The Obsessed Male Lead Who Will Kill Me Has Become Strange

– 26 –

 

I asked Luke, who was frozen.

“Do you think Father can win against the Crown Prince?”

“Lynn, you don’t have to worry about such things….”

“Luke!”

I interrupted Luke’s words.

Right now, I didn’t need a kind brother trying to reassure his little sister.

Luke’s eyes widened at my firm voice.

“If I don’t worry, who will? After all, Father’s problem is our problem too.”

“…….”

Luke’s eyes grew even wider.

I asked him again.

“Do you think Father and the Empress can defeat Calix?”

“Of course. Of course, they will win. I don’t understand why you’re saying such things. You don’t need to worry about anything.”

Win? What do you mean, win?

They’re going to lose, Luke. Lose!

“No, Luke! Father can’t defeat Calix. If we stay here, we’re all going to die.”

“Lynn!”

Luke called my name loudly, as if in shock.

His face had already turned pale.

But I wanted to finish what I was trying to say.

That’s how desperate my situation was, and I wanted to save Luke, too.

“If Father can’t stop, then we have to run away. There’s no need for both you and me to die here………”

“Rin! Stop it! What’s gotten into you? I could understand you not wanting to marry Grand Duke Leon, but saying we should run away and break the promise Father made because of you? What’s suddenly come over you? Father and I promised to protect you!”

Luke’s face was flushed red, and I could hear the suppressed anger in his voice as he scolded me.

He doesn’t even consider the possibility of failure!

He has no intention of breaking the agreement that’s already been made.

Instead, he’s just barely holding back his anger at my change of heart.

I felt a wave of helplessness.

It was clear that escaping together with my brother was no longer an option.

I quickly pulled myself together.

Given the situation, I needed to handle this quickly.

Feigning innocence, I swiftly changed my expression.

“I’m sorry, Luke. You’re right, Father and you will protect me. I was just saying nonsense. When I heard that Prince Ethan Darkus was involved, I must have gotten scared. There’s really nothing for me to worry about….”

There was no point in telling Luke more about the truth when he had no intention of running away with me.

As I spoke, Luke’s tense expression quickly softened.

“That’s right, Lynn. You really don’t need to worry about anything.”

From Luke’s perspective, I must have seemed like a naive little sister. But as soon as I changed my attitude, his face was filled with affection for me.

Ugh…. He’s such a good brother, but he’s going to die.

Suddenly, my heart ached.

“Luke, I was just feeling uneasy and said something without meaning it, so don’t worry about it. And please don’t tell Father what I said, because he’ll just worry for no reason. Okay?”

I wanted to make sure Luke wouldn’t say anything, so I tried to leave his room.

But Luke grabbed my arm and asked.

“Lynn, you really didn’t mean it when you said we should run away, right?”

“Yeah, I was just talking nonsense. Really. I’m going now.”

I forced a bright smile as I answered and then left his room.

*****

 

The next day, I didn’t even want to go out for a walk.

What was the point of building up my strength by walking when I was destined to die by the sword in a year and a half anyway?

I spent the entire day holed up in my room, passing the time in a state of lethargy.

The following day, as I lay sprawled on my bed, I was summoned by my father and had no choice but to go to his office.

Although I had visited his office before, this was the first time he had ever called me there.

Feeling slightly uneasy, I entered the office, and the moment I saw the two others already present, I felt the urge to turn around and leave.

There stood my father with a stern look on his face, Luke with a serious look on his face, and Ethan who looked like he was having fun.

Sigh. Great.

Why had these three summoned me?

There was only one reason.

They had all shared the information about my plan to flee, which I had mentioned to Eden, and my plan to escape, which I had told Luke.

Men with mouths as light as feathers!

As soon as the door closed behind me, my father called my name in a voice full of anger.

“Kailyn Brockburg!”

Not my nickname, but my full name.

“Yes, Father.”

“Is it true that you said you wanted to flee?”

I glared at Eden.

At that moment, he wasn’t the crown prince or anything like that to me, just a loose-tongue bastard.

“Answer me. Kailyn.”

My father demanded an answer with a strict voice, as if even my gaze was worthy of reprimand.

“…Yes, Father.”

I couldn’t lie when they already knew the truth.

“What on earth were you thinking? Do you really believe it makes sense for the daughter of Luctine Brockburg, the Chancellor of the Everetian Empire, to plan an escape to another Empire?”

There was a fury in my father’s eyes that I had never seen before.

From his perspective, it was only natural to react this way, his own daughter couldn’t trust him and was secretly planning to flee.

I couldn’t find any words to respond to my father’s question, so I just hung my head in silence.

But my father, still agitated, continued to speak in a raised voice.

“Kailyn, why? Why on earth?”

However, as he shouted, he paused, perhaps trying to calm himself down.

He took a deep breath and continued in a more composed tone.

“Why do you hate Grand Duke Leon? You’ve always liked him. You even returned to Everen for the sake of your marriage to him. I joined forces with the Empress from the start for you. If Calix becomes Emperor, he will eventually kill Grand Duke Leon, the man who will be your husband and the father of your children. I did it for the Grand Duke you love… and for you….”

At that point, my father’s voice choked with emotion, as if he was holding back tears.

!!!!!

Seeing my father, who was even swallowing back tears as he poured out his heart, made my own heart ache.

Though I had only been in this world for about half a year since I became Kailyn, I had grown to care deeply for the Duke, who had always treated me warmly and shown true love to Kailyn. He felt like a real father to me.

Why did I set up the story’s beginning like this?

Why did I have to end up as Kailyn, of all people?

And why did I have to be transported into this world at such a late point?

It was frustrating and heartbreaking to be stuck in a situation where I knew death was inevitable, and there was no way out.

“I’m sorry, Father. But I can’t join you on the path you’re taking. Knowing that you chose this path because of me only makes me feel even more guilty.”

I had no other way to explain or justify myself, so I could only offer a sincere apology to my father.

The anger that had filled his face gradually gave way to sadness.

He looked like a father whose love for his daughter was so deep that he couldn’t even bring himself to be truly angry with her.

In a low, somber voice, he asked.

 “Do you not trust me?”

Sigh.

What should I say?

“Father, I just want to step away from all of this. The Empress’s plan to poison His Majesty, the already planned surprise attack on the Aelyrium of the Darkus Empire, Grand Duke Leon’s rebellion, I’m terrified, and I just want to avoid it all. It’s not that I don’t trust you… I just want to escape.”

I’m sorry…

But I don’t want to die again.

If there’s any chance to live, I want to take it.

Luke, who had been silent until now, spoke up.

“Kailyn, if you trust Father and me, you can stay here. You don’t have to do anything. If you don’t want to marry Grand Duke Leon, then don’t. Father and I will protect you, so why would you think of fleeing and abandoning your family?”

It was so frustrating not being able to tell them the truth, that I already knew the ending and that all three of us would die.

What a terrible situation…

For a while, the three of us kept circling back to the same conversation.

Then, by chance, I glanced at Eden’s face.

My sad and frustrated state of mind quickly turned into an unpleasant one when I saw his face.

Unlike the somber atmosphere of my family, Eden had an endlessly cheerful expression.

He was the kind of person who was nearly impossible to like, no matter how hard you tried.

As I glared at him, my father’s voice delivering his final verdict pierced through to me.

“Kailyn, you just need to follow the will of your father and brother. Stop being stubborn. From now on, you are forbidden from going out alone.”

That snapped me back to reality.

With a firm tone, I steeled myself and responded.

“Fine, Father. It’s clear that escape is no longer an option, so I’ll give up on that. But one thing remains unchanged, I will never support Leon.”

I couldn’t give Calix any more reasons to justify killing me.

At that moment, a cheerful voice broke through the heavy atmosphere. It was Idan.

“Your Grace, what a pity. It seems your daughter’s preferences have changed midway… to the point where she wants to run away.”

Ha! This bastard Eden!

If you think about it, the biggest reason Father couldn’t back out was because of his promise to this guy.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince, please leave. I don’t understand why you’re involving yourself in our family discussion.”

I snapped sharply.

This man, who trapped my father for the benefit of his own country, was the same one who would kill a defector if they didn’t benefit his nation.

Eden was clearly the root of all these problems.

But Eden, completely unfazed by my harsh expression and tone, replied cheerfully.

“I stayed to witness this tearful, heartwarming scene because I have something very important to discuss.”

What on earth is he talking about?

I stared intently at Eden, who was standing a little distance away from my father.

Then, my father spoke to Eden.

“Crown Prince, what is it that you wish to propose?”

Propose?

What proposal?

As I was wondering what this was about and looked back at Eden, he met my eyes directly and spoke.

“Lynn, as a refugee, I cannot promise to guarantee your life.”

I know!

I understood that the last time, so why is he bringing it up again?

Listening to him and seeing him sitting here irritated me to no end.

“I understand! I believe I clearly told you that I would not seek asylum in the Darkus Empire.”

I barely managed to suppress my anger as I responded.

However, whether my voice already carried traces of that anger, Eden spoke as if trying to calm me down.

“Whoa, whoa! Don’t get so worked up. You need to hear me out until the end.”

“…”

The more I listen to you, the angrier I feel.

But what Eden said next wasn’t something that made me angry, it was so absurd that I couldn’t have imagined it.

“Not as a refugee, but if you were to come as my wife, as the Crown Princess of the Darkus Empire, I would gladly welcome you. Of course, there would be no harm to my wife. I guarantee it, in the honor of the Darkus Empire.”

“!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”