IBYSRHML | Chapter 36

Episode 36

Hmm? Is this a sign that I should become a fist-fighting champion?

“Wait, do you really eat people?”

She didn’t seem to have bad intentions, but the question still hurt.

Just like the maids, why did everyone call us savages as soon as they saw us?

At this point, I had to teach them a lesson.

“Stop saying nonsense—”

I cut off Edgar’s words and stepped in.

“How did you know? We do eat people.”

Edgar frowned, but I continued speaking anyway.

“And now, we’re going to eat you.”

The girl’s eyes trembled violently.

The boy who had followed her turned pale.

For innocent kids like this, it was only right to play a prank they’d remember forever.

“Children taste better because their meat is soft and tender! Grrraaah!”

I raised my fingers like claws and growled like a beast.

The girl screamed and ran away.

The boy fell flat on his bottom and started sniffling.

“H-Helen… You’re just going to run away alone…? Sniff, hngh… Waaahhh!”

H-Huh? I didn’t mean to make him cry…

“D-Don’t eat me! Waaahh! Please spare meee!”

“N-No… Why would I eat you…?”

“But you said I’d taste good…! Waaahh! I don’t taste good at all!”

“D-Don’t cry.”

I tried to approach him to comfort him, but his wails only grew louder—

as if he truly believed I was going to eat him.

I turned to Edgar for help, but he simply shook his head as if to say, Not my problem.

Seriously? Imperial children cried over something this small?

Where I was from, we only cried if we got stung by jellyfish.

Just then, like a ray of light, a lady in a violet dress approached and began soothing the boy.

“Chris, why are you crying?”

“D-Duchess Berg… Hic. Sh-She said she was going to eat me! Tell her I don’t taste good!”

The duchess followed his pointing finger and looked at me.

Her eyes swept over me from head to toe with clear disgust before she abruptly turned away.

Her gaze alone made me shrink.

I missed my sisters.

“Chris, no one can hurt you. Now, stop crying. You shouldn’t cry over something like this.”

“Right, don’t cry.”

I reached out to pat his back to help him calm down.

Smack!

The duchess slapped my hand away.

My pale skin instantly flushed red.

“Ow… That hurt…”

This time, I felt like crying.

Even my sisters never treated me like this.

“Don’t touch him so carelessly. Apologize to Chris at once.”

Her tone was so harsh that I couldn’t understand what she was saying at first.

When I just stared at her blankly, she frowned.

“Didn’t you even learn how to apologize?”

“It was just a joke! And her friend was the one who asked me first if I eat people!”

“And scaring them was the right thing to do?”

“Well, you’re an adult, and you hit my hand and made it look like this! You’re worse than me!”

I shoved my reddened hand toward her and shouted.

The duchess scowled, and Edgar joined in.

“The Duchess of Berg is the one in the wrong.”

“Young Duke, you’re too young to understand the situation, but you should be careful about whom you befriend. I was merely protecting Chris.”

I pouted.

Everyone was being mean to me.

Would they treat me better if I were a strong adult?

I wanted to go home.

At least in Trovancha, no adults treated me like a bad child.

I felt tears welling up.

Edgar moved to shield me behind him, as if protecting me.

And then—

“What is going on here?”

Leopold, who had been nearby, approached us.

“Duke Baltrahein, perfect timing. This child was threatening Chris, so I was scolding her.”

“Chris?”

“Yes, Chris Ruman. The son of Count Ruman.”

“Ah. And what exactly did Liliana do to threaten him?”

“His friend was the one who asked me first if I eat people! I was just joking back, but this auntie hit my hand and made it like this! Hic…”

Now that there was an adult I knew, I couldn’t hold back my tears anymore.

The harder I pressed my lips together and rubbed my eyes, the bigger the tears became.

Leopold examined my reddened hand and furrowed his brows.

The duchess quickly defended herself.

“That was only because she tried to touch Chris. I was merely protecting him.”

“Even so, that was excessive.”

“Excessive? What’s excessive? His Majesty’s fiancée, who knows nothing of court etiquette and wears clothing unfit for the Empire, that’s what’s excessive!”

“Duchess Berg. Striking the hand of a six-year-old child like that was wrong. You should apologize.”

Leopold’s voice carried a commanding weight.

The duchess stiffened, momentarily swallowing her breath.

But then, as if refusing to let herself feel intimidated, she lifted her chin even higher.

“Duke Baltrahein, it must be hard raising your young cousin alone. But that doesn’t mean you should let her behave however she wants. You should rely more on the Duchess of Aykroyd for guidance.”

Spewing nonsense, the duchess took Chris by the hand and left.

Leopold seemed ready to stop her and demand an apology.

But when I clung to his pants, sniffling and struggling to hold back my sobs, he let out a sigh and picked me up.

“…I’m sorry.”

I clutched the cookie in my hand tightly.

I missed my sisters.

Where was my eldest sister?

I wanted to look around, but my vision was too blurry.

Leopold cradled the back of my head and let me bury my face in his chest.

The warmth of his embrace made my tears fall even harder.

He carried me to the palace’s back garden and gently set me down.

Taking out a handkerchief, he wiped my tear-streaked face.

Edgar followed, looking restless as he took my hand.

“I wanna go home… Hngh…”

His comforting touch was kind.

His embrace was warm.

His face, full of concern, made me feel understood.

But since no one said I could go home, Leopold felt especially cold to me.

“Say ‘ah.’”

“Ah.”

As I opened my mouth, Leopold placed a piece of chocolate from the banquet into it.

I nibbled on it while absentmindedly twisting the ear of Cookie.

“Uncle, you won’t tell my sisters, right?”

Leopold’s green eyes met mine without wavering.

But he didn’t answer.

His expression remained unreadable.

“My sisters always worry about me. I don’t want to trouble them anymore.”

They already checked my forehead every day to see if I had a fever.

If they heard about this too, I’d feel so guilty that I wouldn’t even be able to complain about eating vegetables.

I kicked at the ground with my sandal, and after a moment, Leopold nodded.

“Alright. I won’t.”

“Thanks! Then, you can go now. I’m gonna play with Edgar.”

“We’re not going back to the banquet. Let’s go to the garden instead. It’s not like anyone there actually means what they say when they smile.”

Edgar grabbed my hand and pulled me along.

Leaving Leopold behind, we dashed toward the garden.

“Your eyes are so swollen that you really look like a pumpkin.”

“Asparagus, be quiet.”

“I found a lemon tree inside the glass greenhouse over there.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Thanks to those people getting a ten-year sentence, the new gardeners quickly told me where the lemon tree was when I asked.”

“Huh? A ten-year sentence?”

“Something like that.”

Following Edgar, I really did see a lemon tree.

It wasn’t as big as the ones in Trovancha’s streets, but it wasn’t so small that we couldn’t sit beneath it either.

‘I used to play under the lemon tree with Antonio all the time…’

Seeing the lemon tree made me miss Trovancha.

The scorching sunlight, the dishes made with olive oil and bay leaves, the salty scent of the sea—my hometown.

I already miss it this much, so what am I going to do in the future?

If I want to keep my promise to Marius and stay for two hundred nights, how many more days do I have left?

“What are you thinking about?”

“…Edgar!”

Edgar’s voice suddenly reminded me.
Today was his birthday!

I must be an idiot—how could I forget until now?

“You scared me! What’s wrong?”

“Happy birthday! We should’ve put candles on a cake together, but because of me…”

“How is that your fault? It’s because of that foolish Helen Eldridge and that coward Chris Ruman.”

“But there’s delicious food in the banquet hall and lots of presents. Just looking at them must feel nice.”

“Everyone who came today is an idiot. There’s not a single person I actually want to play with.”

“Aren’t they your friends?”

“Helen Eldridge and Chris Ruman are not my friends! They’re complete fools.”

Edgar suddenly shouted, his face turning red.

If they’re not his friends, then they’re not—what’s with the reaction?

“Oh, right. I didn’t prepare a present in advance. But since birthday gifts are important, I’ll give you my treasure.”

“Treasure?”

I held out Cookie I had been clutching since this morning.

“Here. This is my little brother. When you’re having a hard time or feeling scared, hugging Cookie makes you feel better. I’m giving him to you.”

“You’re just giving away your little brother like that?”

“He’s my little brother, so you have to cherish him. Got it?”

Edgar took Cookie and stared at it.

It seemed like he didn’t want to accept it because of the tears and snot I had gotten on it earlier.

Well, if it were me, I wouldn’t like a dirty doll either.

Just as I was about to take Cookie back and promise to find him a better gift later, Edgar responded cheerfully.

“I like it.”

“Huh? Huh?”

“It’s my favorite gift out of all the ones I received today.”

Contrary to my expectations, Edgar’s lips curled up into a satisfied smile.

And just like that, all the unpleasantness of the day disappeared.

His green eyes, as fresh as asparagus, sparkled with delight.