An Unseemly Lady - Chapter 4

I stared at the outstretched arm and grinned.

Ha, sure, as if this is not crazy at all!

“Do not be surprised, Lili. This Oppa[1] is not a bad person.”

Said the arm waving on the wall. This exactly looks like a scene from a horror movie.

What the heck is this? This is just creepy!

“Lia-eoㅡ…”

“Uh, do not call for Lia yet. We still have not made up.”

It is strange to see a dangling arms waving frantically.

For real, what really is this?

“As much as I want to show myself to you, I cannot, Lia’s protective barrier is just too strong… Anyway, baby girl, do not be frightened. Please, will you take this first?”

“The one who speaks, who are you…?”

I mumbled in a very shaky voice. Oh, I spoke maturely.

I mean, I was in a shock I do not have time to have second thoughts and calculate my every move!

“I swear, I am not a bad guy. These are cookies, I know you like cookies and I want to become friends with you.”

“…”

What a shitty excuse.

I looked at my droopy arms and shoulders then gulped.

Ah, calm down, maybe it is magic. If he knows Yulianne then perhaps he is a classmate. Also, what a peculiar personality.

Of course, what came into my mind is one of the male lead candidates.

He is considered the crazy dog of Delir Academy, the polar opposite of Yulianne and yet he is one of her dearest friends.

Allen Lowell

Apparently, you are even crazier in person. I let out a heavy sigh and turned around.

My sister told me to avoid suspicious people at all costs.

“Wait, Lili!”

He cried out abruptly. His voice laced with desperation, sounding as if he was holding onto a lover who wanted to part ways.

Wait a second, how do you even know my nickname?

I swiftly walked away from the garden, every step quicker than the previous one.

I would not listen or even care anymore, with that bravado you are instantly out, you punk.

ㅡ ㅡ ㅡ

“My apologies, Yulianne, I was not able to hinder Lowell from entering.”

A man with blond hair and green eyes that resembles the same color as Yulianne’s, spoke as if exhausted.

Silently observing the man in front of me, my dangling legs swung back and forth.

An unusual height with face that bores a calm yet cool expression and even a gentle manner of speaking.

I immediately recognize the one character with this kind of description.

Cedric Royston.

“Cedric, did you bring him here?”

Yulianne asked in a very unusual yet alarmingly cold tone. Oh, my sister is so tenaciously steadfast… I knew it. It was one of my sister’s character description.

Though I never expected to witness it first-hand.

All of a sudden, my appetite grew that I was tempted to taste the delectable-looking cookies right in front of me.

It was the cookies that the madman almost shoved in front of me earlier but right now it is being neatly presented in front of me.

The way that Cedric calls him ‘Lowell’, I assume Allen really was causing a fine ruckus. I glanced at Cedric and nodded.

Well to be completely frank, shouting ‘Hey, I am Allen Lowell!’ would really be something he would do.

Soft and fluffy silver-blue hair[2] with eyes that shines of overflowing playfulness. My personal favorite character, Allen Lowell.

However, with my situation right now, he is not. In all honesty, it is fun to encounter a crazy person outside the novel.

But meeting them like this, you will be a criminal at that very moment.

Anyway, this talk is not that important, moving on…

I snuck a glance at Allen Lowell then averted my gaze towards the cookies in front of me.

My mouth watered at the thought of homemade cookies. Perhaps it is because I was getting sick of the carrot cookies given to me.

Allen might be guilty of giving me a fright; however, the cookies are innocent here.

Therefore, I can eat them.

“Lili, you can only eat five.”

Maybe I was looking a bit cautious on picking the cookies so Yulianne uttered those words as if giving me permission.

Lia-eonni[3], you do not have to worry about it too much.

I nodded my head earnestly. I glanced at the two guys who also has their eyes on me: Allen Lowell, who was grinning like a fool while Cedric, on the other hand, seemed to be a bit restless.

The two of them shares an antagonist-like look, but possibly it is only on my point of view or just my personal pettiness.

“You look a lot cuter up close, Lili.”

“How did you learn about Lili’s nickname, Allen?”

Alarmed, Yulianne covered me with her arm as she asked him in a cold tone.

“I have heard about it a bunch from you. It appears to me that the two of you were having fun.”

Yeah, well how did you hear about that? I tilted my head, observing him in mistrust.

Remembering what happened earlier, when he reached out his arms, it looks like he was talking to me specifically as if he sees me.

Then, by chance, he may really be a wizard.

Of course, Yulianne is far more amazing than him. Gently, I leaned my head against her arm.

It is, well, if Yulianne does have magical powers, I actually do not have an idea about it since it was not mentioned in the novel. However, there was a scenario where Yulianne was able to perform advanced high-level magic probably due to our family’s unique bloodline.

In an outsider’s perspective, the way Yulianne is acting right now does look as if she is very assertive and dominant.

Still, it looks amazing. Maybe because it is one of the perks and buffs for being the heroine.

“Your little sister is really cute.”

Allen Lowell exclaimed in admiration, adorning me with in a gaze with the same amount of awe.

Who are you kidding? You came to see Yulianne. Why are you looking at me like that?

Masking an annoyed expression, I clung into Yulianne calling for her attention.

The cookies are delicious, all at the same time I know you do not like them…

So unfortunately for you, Allen Lowell, you cannot be with us…

“Anyway, I came here to apologize.”

Allen Lowell uttered as his gaze drifted towards Yulianne.

All at the same time, Cedric sighed.

The way he reacted probably means that he witnesses this scenario more than often. Allen would get into trouble, Yulianne will get angry, and then Cedric would stand as the pacifist and act as a mediator between the two.

If I remember it correctly, that kind of scenarios happens quite a lot in the novel.

How Yulianne got close to a person like Allen was one of those rare occurrences, a miracle even.

“What do you mean apologize?”

Yulianne, still with a cold tone, shot back immediately. The way she is being coldly monotonous must have mean he did something extremely wrong.

I reached out and went for another cookie, I have three more chances to pick which kind of cookie I want.

Three… It really is too much to hinder me from eating more than five when there is like more than ten kinds of cookies here.

“About that, I could not actually listen to your request when you asked me to examine Lili. I apologize for not saying anything and ignoring it to the point of hiding.”

Allen Lowell said in a very apologetic and pleading tone. It was complete switch of attitude than the one from earlier.

Yulianne, completely bewildered, stared at him in response.

Right, I remember liking Allen’s sincere, although interchanging, behavior and personality.

I continued to munch on my cookies while thinking about the situation right now.

To make everything simple, when Lilianne’s body was ill, Yulianne must have asked Allen for help. Oh yeah, it was during that time that Lilianne was ever discussed in the novel, no one knows what happened after since it was just left undisclosed.

Is it as if he did not want me to live! That is a red flag, I will definitely be placing him in the lowest of low on my list of possible male lead candidates.

What we need to do right now is observe Cedric’s personality. I was really enamored on Robain’s narrative that I do not remember much of him.

Perhaps he is bad… Or maybe he is sweet… Ah, I really do not know. I remember everything about Michael and Allen’s but not about his narrative.

Regardless, there is no doubt that I will be gradually discovering it in the near future. All I know is that he is one of the male lead candidates.

“So, in that case, Yulianne.”

Allen implied himself into deep thought before uttering the next few words:

“To express my earnest apologies, please give me a chance to visit Lili and play with her.”

All the sudden I felt unwell.

After he finished speaking, Allen smiled handsomely. This guy and that guy are definitely no ordinary schemers.

I furrowed my brows, shifting my glare at Cedric’s.

Now what defense are you going to use to barge in and out of here.

“I…”

A few moments after Allen spoke, he mumbled. His soft voice resonates gently around the four corners of the room.

With that, I can only envisage a character description for Cedric.

Ah yes, there is a reason why I cannot remember Cedric properly. It was because…

“Well, I just want to make sure that you are doing well.”

It was because of his extraordinary timid personality.

To state it simply, his presence and overall impact is kind of lacking compare to the others although he was one of the male lead candidates.

Still, he was covertly popular because of the term Joshin-nam[4]. That is why I do not remember much of him; his personality is just not my type.

But now that we are facing each other like this… I think he seems alright…

“…Fine, Allen. I will accept your apology, in exchange, you will regularly visit for Lili’s check-up.”

After a long silence, Yulianne spoke, acting as if he has not won over Yulianne’s forgiveness.

And yet, Allen Lowell smiled, his face already brightened up.

No way, Lia-eonni! Wouldn’t the gentle and docile Cedric be a lot better than him?

He is perfect for a workaholic like you, Lia-eonni.

Of course, it is not like me to insist something like that.

I hope there is a way to express my point clearly.

“Cedric-oppa.”

My mouth, as if having a mind of its own, did not hesitate to utter those words just after I finished thinking. All at the same time, three pairs of eyes were immediately fixed on me.

Yulianne was, in fact, astonished to hear me call someone ‘Oppa’.

Well, to be fair, I did call Robain and Michael ‘Ahjussi[5]’ that she probably finds it interesting to why I acknowledge Cedric as an ‘Oppa’.

“Come again next time.”

Once again, I gazed at him beaming a pretty smile.

You poor guy,

I will give you a chance to be with Yulianne.

Chapter 4 end.

[1] 오빠/ Oppa is a term that younger girls use to call an older guy. Can be directly translated as ‘older brother’.

[2] 하늘하늘한 청은발 I do not know the exact translation of this phrase if it is sky-blue or silver-blue.

[3] 언니/Eonni/Unnie is a term that younger girls use to call an older girl. Can be directly translated into ‘older sister’. 

[4] 조신남/Josin-nam/Joshin-nam is usually used as a Korean slang for shy and careful flower boys. Sometimes can be described as ‘submissive’ in the extreme sense.

[5] 아저씨/Ajeossi/Ahjussi can be roughly translated into uncle or mister. There is no exact translation for it but something to call a male stranger around their 30s-40s.