Raising my Fiancè with Money - Chapter 43

Always

TL: Jasmine

Lilia began to build the tower with bread as if proving what she had just said. The boy, who was watching as if possessed, suddenly shouted as if he remembered,

“I need to buy bread!”

“Bread?”

“It’s for my sister.”

When Lilia made a face asking why it had to be bread, the hesitating boy replied,

“My oldest sister… She draws pictures.”

“Really?”

Lilia picked up a piece of bread without asking any more. It was like drawing a picture using coal. She thought she would have a lot of trouble drawing in the slums, but she was too nosy to pay attention to that.

After filling three trays, the calculation was completed. The children were seated at a table prepared in the store and bread and cake were squeezed in. She also ordered a drink to prevent indigestion.

The siblings must have been very hungry, so they ate the bread without breathing. Then she (child) repeatedly admired that it was delicious.

“It’s more delicious if you rip it apart.”

Frances taught her how to eat bread. Malek quietly left the store and bought medicine at Lilia’s request. It was an ointment applied to wounds.

Lilia applied medicine to the girl’s thin knees. She frowned at the sting and flinched, but she was calm because she was distracted by eating.

After some time, the tray was empty, and the brother and sister’s stomach became full. Lilia said, putting the remaining bread in the children’s hands,

“If you’re hungry from now on, come to this store.”

“Thank you!”

The children who thanked them rushed away. The siblings who got bread looked happy as if they had received the whole world.

Lilia smiled lightly as she watched them go back. She thought it was a good thing she didn’t give the money, This was because it was not possible to know what kind of person the brother and sister’s guardian was, No one could guarantee what anger losing the money would cause. All Lilia could do was keep the children from going hungry.

“I wish we could meet again…….!

Lilia got up from her seat. In the past, when she didn’t know anything, she took them one by one to her house. Frances was brought to the mansion as well. But now, Lilia knew. There’s no end to it.

Lilia could not reap all the slums. It was because even if it started in a good way, it always ended badly. And they blamed Lilia for not helping, or their parents asked for more money from their children.

No matter how much she donated and helped, poverty did not disappear. Even if the Bloden family

comes forward and eradicates the slums, poverty is born elsewhere. Just as life and death coexist, poverty and wealth are inseparable.

These children were just lucky. Like a person who suddenly won a lottery.

Lilia left the store after leaving enough money to the bakery owner.

“Shall we get the pen now?”

If she went now, she thought the time would be right.

Lilia, who left the slum, visited the store and found the pen. Even the engraving felt special as if it were the only one in the world.

“Let’s go back home now.”

Lilia got straight into the carriage and headed home. The day was already coming to an end because the outing was longer than she thought.

Lilia, who was looking at the crimson sunset burning in the sky, recalled Richard. She often thought of Richard even if she didn’t want to, but these days, it was much less. A lot of Richard seemed to have been washed away in her daily life.

“Isn’t it too quiet?’

Seeing that he had yet to give consent to the breakup, he seemed to have been up to something. In the meantime, Lilia was looking for a weakness in which Richard had no choice but to accept the breakup. A few came to mind, but they were all weak. She needed a shot to push him to the corner.

‘If she broke up the engagement safely…… She will make sure it is impossible for him to step into her life again. Lilia, immersed in thought, recalled what the Duchess had said.

– I think we should set the date for the engagement ceremony first, what do you think?

Lilia brought in Evantheon to break up the marriage safely with Richard. This was because she needed a shield in case he retaliated.

When she suggested a contract relationship, she thought Karhan was about to get engaged to Stella because he lacked assertiveness. So she thought if she instilled confidence and taught him how to voice his opinion, he could end his relationship neatly at the end of her contract.

However, contrary to expectations, Karhan was too weak in the Duke’s family even though he was the successor. The engagement story brought up by the Duchess this time also felt like coercion, not a proposal. It was not a matter of only fixing his personality.

“Can I break up safely in a year?’

She thought she might really get engaged to Karhan while trying to avoid Richard.

In fact, Karhan himself would be a great husband. He had a little bit of a pushover-like personality, but he was a good person and a man who would become a Duke in the future.

It’s not that she didn’t like him. If she had to pick one, it was close to attraction. However, Lilia was no longer confident in liking someone sincerely.

She pretended to be okay and forgot everything, but the wound created by Richard’s betrayal was deeper than she thought. It was so scary to even look back at it that she turned a blind eye to it.

Even if she started a new love, she would hesitate because of the wounds she received from Richard. Endlessly suspicious and anxious…… Eventually, she was afraid, so she didn’t know she’d cut herself off.

Before that, Karhan didn’t even like me. If you find someone you really like, you should let them know.

Thinking that far, her mood subsided as if it was raining. She didn’t know why she was like this. Didn’t she start with an ending that she decided from the beginning?

“Is it because I’m sad?”

After a one-year limited-time relationship, she would no longer be able to meet Karhan. There was no need to create a scandal for nothing when they would officially break up. She thought she was attached to Karhan, Lilia muttered to herself.

The carriage, which had traversed the expansive garden, stopped in front of the mansion’s front door. As she got off the carriage, she noticed a familiar carriage. It was Heinley’s carriage. When she turned her head, she saw Heinley’s back as he was about to enter the front door.

“Brother!”

Lilia called him out of joy. Upon hearing the sound, Heinley paused and turned around. Lilia trotted up the stairs.

“You came early today. Are you okay with being busy

now?”

Heinley, nodding slowly, asked, glancing at the wagon,

“I guess you’re on your way back from meeting the Little Duke.”

“No, I just came in after doing my business.”

It was a subtle face. Heinley, who coughed out, hesitated for a while and opened his mouth,

“If you don’t mind, why don’t we take a walk?”

It’s been a long time since Heinley had suggested it first. She was thinking about when to give the gift, but she thought she could take the walk and get an opportunity.

“I’d like to.”

Lilia and Heinley entered the garden. The head of the setting sun sank like a swimmer, and a bluish light rose like a tail. The sound of flowers in the dark passing by the wind came. The rustling sound occasionally broke the tranquility filled in the garden. It was Heinley who opened his mouth first,

“……Are you eating these days?”

“I’m eating regularly.”

Heinley looked suspicious. It was true, Lilia lost a lot of weight because of her mental distress. Even though she kept eating regular meals, the lost weight did not return.

“Brother are you taking care of your meals too?”

“Yes.”

A short answer came back, and silence fell again. It couldn’t be helped to feel awkward when there were only the two left.

Not long ago, they didn’t even see each other, let alone talk. There was no way that the distance that had been far for several years could have narrowed at once. Heinley was still blunt, and Lilia also failed to act friendly.

“I’m curious if you’re seeing Evantheon these days.”

“I’ve been seeing him often.”

Heinley was secretly interested in Karhan. It was also Heinley who most actively asked questions when she invited Karhan to the mansion.

She understood. Lilia’s first relationship was trash. Karhan also had bad rumors surrounding him, so he wasn’t happy with it.

“It’s hard to say anything yet…….”

Heinley narrowed his forehead slightly. He used to make that face when he had to admit what he didn’t want to admit.

“He didn’t seem like a bad person.”

His murmuring came into her ears with the wind. Lilia stopped for a moment and looked up at Heinley. He also stopped walking.

“I am reflecting on my disrespect to the little duke.”

Heinley, who admits his wrongdoing, was very fresh. Heinley was far from apologizing. It was because he thought he didn’t have to make an apology from the beginning. As such, Heinley was perfectionist and had an upright disposition.

“But I didn’t fully acknowledge the little duke.”

He added that he intends to watch more. Soon after, Heinley blurred his words with a complex face.

“But if you still like him…… I can’t help it.”

That much showed a huge concession. When she was in a relationship with Richard, he forced the topic of breaking up unconditionally. Because of that, she didn’t know that it burned more as if she were a wretched lover.

“Thank you.”

Heinley turned slowly at Lilia’s answer. The first time her eyes met, Lilia folded her eyes a little.

“It’s the same with Richard, and you’re worried about me, right?”

Heinley was silent for a moment. She thought he would deny or be silent, but he answered her gently,

“Always.”

His blunt face seemed to have become a little softer. Looking at it, she suddenly remembered how Heinley took care of her when she was young.

Lilia and Heinley had a considerable age difference. It wasn’t as much as Malek, but it was enough to raise her.

The memories of her childhood were full of Heinley. On behalf of her busy parents, Heinley became Lilia’s parent and friend. Heinley was a caring brother, and Lilia followed him very well.

They were always together, but Heinley eventually left for the academy. Lilia, who was left alone, desperately felt his vacancy. Their parents were still busy, and the employees could not replace Heinley. Perhaps she was lonely at that time.

“Me too.”

Lilia brought out her long-buried sincerity.

“I’m always worried. So I hope you don’t suffer too

much.”

Lilia muttered, saying she was worried because he kept coming late these days. Heinley was silent for a moment. Somehow, she thought his eyes seemed a little blurred. (T/N: his eyes teared up)