The Male Lead’s Fake Sister - Chapter 54

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Chapter 54

The butler had made it clear.

After a long while thinking, he decided to only appoint her as the acting head of the family while he was away from the mansion.

Duke Leontine also knew that he was just giving her false hope. He knew it would be wiser to not give her a seat when she wasn’t supposed to have any seat at all.

Knowing all that, the butler tried to dissuade him.

-Your Excellency, this doesn’t mean anything for My Lady. She’s a very prideful lady….

-Do you think I don’t know that?

Duke Leontine was stern. No, it was right to say that he won’t back down anymore.

-I know that much, butler. But I’m afraid she’ll look at me….with eyes that don’t want anything.

His daughter resembled her mother too much. Not to mention the way his wife looked at him before she died.

-My wife…..was a person who knew her death better than a doctor. I still remember her talking to me about her death.

Her eyes, her voice and her expression.

Things that he had managed to forget in the past few years overlapped with images of Ravia.

A sense of fear finally took hold of him. It didn’t matter even if she pointed a finger at him for being insincere.

-I just….hope that Ravia will return to her old self, even a little bit.

On a day that he couldn’t even remember, a little girl looked up to him with twinkling eyes.

At that time, he turned away because he was afraid to face the eyes that resembled his dead wife’s.

And when he met her eyes again after a long time, she still looked exactly like his dead wife.

Her appearance, her aura.

However, if there was one thing that changed, it was the fact that he could no longer turn a blind eye to her.

It was unfortunate how things had turned this way, especially at times like this.

‘But after all this is over, His Majesty will officially step down.’

It won’t be too late to have a proper conversation with Ravia again.

But contrary to his idea, Heint Leontine met face-to-face again with Ravia much earlier than expected.

A while ago, as he was packing coats for his outing, there was a knock on the door.

Knock, knock.

A clear sound followed by a dull murmur.

“It’s Ravia, Father. May I come in?”

“…Ravia? Co– come on in.”

Having been thinking about his daughter a little while before, Heint replied like a thief caught red-handed.

Perhaps he was stunned by the gentle voice that was so different from the coldness that his daughter had been showing him lately. Also, he didn’t expect that Ravia would come to him first.

To his surprise, Ravia wore a friendly face. Unlike Heint, who didn’t know what to do with his daughter and pretended to fix his cuffs.

“You’re leaving now, aren’t you? When will you return?”

Ravia was caring.

“Ahem, um. I’ll be back in a week.”

“If you leave in the evening, the road may be a little dangerous. I hope you will be careful. I’m afraid you’d get into an accident.” Ravia’s voice, albeit a little anxious, was gentle.

He didn’t hate Ravia’s positive change, but Heint felt a little cautious.

‘I thought my daughter would still be mad at me. I can’t believe she’d be this kind.’

Heint coughed once again and added awkwardly.

“….But Tidwell said he had installed a new type of oil lamp in my carriage.”

“Tidwell? He’s very meticulous indeed.”

“He’s indeed a good-natured child. He seems to have been raised by good parents.”

“Really? Which family does he belong to?”

“Ah, you know, that…”

Heint’s hand, which had been busy fixing his cuffs, gradually stopped as he searched his memory and tried to recall.

He couldn’t remember which family Tidwell belonged to.

But as the head of this family, he’d look ridiculous if he didn’t even know the family of the child that he brought into this family.

Watching Heint fumble over his words, Ravia took the initiative to speak first.

“Ah, I heard it was Enrique.”

“…Enrique?”

He didn’t really remember, but he thought it must be true.

He thought he’d remember something if he thought about it a little more….

“Actually, it doesn’t matter which family he was from. Now he’s a Leontine, after all.”

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“…That’s true, but….”

Heint’s mind about his adopted son was now shifted toward his daughter in front of him. A daughter who suddenly became so docile that it made him suspicious.

“But didn’t you hate that fact?”

“If I say I hate it, will I be expelled?”

“That’s….” No way.

Although unspoken, what he wanted to say was clearly conveyed to her. He also understood that Ravia’s smiling face wasn’t purely out of kindness.

Still smiling, Ravia replied.

“Then don’t ask me such a question. I thought you’d finally respect my will to some degree.”

“…Ravia.”

“Don’t worry. I didn’t say I hate it. It’s just that…I’m trying to adjust here.” Ravia shrugged, indirectly questioning his sudden change recently.

She smiled vaguely again.

“I suppose this is the best option for Father and I. So I understand you, Father.” Ravia said with a smile.

There was no hint of the coldness that she exuded a while ago. It was as if she truly had forgiven him, perhaps to put her mind at ease.

Did his effort actually work? Or did the butler say something to her?

When Heint didn’t respond, Ravia held out a small bouquet of flowers awkwardly.

“I feel a little sorry to send you off empty handed, so I’ve prepared this for you. I know, flowers are boring, aren’t they?”

“…Not at all. Thank you.”

He answered in a strained voice before he received the offering. A small boutonniere of white flowers was made to be attached on a coat as an accessory.

One of the flowers was also familiar to Heint.

“…Amnesia?”

“Oh, do you know it? It was hard to get, you know. I hope you like it.”

She said it was hard to get, and hoped he liked it. But Heint couldn’t utter a single word.

He was touched.

It wasn’t because he was moved by Ravia’s action or strangled by his guilty conscience toward Ravia.

Amnesia.

The flower stirred up Heint’s old memories.

His memories of the past few years, which he had never told anyone before. While Heint was frozen in place, Ravia looked at him in wonder.

“….Father? Don’t you like it?”

“Ah, no. I was lost in thought for a moment. It’s been so long since I last saw this.”

“It’s a rare flower. I can’t believe you noticed it right away.”

“It’s a flower that I can’t forget….”

“Is it related to Mother?”

“How did you know?”

“The only time Father ever used that kind of expression is when you talked about Mother.” Ravia chuckled.

She took the boutonniere back and pinned it to Heint’s coat.

“Amnesia has a long-lasting scent, so keep it close to you whenever you go. The scent is quite good.”

“…Thank you.” Heint choked up a little.

Except this time, Ravia was the reason.

Thud.

The carriage door closed, and the horse galloped away. When Duke Leontine’s carriage was out of sight, Ravia smiled.

‘Is this a farewell or a reception?’

She smiled the entire time in front of Duke Leontine until her mouth was about to cramp.

What she learned from today’s experience was that it was much harder to smile and say empty words in front of her father than in front of Tidwell.

Perhaps because she tried to understand Tidwell at the very least, and the more she learned about Tidwell, the more she could relate to him…

…Or maybe because her father, who only now acted kindly toward her, looked pathetic and ridiculous.

She hadn’t been really impressed when she read the description in the [His and Her Spring] about Duke Leontine who died without realizing that he had been hypnotized by the Dark Flower….

It was pretty funny to actually witness it directly.

‘I wonder what will happen if he’s released from hypnosis? Will he still be nice to me then?’

That’s what she thought.

Of course, Ravia knew her question would be answered soon.

Amnesia, the flower she had just put on Duke Leontine’s collar a little while ago.

It was the only antidote for the Dark Flower and had only appeared in the middle of the novel.

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