The Male Lead Is Targeting Me, Not My Younger Sister - Chapter 7

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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 7
‘Did I mishear that just now?’
When their eyes met, Ludwig smiled softly.
“The physician mentioned your injuries are quite severe.”
That much was obvious. She’d lost a considerable amount of blood, after all.
“For now, the Painkiller allows you to move about, but truthfully, Lydia, your condition isn’t stable enough for this sort of activity. It would be wise not to overexert yourself.”
“But…….”
Was going home really overexertion? Staying here felt far more taxing to her!
Yet before Lydia could object, Ludwig spoke again.
“That Ring you used earlier — it was an illegal modification, wasn’t it?”
Lydia stiffened.
“Under Imperial law, unauthorized Ability Weapon Modification is prohibited. Surely you know this.”
“Well… strictly speaking, it’s not entirely illegal… it’s simply exploiting a weakness in the law by identifying the loopholes and working through them… more of a Legal Loophole, you might say…….”
“Illegal, then.”
Lydia said nothing more, pressing her lips firmly shut.
It wasn’t illegal, technically.
Nor was it legal.
When a Grand Duke who could fabricate crimes from nothing declared something illegal, it became illegal.
Ludwig spoke in a soothing, gentle tone.
“I’m not trying to blame you. I have no intention of pressing charges.”
Of course, Lydia didn’t believe him.
“I’m simply saying we should observe your condition over time, since we don’t know what effects it may have had on your body. Stay here for now.”
“The family physician who attends our household is quite capable, actually…….”
“Is that so?”
Three words alone were enough to deflate her resolve entirely.
Any competent physician would pale before the Grand Duke’s personal doctor—the empire’s elite among elites!
“The physician said you’d need to remain here until tomorrow. Think it over a bit more. I’m not forcing you, of course.”
His tone was gentle enough.
Yet for some reason, when Lydia looked at him, a chill ran through her entire body.
‘Something feels wrong about this…….’
But his words were so sound and logical that she had almost no ground to object.
In the end, Lydia reluctantly nodded in assent.
“……Very well. I’ll just step out briefly. I need to take my sister home, then I’ll return.”
Yes—what mattered was Sylvia, after all.
If she could get Sylvia out of Ludwig’s sight, her most important objective would be accomplished. She could be satisfied with this much.
As for Lydia herself… what harm could come of it?
Yet unexpectedly, Ludwig spoke up.
“Go out?”
Lydia masked her confusion as she replied, “Yes. Is there a problem?”
‘What is it? Why does his expression look different?’
It wasn’t obvious, but his face had shifted subtly from moments before.
A faint displeasure, eyes narrowing ever so slightly.
But then he smiled.
“Yes, do go. Come back quickly.”
His eyes curved into crescents—achingly beautiful.
And yet…….
‘……I think I just said something wrong.’
Lydia felt a nagging unease, as though she’d stepped on a mine.
“Very well, then. I’ll take my leave…….”
Lydia bowed quickly and hurried away from Ludwig in short, brisk steps.
So she didn’t notice.
That Ludwig continued to watch her retreating figure until she vanished entirely.
* * *
Once she’d left the residence, Lydia brought Sylvia home with her as quickly as possible.
“When will you be back there, sister?”
“I wish I knew…….”
Lydia sighed at Sylvia’s innocent, blunt question.
Ultimately, she hadn’t uncovered Ludwig’s true intentions.
She could only speculate—perhaps he’d used her as bait before making his move on Sylvia?

“I’ll just get treatment and come straight back. Don’t worry too much.”
“So we’re not preparing a discharge party?”
“No. Let’s do it later.”
At that, Sylvia’s lips pouted in disappointment.
Lydia patted her younger sister gently to console her, then saw her off to the residence.
Afterward, she issued strict orders to the butler and head maid: under no circumstances were they to bring Sylvia to the Grand Duke’s Residence, no matter what happened. Furthermore, they were to discourage her from going out at all if possible.
‘If that were enough to stop her, Sylvia wouldn’t have gotten into so much trouble in the first place.’
What else could she do? At least she’d tried.
Still, it was fortunate that Ludwig didn’t seem to show much interest in Sylvia yet.
Lydia took the Painkiller that had been given to her at the Grand Duke’s Residence on schedule, then climbed back into the carriage.
“Shall we return to the Grand Duke’s Residence?”
“No, I need to stop somewhere first.”
Lydia gave the coachman directions with practiced ease.
Soon, the unassuming carriage began to move smoothly once more.
A short while later.
“I’ll be back within an hour. Wait here.”
After leaving the carriage near a crowded Market alley teeming with people, Lydia quickened her pace.
‘Phew, I can finally breathe.’
In truth, the environment itself was worse now.
Throngs of people, noise that pierced the ears, chaos everywhere.
There was no way a bustling Market would be better for a patient than the finest bedroom in the comfortable, luxurious Grand Duke’s Residence.
But the mere absence of the suddenly unhinged Ludwig and Sylvia, who had always been slightly odd, was enough to make her nervous stomach pain disappear entirely.
‘…Still, I should hurry and get this done. He might suspect something.’
Lydia recalled Ludwig’s subtly creased expression and quickened her footsteps.
And she realized something.
‘Why do I have to tiptoe around that man?!’
There was absolutely no reason to.
“Here.”
At that moment, Lydia reached a familiar alley and stopped.
It was in front of a shabby door on an ordinary building.
Lydia glanced around quickly, then knocked on the door with her fist—bang, bang.
“I told you not to knock so hard on the door!”
Someone emerged from the creaking gap, grumbling.
“We’re already short on research funds! What if the door breaks again?!”
Lydia quickly pushed the person back inside.
“All right, all right. I’ll bring more money, so just get inside.”
At the promise of more money, the person fell obediently silent.
Bang.
The door closed again.
‘Ugh, looks like I’m in for another earful.’
The interior of the building was more spacious and pleasant than it appeared from outside.
The floor was spotless, and the desks were arranged in neat rows.
And countless cutting-edge instruments besides.
‘My babies are doing well!’
Looking at the state-of-the-art equipment she’d painstakingly gathered in secret, Lydia felt a fresh wave of pride.
“Why are you so late again? You were supposed to come yesterday.”
At that moment, Pipi appeared once more, eyes wide with reproach.
“Something happened.”
“What kind of something?”
“That Ring you developed last time.”
“You didn’t actually use it, did you?!”
Pipi cried out in alarm.
“The testing isn’t complete yet!”
“Yeah, I know. My stomach’s been all twisted up since I used it.”
To explain briefly at this point:
The person before her was Pipi.
In short, a background character from the original story.
In the original work, Pipi was a person of genius-level talent in Ability research who met an unjust death after the villain Lydia grew jealous.
‘Why would I waste such talent?’
Now, Pipi worked as the sole researcher in this Laboratory.
Lydia had picked up Pipi the moment she enrolled in the academy and conscripted him as her research slave.
She supported him generously so he could pursue the research he loved—in exchange for his help developing purifiers and handling all manner of necessary projects.
“Ugh, ugh, ugh—I specifically told you not to use anything unless it was finished!”
“But you’ll never finish anything. That’s already standard by state criteria, you know. Your standards are just too high. You need to get over this perfectionism thing.”
“That’s rich coming from someone who didn’t listen to a word I said, used something without permission, and came back injured!”
Pipi shot back sharply, then rummaged through his desk.
“Here, at least take this.”
“What is it?”
“It’s a matching set with the ring from before. This one isn’t designed for attacks. But if you wear it, the flow of your internal Purification Power should settle down quite a bit.”
“Hmm.”
Lydia picked up the ring.
Neither Pipi nor Lydia paid much attention to jewelry like this, so the research was typically done on whatever rings happened to be lying around. Because of that, this one had a different design from the crude ring from before—
‘It looks like a couple’s ring.’
It glittered unnecessarily.
“Thanks. I’ll put it to good use.”
Well, if it had been expensive, Pipi would have sold it off long ago, so there was no harm in just using it casually.
Lydia slipped the ring onto the ring finger of her left hand and thought indifferently.
“What’s that, a ring?”
Just then, someone emerged from the inner room of the laboratory.
Lydia and Pipi’s gazes turned toward the man simultaneously.

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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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