CHAPTER 3
“There. Anyway, how did you even end up getting caught by my father?”
“In the slums, someone’s always getting kidnapped.”
Eiden shot back sharply.
“Not that nobles like you would understand.”
The gleam in his eyes as he stared at me wasn’t human—it was more like a beast’s.
A wildcat forced into a collar, fur bristling in resistance.
“So, what kind of ‘playing house’ are you planning on doing with me?”
His golden eyes flickered like metal under harsh light.
“Gonna twist my arms off like dragonfly wings? Or hang me upside down and watch me get hunted by monsters?”
“W-What?”
My jaw dropped.
Did I really look like the kind of psycho who would do that to a child?
“Hey, you… listen carefully.”
I pulled Eiden toward me and whispered under my breath.
“I’m not going to play with you. That was just an act for my father! Listen closely. I—”
“…”
“I’m going to get you out of this castle.”
I spoke clearly, as if carving each word into his ears. Eiden’s eyes widened for a split second.
Then, they dimmed—clouded with distrust.
“…So you’re going to throw me away. In the end.”
His low murmur was barely audible, like a breeze slipping through.
“What?”
“Fine. I didn’t expect anything from some noble brat anyway.”
The mocking voice sounded far too cynical for a kid.
Eiden shut his eyes tightly for a moment.
His black lashes trembled ever so slightly—barely noticeable.
But then, as if nothing had happened, he snapped them open again.
“Go ahead. I never believed I could stay in a place this fancy anyway.”
Those eyes… they weren’t a child’s.
They held resignation. A hollow acceptance of being discarded.
There was no will to live in his gaze.
He was alive, but only half.
Just what kind of life has he lived, out there…?
I never imagined that psycho male lead had such a tragic childhood.
Well, it was a hellish world, after all.
Unlike this fortress guarded by my father and brothers, the outside was said to be swarming with monsters.
For a child with no one to protect him, surviving each day must’ve been a miracle.
I guess now I understand why he ended up so twisted in the original story.
I let out a bitter sigh.
“I never said I’d toss you out carelessly, did I? I said I’d help you escape to somewhere safe.”
“Somewhere… safe?”
Eiden frowned, like he’d never heard such a thing before.
“Yeah. Not the slums, not this castle—somewhere you won’t have to keep running from monsters.”
The inner regions of the empire weren’t as much of a disaster as this border area.
Thanks to our Sergeev family holding the line, the capital and other inland cities were relatively peaceful.
“Don’t make me laugh. There’s no such place.”
Eiden scowled and snapped back.
I crossed my arms, my patience running thin.
“Don’t argue! My head’s already about to explode. If someone’s trying to save you, just say ‘Yes, thank you, kind sister!’ and bow!”
This castle may look fancy on the outside, but it’s really a pit of lunatics.
My father was strong as a monster and just as cruel, and my brothers? Not much better.
If they got their hands on this pretty little “human doll,” they’d chew him up and spit him out.
I need to get him out of this crazy place before that happens!
Problem was, I didn’t even know how. I hadn’t ever left the estate myself.
“Ugh, this is driving me nuts!”
Life was so much easier back when I was just a bratty troublemaker!
Thunk—I slammed my forehead into the wall, and right then, I heard a familiar voice.
“Oh my, cough, Lili?”
I turned my head sharply.
My heart dropped to the floor.
“U-Unnie…”
A girl with soft chestnut hair was walking toward us.
Eloise Sergeev.
My half-sister, and the heroine of this world.
With her round eyes wide in surprise, she looked like a literal embodiment of loveliness—a fitting main character.
But it wasn’t just her beauty. Her warm brown eyes, filled with kindness and sincerity, naturally drew people in.
Anyone would melt just from being around her.
Anyone.
No. No way.
I instinctively stepped in front of Eiden.
I had worked so hard to avoid this exact moment—their first meeting was already about to happen.
“Don’t come any closer!”
I shouted, and my sister blinked in shock, eyes going wide like a startled rabbit.
“Lili?”
The rule of male leads:
They fall in love at first sight the moment they meet the heroine.
Even if he acts cold and ignores her at first, the moment he lays eyes on her, it’s already begun.
Like hell I’m letting that happen in front of me!
“You shouldn’t be walking around yet, Lili. You were really sick, remember?”
Her voice was full of concern.
She was genuinely worried about her stepsister, who’d done nothing but torment her daily.
Stupidly kind Unnie…
I used to hate that kindness.
Until just recently, in fact. I thought it was fake. I hated that her “niceness” seemed to steal my brothers’ attention.
…But it’s not fake.
Now that I have my memories from my past life, I know better.
She really did love me, her little sister.
In the original story, she couldn’t bring herself to leave me behind in this monster-filled land—even though I’d emotionally tormented her for years—and took me with her to the imperial capital.
Even when her mental strength had been completely drained by my bullying.
“Let’s go back to bed together. I’ll take you. But… who’s the little boy behind you?”
“H-He’s…”
He’s the future tyrant who’ll imprison you in a tower and keep you from seeing sunlight ever again!
…Is what I couldn’t say, so I just stomped in place, flustered.
“Lili? What’s wrong? Your face is completely pale.”
She stepped closer, worried.
Just one more step and she’d come face-to-face with Eiden.
Panicking, I suddenly grabbed Eiden’s head and pulled him into a hug.
“What the—?!”
I could feel him squirming frantically in my arms.
“Urgh, let go of me!”
I ignored him and hugged him tighter. Since he hadn’t grown much due to malnutrition, I had the strength advantage.
“Lili?”
My sister looked puzzled.
“He’s my doll!”
“What? Doll? He’s clearly a person…”
As expected of my sensible sister.
How she ended up as my father’s daughter, I’ll never know.
“Please, step aside.”
“N-No! He’s the doll Father gave me! He’s mine. My doll!”
Eiden kept pounding against me, but he was so weak from hunger that it didn’t hurt at all.
“So go away! He’s mine!”
Tantrums and screaming were nothing new for my sister—I’d done it countless times before. Her eyes widened, but she wasn’t shocked.
I’m sorry, Unnie.
This is all for your sake…
Just this once, I’ll be the bad sister again.
Resolving myself, I upped the tantrum.
“You’re trying to take my stuff again, aren’t you?! He’s mine! Only I get to play with him!”
Waaahh!
I could feel my cheeks flushing in real-time as I created fresh blackmail material for future me.
Forcing myself to act nonchalant, I grabbed Eiden and hurried off.
“Don’t follow me! I’m going to play house with my doll, just the two of us!”
My performance must’ve been convincing, because my sister looked too flustered to stop me.
“L-Lili!”
I fled up the stairs, her voice trailing behind me.
“Let me go! Ugh, what’s your problem?!”
Eiden struggled non-stop as I dragged him along.
Once I finally reached my room, I slammed the door shut and let go of him.
“Damn it!”
He pushed me away, gasping for air.
“Haah… haah…”
He must’ve been suffocating, buried in my chest like that. His ragged breathing and the tear forming at the corner of his eye made him look more like an actual kid for once.
Like someone alive.
“What the hell is wrong with you?! Are you crazy?!”
