How to Live as the Terminally Ill Younger Sister of the Villain - Chapter 79
“Then meeting the Marquis would be troublesome.”
“…That’s right.”
“Then let’s leave together.”
Having successfully executed his clinging strategy, Aiden moved his feet with satisfaction.
The two quickly finished their preparations and left the mansion. At the bottom of the main entrance stairs, Aiden’s carriage and Blake’s horse were prepared side by side.
But it was already too late.
“My, my.”
A sly voice smoothly slid into everyone’s eardrums.
“To think I’d encounter two pillars of the Empire in my modest garden.”
The one walking towards them with leisure, while stroking Pudding’s back, who had puffed up larger than a tiger, was none other than Ante Flaubert.
***
“Grrrr.”
Pudding, walking alongside Ante, had its body so inflated that even the horns on its head had grown, making its pointed appearance very threatening.
Blake, having seen Pudding several times before, showed little reaction. He was more wary of Ante’s sudden appearance.
On the other hand, Aiden, seeing Pudding up close for the first time, tensed up and his body stiffened. It was a common reaction for those seeing a magical beast for the first time.
It was unlikely that Blake, with his poor conversational skills, would speak first, and Aiden, frozen because of Pudding, couldn’t utter a word either.
“Sigh.”
In the end, it was Angelina who took the initiative.
She walked past Blake and Aiden.
“I didn’t expect you to come this quickly.”
Having met him just last night in his Magic Tower Master form, his swift appearance wasn’t too surprising.
But she did have a question.
‘How did he come here, leaving Catherine behind?’
She was curious about this even when she received the contact earlier.
‘You’re coming? Now?’
‘Yes. Why, is there a reason brother shouldn’t come?’
‘No, it’s not that…’
However, since the other party was her brother in the guise of ‘Marquis Flaubert’, it wasn’t a question she could ask freely.
The same applied to the current situation, so Angelina had to pretend not to know and talk about something else.
“Why did you come without saying anything? If I had known you were coming, I would have prepared something delicious.”
“Coming to see my Lina, what does it matter if there’s nothing delicious? Anything I eat with Lina is delicious anyway.”
It was Ante, starting the greeting with sweet talk as usual. And when Angelina came close enough, he spread his arms as he always did.
But when Angelina didn’t embrace him, conscious of the two people behind her, he quickly pulled her arm as if to say ‘hurry and hug me’.
“Coming here to rest because you’re sick, and yet greeting guests like this.”
It was an attack on the two men behind. Both of them flinched.
And Ante’s criticism didn’t end there.
“How are you feeling? It’s not good to be out here catching a chill, is it?”
With a kind voice, he expressed his concern and draped his own coat over Angelina. His jacket was so large that it completely enveloped her body.
“I’m fine. I just came here using recovery as an excuse to have fun.”
Angelina regretted once again the excuse she had made about being sick when she left, and tried to cover it up.
“Besides, I can’t just rudely turn away guests who have come all this way. When I heard you were coming, everyone…”
Just as she was about to explain that they were debating whether to wait or not, Ante suddenly thrust something forward.
It was a bouquet full of fluffy, deep red double flowers.
“Freesia?”
“I couldn’t come empty-handed to visit my sick Lina.”
At Ante’s casually thrown words, both Aiden and Blake once again pressed their lips shut as if feeling guilty.
This subtle pressure on them was all part of Ante’s pre-planned scenario.
Having received reports of every situation through Haley, he had devised this strategy, annoyed by the two men who dared to make advances during his absence.
“Isn’t that right, Your Highness?”
“…Indeed.”
In fact, since meeting her in the drawing room, Aiden had belatedly realized that he had come to visit a sick person without much thought, and was feeling somewhat ashamed of his actions.
“Your Highness also came all this way out of concern for Lina’s health, didn’t you? I truly appreciate such thoughtfulness.”
He had often been disappointed by his mother’s behavior of only thinking about achieving her goals and plans without considering her surroundings, but now he couldn’t help but feel ashamed as he was doing the exact same thing.
But when Ante dug into this, he was at a loss for words.
“For such an esteemed small sun to visit our humble villa for this reason, I’m so honored I don’t know where to put myself.”
Ante said with a smile, his words flowing smoothly. He was surely the best in the Empire at smiling while giving others a hard time.
“And with the Duke of Kadenhart as well, isn’t this a double celebration?”
His voice was incredibly kind and his face was clearly smiling, but it sent chills down one’s spine.
“It’s good to see you like this, Marquis.”
Blake offered a simple greeting.
He had contacted him several times about the Artoas issue, but had been rejected every time. Who would have thought they’d meet like this?
Blake alternately looked at Ante, who was thoroughly hiding his sinister intentions behind a smiling mask, and Angelina, who was standing beside him with an indifferent expression.
They really are too different to be siblings.
While both were exceptionally good-looking, the atmosphere they exuded was worlds apart.
And this was also because he knew various sides of Angelina.
Perhaps disliking Blake’s gaze, Ante slightly hid Angelina behind him and spoke gently.
“Shall we go in for a cup of tea? Ah, of course, only I will be attending. Lina needs to rest well as she’s not feeling well.”
“Ahem. No, we’ll do that next time.”
Startled by the sudden invitation for a meeting, Aiden cleared his throat and regained his composure. Then he declined.
“Regrettably, I have another engagement after this, so I must be going.”
He pretended to check his watch, acting out the part.
His instincts were telling him that staying here longer would result in more losses than gains. Ante Flaubert was not someone to be dealt with without proper preparation.
“Oh my, to have come such a long way and not even properly exchange greetings, how lamentable.”
His skill at feigning a disappointed voice while his expression showed nothing of the sort was impressive.
“I suppose the Duke has time?”
Instead of answering immediately, Blake calculated.
Although he had been dragged out by Aiden, he could accept the Marquis’s offer of ‘a cup of tea’ and go back in. But would there be anything to gain from that?
His conversation with Angelina wasn’t finished. He hadn’t heard anything about what her next plans were.
And if they parted ways now, he didn’t know when or how he could make time to meet her again. If he couldn’t contact her, this woman would likely do something dangerous on her own again.
But if he stayed now to look for an opportunity, it didn’t seem likely that he could escape Ante Flaubert’s surveillance.
Having quickly finished his deliberation, Blake opened his mouth.
“I believe I have enough time for a cup of tea.”
He had calculated that even if it wasn’t time with Angelina, meeting Ante was also a rare opportunity.
Beside him, Aiden made a face as if to say ‘what are you doing?’, but Blake lightly ignored his gaze and turned around.
“I’ve been wanting to meet the Marquis, so I’m glad to be able to see your face like this.”
Since it was true that Blake had requested meetings with Ante several times, his words were quite credible.
“I’ve also felt bad about not being able to make time, so I’m relieved that we can have a conversation like this.”
Ante smiled amiably while saying words he didn’t mean at all.
“Then, Your Highness. I look forward to the day we meet again.”
Ante bowed to show respect, but the atmosphere he exuded was undoubtedly a polite dismissal.
“Please return safely, Your Highness.”
Blake joined in, and.
“May your journey be peaceful.”
Angelina followed with a greeting. Hers was the only sincere greeting.
“…Alright.”
Aiden reluctantly stepped into his carriage. Until the moment he boarded, it was visible that he was considering retracting his words and staying.
But seeing Ante’s beaming smile, such thoughts completely disappeared.
It couldn’t be helped. After all, there’s a big difference between liking and curiosity when it comes to being prepared to take risks or not.
Rather than facing that guy without preparation, spending all day in meetings with ministers seemed much better.
“Then, please guide the Duke to the drawing room.”
“Yes, Marquis.”
“Brother, I also…”
“Lina needs to rest.”
Angelina, worried about leaving Blake alone with Ante, tried to join them.
“You must be tired from welcoming guests. And you’re not feeling well…”
“But…”
“Go in and rest well. Brother will take care of everything.”
At these gentle words whispered while softly stroking her head, Angelina had no choice but to nod.
