The Male Lead Is Targeting Me, Not My Younger Sister - Chapter 22

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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 22
“Greetings to the Sun of The Empire!”
The moment Lydia recognized who stood before her, she dropped into a bow without hesitation, forehead nearly touching the floor.
Fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—she’d been crouching already, so the distance wasn’t far.
‘Excessive loyalty beats a lack of manners any day.’
Lydia kept her head down, waiting for the man’s response.
For a moment, there was nothing but suffocating silence.
Then came a low chuckle.
“Get up. That’s far too formal. There’s no need for such ceremony.”
Only then did Lydia carefully straighten herself.
The Emperor bent casually at the waist, picked up the paper she’d dropped, and handed it back to her.
‘What…?’
Lydia stared blankly at the offered sheet, and the Emperor tilted his head with a bemused expression.
“Won’t you take it?”
“Ah, yes! Of course, Your Majesty!”
Lydia quickly accepted the paper, and the Emperor seemed satisfied, moving away with an easy stride.
‘…I never expected him to pick it up for me.’
Even for someone like Lydia, reincarnated from a Korea-obsessed romance novel, this was unmistakably a Class System society.
For the man standing at its apex to bend his back over a single sheet of paper was impossible—or so she’d thought.
But this gesture wasn’t because he was the casual, unpretentious type.
Rather, because he himself was authority incarnate, he could afford to care nothing for such trivialities.
‘I suppose the rumors were true.’
Not from the original work, but after her rebirth, Lydia had heard various stories about the Emperor.
Each tale contradicted or conflicted with the others, yet one detail remained consistent across them all.
The current Emperor was utterly unpredictable.
“Please, sit. I’ve kept you standing far too long.”
Before she knew it, the Emperor had settled onto the sofa across from her, his gaze fixed in her direction.
Lydia snapped back to attention and took the seat he indicated, directly opposite him.
After exchanging a brief formal greeting, she sipped at the tea a servant had brought, stealing glances at her host.
‘Hmm…’
He truly did share Ludwig’s blood—the man before her bore a subtle resemblance to him.
Yet they weren’t identical enough to be mistaken for each other; one could only infer a distant connection.
‘If memory serves, they’re about ten years apart in age.’
There was another difference: even when Ludwig smiled, something cool lingered in his expression, whereas this man’s features seemed warm and gentle.
“I apologize for the abruptness. In matters like this, I find it’s best to handle them swiftly.”
Lydia jerked back to awareness.
“Oh, no! Not at all. I’m grateful, truly.”
“Good. I’m glad to hear it.”
His face bore no trace of hidden meaning—it seemed genuine.
‘Perhaps I’ve been spoiled by all those nobles in society circles who smile while slipping daggers between your ribs. This is strange.’
The Emperor smiled gently and spoke.
“Shall we review the documents?”
Lydia handed over the Family Reinstatement Petition she’d prepared, a nagging feeling settling over her.
‘This is odd. Among all the characters mentioned in the original work, he seems the most normal.’
The characters referenced in the original—not just the major players, but even minor figures like Claretha the Empress Dowager—had something peculiar about them (Lydia still couldn’t fathom why the Dowager was so obsessed with someone else’s romance), yet the Emperor appeared genuinely well-adjusted.
‘He almost seems kind.’
Honestly, she’d expected him to have some character flaw simply because he was Ludwig’s brother, but…
“Excellent.”
“…I’m sorry?”
“To have prepared something of this caliber in so little time. Or rather—no, this has been carefully assembled for ages, hasn’t it? Beyond expectations, truly.”
He was even complimenting her!
‘What… was he just a genuinely good person all along?’
Lydia felt her loyalty to The Empire and the Imperial House surge abruptly upward.
“Perfect! There’s nothing more to review!”
When the Emperor finally finished his examination and cheerfully pressed the Imperial Seal onto the documents, Lydia’s affection for him skyrocketed.
‘Long live His Majesty…!’
Tears of emotion streamed down her face—only in her heart, of course.
The Emperor returned the documents to Lydia and offered his hand.
“From what I’ve read, I can see how much effort you’ve invested all this time. You’ve worked hard.”
He gave her shoulder an affectionate pat before continuing.
“From this moment on, you are the Baron of Prestin.”
Baron of Prestin.
Lydia hesitated at the words.
How long had it been since a noble title could follow her family name again?
Her father, the last Baron of Prestin, had passed away twelve years ago.
A decade or so—brief if you looked back on it, eternal if you lived through it—flickered through her mind like a lantern show.
“……Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Lydia steadied the surge of emotion rising in her chest before she answered.
“There’s no need to thank me. You were qualified, and I merely followed procedure.”
Yet she knew well enough that it was far more complicated than his words suggested.
‘Is it truly Ludwig’s doing?’
Perhaps the bond between the siblings ran deeper than appearances would have her believe, Lydia thought vaguely.
“Of course, there are still several procedural matters to address. Best you discuss the details separately with the Chief Chamberlain.”
The Emperor issued several instructions to an attendant waiting behind him. The attendant bowed and withdrew.
In moments, only the two of them remained in the Office.
‘Wait.’
Lydia suddenly came to herself.
Lost in the joy of the title’s restoration, she’d been half a beat slow to notice something amiss.
‘He dismissed the attendant, yet he hasn’t sent me away?’
As their eyes met, the Emperor smiled faintly.
“Good. Shall we move to the main matter now?”
……I beg your pardon, but what was all that, then?
Lydia asked with a note of reluctance.
“Is there something more you wished to discuss with me?”
“Hmm, well.”
The Emperor regarded Lydia with a smile that held a hint of mischief.
His manner was undoubtedly gentle, yet his eyes flashed sharp at intervals—as though piercing through to the heart of things.
“I’m simply curious. It’s the first time ‘that fellow’ has made a personal request of me.”
So that was it, then.
Lydia swallowed hard before answering.
“……In truth, I had a small connection with the Grand Duke since our Military Academy days. We happened to cross paths again recently, and it seems His Highness remembered the past kindly and took a favorable view of me.”
That was all she could safely say.
After all, Lydia herself had no idea why Ludwig was doing this!
‘……No, wait. Silvia’s a factor too, isn’t she.’
But if she misspoke here and the Emperor decided to start matchmaking between Silvia and Ludwig, that would be a disaster, so she resolved to hold her tongue.
“Is that so? Is that truly all? I don’t think so.”
Honestly, neither do I.
“Since you’re already quite close to Ludwig, you’ll understand—despite appearances, that man isn’t particularly warm to others. If anything, he leans toward the cold side.”
That much she already knew well.
‘He was never kind to me in the past, certainly.’
She was tired of enumerating Ludwig’s unfavorable traits.
“For such a person to take an interest in someone else is remarkably rare. But for that interest to be notably favorable? That’s certainly unusual.”
Each point was undeniably true, and she had no rebuttal.
The Emperor’s eyes flashed sharp.
“Then what, precisely, are you to him?”
After a brief hesitation, Lydia answered awkwardly.
“Nothing……, really.”
At that, the Emperor shook his head slowly.
“No, I disagree.”
‘Why does he contradict what the person involved is saying?’
Whether Lydia grumbled inwardly or not, the Emperor continued.
“I suspect it’s more than mere curiosity. If that were all, he wouldn’t have exposed what could become a weakness to the outside world.”
‘Has he never considered that maybe it isn’t weakness at all, just stupidity?’
Just as Lydia was about to offer that silent rebuttal, the Emperor spoke.
“Furthermore, Ludwig assumed a political risk to protect you this time.”
At that, Lydia froze.
“Pardon?”
“You didn’t know?”
A political risk……?
Suddenly, Lydia understood.
He’d been aiming for this from the start.
It felt as though ice water had been dumped over her head.
The Emperor noticed Lydia’s shift and spoke with renewed warmth.
“There now—we’re getting somewhere worth discussing.”
His voice remained serene, almost gentle.
“Let me ask once more.”
Then the Emperor smiled faintly.
“Why is Ludwig keeping you hidden from my knights?”
Yet beneath that smile lay no kindness—only a pressure that seemed to tighten around her throat.

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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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