The Male Lead Is Targeting Me, Not My Younger Sister - Chapter 46

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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 Is Targeting Me, Not My Sister — Episode 46
“Sister, sister! I had Lemon Gelato just now!”
Sylvia spoke with a beaming smile.
“They said they’d give me something even more delicious later. Sister, eat some with me, okay? Sister, are you listening?”
Lydia nodded absently.
“Oh, siiiister!”
In truth, her mind was elsewhere.
‘Hmm……’
She had the vague sense of having spoken with Ludwig last night, but the memory felt hazy.
Was it the fever?
‘……One thing remains perfectly clear, though — Ludwig was acting strange.’
After taking the Healing Medicine and sleeping deeply, her body felt refreshed.
Yet something tugged at the corner of her heart.
‘Of course it wasn’t. It couldn’t have been……’
“Miss Lydia?”
Just then, a soft knock sounded, followed by a maid’s voice.
“Your bath is ready. Shall I show you to the Bath Chamber?”
“Ah.”
“Hmph. You don’t listen to a word I say.”
Sylvia pouted, her expression petulant.
‘She’s sulking.’
Lydia let out a soft laugh and gently ruffled her sister’s hair, causing Sylvia’s expression to soften despite her resistance.
“Hehe.”
The waiting maids watched the sisters with genuine warmth in their eyes.
‘……Hmm.’
Weren’t the Grand Duke’s Household Maids usually rather proud? This seemed almost too…… favorable.
Once she noticed, everything began to look suspicious.
Could Ludwig have arranged this too……
……
‘Surely not.’
Lydia shook her head firmly.
‘There’s no reason for him to be that attentive. And it’s not as though Ludwig has nothing else to do.’
“This way, if you please?”
But once suspicion took root, it did not fade easily.
Even as the maids attended to her bath, Lydia remained lost in thought.
“We’re so glad you visit us often these days, Miss Lydia. The mansion feels so much brighter. The whole atmosphere has improved tremendously, hasn’t it?”
“What difference could my presence possibly make? I’m merely a Lodger here.”
“How could you say such a thing!”
“It’s true! Just look at the Master — he’s completely different when you’re here compared to when you’re not! It’s subtle, hard to notice at first, but the difference is striking!”
Then there’s no difference at all if it’s hard to notice, is there?
Lydia swallowed her urge to make this retort and spoke instead.
“That can’t be. You’re mistaken. Or perhaps…… you just enjoy teasing me. The Grand Duke does have a mischievous streak to him.”
“Pardon?”
The maids exchanged bewildered glances before breaking into laughter.
Chuckle, chuckle.
“Oh my, you’re quite the joker.”
One maid laughed, waving her hand dismissively.
“That’s right — teasing! As if! He treats you with such care. How tenderly he dotes on you.”
“He shows no interest in anyone else, as you well know.”
Lydia felt a slight bristle of defensiveness.
“I’m serious. You’ve all seen it yourselves, haven’t you? He’s just toying with me. That’s why he finds it so amusing — poke at me and I react immediately.”
“But that’s…”
The maids exchanged knowing glances.
“Well, I suppose that’s one way to look at it.”
……That look was extraordinarily suspicious.
Yet the maids switched topics with professional ease.
“Your skin really is beautiful. It would have been a pity if you’d been scarred.”
“Indeed. Such a shame. Skin this flawless……”
Her body bore marks from recent battles, scars scattered across her skin.
That was precisely why so many of the maids now attended to her bath.
They slathered expensive Healing Medicine across every inch of Lydia’s body. It seemed they were determined to erase every last scar from her skin entirely.
‘I never asked them to go this far…….’
The thought that this would somehow be added to the “price” she’d eventually have to pay Ludwig made her deeply uneasy.
“You don’t have to be so thorough. Half of these scars are old ones from years ago anyway. They’ll be hidden under my clothes—nobody will even see them.”
At those words, the maids grew indignant.
“That—what on earth are you saying!”
“A noblewoman’s body shouldn’t have so many scars in the first place! It’s simply unthinkable!”
Cowed by their fervor, Lydia shrank back slightly.
“Oh, no…… I just meant we should conserve resources.”
But the maids had already caught fire.
“If even one blemish remains on Miss Lydia’s skin, it’s a stain on the honor of the Grand Duke’s Household Maids!”
“Fetch more medicine! The finest grade!”
“Never mind the cost! Our master will cover it anyway!”
In the end, Lydia found herself receiving twice her usual duration of massage and treatment.
‘I’ve…… lost all modesty…….’
Thoroughly kneaded by the maids’ hands, Lydia staggered out of the Bath Chamber.
But unfortunately, that wasn’t the end of it.
“Miss Lydia, our master has sent a gift—clothes for you to wear during his stay here. Shall we have you try them on now?”
No, please, stop……!
Watching the maids approach with gleaming eyes, Lydia silently screamed.
* * *
“Wow, you really do look beautiful, big sister!”
Sylvia’s eyes sparkled with delight.
“You’re absolutely perfect.”
“How can anyone be this lovely……!”
The maids gasped in admiration as well.
‘……Aren’t they just singing their own praises?’
Lydia gazed at the mirror with reluctant interest.
The reflection showed someone entirely different from her usual self.
Long black hair, sleek and lustrous.
A soft Cream-Colored Dress that the old Lydia—who’d never worn anything but comfortable clothes—would never have touched.
The silhouette fell naturally along her waist, neither excessive nor careless, while the sleeves and hem were embroidered with subtle silver thread work.
It wasn’t flashy.
But oddly enough, it was exactly to her taste.
‘Hmm…… it’s not bad at all.’
For someone as habitually critical of herself as Lydia to offer such praise meant the Grand Duke’s Household Maids truly had a gift.
“Big sister, you really, really do look pretty today!”
“Yeah, right. I’m always pretty.”
“No, no, no! Not like that!”
“……?”
There was no need to contradict her…….
Just as she was about to feel a little hurt, Sylvia’s eyes lit up brilliantly.
“You were always beautiful, but today you look like a wealthy young lady!”
‘Is that so?’
Lydia glanced at the mirror again.
It did suit her perfectly. It was a style she’d never imagined wearing, yet somehow it felt entirely right.
The maids of the Grand Duke’s Estate truly had a sense for…….
“This dress was chosen by our master himself. It suits you so wonderfully!”
……But it wasn’t!?
Lydia was taken aback before she could help it.
“For a garment to fit so perfectly…… This is what a gift given with true affection means.”
“My, how romantic. Our master truly is wonderful.”
“It’s only possible when you’re thinking of the other person, after all.”
As the maids showed signs of launching into another endless chorus of praise, Lydia hastily cut in.
“So the Grand…… ah, no, Your Highness actually chose this himself?”
“Of course, ma’am.”
Watching the maids nod as though it were obvious, Lydia found herself at a complete loss for words.
‘How on earth does that man know my taste so well?’
“Ah, right. This isn’t the time for this.”
Just then, one of the maids glanced at the clock, flustered, and suddenly turned to Lydia with an urgent word.
“It’s almost Tea Time, actually. Wouldn’t you like to go pay your respects to the Master? And thank him for the gift while you’re at it.”
“Now?”
“Yes, and you look so lovely in that dress.”
A soft groan escaped her.
Lydia hesitated for a moment.
“……Where is he?”
* * *
‘Is this really a good idea……?’
Lydia found herself half-nudged along by the maids toward Ludwig’s Private Study.
True, she owed him more than a few favors, and she really ought to thank him properly at some point——
‘But why does this feel so awkward?’
Was it the unfamiliar dress?
Something about it felt strange. She exhaled quietly.
‘Never mind. Just say thank you and leave.’
There was no point turning this over in her head. All it did was tie her stomach in knots.
Lydia shook off her doubts and quickened her pace.
‘They said he was inside, didn’t they?’
But as she drew near the door, something struck her as odd.
‘Hmm?’
Ludwig was supposed to be in there, yet the study door stood slightly ajar.
‘Why isn’t it closed?’
Lydia paused, then moved closer to knock.
But in that very moment——
“Incompetent.”
She froze.
A voice cut through the gap—cold enough to raise the hair on her arms.
She knew that voice.
…….
‘……Ludwig?’
Through the crack in the door, she caught the silhouettes of two figures.
A man with his head bowed, shame written into his posture——
“I didn’t entrust you with this task just to hear such pathetic results.”
And there, cold and bored, stood Ludwig.

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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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