The Villainous Family Loves Me Too Much!

Sylonne pointed her finger at the old man and woman who were talking while cutting a steak laid on the table.

“Of course it’s a banquet with only five attendees, but that’s fine.”

Is it really okay when four are missing out of five attendees at a banquet? I couldn’t hide my astonished expression for a moment.

“Over there are our grandfather and mother. The former King of the Kingdom and the former Archduchess… that’s who they are.”

Sylonne scratched her head awkwardly, looking at the two overly serious people.

“Hahaha, even after seeing them all my life, I’m still not used to them. You, seeing them for the first time, must find them even more peculiar. But your reaction is comparatively mild.”

The old man with silver-gray hair, who was passionately arguing, was Heinrich Felosite, the retired head of the Felosite family and once the ruler of the Kingdom. I heard rumors at the palace that the current Archduke Felosite’s wickedness is terrifyingly unmatched.

“No, you have to cut it smaller so the dogs can digest it better.”

Of course, rumors are just rumors. One won’t know the truth until they experience it themselves.

The woman next to him was the previous Archduchess of Felosite.

She wasn’t mentioned in the original story at all. But what’s certain is that she’s now my mother-in-law.

“No, Father! For dogs, chewing and tearing big chunks aid digestion!”

So, they were talking about the steak all along. It could’ve been easily misunderstood.

Actually, I’m still misunderstanding. It’s an easily misconstruable situation.

Hiccup.

Perhaps shocked by the influx of information, I suddenly hiccupped.

Seeing me, Sylonne chuckled and said:

“Just give the dogs anything. I don’t know why they’re making such a fuss.”

She seemed embarrassed by the silly conversation of the elders. Clearly, the original story is to blame.

These people might seem powerful and charismatic, but they’re too lax and odd to be villains.

Hiccup, again.

After some contemplation, I pinched my nose and drank the blue medicine that Sylonne had given me. The cold liquid flowed swiftly down my throat, and my clouded mind started to clear up.

“Ugh, bitter.”

It was extremely bitter, but after drinking it, both my dizziness and hiccups were gone.

Indeed, the traditional remedy is the best for hiccups.

Grrr.

Perhaps because I hadn’t eaten anything all day, my stomach loudly growled as the liquid settled in.

Embarrassed, I quickly slipped under the blanket.

“Are you hungry? Come to think of it, I am too. I’ll ask for food.”

“Has everyone not eaten yet?”

“Well, now that you’re awake, we should go down and eat. They might have cleared everything up though.”

Watching the three leave, my survival instincts called them back.

“Excuse me!”

If I get close to them, it would surely help my survival.

“Would you like to eat together here?”

At my tentative suggestion, the three suddenly crowded around me.

“Really? That sounds more enjoyable to us.”

“Ho ho ho, child. It’s our first meeting, but why do you only say things I like? That’s great. My son’s banquet was really boring, I must say.”

Taken aback by their unexpected change of attitude, I managed a calm smile.

‘Smile, we need to be friends!’

I mustered the brightest smile I could and lifted the corners of my mouth as hard as I could.

“Ah, alright.”

“Good! Then we need to quickly tell the maids to send all the food here!”

I wondered what part of what I said made them so excited, as they all grabbed my hand and were gleefully laughing.

“Ask for all kinds of bread. And yes, veal should be tender, so let’s ask them to grill that.”

“Okay, got it. Then I’ll go…!”

Just before Sylonne reached out to open the door with that aforementioned expression…

“Huh?”

She failed to grasp the doorknob, which slipped away, and the door flung open. At the same time, unable to bear her weight, she stumbled forward.

Bang!

Through the opened door, the figure of Archduke Felosite appeared.

Seeing Sylonne sprawled out and his family holding my hand, he asked in disbelief:

“What are you doing in my room?”

While I couldn’t outright say, ‘This happened because of you!’ I tried to shoot him a discreet glare.

Of course, our eyes didn’t meet directly. Maybe around the eyebrows?

His piercing red eyes were still too intimidating for me to look directly into.

“Don’t bother the sick, just leave.”

The Archduke’s attitude towards the family was cold beyond belief.

It seemed he was quite close to the family. There wasn’t any negative mention about the relationship between Archduke Felosite and his family in the original work.

Or maybe the author left out some hidden settings?

‘Behaving like that to elders… It’s not right.’

Whatever the reason, the Archduke’s rude behavior was gradually getting under my skin.

“I just wanted to get closer to the bride. If you’re uncomfortable, we’ll leave. Just feed us dinner.”

“I’ll take care of my wife. You mind your own business.”

“The way you speak… Damn child.”

“Ah, to be precise, perhaps the child of the damned? Isn’t my father is damned?”

Wait, the child of the damned’s child?

Did he just call his grandfather “damned”? I’ve never heard of such insolence, even in dramatic stories!

The dispute with his grandfather intensified, and the Archduke’s remarks escalated. My patience was reaching its limit.

“Are you calling me damned?”

“I didn’t say you were damned. But selling out my country deserves to be…”

In the midst of their heated emotions,

Suddenly, the room became silent, and everyone’s eyes widened as they stared at me.

“Uh, sister?”

Hearing Sylonne’s call, I realized what I had done.

I was gripping the hem of the Archduke’s clothing.

‘Oh no, I’ve made a mistake…’

Without even realizing, I had rushed and grabbed the Archduke by the collar. But calling it a collar…

Maybe it was our vast height difference.

My small hands, instead of his collar, had tightly grabbed and lifted his shirt up to his chest.

Though he clearly didn’t appreciate it, his sculpted abs and even his hip bones were clearly on display.

“That, that is… Lucian.”

Gathering my courage, I lifted my head. The Archduke’s red eyes looked down at me.

His ears and neck were completely red, and I could feel the heat emanating from the body I was holding.

“…Huh?”

Seeing the Archduke’s flushed state, Sylonne burst into laughter.

“Pfft!”

The Archduke then briskly swatted my hand away and took a few steps back.

“Don’t mind it, just eat dinner.”

He left the room swiftly after that curt remark. The remaining family members stood awkwardly, glancing at one another.

Only Sylonne, seemingly the only one with her wits about her, kept watching the Archduke until he disappeared.

His neck remained flushed.

She crossed her arms and smirked.

“It seems our brother finally met his match, didn’t he?”

* * *

“Wake up quickly! We need to go fit the wedding dress!”

Sylonne knocked on the door with an excited voice from the morning.

On my first evening here, my grandfather was furious at dinner.

He was shocked that they hadn’t held a wedding for the only princess of the Empire.

– Invite all the nobles in the domain and have a grand wedding! Prepare it from tomorrow!

He then mentioned my father, the Emperor of the Empire, calling him the world’s only coward, son of a dog, and other derogatory terms, enjoying his dinner time.

What surprised me the most was…