TPCM 05

Chapter 5

oh…

It was out.
I thought it was safe, but it was out.
He must have hidden his presence and listened in. A ninja, seriously…

“What’s wrong, Marie? I want to see the real you.
Won’t you show me the side you don’t show your brother?”

The moment I saw Leon’s mischievous smile, I remembered.

He had originally been the adopted son of the Duke of Rudburg.
The Duke—who had married into the family—was worried about his frail wife and adopted a relative’s child. The Duchess was a kind and gentle woman, but always bedridden. Meanwhile, the Duke hardly came home, secretly visiting his mistress instead.
He even kept that mistress and had a child with her.
After the Duchess passed away, the mistress moved into the mansion almost immediately, taking the Duchess’s place as if it were only natural. She treated the adopted Leon cruelly, trying to kick him out by arranging for him to be married off somewhere.

The Duke, who wasn’t even the real father or husband by blood, probably thought that if he drove Leon away by arranging such a marriage, he could make excuses to his late wife’s relatives. And so, the Rudburgs gladly threw him out.

The Marquis family that took Leon in never officially adopted him, but they treated him lovingly as their own son. Later, Leon once murmured:

“I could never become a real child of that house…”

He was supposed to marry the daughter of that Marquis family, but he couldn’t love her. To take back the ducal house that had cast him out, Leon sought favor in the royal court and, with the King’s backing, returned to the Rudburg estate. There, he drove out the mistress and her child.
Afterward, he met the heroine—and their love across class boundaries began.
A refreshing prince-like character, dignified and charming without being clingy—that’s him!

My little sister had cleared every single one of Leon’s endings at least a hundred times.
“This is my duty,” she said, endlessly looping Leon’s routes.
I remember that he had the most interference from villains and scheming noblewomen who tried to ruin his happy ending.
In his happy ending, he throws the false Dukes into prison and finally marries the heroine.

In the bad ending, however, Leon rises in the royal ranks, loses himself in ambition, neglects the heroine, and eventually rebels against the kingdom, leading to civil war.
My sister even took screenshots of that bad ending—the cold smile Leon gives as he stares straight into the camera. She was a total hardcore fan.

If we can get to the happy ending, everything’s fine. But starting a civil war in the bad end? That’s a no-go.
Maybe I should leave that part to the heroine’s competence.
Anyway, that’s a story far in the future—and as long as I don’t end up as a “chair,” the future’s still uncertain.

Oh right—Leon returns to the Ducal house on his tenth birthday.
No wonder he couldn’t love a nobody like me, the “chair girl.”
I’m basically a throwaway bad-end mob.
But since I’ve already decided to avoid that fate, I have nothing to fear.

“Marie?”

“…Huh.”

I must have gotten lost in thought. I can’t afford to make Leon suspicious of me.
Even if I’m no longer the “ex-fiancée candidate turned chair girl,” finding out I was actually a body double would still be a shock.

I steadied my gaze, putting all my effort into a “totally innocent” face, and looked straight at Leon.
He looked startled.

“Did you say you wanted to see the real me?”

Just confirming. I smiled to seem harmless, but Leon’s eyes wavered. Confusion?

“What’s wrong? Don’t you want to see?”

The arms that had been wrapped around me slipped away.

“Leon? Oh, wait—sorry, I mean, Brother?”

“You… realized it?”

Realized what, exactly?

When I took a step closer, Leon stepped back.
When I smiled and stepped forward again, he retreated another step, until he was pressed against the bed and fell backward.

“Why are you running? Weren’t you the one who said you wanted to know me?
If you want to escape, I’ll let you go. Do you want to? Tell me—with that mouth, Brother.”

I placed one hand beside his face, the other on his cheek, and lightly brushed my lips against his. Leon flinched, his body trembling.
His clear green eyes reflected my own.

Yeah, if a chick turns into some unknown creature overnight, anyone would be terrified.

“…I don’t think I could ever escape from you again.”

That’s impossible. He’s a ninja, remember?
And in two years, he’ll be heading back to the ducal family anyway.
Maybe he just said it like a threat, as if I were some kind of enemy.
Perhaps I pushed too hard.

“Sorry if I sounded mean. When you say ‘the real me,’ I just… want to talk casually, wear something more comfortable than a dress. That’s all. I’ve got nothing to hide, and I want to relax around you, Brother. You can do the same with me, okay?”

As I pulled my hand away from his cheek, Leon suddenly grabbed my arm, trapping me in his embrace. His soft hair brushed my cheek—it felt surprisingly nice.

“Marie… will you listen to me? Please, don’t look at my face while I talk.”

“Okay.”

He took a deep breath and began speaking slowly, heavier than usual.

“I’m… not really your brother.”

“I see.”

“You’re not surprised, so you already knew…”

Ah, so that’s what he meant earlier by “realized.”
No, I didn’t realize—I knew because of my Leon-route experience.
But I couldn’t say that, so I just nodded.

“You’ve grown so perceptive. I think you can understand now.
It’s a bit of a boring story, but… will you listen?”

“I will.”

His calm, gentle voice and warmth… right after lunch, though—this is dangerous.
If it’s a boring story, I might actually fall asleep.

He told me about how he was the adopted son of a duke, how his stepmother frightened him, how his older stepbrothers ignored him like he didn’t exist.
That the love between the Duke and the late Duchess had been a lie.
It wasn’t boring at all, but I still had to grit my teeth a few times to stifle yawns.

His voice was so clear and beautiful for a child’s that—

“And then, in this house…”

I almost fell asleep.

“I wanted a place to belong. When I came here, I was happy.
Kind parents, a cute little sister—an ideal family.
But…”

“Please keep talking, Brother. I really want to hear.”

If he stops now, I’ll fall asleep! Keep talking!

“Sorry, Marie. I really love you, but… a small part of me resented you.”

“I see.”

“My existence was only to be your brother.
All my parents’ love was for you.
I used to think, if only you weren’t here… Terrible, right?”

“Fufu.”

Most siblings probably feel that way at least once.
That their parents love the other one more.
I never fought with my real sister over that kind of thing, but I remember some neighbor kid did—probably because they wanted a big sister like mine.
All I remember is my sister winning completely. She’s strong like that.

“…Why are you laughing?”

“Brother, that’s because we’re family.”

“…Eh?”

“When there’s a little one that needs more attention, parents naturally focus on them.
That’s the same in every home, isn’t it?
Brother, you and I received the same love—it’s just that I was more trouble.
And besides, if they didn’t see us as family, they wouldn’t have wanted us in the first place.”

“Marie…”

“You only resented me because you finally learned what real love feels like, right?
Would you feel jealous watching someone else’s child being loved by their parents?”

“No, not at all… I see. That’s all it was.”

Leon hugged me tighter.
Honestly, I’d prefer to be surrounded by muscle—but soft warmth works too.

“Then you, of all people, should know the difference between real and fake love, right?”

“Ah… you’re absolutely right, Marie…”

Just then, I heard the sound of a carriage stopping.
Father must be home. Oh, I just got a brilliant idea!

“Hey, Brother—will you help me with a little prank?”

I grinned and whispered my plan in his ear.
He looked a bit uncertain but nodded anyway.

Operation: “Brother’s in Big Trouble!”

“Papa! Mama!!”

Mother greeted Father at the entrance, and I ran frantically toward them.

“Marie? What’s wrong?”

“Don’t run like that—you’ll fall!
If my precious princess got hurt, it’d be a disaster.
Did you come down the stairs alone again? I told you it’s dangerous!”

Ah, so that’s why he always said no stairs alone.
I fought the urge to relax at their gentle tone and fired off my lines in a rush.

“It’s terrible! My brother—! In his room—!
He’s not moving! I might’ve… killed him!!”

Their eyes widened, and without another word, both dashed off toward Leon’s room.
I’d never seen my parents move that fast.

“Leon! Leon!”

“Leon!!”

When I followed them, they were shouting desperately beside Leon, who was lying in bed.
Perfect—mission accomplished.

“…Father, Mother.”

When Leon opened his eyes, they both burst into tears, clinging to him while repeating, “Thank goodness… thank goodness…”

“Papa, Mama… I’m sorry. Brother… I’m sorry.”

Half-acting, half-genuine remorse, I stepped into their embrace.
They turned to me, still teary-eyed, a little scary.

“What do you mean, Marie? You said you killed Leon…”

“Explain yourself, young lady. Did you strangle him with a rabbit?”

Strangled him with a rabbit? What does that even mean?
I stopped Leon with my eyes when he tried to intervene, then calmly stepped forward.

“Brother was reading me a book.
I got sleepy and hugged his neck.
He must’ve held on even though it was hard to breathe, and then he fell onto the bed…
I’m sorry.”

“No, Father, Mother—it’s my fault.
I was holding her and must’ve fallen asleep.
I heard her calling me, but I couldn’t wake up after last night’s party.
I’m sorry for worrying you.”

Both of them let out huge sighs of relief and smiled, hugging us both.

“I’m so glad… I thought something had happened to my beloved son…”

“Truly. Our wonderful prince and princess are both such good, kind children…”

Still held in their arms, Leon clung tightly to them.
I should’ve cried too, but… I just couldn’t force the tears.

We stayed like that for a while before being released.
Then I got a little scolding.

“Necks are delicate, you know? No more choking, alright? Bad girl!”

It was the first time they’d ever scolded me, and when I looked at Leon, we both burst out laughing.

The butler and maids, who had rushed over in panic, smiled knowingly and quietly left—realizing it was just another one of our family’s heartwarming “moments.”