The Return of Lilietta - Chapter 78

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 78

One day during the vacation season spent at the villa in childhood, among the several days when she went to play at the neighboring Everett Count’s villa.

No matter how close the neighboring villa was, they couldn’t let young Lillieta go alone, so Leonhardt had come along. Annemarie took Lillieta’s hand and sat in front of the large piano.

“Lili, would you like to watch sister play the piano?”

“I want to watch!”

Annemarie smiled gently and played the piano. Her skill was so excellent that even Lillieta, who was born into high nobility and had only heard performances by outstanding musicians, found it pleasant to her ears.

Lili watched in fascination as sister’s fingers moved over the white and black keys. She remembered how the warm sunlight streaming through the window gently illuminated the white keys and her neat fingernails.

While thinking it was beautiful, when she suddenly turned her head, she saw Leonhardt leaning against the wall, covering his mouth with one hand while staring blankly at Annemarie.

It was an expression she had never seen from her dignified eldest brother, so she was a little surprised. Thinking that the sister playing piano looked pretty to her brother’s eyes too, she became curious about the piano.

“Sister, can I try playing too?”

“Of course. There’s an easy and pretty song you might like.”

“What kind?”

“Lili, you like rabbits, right? There’s music made from watching rabbits hop around.”

Annemarie smiled and overlapped Lili’s hands with hers, slowly pressing the keys. It was fascinating and delightful how clear notes connected cheerfully from the pressing fingertips.

“It really sounds like rabbits hopping!”

As soon as the short piece ended, Lili smiled brightly and gestured to Leonhardt.

“This is fun! Brother, you try it too!”

“…No, Lili. I’m fine.”

She half-forcibly dragged the reluctant Leonhardt and made him sit in front of the piano, next to Annemarie. Then she stood beside the piano and watched them.

In the hazy sunlight, the blonde boy sat next to the brown-haired girl, fumblingly moving his fingers following hers.

Then their fingertips brushed, and when they looked into each other’s eyes in surprise, their faces turned red like apples and the performance stopped.

Lili, who had been tilting her head curiously, hung onto the piano and pressed the next note instead.

“Did you forget what to press next? Lili remembers! It’s this one, right?”

A clear note rang out with a ting, and Annemarie, who had been blinking, burst into laughter. That’s right, I forgot for a moment, our Lili is amazing. Sister said that while patting Lili’s head and then looked back at Leonhardt.

“Young Duke, do you know the next note?”

Leonhardt silently pressed a key with his long finger. Annemarie smiled and pressed the next note, and Lillieta pressed the one after that.

The music that connected intermittently, ridiculous and clumsy but enjoyable. The name of the piece they played together like that was.

“…Rabbit’s Waltz. Yes, I know that song.”

Lillieta placed her hands on the keys. It was an old memory, so she couldn’t remember the notes well. Like Leonhardt had done, she fumblingly pressed a few notes and then lowered her hands.

And she said nonchalantly.

“I’ve forgotten it all. I should ask Anne sister to teach me again.”

No response came back from Leonhardt. Lillieta looked back at him. His stiff expression unnaturally relaxed and he smiled at her.

“Why?”

“…”

What could it mean that Leonhardt, in his unexpected free time when he didn’t know what to do, had come to the music room he never visited and was recalling this song?

Lillieta was silent for a moment, then calmly changed the subject.

“There’s something I want to discuss.”

“Tell me.”

“It’s about our family’s course of action.”

She took another breath and looked up at Leonhardt as she continued.

“I want to accept Crown Prince’s ‘recruitment proposal,’ would that be alright?”

“…You mean we should support the Crown Prince.”

Leonhardt’s expression became serious. He leaned against the piano and rested his chin on his hand.

“Rita, do you know the current situation of the Imperial Palace?”

“I heard from Lindsey.”

And while reading the hero’s tale last night, she learned several additional facts she hadn’t known.

Leonhardt spoke quietly.

“Crown Prince is truly a capable person. Moreover, the period of idiocy after the accident that was his weakness… if what you say is true, it was time spent in the Ashen World, so practically it will become his strength. But.”

Purple eyes similar to hers calmly took her in.

“Supporting Crown Prince doesn’t just mean being hostile only to Adicl. It ultimately means opposing Current Emperor. Do you understand this?”

“I understand and I’m saying this.”

The reason Duke Adickl could put forward Prince Joseph against Gideon, who had the powerful justification of being Current Emperor’s only biological son and Crown Prince, despite having a maid as his mother.

“Everyone who should know knows that Emperor’s will lies with the Prince.”

Because the only thing the Emperor, who is indifferent to everything, actively involves himself in are matters related to the Prince.

More precisely, it could be said that the Emperor only interferes in issues that could undermine the Crown Prince or favor the Prince.

It was quite a petty attitude, but there was a complex family history behind it.

The Previous Emperor was capable enough to push aside his elder brother, who was originally the Crown Prince, and become Emperor despite being the second son. However, Emperor Lawrence, who was the Previous Emperor’s only son and Current Emperor, was far inferior compared to his father.

The Previous Emperor always regarded his foolish son with displeasure. He would openly rebuke him in front of ministers for being incompetent, and never hid his disappointment each time.

He made the Duchess of Blen the Crown Princess, saying that a stupid person like you needs a smart wife.

The Previous Emperor’s anger reached its peak when Lawrence ignored the Crown Princess his father had chosen and took a commoner maid as his concubine, bearing a son with her.

There were even rumors that he beat Lawrence with a whip. It’s said he also shouted that he couldn’t pass the throne to someone like him.

But surprisingly, Lawrence’s son Gideon took after the Previous Emperor and showed genius from a very young age.

The Previous Emperor immediately changed his attitude. He abdicated to Lawrence and began living with and enthusiastically educating his grandson. Meanwhile, he made Lawrence have all his work inspected by himself as the Previous Emperor.

Emperor Lawrence listened to daily criticism from his father about being utterly stupid, while watching his son being embraced and cherished with words about how clever he was and how much he resembled his grandfather.

The Previous Emperor told Lawrence that your greatest achievement and only achievement would be giving birth to Gideon.

Then, when Gideon was about 10 years old, the Previous Emperor died.

The Emperor immediately dropped all government affairs as if he had been waiting. And he began to openly show hatred toward the Crown Prince.

Even though there were several assassination attempts on the Crown Prince, the Emperor didn’t investigate the perpetrators. He said they were all just accidents. Even when the young Crown Prince ate poison and vomited blood, his attitude didn’t change.

The Crown Prince’s birth mother, the maid, also died around that time. Originally, she was someone who had no interest in her son, so even if she had been alive, she wouldn’t have been helpful for the Crown Prince’s safety.

In such a situation, ironically, the one who stepped forward for the young Crown Prince was the Empress, who had been ignored by the Emperor since her days as Crown Princess.

The Empress had no children. She began protecting the Crown Prince, who was registered as her son due to his birth mother’s humble status, from the Emperor’s threats.

With the Blen Viscount’s Residence as her family home and being an Empress personally chosen by the great Previous Emperor, she had justification and power. It was enough strength to protect the Crown Prince. All the obvious assassination attempts were blocked.

Then the Emperor abolished a precedent that had been established when the great-Previous Emperor put the second son, the Previous Emperor, on the throne. It was the precedent that descendants of deposed Crown Princes could not stay in the Capital for more than a day.

He summoned Duke Adickl, who couldn’t stay in the Capital due to that precedent, under the excuse that he needed a retainer to assist his incompetent self.

For several years, a structure continued where the Empress led affairs while the Emperor neglected government, and the Duke opposed her.

Then a fire broke out at the Crown Prince’s Palace. This arson was treated as an accident, but few people believed it was really an accident.

‘From here, Pascal’s history and the history after our return diverged.’

Lillieta had many thoughts while reading this content in Gideon’s chapter of the hero’s tale.

For example, facts like Lawrence being left-handed and that being one of the Previous Emperor’s repertoires for criticizing Lawrence.

“Don’t you like using your left hand?”

“It looks disgusting. It looks strange and deficient.”

Her childhood comrade who showed extreme aversion to the fact of being left-handed.

It was a very strange feeling to see traces of the Gid she knew within the listing of outwardly revealed historical facts.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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