The Male Lead’s Fake Sister - Chapter 37

However, suddenly changing her course due to her anxiety might suffocate her instead. Maybe that’s what Tidwell had been targeting.

‘After all, pretending to give your opponent space to wriggle while laying a trap is an old strategy.’

What should I do?

Ravia opened her clenched hand after much deliberation. The clear nail marks on her palms gradually disappeared.

Ravia opened her mouth calmly.

“Since you took another child as your successor and wanted to marry me off, it’s quite surprising that you’d appoint me as your substitute.”

“Tidwell doesn’t know much about Leontine yet, does he? In times like this, you should help him as his older sister.”

“Well, I’m not sure what he’ll think when he sees his older sister filling in the lord’s position.”

What if he thought I wanted that position?

Ravia added some self-deprecating remarks inwardly and smiled bitterly.

Duke Leontine seemed upset by Ravia’s response, but more than angry, he seemed to find it surprising.

She could see that he was a little upset, but Duke Leontine’s voice rang more clearly than ever.

“I just thought you’d like it.”

“Ah, is that it? It’s candy that will be taken away from you, but since you’ve been anticipating it so much, should I let you taste it once?”

“…Ravia.”

“Don’t worry. Is there a day when I act against your will?”

Since it had come to this, there was nothing else she could do. She had to see where Tidwell was trying to lead her.

“If you want me to fill in the lord’s position, then I will comply.”

Ravia looked at the hero she had once admired. It was natural for a child to crave love from her family, but in Ravia’s case, the feelings were closer to obsession rather than craving.

My Leontine.

This is the only place I belong, so I only depended on it and cried when I was betrayed by my own expectations.

When Ravia finally gave up trying, ironically, she discovered that she wasn’t the reason for her mistreatment and disposal.

‘Was it because of my mother’s affair?’

That day, she overheard the conversation between Duke Leontine and the butler.

-I know that I must cherish my child. But I can’t help but see that she’s so different from me, so what should I do….

-Your Excellency.

-I’d prefer it if my emotions were the only problem here. But if Ravia is really not my child, does that mean the silver haired bloodline ends with my generation?

Duke Leontine was constantly in agony. He was placed in a situation where he must suspect his beloved wife for having an affair even after her death.

He continued to hate his own child even though he knew she carried no blame.

If Ravia hadn’t inherited the blood of Leontine, what would happen then….

Duke Leontine couldn’t stop thinking about what if’s.

That’s when Tidwell wormed his way into the family. For Tidwell, taking advantage of those who were distressed and anxious would have been easier than flipping his palm.

‘Did he feel guilty now?’

She didn’t know the exact reason for her father’s change, but at least, Duke Leontine’s trip was an opportunity to reassess the situation.

“I’ll do as you want, so please leave me alone. Just as you’ve always done.”

Leaving those words behind, Ravia went down the stairs first. Just before she stepped on the stairs, she looked back at the door and hesitated.

But when she left Tidwell, she had already made an irreversible choice. So Ravia turned around, leaving her family behind.

‘At first, I didn’t intend to be away for this long, but….’

There was a place she must visit before she could face Tidwell again.

She needed to hurry and find out about the earring she found in Tidwell’s room a while ago.

‘I need to go to a stolen goods shop.’

Ironically, she escaped Tidwell’s clutches and headed toward a place that was essentially his front yard. She went to the underworld.

*** 

Underworld and slums.

Usually, both refer to back alleys where the people who were rejected by society gather to form a lawless area.

But it was only on the surface.

‘In fact, it was more developed and extensive.’

If the slum was really a place where the poor gathered, then the underworld was a term for all the illegal activities and groups that ruled over the slum. Therefore, the word ‘underworld’ had a wider meaning than slum.

For example, District 12 of Bluewell Street. As it was connected to Riverine Alley, where it was easy to get lost once entering, District 12 Bluewell Street was one of the underworlds that proudly existed in the center of the capital.

The place was filled with unimaginable things.

There was a beauty parlor where one could commision a messenger using a secret code.

An ordinary jeweler sold treasures that were stolen from the Imperial Palace underground.

Or the person who was selling crepes suddenly dragged a child by the collar.

“If you ate the meal, you must pay for it! I thought you were a customer from the way you dressed, but you’re just a beggar!”

“No, I forgot my money at home! I’ll go get it and return here!”

“Do you think I don’t know that you’re going to dine-and-dash?!”

After visiting the stolen goods shop, she heard the commotion on her walk back to the carriage, and stopped without realizing.

The center of the commotion was the crepe store. A sturdy man wearing an apron, who seemed to be the store owner, was scolding a green-haired girl.

The reason was obvious. The girl couldn’t pay for the food.

Obviously, this kind of occurrence was normal in the underworld. Despite the disturbance in the street, no one except Ravia looked back at them.

In fact, the girl was not cowed and argued back.

Thanks to this, Ravia, who went to District 12 to take care of her own business, was caught in the commotion.

The coachman might be Tidwell’s man, so she purposely parked the carriage in another area, but she witnessed a disturbance right when she tried to return to her carriage.

Ravia could have just ignored them like the other passers-by, but somehow her legs did not budge as she watched them from across the street.

She felt a mixture of worry and admiration for the girl.

‘Is it because you live on the street?’

Ordinary kids would’ve cried the moment that robust man yelled at them. Her boldness and shamelessness were something developed after years of begging door to door.

‘I don’t even know if I can help you in any way.’

If it had been somewhere else, her attention wouldn’t have been caught like this.

Ravia wanted to resolve the problem. However, she remembered that this was District 12 of Bluewell Street.

She had deliberately dressed in shabby clothes to hide her status and braided her hair in the commoners’ style.

Still, the noble etiquette that was ingrained in her couldn’t be hidden. She could feel people glance at her every now and then.

Obviously, she’d draw more attention if she was entangled in such a mess. There might be people who noticed that Ravia was a noblewoman from her manner of speaking. Plus she shouldn’t waste more time here.

Therefore, Ravia just stood there watching, unable to do anything. However, the quarrel didn’t last forever.

“You dirty beggar!”

Whack!

Hit by the owner’s fist, the girl tumbled to the ground in an instant.

Even though it had escalated to violence, people were indifferent to it as if it wasn’t worth making a fuss about. Or maybe they didn’t want to get involved and suffer damage for nothing.

However, Ravia couldn’t care less about what those passers-by thought. There was no reason to understand those who ignored a child being beaten.

“Stop it.”

Eventually, Ravia shielded the child.

Unlike her calm tone and bold behavior, she was quite mixed up inside.

‘It’s not like I can just watch a child getting hit. I should resolve it as soon as possible and go back.’