I Couldn’t Stop my Childhood Friend from Turning Into a Villain

“With noona?”

Liel’s whining was cut off by Dioleta’s recommendation.

Unnie smiled softly and soothed Liel.

“Yes. Lucy is a guest, so let’s be considerate so that she can sleep comfortably.”

“She’ll feel uncomfortable sleeping with me…”…?”

Liel’s words trembled as if he were shocked. When the unexpected rebuttal returned, Dioleta was speechless.

‘That’s not what she meant!’

Oh, what am I gonna do with him?

I held my itchy palm once and said tiredly.

“No, Liel. Let’s sleep together.”

Unnie gave me a look asking if I would be okay. Even at the sight of her who was sorry, I smiled brightly as if nothing was wrong and clasped my hands in Liel’s hand.

“Really?”

Liel’s face lit up.

‘I can sleep holding his other hand. What…’

I have two hands. This time, I’ll sleep on the left side of Liel.

I took comfort in this way.

Because I thought it was better than letting him sleep with his sister at the expense of my hands.

***

“It’s itchy…”

It was the first thing Liel said in the morning. Liel grumbled, scratching his palm.

“I knew this would happen.”

I also scratched my palm and rebuked him.  I knew it was my fault for not letting go of his hand, to some extent.

This is me saving him from a dark future. I repeated in my mind that incantation to appease the injustice I am feeling.

***

It was a sunny afternoon.

Dioleta, who had been busy with class and was studying all morning, headed to the garden, hoping to take a walk.

Her leisurely steps through the garden were full of elegance.

Then a sudden loud voice came to her ears.

“Ah! It’s a caterpillar!”

The startled voice belonged to Lucy. Before she knew it, a smile spread in Dioleta’s face.

Liel’s expression was bright every day thanks to Lucy, who often visits these days.

On days when Lucy didn’t come, Dioleta was always still grateful to her, even knowing her brother was confined to his room with a dark expression.

“Geez! Liel. Throw it away!”

As she approached the two of them, Lucy grabbed Liel’s wrist and was waving it up and down. A green bug popped out of Liel’s hand.

Was Lucy afraid of bugs?

Knowing Lucy, who is not afraid of bugs or animals, Dioleta became a little suspicious.

“Sometimes, there are people who are allergic to caterpillars. You might be too, so go and wash your hands.”

She’s smart, too.

When Dioleta heard Lucy’s words, she noticed why she was freaked out and laughed with a warm face.

Originally, she seemed like a smart child compared to her age, but suddenly one day, Lucy seemed to have become even more mature.

However, because Lucy’s bright and cheerful personality offset her maturity, Dioleta simply dismissed Lucy’s attitude as her growing up faster than Liel.

“Yes.”

Liel nodded at Lucy’s words and got up from his seat. Then, hesitatingly, he reached out to Lucy.

“Let’s go together?”

The hand that Liel put out was the hand that did not touch the caterpillar. Whether she knew it or not, Lucy grabbed Liel’s hand without hesitation.

When she saw the two children holding hands when she met them, Dioleta’s fatigue melted like snow.

“Okay, I’ll go with you.”

Lucy and Riere, who couldn’t find Dioleta, held hands and ran like that.

Is she trying to wash Liel’s hands as soon as possible?

Dioleta smiled softly at Lucy’s kindness.

***

Poor little brother.

A child whose misfortune is fixed from the moment of his birth.

As soon as his father brought Liel, the thoughts passed through Dioleta’s head.

On the day of Liel’s arrival, Dioleta’s mother, Duchess Marsen, trembled with betrayal and anxiety.

The Duke of Marsen was one of the only dukes in the empire.

The duke’s reputation has never been shaken since the founding of the country and has always maintained its status.

Since the current Duke of Marsen became the head of the state, the family has also become a family with the strongest knights in the empire.

The only heir to such a family was Dioleta. But since Liel came, she is no longer the only heir.

Therefore, it was not difficult for Dioleta to guess why her mother hated and was wary of young Liel.

However, unlike Duchess Marsen, Dioleta did not hate her younger brother for a long time.

Although all respect for her father disappeared in her, that was all.

On the surface, there was no significant change in Dioleta other than the increase in the number of her home teachers.

Dioleta just felt sorry for her little brother and her anxious mother.

“If you don’t know anything, feel free to ask.”

At that time, Liel always sat still with a gloomy face. Dioleta said to her younger brother with a friendly smile.

Liel nodded with empty eyes.

But even after that, Liel did not look for Dioleta.

It was always Dioleta who came to him first. Fortunately, Liel was always in his room, so Dioleta could always find him without difficulty.

“Liel, why don’t we go out for a walk?”

“…….”

At Dioleta’s suggestion, Liel turned his head and looked out of the window with muddy eyes.

Looking outside, he remembered a time when he had to move from house to house everyday.

At that time, there were many days when he was in need and hungry. Still, Liel had a mother who loved him, so Liel didn’t know it was hard work.

But his mother, who was the only one on his side, is no longer with him. Instead, Liel was thrown among those who hates him.

Among them, Dioleta was the only one who’s trying to accept him as a family. However, Liel did not readily accept Dioleta.

“It’s okay for a moment, so let’s go out and come back. Okay?”

She felt sorry for his pale skin because he wasn’t able to be touched even by a ray of sun. She didn’t know why he didn’t want to come out of the room.

Perhaps he doesn’t want to run into Duchess Marsen.

Whenever she ran into Liel, she would threaten the surrounding servants to put him in his room immediately.

As it repeated over and over again, Liel gave up coming out of the room before she knew it.

Unable to wait and see, Dioleta eventually reached the point where she forced him out of the room.

“How is it? Isn’t it refreshing to be outside?”

Towards Liel, staring blankly at the garden, Dioleta said.

Dioleta’s eyes moved busily down, as if to read her brother’s face.

“Yes…” 

(t/n: he said it as ‘ne’, which is a formal way of saying yes)

A murky voice affirmed Dioleta’s words.

“Because we’re siblings. It’s okay to just talk comfortably.”

Dioleta smiled bitterly and corrected Liel’s tone.

“Yes…” 

(t/n: he said it as ‘ung’, which is an informal way of saying yes)

Liel, who blinked slowly, said without looking at Dioleta.

It felt like she was hitting the wall, but she wondered how she could get him to speak.

Since then, there has been only silence between the two.

Dioleta wanted to say something to Liel, but the conversation was quickly cut off because he only answered yes or no whenever he talked to her.

When she started to feel suffocated, she heard the sound of steps on the grass.

Looking in the direction in which Dioleta could hear the sound, a girl with purple hair stood in front of the two with her eyes wide open.

“Hello, I’m Lucy Seywint!”

Lucy, who suddenly introduced herself, bowed to Dioleta and Liel.

Dioleta opened her eyes wide when she saw a child introducing herself as Lucy Seywint.

She was told that the Seywints have a granddaughter, but today was the first time she actually met her.

Dioleta hurriedly looked around.

She was not sure, but she remembered that the Marquis Seywint is visiting the mansion today.

As expected, the Marquis of Seywint was looking at the three from not far away.

Marquis Seywint, Lucy’s grandmother, whose eyes met Dioleta, smiled and gestured to her to come her way.

Dioleta tilted her head once.

Soon after, I realized what the Marquis Seywint was thinking and got up.

“Hi, Lucy. Did you come with Marquis Seywint?”

Dioleta, who roughly understood the situation, asked to say hello.

“Yes! I followed my grandmother because she said there is someone the same age as me here.”

The child who introduced herself as Lucy answered in a brave voice. The corners of Dioleta’s mouth naturally went up.

She was a child who grew up with a lot of love.

“Really? Good for you Liel, you made a friend.”

Dioleta pushed Liel’s back slightly. As if to say hello to Lucy.

“Are you Liel?”

Lucy’s eyes sparkled as she asked about Liel’s name. Facing the innocent child’s eyes, Dioleta was a little worried.

What if Liel ignores Lucy?

However, Dioleta’s concern was nothing more than a useless tilt.

“Y, yes…”

Liel stammered back.

Liel’s eyes returned to life.