The Precious Sister of The Villainous Grand Duke

How angry must he be to say that?

Leaving me behind in a blank state, Dietrich quickly left the room that I couldn't even think of catching him.

I could only watch his broad back disappear.

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"I've been thinking about it, and I think I was in the wrong."

"Wow. Congratulations."

Yuric, who was quietly listening to my words of reflection, clapped his hands. I frowned at his unenthusiastic response.

"What are you congratulating for?"

"You have finally become a person. It's a bit surprising that you realized your fault now."

".........."

"They did say that you shouldn't collect and raise pink-haired beasts but I'm here right now because of you, you know?"

"Who collected and raised who!"

It wasn't Dietrich, but me, who fed him, put him to sleep, followed him around, and took care of him.

I snorted and tried to ignore his words, but I couldn't when I thought that it was my fault.

"Did he worry a lot? But even when I darkened the necklace and the bracelet, it also took me about a week to wake up."

I did put in the note that if I didn't wake up, it just meant that I exercised my abilities at once and that there was no need to worry. Did he not believe me?

"How can you say that? He probably almost didn't sleep for the first two months."

"Why?"

"It was because he was watching you. Do you even have to ask? I thought that jerk would die before you so I even gave him some medicine and put him to sleep."

Outside the window, I could hear the sound of the pouring rain.

Perhaps due to the humid air, Yuric let out a sigh as he swept his curly blonde hair with his hand.

"I don't know what you're thinking alone, but if you don't want to see Dietrich expire, then, you should stop."

I also didn't know I wouldn't wake up for a year. If I had known, I wouldn't have pushed it that far.

When Dietrich had come back with only a stab wound, I had been so anxious that my heart couldn't stop pounding, how much more if he couldn't wake up.

My fear that Dietrich and Lagrange would be ruined blinded me and inflicted a wound on him.

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"Of course, I know that all of your plans have been instrumental in laying the foundation for Lagrange."

Instead of a maid, Yuric had brought me my breakfast. He whisked the soup and spoon-fed me. I opened my eyes wide as I took the food from him like a baby bird.

"But you also have to think of the feelings of those in opposition."

"But he's too obstinate about it. To the point that I shouldn't do anything."

"Anissa, I'm not ignoring you so don't argue with me and listen."

Yuric rarely hardened his face.

"You're not a Lagrange. No matter how close you are to us."

"....Are you telling me to stop worrying about it because it's your business?"

"It's not like that."

"Then?"

"What I want to say is that our bodies are different."

Yuric grabbed my cheeks, which I inflated in disappointment, and shook them.

'When did he grow up like this?'

My face was completely captured in the hands full of calluses here and there.

"Veronica, well, there's no need to talk about her. Even with the triplets, there's no poison that we haven't eaten."

".............."

"Of course, it wasn't just poison. Catherine would have paid an enormous amount of price to obtain an elixir that would make one's body stronger and poured it on them as well."

I thought of the children who had grown up rapidly in the time that I haven't seen them. Come to think of it, Rose was almost the same height as me.

"Lagrange doesn't have a long life span, but we never die by other people's hands. Our destiny is to end up being eaten by the demons."

"I told you I'm going to change that fate."

"Regardless of what your goal is, you're different."

Yuric put away the soup and grabbed my neck. When he pressed down on my skin, I could also feel the pulse running slowly.

"Even the triplets can't break my neck with their bare hands. If you give strength to your neck, it's stronger than most rocks. But you."

Instead of speaking, Yuric sighed and rubbed his face with his hand. I patted him on the back of his hand since it seemed like it wasn't only Dietrich who was worried about me.

"I'm all right. I'm fine."

"Eat some more. Looking at it now, I could just break your neck without even putting strength into it."

"I'm doing my best to eat. Though they're only fruits."

I grinned and started eating again. I was already full, but it couldn't be helped since someone was here to pester me.

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"Where's Dietrich?"

"Hello, Princess. His Grace is in the drill hall."

My eyes widened at the knight's answer. The rain that started early this morning hasn't stopped yet.

"He's in the drill hall when it's raining cats and dogs?"

"I think he's probably in the storage room to avoid the rain. It hadn't rained yet by the time we left."

"I'll go and pick him up. Give me the umbrella."

The knight hesitated as he looked at the pale hands that fluttered before him. I raised my eyes at him to hasten him.

"Didn't I tell you to give it to me?"

"I'd rather take it to him."

"I have something to say to Dietrich, that's why. I also feel sorry for you standing outside the barracks for a long time."

He handed over the umbrella as if he had no choice due to my stubbornness. I brushed off the raindrops on the black umbrella and opened it up.

"Thank you."

Nature and the drill hall weren't as far apart as Dahlia palace, but it wasn't close either. Luckily, Marilyn brought me some boots so I didn't have to worry about my feet getting wet.

'She said it was a gift from Madame Celine.'

Although I couldn't say that we had a deep connection, I had heard that Celine came to visit more than ten times while I wasn't awake.

'Well, it's hard to forget the help you received when you're in trouble.'

I took a deep breath, recalling her weeping.

I liked the smell of the rain. It smelled like a mixture of old dust and wet soil.

'It's closer than I thought.'

Come to think of it, it was my first time coming to the drill hall. When I was learning swordsmanship from Liatris, we had only been using her backyard.

As the hem of my dress sticking out of the umbrella was just getting wet, I arrived at the other side of the drill hall where there was a prepared warehouse.

It was a place where the knights store the wooden swords and equipment used for training so it looked sloppy like it was made of wood.

"Dietrich?"

I tried knocking, but if there was an answer then I couldn't hear it as it was muddled over the sound of the rain.

'Did he go somewhere else?'

The door handle wasn't oiled so it was difficult to turn it, but when I opened it, I could feel the commonplace heat inside. A fire was blazing in the rusty brazier.

Since there was a light inside, there should have been a person but I couldn't even see a single shadow. However, I could hear shuffling in a small room attached to the warehouse.

I thrust my head in there and stiffened in shock.

"Oh, oh. You were here?"

Dietrich, who was lying on the sofa in a relaxed position wearing only his pants, stood up. I was instantly distracted by his exposed firm shoulders and his sculpted abs.

I was quite embarrassed so I hurriedly lowered my gaze as he stared at me with a displeased look on his face. He swept up his wet hair and opened his mouth, asking as if he was sighing.

"Why are you here?"

He didn't seem surprised as if he might have heard me call him earlier. The floor had creaked with every step.

I spoke awkwardly at the sound, like a broken machine.

"....I thought you couldn't come because you didn't have an umbrella. I waited but you didn't arrive."

"I slept."

Dietrich answered bluntly and gestured with his chin towards the back. Pillows and blankets were scattered on a pile of straw, apparently used by the knights to rest.

"You can rest comfortably in the castle."

I couldn't lift my face even as I gave him my judgment. Dietrich didn't even think to put on a top whether he knew or not that I was only looking at the floor because of him.

'Is he bragging about his good body or what?'

"Aren't you going to wear some clothes?"

"It's all wet."

At his words, I glanced at the brazier where his clothes were scattered around near it.

"I-I see."

Of course, I couldn't ask him to wear those wet clothes just because of me. My eyes flitted around and I twisted my hair with my hand.

It wasn't like it was something I'd never seen when I was young, but I was still embarrassed.

"Ahem. Then I'll wait here until they dry up."

I coughed as I sat down on a wooden stool near the brazier.

"That's."

"Ack!"

"Broken."

You should have told me earlier!

Stumbling backward because of the broken stool, I glared at Dietrich with resentment.

As if what I did was funny, he grabbed me by my arm with a smile on his face. When his solid bare chest came to view, I quickly jerked my head back.

"What are you doing? Get up."

"I can stand up on my own!"

I shook off Dietrich's hand and clung to the wall. He raised one eyebrow as if displeased that I rejected him.

'Good thoughts!'

I shouted inwardly and clenched my fist. Far from being embarrassed, he seemed to didn't know why I was being shy, which made me even more embarrassed.

'It was my first time seeing it in person. How can I help it?'

As a matter of fact, my body was not much different from when I was young but wasn't it different now?

He continued to frown in bewilderment, wondering what was wrong with me, while I kept to my mantra over and over.

'Clear thoughts! Brain power!'