My Ruin to You - Chapter 181

Why is it that ominous premonitions never miss their mark?

Looking back, Schnitzel did have an extreme side. Just in her past life, wasn’t she the young lady who went as far as the outskirts of a plague-stricken marquisate to find out if Roseline was alive or dead? To Roseline, she was an eternal benefactor and a precious friend, but her misguided drive sometimes led to reckless outcomes. Like now.

She understood. Even before leaving the capital, Roseline’s one-sided love had become a topic of conversation, and throughout the journey, Merrick had occasionally shown the Grand Duke’s suspicious interest. From Schnitzel’s perspective, there must have been many elements causing anxiety.

But still. Who in the world calls their brother all the way out here under the guise of arranging a meeting?

Half-dazed, Roseline looked back and forth between the Schnitzel siblings. Their ash-white hair, blue-tinged eyes, and pale complexions—the siblings shared many similarities.

However, their auras were distinctly different. The young lady Schnitzel had long, sharp eyes that gave off a cool and cold vibe, while her brother had rounder eyes with slightly downturned corners, giving him a soft and considerate impression.

“How many letters are you sending? Because of you, the messenger birds are…”

The man, rubbing his tired eyes as he gently scolded his sister, noticed Roseline sitting across from him.

“Could you be Young Lady Célodienne?”

His hand, which had been touching the corner of his eye, stopped mid-air. He glanced at his sister, whose mouth was twitching into a smirk, and let out a hollow laugh. Then, composing his expression, he extended his hand to Roseline.

“I’ve heard much about you, but this is our first proper meeting. It’s an honor to meet you, young lady. I am Luan Schnitzel.”

“Ah, yes. I am Roseline Célodienne. I’ve heard much about you as well.”

Roseline lightly placed her hand on the tip of Luan’s palm. He made a kissing sound near the back of her hand without actually touching it and then pulled away. It was nothing major, but Schnitzel, who had been watching with bated breath, covered her mouth. Hee-hee. Judging by the strange sound, she seemed to be laughing. It wasn’t hard to guess her mood just by looking at the crinkles at the corners of her eyes. Her sparkling eyes were also full of delight.

“Please be understanding of my lack of preparation for receiving you, young lady, as this meeting was so sudden. If given the opportunity, I would like to formally greet you another time.”

However, the more Luan continued his polite greetings, the colder the young lady’s expression became.

“What do you mean ‘another time’? Do you know how much trouble we went through to get here!”

“Elsie. You should be grateful that the young lady is even here.”

His voice was soft but firm. The emotions not put into words—anger, irritation, things like that—simmered clearly in Luan’s eyes as he stared straight at his sister.

“Here, I brought the handkerchief you cherish so much. Now you shouldn’t have to worry about your magic running wild, right?”

He took a neatly folded handkerchief from his inner jacket pocket and handed it to his sister. Caught up in this unexpected situation, Roseline could only roll her eyes, observing the siblings. Schnitzel, pouting, sullenly accepted the handkerchief. From this exchange, Roseline could roughly guess how Luan had ended up here—it seemed Schnitzel had sent a flood of letters under the ridiculous pretext of needing her handkerchief delivered.

“Instead of just standing there, why don’t you help the young lady down or something?”

“Huh? I’m not getting do— Ah…!”

As if to chide her for being oblivious, Schnitzel glared and then vigorously pushed Roseline on the back. Where did such Herculean strength come from in that small frame? Roseline fluttered like a piece of paper and was shoved out of the carriage. Just as she stumbled and was about to fall headfirst, Luan caught both of Roseline’s arms and steadied her. Watching their close contact, Schnitzel simply smiled with satisfaction.

“Are you alright?”

“Ah, yes. Thank you.”

The moment her feet firmly touched the ground, Roseline quickly stepped aside. Luan, withdrawing the hand that had held Roseline and placing it on his own waist, stared sternly at Schnitzel.

“Elsie. Because of you, the young lady almost got hurt. Apologize at once.”

“I’m sorry. But as you know, young lady, our situation is rather urgent, right? I’ll go back first and have a good word with the Professor, so don’t worry. Brother, I’d be grateful if you could escort the young lady to His Grace the Grand Duke’s residence on your way.”