The Villainous Family Loves Me Too Much!

Outside the carriage window, a young boy, looking about nine years old, was hopping joyfully.

But something was off. For a split second, the boy disappeared and reappeared…

“There’s nothing in Felosite that I can’t acquire. You just need to tell me.”

“Archduke.”

“Call me Lucian.”

“Okay, Lucian! Stop for a moment! Over there!”

…The boy fell down, drenched in blood in the blink of an eye.

Then a giant bird swooped down, aiming its sharp claws at the boy’s small body.

“Karena!”

I opened the door of the running carriage and rushed mindlessly towards the boy.

4. The Appearance of Monsters

When I opened my eyes, I saw an unfamiliar ceiling.

The flamboyance of the Felosite ceiling was dizzying to behold, but compared to that, the dark night-colored, delicate decorations appeared simple and modest, yet elegant.

‘Could it be that I’ve reincarnated again?’

As I tried to lift my body, a sharp pain surged from my back.

‘It seems it’s not a reincarnation.’

Attempting to look around by turning my body, the pain intensified.

“Ouch!”

“Just lie still, dear.”

A familiar female voice I seem to have heard somewhere before echoed.

It was a voice warm and tender like sunshine, soft like cotton, making me want to keep listening.

“Mother?”

It was the voice of my mother, Empress Helena, the saintess of Felosite.

‘Did I die and go to heaven?’

Under the bright sunshine, my mother was sitting beside my bed, gently stroking my hand. With her sparkling cyan blue eyes and soft chocolate-colored long hair, she looked exactly as she did before she died.

“Is it really you, mother?”

She quietly smiled without a word.

“No, it’s grandma.”

From behind my mother, a small child peeked out.

“Huh? You are!”

It was the cute boy who was being attacked by a dog on the street. Surprisingly, there was not a single wound on the boy’s body, despite the ordeal he must have gone through.

“Hey, are you alright? Weren’t you hurt? It must have been painful.”

“You’re stupid.”

The boy approached and playfully hit my forehead with his small hand.

“It’s not your mother, it’s my grandma, you dummy.”

“Jonathan, you shouldn’t hit your sister when she’s hurt. Grandma has something to talk about with your sister, so sit quietly here.”

The lady tapped the chair next to her, indicating him to sit down, and he pouted but sat quietly.

“Rena, you’ve woken up.”

“Who… are you?”

“Oh, our dear Rena. I am your grandmother, Gertruda Kenoch.”

Countess Kenoch?

And she’s my maternal grandmother?

Despite being addressed as grandmother, she looked young without a single white hair or wrinkle. Furthermore, she resembled my mother, Empress Helena, almost like twins.

“It’s understandable to mistake me for Helena. Helena was a child who looked exactly like me.”

Possibly reading my puzzled expression, Countess Kenoch smiled and said.

“Not everyone in our lineage becomes a saint or a priest, but there is a divine power running in our blood. Hence, our aging process is much slower compared to ordinary people.”

“Then, that child…”

“Oh, I forgot to introduce him. He’s your cousin brother, Jonathan Kenoch. He’s turning nine, and it’s getting harder to discipline him these days.”

Wait, did Karena have a cousin brother in the original story? 

I wracked my brain and something came up.

Empress Helena had a less significant younger brother mentioned briefly in the novel. I can’t remember his name, but more importantly, his son Jonathan Kenoch.

Despite his young age, he possessed incredible power. He was the only healer on the continent. Jonathan Kenoch participated in the war against the Empire as a healer, helping Archduke Felosite, contributing significantly to the downfall of the Empire.

‘So that’s why I recovered so fast. He’s more formidable than I thought, huh?’

Now that I see, he closely resembled grandmother in terms of hair and eye color. In a way, he looked like me too. But why would such a child nearly get killed by a mere dog?

“Nice to meet you, Jonathan. My name is Karena Litia Leblanc Felosite.”

When I extended my hand for a handshake, the boy reluctantly stretched out his right hand, acting indifferent.

“Your name is too long, dummy.”

“Dummy? Who’s calling whom dummy again!”

He was adorably irritating, so I grabbed his cheeks and stretched them out. His chubby cheeks, stretching out and reverting back to normal were incredibly cute.

“How dare you, what are you doing! I’m going to be the next Count Kenoch!”

He angrily shouted, his cheeks blushing instantly.

“I’m a princess, what will you do about it, Jonathan.”

“Yeah, you’re great! Dummy! I am the most handsome here!”

True to his age, Jonathan was eager to engage in a childish verbal fight.

“Sister!”

Suddenly the door swung open, and Sylonne rushed in.

“Baby, you woke up!”

Following her, my large-bodied grandfather-in-law and mother-in-law rushed in hurriedly.

“Eek! The monster family is back!”

At the sight of my fearsome in-law family, Jonathan screamed and ran to my side, clinging to me.

“You, get away from our new daughter!”

“No! Monster, go away! Go away!”

The grandfather-in-law laughed eerily and swooped Jonathan up in his heavy arms.

“Put me down! Put me down! You monster grandpa!”

“Hahaha! This kid, showing quite a spirit. I like it very much. Wish he were old enough to train.”

Jonathan struggled fiercely, but my grandfather-in-law, holding Jonathan with one hand, seemed inexplicably happy.

“His Majesty really adores Jonathan. The elders have been here for a few days, worrying so much. I don’t know.”

They still use the title ‘Your Majesty’ here. But indeed, my grandfather-in-law has much more of a royal aura than my father.

While the grandfather-in-law was fooling around with Jonathan, Sylonne approached and began examining my body closely.

“The arm moves well, and there’s no problem with the vision. Considering your powers went berserk, you are in pretty good shape, sister. The medicine worked well, fortunately. Let me check your back for a moment.”

When she touched my back, the pain made me flinch, and Sylonne quickly pulled her hand away.

“It’ll take some more time for the back to heal.”

“Wait a minute, Sylonne. My powers went berserk?”

“Yes, don’t you remember?”

* * *

After sending the injured child and Karena to the Count’s residence by carriage, Lucian looked down at the hawk lying on the ground with broken wings.

The wounds from the direct hit of the powers gone berserk seemed very deep. Normally, it would have died instantly, but this hawk was alive.

‘It’s not just a hawk.’

Moreover, he could feel a strong magic from the hawk.

‘It’s an A-class monster.’

Lately, animal-shaped monsters, usually mutated, had frequently appeared near Felosite. However, this monster maintained its original animal form.

The only commonality with other monsters was…

‘They crave human blood.’

Then he noticed a note tied to the hawk’s leg.

‘A monster delivering a letter?’

Lucian’s red eyes narrowed, exuding a sharp aura.

Monsters couldn’t be tamed by humans. No, it was impossible for anyone, except humanoid monsters capable of making their own judgments.

But humanoid monsters were extremely rare. Most people didn’t even acknowledge their existence as no one had ever encountered one.

However, Lucian had met one once before.

On the day his father died.

– Grandfather cherished that creature, saying it was a monster!

– Humanoid monsters are merely myths. Stop talking nonsense.

– It killed my father right in front of me!

It was definitely a humanoid monster. The one that killed his father and disappeared also.

However, he couldn’t find any evidence that it was a monster.

The only evidence was Lucian’s testimony.

For some reason, the grandfather ignored Lucian’s words, and his father’s death was quickly deemed a tragic carriage accident.

‘Unnecessary memories resurfaced.’

Lucian untied the knot from the hawk’s leg and began reading the note.

His lips began to tremble slightly.

“Liam Leblanc… a prince, you say? Daring to look down on this Felosite.”