Chapter 42
As soon as Tristan’s injuries from Lucas had mostly healed, the Grand Duke did something unexpected.
I couldn’t believe what I heard and asked Sen again.
“Have tea with Tristan?”
“Yes. His Grace the Grand Duke arranged a meeting so Tristan could apologize to the Grand Princess.”
Didn’t he think this might backfire?
Apparently, he set the condition that Tristan’s confinement would be lifted if he apologized to me. This forceful approach would only increase Tristan’s resentment toward me.
‘He probably won’t apologize quietly.’
Sharing my concerns, Lucas had volunteered to join the tea party.
‘He must be worried about me.’
While I appreciated his thoughtfulness, I wasn’t thrilled about the possibility of another fight breaking out between them like last time. Reading my gloomy expression, Sen added.
“Tristan will be wearing magic restraints, so it should be fine.”
“Yes. Lucas will be there too.”
“Of course! I heard Lucas said he would protect the Grand Princess!”
Despite trying to reassure me, unmistakable anxiety showed in Sen’s eyes. If that was the case, I needed to hide my fears and pretend everything was fine.
I deliberately smiled brightly while choosing an outfit for the tea party. When I acted nonchalant, the maids’ expressions also relaxed.
The final choice was a yellow dress with a butterfly brooch.
“Please be careful.”
“It would be nice if you became closer to both young masters.”
“Why do I need to be friends with everyone?”
“Because they are the Grand Princess’s family.”
They are my family.
I shook my head, remembering Tristan’s eyes full of hostility. No matter how hard I tried, it seemed impossible for us to become family.
Instead of disappointing the maids, I exclaimed cheerfully.
“I’ll be going now!”
The tea party was set under a tree near the Grand Duke’s office.
‘I hope Lucas is okay.’
My steps, initially slow with worry for Lucas, gradually quickened.
Two people were already seated at the table placed under the large tree.
Tristan was hunched over the spacious tea table, eating cookies. His reddish-purple hair, tied back in a ponytail, swayed slightly.
‘Red hair, huh.’
In the novel, his hair color wasn’t specified, so I had assumed it was silver like Lucas’s. I glanced at his hair before pulling out a chair to sit down.
“Hello, Tristan.”
“…Hmph.”
Paper-white skin and striking, well-defined features. Despite the swelling that remained from Lucas’s beating, I thought his face was still beautiful.
Lucas, responding to my greeting in Tristan’s place, poured tea into a cup for me.
“Welcome, comrade. Would you like some tea?”
“Lucas, are you feeling better?”
“No problem. And you? Did that guy hurt you anywhere?”
“I’m fine. Lucas protected me.”
Lucas’s eyes curved into half-moons, sparkling with joy. I glanced sideways at Lucas’s cheek, which was still slightly swollen though much better than Tristan’s.
‘Slapping his cheek was too harsh.’
As a friendly atmosphere developed between Lucas and me, Tristan’s lips twisted. He clenched his fist and slammed it on the table.
“This is really irritating!”
The gauze on Tristan’s cheek trembled whenever he moved his jaw. Lucas casually looked him over, resting his chin on his hand, and said.
“If you have time to be angry, why don’t you apologize?”
“Shut up.”
Tristan’s eyes flashed dangerously.
I could feel the magic in the air fluctuating with his emotional state. When I looked at him with nervous eyes, he smirked.
“Stupid kid. You think you’re safe because Father and brother cherish you? You’re just a toy.”
“The Grand Duke doesn’t cherish me though?”
At my sincere response, Tristan’s face turned various shades of red and blue.
“Do you enjoy mocking me?”
The bracelet-shaped magic restraint on Tristan’s wrist sparked. I instinctively stood up.
But Lucas moved faster, grabbing Tristan’s hair and slamming his head down on the table. The impact was strong enough to make the table shake.
As Tristan struggled, various items on the table fell to the ground.
“Let go of me!”
“What makes you think I would?”
“Let go! I said let go! You horrible brother!”
“You’re too loud.”
“You and Father are crazy. Completely insane!”
After shouting at the top of his lungs, Tristan eventually tired himself out and panted heavily.
Lucas picked up a teaspoon from the table and aimed it at Tristan’s nape. Despite the teaspoon threatening his Adam’s apple, Tristan’s fierce demeanor didn’t diminish.
“Are you afraid I might kill her?”
“Given your track record, it’s not entirely impossible.”
“How wonderful! If you want to play family, do it just the two of you.”
After sneering lightly, Tristan stopped resisting and slumped onto the table.
“Let me go! I’m leaving.”
When Lucas released him, Tristan immediately left the tea party area. His huffing and puffing was exactly like that of an upset child.
Lucas clicked his tongue as he watched Tristan’s retreating figure.
“If you leave like this, you’ll remain confined.”
“So be it!”
I was relieved that the fight hadn’t escalated further than expected.
‘Well, I figured this would happen.’
Lucas, sitting back down, pushed a plate with cake toward me. His eyes were filled with guilt as he looked at me.
“I’m sorry.”
“You have nothing to apologize for, Lucas.”
“He’s still my brother. I feel like I’m only showing you the bad sides of us.”
I could almost see the image of drooping puppy ears on Lucas’s head. I gave him the strawberry from my cake as a gift to cheer him up.
Lucas’s eyes became moist with emotion.
“Eat it and cheer up.”
Whatever had happened between the two of them, the rift seemed deeper than I thought.
‘Can this situation improve?’
No matter how I looked at it, attending the ball harmoniously with these two seemed impossible. I recalled the future from the original story as I sipped my tea.
Though my lifespan seemed to be shortening from dealing with their constant fighting, I couldn’t think of any good solutions at the moment.
***
Tristan closed his eyes as he heard the door lock. He had only taken a few steps from the tea party when the knights caught him.
‘If only I could use magic.’
When he first heard about having a new sister, he thought it might be fun. But his father’s warning triggered his rebelliousness.
“Tristan, this is the last time I’m letting you off. ”
“I never asked you to. ”
“If you harm your new sister, it won’t end with just a warning. ”
He hadn’t expected a welcoming greeting from his father.
But couldn’t he at least have asked how he’d been doing? Being called just to introduce him to the new sister felt disheartening.
‘What’s so special about that kid?’
According to rumors, she was just a commoner child with no blood relation. Such a child didn’t deserve a dress bearing the family crest.
He had planned to give the kid a light warning to know her place. But the moment his interfering brother appeared, his rationality flew out the window.
‘He’s MY brother.’
The brother who had never cared what he did sincerely swung his sword at him.
Saying he would protect the new sister of unknown origin.
“How did she bewitch them?”
Her face was somewhat cute, but that was all. She didn’t seem to have any special talents like magic or swordsmanship.
He’d heard that the Grand Duke’s vassals and knights also doted on the kid.
‘Have they all lost their minds?’
The little girl who easily gained the attention of his brother and father, whom he had struggled so hard to obtain. There were plenty of reasons to find her irritating.
All he needed to do was find that kid’s weakness and drive her out.
“Good thing I brought my magical tool.”
If he couldn’t use magic directly, he could use a pre-made magical tool. Fortunately, he had the perfect tool for this situation.
He pulled out a cat-shaped doll, a magical tool, from the pile of belongings he’d brought from the academy.
“This is the best for surveillance.”
This magical tool, originally created to trap spirits, had been discarded after a failed experiment. Tristan had secretly picked up the abandoned tool and modified it.
If it could trap formless energy beings like spirits, couldn’t it also house consciousness?
The experiment was successful.
The modified doll could share consciousness with the sorcerer for a certain period of time. It was perfect for monitoring the little girl who had brazenly settled into the Grand Duke’s residence.
Tristan activated the magical circuit of the tool.
“Did it work?”
When he opened his eyes again, his consciousness resided in the doll-shaped magical tool.
‘With this, I won’t need to use magic directly, and since it leaves no magical trace, Father won’t notice.’
Tristan moved his cotton legs and jumped through the window. Being in a doll’s body, he wouldn’t get hurt from falling from heights.
‘A kid that age would probably like dolls.’
Upon reaching the door of the Grand Duke’s room where the child was staying, Tristan sensed approaching footsteps. He couldn’t let anyone but the child catch him.
‘Just walk past.’
But a particularly tall, black-haired maid picked him up.
“Hmm? Why is there a doll lying here?”
“It’s strange how only the soles of its feet are dirty, almost like it was walking around.”
“It seems to be an ownerless doll, but it would be a shame to just leave it here.”
He had finally reached the door of the room where the child was staying, and now he might be taken away?
While he was trying to figure out how to escape from the maid’s grasp, the door opened. The child emerged in pajamas, blinking her sleepy eyes.
“Sen, what’s going on?”
“I found this doll on the floor. I wonder why it’s here.”
The moment the child’s eyes turned toward him, he doubted what he was seeing.
‘What’s with that smile?’
It was the brightest smile he had ever seen in his life.
Below her finely trembling red eyelashes, her violet eyes curved into circles, seemingly filled with all the joy in the world. His heart dropped at the sight of those eyes overflowing with affection he had never received before.
Tristan was so busy trying to shake off the remnants of that smile in his mind that he couldn’t hear what the child was saying.
Discussion
0 CommentsReactions
No comments yet.