297. Siblings Ep – Observer

Leah tightly hugged Ksenia’s waist. Edlyn Peter, who had stormed out of the theater, let out a gasp of surprise, “Hah!”

This guy really has no sense of etiquette whatsoever. ─ I thought as I scanned him from top to bottom disdainfully.

What on earth would she like about someone like this?

He was short, almost scrawny enough to question whether he could be a proper man. His clothes looked shabby, fitting of a beggar. But his looks…

‘……He’s handsome.’

There was just nothing to criticize.

His high nose bridge was complemented by bright golden eyes that added depth. A strong jawline screamed masculinity, yet his slightly rosy, pretty lips sported dimples that softened what could have easily been an overpowering impression, and his eyebrows were well-defined beneath his fine hair, accentuating a straight forehead. His ears, neither large nor small, were just cute… Ahem!

I could understand why my daughter acted like she was head over heels for this beggar. With looks like that, she could probably live off his face alone.

But that would never do.

My daughter was too headstrong, and even if I let the status slide, her intentions were unclean. With that beautiful face, he was likely trying to squeeze money from her, but I’d have my own plans.

Throwing a wad of money, I dismissed him as if he were nothing.

“I’ll give you ten times that. If you want, I could give you a hundred. Now get away from my daughter.”

“…Nice to meet you. I’m…”

“Don’t speak unless I ask. This is your only chance.”

“…”

[ Achievement: Met Cleo de Frederick – Gained slight favor from all nobles serving the Frederick Royal Family. Gained slight favor from Cleo de Frederick. ]

Edlyn and Leah engaged in a silent battle of stares.

It seemed like the favor from the achievement ‘Met Cleo de Frederick’ wouldn’t apply here.

After all, my only daughter was about to be taken away by some beggar, so what good would that favor do?

Silenced, Leah chose to act instead. At that moment, he had a plan in mind.

– Clink.

“What, this guy?!”

But then, ping! A piece of gold sprung up.

When I flipped over the bundle thrown by Edlyn and the one Ksenia had handed him, coins cascaded down like a waterfall.

A cheerful voice chimed in.

– “This is the money I earned! With this, we can buy a really nice house!”

Ugh.

Leah, not finding this at all thrilling or proud, even dropped the empty bundle.

Pausing, he tightly pulled Ksenia closer, which, unintendedly, felt pretty fresh to Edlyn.

He didn’t seem to be scheming to jack up the price.

That almost teary expression he wore, combined with his tightly pursed lips, revealed his sincerity despite my rules of silence.

With my heart softened a bit, I spoke up, pointing a finger.

“Pick it up. Right now.”

“I’m…”

“Pick it up. Only then can you go and talk.”

A finger pointed and followed by a thumbs-up. Leah realized there was no need for him to reveal his status.

He obediently bent down, picking up the gold coins.

How quick I was to toss them away. Although bowing down like this felt a bit humiliating… I didn’t mind. Leah reminisced about the mistakes he had made in the past, gathering the coins his sister had earned.

It felt like that.

“Leah…”

Ksenia knelt to help, and Edlyn let out a sigh, “Huh!”

Of course, there were Gilbert Forte and even Toton Tatian. My daughter, who had so haughtily dismissed all the eligible bachelors in the country.

Could it really be so great?

In the summer, the citizens bustling to see the exhibition watched the two collect scattered coins, while Edlyn looked on with mixed feelings. Her usually haughty head was slightly bowed.

*

Leah and Ksenia were granted permission to court. Back at Ksenia’s mansion, sipping tea, Edlyn said,

“Well, what can I do if you two are so head over heels? Just be careful. Dad won’t just sit idle if he finds out.”

With that, she hurriedly left the room.

Leah and Ksenia let out a sigh of relief.

But then, clink! Ksenia downed her empty teacup repeatedly. Sitting quietly, she wore a sorrowful expression.

Leah asked,

“What’s wrong? Are you worried that I’ll treat you differently because you’re a noble?”

Ksenia smiled softly.

“Half right. I know you won’t treat me differently. It’s just… I feel pathetic about my situation.”

“Why is that?”

Leah held her hand. Ksenia then vented about things Leah had never heard before.

“It’s the curse of being born noble. My father wanted to marry me off to a family of matching status. It’s natural for a lady to marry for her family’s sake, but I didn’t want that.”

“…”

“At first, I thought it was because I couldn’t find someone decent. So, I went on many blind dates. I even met Gilbert Forte, the famous son of the Forte family, and also the son of Marquis Tatian. None of them were suitable.”

“Toton Tatian?”

“How do you know him? Yes. That prince was quite desperate too. He’d always carry around a female knight assigned to him in his carriage. Perhaps he liked her but had no way to tell my father.”

Irène?

Leah recalled the knight who had been relentlessly chasing him down. She was almost insane, killing Kasis and even Katrina in her frenzy.

Turns out, Irène might have had a one-sided crush on Toton, but it seemed he harbored some feelings for her too.

That wasn’t quite important, so Leah shoved that thought aside and focused on Ksenia’s ongoing rant. She was nearing the end.

“Nobles are like that. It looks like they can do as they please, but it’s not true. They have a lot on their shoulders, and they can’t just do what they want. Only the heads of families or maybe the great nobles can act freely. The rest are pretty desperate.”

“…I see.”

“Haha. I realized after I ran away that being born a noble isn’t all that great. I thought I would just have to take care of myself, but that alone is such a blessing. Of course, making ends meet is tough, but once that’s taken care of, you can live the life you want.”

Ksenia stood up.

Using the etiquette she had hidden for so long, she gracefully bowed her head to Leah.

Her dress hem slightly lifted; it was refreshing.

“I may have said something that may offend you. Honestly, I didn’t say it hoping for your understanding. Our lives are too different, so you may find it hard to grasp.”

“…That’s true. Come here.”

Leah pulled her hand. It seemed like she thought he wouldn’t know…

But just then, Ksenia’s display of etiquette was that of a wife, revealing only a hint of her bosom.

Finding it adorable, Leah comforted Ksenia as she cuddled up to him.

“It must have been very hard,” “Don’t worry, everything will be alright.”

─ While patting her back, Ksenia felt that Leah had a lot of understanding.

In his warm embrace, she couldn’t help but smile.

Perhaps I’m completely love-struck. I feel as though this beggar of a man truly understands me…

Ksenia then softly kissed Leah’s neck.

At that moment, a necklace brushed against him, but its blue form had shattered, leaving no discernible pattern.

*

After parting ways with Ksenia, Leah returned to sweeping up the mess.

Having been busy visiting her these last few days, he had neglected his cleaning duties, so he would be preoccupied for a while.

Carrying a bucket and mop, he swept and cleaned every corner of the Rauno Family mansion.

Wondering if his sister was studying well, and if she was getting along with her friends, he peeked a bit, and Reriana was out in the yard learning a martial art called ‘Hiberuna’ with Santian.

Seeing his younger sister, who normally despised exercise, engage in such outdoor activity was something he hadn’t seen since she came to live with the Rauno Family.

Before long, she would likely boast about beating her older brother.

Having experienced such happiness already, Leah felt preemptively glad.

Should I let her win this time? As he pondered that, his sister and Santian suddenly went off somewhere, and his mind lit up with other thoughts.

In the dimming mansion, as he lit the hallway, he thought of Marquis Benard Tatian.

Marquis Benard Tatian had wanted to take Ksenia as a daughter-in-law.

That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

That could happen. Still, something about it nagged him.

When I first met Marquis Tatian, he brought up Ksenia.

Oddly enough, at that time, the Marquis was asking for someone to kill his son. Minseo had subtly suggested becoming a adopted son, and the Marquis had changed the subject.

– “Oh, yes. There’s no one closer than blood. Once, an old friend of mine broke a plate…”

I later found out that the friend he was talking about was Count Gustave Peter. The very friend who had broken the plate (an accident before marriage) had a daughter—who happened to be quite the wild one, and he had shared a somewhat trivial story.

Though he didn’t mention her name, it was undoubtedly Ksenia.

At the time, I thought the drunken Marquis was just sharing idle chatter.

But looking back now, could that esteemed great noble really have had such a pointless conversation? With someone as lowly as a beggar?

I couldn’t remember what else was discussed after that.

Since I got tipsy off the strong drink, I got excited thinking about the possibility of being an adopted son.

Anyway, the past is past.

So why did Marquis Benard Tatian mention Ksenia to me?

When he was debating whether or not to kill his own son.

Perhaps… the Marquis needed a substitute.

He probably desperately wanted Ksenia to become part of his family, but with his son infatuated with Princess Chloe de Tatalia and Ksenia having run away, he was in a bind.

I don’t know why the Marquis needs Ksenia, but that would only support why he mentioned her to me.

In other words, he wasn’t beating around the bush.

When I asked, “How about letting Minseo take me in as an adopted son?” it was probably followed by, “There’s a girl named Ksenia, if we can bring her, I’ll consider it.”

I didn’t even know that Minseo was trying to sway his heart and brought along his sister.

With that realization, Leah felt a surge of anger well up inside him.

The beggar sibling scenario has really walked down one wrong path after another.

Back then, I didn’t even have the Kasis quest to contend with.

I didn’t even know of Ksenia’s existence, yet there was a way to meet her. Without even having to use my sister’s looks, I could have solved the problem…

Leah barely managed to suppress a retch. He steadied his pale face and grounded his thoughts.

Right. If Marquis Benard Tatian had some reason to take an interest in Ksenia, he would have surely been watching her. With that in mind, several of the Marquis’s previously puzzling actions became clear.

In the fifteenth round, I once again met the Marquis Tatian in the fifth beggar sibling scenario where I had become a Royal Knight.

It was when I was pretending to make a mistake to unlock the achievement ‘Met Klian de Tatalia,’ and I barged into the prince’s office.

Inside were Count Hermann Forte, the prince, and Marquis Benard Tatian, who, unlike the wary Count Forte, looked at me with a cheerful smile, as if he knew me.

It was while I was dating Ksenia. The puzzle finally clicked together.

I hadn’t done anything yet, so why was he acting that way? ─ I had thought, but it wasn’t that at all.

How funny it was.

What a beggar I must seem, dating the lady Ksenia right in front of him, then using Katrina to become a Royal Knight and barging into the prince’s office.

The Marquis had approached me just a few weeks after that.

At the banquet held on the arrival of the prince of Austin Kingdom, he scanned me up and down with an icy gaze as if assessing my worth…

– “May I have a moment of your time? I have a proposal for you.”

And when I tried to stop Princess Chloe de Tatalia from kissing Gilbert Forte, I found myself blocking her, and after I kissed her, he looked at me strangely before turning away.

He must have decided I was no longer of any use.

Immediately after that, breaking up with Ksenia was right. Suddenly, Count Gustave Peter’s warning flashed through my mind.

– “Your Highness has no fear. Meeting with Marquis Tatian… I commend your courage, so let me give you a piece of advice.”

– “I don’t know how you met the Marquis, but it’s best you don’t approach him. That fellow is a very scary person. The prince will soon know that you’ve made a visit here.”

I had been playing right in front of the Marquis all this time. And now that I’ve met Ksenia… Marquis Benard Tatian must have been watching me.

A sharp observer.

Not even a divine messenger, yet the Marquis was hiding behind a lock mechanism suppressing Hermann Forte.

It felt like I could sense an arrogant breath wafting in from somewhere.