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“…….”
Lelia hesitated and gazed at the basket containing the health restoring medicine.
She just wanted to avoid this situation right now.
Recognizing it, Carius turned his words around as if nothing had happened.
“What is that for? Give it to the people of the castle?”
“…no, I’m going to sell it.”
“…What?”
“I’m going to sell it for money.”
“What…? Are you trying to make some pocket money?”
At Carius’s words, Lelia nodded softly.
“…”
He looked at Lelia with half pride and half pity.
“I’ll buy you everything.”
“…Really?”
“Well, how much is it?”
Lelia hesitated for a moment before saying.
The money she needed right now was just 500,000 shillings.
“Five… fifty shillings.”
She felt sorry to raise the price by 50,000 shillings, but Carius was sure to have a lot of money.
When Lelia noticed, he smiled and said.
“One million shillings, two million shillings, all here.”
“…Really?”
“Yes.”
Indeed, Carius took out a leather bag from his arms and began to shake off the gold coins.
It was 100,000 shillings per gold coin, so there were dozens of them.
It was well over a million, well over two million, at best.
[Wow…!]
Lelia looked at Carius with sparkling eyes. She thought he was an under-grown adult, but he wasn’t. He was a total adult.
“Uncle!”
The corners of his mouth went up at the title that came out of Lelia’s mouth. However, as opposed to the corners of his mouth, tears streamed down his eyes.
[T/N: My poor heart T_T]
Lelia was quite taken aback by the bizarre look, but soon followed suit with a smile.
“Let me give you a hug.”
Carius stretched out his arm. Lelia approached carefully.
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry.”
Lelia quietly enjoyed Carius’ pat on the back.
There was always a warm scent in the arms of her mother’s family.
[I never imagined that all of her mother’s family would be my family too.]
Lelia held him still for a long time and managed to open her mouth.
“Actually, you’re right. I ran away from the Imperial Castle because I was scared….”
“…”
“Emperor Perseus hates me. I thought he would marry me off to a weirdo. And Cedric, Damien wanted to take their revenge on me…”
“…Why didn’t you tell the Emperor the truth? Huh?” Carius asked in a crying voice.
“Because they won’t believe me anyway.”
Carius couldn’t deny that. He didn’t even believe in himself, and they wouldn’t believe it either.
“How upset would you be? The emperor and his nephews were all upset with you… What I saw was upsetting too. How upset they must have been knowing it all.”
Lelia’s lips twitched at Carius’s words. Even though she didn’t say it, when she knew it all, her heart pounded.
Suddenly, she remembered what had happened.
The day that Cedric and Damien brothers apologized to Julianna.
What happened that day was a big shock and hurtful for Lelia.
Even when she became an adult, it was clear that it would be a wound she would never forget. She would cover her lifelong wounds and pretend she didn’t know. So Lelia wanted to have her courage. She was childish and naive now, but she wanted to be comforted, and tell the story of the day. She wanted to heal the wound herself before it was too late.
“Actually… .”
“Yeah, tell me. I will listen to everything.”
Lelia started to talk very slowly.
She spoke very slowly, holding back her emotion, because if she spoke quickly, she knew she would cry like a child.
The day she was first called to the Emperor Perseus’ room, she met Cedric, Damien and Julianna. And what happened on the day of the banquet, the sad feeling she felt back then.
How sore my legs were and how hoarse my throat was when I knelt down in front of Julianna and apologized.
How cold the eyes of Cedric and Damien as they looked down at her. She hated Julianna who was nervous but didn’t stop her.
It was all about the process of going to her mother’s cabin and running away after being thrown out of her old place; the tower.
Although she was slow, she calmly vomited out all of her sorrows that had been in her heart for so long.
But Carius, who was rather listening to her, could not contain his feelings.
BANG!
Lelia was startled by the sound of Carius banging the table with his fists.
“Those bastards! Where did they learn this? Getting on your knees and apologizing? Do they know who the real princess is!”
Carius’ bitten lips trembled.
Cedric and Damien were precious nephews that he had to protect as he couldn’t protect his sister.
But so far they have only tormented Lelia.
‘They even kicked Lelia out of the tower where she was living in?’
Of course, Cedric and Damian’s minds themselves were understandable. How angry they would have gotten to know that Lelia was the daughter of their enemy, who killed their mother.
It was a situation where his nieces and nephews could not be blamed. He was angry because he misunderstood Lelia.
“… I’m sorry. If I had known earlier… .”
“I’m okay. It’s a situation that can only be misunderstood anyway… But still… I just wanted to tell you.”
Because just seeing Carius get angry like this was like rubbing ointment on her heart’s wound.
Lelia seemed to feel refreshed, and she sighed in relief.
Tears welled up in her eyes.
She didn’t know how much she had put up with talking without crying.
Rather, it was Carius who cried throughout the story.
“How upset they must have been. How sad you must have been, huh?”
“…It’s all right, I ran away safely.”
“…Okay, welcome home. Thank you for coming so safely.”
“…Yes, but please keep it a secret from your grandparents. They’ll be upset. I don’t want them to lose their health.”
Carius soon covered his face and began to cry louder.
How frightened and sad this little child must have been while she was running away from the Imperial Palace.
She was at an age where she could quarrel with a peace of mind, but it was strange and pitiful to worry about her grandmother and her grandfather.
When he was Lelia’s age, he was a child who himself could not do anything. He was just chasing after her sister’s back, crying and following her.
In that situation, she grew up so mature and wonderful.
“Yes, I understand. I’ll keep it a secret.”
Carius struggled to answer.
It felt like his chest was being ripped apart. Her uncle himself was feeling like this, but what about her parents?
Carius felt his heart pounding with guilt for his dead sister.
And she had another parent.
The thought of Emperor Perseus made his heart ache.
“…”
From a common sense point of view, this should be known.
However…
‘I can’t send a child back there who’s scared of Perseus….’
In addition, another person’s face appeared in Carius’ mind.
In order to regain the throne, Emperor Perseus remarried and created a new family.
The Empress and Julianna.
In particular, Emperor Perseus cared for Julianna and his child like his own daughter.
His eyes were as fond as those of his biological children, Cedric and Damien.
‘I’m me, but he’s pathetic and I can’t tell him. I can’t believe he didn’t even recognize his own child…’
Carius clenched his fist.
Like most of the people of the Superion family, Carius didn’t like Emperor Perseus either.
‘You swore you’d make her happy for the rest of her life, and you made her die alone.’
Had it not been for his revenge, he would never have helped Perseus fight for the throne.
Tears flowed over and over in his agony.
“…Do not cry.”
Lelia looked at Carius, who was crying with his fist clenched, and brought a handkerchief and patted him on the cheek.
It was a very clumsy touch, but her warm heart was conveyed.
Carius smiled hard, took his handkerchief and wiped his tears himself.
“I’m sorry. I looked ugly… From now on, this uncle will protect you.”
[I do not know. I think it will be me who will protect you…]
Lelia nodded her head saying she understood, though she thought so.
All the tragedies that would strike the Superion family were after Lelia became an adult.
In order to prepare for that time, Lelia was planning to develop her skills through the ‘Alchemy lottery’ as much as possible.
[To do that, you have to be smart.]
Lelia diligently filled her basket with her pocket money he had given her, once before Carius could say anything else.
Carius looked at Lelia like that as if it were a strange thing.
***
Carius, who came out of Lelia’s room, calmed down the red eyes and headed for the Duke’s office.
As he went inside with permission, the Duke of Superion looked at Carius with suspicion.
“What on earth made you cry at this age?”
“…”
At the Duke’s words, Carius fiddled embarrassingly with the neck.
“At this age, you have never married anyone, and now you are crying in front of your nephew…How am I supposed to take this?”
“Don’t be too harsh on me. I told Lelia everything.”
“…”
The Duke’s eyes narrowed further.
He couldn’t believe him, who always looked at her like an enemy and now calling her by her name in such a friendly way…
He thought he had finally accepted the child.
“…I apologized to Lelia. The child is my sister’s daughter.”
“You didn’t understand even if I said so.”
“That’s not the point right now. Will you not let the Emperor know about this?”
“Do you want to let him know?”
“…”
Frankly speaking, that was not the case.
In particular, Carius saw with his own eyes how much King Perseus cherished his adopted daughter Julianna.
It was very difficult to find out that the arms were bent inward, and that Lelia was her niece.
****