IBYSRHML | Chapter 60

Episode 60

Time passed quickly, and the Empire greeted its first summer.

When summer came, the playground Marius had built in the imperial palace was completed.

It was the biggest and coolest playground I had ever seen, and there was even a treehouse.

‘The door is small, so the older sisters won’t be able to get in.’

The inside was spacious, but the door was sized only for children, so the treehouse became a secret hideout for Edgar and me.

The two of us would often invite Helen and Chris to play together.

“I’m going to write a letter. No matter what I give my brothers, they probably already have it.”

Hearing Edgar’s words, I thought of Marius and my sisters.

They were all adults, so there were so many hairpins and gloves I wanted to give them.

“Lily, don’t you have any good ideas?”

“I’m not sure either. Hng. It’s hard.”

We had already been worrying about the Parents’ Day gift for thirty minutes.

Parents’ Day is a day to express gratitude to the parents who gave birth to and raised us.

In Trovancha, it’s divided into Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, but in the Empire, they celebrate both at once.

“W-what about making a cake?”

At Chris’s suggestion, we opened our eyes wide.

Just spreading cream on a cake sheet and decorating it with cookies was something we could do too.

And it was heartfelt, and we could enjoy it deliciously with our family.

“That’s a good idea. Lilliana and I learned how to make sweets from Lady Regina last week.”

“Wow! Chris, are you a genius?”

I jumped up and gave Chris a tight hug.

Helen patted Chris on the head.

Chris blushed as if embarrassed.

“If we tell the nanny, she’ll help.”

“I-I…”

“Chris. You come to our house and make it with us.”

“Mm. Okay.”

“Edgar! Let’s sneak into the kitchen and make it!”

“Okay. In a few days— Aaaaaaack! Ah! Ah! A spider!”

I looked at Edgar, who was freaking out over the spider, with a pitiful gaze.

Judging by Edgar’s reaction, it seemed the treehouse would soon become my private hideout.

“Lilliana! Please catch that!”

“I’ll catch it if you say I’m the best.”

“Quicklyyy! Ahh! It’s coming this way!”

Maybe because it was up in the tree, there were a lot of bugs in the treehouse, and Edgar was scared of them.

Even Helen, who had been invited to the hideout, turned pale and hid behind Chris.

“Lily! Hurry, throw it outside!”

“Huff-huff-huff. As the leader, I must be understanding.”

I went all the way down the tree and released the spider on the ground, in case it came back inside.

Then I returned to the treehouse.

“Just for one day, I’ll be your subordinate…”

“Chris. Don’t let a fool like that influence you.”

“Hey, Helen! I… got it. So I’m thinking…”

What are they talking about?

Creak. When I opened the door, Edgar screamed in surprise.

“Uwah!”

“Is there another spider?”

“N-no. Nothing.”

“Hmm. What were the three of you talking about?”

I narrowed my eyes and stared at Edgar, the most suspicious one.

Edgar quietly avoided my gaze. Helene shouted.

“Whoever gets to the fountain last is ‘it’ for tag!”

“H-huh! Helen, that’s cheating!”

Without thinking further, I quickly climbed down the ladder and ran after Helen.

As I ran, not wanting to come in last, the suspicious feelings melted away like ice under the midsummer sun.

Emilia explained the youngest sibling’s condition to Marius and Alice.

“Magic and special powers are opposites, so the magic of François that Lilliana has been taking for a long time is suppressing her leaking powers.”

“Is that why her fevers and collapses have decreased?”

“Yes.”

“Then can the youngest sister-in-law just keep drinking magic potions?”

“No. That’s not a fundamental solution. This has limits too. If you look at this report, the concentration of magic in her blood slightly decreases every time she grows. In other words, even if she drinks magic potions daily, her powers are pushing the magic out.”

Emilia continued her explanation.

“The reason Lilliana is sick is because her power is leaking out of a closed pump. The awakening fever is the pump bursting all at once with growth and paying the price in a lump sum. So, if we can just open the pump at the time we want and suppress her power appropriately, that’s all we need.”

“Trovancha has power suppression cuffs. Can’t we use those?”

“The cuffs only react to powers beyond a certain level, so they won’t work. That’s why François and I are looking for a way to seal her powers with magic.”

Emilia and François considered telling the two of them about the research they were currently conducting.

But since it would just make the explanation longer, they decided to share it once they had results.

“Youngest sister-in-law. I’ll give you citizenship, so how about naturalizing in the Empire? We need talents like you.”

Emilia ignored him and changed the subject.

“Sis. What about Regina?”

“She went to the tea party in my place. It’s not ideal to go myself, but it’s also not the kind of place I can just ignore. On her way back, she’ll meet Duke Baltrahein.”

“Didn’t he run into Regina on a date not long ago and escape in ten minutes?”

“But they suit each other well. By the way, how’s the new house?”

“It’s pretty good. Can’t even compare to the Tower dorm.”

“Youngest sister-in-law. You’ll invite us over once you finish unpacking, right?”

“Sure. Brother-in-law, bring a nice gift when you come. Ah, I have to go now. I have a dinner appointment with a Tower colleague.”

After saying goodbye to Alice and Marius, Emilia sat in the carriage and immediately bumped her forehead against the window.

“‘I’m fine,’ my ass.”

She wasn’t fine at all.

“Sis… actually, a lunatic lives next door…”

She was going crazy with regret over moving out of the perfectly fine dorm. Because—

Creeeeak! Thud! Thud! Bang! Crackle! Creak-creak-creak!

Strange noises came from next door at regular intervals.

And the important thing was that the neighbor was none other than François Cassel.

At the tea party, Regina ran into an unexpected person.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Marie Aykroyd, Duke Leopold’s grandaunt.”

Duchess Aykroyd came straight to see Regina upon arriving in the capital.

Not wanting Leopold to know she was meeting Regina, she moved quietly, even getting herself invited to the tea party through a connection.

“Hello. Nice to meet you. I’m Regina Berchio.”

“You’re much more beautiful than the rumors said. I believe you came to the Empire around early spring—have you adjusted well?”

“Of course. Including the people here, many have helped my family and me settle in.”

Regina smiled gently at the attendees of the tea party to show her gratitude.

Duchess Aykroyd, sitting with a straight back, looked Regina up and down.

“Miss Regina, I have something I’d like to discuss with you privately. I’m too tired from travel to set another time. Could everyone please step out for a moment?”

“Of course.”

At the Duchess’s request, everyone left the drawing room.

She was from the prestigious Duke Baltrahein family, and though she was elderly, her status gave her an air of strict dignity.

Regina, slightly tense, waited for the Duchess to speak.

She could guess why the woman had come to meet her.

But she did not speak first.

“Miss Regina. I have no children. That’s why I have a deep affection for my brother’s grandson, Leopold.”

“He’s family. I understand loving someone dearly.”

“Thank you for understanding. I’ve always worried about Leopold. He’s buried himself in work, and he’s raised his cousin since a young age.”

She continued.

“But one day, I started hearing that Leopold was seeing someone. Dining together every Friday night, going to the theater… anyone could see he’d fallen in love.”

“We meant to keep things quiet, but since we see each other often, I guess the rumors spread.”

“Yes. That’s why I looked into you, Miss Regina. I hope you’ll forgive the rudeness.”

Isn’t that just telling me to endure the rudeness?

Regina didn’t mind and focused on the Duchess’s words.

“I hope Leopold meets someone from the Empire. If that’s not possible, at least another noble.”

“……”

“If there’s a man you want, say the word. If you marry him, I’ll give you a very expensive gift. Ah, even just dating someone else, I’ll give you a large sum of money.”

Regina’s eyelids fluttered.

She was someone who smiled easily in any situation, but this time, her lips were too heavy to lift.

The classic warning to stay away from Leopold was interesting, but the method was insulting.

‘It would already be unpleasant enough to be told to leave for money…’

To go further and try to bribe her away with cash and offer to set her up with another man?

What did she think of my life?

She must’ve seen me as far beneath her to think she could hand-pick someone for me.

It had been a while since the hearing, but her head was heating up again.

So Regina smiled brightly, to make the other let down her guard.

“How much are you offering?”

“I’ll start with 50 million Berks. If you get engaged, 100 million. If you marry him, I’ll give you jewelry worth 300 million Berks.”

When Regina casually asked, Duchess Aykroyd sipped her tea with an expression like she expected that response.

Pretending to think for a moment, Regina rolled her eyes and then smiled faintly.

Her cheerful voice was filled with furious resolve.

“That’s a total of 450 million Berks.”

“I heard your family is fairly wealthy in Trovancha. Still, that’s no small amount. Do you want more? If it’s not too excessive, I can offer more.”

“Duchess. How about this?”

“What is it?”

“I’ll give you the money.”

“…What?”

Deep wrinkles appeared between the Duchess’s brows.

She seemed flustered by the unexpected reply.

Clack.

Regina set down her teacup and spoke confidently.

“I’m rich. I’ll give you twice that—900 million Berks—so give me your grandson.”

Seems like a pretty good deal.

As the Duchess’s face twisted, Regina let out a snorty chuckle.

What the Duchess didn’t know was that Regina wasn’t just a dainty, delicate woman like her appearance suggested.

And more importantly, the Berchio family wasn’t just “fairly” wealthy.

They were immensely wealthy.