Chapter 141
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 141
A wide smile instantly spread across my lips. I sprang up from my seat.
“Oppa!”
I dashed straight toward them.
“You little brat, I knew you missed me—”
“Oppa-aaa!”
I zipped right past Leon Frezier and threw myself into Lisian’s arms.
“Tulia! You—you’ll get hurt if you do that...!”
“I figured you’d be more than capable of catching me!”
Even if he wasn't quite the monster Leon Frezier was in terms of raw power, Lisian was still a top student with excellent grades in swordsmanship.
“...Am I invisible to you?”
“Oh, hey. Hi.”
“Ha. Brother, is this for real? Am I actually her brother?”
Leon spoke with a face full of indignation.
“Besides, you were with her all day yesterday because you got here a day earlier than me!”
It was true. I had heard they were coming together, but Leon had decided on a whim to stop by another nearby estate first. So, I had spent yesterday dining and catching up with Lisian.
Of course, during all that, Klaus was...
“Forget it. Just take this.”
My train of thought was shattered by Leon Frezier.
“What is it?”
I looked curiously at Leon’s hands. He was carrying a mountain of bundles. Were they actually gifts?
No way. From Leon Frezier?
“I just picked these up on the way. Throw them out if you want.”
Leon spoke coldly as he tossed the bundles. Not to me, of course, but to Max and Grans, who were always by my side.
They caught the boxes with practiced ease and approached me. Leon followed, sauntering over.
“Open them.”
My eyes widened as I looked inside the boxes.
“Whoa! They really are gifts! Where did you get the money for this?! Thank you!”
“...Tsk. I just heard a thank you, so why don't I feel happy about it?”
Ignoring his grumbling, I was preoccupied with opening the rest of the gift boxes. However...
“Leon.”
“Yeah?”
“Why is only one box a pretty dress while the rest are all weapons?”
It was true. The boxes were filled with various lethal items: daggers, whips, and weapons shaped like brass knuckles.
“Are these yours?”
“They’re yours.”
“...?”
My confusion lasted only a moment. Leon turned his gaze to the people of the territory who were busy sowing seeds.
“But what is all this? Were you actually serious about cultivating this Belus Territory?”
“Why else would I have come all the way here? Look, there are quite a few people, and they’re all so diligent, aren’t they?”
“Tulia Frezier.”
“Yeah?”
“What kind of person wouldn't become diligent in your presence?”
“Huh?”
“I’m telling you, you have a habit of underestimating yourself.”
“What? Wait. What does that mean? What are you implying?”
“Hmm. Brother.”
Leon Frezier ignored my question and stared at the castle visible in the distance.
“We’ll have to call people from the main castle to properly renovate that place, right?”
“Yeah. I... I think so, too.”
“If people hear it’s his castle, rumors might spread that it’s the Demon King’s castle. We need to make the exterior as pretty as possible, if only for the Frezier family’s image.”
“Why, you little—!”
I couldn't take it anymore and grabbed Leon Frezier by the collar, but he looked like he didn't even feel it.
“Brother. Does she look like a lady of House Frezier to you in any way?”
Leon even picked me up with both hands like a doll. Good grief, having my feet dangling in the air like a child at my age was humiliating. Just how strong was he?
“Tulia Frezier,” Leon said in a serious voice. “Just give up on marriage.”
“Why, you jerk—!”
Completely ignoring me, Leon shoved his hands into his pockets and started walking away like a common thug while talking to Lisian.
I wrinkled my nose and turned to Lisian. “Oppa, why is his personality like that?”
Lisian’s ears were flushed red from suppressed laughter. Seeing his peaceful (and honestly, incredibly handsome) profile, I decided I could let Leon’s nonsense slide.
“By the way, where’s Dad? Did he not come with you?”
When I heard the twins were coming suddenly, I assumed it was because of the severity of the human sacrifice incident. I expected Father to come along to inspect the cave and uncover the truth.
But only these two showed up.
“Father... he wanted to come, too... but His Majesty the Emperor... invited him to the palace... so he couldn't make it.”
“The Emperor?”
“His Majesty... did.”
Well, since Father almost never left the border, it made sense that the Emperor would want to see him, even if it meant a formal invitation. It would have been awkward for Father to refuse, given that the ruler of the country had sent a personal invitation.
Chatting about this and that, we walked toward where Leon Frezier was heading. The knights had set up an awning there, making it a comfortable place to sit. It was where I spent my days watching the White Tulip seeds being sown.
“What are you planting?”
“They’re called White Tulips. I found out about them while digging through ancient books.”
Only I, a hardcore player of The Milk Bread, knew how the Empire—and by extension, the continent—would change once the White Tulips were in full bloom.
First off, the commoners' clothing will change.
More specifically, the colors of their clothes.
The Milk Bread was a romance simulation game filled with handsome boys, blending historical facts with fantasy. Perhaps because of that, certain aspects were surprisingly well-researched, and one of them was the history of 'color.'
In real history, until the advent of synthetic dyes, colors—or rather, pigments—were treated as precious commodities.
Green, purple... all sorts of colors.
In fact, the arrival of a beautiful, vibrant 'green' was more than just a sensation. It was said that thousands of nobles, enchanted by the cheerful hue, covered their dresses and wallpapers in green, only to die from arsenic poisoning contained in the dye.
History showed that to get 'cobalt blue,' one had to grind up lapis lazuli, and to get brown paint, one had to grind the ribs of corpses. Purple and violet were no different. Until synthetic dyes appeared, pigments were a form of beauty reserved strictly for the elite.
But The Milk Bread was a fantasy game! It relied on ancient artifacts and magic rather than science!
And the item created for that purpose was the 'White Tulip Seed.' These tulip-shaped flowers could produce tens of thousands of different colors.
I didn't tell Ramus Jeremiah I’d return as a wealthy woman for nothing.
Vibrant and rare colors would soon become the trend and the new standard of beauty. And who would be the first to crave them?
Empress Carmi, obviously.
Of course, I have no intention of selling them easily.
Maybe I’ll play hard to get with the goods.
I giggled to myself, lost in pleasant thoughts. The development of my granted territory was going well, and the White Tulip seeds were being sown. The peasants, who had often gone hungry, seemed incredibly happy now that they had jobs with fair wages.
The warm sunlight. My twin brothers discussing how to renovate and decorate the dilapidated castle (they were so handsome that just looking at them was a treat). A cool, sweet drink. Even the gentle breeze blowing by—everything felt perfect.
I really love this.
Humming happily, I began to examine the weapons Leon Frezier had bought me, still unsure of his reasoning. Even while picking weapons, he must have had some sense of aesthetics, because every single one of them sparkled like something a magical girl would use.
I was turning over a dagger that particularly caught my eye, thanks to the large ruby embedded in its center, when—
“Hey, I really... I can't do this anymore.”
A panting voice. A chill ran down my spine.
“And don't go running around with dangerous things like this.”
The dagger was snatched from my hand, and in the same breath, I was lifted right out of my rattan chair. Then, a lean, firm body—one that had become absurdly familiar over the past few days—wrapped around me from behind in a crushing embrace.
Klaus Rocheva.
He buried his forehead into the nape of my neck and muttered, “...I seriously thought I was going to die.”
He sounded like a beast that had barely survived wandering through a burning forest. I could feel his irrationally pounding heart slowly beginning to steady against my back.
And I felt it instinctively.
Ah. I’m screwed.
“Aha. So it was this bastard.”
Leon Frezier stood up, a wide, predatory grin splitting his face. At that moment, it hit me: Leon Frezier really was Tulia’s flesh and blood!
That wicked smile! That malicious glint in his eyes!
“Why don't you put my sister down, you low-born son of a bitch?”
Even that extreme way of speaking!
The problem was Klaus Rocheva. Was it because it was Male Lead vs. Male Lead? Klaus didn't react to Leon’s threat at all. He only tightened his grip around me.
“These guys smell just like you,” Klaus remarked.
If anything, he only spat out words that didn't just push my buttons, but threatened to flip my entire world upside down.
“Is the reason you told me to stay hidden because you didn't want your lovers to find out I exist?”
“...”
“Even though you know I go crazy when we're apart?”
Oh.
I am so incredibly screwed.