Thought It Was ‘The End’, Only to Return to a Changed Genre - Chapter 119
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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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Epilogue 3. My Daughter Can’t Be a Villainess (5)
“I refuse.”
“I figured you would, so I already refused for you.”
Edwin answered without even taking a breath before Shane had finished speaking.
“Then why bother telling me?”
To piss me off?
When he looked at Edwin without hiding his irritation, Edwin shrugged his shoulders. Shane wrinkled his nose bridge as if his insides were turning.
Edelaine, who had been recalling the epic of the Kingdom of Rembui, made eye contact with Edwin. Edwin smiled crookedly, pulling up the corners of his mouth.
His leisurely attitude was quite detestable. Seeing how he deliberately provoked Shane while making it impossible for him to get angry by hitting and running, it seemed he had completely figured out how to handle him.
Edwin had changed a lot since shedding the frame of his sinister controlling sub-male character.
It seemed he had cleaned up his precarious playboy lifestyle that made everyone watching feel uneasy and was now focusing on state affairs. Thanks to that, Shane was also kept busy being called around.
‘When he has free time, he comes to see Lisa.’
He came so often that at one point she suspected he was idle, and after that, she suspected he was targeting Genevieve.
Genevieve made a subtle expression at Edelaine’s reasonable suspicion.
At the expression mixed with sympathy and lamentation, Edelaine quietly dropped her suspicions.
Both Genevieve and Edwin seemed to have lost interest in marriage.
Empress Viola was still frantically trying to marry off her son, but Edwin, who had stopped even casual encounters, was surprisingly indifferent.
‘Whether he got tired of playing around with romance, or maybe the experience of almost getting stabbed served as medicine.’
From that day on, Edwin had only stopped his romantic games, but he was still a flawless and calculating strategist. He was influencing the politics of all empires and kingdoms on the continent. Mainly in bad ways from the other side’s perspective.
Whether he lived as a playboy and died getting stabbed by a woman, or died by assassination due to political grudges, he was someone who wouldn’t die peacefully either way.
“The Kingdom of Rembui is just the beginning, Shane. From now on, countless marriage proposals will pour in for Lisa.”
“Needless to say. I’ll refuse them all.”
“If it were up to me, I’d want Lisa to live by my side for life without ever marrying, but…”
“Speak properly. Not by Your Majesty’s side, but by our side.”
“Why are you being so nitpicky between us?”
“…”
“I think of Lisa as no different from my own daughter. She’s the daughter of my dear friends.”
Edwin spoke with quite a benevolent expression, but Shane and Edelaine’s reactions were cold. Edelaine said.
“My daughter has nothing to do with Your Majesty.”
“It’s hurtful when you cut me off like that.”
What am I supposed to do about you being hurt.
Though she didn’t voice it out of a bit of loyalty and courtesy, the silence and her gaze were enough. Edwin looked a little hurt.
“If you’re not going to hide and raise your daughter forever, marriage proposals are an unavoidable process. Then shouldn’t we try to find her a better match?”
Shane and Edelaine exchanged glances.
He’s trying to sell us something.
Not buying.
“If you’re thinking of doing business with my daughter, you’d better give up early. If you want to do marriage business, start by selling yourself off.”
“I’m scheduled to be sold off soon too. Don’t just get angry and listen. Social connections are important. Lisa has never met friends her own age even once since she was born.”
Social connections, they’re important.
Edelaine had lived distancing herself from not only friends but family while suffering from nightmares since age 9, but normally at that age, one would naturally create an environment for children to mingle with each other.
When she looked at Shane, he said.
“I was fine without friends or anything like that.”
“You had me.”
“…”
“It was similar. We went to Mayer School together too.”
Mayer School was a two-year educational institution attended by noble children in their mid-to-late teens.
Only heirs to families or those who needed connections attended, but in reality, hardly anyone attended diligently.
Rather than an educational institution, it was strongly perceived as a place where young noble children gathered and socialized.
Shane didn’t answer.
Edelaine could bet her entire fortune that he wouldn’t have considered any of his peers who hung around in groups with him back then as friends.
“Since I refused the marriage proposal, let’s just help her make friends. Think of it lightly.”
*
Where did they buy this nonsense.
Lloyd tapped his foot in dissatisfaction.
The adults had decided to step back to create an environment where children could naturally mingle and play together, but even that didn’t please him.
He was Lisa’s friend and protector. What reason was there to make friends her own age for her?
‘This isn’t a playground made for other brats to ride and play on.’
In one corner of the Blancarde Estate Garden was a playground Lloyd had made for Lisa.
There were swings hanging from trees, a cabin, colorfully decorated tents, and even a seesaw.
“If looks could kill, the prince of Rembui would have died long ago, Lloyd.”
“Shut up, Sir Lucian. I’m not in the mood to play along with your jokes.”
“How rude.”
However, contrary to his words, Lucian didn’t look displeased at all. Rather, he clearly seemed to be enjoying himself.
“The moment he does anything inappropriate to the young miss, I’ll run over and stop him. Damn it, young miss, please run away…”
“Hahaha.”
“If you’re going to laugh, get lost!”
“How can I not laugh? Seeing something this funny.”
“What exactly is so funny? A marriage proposal for the young miss is way too early. The young miss is only three years old. Damn it, you bastard, stay away…”
“What were you doing when you were three?”
“I don’t remember.”
Lloyd said curtly with disgust.
“Was it when you were six or five when I met you?”
“I don’t know.”
Lucian grinned. He still hated bringing up old stories, but he still didn’t seem to know that made it all the more fun.
Even if he knew, he probably couldn’t control his temper.
“You were cute too, you know.”
“Are you saying you had the sentiment to find human cubs cute back then?”
This brat is also selling nonsense.
“I particularly favored you among more than ten kids, so I must have found you cute in my own way?”
“I only remember being bullied.”
“What, so you do remember.”
He hated it because he remembered.
Lucian could understand Edelaine’s impression that he was like an angry cat.
Lucian had practically raised Lloyd himself for two years.
The child who neither cried nor laughed was usually expressionless and showed no reaction no matter what was done to him.
If promised food, he would accomplish anything.
The child who grew up on the streets knew nothing and moved only by survival instinct.
When given food, he would ignore the spoon placed beside him and grab it with his hands, shoving it into his mouth.
“Use the spoon to eat, like a human.”
“…Am I human?”
“Generally, creatures that look like you are called humans.”
“Do people who kill people also have to be human-like?”
“Whatever your job, a human is a human, little one. I’m human, and I want to live with someone who eats like a human, so if you want to get fed anything, learn table manners.”
Lloyd’s brown eyes back then were so dark they looked black. When he stared expressionlessly with those unnecessarily large eyes, it made one want to poke his cheeks for no reason.
Lucian really did find Lloyd cute. In his own way.
Lloyd said.
“I have an ominous feeling.”
“Your hunches tend to be quite accurate.”
Lucian looked at the two children playing together in the distance.
Lisa was like a puppy.
She would approach Lucian first too, smiling like sunshine and giving him hugs. When meeting Lisa, Lucian would spend hours thoroughly washing his entire body. Just in case Lisa might smell something unpleasant.
Usually, children were afraid of Lucian.
There had been only two children who weren’t afraid of Lucian so far.
Edelaine and Lloyd.
Now Lisa had been added to that list.
Even though he had discovered what Edelaine was hiding and no longer had any reason to visit and meet her, Lucian still went to see her with trivial excuses.
Because Shane had assigned him troublesome tasks, to meet Lloyd, just because he was bored.
It was definitely not because he had free time.
Lucian had to admit that the thread-thin affection he had felt for Edelaine was more tenacious than he had expected.
But it would be hard to meet another fool who would entrust him with a life-changing gamble while saying she didn’t trust him at all.
So the reason he kept visiting was all Edelaine’s own doing.
Moreover, thanks to that, he had gotten to know Lisa, so the results of being swayed by personal feelings weren’t bad.
Ominously, with a face that looked exactly like her demon-like father, Lisa smiled innocently and extended her hand first.
With her moist, small, warm hand, she grasped Lucian’s finger.
Taking after her mother, she had no fear. If she knew who I was, she wouldn’t be able to act like this. She would be scared.
Lisa was the only existence that deviated from his principle that cute things should be tormented and made to cry.
The thought of Lisa crying or getting hurt was unpleasant just to imagine.
He didn’t like seeing scratches on something so pale and round. Rather than loving her specially, he just didn’t like seeing it.
“What kind of feeling are you having?”
Thinking he was different from this expressionless fool who acted like he couldn’t even breathe without Lisa, Lucian asked.
“I think that bastard is going to fall for the young lady.”
“…”
“No, damn it, he’s already fallen for her, definitely.”
I’m surely not that far gone.
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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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