Chapter 41
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 41
“…….”
Silence fell.
It lasted only a moment.
I was momentarily speechless; his defiance was even higher than I’d anticipated.
Leon took another step closer and let out a sharp, mocking laugh.
“It’s annoying enough being told to rush back to the main castle, but having you of all people greet me is the worst.”
The look in his eyes was one of pure, unadulterated loathing.
“And stop with that ridiculous ‘Brother’ nonsense. It makes me want to gag, so drop the pathetic act.”
Having a young man who stood a full head taller than me act so aggressively, with a gaze that suggested he found my very existence repulsive, was quite intimidating.
So, for now, I just smiled.
“Got it.”
“……What?”
Since he said he hated the act, I didn’t forget to switch to informal speech.
“Hey, Leon.”
“What do you think you’re—? Ha.”
Leon scanned me from head to toe with an incredulous expression.
What?
You told me to stop acting, you bastard!
Contrary to what I wanted to scream, I kept the smile on my face. He wouldn't hit me just for smiling, right? It would be too petty.
‘……Right?’
I suppressed the urge to shrink back and clasped my hands together.
Unintentionally, my hands trembled slightly.
For a split second, Leon Frezier’s eyes seemed to flicker toward my hands.
“Disgusting.”
Spitting out the curse, Leon Frezier turned on his heel and began marching toward the castle. A few servants, seemingly his personal attendants, hurriedly followed after him.
“Le—Leon!”
Lisian, who had been observing me with a strange look the whole time, raised his voice as if he hadn't expected his ill-mannered brother to just walk off like that.
Leon barked back over his shoulder.
“Just come inside, Brother! Entertaining her act only ruins your mood!”
As soon as Leon Frezier vanished into the castle, a heavy silence descended upon us.
On the outside, I was smiling so hard my mouth was starting to cramp.
On the inside…
‘He really is a piece of work.’
I was cursing Leon Frezier up and down.
Well, fine.
That’s just how The Milk Bread is.
In the original story, even Corico struggled a bit at first because of the cold-hearted Frezier family.
But that was it. If you just picked the right dialogue options, the family members would eventually open their hearts to the heroine.
But me?
Every time I open my mouth, they look like they want to open the gates of hell for me. Dammit.
Once again, the reality of Tulia’s standing hit me, and I felt a surge of sorrow.
But I couldn't cry. There was another target for favorability points standing right in front of me.
“Brother Lisian.”
His clear silver hair shimmered in the sunlight as he turned toward me.
“Do you prefer informal speech too?”
Lisian Frezier’s eyes were a light green, like early spring.
They were the same light green as Tulia’s, so why did hers feel like poison while his felt as pure as a new sprout?
‘It’s probably because his official personality is "kind."’
Lisian Frezier slowly opened his mouth.
“C-call me whatever you’re c-comfortable with.”
An angelic appearance.
He was the "True Male Lead," a requirement for the True Ending of The Milk Bread and the reason Corico entered this Grand Duchy in the first place.
He suffered from a stutter.
“Okay, Lisian. It’s good to see you again.”
And he was the only male lead who didn't harbor hostility toward Tulia.
* * *
“Lady Tulia. You’ve returned.”
“Yes. Lunch is……”
I couldn't finish my sentence before a fit of coughing took over. Concern clouded the Assistant Butler’s face.
“I knew you shouldn't have gone out in the cold air. Your cough seems to have worsened. Please wait, my Lady. I will fetch the physician immediately.”
“Mm-hmm.”
My head maid, Adel, was away, and though she was nowhere to be seen, the Assistant Butler was tactful enough not to ask any questions.
Perhaps Luc Kelposher had anticipated this when he assigned these people to me?
‘He did say Luc Kelposher felt guilty toward Adel.’
I didn't know what that guilt was about, but looking at this, he seemed like a good brother.
I wanted to dig deeper into their relationship, but my head felt hotter than before. I climbed into bed and pulled the covers up.
As I curled up into a ball under the blankets, just as I had for the past two days, a welcome sound rang out.
Clink!
[System] Coins acquired!
It seemed I earned coins whenever I started taking care of my sick body.
I let out a small laugh.
However, because I had no strength, the laugh came out as a faint wheeze.
A thought suddenly occurred to me.
My cold, which had been almost gone, flared up again because I went out in the cold air.
And by taking care of my worsened condition, I earned coins.
“Then……”
If I stayed sick and took decent care of myself, wouldn't the coins just keep piling up?
If I put those into the Bank Benefit and raised my stats later……
“Phew.”
A sigh escaped me.
I wasn't some insurance fraudster, but I had become so obsessed with coins.
‘Let’s not become a total monster……’
I pushed that idea aside as a last resort and closed my eyes.
I must have been more excited than I let on by the sense of security Grandfather provided.
The hatred and loathing I felt from my "brothers" for the first time in a while felt unexpectedly unpleasant.
I’d get used to it in a day, though.
People eventually grow numb to things they’ve experienced a thousand times.
Just like I always had.
“……Lady……”
“Take your…… medicine……”
“……The fever is…… quite high……”
When I drifted awake, the physician and the Assistant Butler were busy checking my condition.
My head felt like a ball of fire; the fever had definitely spiked.
In the midst of it, bitter medicine was poured into my mouth, and a cold wet towel was carefully placed on my forehead.
Even with my eyes closed, I could feel the warmth of the thick down duvet and the heater.
Right.
When I was Han Ina, there was no one to do these things for me.
Clink!
Clink!
So, being Tulia was much better.
Listening to the distant sound of coins clinking, I slowly closed my eyes and drifted back to sleep.
* * *
“I heard there was a disturbance with Tulia when you arrived yesterday.”
The next morning.
The dining table was brightly decorated with flowers and greenery.
Amidst the servants moving busily but quietly, Lilius spoke up.
He was the younger of the twin brothers from the Marquis’s house.
Leon Frezier replied in a nonchalant voice.
“It wasn't exactly a disturbance, Uncle.”
“Tulia must have provoked you again.”
Aubrey’s voice cut in like a thorn.
It was sharp enough that the twins, who had been staring blankly at the champagne being poured into their glasses, looked up simultaneously.
“Wife.”
Lilius gave a low-voiced warning.
Aubrey, who had lost a lot of weight recently, had a sharp jawline and hollow cheeks, losing the elegant aura she once possessed.
Leon Frezier shifted his gaze.
He had already heard about Aubrey’s precious son, Tedric.
He was told the boy had been kicked out after incurring their grandfather’s wrath.
But he didn't know why the place Tedric had been exiled to was the very castle where Tulia used to live.
‘I heard it’s actually just an abandoned warehouse that looks like a castle.’
Both Lisian and Leon had only learned this after arriving here.
“But, dear!”
Despite Lilius’s mediation, Aubrey showed no signs of stopping.
“That Tulia girl is doing nothing but causing discord in the family, even though her brothers are here! It’s just like her, having no upbringing whatsoever……!”
“S-she didn't c-cause…… d-discord.”
It was then. At the sound of Lisian’s voice, Aubrey’s resentful gaze shifted.
Her bloodshot eyes held an aggression that didn't discriminate between targets.
“What?”
“He said she didn't cause any discord, Aunt.”
Leon Frezier’s somewhat rough voice rang out clearly in the dining room on behalf of his brother.
Both Lisian and Leon Frezier were tall, taking after their father, Marquis Aster Frezier.
Lisian Frezier, with his angelic looks and pure aura, however……
Had the significant weakness of a stutter.
Because of that, despite his tall stature, broad shoulders, and well-toned muscles, there was something about him that made people look down on him.
But Leon Frezier was different.
He had a sturdier build than his brother.
Perhaps because of his dark hair, he gave off a more vicious, raw vibe.
He looked like the type who, once angered, would lose his mind and snap someone’s jaw.
“…….”
When Leon Frezier’s eyes locked onto Aubrey’s, she finally averted her gaze.
“……Right. I suppose I was misinformed.”
Normally, Aubrey would never have provoked these twins, especially Leon Frezier.
But lately, Aubrey had been living a nightmare.
Her hostility toward Tulia had reached a boiling point, as if she were facing a blood enemy.
Above all, everyone in the Frezier Grand Duchy knew that the relationship between these twins and Tulia was the absolute worst.
Aubrey spat out her words, suppressing her rage.
“It’s not the first or second time that girl Tulia has been so inconsiderate. It’s a relief you two are so understanding……”
“Pardon? Aunt?”
Suddenly, Aubrey’s words cut off.
Every Frezier seated at the table, and even the servants busily attending to the meal, stopped and turned toward the person entering the doorway.
Her pink hair was elegantly styled, as if it had been tended to by the Empress’s own maids.
Furthermore, her light green eyes held a strangely chilling light.
Perhaps because of the slight upward flick at the corners of her eyes, there was something off-putting about Tulia Frezier, even though she was smiling brightly.
It was especially so in Aubrey’s eyes.
‘That crazy wench!’
To Aubrey, she looked like a monster walking toward her, determined to devour both her and Tedric whole.
“It feels like it’s been a while……”
Tulia Frezier, who had never once sat at the same table as the twins since Marquis Aster Frezier left.
She walked boldly toward the table with a radiant smile.
“Were you badmouthing me? Again?”