd be happy to help you out. But I'm sure you'll be able to thrive regardless."

It bought a smile on my face, she was so enthusiastic now. 'Previously, she constantly looked like she was on the edge of breaking down. Now that we still have Arius, it's as if like she's shining like the sun. And she still seems to be as reliable as before.'