The Male Lead Is Targeting Me, Not My Younger Sister - Chapter 11

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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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The Male Lead Targets Me, Not My Sister — Episode 11
Within the Empire, save for the royal family itself, the House of Edelrun wielded the greatest influence.
The Duchess of Edelrun raised her voice in irritation.
“But put another way, three months have passed without the slightest progress! Are you quite certain the Grand Duke frequents this place regularly?”
“The rumors certainly suggest so…….”
“The priests all speak of his remarkable faith…….”
“Perhaps our timing has been slightly … off…….”
The other ladies offered their placations, but the Duchess’s anger refused to abate.
“How could we possibly keep missing each other for three straight months? Does the Grand Duke only visit the Temple in the dead of night or the break of dawn?!”
Finding nothing to say in return, the other ladies fell silent.
The Duchess of Edelrun let out a scoff of exasperation and turned on her heel.
“You there, Sienna. Come here, child.”
A young woman of Lydia’s age, who had been standing demurely in the background, stepped forward.
‘……Oh.’
Sienna of Edelrun.
Eyes that sparkled like starlight, and hair that flowed in soft waves of gold.
She was the second villainess of the original story.
‘The sort who appeared briefly in the middle and then vanished.’
Lydia felt an unexpected sense of kinship toward her.
The Duchess of Edelrun gazed upon her elegant and beautiful daughter with admiration.
“The moment he lays eyes on you, he’ll be utterly smitten!”
Yes. By this point, one could have pieced it together easily enough.
In the original story, Sienna of Edelrun was to be Ludwig’s fiancée.
Though it appeared that moment had not yet arrived.
‘I’d assumed it was merely a political marriage arranged between the families, but it seems the Duchess has been pulling strings behind the scenes.’
Watching Sienna blush shyly, Lydia sighed with genuine feeling.
‘Poor thing… how did she end up infatuated with such a madman.’
“But there’s been no sign of the Grand Duke, or anything remotely like him!”
The Duchess gnashed her teeth in frustration.
Truth be told, for a woman who had spent her life surrounded by luxuries, the routine of entering the Prayer Room of the Grand Temple was proving arduous.
‘She hardly seemed the deeply faithful type to begin with.’
Her patience apparently exhausted, the Duchess of Edelrun strode forward with a huff, and the other ladies hurried after her in confusion.
Just then, someone suddenly stepped into her path, nearly colliding with her.
“Good heavens! Who are you?!”
“Oh dear……. My apologies. My eyesight is rather poor…….”
An elderly woman of diminutive frame spoke slowly.
“I’m truly sorry. Please, go ahead.”
“What did you just say?”
The Duchess’s voice rose even higher in her agitation.
“What is this woman saying! Does she think a mere apology settles the matter?”
A scapegoat had appeared precisely when the Duchess’s temper was at its worst.
The other ladies seemed almost relieved, their expressions shifting to one of gratitude.
Offer up a sacrifice, and the rest would be spared!
Had the woman been of comparable noble rank, even the Duchess of Edelrun would not have dared to lash out so thoughtlessly.
But the small, grey-haired elderly woman looked, in all honesty, far from noble.
Though neatly dressed, her modest attire befitted the Temple and made her appear almost common.
“You’re a commoner, aren’t you? Don’t you know common folk can’t simply wander into this place? The audacity—coming here without knowing your station. You should have simply admitted you’d lost your way!”
“I was…….”
“Don’t make excuses! And to collide with me on top of it all! Just because something looks plain doesn’t mean all such garments are the same! This is…….”
‘Oh dear.’
Lydia, who had been observing the situation from a distance, began to prepare her entrance.
Taking a deep breath.
One, two…….
“Grandmother!”
At Lydia’s sudden appearance, every eye turned toward her.
Lydia’s face crumpled as though she were about to weep, and she rushed forward to embrace the elderly woman.
“Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?”
Then, with exaggerated solicitude, she began examining the elderly woman’s person.
The elderly woman standing before them was none other than Lydia’s target for today.
Caught completely off-guard by this unexpected turn of events, everyone stood frozen, unsure how to respond.
Even the Empress Dowager, who had needed Lydia’s help, froze in astonishment, her eyes widening, unable to utter a word.
“What—what on earth are you doing!”
The Duchess of Edelrun, collecting herself belatedly, erupted in anger.
“What am I doing? I’m checking to see if you’re hurt, since you nearly fell just now!”
“Hurt? I’m not hurt at all! That woman and I didn’t even collide!”
“We didn’t?”
Lydia deliberately raised her voice in exaggerated surprise.
“How could you possibly tell such a lie…….”
Her gaze held reproach, as though the Duchess had committed something utterly unforgivable. The Duchess of Edelrun, thoroughly affronted, pushed back.
“You saw it yourself! Does that woman have so much as a scratch? If anyone should be apologizing, it’s me!”
At those words, Lydia made a show of examining the Empress Dowager.
“Hmm……, now that you mention it, you’re right. Looking again, it does seem the Empress Dowager has no injuries at all. But…….”
Lydia spoke with deliberate, measured emphasis.
“Then, might it be that you were angry with this elderly woman simply for appearing before you—without any collision, without any injury whatsoever?”
At those words, the Duchess realized her own mistake and flinched.
‘I really should have been more careful.’
Outside these walls, it would be unremarkable for a highborn lady to find fault with a commoner.
But this was the Temple.
In a place where gaudy finery was forbidden because doctrine proclaimed all equal before God, it would hardly seem proper for a noblewoman to harass a commoner with false accusations.
‘I need to manage my reputation in front of the priestesses.’
The Temple could not impose any serious penalty on the Duchess in practical terms.
But there was one thing they could do.
They could ban her from entry as punishment for the disturbance she had caused.
‘Even if it’s only for a week, being forbidden entry would severely damage her reputation.’
For a duchess, such shame would be unbearable.
“Ugh……, aah……!”
Indeed, the Duchess of Edelrun trembled before abruptly turning away and speaking.
“……Hmph! Foolish. All of this is foolish! I don’t even understand why I’m here. Everyone, let’s go.”
“Yes!”
“Wait a moment.”
Lydia caught the Duchess before she could pass.
“Where is your apology?”
“An apology?”
The Duchess shot back as though finding the very notion absurd.
“Why should I do such a thing!”
“You truly believe that? In that case, I suppose I should summon the High Priestess and ask what she thinks of this matter?”
“Wh—what are you saying!”
The Duchess of Edelrun cried out, her face flushed crimson.
“What is your name, madam? I shall report this incident to the High Priestess at once!”
“You! What are you saying right now!”
As Lydia glanced about as if genuinely about to summon a priestess, the Duchess finally, reluctantly, blurted out a few words.
“I’m sorry. There. Happy now?”
And with that, she hurried away down the corridor.
The other ladies and Leoni watched her departing figure in anxious silence, then swiftly followed in her wake.
Soon the corridor before the Prayer Room grew quiet once more.
‘……Sigh. I didn’t mean to handle it this way.’
The Duchess of Edelrun was one of the great pillars of high society. For someone like Lydia, who disliked needless complications, it was generally wiser not to make enemies.
If only this unexpected situation hadn’t arisen, she wouldn’t have gotten involved at all!
‘I hope she doesn’t remember my face.’
But well, there was no help for it now.
Making her presence “absolutely” unforgettable to this elderly woman before her was far more important than avoiding trouble with the Duchess.
“……You certainly are quick on your feet, aren’t you, miss?”
At the voice from behind, Lydia snapped to attention.
“But you needn’t have pressed for an apology. What if the Duchess retaliates against you later?”
Though lately, causing offense was the far greater concern.
Lydia swallowed the words she could never speak aloud and replied instead.
“Still, I couldn’t simply stand by and watch you treated unfairly.”
At those words, the Empress Dowager’s eyes gleamed with light.
‘It worked.’
Lydia offered the most virtuous, well-mannered smile she could muster.
‘I’ve come this far—please, look after me.’
The old woman’s true identity was the Empress Dowager of the Empire.
Now that the Empress had died not long ago, she was, in a certain sense, the highest-ranking woman in the Empire.

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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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