I Became the Youngest Sister-in-law of the Ruined Reverse Harem’s Male Leads - Chapter 143
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
#.143
No matter how you look at it, Antonio Benichka is a guy with a real talent for getting on people’s nerves.
There’s no other way he could be this irritating.
On top of that, his personality is so shameless – he was just throwing punches and fighting, yet now he’s even mooching a meal off Edgar.
“Ugh. Short hair is really inconvenient.”
Antonio skillfully swept his hair behind his ear and resumed eating.
“Why are you growing your hair out? You said you got into trouble because of it.”
“I don’t need to tell you—”
Antonio was responding sullenly when Edgar started pulling the food toward himself, making Antonio hastily protect his bowl while answering.
“I want to get closer to my little sister.”
“Little sister?”
When Edgar let go of the bowl, Antonio quickly pulled the food close to himself.
“I have a little sister who’s 10 years younger, but she doesn’t like me. She loves playing with dolls, so… I thought if my hair was long, she might play with it like a doll and we could get closer. I’m planning to donate it later to make a wig.”
“If your family dislikes you to that extent, isn’t there something wrong with you?”
“She’s my stepsister from a remarriage. Since she’s young, she seems to believe I’m bullying her mom.”
“Ah.”
Since he was keeping his head down and focusing on his food, Edgar couldn’t see what expression Antonio was making.
Even so, Edgar felt a sense of kinship, recognizing that the boy in front of him was the same type as himself.
It seemed Antonio had parents, but…
“Oh. Let me sleep at your place. I told the adults I’d stay at Chris’s house, but I don’t know where Chris lives.”
“Then just go home.”
“If I go home, Liliana will be there.”
“Don’t tell me you two live in the same house… Ugh. Fine, let’s go.”
Edgar pressed his forehead firmly, then just ran his hands through his hair.
He swore that Antonio Benichka was the most troublesome guy Edgar had ever met in his life.
* * *
“I thought the Imperial Palace was just a place you visit for historical tourism, but people actually live here.”
“Stop saying weird things.”
“I can’t help it if that’s the truth.”
Though his tone was sarcastic, Antonio looked around the Imperial Palace with sparkling eyes full of curiosity.
“This is my room. You can use that room over there.”
“Really? I was curious about what kind of rooms royalty uses, so let me take a look.”
Antonio opened the door and went in before Edgar could stop him.
“Sigh.”
Unlike the splendid corridor, Edgar’s room was surprisingly modest and neat.
Antonio looked around at the books filling the bookshelf.
“Oh. This book is interesting.”
“It’s a rather difficult classical play – have you read it?”
“I’ve read it several times. Liliana and I used this book to prepare for art school entrance exams.”
“Art school?”
“We’re both acting majors. I’m valedictorian, she’s salutatorian. We’re supposed to enroll next year.”
“You liked role-playing even when you were young, so you ended up going that route.”
Edgar was pursuing his path in the Empire, while Lilliana was pursuing hers in Trowance.
Now that he heard about their current situations, his head understood, but his heart found it hard to accept.
Until they parted ways, they had always been together. Eating together, going to school together, playing together…
Even though a long time had passed since Lilliana returned to Trowance, accepting reality wasn’t easy.
“Huh? What’s this?”
Antonio, who had been wandering around the room looking at things, discovered something on the bed and picked it up.
At first he thought it was a rag, but looking again, it was an old doll.
A rabbit doll that was flattened and twisted, making it hard to recognize its original shape.
“It’s completely like a rag?”
“Give it here.”
Swoosh. Edgar’s face turned red as he snatched the doll from Antonio’s hands and shoved it into the wardrobe.
Just then, there was a knock and the door swung open.
“Edgar. Did you happen to go to the shopping district today— Hmm?”
“Hello. Nice to see you again!”
“Oh. You two seem to have gotten quite close?”
“Nah. We’re not that close.”
Unlike Antonio who answered cheerfully, Edgar just shook his head irritably.
“What did you need?”
“Hmm.”
Marius looked back and forth between the two teenagers for a moment, then smiled knowingly.
“Right, at your age, you become friends by fighting.”
Antonio, who had been staring at him intently, muttered.
“You look a lot alike.”
“Who? Edgar and me? Haha. He does take after me quite a bit. Edgar, you should be grateful you’re handsome because of me. Wahaha!”
Antonio’s face crumpled strangely.
Edgar, embarrassed by his guardian, quickly dragged his cousin out with his neck flushed red up to the nape.
Once they were in the corridor, Marius asked quietly.
“So who won?”
“How did you know it was us two?”
“The hail and aura traces found at the scene. Anyone could tell it was you and that ability user friend.”
“Keep it secret. I don’t want it reaching my guardian’s ears.”
“Fine. But answer me this one thing.”
“What?”
“Who won?”
Edgar gritted his teeth in embarrassment.
Marius asked with the solemnity of someone whose pride was at stake.
“You won, right?”
“I did win.”
“Then that’s all that matters.”
Who would see that person humming as he walked away as an emperor?
Edgar concluded it had been a difficult day in many ways.
* * *
9 PM. Edgar was working on his assignments.
Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock.
The regular intervals of knocking on the door gave him chills.
“What?”
Antonio answered ominously.
“I’m hungry.”
“You already ate dinner.”
“I eat five meals a day.”
“Don’t you think there’s something wrong with you?”
“I’m hungry. Don’t you have anything to eat in your room? I don’t see any of the maid sisters around – they must have all gone to sleep.”
“Only the knights are walking around at this hour. Let’s go. If we search the kitchen, we should be able to find something to eat.”
Edgar took Antonio through the dark corridor to the kitchen.
Rummaging through the drawers, he found bread and cold meat.
Even though it was almost bedtime, Antonio excitedly began devouring the food.
“When are you going to sleep if you eat now?”
“What should we do after eating? Want to play?”
“Play?”
“I’m bored. Aren’t you tired of being cooped up in your room?”
“I didn’t think we were close enough to play together.”
“Don’t be such a petty person over a little fight.”
One more punch would probably make him feel better.
While Edgar clenched his fist and suppressed his instincts, Antonio frowned after seeing the green grape aide.
“This is delicious.”
“If it’s delicious, why do you look like that?”
“Lily really loves green grape aide. She should try this too.”
His temples began to throb. He didn’t want to hear about Lilliana.
Unaware of Edgar’s feelings, Antonio opened up.
“Should I go to school tomorrow and apologize for getting angry?”
“Tomorrow’s the weekend. There’s no school.”
“Ah. I wouldn’t know since I’ve completely given up on studying.”
“How proud of you.”
“What’s wrong with that? Instead, I sing well. I dance well too. Ah, I want to sing with Lily.”
Antonio slammed his forehead down on the table with a dejected expression.
Meanwhile, his hand was still firmly gripping a fork with a chicken leg stuck on it.
“I don’t have the confidence to face her tomorrow. I’ll go back the day after.”
“Please make up with her and get lost.”
He had agreed to help them reconcile in exchange for forgiveness for making a hole in her head, but far from reconciling, Antonio himself was too much to handle.
He had never seen someone so unpredictable before.
Antonio was also the first person who didn’t even flinch when shown the prickly attitude he displayed to others.
“Nothing in this world goes my way. Sigh.”
“Do you want to make up?”
“No. I’d like her to feel anxious like me, just once.”
It was a somewhat spiteful thing to say, but perhaps because of his bitter voice, the guy seemed very lonely.
“Right. Lilliana always has lots of friends. So she’d probably do fine even if I disappeared. The sadness is all mine.”
Antonio straightened up and faced Edgar. Edgar confessed his true feelings with his head deeply bowed.
“That’s how I was. I… didn’t want to miss her. Because it would definitely be an emotion only I felt.”
He couldn’t understand why he was telling his inner thoughts to someone like this.
Maybe he was making a wrong judgment because he saw himself in Antonio.
If so, he’d probably regret it terribly as soon as he woke up tomorrow morning.
“It seemed that way. But Lily missed you enough to write letters until two years ago.”
“I didn’t know she’d write letters for four whole years either.”
“How wonderful of you to say.”
Antonio roughly tore at the chicken leg.
Chewing the meat, Antonio confessed.
“Lily should tremble with anxiety about losing her best friend too. It’s unfair that only I’m anxious and worried. I’m tired of keeping tabs on all the boys… I’m sick of it all now!”
“…Wasn’t it that you didn’t like Lilliana dating Noah? It doesn’t seem related to being anxious.”
“I don’t like it! I’m her closest friend, but if she gets a boyfriend, she’ll obviously grow distant from me! I want her to think of me as number one!”
What is he talking about?
Edgar realized there was something he had missed.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————