TVRP 12

Chapter 12

The ominous voice made my entire body go rigid.

Like a mouse cornered by a snake.

If I failed to answer, I might really die here.

I had to say something—anything—to explain myself, but the killing intent radiating from Edward, who trained in martial arts every single day, was simply too much for me to bear.

“I…”

That was as far as I managed to get.

Edward seemed to understand everything he needed to know. He raised his sword.

And that was when it happened.

“Master!”

Someone kicked Edward’s hand away.

Clang!

The silver sword flew from his grip and clattered across the floor.

“Get a hold of yourself!”

A sharp cry rang out as someone grabbed my wrist.

I turned toward the owner of the voice and my eyes widened.

“E-Eden?”

Why was Eden here?

“You! Why are you here? I told you to stay in your room!”

“Is that really important right now?”

Eden shouted fiercely.

“If I hadn’t knocked his hand away, you’d be dead!”

At that moment, Edward let out a low laugh.

“Hah.”

He shook the hand that had just been kicked.

Apparently, being caught off guard for even a few seconds had been quite a shock to him.

Getting his hand knocked aside by a flying kick must have been a novel experience.

“Where the hell did this brat come from?”

As though he intended to get rid of the nuisance first, Edward drew a dagger from inside his coat.

Damn it!

No matter how powerful Eden might become in the future, right now he was just a skinny little child.

There was no way he could withstand even a single exchange against Edward.

I hurriedly shouted,

“He’s the doll Father gave me! Don’t touch him!”

“Father?”

Edward frowned.

Sensing my chance, I spoke quickly.

“Yes. My father, Duke Seregenev. I’m Lilian Seregenev, not some possessed monster!”

“You expect me to believe that?”

Edward’s voice turned cold once more.

“My pathetic little sister passed a test that even Lawrence failed? And she did it by actually using her brain?”

His icy, mocking expression made it obvious that he didn’t believe a word I said.

Apparently, the idea of me using my brain was simply too unbelievable.

My pride was hurt, but at the same time, I understood.

Well… considering last year’s test—or, more accurately, considering what I’ve been like all this time—it would be stranger if he believed me without question…!

“Just listen to me first!”

“Monsters bleed blue.”

He wasn’t interested in hearing me out.

He intended to find out the truth himself by seeing the color of my blood.

So this is how I’m going to end up bleeding…

I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing myself for the pain that was about to come.

“Didn’t I tell you not to give up?”

Eden’s voice reached my ears.

It was the same voice he’d used when he’d scolded me for trying to kneel before Olga.

I opened my eyes.

Eden was charging straight at Edward.

“Eden! Stop!”

I was just about to throw myself in front of him when—

“What are you all doing here?”

A voice as soft and beautiful as an angel’s.

In an instant, everyone’s movements stopped as though time itself had frozen.

There was only one person in this damned castle who possessed a voice that angelic.

Eloise.

We’re screwed!

The conclusion came almost instinctively.

I threw myself at Eden just as he was about to charge Edward.

“Ugh! What the hell?!”

I wrapped both arms tightly around Eden’s head, and he immediately began struggling violently.

“Let go of me! What are you doing all of a sudden?!”

I held him firmly against me and turned my head toward Eloise, who was approaching us.

“Uh, S-Sister. You’re here?”

“Lilian! Are you all right?”

Eloise looked startled as she saw me wrestling down what appeared to be a wild cat.

“Y-Yeah. It’s nothing.”

I forced a smile while desperately ignoring the fists pounding against my chest.

What kind of house cat is this? It’s ridiculously vicious.

“Wh-Why did you come here?”

Eloise had returned to the annex immediately after dinner because she hadn’t been feeling well.

I thought she would simply keep resting there!

“Why else? It’s the annual test, isn’t it? I came because I wanted to cheer you all on, but…”

She looked seriously at the three of us.

“Judging by the atmosphere, the test seems to be over already. So what were the three of you doing here afterward?”

“Haha… S-So that’s why you came. To cheer us on.”

Maybe this was actually a good thing.

Eloise was the only person in this entire family who could put a leash on Edward—

“Lilian.”

Edward called my name.

His voice was chillingly low.

He beckoned to me with one finger, and the murderous aura surrounding him was exactly the same as before.

“Hand that over.”

He was pointing directly at Eden, who was trapped in my arms.

Oh God. His eyes are completely unfocused.

He’s lost it!

You lunatic, turn off that killing intent! Can’t you see Sister is here?!

There was no way I could hand Eden over to him in this state.

I hugged Eden even tighter and shouted,

“St-Stay away from my doll!”

“Oh my. Now that I think about it… Lily, who exactly are you hugging so tightly?”

Eloise’s attention shifted toward Eden.

Damn you, Edward! You are absolutely useless!

I shot him a glare.

Edward’s eyes widened as he met my gaze.

He looked terrifying, so I immediately lowered my eyes again.

“Oh, right. This must be that child who became Lilian’s new friend.”

Everyone in this family called Eden either my “doll” or “that scruffy thing.”

Eloise was the only one who called him my friend.

That’s my sister. An angel incarnate. The one mutation in the Seregenev family!

“I was curious about him anyway… Hey, we’ve met before, haven’t we? Why don’t you come out and let me have a look at you?”

“N-No!”

I blurted it out desperately.

“Hm?”

Eloise turned toward me in surprise.

I remembered the conversation we’d had a few days ago through the closed door.

I didn’t want to ruin the sisterly relationship we’d only just managed to rebuild by acting like a brat.

But…

I gazed anxiously at my sister.

Eloise Seregenev, known as the Lily of House Seregenev.

Unlike the characteristic silver hair of the Seregenev family, her dark brown hair was as lush and beautiful as freshly baked bread.

Her gentle features radiated her kind nature, giving her a warm and lovely appearance.

And the faint beauty mark beneath her left eye only made her seem even more deserving of protection.

Even I, her younger sister, could barely take my eyes off her.

So what about a young man like Eden?

If I were Eden, I couldn’t imagine meeting a sister like this and not falling in love with her.

No. Absolutely not.

I won’t allow it even if they bury me alive!

“You can’t see him. Because…”

I tightened my grip around Eden.

“He’s mine.”

“Hm?”

“Eden is mine, so no one else is allowed to look at him!”

“NO!”

The childish shriek burst out with impressive force, perhaps because I’d had plenty of practice throwing tantrums.

Even Edward frowned at the volume.

Right now, this was the only way I could think of to stop my sister.

At least I was still young.

If I’d had to throw such a ridiculous tantrum as a grown woman, I might have collapsed from sheer embarrassment.

“Oh my.”

Eloise covered her mouth with a surprised expression.

She looked as though she were thinking,

There she goes again. She really must like that boy a lot.

Then she spoke again, trying to coax me.

“But surely nothing will happen if I just take a quick look.”

“It will!”

“Th-That so? Our Lily really… likes that child very much.”

Fortunately, it seemed Eloise had accepted my explanation.

Though perhaps “accepted” wasn’t quite the right word.

It felt more like she was simply backing down because my resistance was so absurdly strong.

Either way, the important thing was that it was working.

“Don’t take an interest in Eden. I’m the only one who’s allowed to be interested in him. Only me!”

While delivering an incredibly possessive declaration, I grabbed Eden by the wrist.

“Come on. Let’s go!”

I was just about to make a perfectly natural exit from the training ground when—

“Lilian.”

A cold voice seized me by the back of my neck.

“I believe I told you to hand that over.”

…Damn it.

Apparently, that bastard of a brother still wasn’t giving up.

I stopped dead.

The killing intent behind me once again made my entire body stiffen.

“I don’t know where you picked that thing up.”

Step.

Step.

“But if you eat something rotten, you’ll die.”

Rotten… thing?

Was he talking about Eden?

For the first time, I wondered if Edward’s hostility wasn’t simply because Eden had kicked his hand.

“You’re food that will eventually be absorbed by me.”

His voice was languid and utterly devoid of emotion.

“So it would be troublesome if you handled yourself carelessly.”

I bit my lip hard enough to hurt.

…This lunatic.

The slow sound of Edward’s footsteps drew closer.

Inside my arms, Eden’s entire body tensed as well.

He seemed ready to spring out at any moment.

Thump. Thump.

My heart hammered rapidly against my chest.

No one spoke.

No one moved.

Even Eloise had gone pale, her body frozen stiff.

Only Edward continued walking leisurely through the suffocating atmosphere.

Damn it…!

Apparently, that madman had truly decided to make Eden his target.

There was no longer any point in trying to reason with him.

If he could be reasoned with, he wouldn’t be a madman in the first place.

I took a deep breath.

Then I turned around and looked straight at my brother.

“I believe I already said no.”

The moment I spoke, I heard several people gasp.

The eldest brother slowly tilted his head to the side.

Still smiling, he asked,

“What did you say?”

“Maybe you didn’t hear me when I was talking to Sister. He’s my doll. If you need a doll to cuddle, why don’t you ask Father to buy you one?”

“……”

“And stop coveting your little sister’s things.”

The air in the training ground grew so tense that it felt as though it might explode at any moment.