Chapter 26

Welcoming the family (4)

If you asked me who was better, Richard or Elburn… It would still be Elburn who couldn’t hide his feelings.

‘Look at that.’ He was holding my hand and escorting me while his lips trembled.

It meant that he had no choice but to express that he did not like it.

“I know you don’t like my existence.”

I talked to him calmly first.

“I understand everything. I’m sorry that my mother was rude in asking for this and that.”

Richard and Elburn took me before the Marquis of Abedes.

“Oh.”

Marquis Abedes smiled at my face.

“Now I see you look a lot like me. Especially the ear flaps…”

My ears were very normal shaped. The Marquis might as well have said I resembled half the people here.

“Yes.”

But I matched the rhythm.

“The eyelashes, too. We both have the same length for them.”

“Right? That’s what I think.”

To be honest, even as a joke, I didn’t think that our features looked alike.

It was the same with my half-brothers.

The hair was subtly different because it was light purple with a slight red tint to it.

But for now, we agreed that we somehow looked alike.

“I think I’ve been too careless with you. You look pretty dressed up today. You’re even wearing a necklace…”

“Marquis.”

He calmly stopped talking.

“What you have done for my mother was enough. I don’t want any more from the marquis.”

If I hadn’t had a little more conscience, I’d have hit the back of her head after she received everything that was supposed to be mine, but I didn’t because I didn’t want to be tied up with Caitlyn.

All three of them looked at me strangely as if my answer was unexpected.

You thought I’d fall for the necklace comment, you shameless people.

“Rather…”

‘Now, don’t waste my time and hurry up.’

“I want to know what I can do for you.”

I said I wanted to know, but I didn’t say I would do it. The marquis’s nostrils flared with joy.

I briefly recalled the contents of the original book.

The title of this book, which I was in, was .

Literally, a really nice and pretty saint saved the world and gained love.

Ian Wade, the male lead, was as good as the female lead.

On the other hand, Richard, the second male lead, had the opposite character of Ian and was an obsessive rookie who used mean tricks.

Even though the male lead and the female lead were completely righteous, the chemistry between the two was a bit off.

It was like reading a moral textbook…

However, the main characters were the happiest.

It may not have been fun for others, but it must have been the best choice for themselves.

Therefore, in the original story, the narrative of the two men who were at odds over the heroine was more interesting than the romance itself.

Richard was an ambitious man seeking to be the crown prince Carlon’s closest ally.

Ian wasn’t interested in politics, but he was Robert’s close friend.

Carlon was always worried that Duke Wade would take Robert’s side.

So Richard came up with all sorts of schemes to get rid of Ian.

The goal was to get recognized by Carlon by eliminating his rivals.

‘And that was where I started…’

In the original story, I was just a supporting character who was just stuck in the middle of the plot.

The heroine and Ian had not met yet, and they were about to be intertwined by saving the world together.

I was sent to jail for doing all sorts of bad things in that long romantic process.

In fact, my last appearance was at the prison scene, and regardless of me, Ian and the female lead were gradually getting closer.

And Richard, who couldn’t see the situation at all, accused him of ‘treating my half-sister unreasonably’ and started a quarrel.

‘Of course, that was just an excuse that he managed to come up with because he didn’t have anything to nitpick about.’

Anyone could tell it was my fault and Richard didn’t actually mean to save me from prison.

‘…It doesn’t even mention what happened to me after that.’

The political dispute led to the complicated succession of Carlon and Robert to the throne, everything became a real mess.

Carlon was the villain that disturbed the world with all kinds of evil forces, and the heroine confronted him with a sense of duty.

Richard wanted to get drunk and drag the heroine to the abyss with his twisted love, but…

The righteous and capable saint (heroine) saved the world from evil things with Ian, who had the strongest swordsmanship in the world’s view.

Eventually, Ian was honored as a close aide to the next emperor, Robert, and got the love of the heroine.

So I was a minor supporting villain who got brushed away in the beginning, and Richard was a close aide to the real villain.

Of course, I was not going to end up in prison, so I was already out of the original.

Well, somehow Richard would come up with some other weird reason to confront Ian.

It was none of my business.

‘This is the world I live in now, so whether it’s the original or not, if I don’t end up in prison, that’s enough for me.’

I was only focused on securing my safety, and I wasn’t interested in the original.

No matter what drama the main characters were in, I just had to live well on my own.

The world… Well, the male lead and female lead would save it.

‘But there’s room for me to be in the original.’

To screw up the bastards that were there to take advantage of me.

Marquis Abedes said with a gracious smile.

“Yes. As family members, no matter what the misunderstanding we may have had, we must know that we are the only ones in the end.”

“Yes.”

“I’d like to invite you to the mansion soon. I know you’re busy preparing for the swordsmanship contest, but could you stop by?”

“Call me anytime.”

I nodded with a look of joy.

“I’ll be waiting.”

Richard smiled pleasantly, and Elburn looked elsewhere as if he couldn’t keep a straight face.

~*~

Annabel had been the runner-up winner twice in swordsmanship competitions so far.

The swordsmanship competition was a fairly large event in the Empire, and even being the runner-up was a great thing.

In fact, there were many places that wanted to scout Annabelle, but her only interest was the title.

She said that after all, and almost everyone knew her situation.

It was said that she, an illegitimate child, was abandoned by the Abedes and wanted to be recognized somehow.

And today, at last, the illegitimate child was seen hanging out with the people of the Marquis of Abedes.

While everyone was quietly observing them secretly, there was a person who secretly felt sorry for her.

It was the old High Priest who had mistakenly thought that Annabelle had saved him.

He still thanked Annabelle for taking the poisoned darts on her back for him like a hedgehog.

“Oh my gosh… She must have really missed the family bond. Anyways, that pure intention was tearful, and the shrine wanted to repay it unconditionally.”

Since then, Annabelle had not demanded anything from the temple.

She was the daughter of the greedy Caitlyn, who thought she could get anything…

He had attended the opera for various political reasons, and after thinking for a while, he asked the priest sitting next to him.

“Does someone have to get a title in order to be recognized as a part of the family? I remember there was another way. I’ve been forgetting a lot lately because I’m getting older.”

“Well… it’s possible if the paternity test has the consent of the temple, the imperial family, and the family themselves…”

The priest continued to answer carefully.

“You’ll be sick for a few days after the paternity test too… So even if there was a request up to now, you haven’t accepted it.”

“Is it really true that she spared my life and made no demands at all?”

The priest, who couldn’t say ‘that’s not a big deal’ to saving the life of the old high priest, was quiet.

“Besides, it’s very pitiful to see them so happy that they’re together.”

The old High Priest continued to add more important words.

“And I’m retiring soon. The next High Priest will know what to do with the next request, which will be his own decision.”

“Oh…”

After realizing the big picture, the priest swallowed a sigh and nodded. The old High Priest then laughed and ordered.

“The consent of the royal family is, well, it seems to me that I should receive it from Prince Robert…”

“On the day of the paternity test?”

“Yes, I think Ian Wade will be the winner of the swordsmanship competition again. She can’t be recognized as part of the family if that’s the case.”

In the distance, Annabelle was having a pleasant conversation with Marquis Abedes.

The old High Priest continued, looking at the figure.

“Apparently, Marquis Abedes has turned in favor of Miss Annabelle, so the family can agree. I can repay that much for her saving my life.”

His gaze reached Annabelle in the distance.

It was heartbreaking to see such a bright smile on her.

Of course, it wasn’t just the High Priest who kept focused on them.

Ian also had light conversations with other nobles, but he was completely lost in other thoughts.

Seeing Annabelle’s expression as if she were chasing after a puppy, it was heartbreaking.