This Three-Year-Old Is A Villainess - Chapter 228
That’s right.
I had cut the onion Han Ji-hyuk brought me in half and rubbed it into my eyes before going to see Grandfather.
My head had become so cold that I couldn’t even cry of my own volition.
‘If it weren’t for the onion…’
I might not have shed a single tear.
Normally, I wouldn’t even think twice about something like this.
I gently dabbed my eyes with the cool handkerchief Han Ji-hyuk had given me.
“Ugh, I thought my eyes were going to fall out.”
“So? Do you think your grandfather fell for it?”
Anyone could see it was a performance worthy of an academy award, of course.
If someone had been watching, they would’ve given me a standing ovation.
If I hadn’t been born as the granddaughter of the Duke, I might have become a famous actress in the Empire of Kalsoy.
When Grandfather awkwardly patted my back… it touched me enough to get into the moment a little.
‘His movements were so clumsy it made me cry naturally afterward.’
After all, it was probably his first time hugging his grandchild.
I ended up contorting my face and sobbing uncontrollably.
‘By the end, I was almost crying for real.’
From all this, I could tell that Grandfather was fond of me quite a lot.
And as a wise man, he seemed to have suspected that someone else’s hand was involved in this incident.
‘He even spoke as though he already knew it was a misunderstanding.’
“Yeah,” I replied.
Han Ji-hyuk glanced at me.
After hesitating for a moment, he spoke.
“Don’t feel guilty for using your grandfather today. You had a reason…”
—he was saying, when I furrowed my brow.
“What?”
“I mean, don’t feel bad about using fake tears to move your grandfather’s heart.”
I stopped in my tracks and looked at Han Ji-hyuk intently.
Then, I tilted my head, confused.
‘What’s he talking about?’
When Grandfather vowed not to forgive the culprit, I almost started dancing the samba.
Internally, I’d been silently cheering ‘Heck yeah!’ and secretly pumping my fist. I’d been thrilled.
“I don’t feel bad.”
My confident answer seemed to startle Han Ji-hyuk.
“What?”
He had said I was scary, but I guess he’d thought I was a bit kinder than that.
I looked at him with a cold gaze and said,
“I’ll use anything I can, whether it’s tears, blood, or even my own guts.”
“……”
“And even if it lands me in hell, I’ll never regret it.”
“…Why?”
Han Ji-hyuk looked genuinely puzzled.
After scanning the area, I turned back to him.
“From the moment I was born, I was in the middle of a battlefield. A blood relative cursed me when I was just a baby.”
“……”
“To Grandfather, I’m family, but my enemies are family too.”
“……”
“I’ve been through more wars than most children my age, so I already know better than to believe that family shares everything.”
Grandfather is the judge in this war.
Not just any judge, but the one who will pass down the golden crown.
‘And unless that judge declares victory for my family, we’re all doomed.’
I’m someone who has things to protect.
And to protect them, a little acting like this is nothing.
Han Ji-hyuk gave a slight smirk at my words.
“If it doesn’t weigh on your conscience, that’s good.”
Then he ruffled my hair.
“Every time you act like my older brother, it feels strange.”
“You mean it’s annoying? I’m just worrying about you—!”
“Just wash the handkerchief, would you? I dabbed my eyes with it, so why does it still hurt?”
I grumbled, placing the cool, wet handkerchief over my eyes, pressing down with a groan.
Rubbing that onion had left my eyes stinging and sore.
‘It hurts like crazy.’
I thought I might lose my eyeballs to the onion.
But still, I did gain something valuable.
***
“Father is spending time with Lady Anatoli because of me.”
“I know.”
“It pains me deeply…”
“……”
“So, I’d like to ask Your Grace… just this once, to let me be stubborn…”
Grandfather’s expression hardened at the words ‘just this once’.
Then he looked at me intently.
I had never once been stubborn for myself before.
Lowering my head under his gaze, I waited for his response.
Grandfather was silent for quite a long time.
It was so long that I even wondered, ‘What if he still says no?’
But finally,
“Alright.”
—he gave me the answer I wanted.
It was permission from the family head to strike back.
I wiped away the remaining tears from my eyes and let my eyes gleam mischievously.
