Episode 57
Right after Edgar had left.
Marius asked Alice to look into the whereabouts of Cookie, then went to find Lilliana.
It was to probe Lilliana on Edgar’s behalf.
“Kids are still kids, after all.”
“That’s true. I didn’t think Lord Edgar would be that startled because of a doll.”
“Max, you think so too?”
“Yes! These days, Lord Edgar is—”
“He’s exactly seven years old.”
“That’s what I was about to say!”
He had thought Edgar was born mature.
But after seeing how he played and argued like a child with Lilliana, he realized it.
How immature a guardian he had been.
Because of a poor guardian, Edgar had only now become a child.
“I just hope Lilliana isn’t too angry.”
Knock knock.
He knocked on the door, but there was no response from inside.
That didn’t mean there was no sign of presence, though.
There was a rustling sound coming from the room.
“What’s our youngest sister-in-law up to? Is it okay if Pupu comes in?”
“……”
“…Still sulking because I teased you about being a pig-squirrel this morning?”
Marius carefully opened the door.
From one side of the large room, a round lump under the blanket could be seen.
Ah, she’s refusing to talk because she’s upset.
Thanks to playing and bickering every day, he knew about a hundred ways to cheer Lilliana up.
“Liliana, how about exploring the palace?”
“……”
“Or maybe coloring?”
“……”
“Want to go see the puppies in the stables?”
“……”
Something was clearly off.
Marius lifted the blanket.
And there was Liliana, clinging to the blanket like a hanging sloth.
Her face all smudged from tears and snot. Eyes red like a rabbit’s.
Lilliana was crying.
“Pupu… Help me… Edgar’s going to hate me… Waaaah…”
In Lilliana’s hand was the shell of Cookie with all the stuffing fallen out.
***
Big Sis is a cool hero.
So cool, in fact, that she lost her dexterity in exchange for great strength.
Regina sister is great at making anything quickly, but she’s been very busy lately.
Because she has to attend many social gatherings in Big Sis’s place.
Emilia sister was harder to catch than when she was aiming for the youngest doctorate title.
So I came to a conclusion.
‘I’ll fix Cookie myself!’
All I need to do is reattach the ears, so I can handle that much.
‘If I sew just a few stitches on the ears, the tear marks won’t even show!’
Clenching my fists, I jumped up and went to Regina sister’s room.
I took the sewing kit from her drawer and started the ‘Cookie Repair Project.’
“Hmmm… This is a bit hard.”
Threading the needle was difficult.
My hands were shaking so much that the thread wouldn’t go through the hole.
And since the ears are small parts, a few stitches should fix them cleanly.
After a long struggle, puffing out my cheeks, I finally got the thread through the needle.
Phew… That was tough.
“Is this how it goes?”
Poke! I stabbed Cookie’s torn head with the needle.
Then I connected the thread to the ears and attached it like this and that…
“Huh?”
Cookie’s head was being pulled toward the ears. Like it was being yanked with a rubber band.
Alright. Let’s try again!
“Hmm?”
The ear stuck to the forehead. Oh no. It turned into a monster!
“Ugh……”
The frayed fabric tore a bit.
I tried rubbing it to force it to attach, but the stuffing started poking out.
After struggling like that for days—
“Waaah! Pupu, what do I do? My Cookie turned into a dried lemon! Aaaah!”
I clung to Marius’s arm and burst into tears.
It’s not chubby, and the ears are gone.
That’s the sibling I raised with love and care!
“So this is where it was.”
Marius muttered softly and wiped my face with his sleeve.
He was clumsy, so his hand was rough, but I didn’t mind.
“It’s okay. Lilliana, shh.”
“S-shh.”
“Brother-in-law will fix Cookie, so don’t worry.”
“Can you sew well, Brother-in-law?”
“Nope.”
“Waaah! Cookie! I’m sorry!”
“Instead, I’ll find someone who can. They’ll fix it back to normal.”
“S-sniff… Really?”
“Of course.”
“Can I trust you?”
“You don’t trust Brother-in-law?”
Maybe if it were Uncle Leo, but not Marius…
When I hesitated to answer, Marius wiped my dry tear marks.
“You don’t trust me, huh. If Lilliana can’t trust her brother-in-law, then I can’t help carelessly.”
“T-that’s…”
Ughhh.
How can a grown adult be so petty?
Since I’m the mature one, I’ll tell a white lie for Cookie’s sake.
“I-I-I trust you!”
“Really?”
“Y-yeah… I-I do… probably? Sniff, I’ll sniff now.”
“Okay, okay. Sniff away.”
Sniff!
I blew my nose, not realizing Marius had changed the subject.
He flared his nostrils watching me.
What’s that look? That’s the face he makes when he finds something fun to tease about. And then—
“Ahem. Ahem. Lady Lilliana.”
Max, who had been beside us, cleared his throat and caught our attention.
“Just give me an hour.”
“Hmm?”
“Honestly, if I have the materials, it won’t even take an hour. This is easy.”
Marius raised an eyebrow.
Max took the stuffing and fabric that used to be Cookie from my hand.
Then he checked the extra stuffing and cloth in the sewing kit and began treating Cookie.
“If we patch the torn fabric with a ribbon, we can make it look cuter and cover the worn areas.”
Even someone like me who knows nothing could tell Max was a pro.
He nonchalantly stuffed the cotton in, cut the fabric, and patched it.
His sewing was as smooth as a machine.
Cookie was repaired in a whirl.
“Max, I had no idea you had this kind of talent.”
“I’m quite skilled in this area… Here you are, Lady Lilliana.”
I fiddled with Cookie, who was now cuter than before.
It had been restuffed well, so it looked chubbier and didn’t look sick anymore.
When I rubbed my face against Cookie’s pink crown, I felt the soft, fuzzy texture.
“Our Cookie, you suffered so much because you met the wrong sister…”
Suddenly, a radiant light shimmered behind Max.
He might be a saint who heals heroes.
“Uncle Max is the best! You’re the coolest person in the world!”
“Hey, Lilliana. Isn’t your brother-in-law the coolest for keeping Max around?”
“Uncle! If I secretly get some chocolate next time, I’ll give it all to you! You’re my friend forever!”
Wham!
I threw myself at Max and hugged him tightly.
I hoped my overwhelming feelings would reach him through the tight squeeze.
“Haha. If you ever need something fixed again, don’t cry alone. Come to me. I’m good at sewing!”
Just as Max was proudly wiping under his nose—
“Your Majesty!”
The door burst open, and another secretary appeared.
For some reason, his face was pale.
“You think it’s okay to open the door to my sister-in-law’s room without permission?”
When Marius gave a heavy warning, the secretary hurriedly apologized.
“I’m sorry. I’ll correct myself. Lady Lilliana, my apologies! But more importantly, Your Majesty, you must come immediately.”
“What’s going on?”
“Well…”
After glancing at me, the adults stepped out into the hallway.
A moment later, Marius came back and spoke to me.
“I’ve got work, so I have to go. Edgar should be back soon, so go to his room and play with him.”
“Okay. Got it. If you’re busy, then you have to go.”
I waved him goodbye and ran off quickly.
I planned to return Cookie before Edgar arrived and pretend nothing happened.
‘Looks like he still doesn’t know Cookie is missing.’
I ran until I was out of breath and shoved Cookie into Edgar’s closet.
“Huh?”
There was a crumpled letter inside the closet.
Given Edgar’s personality, he’d usually stack things neatly in a drawer.
I knew I shouldn’t, but I gave in to curiosity and checked the top letter.
[ I’m worried that your brother has lost his senses over some foreign girl.
No matter how well His Majesty takes care of Edgar, he’s still your younger brother.
I’ll be coming up soon, so start packing.]
“P-packing?”
The sender was someone named the Duchess of Aykroyd.
I don’t know who that is, but it seems like an elder relative of Edgar…
‘No way, are Edgar and I going to be separated?’
At that moment, I heard footsteps outside.
Light and quick—definitely Edgar.
I hurriedly tossed the letter back and threw myself onto the bed.
Just as Edgar flung the door open.
“W-when did you get here?”
Edgar looked startled as he spotted me.
Our eyes rolled around. Edgar’s and mine.
‘Is he hiding that he’s going to leave the palace with a family elder?’
Thinking I might not get to eat meals or run around the palace with Edgar anymore made me a bit sad.
“W-what’s wrong? Did you… figure it out?”
“Figure what out?”
“Th-that I…”
Suddenly, Edgar’s face turned pale.
But I’m the one staying behind in the palace—why is he acting like this?
He flung open the closet and shoved himself inside.
“What are you doing, you asparagus idiot.”
“Uh, uh? Oh! Oh no!”
Gasp. What? Did he realize I touched the letter?
My guilty conscience made my heart pound.
With a flushed face, Edgar pulled out Cookie.
“You…”
“H-huh?”
I didn’t do anything!
I forced a harmless smile.
But sweat ran cold down my back.
Why does he look so serious?
Did he notice I ripped Cookie’s ear?
I tensed up, gauging Edgar’s reaction.
Edgar glanced at me and let out a small sigh.
“…Good. Looks like she doesn’t know.”
“What? I didn’t hear you.”
“T-the puppy in the stable. We said we’d name it, remember?”
“Yeah, we did.”
“How about Willie?”
“Gasp. That sounds great!”
“Then let’s go give Willie some treats!”
“Okay!”
Without realizing what my accident with Cookie’s ear had caused, I played with Edgar until we were both covered in dog fur.
• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •By Esraa• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •
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