Chapter 83
“Lari!!”
“Lari!”
“Baby.”
Leading the way, Rohen and the Grand Duke called out to Lari after me. Feeling as though Lari might move at any moment, the Grand Duke hurried through the living room into the bedroom and laid the child down.
A room filled entirely with black furniture, perfectly befitting the Grand Duke’s disposition. And before long, the eyelids of Lari—who had seemed as though she would never open her eyes again—trembled faintly.
I tightly held Lari’s hand.
“Lari… how long are you going to keep your sister waiting….”
Rohen grabbed her other hand.
“If you don’t open your eyes… I won’t let you off. So… hurry and wake up.”
Perhaps she heard that voice. Lari very slowly, very gradually opened her eyes. Her sky-blue pupils blankly turned toward the ceiling.
“Sleepyhead… you’re only waking up now?”
As I looked at Lari, I forced down the tears that threatened to spill. I was afraid I might never see her again. I had pretended to be fine, had been confident that everything would turn out well. But somewhere in my heart, anxiety had remained.
I hadn’t realized it before, but when Lari opened her eyes, I understood. I had been unusually afraid. In the novel, Lari didn’t die, so I had thought nothing would happen. And yet, I had been afraid that something might go wrong, that because of the things that had twisted due to me, Lari might leave this world too early. Only now did I realize it.
“Sister… how long are you going to make me worry….”
At that moment, tears poured down. The guilt was overwhelming.
“Sis… ter….”
Very slow, very faint, but clear—her voice reached me. Only then did I wipe my tears and look at Lari.
“Lari….”
Lari’s hand slowly brushed my cheek.
“Why… are you crying….”
Perhaps because she had received a blessing and awakened thanks to the High Priestess’s power, she didn’t seem to be in much pain. Lari regained her usual vitality.
“Let her drink some water.”
The Grand Duke, who had been quietly standing behind us, poured a glass of water and handed it to me. I carefully accepted it. Rohen quickly helped Lari sit up, and Lari slowly drank it.
“It’s cold!”
True to the bloodline of the Grand Duke’s family with its fast recovery, Lari quickly regained her strength and looked at me.
“Sister!!”
Then she hugged me tightly again.
“Mmm… Lari. Are you okay?”
“Sister. Sister. You didn’t go anywhere, right? You’re really our sister, right?”
After looking me over from head to toe, Lari tilted her head.
“But Sister got teeny-tiny.”
“Huh?”
“Sister was really tall… but now you’re super small.”
“You’re small too, Lari.”
“Ah!”
Only then did Lari look at herself and gasp in surprise.
“You’re right!”
“Lari… got strange.”
Only then did Lari turn to Rohen.
“Why are you so tiny like mouse poop, Oppa?”
“…Mouse poop? You’re the strange one. What kind of dream did you have to start talking about getting smaller and all that?”
“Yeah! It was a really weird dream. We all became adults. Sister was really pretty then too! Hehe. So I thought we had grown up.”
“Idiot. You slept a lot and turned into an idiot.”
“I’m not an idiot! But in that dream, Sister left us and it was scary.”
Lari pouted her lips.
But I felt something strange.
“I… left you?”
“Yeah! Unlike now, Sister spoke formally to us… and then suddenly disappeared. I was so sad. I like Sister both then and now.”
Then she buried herself in my arms.
“You won’t go anywhere, right?”
“Mm. I won’t go!”
“How disappointing. Your Oppa is right here, but you’re only looking for Aisha?”
But unease rose in my heart. The dream Lari described felt like that time in the novel—when I entered as the twins’ maid and left them. My heart pounded.
Why did Lari have that kind of dream of all things?
‘It’s just a coincidence. She could have such a dream by chance. Lari slept for a very long time.’
“Sister can never go anywhere again. If you do, I’ll even break your legs and keep you next to me. Hehe.”
Lari said it brightly, smiling, but a chill ran down my spine for a moment.
“What a joke.”
“I’m not joking. I’m serious. Sister, you can’t go anywhere, okay?”
“Uh… yeah. M-more importantly, Lari, do you remember the last thing before you fell asleep?”
“Mm-hm!”
Lari nodded, her eyes sparkling.
“Then was there anything strange before you fell asleep?”
“Mmm… um… Ah! The maids gave me something they said was good for my body!”
“…They gave you something?”
“Yeah! They told me not to tell Sister or Oppa and to eat it by myself. They said I was growing too slowly, and if time passed like this, I’d be the only small one, and Oppa and Sister wouldn’t play with me. So I had to grow quickly, and they made me eat it!”
At that moment, all of our expressions froze.
“…Who? Who did that?”
“I’m not sure. They said they were new, but I think I might’ve seen them before too… I don’t remember that part! And then I got sleepy right away and slept a lot. Hehe.”
Lari spoke as if it were nothing, but it couldn’t be nothing. After that, Lari fell asleep and almost never woke up.
“So that’s why she was so sensitive.”
It was the Grand Duke who spoke in a voice thick with anger.
“This won’t do. We must properly investigate this matter. Lari. If we bring them, would you recognize who it was?”
“Yes!”
“Too much time has passed by now… It’ll probably be hard to find them. Wouldn’t it be better to leave it alone?”
And slowly, I shared my thoughts with the Grand Duke.
“What? Leave those wretches alone?”
“Instead, Lari can move around and check whether they’re still working in the Grand Duke’s household. And regarding this matter, I think it’s better to stay quiet. In the end, if they fear being exposed, they might try to harm Lari again… It would be better to catch them in the act.”
The Grand Duke, who had been fuming the entire time, calmed down.
“I see. That’s possible. As expected, you’re better than I am, Aisha.”
“No. That’s not it….”
Is it okay to say it at this timing? I feel like I should talk about Luzella and the Eternal Dream, but not in front of Lari.
‘And Rex might have gathered other information… I should hear that side first.’
“Then we’ll do as you say. Rohen. Do not take your eyes off Lari even for a moment.”
“Don’t worry. She’s my sister. I’ll protect her.”
Was this the reason the Grand Duchess had been so desperate to keep Lari from waking up?
Even this has changed from the past. In the past, Lari had never stayed unconscious for this long.
All of this happened because I intervened. And the reason the Grand Duchess tried so extremely to kill Lari first… was it because of me? Is that why she reacted like that when she heard the High Priestess had helped?
Is that why everything became so extreme… using such shallow tricks that no sane adult would?
“Anyway, for now, we should spread the news widely that Lari has awakened, and at the same time make sure no one knows what Lari remembers.”
“So be it.”
The Grand Duchess would eventually try to maintain ties with this side no matter what. Thinking that, I gently stroked Lari’s head as she tilted it, unable to grasp the situation.
“So pretty. Our Lari. Lari can just rest here.”
“But where is here?”
“The Grand Duke’s room. I’ll explain when our Lari feels much better.”
“Okay! I like Sister.”
Perhaps because of the memory of losing me in her dream, Lari clung to me more than usual, and I stroked her endlessly.
It was exactly two days later that we received contact from the Grand Duchess.
And it wasn’t to anyone else—it was to me directly. The message was delivered through Rex, who came to the Grand Duke’s room after completing the investigation of the room.
Although the Grand Duke had handled all matters inside this room, he couldn’t meet people here as well, so he had briefly stepped out. Rex quietly opened the door.
“It seems the Grand Duke is not here.”
“He stepped out for a moment. Since you’re here, does that mean the room investigation is finished?”
“Yes.”
I briefly approached the bedroom connected to the living room. After eating, the twins had fallen asleep in the room. I closed the door and returned outside. The living room in the Grand Duke’s chamber, now serving as a temporary office, was filled with documents.
As if he truly intended to entrust me with managing the Grand Duke’s household finances, he had brought a mountain of paperwork. Contrary to my expectations, I had been reviewing them here.
“You seem very busy.”
“Indeed… So, was anything confirmed there?”
“Yes. We found something similar to the seeds you entrusted to me earlier within the bedding as well. I’m not sure whether I should report this to the Grand Duke.”
“If you’re saying that, the investigation is finished, right?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm….”
“And one more thing. Her Grace the Grand Duchess asked me to deliver a message to Lady Aisha through me. She says she wants to apologize for going too far that day. If you have time, she asks that you come see her.”
I tilted my head slightly.
“Ah. Her Grace is currently unable to leave her own castle, so she sent the message through a maid.”
“She wants to see me?”
“Yes. I would prefer that you not go, but….”
It was the timing I wanted. There was still something I needed to confirm through her.
“That’s fine.”
“…What? Surely you’re not planning to go?”
