Chapter 40

The day Tristan was set to return to the mansion approached.

Lucas and the maids’ vigilance grew stronger as time passed. Meanwhile, news came that the clothes I had ordered during my outing with the Grand Duke were ready.

Sen hummed a tune at the news that the dress embroidered with the family crest would arrive soon.

“Sen, are you that happy?”

“Of course! A dress with the family crest has been completed!”

“I’m not going to wear it though.”

“What are you saying! You must wear that dress and let everyone know of the Grand Princess’s existence!”

I wonder if that’s really a good thing.

I glanced at Lucas, who was leaning against the wall, reading a swordsmanship book. Is it okay to say such things in front of Lucas, who, unlike me, is a real child of the Grand Duke?

Lucas only acknowledged me as a comrade, not as a sibling. Sensing my gaze, Lucas slightly tilted his head and spoke.

“Liat.”

Lucas, who was usually slow, could sometimes be unexpectedly perceptive.

“If you don’t want to wear the dress because of me, it’s okay.”

“I just don’t want to.”

“Even so, it would be better if you wore it. Father has many enemies.”

He truly seemed fine with me wearing the dress with the crest. Come to think of it, since we became comrades, he had never shown any dissatisfaction about my adoption.

The Grand Duke had hidden the fact that I was an imperial princess from Lucas, so he thought I was a commoner. He could have been displeased with me acting as a Grand Princess.

“Are you really okay with it, Lucas?”

To my brave question, he walked towards me from where he was leaning against the wall. Lucas bent down and cupped my face with his palm.

His golden eyes, tinged with a soft hue, curved.

“I’m a knight. Someday I’ll rise to the position of Knight Commander and assist Father.”

“Hmm?”

“I’ve also been told that I’m… strong for my age.”

Lucas, who hesitated with visible embarrassment, lowered his eyes and cleared his throat. The bridge of his nose wrinkled slightly in shyness.

His next words made me widen my eyes involuntarily.

“So I can protect someone like you.”

“Why are you saying this now?”

“Because you looked like you were anxious about something.”

The words spoken seriously overlapped with Lucas’s lines from the original work.

<The weak don’t deserve to survive.>

What could have changed you so much?

The future of the boy who would lose his inherent kindness pierced my heart painfully. I swallowed my gloomy feelings and smiled faintly.

“Okay. I’ll trust you.”

Lucas beamed at my words. The warmth from the small hand on my cheek eased my anxiety.

What should I do with you?

I can’t change the original story like the protagonists in other novels.

Thinking that I should cut off our relationship before getting more attached, I stood up. It was about time to go see the dress prepared in the drawing room.

“Do you want to come along, Lucas?”

“Of course.”

Lucas, who knew the way to the drawing room well, took the lead. Sen, who followed behind with me, gave some advance information.

“I heard that because the Grand Duke was involved in the design, it took some time for the final version.”

“Is it just one dress?”

“Yes. The other clothes were completed long ago and are already in the wardrobe.”

No wonder it seemed like the clothes had increased.

I finally understood why Sen and the maids could have debates about clothes every morning.

‘Is it really okay to accept this?’

As long as the Grand Duke wanted to give it, I had no right to refuse. Thinking I couldn’t avoid it, I entered the drawing room with a heavy face.

“…Ah.”

In the drawing room we finally reached, instead of the dress that should have been there, an unexpected person was sitting on the sofa.

Lucas, who had entered the drawing room a step ahead, had an expression boiling like an active volcano.

A threatening aura rippled around the red-haired boy, smiling with a bright face.

“Welcome, brother and brother’s toy.”

“Tristan!”

At Lucas’s cry, spat out as if grinding his teeth, Tristan’s lips curved into an arc.

Sharp features resembling a cat and slanted eyes. If Lucas had a pure and pretty appearance, Tristan was gorgeously beautiful.

‘That child is Tristan.’

Through the wide-open door, the chaotic interior of the drawing room was visible. The maids who were supposed to be there in advance were tightly bound by magic.

Tristan, who was sitting on the table swinging his legs, spoke softly.

“So, little one. How do you like my gift?”

Under the table, rags that were originally my dress were scattered here and there. It seemed he quite disliked me.

Lucas, gritting his teeth, drew his sword and quickly sprang forward.

Kwaaaang!

Soon after, along with an ear-splitting explosion, hazy smoke rose. Tristan’s purple eyes, facing Lucas, who was charging at him, were tinged with ecstasy.

Sensing disaster, I stepped back cautiously.

***

“It’s been a while since I played with my brother.”

Every time Tristan flicked his finger, sparks large and small burst forth. Lucas swung his sword, deflecting the randomly showering sparks.

Tristan’s expression turned cold as his attacks proved ineffective.

“…Tch.”

Tristan drew up his magical power without the slightest hesitation.

‘Is that kid in his right mind?’

To use such dangerous magic on his own brother, of all people. He seemed not to care at all if Lucas got hurt.

Seemingly having similar thoughts, Lucas shouted.

“Didn’t you learn at the academy that you shouldn’t use magic on people!”

“Move aside, brother. It’s unfair if only you get to greet the new sibling.”

“Your greetings aren’t needed.”

“Fine. Then you can play with me instead. Right?”

So this is what Lucas was worried about.

Lucas’s attempts to approach Tristan were blocked by the pouring magic. I watched the two while hugging the trembling Sen.

Bang! Kwang!

Although Lucas was protecting us, one wrong move and Sen and the maids bound by magic could get hurt.

‘I need to move.’

I shook Sen’s shoulder as she stared blankly at the brothers’ fight.

“Sen, go call the Grand Duke right now.”

“What?”

“Now’s our chance while those two are fighting. Go call the Grand Duke before it’s too late.”

Sen shook her head with a face drenched in fear.

Her pale fingertips traced my cheek before tightly embracing my neck. The desperate feeling was palpable in her grip, so tight it almost choked me.

“If I go, what about you, Grand Princess?”

“I’ll be fine. Lucas will protect me.”

Moreover, if I moved myself, the chances of catching Tristan’s eye were high. Judging from the earlier conversation, I was Tristan’s target.

‘Brother’s toy, huh.’

Maybe that’s an appropriate term for my ambiguous relationship with Lucas, which isn’t quite friendship.

“Do this for me, Sen.”

“I don’t want to.”

I carefully explained to Sen why she had to go. Except for Sen, all the other maids were tied up and couldn’t move freely.

As I looked at her pleadingly, Sen’s hands that were wrapped around my neck fell to the floor.

“I’ll make sure to bring the Grand Duke without delay. So please, don’t get hurt.”

After agreeing, I gently pushed Sen’s back towards the door. Just then, a fireball deflected by Lucas hit the wall right next to Sen and me.

Kwang!

Sen took advantage of the dust obscuring our vision and ran with all her might.

“Now I just need to hold out.”

I breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that she had safely escaped the room. With some breathing room, I could observe Lucas and Tristan.

‘Lucas is being pushed back.’

Lucas was controlling his strength while being mindful of his surroundings. Moreover, he had the penalty of having to protect me.

Since it’s come to this, maybe I should help a little.

“Lucas, duck!”

When I shouted at the top of my lungs, Lucas reflexively lowered his waist. I quickly picked up a stone fragment scattered on the floor and threw it at Tristan.

“…!”

Seeing the small size of the stone, no bigger than a fingernail, Tristan didn’t bother to dodge it.

‘Good. Got him.’

That small stone carried a trace of magic too subtle for Tristan to notice. Hit in the abdomen by the stone, Tristan fell backward.

“What the-!”

As Tristan’s concentration broke, the endless stream of magic momentarily stopped.

Seizing the opening, Lucas leaped up and reversed his grip on the sword handle. He swung the sword handle, striking Tristan’s face.

Thwack!

Tristan, his face hit hard by the handle, swallowed a scream.

“Kuhk! B-brother, stop!”

“Shut up.”

The usually calm golden eyes were now burning with unprecedented killing intent.

What followed was Lucas’s one-sided violence. With each strike of Lucas’s sword handle, Tristan’s body swayed left and right.

“Your prank almost killed someone!”

A blow to the center of his face caused a stream of blood to burst from Tristan’s nose. Even seeing the blood splatter on his own cheek, Lucas showed no sign of stopping.

‘He’s lost it.’

Tristan’s face, already swollen on both cheeks, was beyond bearable to look at.

Lucas’s anger towards me before was nothing compared to his current state. Wrapped in fury, Lucas seemed unable to hear my voice.

Lucas’s voice, filled with resentment, pierced into Tristan.

“Do you find human life amusing? No, is there anything you don’t find amusing?”

Thwack! Thud!

“I could never understand. Why did God give talent to someone like you?”

Thud!

“If only your talent had been mine… I wouldn’t have wasted it like you.”

Resentful jealousy.

At last, I could understand why Lucas disliked Tristan. He was jealous of Tristan, who possessed the powerful force of magic.

‘Not realizing his own talent.’

In truth, Lucas possessed talent rivaling the Grand Duke’s. But he kept hitting walls. Lucas’s impatience was his biggest obstacle.

‘This is getting dangerous. I need to stop them.’

Just as I was about to reach out to Lucas, who was emanating killing intent, someone grabbed my shoulder. I looked up at the hand firmly pressing down on my shoulder.

“Shh. Leave it to me.”

At the soft yet forceful voice, my tense legs gave way.

“Grand Duke… please stop Lucas.”

“Alright.”

The Grand Duke, after ruffling my hair, approached the two. His broad back and silver hair blocking my view felt indescribably reassuring.

Who would have thought there’d come a day when I’d feel relieved seeing that handsome face.

As the Grand Duke gently stroked the shoulder he had gripped, I prayed that neither of them would get hurt.