Episode 15
The next morning, Phoebe spoke.
“Her Highness Princess Cyril sent a message via her maid. She said she would visit after breakfast.”
Perhaps because Ren and Callisteon had been growling at each other right up until they left the imperial castle the previous day, my body felt languid and my limbs even heavier this morning.
I struggled to get up and prepared myself amidst this new and staggering piece of bad news.
The more my mind cleared, the more worries surged over me like a tidal wave.
‘What if Chililla, driven mad by jealousy, tries a desperate, drowning-ghost tactic and drags me down with her?’
Even if I could handle other things, I absolutely could not tolerate anything disrupting my trip to Barbenberg.
I needed to meet Helena immediately to leave the imperial castle before my pregnancy started showing.
“Hmm, Phoebe.”
So, I said to Phoebe,
“Could you please tell my brother that I’d like to have breakfast with him?”
“Oh, really?”
Phoebe was overjoyed, practically skipping as she went to deliver the message.
‘Well, that’s because Phoebe is a typical supporting character who has a crush on the male lead.’
Of course, I’m just a supporting character, insignificant as dust, but there’s no need to sit still and let the obvious happen.
‘What’s the point of having a scary male lead for a brother if not to use him?’
However, when I arrived at the small detached palace’s dining room, Rurik, sitting alone, looked extremely precarious.
‘Yikes, what’s wrong with his eyes again?’
Just the day before, he had been fine, but now a black vortex seemed to be almost consuming one of his eyes.
“B-Brother?”
I called out cautiously, but Rurik just stared at his soup bowl as if he hadn’t heard me.
Hoping not to startle him too much, I carefully reached out and touched his shoulder.
“Brother.”
Only then did Rurik look up at me.
The black vortex in one eye spun round and round as if it might disappear, then settled back in place, almost as if taunting me.
Gritting my teeth, I pressed my palm against Rurik’s forehead.
“Brother.”
This time, he flinched and grabbed my wrist.
Perhaps due to the sudden movement, the dark energy in his pupils slowly dissipated.
Rurik finally seemed to recognize me and asked,
“What is it?”
At his cold question, I quickly made an excuse.
“I’m sorry. You were sitting there so blankly, and your cheeks were red… I thought you might have a fever.”
“A fever?”
He repeated my words as if they were absurd.
With my other hand, the one he hadn’t caught, I felt Rurik’s forehead again.
“Hmm…”
Then, I smiled at the (soon-to-be-redeemed) blackened male lead who was frowning at me.
“But it doesn’t seem like you have a fever. That’s a relief, Brother.”
Meanwhile, Rurik seemed to have calmed down a bit.
He softened his sharp attitude and asked, though his tone was still icy.
“Why the sudden request for breakfast? Do you have something particular to say?”
Today marked the fourth day since Rurik’s return.
Considering he had shown his little sister an almost surprising amount of affection during that time, the cold wind blowing from him this morning was stark.
Hiding my confusion, I took my seat.
“It’s not so much something particular to say… More that I’m grateful you agreed to my request to visit the monastery.”
“…Ha.”
He let out a hollow laugh.
I was inwardly shocked by his rudeness when Rurik replied.
“Seeing you yesterday, it seemed going to pray was just a flimsy excuse. Was your real aim to stop by Barbenberg Castle instead?”
“What?”
I asked back, finding it ridiculous, before realizing he had seriously misunderstood something.
‘He thinks I’m planning this strenuous long journey in my delicate pregnant state just to meet the female lead because of him?!’
Whether it was a sudden sense of injustice or the influence of hormones, tears welled up in my eyes and words came pouring out.
How could you, with your thick limbs, understand the fragility of a pregnant woman?!
“That’s too mean, Brother!”
Rurik looked at me with surprised eyes.
“I was afraid His Majesty wouldn’t permit a trip to a distant monastery, so I separately asked the Grand Duke for help! Because stopping by Barbenberg is better than not being able to go to the monastery at all!”
The more I spoke, the angrier I got.
I put down the spoon I had just picked up, pushed my chair back with a scrape, and stood up.
“It really hurts that you always misunderstand me so wildly, Brother! I swear, I was only trying to go for your sake!”
Rurik seemed startled by my outburst.
“Rue, that’s not what I meant…”
What do you mean, ‘not’?!
“If not, then what other reason could I possibly have for needing to go all the way to Barbenberg Castle?! The Grand Duke can visit the imperial castle anytime he wants anyway!”
“No…”
As I stomped my feet and moved away from the table, Rurik chased after me and grabbed my wrist.
“I thought… you had secretly decided on your future spouse.”
What is he talking about?
I looked up at him with tear-filled eyes.
“What did you say?”
“I didn’t see you for three years… I missed you growing up this much. I thought you were going to leave again as soon as we met.”
“…What?”
Rurik continued to explain.
“If it’s the Grand Duke of Barbenberg, His Majesty would likely grant permission, so I thought you were going to check out your future residence in advance…”
Wait, listening to this, isn’t this a serious problem?
Wasn’t it perfectly obvious that I was the one who needed to leave soon?!
‘Helena, you are at the monastery right now, right?’
Mournfully repeating the name of the female lead I’d never met, I abruptly pulled Rurik into a hug.
“That’s nonsense, Brother.”
You mustn’t run wild because of me!
“Is the Grand Duke the only one courting me? I haven’t firmly decided on a spouse yet.”
Especially since I don’t even know who the father is!
Although we’d had a brief bout of black comedy, we managed to calm down and have breakfast together.
Seeing Rurik looking much more stable, perhaps due to the effect of the hug, only deepened my anxiety.
‘That damned demonic sword.’
I sneakily glanced at the demonic sword hanging at his waist.
Thinking about it, that sword was the root of all these problems.
After all, what had I written…?
…It was a rampage.
Rurik had lived half his life exposed to the demonic sword’s influence and, no longer able to withstand the accumulated magical power, lost his mind.
The shocked Emperor, belatedly, tried to take the sword from him, but the blade clung to Rurik as if it were part of his own body and refused to be separated.
Well, it was something like that.
‘Wait, does that mean the sword could be separated from Rurik before the rampage?’
I briefly considered such a calculation as I stole another glance at the demonic sword, but quickly concluded it was far too dangerous an idea.
‘It’s a sword overflowing with magical power.’
I’m not the female lead Helena with her holy power; a mere commoner like me would be done for if I touched it wrong.
And on top of that, I’m pregnant.
‘No need to ponder this. I just need to get to the monastery quickly and meet Helena.’
While I was steeling my resolve, Rurik asked cautiously,
“Finished your meal, Rue? Are you feeling a little… better?”
“‘Feeling better’?”
I deliberately pouted and got up from my seat.
Rurik hurriedly stood up after me, so I slyly linked my arm with his.
“If you come to my room and join me for teatime, then I might start to feel a little better?”
He let out a soft chuckle.
“No wonder they’re all so taken with you.”
I widened my eyes in mock innocence.
“But none of them upset me the way you do, Brother.”
The corners of Rurik’s mouth softened into a rare, gentle curve.
“Then it seems none of them will be getting an invitation to your teatime.”
“Exactly.”
We fell into a rather sibling-like rhythm as we headed back to my room.
Just as I had anticipated, Chililla had already arrived.
“Oh my.”
Cyril rose from her seat upon seeing us enter the room together.
“Second Brother.”
She greeted Rurik with a thin smile, then shot a sidelong glance my way.
“Louise, I sent word I’d visit after breakfast today… Did you not receive it?”
I blinked my eyes innocently.
“Of course I received it, Sister! I thought since you were coming to the detached palace, it would be lovely to have teatime all together, so I was just on my way to fetch Brother! That’s why I’m a little late.”
It must have been a baffling story for Rurik.
I hugged the arm I was holding a little tighter as an apology, but he seemed to interpret it as a different request.
Rurik greeted her with a somewhat awkward expression.
“It’s been a while since we’ve met in private, Cyril.”
