Chapter 7
I was playing in Cassis’s room. Since the welcome party, the amount of time I spent with Cassis had increased dramatically.
Before, both of us preferred to avoid each other, but not anymore.
I honestly didn’t know why we had turned into a pair that was always at each other’s throats.
No, strictly speaking, it wasn’t a mutual battle—it was just Cassis picking on me all by himself.
I was playing with a doll alone near the bed where he was lying.
The dress the doll was wearing was made of a material barely any different from the clothes I actually wore. On top of that, even the gems attached to it were real.
Father, really…
I absolutely love it when you give me such expensive toys.
I grinned widely, looking at the doll.
“Yveline.”
Just then, Cassis stopped looking out the window and called me.
I flinched and looked up like someone who had been caught dawdling.
He then pointed to a flower vase on the window sill, acting as if he had just made a brand-new realization.
“The flowers in the vase are withered.”
“So what?”
When I replied bluntly and went back to fiddling with the doll, Cassis added a few more words. His voice was exceedingly gentle and sweet.
“I saw some lilacs outside. Could you perhaps break off a few and bring them to me?”
“……”
Seriously? Now I’m a flower errand girl?
“Mmm. Let’s tie up your hair now.”
I deliberately pretended not to hear him and fiddled with the doll to act distracted.
At that, Cassis let out a long sigh and muttered to himself.
“The flowers in the vase died. I wonder if I’ll end up dying like that too?”
“……”
Hmph. No matter what you say, I’m definitely not falling for it this time.
Fearing I might get completely swayed by his words again, I turned my back to him and combed the doll’s hair.
However, I couldn’t keep ignoring him after what Cassis said next.
“I think I could live a little longer if I saw the lilacs blooming outside, though…”
“I just need to pick the lilacs, right?”
In the end, I surrendered and stood up.
Fine. It’s just flowers. What’s the big deal about picking a few? Let’s endure it.
At my response, Cassis smiled radiantly and nodded his head.
“Please pick ones with pretty colors, Yveline.”
I have a strong conviction.
A firm conviction that Cassis is an extremely petty and childish brat.
I cursed Cassis under my breath as I carefully selected and picked lilacs with my gloved hands.
Seriously, that guy… If he weren’t sick, I would’ve roundhouse-kicked him all the way to Lake Emel.
My irritation flared up, and I grumbled internally.
His intentions were obvious, but the level of his bullying wasn’t severe enough for me to take drastic action. If I misstepped, there was a high chance I would become a mean kid who showed no consideration for a sick boy.
“Let’s endure it. I have to endure it. He’s the male lead, after all.”
I tried to meditate with that magic spell to control my temper.
Either way, he was a child who would eventually return to the capital after flirting with Elissa at our house.
Right, I just need to endure it until then. It’s merely childish antics. I should be the bigger person. Yveline, you can do this!
After achieving victory through mental mind games, I arrived back at Cassis’s room holding an armful of pretty lilacs I had diligently picked.
As soon as Cassis saw the lilacs, he smiled slyly, lowered his eyes, and apologized.
“Ah, Yveline. I think I made a mistake. I wanted to see lavender, not lilacs… Their colors are so similar that I got confused.”
“……”
“Oh my, Yveline. Why is your expression like that? Are you angry because I bothered you? I really am too much of a nuisance, aren’t I?”
Cassis tried playing sick again, pitifully drooping his eyes.
Right on cue, a maid was gathering laundry nearby.
I forced a smile.
Male lead or not, can’t I just kill him right now? Then he won’t have the chance to get rid of me later either.
I desperately suppressed the sudden murderous urge bubbling up inside me.
But I was almost at my limit.
Looking at his face, it seemed like he had planned this from the start, which left a very strange taste in my mouth.
“So, you’re telling me to go back out and pick lavender for you?” I asked gently, my voice trembling.
Did Cassis sense the change in my mood? He spoke as if he were granting a huge favor.
“No, it’s fine. I can’t trouble you for no reason. This is enough for me, Yveline.”
“Cassis.”
I called his name, forcing the corners of my mouth up into an unnatural smile.
He stared at me innocently, telling me to go ahead and speak.
“…No. It’s a relief that lilacs are okay with you.”
I almost cursed him out with every swear word I knew.
I quickly covered my mouth with my hand.
Cassis, completely unaware that he had just barely avoided being showered with terrible curses, replied.
“How boring.”
“Then I’ll be going! See you later at dinner.”
Without losing my smile until the very end, I slipped out of Cassis’s room.
And the second I closed the door, my expression turned fiercer than ever before.
I gave up on trying to understand Cassis with an adult’s mindset.
Come to think of it, why did I even need to be understanding toward him?
What do you do with a mischievous child? You crush them with an even more mischievous trick!
No mercy just because he’s a kid! Right now, I’m a kid too. Let’s see how he likes getting a taste of his own medicine.
“Hehehe. You messed with the wrong person. I’m not going to let this slide.”
I chuckled all the way back to my room, coming up with all sorts of evil pranks.
I waited for Cassis to come out of his room, and the moment I saw him, I ran over at full speed and shouted:
“Cassis! Play with me!”
At my booming voice, the servants’ eyes turned toward us.
Seeing me act suddenly friendly, Cassis showed a puzzled look.
Regardless of whether he did or not, I grabbed his hand firmly without hesitation. Then I clung to him and pestered him.
“Huh? Play with me.”
“Hey, you! Didn’t I tell you not to grab me so suddenly?”
When I got right up in his face to speak, Cassis retreated in disgust.
In truth, I hadn’t forgotten what he said earlier. I did it on purpose, knowing full well how he’d react.
As expected, when Cassis snapped at the physical contact, I didn’t miss the opportunity and muttered with a gloomy face, filling my eyes with tears.
“Ah, Cassis… I just wanted to play with you so badly. I even washed my hands! They’re not dirty at all!”
“It has nothing to do with being dirty.”
Cassis replied bluntly and pulled his hand away.
A moment later, as if I had been waiting for this exact moment, my eyes filled with clear tears as I whimpered.
“Sob. You’re so mean.”
“Young Lady, why are you crying?”
Right on time, Paul, who had been watching the situation, walked over and asked gently.
I intentionally looked up at the ceiling and sniffled, acting as if I were holding back tears.
However, my voice was thick with crying.
“Cassis said I’m dirty.”
“When did I ever…!”
Cassis shouted in utter shock. I didn’t stop talking.
“I just held his hand to ask him to play with me. But he called me dirty…”
“Young Master.”
Paul called Cassis with a rather stern expression.
Paul came here as Cassis’s manservant, but I heard he was the one who had carried Cassis on his back and raised him since he was little.
Which meant he was the person Cassis liked and relied on the most.
Just as I expected, Cassis was shaken up badly. His eyes trembled violently.
“No, I mean…”
“Apologize to the Young Lady right now.”
“……”
“No, Paul. It’s just that I touched Cassis with unwashed hands, so he got angry. It’s my fault.”
I intentionally tilted my head to the side and muttered pitifully.
At this, Paul looked at me with sympathy and called Cassis once again.
“Young Master.”
“I’m sorry, Yveline.”
Cassis muttered with a deep scowl. Looking at his face, he was clearly brimming with unfairness.
I snuggled close into Paul’s embrace and spoke.
“Paul, I’m really okay.”
“You must have been very hurt.”
Paul lowered himself to eye level with me and patted my back. I nodded deeply in agreement.
By now, Cassis couldn’t even control his facial expression anymore and was glaring at me like he wanted to bite my head off.
While being held by Paul, I took advantage of the moment he wasn’t looking and stuck my tongue out at Cassis.
“You…”
Cassis couldn’t even finish his words.
Completely ignoring him, I said to Paul,
“Paul, you’ll play with me, right?”
“Of course. Shall we play hide-and-seek like last time?”
“Yay! Awesome!”
I smiled brightly and raised both hands high. Then, holding Paul’s hand, I casually strolled past Cassis.
Looking back at Cassis who was left standing there alone, he was biting his lower lip tightly, staring at me in frustration.
I gave a broad smile and pressed down below my eyes with my finger to tease him.
Hmph. That’s what you get for poking a sleeping lion.
When Cassis saw my expression, his face crumpled completely.
From then on, the real battle between Cassis and me began.
Cassis still tried all sorts of tricks—acting weak, acting sick, acting pitiful—to make me run errands.
Whenever that happened, instead of looking thoroughly annoyed like before, I helped him without a word of complaint, messing with his peace of mind.
He was giving me errands to make me mad, so if I worked with a smile, it would feel strange for him.
I giggled as I recalled Cassis’s anxious face when he couldn’t get the reaction he wanted.
I intended to get thorough revenge on Cassis for everything I had suffered.
According to my observations, Cassis often tried to act unnecessarily grown-up.
Perhaps because of that, whenever I poked at that specific part, he fell for it without fail and gave the reaction I wanted.
As expected, a kid is still a kid.
For some reason, acting like this against a child felt ridiculous, but I had been too wronged all this time.
It meant that too much resentment had built up for me to endure without getting revenge.
In order to win the battle against him, I ate well and saved up my physical strength.
If I got tired, I’d easily end up acting like a child myself.
If that happened, I’d get dragged into Cassis’s pace and end up showing the reaction he wanted.
After that, I continued to do my absolute best to tenaciously dig into Cassis’s weaknesses.
Not to be outdone, Cassis acted pitifully to compete with me, but I didn’t budge an inch.
And so, a few days passed.
Before long, the tides had turned—not in favor of Cassis, but in mine.
