IBYSRHML | Chapter 23

#.23

When people are too surprised, they can’t even speak. That’s exactly how I felt.

Among my friends in the Lemon, Olive, Grape, and Pomegranate classes at the National Kindergarten, not a single one ever said they didn’t want to be friends with me…

“Waaaah.”

I felt like I was about to burst into tears, so without realizing it, I looked up at Leopold.

He hurriedly tried to soothe me while scolding Edgar.

“Liliana, Edgar was just joking. Edgar, you shouldn’t say such things to a friend.”

“Then are you telling me to lie? What can I do if I don’t want to be friends?”

Unbelievable. Why wouldn’t he want to play with me?

I don’t think I look boring. I’m not mean-looking either…

I cupped my cheeks with both hands and squished them.

Did my unnies only call me cute because I’m the youngest?

“Sniffle… Uncle, do I look mean?”

“No, no. Liliana, you’re very, very cute.”

He stuttered! He stuttered when he said it!

I plopped down on the ground and glared at that boy named Edgar.

Even though I was glaring at him with all my might, Edgar just snorted indifferently.

He looked as if he were saying, “What? I’m just telling the truth.”

That made me even angrier.

“…You look as boring as asparagus. I don’t want to play with you either.”

“…What, what did you say?”

“You! You look like you’d swim like seaweed!”

“S-seaweed?”

“Yes! Seaweed! Bleh! Hmph!”

I stuck out my tongue, and Edgar’s face turned bright red.

He was huffing and puffing as he rushed toward me, but Leopold was faster.

“Hyung! She called me seaweed!”

Edgar struggled and shouted angrily as Leopold grabbed him by the back of his collar.

But Leopold shook his head and held on tight. I took the opportunity to tease him even more.

“Asparagus, seaweed, ha-ha! Bleh!”

“You—you! Let go, Hyung! I’m going to turn that pumpkin into a watermelon!”

“Bleh, bleh!”

I stuck out my tongue again, and Edgar’s whole body turned red with frustration as he flailed his arms and legs.

Leopold looked at me with a hint of reproach, but I didn’t care.

Instead, I hugged Cookie tightly and ran back to my room, giggling.

Behind me, I could still hear Edgar’s voice yelling, “Let me go!”

Hehe. My sisters always said that letting your friends win is what makes you the winner, but he’s not my friend, so it’s fine for me to win.

“Edgar? You met Edgar?”

“Yup! I turned that seaweed into boiled seaweed!”

My second unnie tilted her head, not understanding what I meant.

I didn’t feel like explaining, so I just jumped onto the bed in her room.

Wow, it’s so soft!

“Edgar is Leo’s cousin.”

“His cousin?”

“Yup. The Emperor’s aunt married Leo’s uncle, and Edgar is their son.”

“Ohhh. Then why is he in the palace?”

“Because he splits his time between the palace and Leo’s house. Lately, I heard he’s been staying at Leo’s place.”

“Ah, I see. Well, it doesn’t matter. He’s boiled seaweed now.”

Who cares if he’s royalty? I won, and that’s what matters.

Enjoying the bouncy feel of the bed, I kept jumping until my sister grabbed me and set me back on the ground.

“You’ll break the bed. No jumping.”

“Aww, but it’s fun. By the way, where’s our youngest unnie? I went to her room earlier, and she wasn’t there.”

“I think she’s serious about working in the Empire. On the very first day we arrived, she left the palace and went straight to the Mage Tower.”

It seems that having talent gives you courage.

That’s probably why she had the guts to go job-hunting right after arriving, without even unpacking.

“Is your room nice?”

“Yup! There’s a flower bed in front, and I can play there. Plus, it’s right next to your rooms, and it’s way bigger than my old room. I think I could fit more than ten friends in there.”

“Wow, that sounds amazing.”

“I’m going to make lots of friends here. By the way, when’s dinner? I’m hungry.”

“Dinner? We’re going now.”

As I held my stomach and whined, my second sister took my hand and spoke to the maid.

“Please take us to the dining room.”

“What about our eldest unnie?”

“She’ll join us after meeting with His Majesty the Emperor.”

“What does ‘meeting’ mean?”

“It means seeing or visiting someone. Meeting the Emperor is called an audience.”

“That’s hard.”

“It’s still a bit difficult for kids.”

Chatting with my second unnie, I admired the palace as we walked.

The long corridor was paved with white marble, and the ceiling was painted with angels blowing horns.

The hallway was lined with artworks, and even the windowsills and doorknobs seemed meticulously crafted.

While Trovancha was known for its vibrant colors, the Empire seemed to be all about lavish decorations—sculptures, paintings, and goldsmithing, all exquisitely done.

Before I knew it, we had passed through the corridor and entered the dining room.

As soon as we walked in, the waiting attendants pulled out chairs for us.

Hugging Cookie tightly, I glanced around the dining room, which was filled with attendants and maids.

‘Come to think of it, table manners are probably really different here.’

Feeling all the eyes on me made me shrink a little.

I fiddled nervously with Cookie’s ears.

Just then, the door opened, and Marius entered with my eldest unnie.

“Eldest unnie!”

“Huh? Uncle isn’t here?”

“Hello, Uncle!”

Gasp!

The attendants around us collectively held their breaths.

Why are they acting like that?

“Liliana. He’s not Uncle; he’s—”

At the moment when my older unnie tried to correct how I addressed him, Marius gestured at her to stop and drew my attention.

“I thought we were best friends, but you like Alice more than me. That hurts.”

“We’re not friends yet. You’re just ‘Uncle.’”

“What? Not even friends?”

“Hmm… Then should I call you ‘Frien-cle’?”

“Frien-cle? Hahaha. Did you combine ‘Friend’ and ‘Uncle’?”

“Yeah, kind of… But I’m hungry.”

“Just wait a bit. Leopold is bringing someone.”

“Who?”

“Your friend?”

“I don’t have any friends here.”

A friend? Who could it be? As I tilted my head in thought, Leopold appeared holding Edgar’s hand. My eyes met Edgar’s, and we simultaneously pointed at each other and shouted.

“Seaweed!”

“Hey, you pumpkin!”

“Hmph!”

I tilted my chin up and sharply turned away. Seaweed was definitely not my friend.

“What? You two already met?”

“I took him to introduce them earlier, but as you can see, this is how it turned out.”

“Did you fight? Who won?”

“Of course, Liliana won.”

“Don’t be ridiculous! Who won against whom!”

“Hahaha, so Liliana won, huh?”

Edgar glanced at Marius, who was being affectionate toward me, then turned his head sharply. Marius introduced our family to Edgar.

“Edgar, this is Alice, who I’ll be marrying, and next to her is her sister, Regina. Emilia is apparently at the Magic Tower, as I’ve heard. And this is Liliana.”

“It’s an honor to meet you. My name is Edgar Rundballenieu.”

Though Edgar was fuming because of me, he greeted my sisters politely.

Leopold patted Edgar’s head approvingly, making his cheeks flush. After the introductions, Marius, Leopold, and Seaweed all sat down together, while my older sisters and I sat across from them. Because of that, Edgar and I ended up facing each other.

When the meal was served, Leopold took my second unnie’s plate and began cutting her meat.

“There’s no need, really.”

Marius also tried switching plates with my older sister to do the same, but Alice firmly declined. Instead, Marius switched his plate with mine.

I didn’t refuse. Once again, Edgar was watching me and Marius. For some reason, his face seemed on the verge of tears.

“You all must have had a hard journey. I imagine you’re quite tired, so it’d be best to take this week to rest and recover from the fatigue,” Marius said.

The adults began chatting softly while Edgar and I engaged in a silent battle, sticking our tongues out at each other.

Edgar stealthily tossed a cherry tomato at me.

Plop! The tomato landed on my plate, splattering sauce everywhere.

Unfortunately, some of it got on my favorite dress. Furious, I retaliated by throwing a carrot at him. Edgar quickly ducked, and my carrot hit the floor harmlessly.

Seething, I caught Leopold’s gaze. I quickly looked down, pretending innocence.

When Leopold’s attention shifted to my second unnie, I flicked a bit of lemon juice at Edgar.

He scrunched his face, and I couldn’t help but chuckle softly. Edgar wiped his face with his sleeve, clenching his teeth.

Hehe.

I grinned mischievously at Edgar, who glared back at me with red cheeks.

He suddenly slid down in his seat, stretching his leg under the table, and kicked my knee.

“Ow!”

The unexpected move startled me, and I bit my tongue by mistake.

My second unnie looked at me curiously, but I couldn’t tell her Edgar had kicked me—doing so would mean admitting defeat. Determined, I extended my leg to retaliate.

Huh?

My foot didn’t reach him. All I managed to do was flail in the air.

What the—am I really this short?

Edgar was just as small as me, but how could his legs be so long?

Feeling defeated, I puffed out my cheeks. Edgar silently smirked, clearly basking in his victory.

So annoying…

I lost. Ugh. Sulking, I avoided Edgar’s gaze and focused on eating my trout with herb sauce.

Just then, Leopold, who’d been staring at my second unnje, turned to me and spoke kindly.

“Eat plenty.”

“Uncle Leopold, can you play with me tomorrow?”

“Why would my hyung play with you?”

“Go away, seaweed.”

“Says you, pumpkin!”

Leopold called Edgar’s name sternly as a warning. My older sister, too, shot me a sharp look and reprimanded me.

“Liliana, is it okay to call your friend seaweed?”

“…No.”

“Then you know you were wrong, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright, then apologize.”

Apologize to Edgar? That’s humiliating!

I pouted, scraping my plate with my fork. My older sister’s firm tone cut through again.

“Liliana.”
“Fine, I’m sorry. I’ll call you asparagus from now on.”

“What?! Hey! If I’m asparagus, then you’re spinach!”

“Then you’re eggplant! Hmph!”

“You’re spinach AND corn!”

As we started pointing fingers and bickering, Leopold and my second unnie hurried to intervene.

“Edgar!”

“Liliana, stop it!”

My breath grew ragged with frustration. Spinach? Corn? Says the one who looks like a potato! Glaring back at Edgar, who was glaring at me, I silently vowed never to lose to him. Never!