CH 13

“Yes…but, Lilian.”

“I don’t want to embarrass brother. I have no complaints whatsoever.”

Cedric looked conflicted but she still couldn’t tell the truth.

‘I read my story in a book.’

There’s no need to tell such an unbelievable story.

Lilian quietly reflected on what she knew.

The current Emperor is the former Sun Emperor’s younger brother.

At the time of his death, the Sun Emperor was only 42 years old. It was so sudden death that it couldn’t possibly be a natural death.

Fortunately, although he was young, he had an heir. The 15-year-old prince also had two uncles who would serve as regents until he came of age.

But one of them was a problem.

It was because the Crown Prince’s eldest uncle, who was thought to be satisfied with becoming a regent, was ambitious and suddenly ascended the throne.

The new Emperor shed blood inside and outside the palace to convince others of a succession that made no sense.

One of them was the former Elector of Turin, their father.

The former Elector of Turin was one of the Crown Prince’s strong supporters as a loyalist of the emperor.

‘So, in a way, it’s natural for me to marry the Crown Prince’s guardian, His Highness.’

Besides that, since they’re similar in age and social status, even if all that didn’t happen, wouldn’t she have to marry him someday? Lilian vaguely thought.

Damien Rupenwein was the youngest brother of the Sun Emperor.

When the youngest child was born, the succession structure had already been determined. The senile father had withdrawn from the front lines, and the eldest brother, who was then the Crown Prince, was already leading the overall state affairs.

So the youngest prince chose the battlefield.

Suppressing the rebellion and pacifying the vassal states.

He dedicated all his victories to his older brother.

The boy who went to the battlefield at the age of thirteen didn’t return from the front lines until he was seventeen. He ran away from his father’s care as a child soldier and returned to his brother’s rule as a general.

He was the youngest prince who was out of public attention to the extent that the date and time of his birth were unclear. He’s 17 years of age, so it’d be more appropriate to say that he was still a boy rather than a young man.

However, to the Imperials, the boy was known as a Grand Duke and an unofficial siege weapon of the Imperial Army, which boasted overwhelming military power.

Among the many achievements of the boy who wasn’t even an adult yet and in honor of defending the Leyengrad Fortress with only 12 men, his eldest brother, Emperor Idoel, bestowed upon him this title.

Imperator Leyengrad.

‘Imperator Leyengrad, Damian Vamiera Ernst Rupenwein, the Golden Knight.’

Liliane knew the end of the story. As soon as his eldest brother died mysteriously, the Grand Duke saved his only heir, the Crown Prince, and he would protect him until he became the Emperor.

Marrying him was also the only way for Turin and Lily to survive.

Since she couldn’t explain that to Cedric, Lilian just said.

“Brother, I didn’t just make up my mind to sacrifice myself. I have my own calculations as well.

“And no matter how complex the political situation is, brother would never ask me to marry a very lousy person. Am I right?”

“That’s right, Lily.”

“Alliance over companionship. Blood alliance over the alliance.”

Those words were the secret to the feudal lords’ survival in the long war before the appearance of the Rupenwein family, and it was a proverb that Cedric had heard from his father.

Lilian declared it firmly.

“I am Turin’s daughter, brother. This marriage is my duty and responsibility.”

Moreover, it was the Great Feudal Lord Hemelinna who arranged this marriage talk.

Great Feudal Lord Hemenlinna was the Crown Prince’s maternal great-grandfather, and he was no different than the leader of the Crown Prince’s faction.

If they rejected such a person’s marriage proposal, Turin would not be able to fully belong to the Crown Prince’s faction.

Turin, which could neither join the Emperor nor support the Crown Prince fully was likely to be placed in the most dangerous position as a public enemy.

“I want to marry the Grand Duke. Not just for Turin. It’s also for me.”

‘It’s a marriage that I decided on after considering my own conditions.’ Lilian really thought so, but Cedric only smiled bitterly.

At least once, just once, he wanted to put his sister above everything else.

‘However…’

Cedric stared into Lilian’s eyes. She has blue eyes like him and their father’s but with much more affection.

“It’s a lot more upright too.”

It was the kind of look that only a person who made a decision that wouldn’t change no matter what he said could have.

This child who suddenly became an adult without looking back will probably never be pampered by him.

He was sad, but he couldn’t express it.

‘Above all, it’s my fault…’

It was then.

“That’s why, brother.”

“…yes?”

The reply was a little late because he was lost in his lonely thoughts.

“What’s wrong?”

“That’s…”

Lilian hesitated, which is rare, and spoke cautiously.

“I’ll become a member of the imperial family in the future, right?”

“Right.”

Cedric bitterly agreed.

“For that time… can’t we invite a teacher for me to learn the arts?”

It was completely unexpected. Cedric was dumbfounded.

Lily hurriedly explained after seeing that figure.

“To my shame, I have never formally learned etiquette or conversational skills. At this rate, I think it’ll bring trouble to Turin and brother.”

“What the… No, so you mean no one has ever taught you?”

Lilian cautiously nodded her head. Cedric was stunned.

‘What the hell.’

Did they not even give an etiquette teacher to a kid who’d surely show herself in the social world someday until she was twelve?

‘There’s a limit to how no one cared about her…’

He was stunned. Apparently, his stepmother was the worst mother ever, not only to him but also to Lily.

The situation was already like this, but what about his father?

No matter how busy he was, wasn’t he too indifferent? For the first time, Cedric felt a bit disappointed in his father.

“Brother…?”

Lilian was staring at Cedric, who was immersed in complex sentiments.

…with a slightly desperate look.

‘Ah, I see…’

Wasn’t this the child’s first ‘request’ to him?

Cedric hurriedly replied with a feeling of regret.

“Don’t worry, Lily, I promise I’ll find someone who can be your teacher soon.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. You can learn anything.”

Overjoyed, Liliane couldn’t make a sound and put her little hand over her mouth.

‘For her to love it that much…’

It was something he should have paid attention to. Cedric asked, hiding his complex thoughts.

“What do you want to learn? Say it without hesitation.”

“There’s etiquette and the art of speech…”

Lilian hastily started counting with her hands.

“Older brother gave me drawing tools, so I want to learn that too.

If possible, an instrument and a foreign language.”

The younger sister, who eagerly spread out the things she wanted to learn with her cheeks flushed with joy, was very cute.

A half smile appeared on Cedric’s lips before he knew it.

“I get it. You can do it slowly one by one. Since you haven’t recovered from your illness yet. First of all, it seems that the etiquette teacher is urgent.”

“Yes…!”

“To be happy with just this much. It’s a bit too much.”

He was in a position where he thought it’d be nice for her to be pampered to the fullest, so he was never satisfied.

“But brother is smiling too.”

Him?

Cedric inadvertently touched the corners of his mouth.

‘True. They’re up.’

He didn’t even realize he was smiling. He had no choice but to admit it.

Compared to when he thought that he wouldn’t be fooling around for the rest of his life, he’s definitely happy.

It wasn’t bad to be happy with his sister with just this much.