Shanette seemed momentarily surprised but then nodded as if she had understood.
Wait a minute. What exactly did she understand?
“You should have given me a hint, Leus. If you had, I would have prepared various things in advance.”
“Lady Ibel will be staying here for a while, so there’s no need for concern about that.”
Me? Staying?
‘That’s not right…’
“Oh my, is that so? Then, I shouldn’t be standing here. I must go to the kitchen to prepare more food. Please come along at your leisure, Lady Ibel.”
“Very well.”
After a brief conversation with Leus, Shanette turned to me.
“I wasn’t expecting such a sudden guest… I’m sorry, Lady Ibel.”
“No, I’m not… such a special guest…”
“Yes, it’s my mistake. I’ll make sure to notify you in advance next time.”
I tried to correct the misunderstanding, but Leus interrupted, and I couldn’t continue.
“See you in a bit, Lady Ibel.”
Shanette looked fondly at both of us before turning and heading towards the grand ducal palace.
I just stared blankly at Shanette’s retreating figure.
‘What is all this…’
I was so overwhelmed by the situation that I could only stand there with my mouth open. It took me a while to regain my voice.
“Um, excuse me… Ah-”
The fact that I had so casually addressed the only Grand Duke in the empire as “um” was problematic. Usually, I would mentally refer to him as “this guy” or “Leus,” and now I had unintentionally spoken out so informally.
Realizing my mistake, I couldn’t continue, but Leus calmly responded.
“Yes, ‘excuse me.’ I’m listening, please go ahead.”
“……?”
In my shock, all the questions in my head vanished.
‘Was it the head that got hurt the most that day?’
Ah, right. My fever had been so high. My brain must have been slightly cooked. Otherwise, how could a person be so inconsistent?
I genuinely wanted to ask if he was hurt anywhere, but I shut my mouth again because of his expression.
It’s hard to describe, but… he seemed oddly pleased.
‘Right. He’s lost it.’
Feeling sorry for him, I regained my composure.
…Wait a minute. That’s not the issue.
The issue was that Leus had tricked me!
Thinking back, it started being strange in the reception room. The conversation was unusually prolonged, he explained things I hadn’t asked, and he even smiled for a moment in the carriage.
I should have realized something was off back then!
Then I remembered the letter.
‘So, was the letter fake too?’
He had unusually talked a lot, and it was all to prevent me from reading the letter!
I should have seen it wasn’t a mere coincidence or feeling. And the carriage, too. The usual Leus would never share a carriage with anyone!
From beginning to end, I was thoroughly played by Leus.
“Why did you deceive me…?”
My words came out a bit sharper than intended, but Leus responded as if he wasn’t bothered.
“You were deceiving too, weren’t you?”
“……What?”
“Standing outside the door for so long… I thought you were contemplating how to lie or escape. Weren’t you?”
“No, no- I was just… I couldn’t believe that the Grand Duke himself had visited our household! I was just… nervous, that’s all…”
I tried hard to explain, but he seemed to be only half-listening.
“I wonder if telling the truth would have made any difference, Lady Ibel.”
“Of course it would have…”
Leus sighed with a ‘sigh’, unable to finish his sentence.
No, rather, it was more accurate to say that Leus’ gaze towards me bound my body, making it difficult to casually utter any words.
His eyes were loosely relaxed, but the pupils beneath them shone brightly like the fierce glare of a predator.
“You seem skilled at escaping.”
“…….”
“Did you escape right in front of my eyes this time?”
“Escape? I don’t understand what you mean.”
“I thought you were only good at running away, but pretending not to know is also top-notch. I see you in a new light.”
His attitude, seemingly willing to listen to what I had to say, unexpectedly made me lose my composure.
“That’s, how the Duke usually acted…! Right…….”
“I.”
Leus, either truly not remembering or pretending not to, wore an expression as if he couldn’t recall.
What followed was a disingenuous apology.
“If that’s the case, I apologize. Please understand generously, Miss Ivel.”
Then, with a slight smile, he extended his hand towards me, as if to offer an escort.
Perhaps due to the thought of needing to escape from this twisted turn of events, I found courage from somewhere and firmly pushed away Leus’ hand.
“I’ll, go back.”
Afraid of the response I might receive, I stuttered but managed to turn around. Soon, I heard the sound of clicking his tongue behind me.
‘Ah, I can’t hear it. I haven’t heard anything.’
Instead of grabbing me, Leus followed behind.
“I didn’t know you were usually this heartless.”
“I, I don’t understand what you’re talking about, Duke.”
I walked briskly, taking large steps, but he caught up to me quickly.
Leus, standing right in front of me, leaned forward slightly, stopping only when I couldn’t escape.
My Step-brother Is Obsessed With Me (Female-dominant)
A gentle female protagonist vs pitiful in the early stage, and a sick male protagonist in the later stage
Cheng Songer transmigrated into the body of a vicious cannon fodder female supporting character with the same name as her in a female-dominant novel.
In the original story, the cannon fodder female supporting character was inhumane, committing domestic violence, gambling excessively, being lustful, and even wanting to sell her stepbrother to a brothel for money.
As luck would have it, she just happened to transmigrate at this time.
Seeing Cheng Qingzhi biting his lip, enduring the tears in his eyes, looking pitiful, her heart softened.
She stuffed the money back into the Madam’s hand and reached out to him.
“Brother, come home with me.”
