I Became the Youngest Sister-in-law of the Ruined Reverse Harem’s Male Leads - Chapter 22

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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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#.22

02. Pumpkin and Seaweed

“Wooooow!”

“Amaziiiiing!”

“Kyaaaaa!”

Every time I exclaimed in wonder, Marius straightened his shoulders with a proud expression.

Sometimes he would even lift his chin triumphantly.

That was because I couldn’t stop marveling at the unfamiliar imperial scenery outside the window.

If Trobancha was naturally beautiful, the Empire was dazzling and magnificent.

From six-story high-rise buildings rarely seen back home to ornate architectural decorations and people in unfamiliar clothing.

Everything was so fascinating that I had been frantically looking out the carriage window since we got off the ship.

“Lilliana. It’s dangerous, so sit properly.”

“Mm-hmm. I know.”

I reluctantly sat down properly only after big sister stopped me.

But when the carriage passed by a fountain, I jumped up again and clung to the window.

Eventually Marius sat me on his thigh and held my waist to keep me from moving.

Marius’s chin touched the top of my head. He pressed down on my head with his chin and asked.

“Impressive, right?”

“Yeah. So impressive.”

“You’re glad you came to the Empire, right?”

“Hey. That depends on how well uncle treats me.”

“That’s hurtful? I like the little one so much.”

“But you keep teasing me calling me chestnut.”

“That’s just stating facts.”

“I’m not talking to uncle anymore!”

When I turned my head away sharply, Marius chuckled behind me.

Unlike me and Marius who chattered constantly, big sister sitting across from us kept staring out the window expressionlessly.

Big sister seemed to be in a bad mood the entire time on the ship.

She was much more gloomy than usual and her nerves were on edge.

It was partly due to the suddenly changed environment, but it was likely because of little sister and youngest sister.

The twin sisters and big sister had grown up together bickering since childhood.

Because of that, the three of them had a bond that I didn’t know about.

Just as I was about to become dejected from worrying about big sister, Marius tickled my side playfully.

I squirmed and burst into laughter from the tickling.

“What do you want to eat first when we get to the Imperial Palace?”

“Blueberry cheesecake!”

“So blueberry cheesecake is your favorite?”

“Of course. It’s so delicious.”

“Alright. Tonight’s dinner will be blueberry cheesecake.”

“Kyahahaha! Then I have to eat it with Cookie and Jelly!”

Of course Cookie and Jelly are dolls so they can’t actually eat food, but I pretend they’re eating to set the mood.

While I was excitedly talking with Marius about what food we wanted to eat for dinner, the carriage stopped.

I stuck to the carriage window again to check outside.

We had somehow entered the splendid Imperial Palace.

“Little one, outside the carriage you have to call uncle ‘Your Majesty’ or ‘brother-in-law’. Got it? Brother-in-law?”

“Oh my. I know that too. Did you think Lilliana wouldn’t know such things?”

“Brother-in-law. Brother-in-law. You understand, right?”

I nodded to Marius who kept emphasizing ‘brother-in-law’.

Only after hearing my confirmation did Marius try to say something to big sister too.

The moment he parted his lips, big sister beat him to it.

“Don’t worry.”

“Right. With Miss Edith there’s nothing to worry about.”

Marius looked at big sister with a serious, mature expression rather than the light smile he showed me, then got out of the carriage.

Outside the carriage, imperial courtiers stood in formation to greet Marius.

His confidently squared shoulders and unhesitating gait were that of an emperor itself.

Following him, big sister got out of the carriage first. Then she held my hand to support me as I got down.

The gazes of imperial courtiers in unfamiliar attire focused on us.

They were all dressed in very expensive clothes and adorned with fancy jewelry.

They lifted their chins stiffly and examined us from head to toe with arrogant eyes.

They looked at me with my knees showing or big sister Edith in her suit and either sneered or let out scoffing laughs.

‘…Scary.’

It was wariness and hostility that even young me could easily read.

Intimidated, I quickly hid behind big sister.

“Welcome to the Bayderk Empire.”

An imperial courtier bowed to me and big sister in greeting.

It was an alien accent that was hard to understand.

Only then could I realize how much Marius and Leopold had refined their speech for us.

Big sister responded to the blatant cold treatment by simply nodding indifferently as a greeting.

Just then little sister and youngest sister got out of the carriage that had followed behind and came this way.

“Thank you for welcoming us. Please take care of us from now on.”

Unlike the calm big sister, the twin sisters looked very nervous with pale faces.

But they stood side by side on either side of big sister as if to protect her.

I was the only one hiding behind.

So I also hugged big sister’s waist tightly and poked my face out between my sisters.

My shoulders were hunched, but I didn’t want to be a burden to my sisters.

No, I might already be a burden, but I wanted to at least lighten the load a little.

Marius turned around sharply. He had completely put on the face of an emperor.

Perhaps because of that, the magnificently spread Imperial Palace behind him suited him very well.

“Miss Edith. And sisters-in-law. Welcome to the Empire.”

Marius’s smooth smile greeting us was quite alien.

It was a moment when I newly realized that Marius Chemelhofen was the Emperor of the Empire.

* * *

We ended up staying at a place called Lete Palace in this order: big sister, me, little sister, youngest sister, all in a row.

I was separated from my sisters and was placing Cookie and Jelly in my assigned room when I was greatly startled by maids who suddenly appeared.

“Kyaaak! Who are you?”

“Hello. We’re greeting you for the first time. We are the maids Mary and Jo assigned to serve Lady Lilliana.”

In Trobancha there were housekeepers who did housework, but there were no maids or lady’s maids.

So I was surprised by the two who knelt and greeted me, and after standing there dumbfounded, I belatedly hugged Cookie tightly and greeted them.

“Oh, hello! I’m Lilliana and I’m six years old! This is my little sister Cookie!”

“What a cute doll. Miss, if you have anything you’d like us to do, please tell us anytime. Like unpacking or organizing.”

“Uh…”

I felt dizzy.

Give them work? Why? Shouldn’t you unpack your own luggage?

“I don’t think there’s anything. I, I think you should go to our big sister!”

“Other maids have gone to Lady Edith.”

“Mm-hmm… But still…”

When I couldn’t do this or that, the two of them exchanged glances and stepped forward to start unpacking the luggage bags that had been delivered to my room, one by one.

I watched them organize the luggage while fidgeting restlessly.

“I, I can do it myself…”

“No, miss. This is our job, so please sit and rest comfortably. You must be tired from the long journey.”

“Um… then can I go to my sisters?”

“Of course. This palace is your home now, so please make yourself comfortable.”

When they nodded readily, I grabbed Cookie and hurried over to the next room.

Edith was unpacking luggage herself along with the maids.

She looked frantically busy, so I couldn’t bring myself to talk to her. So I went over to Liliana.

“Little sister. Should I help you?”

I cracked the door open and poked my head out.

Liliana was greeting the maids assigned to her and laughing cheerfully.

Liliana also seemed to have no room for me to join in.

I had no choice but to go to youngest sister. Youngest sister was…

“I’ll organize the books and documents myself, so don’t touch them. I won’t be staying long anyway.”

“Oh. Are you returning home soon?”

“No. I’m going to find a house and move out. I can’t commute to the Imperial Palace every day. I just need to take out some simple clothes, but I can do that myself, so you don’t need to bother.”

“You’re… going to work?”

“Yes. I have to work.”

The maids were startled by youngest sister’s statement and exchanged glances among themselves.

Youngest sister ignored their strange atmosphere and added coldly.

“Since there seems to be nothing to do, you don’t need to come to me. Oh, and I’ll organize my room myself, so don’t touch anything inside. Got it?”

It seemed like a difficult atmosphere for me to join, so I quietly closed the door again.

“Sigh. Cookie is the only one who can play with Lilliana? Cookie, where should we play?”

The Imperial Palace probably doesn’t have… a playground.

‘Hmph. I want to ride the swing.’

A seesaw would be good too, or even just a sandbox. In Trobancha, I used to go to the beach under adult supervision with friends and build sand castles.

But there’s no way there would be a beach here in the Imperial Palace.

“Sigh, this won’t do. Let’s explore the Imperial Palace!”

If I went too far, there would be trouble again, so I decided to explore within the range visible from my sisters’ rooms.

There happened to be a flower bed in front of the window. I crouched down in front of the flower bed and played by tapping unknown flowers.

Ants and caterpillars crawled over the soil. The unknown flowers also gave off a sweet fragrance.

“Hmm. Jelly should have come to see this too. Right, Cookie?”

After observing the flower bed for a while, I turned around while still crouching.

Behind the flower bed was a well-paved open space that looked good for drawing pictures on the ground or playing territory games.

Just as I was wondering if I could draw pictures without getting permission from Marius, a large shadow fell over my head.

“Huh?”

When I turned my head, Leopold was there. I was so happy to see Leopold that I jumped up and clung to his legs.

“Leo! I missed you! Didn’t you miss Lilliana?”

“I missed you.”

“Hehehe. You came at just the right time! What’s this flower?”

“That’s a tulip. It’s a flower that doesn’t exist in Trobancha.”

“Aha. So this flower is a tulip.”

“You must have been bored.”

“Mm-hmm. My sisters are all busy so they can’t play with Lilliana.”

“Really? That works out well. My younger brother is also very bored, so you two can play together.”

“Younger brother? Is your brother a baby?”

“Not a baby, he’s the same age as Lilliana, so he’s a friend.”

“A friend?”

My eyes lit up at the word friend.

Leopold set me upright from clinging to him and gestured behind him.

In the distance, a boy my age but slightly taller was glaring this way with a sulky face.

‘Wow. He’s pretty.’

In all my life, this was the first child prettier than Antonio. He was as beautiful as a baby angel in a famous painting, and I couldn’t take my eyes off him.

The boy shook his head with a displeased expression. Then Leopold gestured again.

The boy approached me, clearly showing his reluctance.

“Edgar, come and say hello. This is Lilliana. Lilliana Berchio.”

Up close, I could see that Edgar’s eyes were a very beautiful green.

More vivid than olive color and highly saturated, like the refreshing green of grass blades, it made my heart flutter for no reason.

“Edgar. Lilliana is the same age as you, so get along well from now on.”

“Hello, I’m Lilliana.”

Edgar’s pretty green eyes touched and fell away from my hand that was tightly holding Leopold’s.

The boy scowled and raised his voice in a sharp tone.

“You’re just a rolling stone! I won’t be friends with you, so don’t act friendly!”

Edgar forcefully shook off my hand that was holding Leopold.

Thud. Cookie fell to the ground.

Pushed back by the force of him hitting my hand away, I stepped backward in surprise and looked at Edgar.

He said he won’t be friends with me… Tears welled up at this rejection I had never heard once in my life.

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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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