The Circumstances of Being Chosen as the Villainess’s Favorite - Chapter 230

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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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Special Side Story 43
Tweet-tweet, tweet-tweet-tweet.
The cheerful chirping of morning birds drifted through the air.
Soft sunlight filtered through the lace curtains, spilling gently across the room.
Dawn had arrived without fanfare.
The Bedroom of Lord and Lady Claudius was no exception.
“Mmm…….”
Larite’s eyelids flickered slightly before she opened her eyes with deliberate care.
Slowly, focus returned to her hazy pink irises.
After blinking away the last traces of sleep, she turned her gaze sideways.
There lay Dietrich, lost in deep, peaceful slumber.
Long, silken golden lashes cast delicate shadows across the smooth line of his face.
A faint smile tugged at Larite’s lips.
‘He really is adorable.’
It might be an unfit description for the man hailed as the Empire’s greatest knight.
‘But what can I do? To my eyes, he’s the most precious thing in the world.’
Larite reached out, her fingertips brushing against the long lashes framing his eyes.
She traced the smooth bridge of his nose and his ruddy lips with tender care, then—unable to contain herself—pressed a soft kiss to his forehead.
At that moment, Dietrich’s eyelids slowly lifted open.
“……Larite?”
His brilliant blue eyes, bright with reflected sunlight, gazed at her with an affectionate smile.
Larite’s expression turned apologetic as she sought his forgiveness.
“I’m sorry—did I wake you?”
“If this is how you wake me, I welcome it anytime.”
Dietrich answered softly, then wrapped both arms around her without hesitation.
In moments, Larite found herself nestled snugly against his chest.
After remaining in his embrace for a moment, she gently tried to push him away.
“You should sleep a bit longer. I’m going to get up.”
“I don’t want to. I can’t sleep if you’re not beside me.”
Dietrich pouted like a child.
Larite felt laughter bubbling up inside her.
The eternally perfect, impeccable Lord Claudius.
She knew well that only she could make him behave this way—like a petulant child.
“That’s not true. You sleep fine without me.”
Larite answered, amusement coloring her voice.
Dietrich’s eyes widened dramatically, his face taking on an aggrieved expression.
“That’s not fair. Without you, I cannot sleep a single wink.”
“What?”
“This is too much. You know how deeply I love you.”
“…….”
‘I cannot fathom how “I cannot sleep without you” transforms into “I love you desperately,” but there it is.’
Normally rational and composed, Dietrich had a habit of becoming utterly childish whenever he and Larite engaged in playful banter.
Larite laughed aloud.
“Yes, yes, I know. Now come—get up. Lucas is supposed to arrive today, remember?”
Lucas had recently been staying at Lord Claudius’ Domain.
He was there to gain practical experience in managing the Estate.
“Tell him not to come. Really…….”
Dietrich whimpered softly.
“I only need you. A fully grown son is nothing but tedious…….”
“Yet you’ve been waiting for Lucas this whole time, despite what you say.”
Larite teased him gently.
Dietrich smiled sheepishly.
“Caught, am I?”
As parents, they could hardly resent their son for remembering their special day.
Larite shrugged and wriggled free from his embrace.
“Anyway, it’s time to get up. Since we’ve come all the way to the Townhouse for our Marriage Anniversary, we can’t keep Lucas waiting too long.”
That was right.
Today was Larite and Dietrich’s Marriage Anniversary.
Lucas had come to Jedo to celebrate his parents’ special day.
‘Though I wonder if he came because of Cloe.’
Lord and Lady Claudius harbored their suspicions in secret, and there was indeed some merit to them.
Yet separately, Lucas was proving himself an admirable Viscount.
Only in the postscript of his most recent letter did she wonder whether someone had inherited that wife-devoted fool trait after all.
He’d written: “Isn’t Cloe working too hard lately? I’m worried about her.”
“That boy really does circle around Cloe like she’s the only thing that matters, doesn’t he?”
Dietrich grumbled as though speaking for an audience, his eyes blinking prettily as he gazed at Larite.
“Larite, did you know?”
“Know what?”
“To wake a princess sleeping in the forest, you need a true kiss from someone who loves you.”
……I must truly love Dietrich, after all.
Hearing something so ridiculous, yet still wanting to kiss him—that’s the proof.
Larite laughed softly and bent down, pressing her lips to his with an audible smack.
In the end, the couple lingered in bed for another fifteen minutes.
* * *
After finishing her preparations and descending to the Dining Room, Larite found Lucas already waiting, greeting them with a bright voice.
“Mother, Father, happy Marriage Anniversary.”
“You scoundrel—you hardly ever visit, yet you show your face only on occasions like this?”
Dietrich reproached him, though his heart was genuinely pleased.
But Lucas simply laughed it off.
His father had chided him like this more than once before.
“Oh, and Cloe asked me to give you her congratulations as well.”
“Good, thank you for looking after her. How are things between you and Cloe?”
At Larite’s teasing question, Lucas’s face flushed crimson.
Ever since they’d danced together, the two had become the Academy’s official couple.
Moreover, Lucas had confessed his feelings, and Cloe had accepted.
“Well… yes… it doesn’t seem so bad, I suppose…”
Lucas answered hesitantly.
Still, his bright expression suggested that his romantic prospects were reasonably clear.
Dietrich deliberately assumed a stern tone.
“Still, you must focus on your studies first. A student’s foremost duty is education, understood?”
“Yes, of course.”
Lucas nodded and muttered with a somewhat rueful expression.
“Besides, if I don’t study, you should see how much Cloe scolds me in her letters…”
……Is this a positive side effect of love?
Larite and Dietrich exchanged a sidelong glance.
Well, from what they’d seen before, Cloe seemed quite capable and decisive.
Perhaps that was why she was having such a positive influence on Lucas.
“Oh yes, that reminds me.”
Right then, Lucas drew a flat envelope from his pocket and handed it to his parents.
“This is your Marriage Anniversary gift.”
“You shouldn’t have done that. We’re grateful.”
Larite’s eyes widened as she accepted it.
“Meal vouchers?”
They were Meal Vouchers from a well-known restaurant.
But the name of that restaurant was oddly familiar.
Because……
“Novella Restaurant?”
Confirming the name, Larite gazed at Dietrich with an amused smile.
Yes.
It was the Novella Restaurant where Dietrich had been preparing to propose, only to bungle it spectacularly.
The moment when a restaurant employee had handed him back the Ring Case he’d left behind.
The memory of Dietrich’s face turning as red as a ripe tomato was still vivid in her mind.
“……”
His face burning hot, Dietrich quietly averted his gaze.
Just thinking of that chaotic day made him want to crawl into a hole somewhere.
At least the end of that wretched afternoon had been exquisitely sweet.
“Actually, Cloe gave me the idea. She said it would be nice if you two spent the evening alone together, and suggested I book you a restaurant reservation.”
Meanwhile, oblivious Lucas continued on cheerfully.
“So I asked Evangeline for a restaurant recommendation, and she suggested Novella Restaurant would be suitable.”
Ah, Evangeline. It’s you again this time……
Dietrich squeezed his eyes shut.
Why was it?
Why did his sister’s infuriating laugh echo in his ears like a phantom sound.

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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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