Merche Ashtad.
The only person worthy of being called sister by the woman in front of him was the owner of that name. But to confirm that as a fact, something didn’t seem quite right.
No, how could it be? Just look at that appearance.
The woman who struggled to get up from the wooden floor in front of him didn’t resemble Merche in any way you looked at her.
Merche’s delicate and brilliant, yet slightly curly golden hair.
Her breathtakingly blue eyes whenever you saw them. Even the overall shape of her facial features was completely different.
The woman’s appearance didn’t resemble Merche in any aspect.
If anything, you’d have to say she resembled himself.
For instance, those dark gray eyes that seemed to have lost all color.
They were unsettling eyes that reminded him of his own hazy vision in the past just by looking at them.
The woman with those eyes staggered over to Rud.
Despite not being able to see. The woman stubbornly glared at the spot where Rud’s voice came from.
As if asking when she had ever trembled in fear, she stood in a somewhat dignified posture and opened her mouth.
“It’s you, isn’t it?”
“What is.”
“The house has been noisy for a while now. Someone kept throwing things and cursing. That was all you, wasn’t it!”
“So what if it was, I’m a patient.”
At the brazen reply, the woman, Christine, let out a hollow laugh as if taken aback.
“What did you say? Just because you’re a patient, you think you can cause such a ruckus however you please?”
“Ah, shut up. You’re making me go deaf, seriously…”
Rud openly raised his hand and pretended to cover his ears.
Even if she couldn’t see it, the mocking sarcasm definitely got through to her.
Christine’s lips quivered, about to lash out again in anger, but this time Rud was a step faster.
“But is this house really yours?”
“Of course it is! I’ve always lived here, so naturally it’s my house!”
“Liar.”
Immediately cutting her off and refuting her words, Christine’s voice gained a tremor. A tremor from the absurdity.
“What? No, who are you to say such a thing! What do you know?”
“This is Merche’s house, isn’t it? I heard she’s filthy rich. You don’t look like it though.”
“It’s my house! My father gave it to me, it’s my house!”
As soon as Rud finished speaking, Christine shouted. It was almost a scream.
At some point, Christine’s eyes brimmed with tears.
It was hard to tell if they were tears of frustration or anger at the rude patient, but it was clear she was reacting sensitively as if a sore spot had been poked.
Christine also realized that she had overreacted.
Belatedly quieting down, Christine wiped at her eyes irritably.
The sight was so comical that Rud chuckled and laughed crookedly.
“Is Merche Ashtad your sister?”
Really? You two don’t look alike at all.
It was a question that blatantly conveyed his inner thoughts.
Faced with a face that smiled unpleasantly to the point of being offensive, Christine replied as if she wanted to spit at him.
“Yes, she is. So what.”
“You look too different to be her sister. Do you have a different father or mother?”
“…I know my looks are a bit lacking compared to my sister’s. But don’t you think it’s excessively rude to say such things to someone’s face?”
“No, no.”
Rud raised a finger and wagged it back and forth. He was lying on the bed in a sprawled out manner, but there was a strange intimidation to him.
Even without being able to see him, Christine instinctively shrank her shoulders.
“Not the surface, but the insides. You’re like a yapping little brat, but Merche isn’t like that.”
“…Wh-what did you say?!”
As if asking when she had lost her spirit, Christine’s eyes turned sharp again.
Who was the one who barged into someone else’s house and caused all sorts of commotions!
No matter how she thought about it, her anger surged.
Why had her sister let such a lowlife into the house without telling her?
She was starting to feel a bit upset at her sister too, whom she hadn’t seen in a while.
As she was needlessly chewing on her lips in lingering anger, there was the sound of the door opening and a familiar scent tickled her nose.
Sister. It was the scent of her sister.
The moment she realized it, the approaching hand was already gently caressing her cheek like usual.
“Christine. Why did you come down here? Where’s Stella?”
“…I just came down alone. How many times do I have to say I can get around fine without Stella?”
Stella was a maid hired to assist Christine, who was blind.
With a doctor father, the maid boasted more extensive knowledge than most doctors and was meticulous and diligent, making her perfect for taking care of the grumbling Christine.
Would I die without Stella? I can live perfectly fine without her.
Dissatisfied with her sister always looking for Stella first whenever she was alone, Christine spoke sulkily.
The memory of a few days ago when she had subtly shown a lonely look, saying her sister hadn’t visited often recently, was already fading.
“Christine. Were you crying?”
…Ah! Only when Merche’s finger touched her red, swollen eyes did Christine startle and push that hand away.
Somehow, it felt like she had been touching her face for an unusually long time.
Her sister worried too much. How old was she to still treat her like a three-year-old child?
If she were to really cry, her sister would probably hug her right away and even sing a lullaby, so Christine’s tone naturally turned sharp.
“No. I yawned and my eyes teared up. Don’t make such ridiculous assumptions. Why would I cry?”
“Is that so? Seeing you yawn, it seems you need to sleep some more. I’ll take you to your bedroom. Come now, let’s go.”
“It’s fine. Even if I go, I’ll go alone.”
Rud, who had been quietly observing, frowned at her curt attitude.
That bratty attitude was grating on his nerves. Of course, what grated on his nerves even more was Merche’s overly soft response.
If it were Rud, he would have long beaten some manners into a sister who talked back to him like that. Merche was unnecessarily weak.
Wasn’t she treating her sister as if she were a piece of sugar?
Even when she rudely pushed her hand away and rejected her at every turn, Merche treated Christine without any sign of displeasure.
“Merche. If you coddle her like that, it’s no wonder your sister has such a foul temper. As her elder sister, don’t you have any intention of disciplining that poorly behaved sister of yours?”
Half sitting up, Rud clicked his tongue.
Naturally, defiance came in return.
Christine, her face turning red like a beet, glared at him with fury and raised her voice.
“Sister, who is this person? Why did you bring someone like him into my house? Without even asking me!”
“I’m sorry, Christine. It’s my fault. It’s just that… since you only stay upstairs, I thought you two would never run into each other.”
“This is my house! The inheritance that Father gave to me!”
“Christine.”
Seeing Christine so agitated that she couldn’t tell right from wrong, Merche reached out her hand in concern.
It was an attempt to pat her shoulder and calm her down.
However, such a warm attempt was invisible to someone blinded by anger.
“Let go! …You’re not even her real daughter!”
Smack!
The moment she pushed her hand away, she knew.
The long nails she had neglected to trim, finding it bothersome to send Stella away, had scratched Merche’s white cheek.
A fine line appeared as if cut by a razor, and red blood drops formed in the crevice.
That was also when Rud, who had been watching and running his mouth, jumped up and rushed over.
“How dare you…”
The man who had been lounging like a good-for-nothing was nowhere to be seen, replaced by a terrifyingly altered intensity.
Even without seeing Rud, Christine instinctively gulped.
She was scared. It was so chilling and frightening that she just wanted to collapse right there.
Her small body trembled and stiffened in front of the large Rud.
Fortunately for her, Merche quickly stepped in front of him.
“No. Please don’t, Rud.”
“She keeps pushing her luck endlessly. Are you some kind of saint? To just smile and bear with a sister like that?”
“She is a child precious to me. Please, Rud. I’m fine, so please step back.”
A pale hand not even half the size of his own grabbed his tense hand.
At the warm and soft touch, the heat that had paralyzed his mind instantly cooled.
It was just a flimsy rope of a touch.
Yet he found himself tied down by that loosely fastened rope, unable to free himself.
His gaze still glowered menacingly at Christine, but for Merche’s sake, Rud finally suppressed his temper.
“…If you’re not an airhead, at least scold her. So she can’t act like that.”
Damn it. Why was she so impossibly kind?
Swallowing the curses that had risen to his throat, Rud stepped back, and Merche faintly smiled at him.
Thanks to that, Rud once again found his breath caught and his words that were about to burst forth blocked.
Leaving him standing there dumbfounded, Merche skillfully soothed her sister.
She apologized to the frightened Christine even though it wasn’t her fault, whispered that it was alright now, embraced her as if holding her, and took her to her room.
Then, as if she had sung a lullaby, she only returned to Rud after a long while.
Rud looked Merche up and down with an absurd expression.
“I guess you tucked the baby to sleep.”
“…What happened today was undeniably my fault. I apologize for causing you discomfort.”
Calmly lowering her eyes and apologizing profusely, she clearly looked deeply remorseful.
What should he say? It was annoying and his mind was in a mess, but this seemed to come first.
Rud glared at the reddish wound that bothered him the most.
“That. What if it leaves a scar on the precious face of a noble lady?”
“It’s just a small wound. Even if it scars, I can hide it with powder.”
“Ha… What great sibling love. You’re such a noble pair of sisters.”
He felt like applauding her. Rud distorted his lips fiercely and lay down on the bed.
“I took the sleeping medicine that quack doctor left. I’m going to sleep, so get lost.”
Lying down, he waved his hand in the air a couple of times.
It meant he didn’t want to talk anymore, so she should leave.
Even a complete stranger who didn’t know him well would understand that signal, so Merche also closed her mouth without saying anything more.
However, Merche did not leave right away.
After standing still for a moment, she approached Rud’s bedside with slow and cautious steps.
“…What.”
What do you want? Rud asked with half-lidded eyes. Merche didn’t answer immediately, hesitating slightly before whispering.
Her refreshing scent seeped into her voice.
“…I’m sorry.”
He wanted to ask what she was sorry for and tell her not to throw out such vague words like this.
But before he could do that, the effect of the sleeping medicine weighed heavily on his consciousness, so Rud had no choice but to close his eyes without asking.
[This is the timeline separator]On an early morning filled with cold air, a letter flew into the quiet Lupinus Castle.
The plain envelope had only two names written clearly on it.
The sender, Greta Martin. The recipient, Elizabeth Lupinus.
Since the seal of Mrs. Martin, who was once a renowned honorary maid in the castle, was stamped on it, the letter was delivered to Elizabeth without any issues.
Even the cold-hearted Elizabeth couldn’t hide her delight at the letter from an old friend she received for the first time since her retirement.
However, it didn’t take long for her excited hands to freeze as if struck by lightning.
“…I’m sorry, Eli. I secretly took your son away.”
At the end of a long plea and tearful account, a single sentence shattered Elizabeth’s heart, and,
“…By the grace of the gods Nilam and Nisha, I recently found out where your son is. I wish to tell you that location, so please go and find your lost son. This is my selfish atonement.”
The last paragraph gripped Elizabeth’s soul in its entirety.
Letting out a groan as if being strangled, Elizabeth collapsed.
But the voice she let out like a scream was piercingly sharp and clear.
“Go, go and find my child. Hurry, right now…!”
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.
_____
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