EWOWMAIBTYPF Chapter 173

Chapter 173

 

Lia’s jaw dropped at Diana’s bold and powerful proposal.

But Diana wasn’t done speaking.

“I’ll never let a single drop of water touch your hands for the rest of your life! If my brother upsets you, I’ll scold him for you. I’ll give you all the best things in the world. I’ll make you smile and keep you happy every single day! Oh, and when you have a baby, I’ll carry them around every day—”

“W-Wait!”

Lia, who had been listening in a daze, hurriedly stopped her.

A baby? That was jumping way, way too far ahead.

Mortified, she covered her cheeks with both hands and shook her head, but Diana looked flustered, clearly misunderstanding her reaction.

“Do you… not like my big brother? Th-Then how about my younger brother? He doesn’t have to inherit the family title, so you could live in Belus instead! That way, you wouldn’t have to be apart from your family. Though I’d have to follow you to the duchy, which would make our family sad, but oh well, that can’t be helped.”

“Um, Diana…”

“Wait… you don’t like my younger brother either? I mean, he is a bit of a flirt, even I—ugh, what should I do then…”

Diana clutched her head in frustration.

Honestly, she never thought her brothers lacked in looks, ability, or character, but when it came to Lia, they just seemed inadequate in every way.

Finally, after making up her mind, Diana spoke with a dramatic tone.

“Fine. As a last resort, I’ll marry the Grand Duke’s son—”

“Denied! Absolutely not!”

Before Diana could even finish, Lia waved her hands and shouted frantically.

“That’s definitely not happening! And Diana, the young master didn’t confess to me.”

“What?”

“I mean, he didn’t say he… liked me or anything like that.”

Lia mumbled, her face bright red.

“No way! He didn’t say he liked you?”

At Diana’s shocked question, Lia nodded.

It wasn’t a lie.

Lucio had never actually said he liked her.

⟨You already know why I’m doing this.⟩

That was all he’d said.

Lia shuddered as she recalled Lucio’s hushed whisper.

The more she thought about it, the more unfair it felt.

Diana clearly believed Lucio had confessed to her, but Lia herself wasn’t even sure about his feelings.

‘What kind of person doesn’t just say they like someone? If you like me, just say it clearly…’

Ack! Lia shook her head to brush off the thoughts that had crept in without her realizing.

She’d come all the way to the empire with a desperate heart, and now she was daydreaming about this?

She felt pathetic, yet couldn’t stop her cheeks and ears from burning.

What embarrassed her the most was having this kind of conversation with Diana, whom she’d always seen as a little girl.

Meanwhile, Diana, completely unaware that Lia was flustered and trying to play it cool, was now thoroughly disappointed in Lucio.

Back when they’d reunited, he seemed so proactive, she’d been sure he’d confessed.

‘Idiot! Dummy! Why didn’t you just say it? You like her so much…’

She let out a sigh of frustration.

If anyone knew how much Lucio liked Lia, it was Diana.

⟨Diana, you said you got a letter—should I read it to you?⟩

When Lia first returned to Belus and sent a letter saying she’d arrived safely,

Her eldest brother, who was usually so busy that he was rarely seen, suddenly showed up and asked that.

Back then, Diana was still learning to read, so she would go around asking her family to read letters to her, and she’d excitedly handed Lia’s letter to Lucio.

Even as time passed, and she became able to read letters herself without help…

Lucio still came, offering to read Lia’s letters for her, and Diana couldn’t help but notice…

That Lia was someone special to Lucio.

If she hadn’t been,

⟨Do you really not wonder about me at all…⟩

He wouldn’t have muttered bitterly to himself while reading, or stared longingly at the carefully written letters like they were something precious.

Of course, it took Diana a long time to fully understand what Lucio’s feelings meant.

Her eldest brother was always so busy, it was hard to even see his face, and even when she did, he never showed his true emotions.

But eventually, unable to hold back, Diana asked him outright,

⟨Big brother, do you love Lia? Do you want to marry her?⟩

Lucio froze.

After a long silence, he finally looked at her and asked,

⟨…What?”⟩

Then, as if startled by his own reaction, he quickly raised his hands to cover his face.

But he couldn’t hide his reddened ears or neck.

Seeing him too flustered to deny it, Diana had shouted in joy on the spot.

She believed then that her dream of becoming real family with Lia might come true through her big brother.

She had originally considered Allen, but her foolish second brother had already been disqualified.

At the academy festival, she’d seen him invite a brown-haired young lady, a librarian, to be his ball partner.

And Allen wasn’t even dating just one person.

He kept changing who he went out with, though they always seemed to have brown hair.

Still, since it had nothing to do with Lia, Diana didn’t care whether Allen dated someone with brown hair or a bald head. She had no interest in her brother’s tastes.

Compared to that, Lucio’s only drawback was his age. But he had no romantic scandals and, surprisingly, was quite considerate, which made him seem like a good match for Lia.

‘My sister’s sensitive and thoughtful, she needs someone gentle and attentive by her side!’

Above all, the fact that her eldest brother also liked Lia made Diana’s heart lean even more in that direction.

From that moment on, Diana began subtly promoting her big brother to Lia, casually slipping updates about Lucio into her letters.

‘I did all that, and yet…!’

Diana felt a pang of betrayal, like a throb at the back of her head.

Just then—

“Diana, I understand how you feel. Let’s talk about this later.”

Still blushing, Lia helped Diana up as she spoke.

“I’m sorry, but I have to go somewhere right now…”

Diana awkwardly stood, unable to ask Lia to take off the necklace she was currently wearing and replace it with the one she’d given her. Now that she looked closer, Lia was already fully dressed and ready to leave.

“Where are you going at this hour, sis?”

She must not be feeling well!

When Diana asked in concern, Lia replied with an awkward smile.

“I was actually about to send a message to the duke’s estate. I don’t think I’ll be able to attend the final round of the fencing tournament today. I have to go to the palace to meet His Majesty.”

“What?”

Diana was already annoyed enough with Prince Nicholas for stealing her sister’s first dance on the first day of the founding festival, and even more with the emperor who awarded him the honor. Now Lia was going to the palace?

“You’re not going alone, are you?”

“No, not alone…”

“Then with family?”

“Hmm… no.”

After a brief hesitation, Lia denied it.

“Then who?” Diana’s eyes widened.

Just then, Jane’s voice came from outside the door.

“Your Highness, Lady Clara has arrived. She’s waiting on the first floor.”

Diana’s face froze in shock.

 

***

 

“Hello, Lady Clara.”

“Yes, Lady Diana.”

The greeting between Clara and Diana was cold and dry.

She really had bragged in her letters about how well she was fitting in at social gatherings.

Gone was the girl who had been crying just moments ago. Diana now wore a composed and noble expression.

Of course, when she subtly turned to look at me, her expression changed to a pleading, cat-like face that seemed to say, ‘Can I come with you too?’

I forced myself to look away.

I couldn’t take Diana to the palace with me.

‘No need to risk her running into Nicholas.’

Still, even as I told myself that, part of me couldn’t help feeling uncertain about Nicholas’s intentions.

Not long ago, I had been completely sure that Nicholas liked Diana.

It wasn’t just because he had once sent her a formal marriage proposal in the past.

There were many reasons, but the most convincing was that, unlike other noble families who used marriage proposals as tools of negotiation, Lucio had shown no such intention.

‘And now I even know Lucio is working for Nicholas.’

That made it even more unlikely that Nicholas would use Diana just to gain House Elard’s support.

‘But then again, if he asked me to dance right after sensing the Emperor’s intentions…’

It felt like it was time to test Nicholas a little.

“Adriana!”

Right in the middle of her subtle tug-of-war with Diana, Clara called out sweetly and linked arms with me.

Diana’s eyes sharpened in an instant.

She’d already seemed hurt knowing I was going to the palace with Clara, and now Clara’s obvious display made it worse.

But only for a moment.

“Adriana… have you already finished getting ready…?”

Clara asked in a stunned voice, finally noticing my appearance.

She must have assumed I’d be dressed extravagantly again, like yesterday.

Thinking I’d be all glammed up, she’d likely planned to dress up just enough to look modest by comparison—but now she was clearly more dressed up than me, a Grand Princess.

“Um… we’re going to meet His Majesty. Shouldn’t you be a little more dressed up for the occasion?”

Clara said cautiously, her eyes scanning me with a nervous look.

Her expression and tone sounded genuinely concerned.

If I were just a little more naive, I might have second-guessed myself and even appreciated her for looking out for me.

But…

‘What am I supposed to do when you’re so obvious, Clara.’

To me, it was clear as day: she was pretending to be concerned while trying to steer me exactly where she wanted.