His family (1)

“Tell me more.”

“What… Do you mean?”

“About the things that make you uncomfortable. It can be anything you thought you didn’t need to tell me, um…  Tell me only three things about you.” She looked at him with eyes that were quite expectant.

It was a more difficult command to refuse. He narrowed his eyes and tapped the bathtub with his forefinger like a habit.

Uncomfortable and unpleasant. To put it bluntly, he hated this world. As for the reasons, there were so many that he had no idea where to start.

He thought for a while. “I hate that you met the princess.”

“Ah…”

“I don’t mean to reproach you for this,” he quickly added. “The less people are around, especially the princess, the better it is for you. The princess will be leaving this place within a week, so I hope you will be patient until then.”

Aversion. Princess Ingrid was now involved with both of them. As long as she had come to the tower, she would soon find out anyway.

“Do you know the rumors about her?”

Lily hesitated.

She said, “I’ve been told she’s in the midst of a purification prayer praying for her well-being because she’s had a child out of wedlock.”

The gossip was embarrassing to even verbalize. She knew all too well what it was like to live a life with the label of immodesty. Thorns like snakes that one had a defense against. As she recalled, her skin still stung.

“It is true that she came to pray for purification because of the child. My land is the best place to avoid annoying eyes. And it is difficult to say more than that.”

She shook her head. As a woman, she didn’t even want to ask more about it.

Vlad picked his second topic to confess to her. It was just what he was facing right now.

“The second is Princess Ingrid’s half-sibling. Prince Marius will arrive in Cadis in three days. He has two main purposes. Taking Princess Ingrid directly is the first.  Another is to put pressure on me.”

“…Hm?” Lily stiffened. The blood drained from her stiff face. “You mean the prince is coming to pressure you?”

“That’s right. He has always been hostile to me, but he doesn’t pose much of a threat, so don’t worry.”

It was said that even the imperial family would be hostile to him because he was of a distant bloodline.

“How are you? You’re still family, but he….”

“You’re right. The imperial family. Thanks to that, I am a child who was able to see even my own face. In any case, I will be visiting Cadis often for a while, as I have to welcome uninvited guests.” He sneered.

As if the prince was not worthy of long thought, he immediately erased this topic from his mind.

“And the third answer you want is…”

Perhaps it was because he had to say the most unpleasant thing, his words did not come out easily.

“The prince has kidnapped your brother on his way to Cadis.”

As expected, Lily was startled, as if she had forgotten how to breathe. “The prince kidnapped my brother, that is…”

“There is nothing wrong with his life, so there is no need to worry about that,” Vlad added quickly. “Antonio Isles will also arrive in Cadis in a few days.”

“He is very ill. Carriage travel must be difficult, but if he goes through something like that…”

“Lily. Look at me.” He quickly clasped her cheeks. His strong gaze grabbed her and tied her so that her green eyes wouldn’t waver. “I can solve this on my own. Nothing you’re worrying about will happen.”

She slowly found her place. Her pulse was still urgent, but her breathing was returning to normal little by little.

Her strong husband, who wouldn’t even move even when a storm blew, stared at her quietly.

Of course, as a reminder of what was going to happen, a low voice followed. “Trust me. Promise to treat it as if nothing had happened.”

“…”

She nodded her head slowly.

Right. Her husband was a man who took the Isles from her father’s hands. Shylock, who was steadfast despite all kinds of nobles hovering around him, was defeated by Vlad.

If you don’t trust him, whom will you trust?

Lily nodded her head determinedly, and Vlad lightly stroked her hair.

Though it was just his thoughts, he wanted to take her directly to Cadis so that she wouldn’t run into the princess again.

It was impossible to infer how tightly Shylock had raised Antonio, his personality, or his relationship with Lily. All he knew was that he had the same lung disease that his mother had.

The weakness for Lily was her family. What if he was a young, sick, naughty little brother?

Instead of taking Lily to Cadis, he only requested one more thing, very seriously. “You just don’t get involved with the princess. Never.”

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