And so, Rest came to live at the Rosemary estate.
Up until the age of ten, he had lived as a commoner, and for the four years after his mother passed away, he had been housed in a stable.
Life in a marquis's household was unfamiliar to him, and he had worried it might prove suffocating.
Yet once he actually settled in, it turned out to be surprisingly comfortable.
Too comfortable, one might even say.
"Rest, is there anything you don't understand?"
"Lord Rest, this problem is solved like this."
"…………"
The room, lavish beyond what even an apprentice servant could hope for.
Rest sat sandwiched between Viola and Primula as he studied for his entrance exam.
Viola was on his right, Primula on his left. The two of them pressed their bodies against his far more than necessary, peering over at his work.
Being inside the manor, both were dressed in what appeared to be loungewear.
Nightgowns… or perhaps negligées would be the more familiar term?
The garments were slightly too thin-fronted to wear before a young man, and as if to match their hair colors, Viola's was yellow while Primula's was a pale blue.
(What is this… Why are they teaching me to study in such provocative outfits…?)
Rest desperately focused on the problems before him, yet in a corner of his mind, he could not help but remain acutely aware of the sisters.
But… this was inside the Rosemary estate. The sisters could wear whatever they pleased. Rest had no right to object.
(Come to think of it… I remember reading somewhere that upper-class people don't feel anything when lowborn folk see their skin… They're saying it's fine because I'm not affected by it at all?)
"…I, I've solved it."
"Yes, yes, that's correct! As expected of Rest! I want to give you a reward!"
"Rest, you're such a quick learner! At this rate, you'll easily be ready for the exam!"
"Nng…"
The sisters pressed their bodies close against him.
A soft floral scent wafted over him. This world didn't have shampoo or body soap, so what was that fragrance?
Warmth and soft pressure pressed against both arms. Because of their thin clothes, the swell of their figures was unmistakable.
Rest wasn't so clueless that he didn't know what he was feeling.
His face flushed red on its own, and his tongue stopped working properly.
"M-Miss… that is, you're pressing against me, um…!"
"Don't call me Miss. Call me Viola."
"I'm Primula, Rest♪"
"Ngh…!"
The two of them pressed their breasts against him even harder.
The soft, yielding sensation that shifted with every movement—aside from his mother's, Rest had no memory of ever experiencing anything like it, not in this life or his past one.
(No way… me, doing this with children…!)
Rest shuddered as a strange sensation ran down his spine.
In his past life, Rest had died at the age of seventeen.
The fourteen-year-old Rosemary sisters should have been nothing more than middle-school children to him.
But… the people of this country all had Western features, every last one of them.
It was said that the Japanese looked young by the world's standards, but in Rest's eyes, the sisters appeared to be adult women who could easily pass for college students.
(If you count my age from my past life, I'm already a middle-aged man… and yet I'm getting tossed around by girls like this…!)
"Rest?"
"Lord Rest?"
"U-… Lady Viola, Lady Primula, you're too close. Please step back a little…!"
"You don't need to call us 'Lady,' but… fine."
"Mm. We'll let it slide today."
The sisters smiled mischievously and moved away from Rest.
The warm sensation faded, leaving him with a bittersweet mix of relief and disappointment.
"Alright, let's move on to the next problem."
"It's an extension of the previous one. I'm sure you can solve it, Lord Rest."
"…Right. I'll do my best."
(Focus… yes, focus on the problem! Don't think about the two of them anymore!)
Rest directed every nerve toward the teaching materials on the desk, trying his hardest not to think about the sisters.
(I am a machine. A machine that thinks of nothing but solving problems. I know nothing else. Solve the problem, solve it, solve it… Don't think. Just feel! The sensation of their soft, warm— …No, that's not it!)
Performing a one-man tsukkomi inside his head, Rest finished all the problems.
"D-Done…"
"Good work."
"Great job."
"T-Thank you very much…"
Having completely exhausted his mental energy in every sense of the word, Rest slumped forward into a hollow daze.
The sisters paid the dazed Rest no mind as they went on grading his test, but then—"Aaah!" they both cried out in dismay.
"Primula, there's a mistake here!"
"You're right, sister. And it's a beginner-level error, no less!"
"Wh—...!?"
When Rest hurriedly checked, sure enough, one of his answers was wrong.
Despite the question clearly not being difficult... the reason he'd gotten it wrong was simple— carelessness.
That was all.
"What a shame... I was going to give you a reward if you'd gotten every single one right..."
"Yes... what a shame..."
The two spoke in unison, their expressions falling slightly.
"A-A reward...?"
He was intensely curious about what it might be.
On one hand, it was disappointing not to receive one.
And yet, at the same time, he felt a sense of relief.
It was a strange feeling he couldn't quite put into words.
"I'm so sorry... You two went out of your way to teach me, and I still made a mistake. I'll be more careful so this doesn't happen again..."
"Oh, then how about this, sister! Instead of a reward, why don't we give him a 'punishment' instead?"
"Huh...?"
Primula clasped both hands together as though she'd just had a stroke of genius, and came out with that suggestion.
"That's wonderful! Primula, you really are full of good ideas!"
"Huh? Wh-what!? Wa—both of you!?"
"Don't resist. Stay still, Rest-kun."
"That's right. This is a penalty for getting such a simple question wrong."
The two sisters leaned in close with thoroughly amused expressions on their faces.
Once again, soft curves pressed themselves against Rest's arms.
"N-ngh…!"
"Then it's time for your punishment. Here we go…!"
"Rest-sama, steel yourself…!"
"Uwaaah!?"
Rest's voice cracked as he let out a strange squeal under the sisters' punishment.
"Hah… y-young mistresses, this is too bold…"
Incidentally… in the corner of the room, the maid who attended the sisters stood with her face completely flushed red.
She had been there to keep an eye on things—after all, having a young man and woman alone together in a room wouldn't look proper—but being young and innocent herself, she simply didn't have the strength to restrain the sisters' behavior.