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Chapter 20
I told Baldwin that I needed some time to think.
Then I left him behind, still training, and dashed into the mansion.
“Miss? Why are you back alone?”
Cara, who had gone to get the drink I’d asked for, greeted me with a surprised face.
“Caraaahhh…”
I think I did something wrong…
I called out to her with a gloomy face.
Cara hugged me, still looking surprised.
My mind was a mess.
Because of me, Baldwin ended up cross-dressing.
Now he goes by the name Rudella.
He looked like a pretty girl with long hair tied up high.
He was still growing up well, but with my mother’s magic added in, Baldwin had become a perfect girl.
Baldwin knew what he looked like now, and that’s why he volunteered to get engaged to Aintz in my place…
Well, technically, since our family supports Baldwin, it wasn’t entirely impossible.
Because he’s none other than a Lorobante!
So let’s say Baldwin and Aintz get engaged.
What if sparks fly between them?
Baldwin is way too pretty and Aintz is like a prince straight out of a fairytale!
You never know…
What if some hidden feeling gets awakened?
Then what happens to Camilla? She’s just left hanging!
What even is the genre of this novel…?
Cara gently patted my back as I sniffled.
“I don’t know what’s going on again, but cheer up, miss.”
Her tone was so nonchalant.
“This is really serious!”
“Sure. I’m sure it’s serious again for a reason I won’t understand. So just hang in there, miss.”
Cara looked like she had transcended everything.
And then, with the face of a saint, she began listing all the things I’ve done so far.
“The noble Lady Lorobante might tear up her blanket and shake it outside… She might walk around barefoot… She might steal desserts from the kitchen in the middle of the night… She might scream her lungs out in the garden. I understand it all, miss.”
Ahem.
She clearly doesn’t understand.
But come on—I’m a modern person inside. How can I perfectly conform to the customs of this world?
I am trying, you know?
“The fortunate thing is that Lorobante has the power and wealth to cover all of it. That’s why I’ll always cheer for you. Fighting!!”
It didn’t encourage me at all, but I accepted her cheer.
It kind of felt like she was mocking me behind my back.
“Cara. This time, it’s really serious.”
“Yes, please tell me.”
“Didi said he’ll get engaged in my place.”
Wait a minute.
Cara doesn’t even know Baldwin is cross-dressing.
She thinks he’s just a regular girl, so she probably won’t see how serious this really is.
Should I talk to Mom about it?
What do I do…
“That is serious.”
“Huh?”
Wait—does Cara know?
“If Lady Rudella gets engaged and ends up leaving the mansion for an early marriage, how could that not be serious?”
“Uh, right…?”
“Yes. What would you do then, miss?!”
Wait, what?
“She’s the only one who can even try to control you!”
She looked at me like I was an unhinged wild horse.
Ugh, Cara!
That’s not why it’s serious!
“This really is a serious issue,” she nodded.
It looked like she understood the seriousness of the situation—but in a completely different way than I did.
Ugh, this is so frustrating.
No, the real problem is that the two male leads are about to get engaged, and the female lead is being left behind!
Ughhhhhh!
I grabbed my head in frustration.
“I’m going to Mom! I need to talk to her!”
“You seem unsettled today, my lady.”
“I… I’m sorry.”
Baldwin spoke politely.
Though he had inherited all of Caliburn’s knowledge, his body couldn’t yet keep up with that vast information.
So while he could progress quickly, he was still not perfect, and never wasted a single moment of training time.
But now, as his teacher had said, he just couldn’t focus.
“Engagement… Engagement…”
There’s no way Lorobante would sell off its only heir, Laila, in a political marriage.
The issue was the imperial family.
Originally, Empress Yulia, Lorobante, and Winchester were all in the same boat.
So maybe, for political reasons, this engagement could go ahead as a formality…
“Master, I think we need to end today’s lesson.”
“You can’t focus, I see. Very well.”
Baldwin bowed with knightly courtesy and swiftly left the training grounds.
Once he was away from the others, the sharp killing intent he had been suppressing leaked out.
The small animals in the garden whimpered and scattered.
Laila had probably gone to speak to the Duchess of Lorobante by now.
Baldwin didn’t want Laila to be engaged to someone like Aintz.
No—he didn’t want her to be tied to anyone other than him.
It was Laila who had reached out to him when he had nothing.
It was Laila who told him he was the most beautiful and who gave him love.
It was Laila who dragged him into all this—so this was all her responsibility.
And once you take someone in, you have to take full responsibility until the end.
Twisted possessiveness and displeasure began to flare up in Baldwin’s heart.
To make Laila his and his alone, he needed power.
But now that he had lost Winchester, Baldwin had no such power.
At any time, someone could take Laila from him.
He was just a tiny speck—like a smudge on this world.
“I have to take back Winchester.”
And Caliburn. He would restore the prestige he once had.
So no one would dare set eyes on the girl at his side again.
Until now, his feelings were just resentment and the yearning for what he’d lost—but now something had changed.
He had a clear purpose.
If Aintz Vendelheim was the light that ruled the world, then he would become the darkness that held it in his grasp.
With Caliburn’s knowledge, nothing was impossible.
It was his to begin with—he was only taking it back.
Baldwin’s eyes glinted red.
All of this had stemmed from a seemingly small emotion:
The fear of losing Laila, and possessiveness.
Laila didn’t know it, but Baldwin was following the original story more faithfully than anyone.
The only difference was who he was fixated on now.
Baldwin knocked on the office door of the Duke of Lorobante.
“Your Grace. May I speak with you?”
His voice was soft and sweet.
Just like Laila had taught him—to be gentle.
“Didi? Come in, dear.”
And from inside, a warm voice answered—one that sounded just like Laila’s.
The office door opened.
“Would you all excuse us for a moment?”
The vassals inside gave Baldwin a polite nod and exited.
Adolph took a box from his desk and poured out a pile of cookies onto the table.
Then he looked at Baldwin with a hopeful gaze.
Ah. Kids used to love this stuff, didn’t they?
And Laila especially had a weakness for sweets.
Baldwin nibbled on a cookie and smiled.
“It’s delicious!”
“I’m glad! I always keep them ready just in case you girls visit… ahem. Laila often comes here to snack. Don’t tell her mother, though.”
So that’s why Laila visited his office sometimes.
So very typical of her.
Today, Baldwin had sweets in her place.
When he finished eating, Adolph finally asked,
“Now then. It’s the first time my dear Didi has come to see me like this.”
Adolph smiled warmly.
“You must have something to say, right?”
“Yes, Father.”
“Go ahead. You can speak freely.”
Adolph’s eyes sparkled.
They’re so alike.
Baldwin could see traces of Laila in him.
“Please let me take Laila’s place in the engagement, Father.”
“…Didi? You…”
Adolph looked stunned.
“If you officially adopt me as your daughter and proceed with the engagement, then when I turn twenty, I’ll return to Winchester. Rudella will just quietly vanish. That way, Laila won’t have to get engaged.”
Adolph fell into deep thought.
He had already heard from Robelia that Laila had agreed to the engagement.
Robelia was worried that Laila didn’t fully understand the meaning of it.
Compared to Laila, Baldwin was clearly more mature, and his proposal was logical.
They both probably knew they couldn’t refuse the engagement.
If they did, it would cause irreparable damage between Lorobante and the imperial family.
Adolph felt sorry for dragging such mature children into something so political.
“…I’ll think about it, Didi. This is a serious matter.”
“Rudella is a fictional character, Father. It doesn’t matter if she gets tainted. I just want to protect Laila.”
“Thank you, Didi.”
Adolph smiled faintly.
As Robelia had said, maybe the cold of winter was already creeping in.
He had forced the children to carry the burden of grown-up worries.
Adolph sighed.
It felt as if a shadow of winter had fallen behind Baldwin.
He prayed that divine grace would be with the children who had been dragged into the whirlwind of fate.
