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Chapter 5
I quickly started thinking.
Was there something like this in 『Save the Villain Brother』?
‘I don’t remember anything at all.’
That was only natural. No matter how famous 『SVB』 was, I had still only read it once before moving on, just like countless other stories.
“Melissa.”
Grand Duke Kardicha called Melissa without adding anything else.
“You shouldn’t trouble Vice Director Harrington any further.”
I swallowed dryly.
At least one thing was certain.
Grand Duke Kardicha did not hate Melissa, nor was he indifferent toward her.
If he truly didn’t care, then his entire face would not have twisted in relief the moment he found her.
‘But…….’
Good intentions did not always lead to good results.
Even if the Grand Duke genuinely cared for his younger sister as family, Melissa was still so afraid of him that she continued hiding behind me—a complete stranger she had met only today—instead of going to her own brother.
And that blunt way of speaking, too.
‘There really is a problem here.’
At this rate, the relationship between these two was painfully obvious.
Considering their age gap and circumstances, things would only continue heading toward disaster.
‘I absolutely can’t let them leave like this.’
Even if Grand Duke Kardicha were not the hidden mastermind who would one day throw the Empire into flames, I still would not have been able to ignore Melissa.
Melissa woke up one day in a completely different body, in a completely different world.
After losing her mother, father, and even Choco.
And she would probably never be able to return again.
‘This child needs me.’
I carefully removed Melissa’s right hand, which had been clutching my skirt tightly this entire time, and held her hand instead.
Her small hand was soaked in cold sweat.
‘……What are these adults even doing to such a young child?’
I looked directly at Grand Duke Kardicha and spoke.
“I happened to meet Lady Melissa by chance. And although I do not know the reason, the young lady seems to feel very comfortable around me.”
“……Let’s talk outside.”
After barely calming the sniffling Melissa again, I quietly followed Grand Duke Kardicha outside.
Bang!
The Grand Duke shut the door firmly before staring directly at me.
“What exactly did you do?”
I had expected something like this, but it still felt far more threatening than I imagined.
“Lady Melissa is going through a very difficult time right now. So although it may be presumptuous of me, I became concerned for her. I only acted out of care for the young lady, so I hope you can forgive me.”
“That answer has nothing to do with what I asked. I clearly asked what you did.”
“I merely listened carefully to what the young lady had to say.”
I tried my best to politely say, If you had listened properly to your sister even once, things would never have become this bad, you bastard.
Unfortunately, it had absolutely no effect.
“There’s no way that’s the only reason.”
The Grand Duke openly dismissed my words.
“I brought countless people to her. Famous nannies, tutors, even academy professors. Yet not a single one of them earned Melissa’s trust.”
He stepped closer toward me.
“And now some commoner from who-knows-where, someone who couldn’t even wear a proper dress to a ducal ball…… managed to win Melissa over?”
Cold marble touched my back.
Without realizing it, the Grand Duke had slowly cornered me against the wall until I was forced to look up at him standing right in front of me.
A strange scent brushed past my nose.
It smelled cold and metallic, like the scent left behind by someone who constantly handled metal.
My stomach churned.
Was it because my heart was fluttering?
No.
It was pure instinctive fear.
Every instinct I had screamed at me to run away, but I couldn’t.
‘Wait… don’t tell me.’
Had I unknowingly triggered a death flag?
Wasn’t it basic qualification for a hidden mastermind in a romance fantasy novel to casually kill insignificant extras?
And I was exactly that kind of extra among extras!
Even if he killed me right here, who would care?
Director McGuffin would probably just click his tongue once and move on.
Meanwhile, my coworkers at the Ministry of Finance would probably celebrate.
Before I realized it, the Grand Duke had completely closed the distance between us, his shadow fully covering me.
As my eyes darted around nervously, I noticed the hand he had placed against the wall beside me.
Pale and bloodless, filled with restrained strength.
If that strength were used the wrong way even slightly, my life would disappear instantly.
It was a life-or-death situation.
I probably should have begged for mercy, but instead—
‘This is so unfair I could die!’
Why exactly did I deserve to be threatened like this!?
If someone comforted your crying younger sister, shouldn’t you show gratitude instead of releasing murderous intent!?
And eventually, the words I had only been thinking burst out of my mouth.
“Have you ever truly listened to your sister even once, Your Grace?”
“……?”
For the first time, confusion flickered across the Grand Duke’s murderous eyes.
……Only for a moment, but still.
‘Wait… that actually worked?’
I felt like I finally understood Grand Duke Kardicha a little.
Without showing fear or hesitation, I continued speaking.
“Lady Melissa is lonely. Everyone treats her respectfully, but nobody truly listens to her seriously.”
“Do not act proudly as if you understand everything after exchanging only a few words with my sister.”
I smiled.
Very proudly.
“Then do you understand Lady Melissa well enough to confidently say I’m wrong, Your Grace?”
“Hah.”
Grand Duke Kardicha finally stepped back, though his sharp eyes still did not leave me for even a second.
Several seconds passed.
A silence that felt endless filled the space between us.
The first person to look away was Grand Duke Kardicha.
He briefly stared toward the door where Melissa was waiting before looking back at me.
His gaze had softened ever so slightly.
“I’ll give you a chance. If you truly understand Melissa, and if you truly care about her……”
It was strange.
I should have been afraid.
But I wasn’t.
Because his threatening voice somehow sounded more like the voice of someone asking for help.
“Then prove it.”
* * *
“Y-you’ll really make fried rice for me?”
“Of course.”
I grinned at Melissa.
The first weekend after the ball.
I was currently staying together with Melissa at the Grand Duke family’s villa in the capital.
Thankfully, the Grand Duke agreed to our request and sent away all the servants so only Melissa and I remained together.
He still looked suspicious of me, but after Melissa seriously begged him, he seemed unable to refuse.
“You brought such precious rice all the way here, so of course we should make proper use of it.”
“U-uuugh……. I tried explaining it before, but nobody could make it. They just scolded me for asking for weird food…….”
Well, that was understandable.
In this world, rice was treated as an extremely luxurious ingredient and was only eaten as rice pudding.
The kind of “rice” Melissa described would be difficult for people here to even imagine.
“But there’s no rice cooker. How are you going to cook it?”
“We can use a pot.”
‘Come to think of it, it’s been ages since I last cooked rice.’
Missing home and Korean food, I used to make all sorts of similar dishes during my first year or two after transmigrating.
After that, I became too busy surviving and completely stopped cooking.
In fact, even back when I cooked often, I had never actually made fried rice before.
At this rate, I doubted proper fried rice would even come out of this.
Well…… somehow it would work out.
‘The important thing is becoming closer to Melissa.’
Honestly, even though Melissa desperately clung to me that day, it was still difficult to call us truly close yet.
Because Melissa kept trying far too hard to make me like her.
Making promises she could never realistically keep.
Just like right now.
“I-I’ll really become a good girl. Really…… I’ll study hard too.”
“You don’t have to study hard. And you don’t need to become a good girl either.”
I replied while chopping green onions aggressively.
The chopping sound becoming louder than necessary was definitely just my imagination.
“But…….”
Melissa carefully watched my expression.
“If I don’t become good, unnie will leave me too. Just like the other unnies, oppas, aunties, and uncles……”
“Unnies and oppas?”
“Mhm. There was an unnie who was a count’s daughter……. But she said she’d never seen a weird child like me before and left. Then the professor uncle after her did the same too……. He called me stupid.”
……The hand holding the knife trembled slightly on its own.
Tak, tak-tak-tak, tak.
Unable to even hug the child properly, I simply chopped the green onions even harder on the cutting board.
……While lying to myself that the burning in my eyes was only because of the onions.
Finally, once the fried rice was finished, Melissa’s eyes widened.
“It’s really fried rice.”
“Did you think it would be fake?”
Melissa continued staring at the fried rice with wide round eyes before suddenly starting to chatter.
“I…… really, really love fried rice the most. Even at Chinese restaurants, I only order fried rice. Dad always teased me and said he’d steal my shrimp…….”
Melissa lowered her head before quietly taking a bite of fried rice.
After a long silence, she suddenly spoke again.
“But Dad always gave me the shrimp from his own fried rice instead.”
“…….”
My throat tightened.
The child probably missed not the fried rice itself—
But the memories she shared with her family.
‘Maybe I shouldn’t have made this.’
Maybe we should have simply eaten pasta or stew and spent time drawing pictures or solving puzzles together instead.
Thinking about it now, that probably would have been much better for becoming close.
‘……I shouldn’t have made food that reminded her of a place she can never return to.’
Just then—
“B-but…….”
Melissa spoke in a tearful voice.
“Unnie’s fried rice tastes even better. Really……”
