ORHML 22

Chapter 22

Leonil squeezed her eyes shut and gulped down the liquid.

“Pffft!”

It was so funny I couldn’t hold back my laughter.

“Puhahahahaha!”

I clutched my stomach as I laughed, and tears welled up from laughing too hard. As I wiped my eyes and caught my breath, I found everyone staring at me with wide eyes—it was quite a sight.

“Ah, really. Sister, you’re so cliché.”

“What?”

“Sister, it takes ten minutes just to get from your palace to here. Even if you ran the whole way, you expect me to believe you came rushing all this way just to save one maid—my maid?”

“Wh–What are you talking about…!”

She shouted at me but still kept checking Leonil’s condition. Francis, too, wasn’t looking at me but at her.

“I was wondering if maybe you rode a horse to get here.”

“…What are you implying?”

As Leonil covered her mouth in shock and glared at me, Kiira’s expression mirrored hers.

“You threw Lilfay out as bait, hoping I’d take it—because you thought I’d kill a servant again, like before.”

“Gracie.”

“Lilfay, I knew from the start that you were my sister’s person. But I kept you by my side anyway because I thought at least you believed in me.”

“N–No, Your Highness…!”

The servants had been silent as mice, but now began whispering among themselves. My attendant stood by, expression cold. The dog the Emperor sent me—the only one here I could trust.

“I don’t know when pomegranate juice became poison. Right, Verdine?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Verdine brushed his gray hair back impatiently, watching the situation with a bored look.

“You planned this, didn’t you? To show that I’m not fit to be crown princess?”

“What are you saying, Gracie? I would never think you’re unfit for that position.”

“Really? Then why, the moment you arrived, did you assume what I was giving the maid was poison?”

“Th–That’s…”

“You claim to care about me so much, yet the moment you came here, you doubted me. You stopped me without even asking what I was doing.”

“Gracie…”

My lips were dry. I licked them, my throat tightening with something sharp and painful—was it resentment or sorrow, I couldn’t tell.

“I thought about who benefits the most from this situation. And no matter how I look at it, there’s no one who’d gain more from ruining my reputation than you, sister.”

“You’re mistaken, Gracie.”

“Misunderstandings aren’t cleared up with words—they’re cleared up with actions. This isn’t a misunderstanding. What you’re doing is just making excuses.”

For some reason, I felt tears prickling at my eyes. Maybe it was that sticky, lingering attachment that wouldn’t die off.

We’re not even real family!

Who are you to make me feel so wretched!

“I’ll ask one last time.”

“…”

“Will you admit everything—what you did to my face, my reputation, and pushing me into the lake—and apologize?”

“…There you go again. Always drowning in paranoia, trying to pin your own wrongs on me.”

Pointless hopes should be dropped quickly.

“There’s no point in talking anymore.”

『Final quest choices have changed. Only two remain.
Kill Kiira Fletcher Gabriella Bastien.
Depose Kiira Fletcher Gabriella Bastien and make Gracie Fletcher Gabriella Bastien the Emperor.*』

Don’t make me pick option one, sister.

“If you don’t disappear right now, I’ll go straight to His Majesty.”

“Gracie…”

“Get out. All of you.”

Even now, she smiled faintly.

That calm expression made me want to split her in half.

“Master?”

Joshua, ever polite, was already waiting for me. When I opened the door and he approached, I felt oddly threatened—maybe because of his height.

“You’re back?”

“Yeah.”

Then came that irritating voice behind me. When I turned around—it was Clayton.

“Get lost, Clayton.”

He shoved Joshua aside and stepped into the room, which made me not want to go in anymore.

“Who do you think you are barging in without permission?”

“I came to talk. Can’t you put your bed slave away?”

I stiffened at the movement behind me—it was Francis. The knights behind him had hands on their swords, and the whole scene was getting on my nerves.

“Watch your mouth. You said you wanted to talk to me?”

“Why are you protecting him?”

“Because he’s mine. Sir Francis, come here.”

Joshua looked unsure whether to leave, so I grabbed his hand—and then Francis’s too—and dragged them both inside.

“I don’t feel safe being alone with you. But four of us? That I can handle.”

“What do you think I’ll do to you?”

“Same thing you think I’ll do with Joshua.”

He sounded hurt, but I wasn’t about to soften. Maybe because deep down I knew—his feelings, his affection—all of it would eventually turn toward Kiira.

“Do whatever you want. You’ll lose your head for it.”

“If you cut Joshua’s neck, will you cut mine too?”

“Are you insane?”

“So that’s how you see me too, huh?”

He closed his mouth, seeming to calm a little, so I took a seat on the sofa. Joshua sat right beside me.

“Hey, don’t sit there.”

“Right, Joshua. You should sit here.”

I patted my lap lightly, and his green eyes went wide, his cheeks flushing red. Cautiously, he sat on my lap.

God, he was heavy.

But I couldn’t show it, so I just smiled. Francis frowned and stood behind the sofa.

“Just say what you came for and leave.”

If he didn’t, I might not be able to walk later!

Joshua must’ve noticed my trembling legs, because he smiled faintly and moved to the seat beside me. Thank goodness.

“I came because I was worried about you.”

“Huh?”

“I just found out what happened earlier today.”

“…”

“So I came. I figured you wouldn’t be okay.”

That made me feel oddly hollow again.

“I’ve caused trouble for my maids more than once.”

“Then the maid must’ve been at fault.”

Clayton was dangerous. He was destined to return to my sister, yet he kept trying to shake me like this—it was troublesome. What was the point of having someone’s heart if it wasn’t really yours?

“Why do you trust me?”

“Because you’re not that kind of person.”

“What do you even know about me?”

“I don’t. I still don’t. But no matter what situation you’re in, being on your side and believing you—that’s all I can give you right now.”

My heart wavered, and I reached out to take Joshua’s hand. I wanted to see his face, to see what he was thinking. His brow was furrowed, but he smoothed it out and met my gaze anyway.

“Why are you such an idiot?”

“I don’t know. When it comes to you, I just am. Thinking rationally gets hard.”

“So you came here in the middle of the night because of that?”

“Yeah. I couldn’t go back, knowing you weren’t okay.”

It was hard to meet his eyes—I felt like he could read my mind.

“There are plenty of people who could comfort me. I even have a fiancé.”

“You’re not married yet. And if there really were that many people who could comfort you, your face wouldn’t look like that.”

“You can tell just by looking at my face?”

“Yeah. I only look at you, after all.”

The fact that he could say something like that so easily made the whole situation feel even more awkward.

『Quest!』

Oh, come on!

『If Clayton de Lebois stays in this room until tomorrow, you can progress the “Favor of the Daerid Kingdom” quest.』

No thanks. I’m not doing it.

『P.S. If the Daerid Kingdom’s approval is low, becoming Emperor may be hindered.』

What kind of game is this? Please tell me it’s not rated 19+, right?

“Ugh.”

“You mad?”

“No.”

I hated that Joshua was watching my every move. I’d lived my life doing that already.

“Hey, Clayton.”

“Yeah.”

“Sleep here tonight.”

“Huh?”

The way his face brightened was troublesome. He really did look like something out of a myth—silver hair, blue eyes, an angelic smile that drew the eye no matter what.

“Sir Francis, you too. Stay here.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Let’s all sleep together tonight.”

“…”

Clayton’s disappointed face was so annoying. But he was too dangerous to be alone with, and I didn’t want Joshua to leave and regret choosing me over my sister.

Besides, I might actually need him to become Emperor.

A card I couldn’t throw away.

He looked the weakest—but might turn out to be the strongest piece of all.

“You don’t want to?”

“…I thought it’d just be us.”

“You can leave if you don’t like it.”

He hesitated, looking conflicted. I knew he wouldn’t refuse, so I threw the words out boldly. His sigh didn’t bother me much.

“I’ll stay.”

“Good. Then that’s settled.”

Damn it.

In the other world, I’d never even held a man’s hand, and here I am—sharing a bed with three of them.

I don’t know if my life is blessed or cursed.