This Three-Year-Old Is A Villainess - Chapter 230

Grandfather.

I emphasized the three syllables, smiling brightly.

The former princess’s face hardened.

‘Even you must realize that if Duke Astra steps in, this will be resolved, right?’

You must feel that all your wrongdoings will be exposed, don’t you?

I stifled a laugh, raising one corner of my mouth in a smirk while Father wasn’t looking.

Then, holding his hand tightly, I said,

“Father, let’s go.”

“Erylotte.”

Father called my name gently, trying to soothe me, and I let my eyebrows droop sadly.

“I don’t want you to feel hurt anymore…”

“……”

“If you feel upset when I’m struggling, why would you think I wouldn’t be upset when you’re struggling?”

I frowned slightly, tugging on Father’s arm.

Father looked at me quietly without saying anything.

“If you don’t come with me, I won’t eat anything. I’ll starve all day and turn into a skinny little string bean.”

“……”

I looked up at Father, biting my lip.

“I don’t want to be in a home without you.”

“……”

Father stared at my stubborn expression, then shifted his gaze to the former princess.

“We’ll be leaving now.”

“General!”

The former princess called out in a flustered tone, but Father just lifted me up and said,

“I can’t let my daughter become a skinny little string bean.”

Father was the same as always, giving in to my stubbornness as if he had no choice, considering my feelings first and not dismissing a child’s sadness.

Pressing my forehead against his, I chuckled.

“Let’s go.”

“Alright.”

Clinging to Father’s neck, I looked back at the former princess, who was trembling with fury.

‘She looks like she’s about to explode with rage.’

Knowing that her mind didn’t work like a normal person’s, I figured she’d be jealous over something like this.

Well, go ahead and go wild now, you crazy woman.

***

As we left the garden, Father gently patted my back.

In contrast, I clung to him with a disgruntled expression.

After a while, when we were far enough away and in a secluded spot, I spoke up.

“Put me down.”

I glanced at Father once before saying it.

“What?”

Father asked, looking startled.

“I want to get down.”

Then, as he bent slightly, I jumped out of his arms.

Father still looked puzzled, watching me closely.

“Shall we talk over a meal?”

Father, bending down to meet my eyes, seemed to be trying to soothe my grumpy mood.

Just then, my three brothers approached, walking together.

“There you are.”

“Erylotte.”

“Where did you go?”

These days, they’d been following me everywhere, even when I told them not to. They’d glare menacingly at anyone who dared to look at me wrong.

‘It felt like I had three hunting dogs trailing behind me.’

I took my brothers’ hands, grabbing Lysmond’s and Balzac’s first, and glanced back at Father.

“I want to have a meal with Brother Balzac.”

Thud.

Father looked at me with a shocked expression as if a boulder had fallen on his head.

Father stammered, looking flustered.

“Then how about tea with me?”

“I’ll have tea with Brother Joshua.”

A second thud.

Father’s voice grew increasingly troubled.

“Shall I read you a book?”

“I’ll read with Brother Lysmond.”

By the third blow, Father looked utterly devastated, as though his world had collapsed.

The three brothers, who would usually be thrilled by my attention, looked back and forth between me and Father.

They knew Father had been dragged around by the former princess because of me.

The three of them exchanged glances, clearly worried about how much strain this had put on Father.

“Erylotte…”

Father called my name, his eyes sorrowful, and I could feel my lip beginning to pout.

When emotions surged, I often felt this familiar pang of frustration.

I’d thought I was past it, but now, with all the pain resurfacing, it was back again.

“I’m sad too!”

I frowned as I spoke.

“……”

Father said nothing.

“I don’t like it when you’re like this…”

“……”

Without a response from him, I trailed off.

“You wouldn’t like it if I tried to please a boy I didn’t care for, just to help you, would you?”

“Of course not—!”

Father responded immediately, as if the thought was unbearable.

“See?”

I understood his protective intentions. He was a strong man who’d set aside his pride as vast as a mountain, all to fulfill his role as a parent.

‘I know that well.’

I also understood that the situation was unavoidable, that this was the best choice he could make, and that in the future, he would likely make the same decision whenever a situation like this arose.

But still.

“Am I… a burden to you?”