Chapter 1.4

Richard, the fourth child and second son of the Count of Lievo, couldn’t believe what his younger sister Greta had just said to him. Perhaps his hearing had been damaged during training when he hit his head on the ground a few days ago. Or maybe his sister had completely lost her mind from the shock of encountering a bear. Yes! The latter seemed more likely!

“So, uh, what did you say, Greta?”

“You didn’t listen to a single word I said, did you?”

“I think I heard something ridiculous.”

“You’re dead, Richard. I’ll kill you for sure!”

See? This insane behavior toward her brother. She really must have gone mad.

Richard doubted his sister’s mental state because what Greta had said was simply too absurd to take at face value. To ask (or demand) if he knew anything about the preferences of Ragaen Sol Adantie, the one-armed First Knight and tragic hero, particularly his taste in women (or his romantic history)—was that even a reasonable question?!

“Sure, Duke Adantie saved you, but that’s because he’s so righteous, virtuous, and heroic by nature. It’s not some fated encounter or anything. Got it, kid?”

“Meeting him when I was in mortal danger, having gone quail hunting only to encounter an awakened bear, and being saved by him—if that’s not a fated encounter, then what is?! It’s the kind of thing you could write a novel about!”

Well, when you put it that way, it does sound convincing.

For a moment, Richard was almost persuaded, but he quickly steeled himself. His little sister was still too young, far too young. If every woman who was saved by a knight thought they had a fated encounter and fell in love, then every woman in the world would be married to a knight. After all, it was a knight’s duty to help and serve the weak, including women!

“No, it’s not fate! No matter how much you see or experience, every event and experience in life happens only once. That’s why people tend to think the things that happen to them are special and fated. But really, getting help from a knight is the most ordinary thing imaginable. You’re just mistaking it for fate because it happened to you. Ah, poor thing. Tsk tsk.”

“Richard Lievo, you hypocrite! By your logic, everything that happens to everyone is special and fated! I’m going to turn my fated encounter into fated love!”

“Fated love? What nonsense! And what’s with digging into someone’s personal life like this? What kind of scheme or conspiracy is this?! Even the devil would cry at this!”

“Even if it starts as fate, you never know if it’ll end as fate, so you have to prepare and build it step by step! Ugh! Fine! If you don’t help me, I’ll tell Dad about everything under your bed!”

“You, you, Greta, you—!”

Those with much to protect are often the weakest.

Richard admitted defeat.

***

The information-gathering mission (or blackmail) was complete. 

Now, where could I get advice on love? 

Her only immediate options were her family, but she had no interest in hearing her parents’ love story.

Among her siblings of the same generation, the only one who had successfully found love was her second sister. It wasn’t ideal, but it was better than relying on her muscle-headed fool of a second brother, Richard, or her overly timid eldest brother, whose voice she could barely remember.

Greta stomped off with determination.

“Eurika!”

Eurika, who was enjoying her only free time of the day, glared at her youngest sister, who had suddenly barged in.

“What is it now?”

“I need advice!”

“Advice?”

Eurika widened her eyes in surprise. Greta had never once sought her wisdom or advice since a certain incident in their childhood. 

What on earth could this be about?

“You haven’t asked me anything since the dandelion fairy incident!”

Eurika was so shocked that she covered her mouth with both hands.

To summarize the dandelion fairy incident:  

When Greta was six years old, her dream was to become a fairy. She believed that Eurika, who adored her the most and seemed to know everything, would have the answer. Greta, being too young and innocent to understand Eurika’s mischievous nature as a member of the Lievo family, made the mistake of asking how to become a fairy. Eurika, as a joke, told her that if she made a cake out of a mixture of dandelions and the droppings of a 3-to-5-month-old puppy and ate it, she could become a dandelion fairy. Somehow, Greta managed to carry this out, only to be devastated upon realizing that the sister she idolized had lied to her. Since then, Greta had never sought Eurika’s advice again.

“Ahhh! Don’t even bring that up!”  

Greta shuddered and shouted, while Eurika chuckled for a moment before asking,  

“So, what’s the matter?”  

“Eurika!”  

Greta boldly called her name once more but then fell silent. She had come down with great confidence to ask for advice on winning love, but her initial determination deflated like a balloon in front of her sister’s sparkling eyes. For some reason, she felt embarrassed, as if she were exposing a weakness.  

“Well, you see, um, it’s about, uh, lo… lo….”  

“Lo?”  

“Well, I mean, the advice I need is about….”  

“If you’re going to drag this out, just go back. I’m busy, and this is my precious free time, Greta.”  

The members of the Lievo family were generally impatient and short-tempered, with little tolerance for things that didn’t hold their interest. Seeing Eurika turn her head as if she had lost interest, Greta hurriedly blurted out,  

“Love!”  

“What?”  

“How do you win someone’s love?”  

Eurika’s eyes widened as she gasped.  

“My goodness! Our youngest has fallen in love!”  

“No, who said I… I fell in love? I’m just asking!”  

“Sure, sure, you’ve fallen in love. Who is it? Who’s caught your eye?”  

Greta tried to remain silent, but under Eurika’s relentless questioning, she eventually surrendered. When Greta finally mumbled the name, Eurika covered her mouth again in shock.  

“You… you… how could you have such an un-Lievo-like taste…!”  

“Ugh, does that even matter?”  

“Duke Adantie is just so, so… unrefined! Men should be gentle and modest. Men should be like flowers. Like Edward, for example. But Duke Adantie is just so….”  

Eurika paused to carefully choose her words, avoiding any derogatory or overly negative terms.  

“So much like a tiger, don’t you think?”  

Duke Adantie was indeed tiger-like. It was something anyone would agree on. Greta thought so too. It was also true that Duke Adantie was far from the ideal type she had always imagined. However, love didn’t always come in the form of one’s ideal type! Such things rarely happened. That’s why Greta wanted to seize this love, even if it didn’t match her ideal.  

Who cares about an ideal type? I could just change it!  

“Well, his personality doesn’t seem too bad. And since he can’t shoot a bow, there won’t be many young competitors your age. Young girls usually like men who are good at archery. For someone like you, Greta, who’s a bit clumsy and inexperienced in love, it’s better not to have competition. Hmm, for our youngest to set her sights on Duke Adantie of all people… you’ve made a difficult choice.”  

Eurika fell into thought for a moment.  

While Greta, who had grown up looking at the world through rose-colored glasses, was clueless about many things, Eurika, who was soon to become the Countess of Lievo, was different. For the youngest of the Lievo family to harbor feelings for Duke Adantie brought with it numerous complications. Especially now.  

If it didn’t work out and ended there, it would be fortunate. But if it worked out, leading to a relationship and even talk of marriage, it would cause all sorts of trouble. Eurika thought of the snake-like Crown Prince and rubbed her forehead. If it were any of her other siblings, she would have firmly told them to stop and give up. But with her adorable youngest sibling, it wasn’t so easy.  

It was just a tiny possibility. A one-sided love that was more likely to fail. Well, experiencing a passionate love and then giving up could also be a valuable experience.  

Greta, unaware of her sister’s thoughts, was simply desperate. Looking at her, Eurika spoke with a hint of pity.  

“Oh dear, what should we do? This sister knows how to pluck flower-like men but not how to climb on and tame tiger-like men. That’s something your eldest sister would know better, but who knows if she’s even alive. Still, one thing is certain, Greta.”  

Eurika looked at Greta seriously. Her adorable youngest sibling had a unique expression she made when she was focused. With her lips pressed together, her cheeks puffed out like a hamster’s. Even though Eurika’s affection for her was immense, Greta truly was lovable. Perhaps even the fortress-like Duke Adantie might fall for her charm. But that was a thought for later.  

“First, you have to meet him. You need to see him often, talk to him frequently, and get to know each other.”  

If Duke Adantie didn’t end up loving Greta, that in itself would be frustrating. If such a young girl confessed her feelings, he should at least bow three times and carry her on his back in gratitude. Of course, taking her away for real would be a problem.