#.21
Life aboard the ship was far more tedious than I had anticipated.
It was hard to believe that only three days had passed since we set sail.
“Boooorrrrinnngggg.”
I had no friends my age on the ship, and my older sisters weren’t exactly keen on playing with me.
As a result, I constantly twisted and turned, complaining about how bored I was.
‘The atmosphere with the older sisters is so bad that I can’t even get close to them.’
Chaos had broken out when the youngest unnie announced she had quit her lab job and taken a position as an aide to the Tower Master.
From arguments about how she could quit such a prestigious lab, to accusations that she didn’t care about her future career, to anger over her not informing them before making such an important decision, the sisters fought endlessly.
It seemed like sibling fights revolved around informing one another of big decisions and then arguing about the same issues repeatedly.
Currently, the eldest unnie refused to even look at the youngest, while the middle unnie had locked herself in her room.
So I spent most of my time avoiding their moods and had made it my routine to watch the sea from the deck.
“Boooorrrrinnngggg.”
While lying on the deck, rolling back and forth, someone suddenly lifted me up. It was Leopold.
“Your clothes will get dirty.”
“Mister, I’m bored. Play with me.”
Before Leopold could respond, Marius appeared out of nowhere and spoke up.
“Hey, kid. Are you bored? Want to play tag with Mister here?”
“Yes! Let’s play tag!”
“If you say I’m the most handsome man in the world, I’ll play tag with you.”
“That’s a lie. Liliana doesn’t lie. Mister Leo, play with me instead. I’ll make it fun for you, okay?”
I clung to Leopold’s neck as he carried me with one arm.
We could play hopscotch on the deck, or maybe even hide-and-seek since the ship was spacious.
“Leo is busy, so you’ll have to play with me.”
“But playing with just you isn’t fun. Mister Leo, let’s play together. I want to play with you.”
“Alright, I’ll be ‘it.’ Go hide quickly.”
Leopold nodded as he put me down on the deck.
I was thrilled to be playing hide-and-seek again after so long.
I jumped up and down, covering my mouth to suppress my excitement, while Marius chuckled.
“Come on, kid. Let’s go hide.”
“Mister Leo, count to a hundred before you start looking, okay?”
Without waiting for Leopold’s response, I dashed inside the ship.
Where could I hide so that Leopold wouldn’t find me?
If I went to my room, he’d probably find me easily.
After some thought, I decided to head to the dining room, which was rarely used except during meals.
“Where should I hide!”
Once inside the dining room, I looked around nervously, my heart pounding.
I eventually decided to hide under one of the tables. The long, flowing white tablecloth would surely keep me well hidden.
“Ahhh, this is so exciting!”
I wished the hundred seconds would pass quickly. Hehehe.
Not long after, I heard footsteps in the hallway, and my heart started racing.
I quickly covered my mouth to stifle my laughter.
When the door creaked open, I thought my heart might jump out of my chest.
Was it Leopold? My stomach felt ticklish.
But the voices I heard weren’t Leopold’s—they belonged to my twin older sisters.
“As soon as we arrive at the empire, go back to Trovancha. Your field is research into abilities. How does working on magic at the Tower make any sense?”
“And what about you? Are you seriously thinking of dating a guy who hasn’t even had a proper date before? On top of that, you’re planning to immigrate to the empire? Are you out of your mind?”
“…I like Leopold. I really like him. I don’t want to lose him. Besides, life in the empire won’t be easy, and how unnie going to take care of Liliana all by herself? She isn’t even healthy. That’s why I have to go with her.”
The excitement I had felt from the hide-and-seek game came crashing down.
“I’ll take care of Liliana. You just go back and finish your research. You love studying, don’t you? Emilia, please.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m going for the sake of learning more diverse knowledge. I’ve always wanted to study abilities that overlap with magic and divine power. I want to uncover those mysteries, so stop making baseless assumptions.”
After the youngest unnie’s retort, their footsteps grew distant, and the door slammed shut with a loud bang.
“Hah.”
The middle unnie let out a sigh. Her quiet sobbing followed.
I crouched down, biting my nails, unable to do anything.
“Regina?”
“Oh, Leopold…”
“Were you crying?”
“No, something just got in my eye. Anyway, what brings you here?”
“Ah… I was just passing by…”
“Where could Liliana beee?”
At that moment, Marius’s loud voice echoed in the hallway.
“We’re in the middle of playing hide-and-seek.”
“Really? Then let me join in.”
“No, it’s just that I want to get closer to Liliana. Ah, let me escort you to the front. Let’s go.”
With that, Leopold and the second unnie left the dining hall.
Click. The door closed, leaving me alone in the dining hall.
Only then did the tears hanging on the verge of spilling finally fall.
‘I must be a burden to my sisters.’
“Hic… Sniff…”
Overcome with sadness, I buried my face between my knees.
I know my sisters love me, but sometimes, it scares me.
Am I a nuisance to them? Am I troublesome…?
‘I want a mom and dad too.’
Like my friends, I want to call out to my mom.
It would be nice if dad carried me on his shoulders or pushed me on a swing.
“Sniff…”
As the tears wouldn’t stop, I wiped the corners of my eyes with my sleeves. Suddenly, the tablecloth was pulled back, and sunlight flooded in.
Marius crawled in, bending low to come under the table.
“Kiddo, why are you crying here all alone?”
Marius pulled me close and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, as if he already understood everything.
Without saying much, he quietly stayed by my side.
“…Do I bother you, mister?”
“Huh? No, you don’t.”
“You’re lying. I’m sure I do.”
I’m not his real sister, niece, or cousin—I’m just an extra baggage that came with his fiancée.
Even if he tries to win me over as the youngest sister-in-law, I must be annoying.
“I’m thrilled to become family with you, but it seems like you don’t want to be family with me, huh?”
“…I won’t dislike you anymore. I’m sorry.”
“I don’t dislike you, Liliana. Playing with you is so much fun—why would I dislike you?”
Marius took out a handkerchief from his pocket and pressed it to my nose.
“Blow.”
“Sniff!”
“More!”
“Sniff!”
“There you go. Now you can breathe, right?”
“Wow! It’s clear now!”
“Typical shorty behavior—getting your nose clogged and everything. This won’t do. I guess I’ll have to play with you every day.”
“I’m not short!”
“Then are you a chestnut?”
“I’m not a chestnut either!”
“Then… a peanut?”
“Nooo! I’m not a peanut! I won’t play with you anymore!”
In the whirlwind of Marius’s teasing, my earlier sadness vanished, replaced by a flustered heat rising to my face.
I couldn’t stay under the table with him any longer.
As I crawled out, fuming, Leopold, who had quietly returned to the dining hall, caught me.
“Found you, Liliana.”
“It’s your fault I got caught, mister!”
“It’s not my fault—it’s because Peanut here was too loud.”
“I said I’m not a peanut! If you keep this up, I won’t play with you!”
“Ahaha! She said she won’t play with me anymore!”
As Marius burst out laughing, clutching his stomach, I turned red with irritation at how smug he looked.
Leopold lifted me onto his shoulders.
“Yay!”
As Leopold ran with me on his shoulders, the tears and anger from earlier felt like a lie.
Because of this, I didn’t notice that he didn’t ask why I had been crying.
Leopold carried me to the deck.
Even though we were far from land, there were seabirds circling the ship.
At some point, Marius appeared and handed me a snack.
“If you throw this snack, the seabirds will swoop down and catch it. Give it a try.”
“Really?”
“Don’t you trust me?”
“Well… not really.”
When I mumbled hesitantly, Marius looked visibly sulky.
Feeling bad, I quickly added,
“But I’ll trust you just this once.”
I tossed the snack into the air.
The seabirds, crying loudly, swooped down and snatched it.
“Wow! They ate it! Did you see? They ate what I threw!”
“Want to do it again?”
“Yeah! Give me more snacks!”
And so, I kept throwing snacks until Marius ran out of them.
***
I had to stand on my tiptoes and stretch my arms just to reach the sink.
After washing my sticky hands from all the snack crumbs and sugar, I came out of the bathroom to find Marius and Leopold chatting in the hallway.
“It was a good idea to get Regina out earlier.”
“She didn’t seem to know there was a child there. Was she crying a lot?”
“Just a bit.”
“Thinking of Edgar makes me uneasy. But you seemed to get along well with the child.”
“Isn’t she adorable? Unlike Edgar, I feel a connection to her.”
“Don’t distance yourself too much from Edgar. He’s your last remaining blood relative.”
“Blood relative, sure.”
Hearing Marius’s voice turn heavy, I shouted loudly to announce my return.
“Liliana’s back!”
“Kiddo, I thought your legs were too short to reach the sink. But you managed to wash your hands, huh?”
“My legs aren’t short!”
“They are! You’re just a tiny little half-pint.”
“Meanie!”
To protest, I wiped my wet hands on Marius’s clothes.
He yelped dramatically, pretending to hate it, and I burst out laughing.
“There you are, Your Majesty. I’ve been looking for you. There’s an urgent matter to attend to.”
Just then, Max appeared and took Marius away, saying there was something that needed his attention.
That left only Leopold and me in the hallway.
Even though he had saved me from almost being hit by a carriage and given me a shoulder ride, there was still an odd distance between us.
So, I placed a chocolate in his hand.
“Eat this, mister.”
“…….”
He looked down at the chocolate I handed him, puzzled.
I grabbed his long pinky finger and whispered,
“Shh! We secretly shared chocolate, so now we’re best friends, okay? Got it?”
At my words, Leopold smiled warmly.
On the third day of our sea voyage, we became best friends.
And a week later, the ship docked at the empire’s port.
• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •By Esraa• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •
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