MSHM 03

Chapter 3

Maybe my direct words had caught Liam off guard, because his face turned slightly red.

I thought he would be used to hearing this kind of flattery since he had been praised since childhood, but apparently that was not the case.

This innocent side of him… Hmm, should I give him some extra points for that?

“Olivia, don’t tell me you’ve fallen for Liam?”

Sister Emma’s voice instantly became frightening.

If that was really the case, she looked ready to punish Liam right away.

“W-wait, no. I’m just saying he’s handsome because he really is handsome.”

“He’s just a guy who only looks good on the outside. So you shouldn’t fall for him carelessly.”

Even so, there was no way I would fall for someone who was not only a candidate for my brother-in-law but also the Crown Prince.

Still, I quietly nodded at my sister’s words.

More than that, I felt sorry that Sister Emma’s evaluation of Liam was only “a guy who looks good on the outside.”

Since he had taken the position of a friend rather than a rival, it seemed he would need to work much harder to be recognized as a man by my sister.

“Why are you saying I only look good on the outside? Do you know how rare a man like me is in this empire?”

Liam also seemed dissatisfied with those words and argued back, but Sister Emma did not even listen.

“Olivia, don’t fall for just anyone. Okay?”

Was Liam really “just anyone”?

It was quite shocking, but standing in front of my sister, who was determined to get a definite answer from me, I couldn’t possibly shake my head.

“Okay, I understand.”

Right now, I was too busy finding a suitable husband candidate for my sister rather than worrying about my own love life.

Among the countless brother-in-law candidates, I would choose the one who matched my sister best, make her happy, and improve my own future!

That was my life motto.

I glanced to the side and saw Liam looking like he couldn’t understand the relationship between us.

Even if my sister called Liam “just anyone,” he was still a brother-in-law candidate for now, so I should become close with him.

“Please take good care of my sister.”

Because I suddenly greeted him politely after having such suspicious eyes toward him, Liam looked confused.

“W-what… I’ll… take care of you too?”

Fortunately, Liam was not completely hopeless as a brother-in-law candidate.

My sister looked at Liam and me with a satisfied smile.

“From now on, call him Senior Liam and ask him if you need anything.”

“Why are you deciding that instead of me?”

“What’s wrong with that? She’s my younger sister. Are you saying you won’t treat her well?”

“That’s… not what I mean.”

Although they bickered, the two of them seemed to have a pretty good relationship.

Just as I narrowed my eyes and tried to judge the relationship between them—

“Looking at her again, your little sister really is the size of a bean.”

“Liam!”

I was deeply shocked, so I quietly hugged my sister.

No matter how small I was compared to Liam, I was definitely of average height!

Just because I was shorter than my sister didn’t mean I deserved to be insulted by being called a “bean”!

Seeing my teary expression, Liam instead looked amused.

“Yeah, since she’s your sister, I’ll have to get along with her from now on.”

After unnecessarily thinking deeply while looking at me, he came to an even more unnecessary conclusion.

“From now on, I should call you ‘Bean-Bean.’ You’re so small that I can barely see you properly.”

“Why are you making her feel bad? I told you to treat her well.”

“You also think she’s small, don’t you? Besides, this is my way of treating her well.”

“Even if she’s small, isn’t calling her a bean too much?”

Uh, Sister. That’s not really defending me…

“Hey, Bean-Bean. Don’t tell me you don’t like your nickname?”

“Do you really think I would?”

Seeing me immediately protest in frustration, Liam’s smile only grew deeper.

“Seeing how lively and happy you are while complaining, I’ll definitely keep calling you Bean-Bean from now on.”

“Sister!”

I immediately clung to my sister, but perhaps Liam’s words had convinced her because she only tilted her head.

“Is this… becoming close?”

“No, it’s not.”

“The only person in this academy I call by a nickname is you. So be grateful. Bean-Bean.”

“This can’t be happening!”

Despite my desperate cry, the warning bell announcing the start of class rang cruelly.

“We should go now. Listen well in your first class, Olivia.”

My sister had apparently already forgotten about the “Bean” issue, because she simply smiled and left with Liam.

Before leaving, Liam used his large hand to mess up my bangs.

“Study hard in class, Bean-Bean.”

“I told you I’m not that small!”

He ignored my words, and the two of them headed toward the second-year classrooms.

I turned around while grumbling, only to find that everyone in my class was looking at me and the two people who had disappeared.

I felt embarrassed because I suddenly became the center of attention, but I smiled and waved my hand.

“If you want to become friends with me, now is your chance, everyone.”

Bean was bean, and this was this.

Shouldn’t I make good use of the benefits that came from having such an amazing sister with such an amazing friend?

I spread my arms wide and smiled generously like a cult leader recruiting followers.

Thanks to those two, I became famous in my class in an instant.

“So you’re really close with the Crown Prince? As expected, your sister is amazing.”

“Right? I’m also very curious why those two are friends.”

Siana found the relationship between my sister and Liam fascinating.

Meanwhile, I was also wondering why my sister and Liam had become friends instead of rivals like in the original story.

Maybe they had already ended their rivalry last year and decided to become friends?

Then did I need to create a path from friendship to romance?

While thinking deeply about it, I was moving to another building to attend Elemental Magic class.

“Hey, Bean-Bean. Are you moving to another building?”

Someone grabbed my head from behind.

Just from the way I was addressed, I already knew who it was.

I wanted to answer with an annoyed expression, but since he was holding my head, I couldn’t even turn around.

“Please let go.”

“Oh? Being rebellious, are we, Bean-Bean?”

“If you stop calling me that insulting nickname, I’ll properly treat you as a senior.”

“Oh, what a shame. I can’t stop because this is my sincerity.”

“You should show that sincerity to my sister.”

“You need to receive it first so you can properly deliver my sincerity to your sister.”

Sigh.

I quietly let out a deep sigh.

His strategy of treating me well to steal my sister’s heart was good.

But his method was terrible!

Wasn’t he trying to act close with me by using some strange nickname so he could make a good impression?

“You don’t have to do this. I’ll tell my sister that Senior Liam treated me very sincerely.”

It was a lie, but I just wanted to escape from the hand holding my head, so I said whatever came to mind.

“Make sure you tell her. If Emma finds out I treated you badly, I’m dead.”

Did he like my sister enough to die for her?

Then why was he treating her younger sister like this?

I really couldn’t understand him.

“Then shouldn’t you stop calling me by that strange nickname?”

“That and this are separate matters.”

I could feel Liam’s determination to keep calling me by that nickname I didn’t even want to say out loud.

I gave up on arguing further.

“Please let go of my head first and talk.”

“Ah, sorry.”

Because of his rough touch, my hair, which I had neatly tied up, was sticking out in all directions.

When I untied the ribbon holding my hair to fix it, my naturally curly hair fell down to my shoulders.

“You really don’t look like Emma.”

Liam watched me tie my hair again and casually said that.

“Yes, my sister is perfect, but I’m ordinary, so I often hear that we don’t look alike.”

I was used to hearing comparisons between my sister and me.

But I had never once despaired because of it.

I naturally accepted that my sister was the heroine and I was just an extra.

“No, that’s not what I meant…”

“It’s okay. I hear it often.”

Liam covered his mouth with his large hand as if he had made a mistake.

He glanced at me from the corner of his eye, seeming to check whether he had hurt me.

To prove that I was fine, I casually shrugged.

“Anyway, that wasn’t what I wanted to say.”

As I tilted my head in confusion, his large hand once again covered the top of my head that I had just fixed.

“You must have your own charm too. So don’t feel discouraged.”

“I’ve never felt discouraged.”

I tried to push away his hand that was bothering me again, but fortunately, he removed it first.

“Really? You’re quite a strong bean.”

“Could you please stop calling me that? Hello? Where are you going?”

Liam disappeared while casually waving his hand without even saying goodbye.

“Wow… Even the way he leaves is perfect…”

Beside me, Siana was completely captivated by Liam and muttering to herself.

Of course, someone couldn’t act that arrogant unless they had the appearance of a male lead.

Because of that annoying nickname, I kept wanting to remove him from the brother-in-law candidate list, but I had to admit that his appearance alone was impressive without any explanation.

“Let’s hurry, Siana. We’ll be late for Elemental Magic class.”

No matter how much I glared at his back, he would not stop calling me “Bean-Bean.”

Having accepted reality, I decided to hurry along my way.