CH 83

“If you don’t know if she’s a saint or something else, do whatever you want.”

“…I’ll bring her to the palace?”

“Cooper, aren’t you curious?”

“Yes?”

“The combination of a saint giving medicine and a religion related to human trafficking, which, for now, seemed unrelated. What will happen?”

The corners of Richard’s lips curled, and Cooper’s face turned cold at the word ‘medicine’.

“Things that eat away at the empire must be trampled on and devoured at once so that they will never be able to raise their heads again.”

Richard, who slowly got up, approached Cooper.

His whisper fell on stiff shoulders.

“Didn’t I tell you? I’m not going to let drugs run around the streets.”

Deeply bowing his head and lowering his eyes, Cooper’s vision flashed with the image of his brother, who he lost to drugs.

“Investigate the medicine that the saint is giving out. If it’s the same as before, crack down on the medicine that becomes a poison when mixed with the other drug. Put all your energy into this for the time being.”

Having received this order, Cooper did not go to the aide’s office for several days.

.

When the old priest was making explosive remarks related to the saint.

Catherine, too, was hearing a bomb-like declaration from Lawrence.

“What? Are you crazy? Are you really crazy?”

She was so startled that the confidential papers she was holding were torn in half, but she couldn’t afford to be bothered by that.

“Are you crazy? Are you crazy?!”

“I’m not crazy. If the next Marquis of Sheffield goes crazy, you know that you’ll be next, right?”

“You’re not crazy, you’ve gone crazy.”

While somehow expressing her strong will not to sit in the seat of the next Marquis, Catherine continued her attacks on Lawrence.

However, Lawrence just smiled, light stepping aside from the attacks.

“Aren’t I old enough? I’m getting tired of hearing my father’s nagging. Why are you making such a fuss when I’m not even asking you to go?”

“If you had asked me to marry you right now, there wouldn’t be as much of a fuss.”

(TL/N: not that Catherine wants to marry Lawrence, but whatever he did is even worse than that thought… I felt the need to clarify just in case, no incest here and ever)

With flashing eyes, Catherine brought her index finger next to her temple and twirled it.

“Proposing to Ophelia, how could you think of that without being crazy?”

Catherine muttered, her critical eyes sweeping Lawrence up and down.

“How dare you be with Ophelia?”

“What do you see your brother as?”

“Blockhead. Idiot. Fool.”

At the evaluation of his actual sister, Lawrence spun and stretched out his hand toward Catherine with a smile on his face.

“Just stop there.”

Lawrence, who had been covering Catherine’s mouth, took his hand away after feeling something slimy. 

“How old are you! What is this!”

“Then, how old are you? No matter how brilliant Ophelia is and how you’re completely blinded… you are going to propose? Proposal? Didn’t you say you didn’t fall in love at first sight? Why, did you think back on how lovely she is and you couldn’t forget her?”

(TL/N: I chose ‘lovely’ because that’s what I think fits the most, but I just want to emphasize how nicely Catherine described Ophelia. ‘곱다’ isn’t just referring to superficial beauty/appearance, it also addresses the inner appearance, so to say, like ‘kind’, ‘gentle’, and ‘good-natured’.)

“It’s not like that.”

“What? That’s not it either?”

“Catherine. I’m your brother. You know you shouldn’t kill me, right?”

“What did you say? Kill. Die. No, there should be a next marquis, so you should only be half-dead. Die!”

Lawrence grinned at his sister, whose eyes flashed with honesty, and gave her the real reason.

“I’m not really trying to get married.”

“But you are going to propose?”

“Because I have to get engaged.”

“If you’re engaged but not getting married… then you’re going to break off the engagement in the middle?”

“Yes.”

Catherine didn’t charge at Lawrence the way she did a moment ago. but…

“The skill of swearing with your eyes is improving day by day, my dear sister. Even if you don’t curse outright, I know exactly what you’re thinking.”

“You know? Getting engaged and then breaking off? With Bolsheik? What happened to your brain? Besides, what kind of obstacles would Ophelia face if brother broke it?”

Marriage between nobles could be easily said to be a transaction between families.

Of course, there were cases where two people from certain families met, fell in love and got married, but even then, fierce coordination was made between the two families in a way that would benefit each other even a little bit.

“Ah, I’ll be the one to break off the marriage. And I won’t leave even the slightest stain on Lady Bolsheik. And since there’s a reason for doing this, the Bolsheik family will understand.”

“What’s the big reason?”

“To get Lady Bolsheik out of the position of the crown prince’s aide.”

At that, Catherine hesitated.

“Even if it’s not marriage, once she gets engaged, she’ll have to come to the Sheffield Marquisate and learn about the family for a certain period of time. She can’t do her job as an aide at the same time.”

According to the custom of the empire, when a couple got engaged, they had to stay with each other’s family for several months in order to learn the family customs and traditions.

It sounded like a very plausible reason, but Catherine asked without stopping her questioning eyes.

“Why are you trying to get Ophelia out of being the crown prince’s aide?”

“Of course, it’s for my cute sister’s fated person.”

“Lawrence.”

Catherine’s eyes viciously narrowed while Lawrence replied earnestly, putting aside his cheshire-cat grin.

“I can’t stand still as a colleague who fears the crown prince like her.”

“You’ve said that before. Where did you hear that Ophelia is afraid of His Highness the Crown Prince?”

“I saw it myself. You can’t make such judgments based only on what you hear.”

It was a very principled and standard statement, so nothing to refute could be found.

Catherine just didn’t know.

The fact that Lawrence, who saw it in person, had a tremendous misunderstanding.

From his point of view, as soon as Richard appeared, Ophelia kept fidgeting and glancing at him, so it was understandable…

Rather, if he had asked Ophelia directly, the misunderstanding would have been resolved, but since the person was the crown prince and if she was really afraid of him, she would have been cautious even if he asked.

“I still don’t think Ophelia is afraid of the crown prince, but I’m in favor of getting her out of the aide position.”

Catherine shook her head, remembering the shadows under Ophelia and Iris’ eyes that were getting darker day by day.

“Too much work. Iris really wanted it, but I don’t know about Ophelia.”

Well, at the time Ophelia asked to be let in as an aide, she was eager for the position.

Since she thought it was at least better than being the crown princess.

But it was a secret between Richard and her.

Lawrence gave a hard nod and tilted his head.

“Actually, I wanted to talk to Lady Bolsheik alone about this matter during the festival.”

“Festival? The day?”

“Mhm, that’s right.”

“Weren’t you trying to make fun of me by pretending it was a coincidence?”

“Of course there was that too.”

Lawrence shielded himself from Catherine’s attack.

“I wanted to meet her during the festival because I thought it would be easier to hear her true thoughts. You knew more than that, I followed you.”

While enjoying a festival, the bolts in the mind were bound to loosen.

Furthermore, from what he heard from Catherine, the workload of the aides was enormous.

As the festival was a place to leave such things behind and have fun, he wondered if he could get a sneak peek at the real emotions that were not as refined as usual.

“But I didn’t get to see her in the end.”

At that, Catherine nodded with a proud expression.

“That’s because I’ve stuck with Ophelia the whole time, avoiding every possible way for Brother to come.”

“Ah, it’s like that?”

“Needless to say.”

Technically, Lawrence and Ophelia met, and Catherine did not stick with Ophelia throughout the festival.

But those things had become a future that didn’t come.

Due to the regression, 

So Lawrence had no memory of the first festival.

To be precise, the memory of the situation in which Ophelia was kidnapped.

And of all the other things, like Ophelia calling Richard by name, or Richard’s significant words.

It just never happened to Lawrence in the first place.

It was not like he could remember things that didn’t exist.

Naturally, the memory of Ophelia being kidnapped during the festival only remained in the minds of three people.

Ophelia, Richard and Raisa.

Even among them, Raisa did not know that Ophelia and Richard had memories of the regressions.

“Well, then.”

Catherine rubbed her arms as if she was getting goosebumps from Lawrence lowering his voice.

“Is there something like a dish or something that the Lady Bolsheik particularly likes…”

“Nope.”

Despite the quick answer, Lawrence did not give up.

“There must be something she likes.”

“There is none. If there is, I would have already piled them up like a hill.”

“That’s true. It’s embarrassing.”

Since ancient times, it had been said that sincerity was the best way to win a person’s heart.

That ‘sincerity’ could be words or actions, but it was most often something material that suited the other person’s taste.

Ultimately, the material things were prepared only for the other person, so it was not very different from words or actions.

“She doesn’t seem to be interested in material things, so it’s best to show it through words and attitude.”

“Ah, like you said, ‘You’re the person of my destiny!’”

“You…”

After that, harsh and vile words poured out, and by the time Lawrence’s ears were bleeding…

“What can I do?”

He raised his palms to his chest in surrender.

Looking at the back of her brother’s head as he was about to leave, Catherine said clearly.

“I’m serious. If you want to win Ophelia’s heart, you have to face her with your heart and soul.”

Lawrence stopped and murmured.

“As expected, you’re a pretty nice person.”

Ame: OMG LAWRENCE IS BEING LIKE THIS BECAUSE THE REGRESSION HAPPENED AND HE FORGOT ALL THAT TRANSPIRED BETWEEN RICHARD AND OPHELIA and raisa IN THE ALLEYWAY!!!!!!!!! Bruh, why does the last part sound more scandalous than it really is Sorry Lawrence, I was cursing you as much as Catherine did as I tled, till I suddenly remembered (and then it was explicitly stated)… Wait, I’m so sad now, the scene between Lawrence and Catherine before he entered the alleyway is so touching but now it’s as if it didn’t happen…

Dea: i hate those regressions, messing with us like that…also i fear for Lawrence’s life, I hope he makes it out alive. And you know what i just realised? Richard is about to get a proposal from the saint and Ophelia is getting one from Lawrence, solution: Richard marries Ophelia and Lawrence marries the Saint hahaha