Chapter 37
“Haha, I apologize. I didn’t explain it very well.”
Leo chuckled, as if amused by her expression, and continued. This time, it seemed like he was going to give her a proper explanation.
“I told you before that I didn’t have a very good life in Raiha.”
Raiha. It was the name of the province where Leo had lived. She didn’t remember hearing anything good about it…
Sue watched anxiously as a shadow fell over his smiling face.
“When I lived outside the capital, it was truly hell.”
And Sue regretted it. She regretted bringing it up.
She could sense the dark side she had seen at the salon resurfacing from him, his eyes downcast, his gaze unfocused.
“I went through all sorts of things there. I vowed to myself that I would definitely leave that hellhole. I never want to go back there. …Yes, that was my wish. I never want to go back there… That’s my wish and my goal.”
Leo’s face was hidden in the backlight. Sue watched him nervously, her lips twitching.
‘…See? I can’t even comfort the person right in front of me.’
Incompetent Sue.
She pressed her lips together.
“…I also wanted to live here forever, with my family.”
A hollow laugh escaped Leo’s lips.
He said he might have already achieved his goal. Did that mean he had already come to the capital? But why was he still so dejected…?
“Don’t you want to see your family?”
Sue asked hesitantly.
“Ah…”
The moment she spoke, Leo slowly straightened his back. His face was contorted with an indescribable emotion.
Sue regretted it. The sunlight, which had felt warm and comforting just moments ago, now felt like scorching arrows piercing her skin.
She had thought he didn’t hate his family, considering he had said he wanted to live with them.
“I don’t want to see them. Ever.”
His answer was firm and sharp. But what he said next was a little different from what Sue had expected.
“Because they loved me too much.”
“….”
She stared at him blankly. A tearful smile appeared on his distorted face. Sue took a deep breath and asked slowly,
“Isn’t it a good thing to be loved by your family?”
She didn’t understand what he meant, no matter what his expression was. She was simply curious about the logic of his words. It was a good thing to be loved by your family, right?
Leo’s large shadow suddenly loomed over her again.
“When you love someone, you sacrifice everything.”
His smile, completed in the backlight of the scorching sun, was anything but noble.
[To Noel,
Hi Noel, summer in Atlantis is truly hot. Half of the summer vacation has already flown by. It doesn’t feel real that school is about to start again, and then the September Festival. I’m really curious about what the theme will be.
Noel, how’s your Knights training going? How was the barrier inspection? You didn’t get hurt, did you? I went for a walk in the outer district with Sir Leo today. The canal is as beautiful as ever.
Ah, you said I didn’t have to report everything about Sir Leo to you. But this isn’t a report, it’s just a friendly letter. Otherwise, I would have nothing to write about except how lazy I’ve been at home.
So, I heard an interesting story. The owner of the bakery on Beata Street…
…Isn’t it amazing? Identical triplets marrying identical triplets.
Oh, and there was also a dress shop selling strange dresses. I’ll tell you about it when we meet.
I wish we could have met during summer vacation. But we’ll see each other a few times after school starts. Let’s talk then.
That’s all for now. May you always be happy and have fun, wherever you are.
From Sue Byron.]
***
The small ballroom of the Lopetrefer grand duke’s residence.
The ballroom was adorned with the deep, rich colors characteristic of the Lopetrefer family.
A ball was currently underway, celebrating the birth of Michaela Lopetrefer Kel. This ball, celebrating the birth of the next head of the Lopetrefer family, was a small gathering, with only those closely associated with the Lopetrefer family in attendance.
The Byron family was an allied family that supported the Lopetrefer family in the underworld, so even Sue, who hadn’t made her social debut, had to attend the ball with her parents.
Under her mother Cheryl’s pressure, Sue had to wear the most flamboyant and expensive dress she had ever worn. Apparently, she had to make a good impression on the important people.
‘Puhaha, if I could make a good impression with a dress, I would have done it ages ago.’
Even though she scoffed inwardly, there was no harm in wearing a nice dress, so Sue obediently followed Cheryl’s instructions.
The outer layer of the dress was made of pale pink silk with layers of white frills, and the inner layer was sky blue silk with intricate spiral embroidery, creating a visually striking combination.
Anyway, wearing that expensive dress, Sue had walked around the ballroom tirelessly, completing all the tasks her father, Eren, had given her.
She had followed Eren and Cheryl around, greeting every single guest, being dragged by Cheryl to join conversations with other noble ladies, laughing politely, showing off her connection to the Lopetrefer family, and emphasizing how different she was from them. It was what anyone with Byron blood would do.
After what felt like an eternity, Sue was finally free. Her legs felt like jelly from repeatedly curtseying.
Sue, now alone, went to a secluded corner she had noticed earlier and sipped on some non-alcoholic wine.
Originally, one of Eren’s tasks had been to stay by Enzhe’s side and flatter her until the end of the ball, but Enzhe was currently surrounded by almost every guest in the center of the ballroom, making it impossible to approach her.
So Sue was observing Enzhe from afar. When she had gone to greet Enzhe earlier, she had been forcing a smile. The lovely duchess’s smile was a source of terror for Sue. She remembered hurrying away after a brief greeting, fearing that she might get slapped if she said the wrong thing.
It would be counterproductive to try and appease Enzhe while she was surrounded by so many people. But she couldn’t just stand here and waste time.
‘Let’s rest for a bit and then join her when the opportunity arises.’
With that thought in mind, Sue took a deep breath and observed the people enjoying the ball.
As expected of a small-scale ball, the number of guests wasn’t that large. But most of them were prominent figures in the capital.
First, there was the Vava marquis family and the Byron viscount family, who were officially allied with the Lopetrefer family. Marquess Yuna, who was usually on barrier inspection duty, had even made time to attend this special ball. Melaine had been by Yuna’s side ever since they arrived.
Fritz and Acrea, from the other two grand duke families, were also in attendance. In the distance, Duke Reeves, Acrea’s older brother, was talking to Marquess Yuna. Duke Antique, Fritz’s father, was also talking to the Grand Duke of Lopetrefer.
Aside from these four families, there were about five other families, as well as people in Imperial uniforms, and even high priests from the Grand Temple.
Most of them probably didn’t know the true purpose of this ball.
A ball to celebrate the birth of a successful product that could reach ‘greater heights’.
The other families, unaware of the truth, were simply enjoying the honor of being invited to a small-scale Lopetrefer ball. But the Fritz and Acrea families would undoubtedly hold internal discussions after this ball.
It wasn’t like they were completely oblivious to the darkness surrounding the Lopetrefer family. But they didn’t know that the Lopetrefer family was far more malicious and corrupt than they had imagined.
They controlled the underworld and didn’t hesitate to kill innocent people when necessary. Even Eren, the head of the Byron family, probably didn’t know the details of the torture they inflicted in the name of experiments, hidden deep within their residence. Sue only knew bits and pieces because of the novel.
‘What even is this ‘greater heights’ they’re so obsessed with?’
Sue clicked her tongue. Enzhe was the result of their pursuit of ‘greater heights’, and Michaela, the successful product they had created after countless attempts, would be killed by her own sister before she even turned two. And the one who would actually reach ‘greater heights’ was the protagonist, Halo.
But the novel had only vaguely described this ‘greater heights’, so she didn’t know what kind of power or status one had to possess to achieve it. To think they glossed over such important information, this really is a trashy novel.
“…Huh?”
Sue’s attention was drawn to a presence nearby, and she turned her head. She saw a young boy standing not far from her.
‘Wow… Fritz’s younger brother.’
The boy was looking around nervously, his expression tense.
Sue felt a twinge of excitement, as if she had spotted a celebrity.
He had curly black hair, large, bright eyes, and a youthful face. Dressed in a gray children’s tuxedo, he was Evan Fritz Digoril, Shina Fritz’s younger brother.
Evan was a supporting character in the novel. He was eleven years old and appeared as an obstacle trying to separate Halo and Fritz because he adored his older brother. But as was typical of younger brothers of male protagonists, he eventually fell for Halo and started treating her like an older sister.
And he was standing here, a few steps away from Sue, his eyes wide with anxiety, his hand on the wall for support.
‘He must have been separated from his family.’
The servants who were working at the ball were busy in the crowded areas and weren’t paying attention to this secluded corner.
If he just ran over there and started crying, someone would take care of him.
But Evan remained where he was. He was probably shy and uncomfortable in this kind of setting.
After a moment of hesitation, Sue sighed and slowly walked towards him.
Children are cute to look at, but that’s it.
But when she saw his large, trembling eyes, like a lone duckling separated from its flock, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy.