I Became The Younger Sister Of A Dying Woman - Chapter 72

72. Why don’t you come over to my side now?

“My brother has placed restrictions on my chocolate cookie consumption.”

“…Pardon?”

Chocolate cookies?

“Hmm. The reason being that my teeth might decay… Honestly, I don’t understand it.”

“Why not?”

“I’ve enjoyed chocolate cookies for more than half of my life…”

At that point, I couldn’t hold back my laughter.

“Pfft, haha.”

It was too cute and funny to hear an eight-year-old child talking about half of his life.

So you’ve been eating chocolate cookies since you were four?

Wow. You’ve known life’s sweetness from such a young age?

“…Your Highness.”

Leal called me with a rather subdued voice.

“I’m sorry. Please, ahem. Continue.”

“Anyway, even though I’ve enjoyed them for a long time, I’ve never had a single cavity.”

“My goodness. You must take very good care of your teeth.”

“It’s important to start taking care from a young age.”

“That’s right, pfft.”

Leal’s repeated words were too adorable.

That’s why I kept making strange sounds as if trying to hold back laughter.

Leal looked at me with narrow eyes.

I felt that if I laughed one more time, he wouldn’t tell me his story.

This won’t do. I must desperately hold back my laughter.

I lightly pinched my thigh.

“I’m sorry. I really won’t laugh now. Will you please continue?”

“…Anyway, I think it’s excessive for my brother to restrict me when I’m behaving well enough on my own.”

“That’s right. If there had been cases of cavities, it would be understandable. But there haven’t been any, yet he’s imposing restrictions.”

“Exactly! I knew Your Highness would understand my feelings well.”

“So you were hurt by Ramon?”

“Yes… I was hurt by my brother.”

How unfortunate.

If I were this child’s sister, I would have been captivated by his cuteness and given him all the chocolate cookies he wanted.

I gave another order to the maid who had brought the black tea.

“Go and bring some delicious chocolate cookies! They’re for me, not for the Young Master.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

As soon as the maid left, I confessed to Leal.

“I don’t enjoy chocolate cookies.”

In other words, the chocolate cookies that were about to be brought were for Leal.

The clever child Leal seemed to understand the hidden meaning in my words.

His plump lips suddenly curved into a smile, and from them came a voice wet with emotion.

“Your Highness… I really wish you were part of our family.”

“Hmm. As a sister perhaps?”

Leal shook his head.

The child’s cheeks were tinged with a rosy blush.

Oh my. Does he want me to be a match for his brother Ramon?

I was about to ask more, but the maid who brought the chocolate cookies entered the drawing room.

Leal put on a solemn expression and continuously popped the chocolate cookies into his mouth.

As if he really loved them.

I just chuckled without touching the cookies.

‘But wait. The points where children get hurt seem quite trivial.’

No, that triviality was from an adult’s perspective.

In other words, what an adult might consider trivial could be a big deal to a child.

Could it be the same for Illiya?

If Illiya was hurt by ‘an unexpected trivial matter’.

If he was hurt when he was young and didn’t come out to the world, but as he grew up, he remained isolated more out of fear of going out than because of the wound.

***

After parting ways with Leal, when I returned to my chambers, it was then.

Mini, who should have been there, was nowhere to be seen.

‘Where could she have gone in this rain?’

I lay down on the bed as usual, waiting for Mini to return.

Is it because of the rain? Or because I walked quite a bit?

I felt as if my legs were sinking downwards. Like sinking into deep water.

The sensation in my legs gradually became fainter.

“……”

I crawled down under the bed and hugged my legs tightly.

It was because I had an uneasy premonition that my legs might become paralyzed.

Fortunately, the feeling in my legs soon returned.

I exhaled a dry breath.

Surely… nothing unfortunate like being unable to walk would happen, right?

It felt as if all the blood in my body was drying up.

‘This won’t do.’

I abruptly got up from my spot.

There was no time to wait for Hernan and Mini who hadn’t returned.

As if possessed by something, I left my chambers.

My destination and goal were clear.

The West Palace, and meeting Illiya.

I didn’t have any particular plan, but it seemed better to visit the West Palace than to lie still and feel my health deteriorating.

It was at that moment when I flung open the door of my chambers.

I came face to face with an unexpected person.

“…!”

The eyes of the man standing near the door, who almost collided with me, widened.

I called out the man’s name.

“…Lord Lenox? Why are you coming out of here?”

“I… I was just coming to see Your Highness.”

“To see me? Why?”

“Well…”

Lenox seemed reluctant to say something.

“Perhaps you’ve changed your mind? Did you come to tell me something related to His Highness Illiya……”

“Or did you come to be friends with me?”

Instead of answering, Lenox glanced at me and behind me.

I turned my head to see what he was staring at.

It was the vase. The vase with the rose that Lenox had left for me.

“You didn’t throw it away?”

I was about to answer casually that it was pretty so why would I throw it away, but I hesitated.

It was because I thought this might be an opportunity.

Lenox was the person who knew the most about Illiya.

I needed to win his heart.

First, I readjusted my expression. Lowering the corners of my lips and casting my eyes down.

Even without looking in a mirror, I knew. The fact that a pitiful aura would emanate from me.

I even lowered my voice.

“It’s a flower you prepared for His Highness Illiya, isn’t it?”

“…Pardon?”

“A rose containing Young Lord Lenox’s beautiful heart, given for a friend… How could I throw that away?”

Lenox pressed his lips into a straight line.

“I was touched by your heart that cherishes your friend. That’s why I want to be better friends with you too.”

My acting. It was perfect, wasn’t it?

But it wasn’t a complete lie either.

After hearing Lenox’s story about visiting Illiya for a long time, I saw him in a new light.

Positively. And to the extent that I thought it would be nice to have a friend like Lenox.

“As expected, Your Highness……”

Lenox, who had finally parted his lips, looked confused.

“I what?”

“It’s nothing.”

“So, are you not going to tell me why you came today?”

“Ah. The reason I came is… I’m thinking of visiting Illiya now, and I wanted to ask if you’d like to accompany me. Ahem.”

“Oh! I was just about to go visit His Highness Illiya too.”

Is the heavens helping me?

I was worried about going alone, so it was a great relief to meet Lenox.

While feeling relieved, I couldn’t fathom why Lenox had suddenly become kind.

But there was no need to ask for a reason.

I hoped nothing would happen to change Lenox’s mind by making unnecessary trouble.

“But do you visit His Highness Illiya even on rainy days like this?”

Lenox gazed blankly at the window that showed the rainy scenery.

“That guy, nine times out of ten, he comes out of his room on rainy days.”

…What?

Such high-quality information?

“So I came to the palace today thinking I might be able to meet him.”

I grabbed Lenox’s collar.

“Please go with me.”

***

Due to the rain, we took a carriage to the West Palace.

I was accompanied by a palace maid, a knight, and Lenox.

Lenox, who was in the same carriage, didn’t say a word.

He just kept his gaze fixed on the carriage window, appreciating the rain.

No, perhaps he was actually reminiscing about memories with Illiya related to the rain?

His unfocused, blank eyes were deeply tinged with wistfulness.

As we were getting off the carriage, Lenox finally spoke up.

“Your Highness. If it’s not too impertinent, I’d like everyone else to be sent back.”

If I could just meet Illiya, that would be fine.

“Alright. But in exchange, you must protect my life.”

“Are there assassins in the palace or something?”

Lenox spoke in a blunt tone.

I felt irritated but replied calmly.

“Lord Lenox. I don’t know if you’ve forgotten, but I almost died at the hunting competition.”

“Ah. You mean that incident where you looked at me as if I were the culprit.”

“Now I know for certain that you’re not the culprit.”

I had suspected Lenox because I had only heard that he was a belligerent figure with antipathy towards the imperial authority.

However, the Lenox I met didn’t seem like someone who would kill or threaten others without reason, even if he was prickly.

“I’m glad you understand now. So, will you send them back? If not, I can’t accompany you any further.”

“What about my life?”

Lenox furrowed his brows. Then he snatched the umbrella from the servant.

Trudge, trudge.

He walked through the rain and stopped in front of me.

“If news spread that someone who accompanied me was in danger, can you imagine what a laughingstock I’d become?”

“……”

“Your Highness might have forgotten too, but our family is famous for swordsmanship. And I’m the heir.”

Lenox tilted his head somewhat arrogantly.

“Why don’t you come over to my side now?”