The Male Lead Is Targeting Me, Not My Younger Sister - Chapter 19

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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 19
……That’s a leap.
Lydia smiled bitterly and took a sip of tea.
There was no evidence whatsoever.
She hadn’t even suspected it at the time. Only after everything had settled and considerable time had passed did the question suddenly occur to her. So this—this was nothing like the truth.
Above all, Ludwig was the male lead.
Assuming the Original Work was real, his animosity toward Ainzone was probably genuine.
The enemy of my enemy is my ally. Simple logic, isn’t it?
But……
‘There’s no harm in suspecting.’
Lydia set down her cup.
“Besides, you’ve taken responsibility for all of my treatment anyway. I’m only grateful. I suppose… I should hear Silvia’s opinion too. Though I’m sure she’ll say it’s fine. Silvia is strong, after all.”
“I see.”
……That was far too perfunctory.
‘No matter how I look at it, that doesn’t seem like an obsessive male lead.’
That’s right. If anything was suspicious, this was far more so.
The Original Work’s events had changed, yet Ludwig had already met and conversed with Silvia.
And yet he displayed such indifference?
‘Isn’t the male lead supposed to fall for the heroine at first sight? So why didn’t he? What’s wrong with Silvia?’
Lydia grumbled inwardly.
Things had unfolded as intended, yet something felt off.
“By the way, there’s something I wanted to ask you.”
At Ludwig’s words, Lydia snapped out of her thoughts.
“Oh, yes. That’s right.”
Lydia placed the documents she had prepared on the desk without hesitation.
“Take a look at this.”
Ludwig picked up the papers.
“It’s a Family Recertification Petition.”
Ludwig lifted his gaze from the documents he’d been reviewing.
She tensed as she met his cool stare, but Lydia did not flinch.
Her voice rang out clear and steady.
“Will you be my Guarantor?”
Silence fell between them.
Ludwig tilted his head slightly, studying her intently.
“I thought you had no interest in restoring your family’s standing.”
That was true.
“……Certainly, that was the case before.”
Originally, Lydia had little attachment to the Prestin name.
She’d had no particular interest in nobility, and her current lifestyle was luxurious enough as it was.
Moreover, her goal had been to disappear entirely from the Original Work alongside her sister, so in some respects, remaining an obscure, declining house was actually preferable.
That was why she had always been half-hearted whenever she spoke of restoring the family.
But……
“I understand now. How complacent I’ve been.”
That day.
The moment she saw Silvia gravely injured.
Lydia realized she had been thinking about everything all wrong.
“There are threats in this world I cannot anticipate in advance. I cannot control everything by myself alone.”
It was arrogance.
The hubris of knowing the future.
The delusion of being the only one who knew secrets no one else did.
How pathetic such thinking was……
Right after dealing with Ainzone.
As Lydia stood beside her sister, a man appeared in her line of sight—standing protected among the crowd.
Duke Cronbelt.
The instigator of this disaster, the puppet master orchestrating everything.
The moment she saw that man’s repugnant face, Lydia understood.
‘I can’t change anything this way.’
Running away was not enough.
No matter what came, even if the enemy struck first, she needed the strength to withstand it.
Only then could she protect her sister.
“If it weren’t for the Grand Duke’s help just now, I might still be under investigation simply for having been there that day. Silvia might not have received proper treatment either. Because I’m nobility in decline. There’s no family to protect us.”
Lydia met Ludwig’s eyes directly as she spoke.
“So from now on, I intend to rebuild our house by any means necessary.”
It’s the only way to keep us safe.
With those words, a heavy silence fell between them.
Ludwig maintained his silence.
“…….”
“…….”
Tick-tock.
The clock’s second hand chimed.
Lydia struggled to maintain her composure beneath the mounting tension and anxiety.
But as the silence stretched on, she found herself stealing a glance at him.
‘Did he see through my shortcuts?’
For all her grand words, the truth was that Ludwig didn’t have to be the guarantor.
If she was being honest, she’d simply wanted to use royal authority to make things easier for herself.
‘Still, I did prepare some trade conditions.’
Since she couldn’t simply ask for imperial help and walk away empty-handed, Lydia had taken pains to prepare various offerings to sweeten the deal.
But she couldn’t present any of it if the other party wouldn’t even respond!
Then, at last, Ludwig spoke.
“Does this ‘by any means necessary’ include marriage?”
“Pardon?”
Lydia couldn’t believe her ears.
“All of a sudden?”
Ludwig continued without the slightest change of expression.
“There’s no factor more important to a house’s growth than a marriage alliance.”
He wasn’t wrong.
Lydia hadn’t actually dismissed the idea entirely—it was precisely the sort of “aristocratic” thinking she’d been raised on.
And yet…….
“No. I won’t marry.”
Ludwig’s eyebrows rose slightly, as if the answer surprised him.
“Why not?”
This time, it was Lydia’s turn to fall silent.
There were plenty of excuses she could offer. She’d prepared dozens of ready-made explanations beforehand.
Yet something made her want to answer honestly instead.
“Because if I marry, Silvia might be left alone.”
Lydia spoke calmly.
“She only knows me. Not because I’m anything special, but because I’m her only family. She might chase after me until the day she dies.”
Foolish Silvia.
Even when she was frightened, trembling so badly.
That simple-hearted Silvia, who faced a monster for her sister’s sake.
“If I marry, someone else might become more important to me than Silvia. I might have children. And then……eventually I would push her aside. I don’t want that.”
That’s why Lydia had deliberately removed marriage from her life before.
She didn’t want to keep it as an option.
“Of course, if Silvia finds someone trustworthy and good to rely on, that would be different. But that won’t happen anytime soon. So for now, marriage isn’t part of my plans.”
As Lydia finished speaking, Ludwig tapped his fingertips against the desk.
Then he spoke again.
“Harsh.”
It wasn’t an unfair assessment, but it still stung a little.
“That’s a bit…….”
“It’s not me who’s harsh—it’s you, Miss Lydia.”
Unable to deny it even with what little conscience remained, Lydia merely grumbled inwardly.
As if she could afford to indulge a sister so beautiful.
But Ludwig’s next words took a different turn than she expected.
“Very well. I’ll help you.”
Lydia brightened visibly.
“Really?”
Ludwig continued in an even tone.
“I will serve only as guarantor. The final approval will come from His Majesty, so you’ll need to prepare well to convince him.”
It was more than generous.
“That’s more than enough. I’m truly grateful.”
Lydia smiled at Ludwig with genuine warmth for the first time.
Ludwig regarded that expression for a moment.
Then a thought occurred to her.
“Um… but is this really enough?”
Ludwig’s gaze sharpened, as if asking what she meant.
“I’m grateful, of course, but it seems Your Highness gains nothing from this. I’ve been thinking over various terms I could offer in exchange.”
Ordinarily, she wouldn’t step forward to accept a bad bargain like this, but unfortunately Ludwig was not the sort of man one could take advantage of.
Better to play the honest broker before being fleeced instead.
Yet Ludwig merely smiled.
What?
“Wait… couldn’t I just cancel this? I’ll find another guarantor.”
“Oh, what a pity. I’ve already stamped it.”
As he spoke, Ludwig pressed the Seal down onto the document with a leisurely motion—firm and decisive.
At that point, there was no way not to sense that something had gone wrong.
‘This is strange… Isn’t the guarantor usually the one at a disadvantage? Why do I feel like I’m the one in worse position?’
Ludwig’s calm, low voice sounded.
“As for the terms of our arrangement, let’s discuss that next time. Properly.”
The moment their eyes met—his gleaming with an odd light—Lydia flinched.
At the same instant, she understood instinctively.
By that “next time,” she would pay an enormous price.
…Though she had no idea what it would be.

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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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