#.09
“Phew!”
The first thing I did after returning home from the hospital was none other than taking a bath.
Since there was no bathtub in the hospital and I had only taken quick showers, I felt so uncomfortable.
Filling the bathtub with water, making lots of bubbles, and playing with a rubber duck was pure healing in itself.
“Little one, are you feeling good?”
“Yes! I feel so fluffy I might just float away!”
My younger unnie smiled while carefully drying my wet hair.
“Let’s see how much our Liliana has grown!”
“I must have grown this much!”
I quickly stood up and stretched out my fingers.
Because I was much shorter than others my age, my dream was always to grow taller.
“Wow! It seems like you’ve grown a lot since you ate so well in the hospital!”
“Ahaha! That’s right! I’ve grown so much!”
Feeling excited, I hopped on the spot and ran over to my eldest unnie.
She was sitting at the dining table, reading a newspaper, but she looked very tired.
It was understandable since both my younger and eldest unnies had taken turns nursing me at the hospital.
On top of that, they had argued a lot because of me.
After meeting François Cassel, I had started feeling unwell, and my younger unnie had been upset, questioning if his magic was really helpful.
Although my eldest unnie had insisted we just endure it a bit longer, she must have been deeply anxious.
I had seen her silently crying every time I woke up in the middle of the night.
“unnie, I’ve grown taller.”
“Taller?”
“Look closely. I’ve grown this much!”
“Hm.”
My eldest unnie frowned as she looked down at me.
Hoping my height appeared taller in her eyes, I slightly, just slightly, stood on my tiptoes.
She smirked and said with a small laugh.
“You seem to have grown a bit.”
“Right? I’m going to grow tall like you two someday.”
Clenching my fists with determination, I sat down next to her.
The newspaper she was reading looked incredibly boring at a glance.
I tried reading the part she was looking at, slowly stumbling over the words.
“…The emperor. Trova… visits Bancha. In the future. Ittehgan… a peace summit… Ugh, I don’t know!”
“The emperor visited Trovancha. A peace summit is scheduled to be held for the next two days, with participants including Emperor Marius II and Duke Baltrahein. You’ve improved a lot, though. You’re reading difficult words well.”
“Hmph. The Adventures of Red Sheep Cocobom is much easier to read!”
“Of course, of course.”
By the way, The Adventures of Red Sheep Cocobom was a children’s storybook I was reading.
My eldest unnie went back to focusing on the newspaper, and I pulled out paper and colored pencils to start drawing.
Come to think of it, that’s right.
Since Rebecca Marchionne, the original female protagonist, had died, the original story wouldn’t happen.
Even though war was a political matter and its outcome was unpredictable, at least the dire situation of the original wouldn’t occur.
Then, here’s a question:
If the original story disappeared, who would the male leads meet and marry?
‘Marius started a war to win over the female protagonist.’
On the contrary, if the woman he loves this time desires peace, wouldn’t war be avoided?
As for François… I hope he meets someone truly right for him.
If he ends up with the wrong person and his madness worsens, the world could end.
And as for the pure and innocent Leopold, he’s really too precious to give to anyone.
‘I hope he ends up with my younger unnie…’
Leopold didn’t fit the grim reverse-harem genre.
He was stoic yet kind, and he loved with the pure heart of a teenager experiencing his first love.
Someone like him would be perfect if paired with one of my sisters.
‘But first, I have to meet the male leads… Hmm.’
How could I meet the male leads attending the peace summit?
Although life rarely goes as planned, not being able to see Leopold again felt incredibly frustrating.
I began furiously scribbling with the colored pencils.
“Ah!”
The paper tore with a loud rip as my hand moved too roughly.
Frustrated, I put the colored pencils back in their place and tidied up.
Then I declared to my eldest sister.
“I’m going to the playground!”
At times like this, nothing feels better than sliding down a slide as much as I want!
“Wait. I’ll go with you.”
“I’m not a kid! Why do I have to go to the playground with you?”
“You are a kid.”
“Hmph.”
My lips pouted.
As my eldest unnie prepared to leave, I quickly ran to the front door, shouting.
“I can go by myself!”
And then, i rushed to the playground in a flurry of excitement.
My heart was pounding with anticipation at the thought of swinging on the swings and riding the seesaw…
“Uh, what?”
Why were Marius and Leopold at the playground again?
Was it really this easy to run into the male leads?
Were they waiting for me…? No, that couldn’t be it.
“Huh? Kiddo! Are you okay?”
Marius noticed me and approached, asking.
“Kiddo, I heard you were really sick. You look like you’ve lost some weight.”
“I’m not sick anymore!”
“Really? That’s a relief. Have you eaten?”
“Yep! I had corn cheese soup with some bread, and I took my medicine too. It was strawberry-flavored, so it was easy to take.”
“Oh-ho, impressive.”
“Right? But, mister, did you get lost?”
“Hmm? No, not at all. We’re just here to play at the playground.”
For a man in his mid-twenties to be playing at a playground without being drunk—it was such a blatantly obvious lie.
“Mister, why are you here? Were you waiting for me?”
“No way! I wasn’t waiting for Liliana. Right, Leo?”
At Marius’s question, Leopold stiffly nodded his head.
Narrowing my eyes, I saw Marius burst into laughter and mess up my hair roughly.
“Hey! Stop that!”
“Actually, yeah, we got lost. We’re hungry, but we don’t have any money.”
Leopold lightly tapped Marius’s arm as if to say, “What nonsense are you spouting?”
As an emperor, there was no way he could be out of money.
Hmm… It seemed like they were teasing me again, but did they really think I’d fall for it?
Placing my hands on my hips, I confidently raised my chin and declared to Marius.
“Then I’ll feed you! Let’s go to my house!”
Marius burst out laughing, while Leopold looked utterly bewildered.
Taking each of them by the hand, I pulled them towards my house.
This was the perfect chance to pair Leopold with my sister Regina.
***
After days of taking care of Liliana, Regina lay on the sofa, yawning from accumulated exhaustion.
Emilia, who had missed her chance to take Liliana to the playground, was getting ready to head out to find her youngest sibling.
At that moment, Alice, who had just returned home from her early morning shift, emerged from her room.
“Emilia, I’ll go instead.”
“Unnie, aren’t you tired? You should rest more.”
“You both took care of Liliana all this time. Take today off.”
“Hmm, alright. Then you can go after Liliana. I’ll head to the library instead. There’s a paper I want to research, so I might be back late. Don’t wait for me—just eat dinner first.”
With that, Emilia left before her older sister.
Alice turned to Regina, who was sprawled out in exhaustion.
“Don’t just lie there—go inside and sleep.”
“If I sleep now, I won’t be able to sleep at night, so I’m trying to hold out.”
“Are you very tired?”
“Not really. It’s just…”
Regina couldn’t shake the guilt of forgetting her promise with Leopold while nursing Liliana.
When she tried contacting his accommodations later, she learned he had already moved.
All she knew about him was his name and face, making it unlikely they’d meet again.
‘It wasn’t anything serious, but I can’t help feeling a little down about it.’
Though just a vague feeling, Regina suspected she’d regret not seeing Leopold again for a long time.
With a heavy sigh, she unconsciously let her emotions show.
“Regina, is something wrong?”
“No, nothing’s wrong.”
Despite her words, the way she twisted her hair around her fingers made it clear she was troubled.
“Unnie, I think I liked him more than I thought.”
“Him?”
“Yeah. Someone I happened to meet…”
Personality-wise, Leopold wasn’t Regina’s type.
She preferred someone talkative and engaging, not reserved and stoic.
The same went for looks—her ideal type was a delicate, handsome man like François Cassel, not someone with Leopold’s rugged and sturdy features.
Leopold would’ve been more suited to Emilia’s tastes.
Yet, she couldn’t forget the moment Leopold strolled along the beach.
The sound of waves lapping and his soft, low voice stuck in her mind.
His flustered expression and flushed face whenever she gave him a glance or uttered a word—it all lingered vividly.
Near the end of their meeting, his rough features were tinged with a boyish blush.
And in a shy voice, he had confessed.
— Would you grant me the opportunity to meet you again?
It wasn’t an extraordinary line, but its sincerity had moved her.
However, there was no way to contact him now, so holding onto such feelings seemed meaningless.
“Hm… It’s nothing. If we’re meant to be, another chance will come someday.”
Having resolved her emotions, Regina hurried Alice out the door.
“Unnie, bring back some roasted chicken legs from Aunt Olga’s pub, okay?”
After making that cheeky request, she opened the door for Alice.
As the doorbell jingled, Regina saw Liliana standing on a low wooden stool, struggling to reach the doorknob.
“Unnie!”
Delighted to see Alice, Liliana ran to hug her.
Meanwhile, Regina froze when she noticed the awkwardly standing man behind Liliana.
“…Mr. Leopold?”
“Ms. Regina…”
Even after blinking a few times, it was unmistakably Leopold.
Realizing this wasn’t a dream or illusion, Regina gasped and dashed to her room in panic—barefaced and still in pajamas.
Unaware of the situation, Liliana introduced the other guest to the startled Alice.
“Leo and Marius are my friends! They said they were hungry, lost, and had no money, so I brought them home!”
“Well, I didn’t expect to meet Ms. Alice like this. You’re as lovely as ever, Ms. Alice.”
Marius grinned slyly and greeted her, while Leopold awkwardly apologized for the sudden visit.
Alice, unsure where to begin, let out a sigh.
From Liliana bringing strangers home and calling them her “friends,” to the emperor and Duke of Baltrahein unexpectedly showing up, and now having to work over the weekend—it was all chaos.
• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •By Esraa• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •
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