The Obsessive Male Leads Want to Eat Me Alive - Chapter 148

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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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Chapter 148
Ah,
she truly believes in it with all her heart, Anette does.
―That Sisrain will return.
Heinrich couldn’t help but smile softly as he watched Anette’s face.
‘How like my sister.’
Yes, that was one of the reasons I loved Anette so dearly.
She always appeared as delicate and fragile as spun sugar, yet within her heart dwelled an unshakeable conviction that no one could ever diminish.
When her faith blessed my happiness, I became a happier boy.
Now I remember everything.
I stood beside Anette, gazing at the river together.
The cool breeze carried a certain loneliness, but―
“Well, it would be good to demonstrate the new Mage Tower Master’s authority to everyone, wouldn’t it?”
“…!”
For some reason, my heart felt light.
Seeing Anette’s smiling face brought me even greater peace.
“If the new Mage Tower Master and Duchess Valienne say so, then the state council will have no choice but to decide accordingly.”
“…Thank you, Heinrich.”
It must have weighed on her mind.
Seeing my sister smile so brightly like that.
“Ah, well, I found that detestable fool’s funeral so tedious I couldn’t even be bothered to attend.”
“…Heinrich.”
This time, her eyes narrowed slightly in reproach.
I laughed playfully and gently grasped Anette’s hand.
Then I spoke quietly.
“He’ll definitely come back, that man.”
“….”
“I don’t particularly like him, but I’ll admit his will is extraordinary. Even in Bayonere, he found you before I did.”
“….”
“When you left the Forest, it was he who pursued you to the very end.”
Perhaps that was the reason I never won her heart.
I was always a little less desperate than he was.
I feared and worried that she would leave, but for Sisrain, such fear and worry were always secondary.
He devoted all his strength to pursuing and loving her with urgency, as though each day were his last.
‘―I lost.’
So now, I acknowledge my defeat.
Before her, who refuses to break even when the entire world believes in his death, who steadfastly believes in Sisrain.
Unlike me, who foolishly made her cry, there is only one way to surpass Sisrain, who vanished risking his life to save her.
And that is….
“Sister, you must be happy. You absolutely must.”
“….”
It meant placing your happiness before my fear and my longing.
“Do you remember? When you were young, you always read me fairy tales with happy endings at my bedside.”
Like clusters of light adorning a river, Anette’s pupils trembled delicately.
Heinrich’s lips curved upward.
“It was through those fairy tales that I first learned people’s lives could end happily.”
“….”
“Before that, I thought unhappiness was simply the nature of life.”
Now I understand the heart of someone who tells happy endings.
―You can be happy too, you must be happy, they were wishing for you.
The person who wrote that fairy tale must have felt the same way.
“Now it’s my turn to wish for your perfect happy ending, sister.”
“…Heinrich.”
“That’s why Sisrain will definitely come back.”
Just like that happy fairy tale you read to me at my bedside when we were young.
―Let’s be happy together, Anette.
My imperfect and fearful love has finally deepened and ripened, and your happiness has become my happiness.
So please, be happy like a miracle.
“Thank you.”
As Anette spoke, Heinrich smiled peacefully and took her hand again.
Heinrich and Anette held hands and gazed at the river for a long time.
The white flower buds of the mountain ash trees surrounding them swayed gently in the river breeze.
* * *
Eldorado gradually found stability.
During this time, Anette received letters of gratitude, flowers, and gifts from countless people every single day.
Victoria raised her eyebrows.
“Hmm, this makes the one hundred and ninetieth bouquet. I think we should ban flowers from being brought in from now on.”
Anette, surrounded by gift boxes, spoke in distress.
“…Please ban the gifts too, Victoria.”
“That’s absolutely not happening!”
Victoria boldly raised her finger in stern objection.
“The Duchess saved the Empire. No, it’s as good as saving the entire world.”
…Suddenly I saved the world?
I’m sensing some rather excessive rose-tinted glasses and praise here, Victoria.
“If you hadn’t stopped Gerard, that wicked man would surely have harbored ambitions to become the ruler of the world, wouldn’t he? Therefore, you are a hero of national salvation and the savior of the world. A million more gifts would still be insufficient!”
“….”
―A bread-loving girl as the savior of the world?!
Anette wanted to object to something, but Victoria’s eyes were shining so brightly that she gave up.
Still, I absolutely must cancel the invitation of the bards.
Victoria had declared her ambition to erect a statue of “Duchess Valienne” in the Town Square and have bards compose songs about her so that the entire world would sing her praises.
…This is getting quite serious.
‘Even now, it’s difficult to venture outside.’
Whenever I stepped out, someone would inevitably approach me requesting a handshake or striking up a conversation.
Always with such fervent, gleaming eyes.
Sometimes it was genuinely frightening.
…It felt as though the entire Empire had become obsessed fanatics.
‘If my popularity increases any further, I’ll be confined to the house entirely.’
Yet contrary to Anette’s inconvenience, it was only natural that the prestige of Valienne Duchy, which had languished during the prolonged illness of its head, would surge dramatically.
‘Would Mother be pleased?’
That much I could be certain of.
Mother would surely be delighted—watching her daughter, whom she had worked so hard to protect, flourish in this manner.
Even from that distant place…
That thought alone brought my heart considerable peace.
“Your Grace!”
“Yes? …Please, Victoria, spare me the bard routine.”
Before Anette, whose true feelings had reflexively slipped out, Victoria spoke—having just received a letter from a maid moments before.
“It appears new charges against the First Prince have been uncovered before his trial.”
“…!”
Anette’s eyes widened considerably.
He was already sentenced to death—there’s more?
* * *
The catalyst was a confession of conscience from a member of the Morsecre Clan who worked within the Imperial Palace.
“Gerard was never the Emperor’s blood to begin with!”
She had once, in accordance with her clan’s wishes, played a role in disguising Gerard as a prince, but she had grown increasingly doubtful over time.
Though the act was meant to revive her clan, Gerard had sought to annihilate them instead.
She was the sole surviving member of the Morsecre Clan, and had barely preserved her life by concealing her identity, yet had lived a life perpetually shadowed by regret.
She spoke further.
“This was an act that should never have been committed, neither for the clan nor for the nation. …I reveal the truth now to set everything right!”
Her statement transformed the Empire’s atmosphere entirely.
Though a traitor who had shaken the realm, Gerard had been a prince revered by the people.
And there were certainly those who did not wish Sisrain as Crown Prince.
They had advocated for Gerard, the sole remaining bloodline of the Imperial Family.
They had even staged protests opposing his execution for the sake of the nation.
―But he wasn’t even a prince to begin with?
Eldorado was thrown into upheaval, and verification proceedings to uncover the truth were initiated before the trial could proceed.
Long ago,
Sisrain had proven his Imperial bloodline with his own blood in that very place—now Gerard stood there instead.
Gerard was exposed when his blood proved to be not of the Imperial House.
In that moment, all eyes turned toward Gerard like daggers.
“No!!! The test results are wrong! I am Gerard von Axilpherion. That prince revered by Eldorado!”
“….”
“Have you not bowed your heads before me and served me your entire lives? Have you forgotten it all?”
“….”
“This is slander! There is no way I am not of Imperial blood!”
Gerard thrashed about like a madman, desperately attempting to defend himself, but his words sounded nothing more than the ravings of a lunatic.
The nobles who had supported Gerard to the end and believed in his innocence were deeply disappointed in that moment, and the news spread immediately throughout all of Eldorado.
There was no one left to defend him.
―It was a complete and utter collapse.
And.
That afternoon, after the chaos had subsided, Anette held her mother’s funeral.
Though the ceremony was conducted quietly, it carried the dignity that Anette had ensured it would have, and the atmosphere allowed the departed to be sent off in peace.
Anette scattered flowers during her mother’s coffining and offered a quiet farewell.
To the mother with whom she had never once shared a conversation, Anette now felt she could speak with confidence and ease.
‘Mother, rest well.’
Now, with a peaceful heart.
‘I will cherish and continue all that you have left me.’
Sleep peacefully there, and trouble yourself no longer.
And that afternoon.
One of those who had attended the funeral came to see Anette.
“…Miss Anette.”
Flowers were held in the man’s hands. He smiled gently.
Anette rose to greet him.
“Welcome, Kyle.”

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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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