Chapter 18
Get Along (1)
After crying for a long time, the five people finally let go of me.
Well, technically four. Rudolph was still clinging to my waist, his cheeks puffed out in a sulk.
“Rudolph, let go.”
“…No.”
Even when I slumped onto the sofa, exhausted and aching all over, Rudolph refused to let go, clinging tightly to my waist.
Because of that, he ended up sitting on the floor, burying his face in my lap.
Honestly, it’s not like he’s some actual animal.
“Are you going to keep acting like this?”
“…If I let go, you’ll go to someone else.”
Rudolph muttered, tears welling in his eyes again.
At first, I thought he was just acting ridiculous, but it seemed this was the reason.
Or maybe this was just separation anxiety in its own way?
He’d managed to let me go home just to hear me say I liked him, only to feel like I was taken away by others the moment I returned.
Feeling a mix of pity and fondness, I patted Rudolph’s head.
“I’m not going anywhere. I’m staying here. It’s just that my back hurts.”
“…”
“Are you going to keep clinging like this? It would be more comfortable to sit next to me than on the floor.”
When I tapped the spot beside me, Rudolph finally loosened his grip on my waist.
With the last of his restraints gone, my body finally felt free again.
As I stretched lightly, I met the eyes of Ian and Baizen, who were sitting on the opposite sofa, their faces twisted in displeasure.
“…What?”
“That guy is the one who kidnapped you, right? He’s from the Magic Tower, isn’t he?”
“So why are you acting so close with him? Get away from her, wizard!”
The way they were growling at him, it was like watching actual guard dogs.
Not in a bad way—more in an oddly endearing way.
In contrast, Rudolph…
“Odelia, are your ears okay?”
“My ears? Why—”
“I’m glad your ears don’t hurt, Odelia. Mine do.”
“Huh? Why all of a sudden?”
“Because those crazy mutts have been barking nonstop since earlier.”
…Why is your combat power maxed out again?
The way he said it, with a bright smile and a calm voice, without even glancing at Baizen and Ian, made it sound frighteningly genuine.
Ian instantly flared up at that.
“Marquis! Throw him out immediately!”
“Your Highness, that’s not how we treat guests.”
Ah, as expected, Baizen, the only one still somewhat rational!
Baizen smiled faintly as he drew the gun strapped at his waist, his eyes glinting.
“I should just kill him.”
Hey, you lunatic!
Baizen’s eyes looked half-crazed as he flicked off the safety, smiling reassuringly, as if telling me not to worry.
What do you mean, don’t worry?
“Odelia, don’t move. I’ll aim precisely for his head—”
“Have you lost your mind? Put the gun down!”
“Don’t worry, Odelia. A powerless bullet like that would never hit me.”
“What are you even saying now? Don’t provoke him!”
“Shoot him! Blow that guy’s head off right now!”
“Your Highness, shut your mouth!”
I snapped at Ian for egging him on and let out a deep sigh.
What is this chaos, a circus?
Baizen cocked his gun as if ready to shoot at any moment, while Rudolph smirked as if daring him to try.
Seeing Ian eagerly provoking them made my head pound.
But above all…
The most annoying of all were Arkon and Strah, smiling brightly in the distance as if this was all so peaceful.
Seriously, does this situation look peaceful to you people?
If this goes wrong, we’ll have a bloodbath in seconds.
Pressing my throbbing temples, Baizen quickly reached toward me.
“Odelia, are you—”
His hand, reaching out cautiously in concern, was blocked by an invisible barrier.
Seeing Rudolph smirking proudly with his head resting on my shoulder, it was obvious he was the one who put it up.
“Rudolph.”
“I can’t let dirty things touch you.”
“My brother isn’t dirty, you idiot.”
After flicking his forehead, I told him to take down the barrier, but Rudolph just pouted like a sulky child.
And then, as if it was the most natural thing, gunshots rang out.
The repeated bangs were clearly Baizen firing.
Without a word, Baizen fired in rapid succession, and as soon as the bullets ran out, he pulled out a dagger from his chest pocket and began scraping at the barrier.
“O-Oppa! Please, calm down—”
“No matter how much a worm wriggles, it’s still a worm. This barrier won’t break.”
At that moment, I heard a sharp snap, like something breaking.
Looking up, I saw Baizen putting the dagger back into his jacket after scratching at the barrier.
His face was flushed with anger, but his movements were so calm that it was even scarier.
“Hey, oppa—”
“Arkon.”
Baizen, sliding the dagger back into his jacket, called out to Arkon.
Arkon bowed politely, awaiting orders.
Baizen scribbled something on a piece of paper, handed it to Arkon, and with his flushed face, spoke through gritted teeth.
“Get a mana nullification stone immediately and install it within the estate.”
He added that he didn’t care how much it cost, his jaw clenched.
What the hell, this lunatic!
Even in this fantasy world where magic was commonplace, all magical items were expensive.
And a mana nullification stone, even one the size of a child’s fist, would cost as much as an entire mansion…
I quickly grabbed Rudolph’s shoulders and shook him.
“Rudolph! Take it down! Now! If you listen, I’ll hug you later, so hurry—”
“Okay.”
Before I could even finish, Rudolph nodded and snapped his fingers.
The barrier disappeared, and as I regained my freedom, I immediately grabbed Baizen’s hand.
“Oppa!”
“…”
This crazy guy. His eyes were already completely gone.
Do you know how hard I worked to turn those eyes into puppy eyes, and now they’re back to psycho eyes?
As expected of Rudolph. I sighed and quickly grabbed Baizen’s cheeks.
“Relax your eyes.”
“…What?”
“Pretty eyes, now.”
“Uh, huh?”
Baizen frowned, confused by my sudden action.
Why isn’t this guy listening when I tell him to make pretty eyes?
I pulled his cheeks hard again, and only then did Baizen’s eyes widen in surprise.
“Pretty eyes!”
When I demanded it once more, Baizen finally blinked slowly.
And then, a familiar, gentle smile appeared on his face.
“Did you escape because of me?”
“What kind of nonsense is that? I ran out because I was afraid you’d bankrupt our household. Are you going to take responsibility if I starve to death?”
Even as I snapped at him with petty remarks, Baizen just smiled apologetically.
Normally, a possessive male lead line would pop up at this timing, but thankfully, it didn’t. I lowered my hands from his cheeks, relieved.
“Don’t go spending money like crazy just because you’re pissed off. You don’t even have money.”
“You’re probably the only one who would say the Marquis has no money.”
“So what, you got a problem with that?”
When I asked, Baizen simply replied, “Not at all,” and took my hand that had been holding his cheek.
It was fortunate that it ended this lightly.
Taking a deep breath, I recalled a scene from the original novel.
In obsessive, tragic romance stories, it was natural for fights to break out when there were multiple male leads.
In “Flower Handsome Men,” that was certainly the case.
Baizen and Ian often clashed over the female lead, but later, Rudolph and another male lead joined the chaos as well.
It would have been fine if they had just fought among themselves, but since they were all overwhelmingly talented in their fields, the fights often turned into major disasters.
Especially if Rudolph was involved, large-scale destructive magic would ravage the surroundings.
Baizen wasn’t any different.
He was the smart, calculating type, so it would’ve been easy for him to shake the Magic Tower. After all, he was the same man who had shaken the Imperial Palace, threatening Ian’s position as Crown Prince.
And the only person who could stop their rampages was Odelia.
Odelia tried to embrace them with overflowing compassion and love.
She would hold their hurting hearts, let them vent their sorrows to her, and absorb all their anger herself.
She tried so hard to embrace them like that.
Not realizing that doing so would destroy her in the end.
That kind of route was no good.
“It would be wise for you never to use magic in my house again, wizard.”
“And what if I do? What exactly can you do about it?”
“You’d better stop spouting such arrogant nonsense.”
While I was lost in thought, sparks started flying between them again.
These bastards, seriously.
“Enough!!”
I slammed the table hard and shouted.
Baizen, Rudolph, and even Ian, along with the others present, turned their attention to me.
Taking a deep breath, I stood up and snatched the paper from Arkon’s hand.
It was a blank invoice. I tore it to pieces and shot a glare at Baizen, Rudolph, and Ian in turn.
“Sit down.”
“Odel—”
“And don’t even think about clinging to me!”
I gave Rudolph a sharp glare when he looked like he was about to attach himself to me again.
I wasn’t joking.
I already knew that gentle coaxing wouldn’t work.
Even if they had reformed into more obedient people unlike in the original, people don’t change so easily.
There’s a reason why they say people aren’t something you can fix.
People with money, power, ability, and influence will always eventually want to wield that power as they please.
You shouldn’t coddle such people with sweet words, telling them they’re kind and good.
“Listen closely, all three of you.”
They needed to realize what kind of people they were.
And they needed to know what their actions could lead to.
“All three of you are too talented for your own good, making it hard to keep you in check. But this is too much.”
What was the thing they feared the most?
There was only one answer.
“If any of you fight because of me one more time, I—”
I turned to Baizen.
“I will run away from home.”
“What?”
Before Baizen could respond, I snapped my head toward Ian.
“Your Highness, you will forbid this marquis from visiting me. I know it’s not that hard for the royal family to reject a marquis’ visit, isn’t it?”
“But—”
Lastly, I looked at Rudolph.
With his mastery of all kinds of magic, Rudolph looked at me with a confident expression, as if he feared nothing.
How funny. Do you know I’m above you?
Curling my lips into a smirk, I recalled a man who appeared later in the original.
“I will accept Duke Starwood’s proposal.”
Duke Starwood. The final male lead of “Flower Handsome Men,” and the man most deeply connected to Odelia’s death.
In the original, Odelia only met him after being kidnapped to the palace. In other words, there was no contact between us now.
Since I had no plans to meet him anytime soon, it was perfect to use him as a threat.
“…Odelia!”
Rudolph shot up, his face twisted in shock.
But I had no intention of taking back my words.
Baizen, who hated me leaving the estate. Ian, who couldn’t stand being apart from me. And Rudolph, who wanted to be loved by me.
To these three, the threat of “marrying Duke Starwood” would serve as the perfect leash.
Before this leash lost its effectiveness, I needed to find another method.
But for now—
“If even one of you dares to break this rule, I will marry Duke Starwood and hide away in his mansion forever.”
