I Became the Regretful Male Lead's Sister (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 5
“An animal?”
I was about to just walk past, but the sound I heard was far too pitiful.
“Is it hurt somewhere?”
In the end, I turned my steps toward the source of the sound. Pushing aside the bushes, I found a small creature curled tightly into a ball.
“A lizard?”
The lizard, about the size of a small puppy, had tiny, delicate wings on its back.
Had I ever heard of a winged lizard?
After pondering briefly, I suddenly realized what the creature was.
“Could it possibly be… a legendary dragon?”
“Pee—!”
The little dragon barely lifted its head to look at my face, then began crawling toward me.
Fascinated, I knelt down to watch the baby dragon inch forward.
Dragons appeared often enough in the original story, so although I was surprised, I wasn’t scared.
Its round, cute appearance looked utterly adorable.
“Oh!”
The baby dragon hadn’t gone far before it tumbled over again.
I knelt beside the dragon.
Upon closer inspection, I saw that its body was still covered in old skin.
Most of it had already shed from its back and belly, but patches remained on its legs, tail, and especially around its face.
“Are you molting?”
I recalled watching reptile care videos on YouTube in my past life.
If left like this, its joints might get bent, or worse—it could develop an infection requiring amputation.
“Well, dragons are reptiles too, after all.”
I swiftly scooped up the wriggling hatchling and carried it near the lake.
To avoid hurting it, I wet its body and waited for the old skin to soften.
“Pee, pee!”
“Just hold on a moment.”
The dragon, apparently displeased, thrashed its tail wildly, splashing water everywhere.
Firmly gripping the hatchling with one hand, I carefully peeled off the softened skin.
Sensing I was trying to help, the little dragon soon calmed down.
“There, there, good job. Yes, yes. I’ll be gentle so it won’t hurt.”
As soon as I finished removing all the skin, the hatchling quickly wriggled free from my hands.
It swam serenely into the middle of the lake and vanished—leaving me utterly dumbfounded.
I hadn’t expected a thank-you, but since it was supposedly a divine beast, I’d hoped something miraculous might happen.
“Speaking of which… where is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?”
I stood up and straightened my dress. While helping the baby dragon, I’d gotten splashed and was now a mess.
Meeting Nathaniel in this state would surely seem suspicious.
“I should head back now. I’m certain he’s supposed to be here today.”
I grumbled and turned around—but strangely, my body wouldn’t move forward.
“Huh?”
I reached out my hand, feeling empty air. It was as if an invisible wall blocked my path.
What on earth was going on?
Just then, I sensed an eerie presence behind me.
It felt exactly like being caught after recklessly acting as if I had twenty lives instead of just one…
“How on earth did you get in here?”
His ominous voice sent chills down my spine.
Though it was the voice I’d been looking for, I wasn’t glad to hear it. I pretended not to hear and tried to push forward.
“You’re pretending not to hear?”
His voice dropped even lower than before. Cautiously, I turned around.
“Ha… haha. It’s an honor to meet you, Your Highness.”
Nathaniel floated atop the clear, blue water—shirtless.
Seeing his perfectly proportioned upper body in 3D—something I’d only seen in magazines in my past life—made my heart flutter unexpectedly.
“So you must have about a hundred lives, Lady Winters.”
Nathaniel slicked back his wet black hair and gave me a sinister smile.
He walked across the water and stopped right in front of me.
“You’ve been trailing after me since last time—who sent you?”
Even standing still, he radiated an oppressive aura. My body tensed up with nervousness.
His sharply gleaming red eyes looked exactly like those of the adorable creature I’d just seen.
‘I shouldn’t have picked it up just because it looked cute.’
Only now did I connect the vanishing baby dragon with this arrogant, prickly man.
But if I mentioned it, he looked ready to kill me on the spot.
I decided to play dumb.
“Oh, you’ve misunderstood! What power could I possibly have?”
At my words, he narrowed his eyes and stepped closer. I shuffled backward—but the invisible wall blocked me from retreating further.
“Then tell me—why did you come all this way just to find me?”
“To apologize for my rudeness that day.”
“Is that really all? Not sent by the Empress or the Princess?”
“I’ve never even exchanged a word with them.”
Nathaniel didn’t even pretend to listen. His eyes, redder than blood, glinted furiously.
“S—Seriously!”
Suddenly changing expression, Nathaniel urgently clamped a hand over my mouth.
“It definitely disappeared this way! Find it!”
Out of nowhere, a group of people in black clothes swarmed in.
Their suspicious appearance made it obvious they were searching for something, scouring the area frantically.
“Eek!”
The invisible wall supporting me vanished, and I fell backward—right onto the bushes beside me.
My arms stung from hitting the small branches.
Then I realized the hand covering my mouth was gone too. The moment I noticed that, I felt a heavy weight settle on my stomach.
“No way…”
Looking down, I saw the baby dragon sitting there, its face flushed with anger.
“Y—Your Highness?”
“Pee!”
Flapping its tiny wings as if to hush me, it covered my mouth again.
“Who’s there!”
Hearing the noise, the men in black started heading my way. The hatchling—clearly Nathaniel—began looking visibly panicked.
I quickly snatched off my hat, placed it over him, and hid behind it.
“Who are you?”
A moment later, one of the knights pressed his sword against my throat, ready to strike at any second.
I lifted my head calmly and said, “I’m merely a devout believer. I came here only to seek traces of dragons.”
Even after my explanation, they didn’t lower their swords. They clearly didn’t believe me.
This was exactly when I needed to act more confidently. I brushed off my skirt, stood up, and delivered my trump card.
“My father is Duke Winters, the undefeated guardian of the Empire’s North. Perhaps you’ve heard his name?”
My tone was elegant, but the meaning was clear: Do you even know who my father is?
Hearing “Duke Winters,” they hesitated and stepped back.
“Winters… You’re the young lady of House Winters? Why are you here alone, without even a single knight?”
“I am simply a humble believer quietly seeking signs of the divine. But who are you? Now that I’ve revealed my identity, isn’t it only proper for you to do the same?”
They looked thoroughly flustered. I wasn’t some nobody—they couldn’t ignore the daughter of House Winters.
“You’ll need to be imprisoned for threatening my life before you regain your senses.”
My threat seemed to work. Their expressions visibly hardened.
“We deeply apologize, Lady Winters. We are the knights of House Trevia, the family of Her Imperial Majesty the Empress.”
Were the Empress and Nathaniel on bad terms?
Since my brother’s love story with Teresa was the main plot, I knew almost nothing about imperial politics. The current Empress wasn’t Nathaniel’s birth mother, so they probably didn’t get along.
Anyway, it wasn’t something I wanted to know—I decided to pretend ignorance.
“I see. For Her Majesty the Empress’s sake, I’ll keep this incident quiet. But you must never commit such rudeness again.”
“Our apologies.”
I slowly walked away as the men in black bowed to me.
Just as I was about to sigh in relief—
“Wait!”
“Yes?”
“You left your hat behind, Lady Winters.”
Ah! That was a close call.
“Don’t touch my hat. I’ll take it myself.”
They looked slightly embarrassed.
I’d only shouted because I was flustered—not because they’d done anything wrong.
Hiding my embarrassment, I picked up the heavy hat and quickly slipped away, climbing into the black carriage parked beside the temple.
My heart pounded wildly.
Carefully setting the hat down, a small black dragon—presumably Nathaniel—crawled out.
“Your Highness?”
The dragon nodded with a blank expression, then mimed slicing its throat with a stubby hand.
“So… if I speak, I die?”
It nodded again.
For something so adorably cute, its behavior was downright tyrannical.
“Your Highness, wouldn’t negotiating with me be simpler than cutting off my head?”
Instantly, the hatchling’s expression turned fierce. It probably thought it looked furious—but to me, it was just cute.
“In exchange for keeping your secret, you’ll grant my small wish!”
The hatchling tilted its head, then was enveloped in light and transformed back into human form.
“What do you want?”
“Nothing much. Just protect Lady Menisil at the Princess’s birthday banquet.”
“Will that really be enough?”
“Yes.”
“I doubt standing beside her will actually protect her.”
“Still, fewer people will dare speak ill of her. They might ignore Lady Teresa, but they won’t ignore you, Your Highness.”
Nathaniel seemed to consider it briefly. For someone desperate to keep his secret, this was a bargain.
I waited patiently for his answer.
“Fine. But you must keep your promise. My leniency ends here.”
“Thank you, Your Highness!”
Finally, everything was ready.
On the day of the banquet,
Maximilian offered to escort me.
“What about Lady Teresa?”
“She never attends these events anyway. Besides, I haven’t been able to reach her.”
He’d apparently forgotten he’d never once offered to escort Teresa himself.
Not that she’d accept now, anyway.
“Fine. I’ll attend—for my foolish older brother.”
Maximilian’s face twisted, clearly displeased with my words.
“Do you really have to say it like that?”
“Yes.”
At my firm reply, he just gaped silently, unable to respond.
Saying I needed to get ready, I left the room.
I had no desire to talk further with Maximilian, who still hadn’t come to his senses.
At first, I’d believed that if I stayed by his side and spoke to him, he’d eventually treat Teresa well.
But whether it was already too late or simply the limits of the original story, nothing I said got through to him.
Honestly, I was deeply disappointed.
‘I won’t care anymore.’
Maximilian would end with regret and heartache—but Teresa wouldn’t.
Her incurable illness, whose cause remained unknown.
The original story never specified the exact illness, but implied it stemmed from the stress she’d endured.
‘Heartbreak is better than death.’
I resolved to become colder.
We rode in the carriage in complete silence. But the moment we entered the banquet hall, we smoothly smiled and began our act.
“Oh my, Lord Winters.”
“It’s been a while, Count Prius.”
“My lady, you look stunning tonight.”
“Your praise is far too generous.”
People began gathering around us, showering us with compliments on our beauty until it grew tiresome.
I forced a smile so hard my mouth nearly cramped.
Anyway, it should be time for their entrance soon.
“His Lordship Iorn of House Velicia and Lady Teresa of House Menisil are arriving.”
Murmurs spread through the crowd at the announcement. I glanced sideways at Maximilian.
Everyone had likely read the rumors about their shaky engagement. The guests watched us siblings with keen interest.
I felt Maximilian’s grip on my hand tighten.
I turned to look at his face.
He remained expressionless.
Creak—the doors opened, and Teresa entered under everyone’s gaze. She’d shed her usual plain appearance, revealing a dazzlingly beautiful woman.
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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MANGA DISCUSSION
4 Comments
Chapter Comments (16)
I probably would have acted like Jaina.
Even if it’s your sibling, it’s not right to cover up someone’s mistake when they treat another person badly.
You should tell your sibling that they did wrong.
It’s disgusting! What was the author eating to make this hero, Teresa? Don’t you have eyes? He’s obviously a filthy bastard, and you won’t be happy with him.
Max, I’m aware that this is a difficult task for you. I’m inviting you to use your brain.
Inline Comments (41)
"Anyone seeing him might think your brother's being sold off."
Lolll their father is so good. Omg I laughed a lot 😂
He decided to wake her gently, feed her something delicious, and then talk—so he
Shit bro. We are really fucked up loll😂 why did he turned to human
From now on, my life motto would be: be a cunning flatterer!
Loll cunning flatterer. She is so funny omg. I love them actually
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agustus_orchid
Teresa, with your beauty and intelligence, you can find someone better than Max. Make Max regret it. I support you (≧▽≦)
agustus_orchid
Teresa, the place for garbage is the trash can. Don’t upset yourself over a man who doesn’t love you or value you.
agustus_orchid
max, don’t use your head as an ornament.
be a little ashamed.
agustus_orchid
The possibility of Jaina marrying the crown prince is higher.