Chapter 08
Actually, the fact that I was a direct descendant of the Lefevre family was also a problem.
The highest-ranking family in the kingdom. Schloitz must know that Lefevre isn’t a normal household. Which also means he probably knew all the excuses I gave him when I broke things off were just lies.
The more I thought about it, the more I sighed.
A lettuce leaf was rolling around in my mouth. It felt hard to chew.
“…My lady?”
A voice reached me, a beat late through my foggy mind.
“My lady?”
I snapped out of it. When I lifted my gaze, I saw Sir Balock looking at me. He was staring at the plate in front of me. It had fresh lettuce, sliced bell peppers, and steamed chicken with a light dressing—just a salad.
“If you don’t finish your meal, you won’t last through this evening’s training.”
“I’m okay. I can handle it.”
“Didn’t Sir Venus tell you? Starting today, training will be extended by an hour.”
“……!”
I quickly shoved the salad into my mouth. Sir Balock watched as I ate every last bite, then casually said,
“Will you be bringing Young Master Enrico with you today? He’ll soon be joining the military, and even if he enters as an officer, his training hours are too few. Talent or not, basic training is still essential.”
“Okay…!”
I jumped up.
“…I’ll go drag him here right now!”
“Oh, and take this with you. Make sure Young Master Enrico eats it. I heard he hasn’t eaten properly because of his research on the Oparts.”
Before I knew it, Sir Balock handed me a tray with warm bread, jam, and two glasses of juice.
****
“Everyone keeps coughing up blood after using the Oparts…”
Enrico mumbled with a serious look on his face.
“I don’t cough up blood, so why do others?”
The answer had come a few hours ago.
“See, the Oparts give off a strong shockwave of energy.”
The problem was that he had only tested it on himself at first. As a direct descendant of Lefevre, Enrico had innate purification powers, so using the Oparts didn’t harm him at all.
Hector, with his monocle, said,
“If only I could inject your blood into my body.”
“You’d die. And if I kill someone with an experiment, Blan probably wouldn’t even speak to me again.”
“Really? I don’t think the lady would avoid you that much.”
“What do you know about Blan?”
“I’m a suitor, remember. Ow!”
After being hit, Hector casually picked up his fallen monocle.
“I’m really serious, you know. But neither of you believes me.”
If Blandea had heard that, she’d probably think: “Yeah, you’re serious about using me for research.”
Enrico looked at Hector like he was about to punch him. Hector, however, was already lost in his research again.
Rubbing Lefebvre blood on a person’s body solved the Oparts issue. The problem was… Enrico wasn’t the only Lefevre bloodline.
If someone decided to kidnap Blandea to forcibly use her blood for their experiments…
Though lately, Sir Balock has been saying Blandea is no joke.
Sure, she was always running around. Morning, noon, afternoon, evening—even at night.
But it was still hard to believe.
Blandea had always been sickly and didn’t eat much as a child, so she had a petite frame. Even though she was tall now, she still looked delicate.
Anyway, they needed a more proper, respectful, and holy-looking method. The user had to make physical contact with a Lefevre heir to activate the Oparts.
Which—let’s face it—doesn’t exactly sound appropriate.
“Then let’s copy the kind of physical contact the highest-ranking person in the kingdom uses. Right, Enricor?”
“The highest-ranking person?”
“Who else? His Majesty the King.”
Enrico’s eyes sparkled.
A few days later, the research was complete. Enrico’s eyes stayed fixed on the documents in front of him, showing the results. He wiped his hands clean and reached them out.
Hector, holding an Oparts, gently kissed the back of Enrico’s hand. Just then, the color of the Oparts shimmered.
“Enri, Sir Balock said—”
The door opened, and the voice trailed off.
“……”
Previously, Enrico had told Blandea that sometimes Hector was too out of it during experiments, so she should just walk in without knocking. And Blandea had faithfully followed his words ever since.
“……”
Blandea stood there with an extremely calm expression. She looked at the two of them, then softly spoke.
“I’m not misunderstanding anything.”
Her voice was unusually polite—too polite. Her calm face didn’t match the scene at all, especially since the tray she brought was knocked over, with apple juice dripping onto the floor.
“My lips are sealed.”
She turned and walked out.
Enrico understood what she meant a beat too late.
“It’s not what it looks like! Blan! Hey! Blandea Lefebvre!”
****
It was a huge misunderstanding—almost.
Enrico pulled me into a seat and quickly showed me all kinds of Oparts prototypes. Hector started explaining with fancy words, and I realized: they really were doing research.
Still… This is insane. No, seriously—isn’t this impossible?
There were no Oparts like this in the original story. In The Mad Beauty’s Demise, Enrico was just a handsome genius from a noble family. His genius was mostly tied to sword skills.
But here, he’s kind of overpowered…
Hector sipped the half-spilled juice I brought and said,
“The Lefevre family has always had few heirs, as you know.”
It was true. Father was an only child. So were Grandpa, Great-Grandpa, and so on. Lefevre always had a very small family line.
“But now that you can be the heir if Enrico dies, we pushed him to the limit for research.”
“…….”
“Hey! Don’t hit me, my lady! That hurts!”
****
A few weeks later.
“Mother, Mother.”
“What is it, Blan?”
My mother, who was walking around the estate with the butler, turned to me.
“Enri got another nosebleed while eating.”
“Oh dear…”
Mother sighed and handed her ledger to the butler. Lately, Enricor’s condition hasn’t been great. The head chef kept bringing fresh, high-quality ingredients to make nutritious meals, but they weren’t helping.
Or… maybe they’re the only thing keeping him going.
“No matter how good the food is, it’s useless if Enrico won’t sleep. Butler?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Turn off the lights in the guesthouse tonight.”
“Right away.”
With elegance, Mother sighed and gently patted my head.
“Why are my children living such busy lives?”
“I’m not that busy.”
“Really? You seem pretty busy to me, dear.”
“But Enri is way busier.”
Mother laughed.
“You’re right. These days, he doesn’t even sleep.”
He really needed sleep. I asked the maids and gathered some sleep-aid herbs. I wasn’t going to go as far as making a fancy scent pouch, so I just tied the herbs in a handkerchief.
Then I went to find Enrico.
“Enri!”
He was banging his head on the desk. I ran up to him, and I heard him mumbling as he hit his forehead.
“It’s not enough time. I don’t have time.”
“…Time?”
“Huh? When did you get here?”
Enrico looked up in surprise.
Up close, he really didn’t look okay. If not for his balanced features, he would’ve looked like a wreck. His skin was rough, dark circles under his eyes, and with red-tinged whites, he looked possessed.
I glanced at his desk. It was buried in documents stacked taller than I was. The floor was the same—covered in papers with colorful sticky notes.
The Oparts were neatly lined up on a side table.
“You’re super busy, huh? Want me to cut more hair for you?”
“No… Hector’s working on a hair-growth potion.”
No wonder he was begging for another handful of hair yesterday…
They were seriously researching everything. I suddenly felt uneasy. I didn’t know why he was going to such lengths.
So I asked, just in case.
“Enri… you don’t have an incurable disease or anything, right?”
“What?”
“Like… a terminal illness?”
“No! Go ask the doctors if you want.”
“Then why do you keep saying you don’t have enough time?”
Honestly, I was scared even as I asked.
Because in the original story, Blandea had a terminal illness and died early.
What if, because I survived now, Enrico ends up with that illness instead?
No way.
I won’t let that happen.
No matter what, I had to keep Enrico alive.
He gave a tired chuckle.
“I have to finish this research by next month. Once I enlist, I won’t be able to work on it anymore.”
Right. Enlistment.
It was almost time.
Enrico was always top of his class at the academy. He was clearly a genius both academically and as a sacred swordsman.
He enjoyed using the sacred sword. He had both talent and passion. But still…
“Enri… do you like research more than the sacred sword?”
“What are you talking about? I like the sword more.”
“Really?”
“Well… Oparts can actually save people’s lives. So I’m putting everything into this. We’re from the Lefevre family, right? As a family from the Tower, it’s our duty to protect the kingdom too.”
Enrico always had this kind smile when he was being sincere. Honestly, to me, he was just my cousin, but at moments like this, I could understand why so many fans adored him in the original story.
I picked up the bundle of herbs I’d brought.
“What’s that? Wasn’t it a gift for me?”
“It was. But I changed my mind.”
“What?”
I had thought helping him sleep would be best for his health, but listening to him now—I realized I was wrong. Letting him keep working on what he wanted might be what gave him peace of mind.
As I turned to leave, I heard his voice behind me.
“Hey! Give it to me! Blan!”
