To Become Family with the Male Lead - Chapter 54

A week had passed since I sent a letter to Rodney, but there was no news from him.

Wondering if the letter hadn’t been delivered, I sent another one, but the result was the same. Even after a week, Rodney did not come to the Marsen mansion.

‘Is school life quite fun?’

I thought he would come running as soon as he received the letter, but when my premonition was wrong, I felt betrayed by Rodney.

The Marsen mansion was on the verge of collapse. I still didn’t exchange a word with Felicia, with whom I had argued, and things were awkward with the other siblings. The relationship between Isabel and Father was beyond repair, needless to say.

I also went out of the mansion as soon as I opened my eyes.

“…You sleep well.”

On the entrance sofa, I saw the faces of Roger and Yurik sitting side by side, sleeping.

For the past week, I had been coming to the Penton family as often as I ate meals. Here, I played chess with Baron Kito, and when not playing chess, I sat next to Yune and taught her math.

For some reason, Roger also came to Duke Penton’s house when the sun rose. I worried that our presence might be a disturbance to the Duchess and Duke, but the kind couple said they enjoyed hearing the children’s voices in the mansion and gave us snacks and delicious meals.

So we had no choice but to stay at the Penton mansion.

‘I can understand myself, but why are you here instead of your comfortable home, Roger.’

I sat on the opposite sofa and looked closely at Roger.

He seemed to have a habit of clinging to the person next to him when sleeping, as he didn’t move away from Yurik’s side. Roger’s head slowly descended onto Yurik’s shoulder.

As their bodies touched, Roger, startled by the sensation, lifted his head. I, also surprised, straightened my back abruptly.

…Is he awake?

“…Roger?”

“…”

Roger looked around vaguely with unfocused eyes, then put his head back down on Yurik’s shoulder.

“…Hey, Roger.”

“…”

He’s sleeping.

Roger and Yurik’s bodies were now completely pressed together. Just looking at this, they seemed like the best friends in the world… But in reality, it was the opposite, which made me feel a bit sad.

After observing them for a while, my mischievous side took over.

‘Last time, they both poked my cheeks, right?’

I carefully got up and went in front of the two boys, bending my knees. With one finger, I poked Roger’s cheek.

The soft, squishy feeling was addictively pleasant, and before I knew it, I was poking Roger’s cheek deeply.

Roger frowned, seemingly uncomfortable. He looked ugly.

Barely holding back my laughter, I aimed for Yurik’s cheek this time. As I did with Roger, I poked my finger into Yurik’s cheek, but Yurik had no reaction. As expected, Roger was overwhelmingly more fun to tease.

I lost track of time as I diligently played with Roger’s cheeks. As his expression contorted here and there, I, getting more entertained, slowly touched from his forehead down to the bridge of his nose.

“…Lize.”

I heard Yurik’s voice from the side. Hastily stopping my gestures, I discovered Yurik looking at me with round eyes.

“Oh, h-hello. You’re awake?”

“…”

“Well, you were sleeping so soundly…”

I slightly raised the corners of my mouth. Yurik remained silent for a while, seemingly displeased that I had stolen a glance at his sleeping face. Thinking he might be very angry, I wondered how I should apologize.

“Why don’t you touch me?”

“I’m sorry about that… You were sleeping so peacefully, I just wanted to touch you once. You guys touched me before too… Huh, what did you say?”

“Then you should touch me too. Why are you only touching that guy’s face, Lize.”

Yurik took my hand that had fallen to the floor and placed it on his own cheek.

“Touch me too.”

Sometimes I couldn’t follow Yurik’s thinking.

Wondering if I should touch him like this, I ended up poking Yurik’s cheek. If Roger’s cheeks were soft and squishy, Yurik’s were more fluffy and gentle. It felt strange, like stirring whipped cream.

Yurik smiled every time my finger brushed against him. He would flinch as if ticklish, but it was certainly more fun to touch than earlier when there was no reaction.

‘What am I doing right now?’

Why did I end up touching Yurik’s face?

As my fingers were moving almost instinctively, Roger’s head, who was sleeping, fell onto Yurik’s lap.

“…”

“…”

It looked like Yurik was giving Roger a lap pillow. Not knowing that Yurik’s face had immediately turned cold, Roger was in dreamland.

“Lize! Are you here?!”

“…!”

The quiet entrance door opened without warning.

Baron Kito, who was supposed to come to Duke Penton’s house today, had appeared boisterously. Startled, Yurik threw Roger’s head far away, and I jumped up. Roger, who fell to the floor with a thud, slightly opened his eyes with a bewildered expression.

“…Oh, you’re here?”

As I greeted him, Baron Kito approached me with a broad smile.

“Lize! The date for the finals has finally been set!”

[This is the timeline separator]

“I thought it would take longer, but it seems one person withdrew. The tournament bracket came out faster than expected, and the date was moved up more than anticipated.”

We were all gathered at Duke Penton’s house, having lunch. Baron Kito, excited, spoke while putting food in his mouth.

“The first match is in a week, so we plan to go three days earlier. But more importantly, my first opponent! The opponent is someone who has been playing chess for a long time like me, so it won’t be an easy match. Really!”

“You seem very excited about that, Kito.”

Duke Penton made an expression of incomprehension.

“Of course! Life wouldn’t be fun if it were easy, right?”

“That’s just you.”

Duke Penton tried to calm down the excited Baron Kito, urging him to eat his meal. But Baron Kito’s face was full of smiles, apparently looking forward to the upcoming final match.

“Tsk tsk, that’s why he can’t get married. I wonder if he even has any intention of getting married in the first place…”

“I’m married to chess.”

“At this rate, he’ll get married even later than Yurik.”

Duke Penton shook his head. Baron Kito bristled at that.

“Life is unpredictable. Yurik might not be interested in women either. He might be struggling with something else, like me.”

“I’m sorry, Baron, but I want to get married soon.”

When Yurik retorted, everyone’s attention turned to him. Even Roger, who had been focused on tearing apart his bread without paying attention to the conversation, looked at Yurik.

Only Yune seemed indifferent, as if she didn’t care whether her brother got married or not.

“Your words are different from last year, Yurik. Back then, you said you weren’t interested in marriage.”

Duchess Penton said with a sly smile.

“My mind has changed.”

“Sorry, but I think I’ll get married faster than you.”

Roger interjected at Yurik’s answer. This time, even Yune put down her fork and focused on the situation.

“You think you’ll get married soon?”

“I’m engaged.”

“…To whom?”

“To Lize Marsen.”

Roger’s gaze fell on me.

“…”

“…”

“…”

Oh dear.

Not just the atmosphere, but Yune’s gaze from the side felt piercing.

“…Well, it’s something our parents forcibly arranged from before.”

“It’s a serious engagement as much as our parents are involved. My mother is already looking into churches.”

“Mrs. Bakus is so fond of me…”

“That’s why our mother strongly supports my engagement to Lize.”

I want to sew Roger’s mouth shut with a needle right now. I glanced at Yune. Her usually expressive face was now dark, as if she might cry.

“I think I should go now. My mother will be worried. Roger, you should go home too, right?”

I stood up slowly and called Roger. I intended to completely control Roger’s mouth at this opportunity. I also planned to hold him accountable for those tactless actions. As I smiled with my eyes, Roger, who hadn’t fully grasped the situation, didn’t move to get up.

“Roger, aren’t you getting up?”

Get up, quickly. Come on, hurry.

“…I’ll be going too.”

As my tone changed, Roger slowly stood up. But it would have been fine if only Roger had stood up, Yurik got up too.

“Then I’ll go see Lize off.”

“Huh? It’s okay. It’s still daytime, and I’m going with Roger.”

I declined his offer to see me off. It was the wrong choice.

“The Bakus mansion and the Marsen mansion are in opposite directions, right, Lize?”

“…That’s right.”

For some reason, Yurik was very angry right now.

[This is the timeline separator]

Having just passed the winter garden, I was heading towards the mansion, examining Yurik’s silent face.

This situation was already hair-raising, and Roger, who could freely affect Yurik’s mood, was beside us. Despite being in the opposite direction, he stubbornly followed me and Yurik.

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

Yurik opened his mouth.

“About the engagement? Don’t misunderstand. Roger spoke strangely earlier, but it’s really just talk between our parents. Nothing has been decided.”

“…”

“Hey, Roger! Say something too!”

Roger was pretending not to know, keeping his mouth shut mischievously.

“But you’re still engaged.”

Yurik’s voice lowered.

“It’s a future matter anyway. There’s still more than ten years left. So, please explain it well to Yune, okay?”

I was worried that this incident might strain the relationship between Yune, who likes Roger, and him. Seeing me all flustered, Yurik sneered.

“What about me? Don’t you care about me?”

When Yurik asked, my body stiffened. I had a lot I wanted to say, but my mind went blank at that one question.

“What’s this, do you want to marry Lize?”

After a silence, Roger asked.

“…”

“…Wow. How bold.”

Roger let out a hollow laugh at Yurik’s unapologetic appearance. Yurik likes me.

“You knew all along anyway. And Lize too… that I like you.”

“…”

I had noticed this fact for a while, but I didn’t think Yurik would know what was going on in my mind.

So, I had somewhat brushed it off lightly. Yurik and I are still young, and it’s a long way to adulthood. People’s hearts can change in a day, so what are the chances that Yurik would like me for ten years?

Even if he likes me, it’s probably just the affection of a sweet first love, not thoughts of marriage.

That was a bit bitter, but I was satisfied.

‘…Even if you inevitably have to kill me, you would agonize, suffer, and hesitate. You wouldn’t see me as someone without any value and look at me like an insect, as in the novel.’

But looking at Yurik’s face, which was now contorting as if about to cry, my thoughts changed. I felt heavy-hearted, like a sinner.

“…You know, Yurik.”

“Do you have to be engaged to that guy? Lize, is that what you want?”

Yurik asked me. His voice trembled at the end.

“What are you saying? Lize is engaged to me.”

“Roger, shut that mouth. Please.”

When I glared at him, Roger’s shoulders shook.

I understood that Yurik was taking the engagement seriously.

Here, engagements made at a young age often led to marriage in the end. Even if it was a suddenly arranged engagement, it was talked about among families.

“What do you think? Lize.”

Yurik caught my gaze. Roger also waited for my answer.

As I hesitated to answer the difficult question,

“I don’t like either of them.”

“…?”

“Lize is much too precious for them.”

Just then, someone put their arm around my neck. A clear, low resonance. A familiar voice.

As I turned my head, I saw a blonde man with a tall stature and thick arms.

Although his face was still youthful, his large build was close to an adult’s, so Yurik and Roger immediately became wary of him. On the other hand, I felt overwhelmed with emotion.

“It seems some guys trying to snatch Lize away have appeared while I was gone?”

“…You!”

It was my elder brother.