North x Northwest

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Volume 7    

Venua got up from the floor and headed toward the door. Despite having his hands tied in front of him, he didn’t, for even a moment, hide his displeasure. Nonetheless, Lil followed behind him while aiming the gun at her brother.

When Venua kicked the door open, he raised a question.

“Where are you trying to escape to?”

“Is that something I need to tell you?”

“If you’re planning to return to the Retiro residence, just forget it. You don’t expect the Marquess to continue protecting you, do you? He probably only knew about René Mireille’s involvement, so do you think he would keep holding on to the hem of your shirt if he knows he’s actually facing me?”

“Don’t talk about him so carelessly.”

“Who? Are you talking about the Marquess? Liloa, he’s a mixed-blood with no roots in this Empire…”

Lil suddenly shoved Venua’s back with the muzzle of her gun, causing her opponent’s body to tense and stiffen.

“I told you to stop talking about him in that way. Don’t expect me to have the same level of patience as in the past, especially now that I have experienced everything that I’d been longing for in the outside world. I have no reason to put up with you anymore. And considering how my arms are still shaking from being beaten for the first time in a long while, I could actually miss my aim. Of course, I’d like to avoid your vital points, but I’m not sure I can in this state…”

Venua glanced back, twisting his mouth.

“You’ve become quite good at threatening people. I see you’ve gotten more cunning since you grew older. Your temper has also worsened. Parents often say that their daughters become more cunning and temperamental with age. I can see now how that isn’t an exaggeration at all.”

“Funny, I don’t remember throwing bottles and breaking chairs like my brother just did, so why do you say it’s me who has the temper?”

“Stop talking back to me. It’s frustrating enough to see that all the culture and etiquette I’ve taught you have been wasted away…”

“Thankfully, my brother is cultured. He’s so well educated that he knew he had to beat his own sibling since they were young.”

“Beat you? If anyone hears this, they’ll think I really hit you… Ah yes, you must’ve been tarnishing my reputation by going around saying stuff like that to disparage the fact that I disciplined my sister in the hopes that she would grow up properly. Don’t forget you became the way you are now because you received my discipline. People wouldn’t even bother opening their eyes to look at you if it weren’t for it.”

‘Our conversation continues in circles… In fact, this isn’t an unfamiliar situation at all as Venua always insisted that he has no recollection of what he had done to me. And if I ever tried bringing it up like now, he would just tell me to ignore it as those days had long passed…’

Remembering the old days, Lil chose to hit back with a remark Venua often threatened her with.

“Don’t make me gag you.”

In the past, Venua actually gagged Lil. Freedom of speech was the first of many freedoms that Lil had been deprived of.

‘But Venua will refuse to remember this as well.’

The ears visible from behind turned red.

‘Well, speaking of gags, Venua is probably experiencing this level of humiliation and shame for the first time in his life. What’s more, the threats are uttered by none other than myself, his little sister. I can only imagine how humiliating he must be feeling.’

Lil followed Venua down the stairs of the mansion.

‘When I was younger, I fantasised about exacting my revenge on Venua and revelling in the joy. But now that the reality of pointing a gun at him hits me, I’m left unimpressed. And I don’t think it will make me feel any better even if I tell him everything he told me back then. Venua’s humiliation stems from the fact that he’s embarrassed by me, not because he has to suffer the real pain and hatred he would feel if he was prevented from speaking by someone else. I know this better than anyone else… Maybe that explains the dull despair I’m feeling…’

The familiar feeling of disappointment rose up to the tip of Lil’s throat but quickly subsided. It went as fast as it came, just as she had been used to it.

Lil crossed the halls on the ground floor and eventually asked her brother a question to evoke herself.

“Why did you insinuate the Duke of Mireille to bring me to you?”

“Look at you, you really are doing all sorts of things. Now, you’re even interrogating me…”

“I understand the general story about how you put pressure on the Duke and the Duke made a request to the Admiral. But what I really want to know is what made my brother move. What made you come all the way to Roahn? Were you so concerned about the possibility that I might’ve had an illegitimate child? Was it due to fear that your lineage would be leaked, or that I would give birth to a son before you? Whatever it was, I guess you couldn’t get past your worries and in the end decided it would be better to put me somewhere where you could keep an eye on me…”contemporary romance

“If you gave birth to an illegitimate child, whether it’s a son or a daughter, I will definitely find them…”

“But it’s strange that it took you so many years to realise that. It would’ve been easier to start searching for me as soon as I disappeared, so I don’t understand why you suddenly became so desperate now. Is something going on in the principality?”

“There’s nothing for you to know. Even if there is, what makes you so curious about it? Without pretence…”

“Because it’s about me, my body, and my child.”

“…”

Venua didn’t seem to hear Lil’s response as he was preoccupied with grabbing the door handle and violently shaking it to open the mansion’s entrance. But seeing him simply pulling and pushing it repeatedly, one would think he had never opened a door himself before in his life. Lil extended her hand and unlocked the lock beneath the handle. When Venua eventually pulled the door open, the sound of rain hit Lil’s ears.

‘It’s raining heavily.’

Lil looked around while Venua hesitated.

Going out of the front door and down the stairs on the right, they reached a corridor leading to the left and right side. Fortunately for Lil, several horses were temporarily tied up in the corridor. Lil pressed down on Venua’s back while looking down at one horse’s mane with its head stuck in the hay feeder.

“To the right.”

Venua was forced to turn to the right before stopping again, perhaps having figured out what she was planning. Lil put pressure on the gun held against his back. Even as he had no choice but to walk, Venua kept trying to look back at Lil.

“I don’t know why you’re doing this. Where are you going and for what? What do you want out there?”

“…”

“What kinds of interesting things are out there that you keep trying to get away? Huh? Do you really enjoy being trampled under a bunch of men with no roots?”

“You truly think that the only thing I know how to do is spread my legs, that’s why you’re making such poor guesses. I advise you to think more diversely if you want to track my route later.”

“Think more diversely? How can you cause such a huge fuss just because you sneaked out and read a few books when you were young? Even so, it was all useless. Even if you can read and understand text, you’re nothing but a low-level intellect. No matter how much you try to think, at the end of the day, you’re just a bitch. And even if you could read, what’s the point? How are you ever going to use it? After all, if you don’t spread your legs, your existence is basically worthless.”

With a glare, Lil thrusted her gun into Venua’s face.

“The corridor.”

The cold muzzle that suddenly touched his cheek startled Venua, and it urged him to walk. Still, he added more words while looking ahead.

“Okay, I’ll tell you what. Thinking about the affection I’ve developed for you so far, I’ll let you read a few more books… Strangely enough, you’ve loved books ever since you were little… But there’s one thing you should know. All that has happened to you up till now is the result of daring to read with your limited brain. Misusing knowledge is a speciality of women after all. And it frustrates me even more because you’re so unaware that even your arrogant attitude now is evidence of my failure to raise you.”

“…”

‘What a disgusting appeasement. The fact that he thinks appeasement can be established through just that is utterly disgusting.’

“Keep in mind that your greatest value lies in satisfying a man and giving birth to his children. After all those years, how can you still not know your brother’s heart, which is just concerned about your future?”

Keeping her distance from Venua by stretching out her arm, Lil stroked the horse’s mane with her other hand. The beast lifted its head from digging into the hay feeder. Lil then stared at Venua while fiddling with the reins.

‘Even now, he seems to be contemplating whether or not to scream loudly or how he can subdue me.’

“If that’s truly your concern, I think you can stop now.”

“I can’t believe that’s all you can say…”

“My legs are made for walking and running…”

Lil climbed into the saddle and took the reins.

“…they exist so I can stand on my own.”

Rainwater fell from the corridor’s awning and hit the floor. In the midst of the heavy rain, Lil kicked the stirrup and her horse started walking.

Beneath her muzzle, Venua’s lowered figure looked dwarfed, however he suddenly raised his head as if he had made up his mind.

“The Archduke is in critical condition.”

The voice sounded like it came through gnashing teeth.

‘I know that my father, the Archduke, is ill, but has his illness progressed to the point where he’s now in critical condition?’

Still, Lil decided that it would be best for her not to get shaken by his words. She paused for a moment before answering as calmly as possible.

“This isn’t the first time he has been in critical condition for a day or two…”

“Dr. Limue said it’s really dangerous this time. Father said he wants to see your face once before he passes. Even if you were already presumed dead, he was stubborn. He assured me that you were definitely alive. That’s why I had no choice but to make him a promise… You… I will bring you, Liloa…”

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