♧ Chapter 6 ♧
“Marius. Did you really have to make a little child cry like that?”
Leopold couldn’t take his eyes off Regina, who was walking farther away, and Liliana, who was still crying loudly.
Only after the two disappeared from sight did he turn to Marius with a resentful glare.
“She was cute.”
“You have terrible taste.”
“But thanks to that, you managed to make plans with Miss Regina. So why are you complaining?”
Marius smiled with his usual cheerful grin.
He was thoroughly enjoying the unexpected side of Leopold, his friend and future relative by marriage.
This was that Leopold.
Leopold von Waltrahen—the stiff man who always followed rules and was awkward around people.
Yet that same man was completely flustered because of a lady he had met by chance.
It was so entertaining.
Anyone could tell he’d fallen in love at first sight.
Regina seemed to have a favorable impression of Leopold as well.
But Leopold’s feelings for Regina were far stronger.
If the knights who served under Leopold had seen him like this, they would have slapped themselves to make sure they weren’t dreaming.
“Getting lost and ending up at that playground was a gift from heaven. Don’t you think?”
“…You’re right.”
The two had entered Trovanza a little earlier than planned to take care of some personal business before attending the diplomatic meeting.
The Trovanza government had been nervous about them wandering around without escorts.
But Leopold was the Sword Master whom the Empire called a human weapon.
And Marius hadn’t become Emperor simply because of his bloodline.
He had fought a bloody battle against his own siblings before claiming the Imperial Throne.
Both of them were more than capable of protecting themselves.
Without any worries, they finished their business and decided to enjoy sightseeing.
The only problem…
Was that although they had plenty of strength…
They had no one to tell them where to go.
“By the way… can we even make it back to our inn?”
“I memorized the address. The problem is… I have no idea where we are.”
Their plan had always been to wander wherever their feet took them.
But somehow…
They had left the coastline and wandered deep into a residential area.
“Trovanza’s standard of living is much higher than I expected. I thought it would be stagnant because of its isolation policy. If the Empire went to war with Trovanza right now, we’d suffer enormous losses too. Don’t you agree?”
“It certainly seems that way. Besides, nearly thirty percent of their population possesses Supernatural Abilities. It’s definitely not a country we can underestimate.”
Trovanza was a warm island nation where the sun shone all year round.
It was rich.
Peaceful.
Beautiful.
Its gentle climate and abundant resources were enough to tempt any conqueror.
Simply establishing diplomatic relations instead of conquering it would bring tremendous wealth to the Empire.
Just then—
“Hahaha!”
A bright, cheerful laugh drifted toward them.
It came from a nearby playground.
Even though it belonged to a foreign child…
Emperor Marius found the happy laughter pleasant to hear.
Without realizing it…
He walked toward the playground.
There…
A little girl with curly black hair was happily riding a swing, laughing so hard that she almost screamed.
“She looks like she’s having fun.”
Leopold murmured quietly.
The moment Marius recognized Liliana…
His blue eyes darkened.
“That’s a child from the Berkio family.”
“The Berkios?”
“I looked into the Berkio family before coming to Trovanza. They have a much younger youngest daughter.”
The Berkio family was one of Trovanza’s greatest political families.
Its reputation had spread all the way to the Empire despite Trovanza’s isolation policy.
That was why Marius had gathered information about the family before this secret meeting.
“If it’s the Berkio family… that’s where Andrea Berkio belongs, isn’t it?”
“That’s right.”
“But why did Andrea Berkio leave everything behind and move to the countryside?”
He was a promising politician.
He was still in the prime of his career.
Why would he abandon everything and leave?
Leopold quietly muttered to himself.
Ignoring him…
Marius walked toward the little girl on the swing as if he were being drawn there.
“Marius?”
Marius waved a hand, telling Leopold not to worry.
He walked straight over to Liliana…
And pushed her swing.
It lasted only a brief moment.
But as Marius watched Liliana’s back…
Something painfully complicated flashed across his eyes.
Leopold noticed it.
A strange feeling suddenly welled up inside him.
He couldn’t tell whether it was because Marius had shown an expression he had never seen before…
Or because of the unfamiliar emotion rising within himself.
The strange sensation stirred uneasily inside him.
Leopold shook his head, forcing himself to calm down.
Then he looked around for another member of the Berkio family nearby.
That’s when he found Regina Berkio.
The instant he saw her…
It felt as though the entire world had turned black and white.
Only one person remained in color.
His breath caught.
His chest burned.
His mind went completely blank.
He had never felt anything like this before.
Sunlight scattered around her.
No…
It wasn’t the sunlight.
It was his soul that shattered.
It was the moment Leopold von Waltrahen fell in love with Regina Berkio at first sight.
Meanwhile…
“You decided something that important all by yourself? This isn’t about anything else—it’s about Lily! How could you not tell me or Big Sister?”
“I’m sorry. Everything happened so quickly that it slipped my mind. Listen, Regina. This is a wonderful opportunity. A magician like François Cassel—”
“I know François Cassel is a genius. But Lily isn’t some laboratory mouse. We can’t just make her drink something like that.”
“I can prove it’s safe through my research papers. Do you really think I didn’t calculate all of that?”
I could hear my sisters arguing in the living room.
I quietly sighed and pulled my blanket over my head.
Even though my Second Sister and Emilia were twins…
Their personalities were completely different.
My Second Sister was careful and thorough.
Emilia was cynical and fearless.
Because of that…
They often argued over even the smallest things.
Today, they were fighting because Emilia had taken me to François Cassel.
If only I had been healthy… my sisters wouldn’t have fought because of me.
Thinking that they were arguing because of me made my heart ache.
My nose stung.
I hugged Cookie tightly.
Cookie was my favorite stuffed rabbit.
Its fluffy pink fur was unbelievably soft and adorable.
“Cookie… I hope Big Sister comes home soon.”
Once Big Sister returned…
My Second Sister and Emilia would stop arguing.
After all…
Aliche was the strongest woman in the world.
While waiting for Big Sister to come home from work…
I slowly drifted off to sleep.
When I opened my eyes again…
Emilia was waking me up.
Her eyes were swollen from crying.
“Wake up, little one.”
“Mmm… I want to sleep a little longer…”
“No. We have somewhere to go. Get up and wash your face.”
Emilia practically dragged me out of bed and pushed me into the bathroom.
I was still so sleepy.
Wanting just a little more sleep…
I climbed into the empty bathtub and lay down.
But Emilia suddenly threw open the bathroom door.
She glared at me fiercely.
Pouting…
I reluctantly got up.
After washing my face…
I changed into the clothes Emilia had prepared for me.
While I ate bread with jam…
She tied my hair into two pigtails.
“Big Sis, where are we going?”
“Do you remember that handsome silver-haired Oppa we met before? We’re going to see him.”
Right now…?
We’re going to meet François Cassel?
I stopped tearing my bread apart.
My mouth hung open.
“Emilia… I think my stomach hurts… Maybe I should stay home…”
“Little one. If you’re lying, I’ll scold you.”
“No… It really hurts. I think I should stay in bed.”
Emilia stared straight at me.
It looked like she was trying to figure out whether my stomach really hurt.
Seeing her sharp, cat-like eyes…
I became nervous.
If she caught me lying…
I’d definitely have to listen to an hour-long lecture.
François Cassel…
Or an hour of Emilia’s scolding…
It was a difficult choice.
But in the end…
I lost to Emilia’s powerful stare.
“…I think I’m feeling better now.”
François Cassel was only a danger that might become a problem in the future.
A lie…
Would definitely be exposed in just a few hours.
So after brushing my teeth…
I held Emilia’s hand and left home.
We arrived at a café near our house.
Just like before…
François was already waiting there.
His beauty still looked completely unreal.
“Hello.”
My sisters had raised me to be a polite child.
So even though François scared me…
I still greeted him.
“Hello, little lady.”
“I’m Liliana, and I’m six years old.”
So please call me Liliana or Lily instead of ‘little lady’!
Of course…
That last part stayed inside my head.
I was far too scared to actually say it.
“Emilia! I want grape juice! And strawberry cream waffles too!”
Ever since meeting Marius…
I had wanted grape juice again.
Emilia ordered both the waffles and the juice for me.
Then she started talking with François.
Their conversation quickly filled with difficult technical terms.
It was even harder to understand than listening to a foreign language.
So…
I quietly ate my waffle while staring blankly at François’s face.
Putting aside how frightening he was…
He was unbelievably handsome.
If only he weren’t crazy… he’d make the perfect brother-in-law.
His family.
His wealth.
His career.
His appearance.
He had everything.
I almost wanted to match him with one of my sisters.
Just then…
François reached out and gently wiped my cheek.
“Eek?”
I instinctively pulled my face away.
His fingertips were covered in whipped cream.
He had simply wiped away the cream that was stuck to my cheek.
After cleaning his fingers with a tissue…
François smiled softly.
At that moment…
Something from the original story suddenly came back to me.
Perfect brother-in-law? No way!
Before becoming obsessed with the heroine, Rebecca Marchione…
This man had been the Empire’s greatest playboy.
There wasn’t a woman in the Imperial Capital he hadn’t been involved with.
Absolutely.
Absolutely not.
François could never become my brother-in-law.
Even if dirt got into my eyes…
Well…
If dirt really got into my eyes, maybe I’d allow it.
But until then…
Absolutely not.
Just as I strengthened my determination once again…
François quietly poured something into my grape juice.
“Liliana. It might taste a little strange. But don’t worry. It’s nothing bad. Just bear with it for a little while.”
“Huh?”
The moment I looked toward Emilia…
Someone placed the straw against my lips.
