Lilian of Turin

“I heard you fired your nanny.”

It was a topic she thought would come out at any time. Lilian refilled Cedric’s half-empty cup.

Cedric’s brow twitched a little as he pretended, but struggled to drink half of that terrible tea, but fortunately, Lilian didn’t notice.

“You heard about that.”

“Yes, finally.”

Cedric liked everything about his transformed sister. One of the things he liked most was that she wasn’t too surprised when talking about this.

To Cedric, it felt like a gentle reassurance to his heart which had difficulty bringing it up.

…anyway.

“I can’t help but ask why.”

Lily’s nanny, who was his stepmother’s limb, always took the lead in harassing Cedric. Cedric knew from experience that the woman was evil and had no intention of leaving her next to his little sister for long.

But he had to be careful. Ironically, this was also because of Lilian.

His sister was just 12 years old and had just lost her mother.

‘Maybe that was the trigger for her to become very mature.’

Still, Cedric couldn’t act hastily, fearing that the existence of the nanny she had seen since childhood was absolute for Lily.

To avoid hurting his sister unnecessarily, Cedric decided to wait. And he called his confidant, the young majordomo, and ordered him to look after the nanny.

But after a while, the majordomo made an unexpected report.

“I don’t think you need to worry about that woman anymore, my Lord.”

“What do you mean, Allen?”

“The young miss fired her not too long ago.”

It was welcome news, but Cedric was more confused than happy. He wondered if good things like this could continue to happen…

“Is it…is it because of me?”

He was also secretly worried that the child might be overdoing it while looking after him.

Lilian was puzzled as to why Cedric was suddenly hesitant, but she answered honestly.

“I won’t say no.”

Cedric’s expression darkened in an instant. Lilian tilted her head.

“Brother?”

“You…”

Cedric could no longer turn a blind eye to the tea Lilian pushed him to drink and took a sip.

No matter how he tasted it, his tongue tingled at the bitter, astringent, and sweet taste. Cedric barely continued.

“Because of me…there’s no need to do that.”

‘This.’ Lilian realized it then. It seemed that Cedric misunderstood that she was looking out for him too much.

That speculation was true. Cedric was in the middle of pouring fierce criticism at himself for being despicable, saying he had a pitiful little sister who only had her half-brother to rely on even though it wasn’t his intention.

Whoops. Lilian sighed a little.

‘How do I clear up this misunderstanding?’

First of all, she squeezed the warm teacup directly between her brother’s cold fingers.

And she explained in a calm tone.

“Don’t misunderstand. It wasn’t just because of brother. She wasn’t a very loyal woman to her job.”

“…was she?”

Cedric thought it was hard to fully believe that, but then he thought ‘wait’ and frowned.

“Brother?”

Lily called out to him, puzzled, but instead of answering, he was thinking fiercely. The younger sister in front of him had been seriously ill a while ago.

She suffered from a severe fever that put her on the verge of death.

But the reason she fired her nanny as soon as she recovered was that ‘she wasn’t faithful to her job’?

Cedric unconsciously gritted his teeth.

‘How insincere was she to a sick child!’

His sister, Lilian, was a sweet child. She was so kind even to her brother, who looked down on her, so it’s obvious how much more she’d give her heart to others.

‘But how negligent was she for such a child to do that first thing as soon as she recovered?’

His anger flared up, but he desperately held back, fearing that he would frighten Lilian if he showed it.

Cedric barely suppressed his anger and said this.

“If you suddenly cut someone off like that, there might be a backlash, so from now on, don’t do it on your own and talk to me.”

He refrained from saying that he, who didn’t know mercy, would rather step in than let her clumsily slash people with her immature hands.

“Yes, understood.”

Cedric’s heart thumped with regret at the sight of his sister nodding her head obediently.

If he had paid attention to this child from the beginning, this delicate and affectionate child had no need to do such harsh work herself.

‘It’s all my fault.’

It was shameful that he belatedly tried to win his younger sister’s favor by showing off his wealth like a peacock.

‘I had to find out how this child has been doing before that.’

His own stupidity made his bones ache.

Of course, Lilian didn’t know that Cedric regretted it that much. She just thought her brother had pointed out something she hadn’t thought of because of her little experience.

“In fact, I gave a generous severance pay in my own way, so I don’t think there’s any chance of backlash.”

It was as if she was talking about other people’s business. Even assuming a backlash, she was overly calm.

It was a calmness that wasn’t like a 12-year-old child. Cedric was worried about his younger sister, who acted too well.

‘Is she not showing it?’

He didn’t want to teach her how to endure unconditionally.

Rather than trying hard to become dignified, he secretly wished she’d rely on him.

“Aren’t you afraid?”

The possibility that the nanny, a low-ranking noble, would cause direct harm to Cedric was low. The only thing she had was being close to Lily’s biological mother.

It just meant a lot more chances to damage the honor of the deceased.

His stepmother’s honor was directly related to Lilian’s honor. Cedric knew very well that once this reputation was damaged, no action would be of any use.

Lilian, a grown-up child, would be aware of that either.

However, Lilian was carefree from beginning to end.

“Hm…yes.”

“Not at all?”

“Should I be?”

Rather, Lilian asked. She was genuinely curious. Because…

“My brother, as one of the only seven Electors in the Empire, rules this land of Turin and House of Islar. Should I, his one and only sibling, worry about the scares of a fired nanny?”

Cedric was dazed for a moment. He didn’t immediately understand what she was saying.

Then…

‘I suppose she wasn’t acting dignified on purpose.’

Rather, Lilian said that since she relied on him more than anyone else, she could be okay.

‘That means she’s relying on this unreliable brother.’

He was happy. Excessively so.

Cedric didn’t say anything because he felt like his overflowing heart would pour out like water.

Lilian didn’t know that and just added with a bashful laugh.

“I don’t want to waste my time worrying about useless things.”

Worrying about useless things.

She said that because Cedric was there.

It wasn’t something meant to make him feel good. She was just being sincere. Besides, Lilian didn’t think she meant that much to Cedric.

Seeing Lilian like that, Cedric slowly recalled.

Lilian Islar was a kindhearted child who was always tearful and weak, even under the protection of her strong father.

If anything, should Cedric have been careful not to make his younger sister cry and cause misunderstandings with his stepmother?

But to think that such a child was living so comfortably without any worries just by relying on his own protection.

He suddenly had this thought.

‘I thought I was infinitely lacking compared to my father, but in fact, I wasn’t lacking that much as a Lord.’

His chest ached.

Even if it wasn’t to the level of satisfying his father, he wasn’t such a mess to make that person click his tongue.

Thinking that far, Cedric bitterly shook his head.

‘No, no…I will never know the intentions of the deceased.’

Yes. Cedric actually knew. That his father, who was shedding bloody tears in his dream, was nothing more than an illusion created by his guilt.

Having taken some rest, he was no longer fooled by his delusional self-reproach.

‘Still, there’s at least one thing I’m better than my father.’

The presence of Lilian in front of him was proof of that.

That she’s doing well.

That he could do better.

Cedric drank the tea from the cup Lilian had given him. The deep red tea spread warmly through his frozen body.

Cedric couldn’t resist the warmth that spread to the depths of his heart.