The Male Lead Is Targeting Me, Not My Younger Sister - Chapter 53

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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 53
‘Why is that guy wearing such strange makeup? Is he a chuunibyou case?’
Lydia turned toward home, her thoughts tinged with skepticism.
It seemed the fourth male lead had become so absorbed in the Dark Information Guild concept that it had swallowed him whole.
A secretary with narrowed eyes?
Some hidden strongest-of-all type of thing he wanted to play?
‘How tiresome. A concept-obsessed character…….’
Lydia shook her head in disapproval.
The reason she’d been able to recognize the “real Karl” just now was simple enough.
‘He wasn’t handsome.’
Male leads, by and large, all boasted a certain flashy appearance.
Even if you passed by without knowing a thing, you could tell at a glance that ‘this isn’t an ordinary person’—that was the face of a protagonist!
The man who’d first appeared claiming to be a master was hardly ugly, but merely decent-looking in an average sort of way.
There were other clues besides, but I’ll spare the details.
‘In any case, things seem to have unfolded better than I expected.’
She’d been deliberately reckless to avoid appearing underestimated, and it had worked out well enough.
Having completed her task, Lydia returned home in good spirits.
“Oh, Lydia!”
The moment she stepped down from the carriage, an unexpected figure greeted her.
“Joachim!”
Lydia hurried over to examine the boy.
“You’re well enough to be up? How’s your body?”
“Yes, thanks to you.”
Joachim smiled awkwardly, a touch of embarrassment coloring his features.
“The doctor said it’s fine for me to resume normal activities now. And I’m not in any pain anymore.”
“What a relief…….”
Lydia exhaled in relief.
“Aren’t you hungry? Have you eaten anything?”
“I’m fine, thank you for asking.”
His manner of speech was as composed as always.
‘I do wonder who taught him that.’
Lydia gazed at Joachim with a sense of satisfaction (though, on second thought, there was really nothing for her to feel particularly proud about) when he spoke up.
“By the way…… you know……”
Joachim hesitated, his eyes darting nervously.
“Hmm? What is it?”
“Well……”
Joachim, uncharacteristically at a loss for words, struggled to open his mouth.
“Is it…… possible that person won’t be coming back?”
……That person?
“You mean the one who healed you last time?”
Joachim nodded.
“Why? Was there some problem back then?”
“Oh, no! It’s nothing like that!”
Joachim waved his hands urgently.
“It’s just…… that I felt incredibly at ease when that happened.”
Then, his voice grew small and timid as he continued.
“It felt familiar. As if…… I already knew that person.”
Someone I already knew.
“Since I’ve recovered safely thanks to that person, I’d like to thank them properly. Would it be possible to meet again?”
“……Do you really want to see them that badly?”
“Yes, I owe that person my life, practically speaking.”
Joachim added quietly, still watching her carefully.
“Is it…… impossible?”
After a moment’s consideration, Lydia let out a long sigh and spoke.
“That person is actually the Grand Duke.”
“Pardon?”
Joachim’s eyes widened in utter astonishment.
“Was he really such an exalted person?!”
“Yes, so it’ll be difficult to see him for a while. He’s a busy man.”
“I see……”
Joachim mumbled something, his face growing sullen.
Lydia patted the child’s head and offered a wry smile.
“I’ll try to explain it to you someday.”
Though when that day would come, she had no idea.
In truth, Lydia still wasn’t certain she’d made the right choice in bringing those two together.
‘Ludwig’s busy anyway. I won’t think about it for now.’
“Ah, you’ve returned, Lydia.”
At that moment, the butler appeared.
“As it happens, the timing is fortunate. You’ve arrived at just the right moment.”
“Right moment?”
The butler spoke to Lydia, who looked puzzled.
“You have a visitor.”
…Wait, what?
* * *
“It has been exactly one hour and forty-three minutes.”
Dietrich spoke in an icy voice.
“To fail to honor an appointment is deeply regrettable.”
Lydia answered with a displeased expression.
“…I never summoned you, did I?”
“I sent a letter ahead. I wrote that I would visit today.”
“I never received any— oh.”
Could it be?
‘Was it one of the letters I burned?’
Of late, she’d been drawing attention in society circles—however unintentionally—and letters arrived constantly from all directions.
She had a vivid memory of burning every last one of those accumulated letters as kindling not long ago.
With the advantage now against her, Lydia decided to change the subject.
“So what brings you here? Is it urgent enough to warrant a personal visit?”
Dietrich clicked his tongue once.
“I bring a message from him.”
…The Emperor?
Having just come from meeting Joachim, her mood had already grown uneasy.
Lydia was now certain that Joachim was the Emperor’s child.
‘If he’s Ludwig’s son, then Joachim would have been born when Ludwig was fourteen.’
By any reasonable measure, he could only be the current Emperor’s offspring.
An abandoned illegitimate child of the Emperor, no less.
There was clearly a story behind all of this.
“I’m curious to hear what he has to say.”
Lydia feigned composure and waited for him to continue.
“First, he said he was deeply impressed by Baron Prestin’s recent accomplishments.”
Dietrich’s voice remained detached.
“Therefore, a medal will be conferred upon Baron Prestin in due course.”
“I beg your pardon?!”
Lydia was completely taken aback by this unexpected news.
“Of course, it will be a lower rank. Unless something unforeseen occurs, it will be the Guardian Medal 3rd Grade.”
A medal itself—that’s the problem, isn’t it?
“He cannot commend you directly. It would be interpreted too politically. But he said this matter cannot simply be ignored either.”
He spoke with finality.
“Understand his intentions well.”
…I understand well enough.
‘He’s telling me to step into the light.’
“…If I’m not mistaken, I suspect this isn’t the end, is it?”
Dietrich wasted no time in getting to the main point.
“He wishes for the Baron to attend the next Imperial Supreme Council meeting.”
As expected.
‘Of course he does.’
The Imperial Supreme Council.
Where the Emperor and his ministers deliberated matters of state.
It’s a place where someone of my current standing has no business speaking. That’s why he’s giving me the medal—to build my political position first.
“So you’re positioning me as a witness, then.”
Dietrich did not deny it.
Lydia exhaled slowly.
“There’s no refusing, is there? I understand.”
Right, well.
What choice do I have.
‘As long as the Emperor wills it, this was always going to happen eventually.’
Besides, Cronbelt would certainly be sitting on the Imperial Supreme Council.
Duke Cronbelt.
The puppet master of this mad Original Work, and perhaps…
‘The one behind the Anceinte transformation.’
It was about time she saw his face again.
‘That bastard.’
To be honest, Lydia could no longer be certain she truly understood everything about this world.
But of one thing she was absolutely sure: the banquet incident that had injured Sylvia.
‘That was Cronbelt’s doing.’
And she could never forgive the man who had hurt her sister.
“Very well. I’ll need time to prepare as well. When is this council meeting scheduled?”
“In three weeks, Madam.”
“Not much time then.”
Lydia turned the timeline over in her mind.
Once they’d finished their business, Lydia and Dietrich tidied up the room.
“By the way, are you currently raising a child?”
As he walked her to the door, the sudden question made Lydia freeze.
“…A child?”
“Yes.”
Dietrich glanced around the space.
“While waiting for the Baron earlier, I heard a boy’s voice. It sounded like a young man who hadn’t yet reached his voice-breaking years.”
Her heart dropped.
‘Joachim.’
She’d failed to keep him properly contained because she hadn’t expected Dietrich to visit today.
“I’m not entirely certain, I’m afraid.”
Lydia kept her composure as she spoke.
“It may have been Sylvia’s voice, or perhaps a child one of the servants brought along.”
Dietrich was, in a certain sense, the most dangerous of all Transcendents.
‘If he detected even the slightest suspicion surrounding Joachim…’
He would report it directly to the Emperor.
“I see.”
Fortunately, Dietrich showed no further interest.
“Then I shall see you at the next Imperial Supreme Council meeting.”
Only after she’d watched him leave completely did Lydia finally release the breath she’d been holding.
“…Hah.”
It seemed she would need to reconsider her approach to several matters.

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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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