I Became the Youngest Sister-in-law of the Ruined Reverse Harem’s Male Leads - Chapter 21

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#.21

Life on the ship was more boring than I had imagined.

It was hard to believe that only three days had passed since we set sail.

“I’m so booooored.”

There weren’t any friends my age on the ship, and my sisters weren’t exactly eager to play with me either.

So I kept twisting my body around, constantly complaining about being bored like it was my catchphrase.

‘The atmosphere between my sisters is so bad that I can’t even get close to them.’

Both my oldest sister and second sister were in an uproar over my youngest sister’s declaration that she had quit the research lab to take a job as the Mage Tower’s assistant.

The argument was intense—from “How could you quit the research lab you worked so hard to get into?” to “Don’t you care about your future career?” and “How could you push through such an important decision without even telling us?”

Even when important things happened, they would just notify each other and then fight about the same issue again—that’s what sisters were like, I suppose.

Anyway, currently, my oldest sister wouldn’t even make eye contact with my youngest sister, and my second sister was holed up in her room.

So I spent all my time reading the mood and ended up making it a daily routine to watch the sea from the deck.

“I’m so booooooored.”

As I was lying sprawled on the deck rolling around, someone suddenly picked me up. It was Leopold.

“Your clothes are getting dirty.”

“Uncle. I’m bored. Play with me.”

Before Leopold could even answer, Marius made a suggestion.

“Little one. Bored? Want to play hide-and-seek with uncle?”

“Yes! Let’s play hide-and-seek!”

“If you tell uncle he’s the most handsome man in the world, then I’ll play hide-and-seek with you.”

“But that would be a lie. Lilliana doesn’t lie. Uncle Leo, play with me. I’ll make it really fun for you. Please?”

I clung to the neck of Leopold, who was holding me with one arm.

We could play hopscotch on the deck, or since the ship was big, hide-and-seek would be fun too.

“Uncle Leo is too busy. If you want to play, play with me.”

“But it’s no fun with just two people. Uncle Leo. Let’s play together. I want to play with you.”

“Fine, uncle will be ‘it,’ so go hide quickly.”

Leopold nodded as he set me down on the ground.

My heart fluttered with excitement at the prospect of hide-and-seek after so long. I covered my mouth and hopped around, making Marius chuckle.

“Little one. Let’s hurry and go hide.”

“Uncle Leo. Count to a hundred before you look for us. Got it?”

Without waiting for Leopold’s answer, I quickly ran inside the ship.

Where should I hide so Leopold won’t find me?

If I just went to my room, Leo would definitely find me there.

After some thought, I ran to the dining hall, which we rarely entered except during meal times.

“Where should I hide!”

After entering the dining hall, I looked around for a moment, then pressed down on my pounding heart and hid under one of the dining tables.

The fluttering white tablecloth hung down long—if I hid well, he’d never notice me.

“Waaaah. This is so exciting!”

I hoped the hundred seconds would pass quickly. Hehehe.

Not long after, when I heard footsteps in the corridor, my heart started pounding.

I hastily covered my mouth to suppress any giggles that might escape.

Click—the sound of the door opening made me feel like my heart would jump out.

Was it Leopold? My stomach felt ticklish.

But the voices I heard weren’t Leopold’s—they were my twin sisters’.

“As soon as we arrive in the Empire, you’re going back to Trowance. Your specialty is supernatural ability research, so how does it make sense to do magic research at the Magic Tower?”

“And what about you? Does it make sense to seriously date a man you’ve never even properly gone on a date with? And now you’re saying you’ll immigrate to the Empire entirely—if this isn’t crazy, then what is?”

“…I like Mr. Leopold. I’m genuinely attracted to him. I don’t want to let him go. And life in the Empire won’t be easy—how could sister take care of Lilliana all by herself? Lilliana isn’t even healthy. That’s why I need to go with you.”

My heart, which had been racing with anticipation from the hide-and-seek game, suddenly sank with a thud.

“I’ll take care of Lilliana, so you go back and finish your research. You love studying, don’t you? Please, Emilia, I’m begging you.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m going to study abroad to learn more diverse knowledge. I’ve wanted to research supernatural abilities that overlap with magic and divine power for a long time. I want to unravel those mysteries, so don’t make baseless assumptions.”

After my youngest sister’s rebuttal, the footsteps grew distant, and soon the door slammed shut with a bang!

“Sigh.”

My second sister let out a deep sigh. This was followed by quiet sniffling sounds.

I couldn’t do anything but crouch my shoulders while biting my nails, unable to move either way.

“Miss Regina?”

“Oh, Mr. Leopold…”

“Were you crying?”

“No. Something got in my eye. By the way, what brings you here?”

“Ah… I was just passing by…”

“Where could Lilliana beeeee.”

Just then, Marius’s booming voice echoed from the corridor.

“We’re playing hide-and-seek.”

“Really? Then let’s look for her together.”

“No need. I’m doing this because I want to get closer to Lilliana. Ah, let me escort you to the front. Shall we go?”

And so Leopold and my second sister left the dining hall.

Click. The door closed and I was left alone in the dining hall.

Only then could I let the tears that had been welling up in my eyes fall drop by drop.

‘I must be a burden to my sisters.’

“Hic. Sniff.”

Feeling sorry for myself, I buried my face between my knees.

I know my sisters love me, but sometimes I’m still very scared.

Aren’t they annoyed by my presence? Don’t they find me troublesome?

‘I want to have a mom and dad too.’

Like my friends, I want to try calling someone “mom” too. I wish I had a dad who would give me piggyback rides and push me on swings.

“Sniff.”

The tears wouldn’t stop, so I was wiping my eyes with my sleeve when suddenly the tablecloth was pulled back and sunlight poured in.

Marius bent down and crawled underneath.

“Little one, why are you crying here all alone?”

Marius pulled me close and wrapped his arm around my shoulders as if he understood everything. He stayed by my side without saying anything more.

“Uncle, do you find Lilliana annoying?”

“Huh? Not at all.”

“No. You do find me annoying.”

I’m not his real sister, niece, or cousin—I’m just baggage that comes with his fiancée.

Even if he thinks he should win over his future sister-in-law, it must be quite bothersome.

“Uncle is so happy to become family with Lilliana, but it seems like the little one doesn’t want to become family with me.”

“I won’t dislike it anymore. I’m sorry.”

“Uncle doesn’t dislike Lilliana. Playing with Lilliana is really fun.”

Marius pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and held it to my nose as he answered.

“Blow.”

“Blow!”

“More!”

“Blow!”

“That’s enough. Can you breathe now?”

“Gasp! It’s clear!”

“Just like a little rascal to get a stuffy nose too. This won’t do. Uncle will have to play with Lilliana every day, won’t he?”

“I’m not a little rascal.”

“Then a chestnut?”

“I’m not a chestnut either!”

“Then… a peanut?”

“No way! I… I won’t play with you, mister!”

The gloomy feelings from getting caught up with Marius completely disappeared, and my head felt hot with anger.

I couldn’t stay with Marius like this.

As I angrily huffed and crawled out from under the dining table, Leopold, who had quietly returned to the dining hall, caught me.

“Found you, Lilliana.”

“It’s because of mister that I got caught!”

“You got caught because Peanut has a loud voice. It’s not my fault.”

“I said I’m not Peanut! If you keep doing this, I won’t play with you anymore, okay?”

“Wahahahaha. She says she won’t play with me!”

When Marius clutched his stomach and laughed, his appearance was so annoying that my face heated up.

Leopold gave me a piggyback ride.

“Kyaaaaa!”

As Leopold ran while carrying me, I became incredibly excited, as if crying and getting angry just moments before had been a lie.

So I didn’t notice that he hadn’t asked why I was crying.

Leopold carried me on his shoulders and went to the deck.

I thought there wouldn’t be any seagulls since we were far from land, but seabirds were flying around the ship in circles.

Marius, who had followed us at some point, suddenly pressed a cookie into my hand.

“If you throw the cookie, the seabirds will catch it and eat it. Go ahead and throw it.”

“Really?”

“Don’t you trust mister?”

“Mm. Well, that’s true, but…”

When I muttered as if suspicious, Marius visibly sulked. I had no choice but to quickly add:

“But I’ll trust you just this once.”

I quickly threw the cookie into the air. Then the birds that had been crying “kree kree” flew nearby and snatched the cookie.

“Whoa! It ate it! Did you see? It ate what Lilliana gave it!”

“Want to do more?”

“Yes! Give me more cookies!”

So I threw cookies until all the cookies Marius had were gone.

* * *

I had to stand on my tiptoes and stretch my arms out fully just to reach the sink.

After washing my hands that had become sticky from cookie crumbs and sugar, I came out and heard Marius and Leopold having a conversation.

“You handled taking Regina away well earlier.”

“Regina seemed unaware that there was a child in that place. Did she cry a lot?”

“A little.”

“I feel bad thinking about Edgar. By the way, you seem to get along well with the child.”

“Isn’t she too cute? Unlike Edgar, I feel drawn to her.”

“Don’t keep too much distance from Edgar. Isn’t he your only remaining blood relative?”

“Blood relative, you say.”

At Marius’s heavily changed tone, I shouted loudly to let them know I had returned.

“Lilliana’s back!”

“Little one. I thought your legs would be too short to reach the sink, but you washed your hands?”

“My legs aren’t short.”

“They are though. Little one is completely half-sized.”

“I hate you!”

To protest against Marius, I deliberately wiped my wet hands on his clothes.

When Marius made a fuss and loudly pretended to dislike it, I burst into giggles.

“There you are, Your Majesty. I’ve been looking for you for quite a while. There’s an urgent matter that requires your attention.”

Then Max came and took Marius away, saying there was a matter to check.

That left only Leopold and me in the corridor.

He had saved me from almost getting hit by a carriage and given me piggyback rides, but unlike with Marius, there was a strange distance with Leopold.

So I pressed a chocolate into his hand.

“Mister, eat this.”

“…”

He looked down at the chocolate I had given him with a puzzled expression.

I grabbed Leopold’s long pinky finger and whispered:

“Shh! Since we secretly shared chocolate without the sisters knowing, we’re best friends now, okay? Got it?”

At my words, Leopold smiled happily.

On the third day of life at sea, we became best friends like that.

And a week later, the ship docked at the Imperial Port.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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