I Just Wanted Revenge, But Everyone Loves Me - Chapter 40

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 40
The Duke?
I blinked, caught off guard by the unexpected visit.
“Why is he here?”
“Well, I… I’m not entirely sure myself……”
The attendant looked equally bewildered, having no idea why the Duke had come.
Veronica pulled me close, her lips quirking with amusement.
“I was hoping to spend some quiet time with our little one, just the two of us looking at books.”
“Mmm.”
“Should we just tell him to leave?”
“You can really do that?”
“Of course. Your sister can do that.”
Veronica asserted her rights with absolute confidence, then laughed smugly.
But unlike Veronica, who clearly wanted to send him away, I felt differently.
“Can’t the Duke stay too?”
“……What?”
Veronica seemed taken aback by my words, her composure visibly shaken.
Still nestled snugly in her warm embrace, I struggled to lift my head.
“I haven’t thanked him yet.”
“Thanked him?”
“Yes. All the fairy tale books here — the Duke sent them all to me.”
One morning, out of nowhere.
The fairy tale books that had arrived were all from the Library Study, and I’d heard the Duke had specifically arranged for them to be delivered to me.
‘I haven’t seen him since then.’
If not now, I might never get another chance to meet him!
I fidgeted with my fingers, glancing up at Veronica.
“I really want to thank him today……”
“……Ugh.”
Veronica fell silent after meeting my earnest gaze, then reluctantly turned to the attendant.
“Call him in……”
“I’ve already entered.”
Before Veronica could finish, Rodrigo strode in with long, deliberate steps. He looked down at me, nestled tightly in her arms.
“The girl will be crushed. Stop holding her like that.”
“What are you talking about? Our Karin said my arms are the best place in the whole world.”
“I doubt it. To me, it just looks like you’re forcing yourself on her.”
“Ha!”
His words struck a nerve. Veronica’s brows furrowed sharply, and the atmosphere turned hostile in an instant.
“U-um……”
They couldn’t start fighting because of me……
“No, Your Grace!”
“……?”
His gaze shifted from Veronica to me. Finding his expression displeased, I quickly countered.
“I really, really love when she holds me. She’s not forcing anything!”
“Karin…!”
“Gasp?!”
Veronica’s face lit with deep emotion as she pulled me even closer.
“See? Karin only loves her sister, doesn’t she?”
“Yes, yes.”
Sometimes she held me so tightly I could barely breathe, but I didn’t mind.
‘This is my first time.’
In my past, I was only ever used, hurt, abandoned, and cursed. But Veronica was the one who showed me that a human’s touch could be warm instead of painful. Before her, there had been my aunt, but even she hadn’t held me nearly as much as Veronica did.
Veronica was the one who held me most of all.
“I love you so much, sister.”
“……!”
“Really, truly.”
The arms wrapped around me trembled slightly. Buried in her embrace, I couldn’t see her face,
“……I love you so, so much too, Karin.”
but instead, her tender words sank deep into my heart.
As I sat there peacefully receiving her gentle touch on my head,
“Tsk.”
Rodrigo, who had been watching us quietly, clicked his tongue and abruptly turned away.
“I’ve interrupted your precious moment.”
“?!”
His words carried sharp barbs that pricked my skin. I looked up at him urgently.
But before I could say anything,
“Wait……!”
Bang!
The library door closed again.
“Oh no……”
He couldn’t just leave like that!
“Your brother must have felt jealous because I was holding Karin so close.”
Veronica smiled with satisfaction, gently patting my head.
I watched the door through which Rodrigo had left with concern.
‘Is this… really okay…?’
* * *
‘Damn it.’
What was he doing?
Rodrigo cursed under his breath as he fled the library.
He’d come to check on the girl both to explain the current situation in the Capital and to see if she was enjoying the fairy tale books. He should have simply accomplished his task and left, regardless of what he encountered.
‘This is ridiculous.’
Not only had he been drawn into Veronica’s juvenile provocation, but he’d also let himself become agitated.
For reasons he couldn’t explain, the moment he heard the girl’s whimper, a strange feeling had welled up inside him.
‘I don’t like it.’
Why did that small creature, who normally gave him no concern, cling to Veronica so much?
‘Looking like she’s about to be crushed in that embrace — what’s good about that?’
He knew this reaction was unlike himself, yet he couldn’t suppress the irritation that rose in his chest.
Before him, she was always solemn or stiff, one or the other.
Feeling a strange churning in his stomach, Rodrigo immediately called for his Aide.
“What is it, sir…?”
“Bring digestive medicine.”
“Pardon?”
The Aide thought he’d lost his mind.
What was that dragon talking about?
“D-digestive medicine, sir?”
“Yes. The kind you take when your stomach bothers you.”
‘I know what digestive medicine is, but….’
The Aide obeyed without question, bewildered. The physiology of Vankadium, descended from dragon blood, was virtually invincible.
Their skin was so thick that even blade cuts left barely a mark. They were never plagued by minor ailments, and possessed superhuman physical abilities.
A dragon needing medicine was unheard of.
The Aide withdrew quietly, thinking this quite extraordinary.
He’d learned from experience that there was no point in asking for explanations.
As he gathered the medicine his lord had requested, someone suddenly grabbed his leg.
“Young miss?”
“Hello!”
The cheerful child’s name was Karin.
She was the cute, clever little girl the Vankadium had brought with them.
Gazing at the child—the only bit of cotton candy in this desolate place—with gentleness, the Aide asked,
“What brings you here? This is where the Family Head conducts his affairs.”
“I wanted to see the Duke!”
“The Family Head, you mean?”
“Yes. Is he busy right now?”
“No, I don’t believe he is. However……”
Perhaps because his last expression had looked rather fierce,
the Aide felt a vague concern and frowned awkwardly.
“I’m sorry, young miss. The Family Head is not feeling well at the moment.”
“Not feeling well?”
“Yes, that is to say… his physical condition. I’m bringing him medicine right now.”
“Is the Duke very sick?!”
The little cotton candy gasped in shock.
The Aide, finding her wide round eyes expanding so adorably, hurriedly steadied his softening expression.
“It’s nothing serious enough to worry about. A Vankadium’s body is stronger than steel.”
Even the children in the streets knew that.
Yet she seemed deeply troubled, her shoulders sagging.
“Still… being sick is hard, isn’t it?”
‘What is this, an angel?’
Someone was actually worried about a Vankadium.
Had it been anyone else, he might have thought they were overly cautious, but coming from her, it felt genuinely moving.
“Could I come with you?”
“I… but—”
The Aide was about to refuse when he faltered.
Blue eyes, wet with worry and concern, gazed up at him with earnest desperation.
“L-let’s go! Come on! Should we hurry?”
The Aide had been defeated by the little cotton candy.

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