Chapter 74
Begging with her eyes for her mom not to tell on her, Chloe quietly slid her plate toward Shion.
Noticing exactly what she was trying to do, Shion also slowly extended his fork toward the plate.
Just before Shion’s fork could touch the piece of eggplant soaked in orange-scented oil—
“Hah.”
Lucian let out a faint laugh, about to say something.
“Agh, I’m telling the truth! Chloe really said I was her role model!”
Ian, who had been only half-paying attention, suddenly raised his voice and turned to Chloe.
“Say it, Chloe! You came to my office today and clearly— wait… Chloe, what are you doing?”
Ugh. She had been so close. Why now, of all times?
Having completely failed to get rid of the eggplant, Chloe stiffly turned her head, refusing to give in.
“Chloe…?”
And there it was—her gaze collided with her mother’s, eyes wide and pupils dilated.
Hic.
A hiccup slipped out—one born of fear incomparable to facing her father.
I… I can’t die like this.
Flustered, Chloe scrambled to explain herself.
“No, Mom. Hic. I wasn’t trying to— hic.”
“Our daughter… was pushing the vegetables she doesn’t want to eat onto her friend…?”
“I offered to eat it.”
“Y-Yes! Shion said he would—!”
“Chloe.”
Her mother’s golden eyes transformed into those of a predator ready to hunt.
“What did I say I hate the most?”
“S-Sorry, Mom.”
With a lifetime’s worth of experience foretelling her grim future, Chloe quickly tucked her tail between her legs.
“I just really, really didn’t want to eat it. And since Shion said he’d eat it for me, I wanted to give it to him quickly. And I thought—since your attention was somewhere else—this was my chance. I’m sorry. I won’t do it again, never again!”
“…Chloe.”
Melissa’s brows raised again—farther apart than before.
“So… you thought the moment your mom and Ian were arguing was the right chance…?”
Argh, she really shouldn’t have said that.
Turning her head aside, Chloe harshly scolded herself for committing the same kind of mistake her uncle would make.
My mouth is the problem… seriously!
But then—Chloe remembered her secret weapon.
Come forth… my pitiful, pitiful eyes!
She opened her eyes wide, glossy and shimmering, looking up at her mother.
“Mom… but really… I don’t want to eat eggplant….”
“No.”
Unfortunately, her opponent was the final boss—her mother—exceptionally resistant to pitiful eyes.
“You promised you’d eat at least one vegetable at every meal. And since you even tried to dump it on your friend today, you’ll have to eat double.”
“Th-Then I’ll eat tomatoes instead! Okay?”
Panicking when her special skill failed, Chloe desperately grabbed her mom’s arm.
“I hate eggplant! It looks like the poop of a demon!”
“When you think of it that way, of course it will look like that, Chloe.”
Ian cut in unexpectedly.
Chomp!
He proudly popped the eggplant into his mouth and spoke while chewing.
“Your role model, your uncle, ate eggplants really well even when he was young. If you want to be like your little uncle, you have to eat eggplant too!”
Tsk.
Instead of helping, Ian was sabotaging her. Chloe glared at him with narrowed eyes.
Role model this, role model that!
“Role model this, role model that.”
Gasp.
For a moment, Chloe thought she’d accidentally spoken her thoughts aloud.
But the deep, low voice that followed was definitely not hers.
“Unless my daughter is gravely ill, why would she ever call you her role model?”
Realizing whose voice it was, Chloe looked toward Lucian, who was staring at his brother with an expression of pure pity.
“From what I’m hearing, you must’ve threatened her into saying it. What exactly have you been doing all afternoon? Spreading rumors through your overworked aide—are you that bored? Need me to assign you something?”
“Threatened? Rumors? Ha! Is that why you didn’t show up earlier? I’m telling you, Chloe really said it!”
At Ian’s rising frustration, everyone in the dining hall turned to the only person who knew the truth—Chloe.
“Chloe, be honest. You don’t need to lie for him. Bad people deserve punishment.”
“Melissa is right, Chloe. If we don’t correct this behavior now, he’ll keep spouting nonsense. Tell us the truth.”
Both parents clearly assumed the answer was an obvious “no.”
Chloe scratched her cheek.
Hmm. I guess… now’s the time to say it?
She took a breath, folded her hands neatly, and spoke calmly.
“No. What he said is true. I did say the family head was my role model.”
“What?”
Their shocked reactions came all at once.
“Chloe, are you sick?”
Melissa immediately placed her hand on her daughter’s forehead with a worried expression.
“If you were sick, you should have told us.”
“What’s the doctor doing, not noticing something like this? Call Cassie immediately—”
“She said she’s not sick!”
Unable to hold back any longer, Ian jumped to his feet.
“She’s not sick—she really meant it! She came to my office and said so earlier!”
“Yes.”
Chloe removed her mother’s hand, which kept checking her temperature.
“I really did say he’s my role model. He didn’t threaten me, and he didn’t bribe me with snacks.”
“See! I told you!”
Finally triumphant, Ian puffed out his chest—while Lucian, Melissa, and even Shion stared at him in shock.
Huh? Why is Shion shocked too?
Chloe glanced sideways at Shion, confused—when suddenly,
“What’s the reason?”
“Yeah, Chloe. Why? Why is Ian your role model of all people?”
Both parents asked urgently, and Ian stared at her with a mix of curiosity and anticipation.
With all eyes on her again, Chloe opened her mouth, nervous but determined.
“That’s because…”
Gulp.
She gathered her courage and finally spoke the sentence she had prepared all day.
“I want to become the head of the Leander family.”
“…”
Silence swallowed the dining hall.
She expected lukewarm reactions, but she hadn’t expected it to become this frigid.
Shoulders shrinking under the sudden chill, Chloe trembled slightly.
But only for a moment.
“I want to be the family head. To become an official heir— I plan to participate in the heir selection tournament.”
Chloe declared her intentions clearly, without wavering.
Originally, Chloe’s true goal was not to become the head, but simply to become the official heir.
However—
If I say I just want to be heir, and not the head… that’ll look suspicious.
Since the path to becoming heir was the same path leading toward becoming family head, Chloe needed to show conviction.
And so, Chloe looked around the dining room with a determined expression.
“After the trial, I’ve been thinking a lot.”
“…”
“I don’t want to be helpless like that ever again. I want to grow strong enough to fight bad people—and win.”
Those words were sincere.
Chloe truly intended to do everything she could to protect the people she loved.
“So I want power. I want to become the family head.”
And if one method to do so was to become head—
“Which is why… I want the heir selection tournament to be held.”
She would see it through to the end.
Chloe waited anxiously for their reactions.
But before she could even take a proper breath—
“No.”
A firm refusal came from the opposite side.
Lucian looked at her with a hard, frightening expression.
“You’re far too young for the heir tournament. The hunting competition is dangerous, and besides—”
“…”
“You have no experience. Not even once.”
“Right. Chloe, you’re only seven. Your uncle would definitely stop you too—”
“But I heard the current family head participated when he was six.”
Despite her mother and father’s objections, Chloe looked straight at Ian as she answered.
“And the winner that year… was an eight-year-old direct descendant of the Leander family.”
She knew every adult in the room would object.
So on her way back, she had asked Isabelle to gather all information about past heir tournaments—especially anything she could use as justification.
I have plenty of supporting evidence.
Prepared for rebuttals, Chloe’s eyes sparkled confidently.
And I even have a plan for how to catch a beast during the tournament!
