♧ Chapter 9 ♧
“Phew!”
The first thing I did after coming home from the hospital was take a bath.
The hospital didn’t have a bathtub, so I’d only been able to take quick showers. I had felt sticky the whole time.
Filling the bathtub with warm water and lots of bubbles, then playing with my little wooden duck, was pure happiness.
“Little one. Feeling good?”
“Yep! I feel so fresh, like I could fly!”
My Second Sister smiled as she gently dried my wet hair with a towel.
“Let’s see how much our Liliana has grown!”
“I think I’ve grown this much!”
I jumped to my feet and spread my fingers as wide as I could.
Since I was much smaller than other children my age, my biggest dream had always been to grow taller.
“Wow. I guess you’ve grown a lot because you ate all your hospital meals so well.”
“Kyaa! That’s right! I’ve grown a lot!”
Excited, I happily bounced over to Emilia.
She was sitting at the dining table reading the newspaper, but she looked exhausted.
It wasn’t surprising.
Regina and Emilia had taken turns looking after me in the hospital, and they had argued many times because of me.
After meeting François Cassel, I had become sick.
Regina had angrily questioned whether his magic was really helping me.
Emilia kept saying I only had to endure it for a little while.
But deep down…
She had probably been very worried too.
Every time I woke up during the night, I saw Emilia silently crying.
“Big Sis. I’ve grown taller.”
“Taller?”
“Look! I’ve grown this much!”
“Hmm.”
Emilia frowned as she looked me up and down.
Wanting her to think I had really grown…
I quietly stood on my tiptoes.
She noticed immediately and let out a small laugh.
“I think you did grow a little.”
“Right? I’ll grow as tall as all of you someday.”
I clenched my little fists confidently before sitting beside her.
The newspaper looked incredibly boring.
I slowly tried reading what Emilia had been reading.
“…The Em… Emperor… visited Trovan… Trovancha… In… the next two days… peace… meet… Ah! I don’t know!”
“The Emperor has visited Trovanza. A peace summit will be held over the next two days. Emperor Marius II and Duke Waltrahen are expected to attend.”
She smiled.
“You’ve improved a lot. You’re even reading difficult words now.”
“Hmph. I can read The Adventures of Coco the Red Sheep much better!”
“Of course you can.”
The Adventures of Coco the Red Sheep was my favorite storybook.
Emilia returned to reading the newspaper.
Meanwhile, I took out some paper and colored pencils and quietly started drawing.
Come to think of it…
Rebecca Marchione, the heroine of the original story, had already died.
That meant the original story would never begin.
Even if war still happened because of political reasons…
At least things probably wouldn’t become as tragic as they had in the original story.
That raised another question.
If the original story disappeared…
Who would the male leads marry?
Marius started the war to win the heroine’s love.
If the woman he fell in love with this time wanted peace…
Wouldn’t that mean there would be no war?
As for François…
I hoped he would meet someone truly good.
If he met the wrong person and his madness became even worse…
The whole world could end.
And then there was Leopold.
Such an honest and sincere man.
I really hope things work out between him and Regina.
Leopold had never felt like a hero who belonged in a dark reverse harem story.
He looked cold…
But he was kind.
And when he fell in love…
He loved someone with the pure heart of a teenage boy experiencing his first love.
Someone like him would be perfect for one of my sisters.
First, I have to meet the male leads again…
But how am I supposed to meet people attending a peace summit?
Life never went the way I wanted.
Not being able to meet Leopold again was especially frustrating.
So I furiously scribbled with my colored pencils.
“Waaah!”
Maybe I was pressing too hard.
The paper ripped in half.
Pouting, I put my colored pencils back where they belonged before announcing,
“I’m going to the playground!”
When I felt like this…
Riding the slide as much as I wanted always made me feel better.
“Wait. I’ll come with you.”
“Am I a baby? I can go to the playground by myself.”
“You are a baby.”
“Hmph.”
I puffed out my cheeks.
While Emilia got ready to leave, I dashed toward the front door.
“I can go by myself!”
Then I ran all the way to the playground.
I couldn’t wait to ride the swings and the seesaw.
But then…
“Huh?!”
Why were Marius and Leopold here again?
Was meeting the male leads really this easy?
Were they…
Waiting for me?
…No way.
“Oh? Little one! Are you okay?”
Marius noticed me and walked over.
“I heard you were really sick. You look like you’ve lost weight.”
“I’m all better now!”
“Really? That’s good. Did you eat?”
“Yep! I had corn cheese soup with bread. I took my medicine too! It tasted like strawberries, so it was easy.”
“Oh? That’s impressive.”
“Right? But… Mister, are you two lost?”
“Hmm? No. We’re not lost.”
He smiled naturally.
“We just came to play at the playground.”
There was no way I would believe that.
These men were in their twenties.
Adults didn’t come to playgrounds to play.
“Mister, why are you here? Adults don’t play at playgrounds.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“…Were you waiting for me?”
“Nope. I definitely wasn’t waiting for Liliana.”
He turned toward Leopold.
“Right, Leo?”
Leopold nodded so stiffly that it almost looked painful.
Seeing my suspicious expression, Marius burst into laughter and messed up my hair.
“Aah! Stop it!”
“To be honest… we really did get lost.”
He grinned.
“And now we’re hungry. But we don’t even have any money.”
Leopold lightly hit Marius’s arm as if asking what nonsense he was saying.
An Emperor obviously wasn’t broke.
“Really?”
“Really. I’m basically a beggar right now. I’m hungry and I don’t have any strength left.”
Hmm…
He was probably teasing me again.
Still…
If someone said they were hungry, I couldn’t just ignore them.
I proudly placed my hands on my hips and lifted my chin.
“Then I’ll feed you!”
Marius burst into loud laughter.
Leopold, on the other hand, looked completely shocked.
I stepped between them, grabbed one hand from each of them, and confidently led them toward my house.
This was the perfect chance to bring Leopold and Regina together.
* * *
After spending several days taking care of Liliana, Regina was completely exhausted.
She lay on the sofa and let out a huge yawn.
Emilia had gone after Liliana, who had run off toward the playground before she could stop her.
Just then, Aliche walked out of her room after returning home from work that morning.
“Emilia. I’ll go.”
“Big Sister? You’re not going back to sleep? You must be tired.”
“You two have been taking care of Liliana this whole time. You should rest today.”
“Hmm… alright. Then please go after Liliana. I’m going to the library. There’s a paper I want to read. I might come home late, so go ahead and eat dinner without me.”
Emilia left the house.
Aliche looked at Regina, who was still lying on the sofa.
“Don’t sleep here. Go rest in your room.”
“If I sleep now, I won’t be able to sleep tonight. I’m trying to stay awake.”
“Are you that tired?”
“Not really… It’s just…”
She couldn’t stop thinking about Leopold.
She had been so busy taking care of Liliana that she had completely forgotten their meeting.
When she finally contacted the inn…
He had already moved somewhere else.
She knew nothing about him except his name and face.
Finding him again seemed impossible.
Maybe it was only a small crush… but I can’t stop thinking about him.
For some reason…
She felt that she would regret never seeing Leopold again.
Regina quietly sighed.
“Regina. Is something wrong?”
“No… not really…”
She said that…
But she kept wrapping a strand of hair around her finger.
Anyone could tell she was worried.
“Big Sister…”
“I think I liked that man more than I realized.”
“That man?”
“Mhm. We just happened to meet…”
Honestly…
Leopold wasn’t even Regina’s usual type.
She preferred cheerful men who could keep a conversation going.
Even his appearance wasn’t her ideal.
Her type was someone elegant and handsome like François Cassel.
Not someone broad-shouldered and dependable like Leopold.
Ironically…
Leopold was much closer to Emilia’s ideal type.
Yet…
She couldn’t forget that day on the beach.
The sound of the waves.
His quiet voice as he carefully started a conversation.
The way his face turned bright red every time she smiled or said something.
By the time they parted…
Even the scar on his face couldn’t hide the blush of a shy teenage boy.
Despite his large build…
He had looked so nervous.
Then he politely confessed.
“Would you give me another chance to see you again, Miss Regina?”
There was nothing special about those words.
But she had loved the honest feelings behind them.
Now…
There was no way to contact him.
There was no point holding onto those feelings.
“Hmm… It’s nothing.”
She smiled to herself.
“If we’re meant to meet again… then we’ll meet someday.”
Having sorted out her feelings, Regina gently pushed Aliche toward the door.
“Big Sister… when you come back, buy some roasted chicken legs from Aunt Olga’s pub, okay?”
After making sure to request a snack, Regina walked Aliche to the front door.
Just then…
The little bell above the entrance rang.
Liliana was standing on a small wooden stool, reaching for the doorknob.
“Big Sister!”
The moment she saw Aliche, she happily ran over and hugged her.
Then…
Regina saw the awkward man standing behind Liliana.
She froze.
“…Mr. Leopold?”
“Miss Regina…”
She blinked several times.
But he was still there.
It wasn’t a dream.
Or an illusion.
“Ah!”
Regina gasped.
Then she hurriedly ran to her room.
She hadn’t even washed her face yet.
She was still wearing her pajamas.
Completely unaware of what had happened, Liliana happily explained everything to Aliche, who was equally shocked after seeing Marius.
“Uncle Leo and Uncle Marius are my friends! They said they were hungry, got lost, and didn’t have any money, so I brought them home!”
“Well now…”
Marius smiled mischievously.
“I never expected we’d meet again like this, Miss Aliche. You’re just as beautiful as I remembered.”
Meanwhile…
Leopold looked deeply embarrassed by the unexpected visit and immediately apologized.
Aliche simply let out a long sigh.
She didn’t even know where to begin.
Liliana had brought complete strangers home because she called them her friends.
The Emperor and the Duke of Waltrahen had actually followed her without hesitation.
And thanks to all this…
She was probably going to end up working over the weekend.
Everything had become one giant mess.
