Lord Baby Runs A Romance Fantasy With Cash [EN]: Chapter 253

“A, Dad?!”

Surprised, I quickly approached Dad.

Dad looked at me silently.

But pearl-like teardrops were falling from his face, drip, drip.

His red eyes sparkled like transparent rubies.

Dad took a long time to take in every corner of my face, then hugged me tightly.

“Why, why are you doing this…?”

I was worried.

It’s not nice to say this, but my dad had a reputation for being someone who wouldn’t bleed a drop even if stabbed with a knife.

But he’s showing tears like this.

Did something big happen?

Maybe, though it’s unlikely, his health isn’t good or something…

Thump.

My heart sank.

Dad hugged me tighter, putting strength into the hand holding me.

I became more anxious in Dad’s familiar and comfortable embrace.

Even more so because Dad’s hand holding me was trembling slightly.

‘I don’t even know Mom’s embrace, and I only have Dad…’

If I were to lose this embrace.

Tears welled up just from imagining it.

At that moment, a slightly cracked voice, unlike usual, echoed in my ear.

“Didn’t my daughter say she would live with Dad forever?”

Huh?

What are you saying now?

“Dad was planning to live with Lulu forever.”

I was so dumbfounded that my tears disappeared.

I pulled back my head and looked at Dad in bewilderment.

Dad’s eyes were still wet.

“I even bought several buildings to live in each year in turn.”

Is he serious?

I looked at Dad, wondering.

But Dad’s eyes were filled with more sincerity, resentment, betrayal, and frustration than ever before.

‘No, w, well, I did say that!’

Everyone says that when they’re young!

“Surprise! I thought Dad had some d, d, deadly… disease!”

I clenched my fist and argued with Dad.

“Hey, would I cry over something like that?”

“At most, you’d only shed tears if you had a terminal illness.”

At least that makes more sense than crying because your daughter has a boyfriend!

I turned around and looked at Ixion and Ares with a sulky face.

“But if I die, I won’t be able to see the youngest.”

Ares and Ixion looked like they had gained enlightenment at Zeon’s quiet murmur.

“Ah…”

Can you not be convinced?

“Then he might cry.”

While Ixion nodded seriously, Ares came to me and stroked my hair.

“Don’t worry, my sister. I’ll take care of it, so you don’t have to worry about anything.”

…What exactly are you going to take care of?

“We’ll be able to live together forever, just like we have been. Happily.”

Ares smiled softly.

Ixion chimed in from the side.

“Anyway, absolutely not. You’re too small and young.”

“I’m all grown up!”

“What are you talking about, you little peanut.”

“Listen carefully, my sister. Men are all beasts. They’re things you can’t communicate with and shouldn’t associate with.”

“…What about you guys? You’re men too.”

“We’re different.”

Ixion puffed out his chest with an arrogant smile.

I had nothing to say because he said it so confidently.

“If my sister wants, I’ll be your older sister from today.”

“I can be whatever the youngest wants.”

Zeon brought his face close to mine.

I pouted.

“It’s just that I want to try dating at least once.”

“Try dating? How can you say that after what happened that day?”

“Just holding your hand makes me furious and makes me feel like you are too precious. How dare that bastard! Even with your family watching with their eyes wide open! He grabbed you and shoved his snout in… !”

Ixion couldn’t say more and grabbed his head.

‘Still, I have to set the record straight.’

I was the one who shoved my snout in first.

“Who knows what he’ll do to you when your family isn’t watching.”

No, Ares.

‘It’s not Sid who doesn’t know what he’ll do, it’s me.’

I recently watched a 15+ romance fantasy and did my homework.

I’m very motivated!

“Besides, a fiancé! How can a man who makes such a promise without even mentioning it to your family be a decent guy!”

“We have to beat him up.”

“If you see one thing, you know ten [a common idiom meaning ‘to understand everything from a single clue’]. He should die for stealing someone else’s precious daughter and marking her like that.”

I couldn’t understand my family’s reaction.

In aristocratic society, there is a set procedure for proposing marriage, no matter how close you are.

Neglecting this is the same as ignoring the other person.

However.

“…But I was the one who said ‘fiancé,’ not Sid.”

Shouldn’t the Emperor and Empress be the ones who are angry, not my family?

“It’s not your fault, you’re innocent!”

“That bastard must have seduced you, innocent you. Whispering sweet words about secretly getting married when your family wasn’t watching.”

“I will protect the youngest no matter what.”

Zeon hugged me tightly.

I looked at my brothers with a bitter face.

Dad was looking at his sons with the eyes of someone watching their children grow up and build a family.

‘…Why are you feeling proud and sensing the growth of your child at this point?’

This won’t work.

There’s no normal person in my family, so I can’t communicate.

I turned my head to find support, and I saw my grandfather watching us from the corner of the hallway.

“Grandpa!”

I ran to Grandpa.

“Grandpa, please stop Dad and my brothers. I’m seventeen now, I can date!”

When I grabbed Grandpa’s hand and pleaded, Grandpa slowly nodded.

“Yes, dating… you can.”

Gritting.

‘Gritting?’

Is that sound coming from Grandpa, by any chance?

You said I could date, but why are you grinding your teeth?

“Dating sweetly… so the time spent with this old man will gradually decrease.”

Grind, grind.

“Even when we’re together, you’ll be thinking about that guy and won’t answer properly.”

Grind, grind!

“Then one day, suddenly, you’ll say you’re going to marry some bastard…”

Crack, crack, crack!

“I won’t allow it until dirt goes into my eyes! I absolutely cannot allow this marriage!”

Grandpa shouted.

Wow, I never thought I would hear such a classic line, a ‘K-Marriage Opposition Tradition [Korean Marriage Opposition Tradition, a common trope in Korean dramas],’ with my own ears.

‘And I feel like I can see what Mom and Dad’s marriage process was like…’

My mom had a fun dating life.

At that time, Dad shook his head.

“If dirt goes into my eyes, I won’t be able to see Lulu.”

“…!”

Grandpa looked at Dad as if he had gained some great enlightenment.

“That won’t do, no. My remaining life’s joy is seeing my granddaughter!”

“So instead of saying you won’t allow it until dirt goes into your eyes—”

Dad pressed down on my head.

“We need to put dirt in the eyes of the bastard who caused all this.”

“Indeed. A brilliant answer. The brilliance of my smart, cute, lovely, beautiful, and perfect granddaughter’s father.”

“To be the father of my smart, cute, lovely, beautiful, and perfect daughter, I have to do this much.”

“…”

Please stop, both of you.

Without knowing my embarrassing feelings, Dad and Grandpa were smiling at each other.

When Grandpa first came to the capital, it seemed like Dad was distant from him.

Before I knew it, there was no better match than these two in-laws.

* * *

The Empress’s Palace.

Inside the game room, which was decorated coolly to match the summer season, sat the Empress and the Grand Empress Dowager.

The Grand Empress Dowager put down her card and said.

“I’ve lived a long life and seen a lot. For the Empress to invite me like this and enjoy a game together. There wouldn’t be such a thing unless it was an event, would there?”

Next to the game table were various sour fruits and alcohol that the Grand Empress Dowager liked, and the flowers decorating the room were also lilies, which the Grand Empress Dowager liked.

It was a reception that showed she put a lot of thought into it.

“It is said that those who do not forget me in difficult times are true friends, rather than those who are with me in good times.”

The Empress smiled and picked up a card.

“I didn’t know that Your Majesty the Grand Empress Dowager would become my true friend.”

She was referring to the fact that she had helped the Empress, who had been confined to the palace for months due to the ban on leaving.

The Grand Empress Dowager went directly to the Emperor’s palace and declared that she would not return until the ban was lifted, so the Emperor had no choice but to lift the ban.

No matter how close the Grand Empress Dowager was to the Emperor, the Emperor could not leave the Grand Empress Dowager outside.

‘…Anyway, it seems like the Emperor was slowly thinking of lifting the ban. Seeing that the Paeraton Princess asked me to give her an opportunity to lift the ban.’

The Grand Empress Dowager hid her inner thoughts and picked up a new card.

“Our relationship wasn’t very good before. The Empress’s family joined the political strife and the landscape changed.”

“That’s old news, Your Majesty.”

“Yes, that’s right. Old news is old news.”

The Grand Empress Dowager said calmly and turned over a card.

“I’m old now. I don’t have many days left to live. Then shouldn’t I spend the rest of my life in peace?”

“That’s right. When Esteban becomes Emperor, Your Majesty the Grand Empress Dowager will enjoy everything as the Great Grand Empress Dowager.”

The Empress also turned over a card.

The Grand Empress Dowager checked each other’s cards and smiled, heh.

“I won.”

“Oh my? I thought I would win. Oh dear, I can’t beat Your Majesty’s skills.”

‘It’s not bad for the Empress to be so polite to me.’

The Empress deliberately lost the card game.

She came in with a humble attitude, implying that she no longer intended to confront you and wanted to get along.

The Grand Empress Dowager put her hand on the card and said.

“Well, shall we talk about real games instead of these playful games?”

The Empress smiled deeply.

That’s what she wanted.

Isn’t that why she asked to meet the Grand Empress Dowager today?

‘I never thought that the Grand Empress Dowager would get on the same boat as me and push Esteban.’

I couldn’t even imagine that the ban would be lifted because of the Grand Empress Dowager’s plea.

It was really something to see after living a long life.

“Of course, Your Majesty. I have already set the stage for the game.”

“Hoo?”

“Sidrian’s biggest wing is the Paeraton Princess. Coincidentally, the Paeraton Princess is in charge of a large project, isn’t she?”

“You’re talking about the water management project.”

“It’s a large national project that would be difficult even for experienced and seasoned people. A young lady may make mistakes while working.”

“It would be a big problem if there were mistakes in that important project, not anything else.”

“That’s right.”

“The Paeraton Princess is in charge, but it’s hard to hold her strongly accountable for minor problems. Because each person in charge is assigned separately. It will only become controversial if it explodes after completion, then—”

The innocent people suffer.

But the Empress looked disappointed, as if she had other thoughts.

“It takes too long to complete.”

“…That’s right.”

“But there’s another way.”

“Another way.”

“Wasn’t the reason why the Paeraton Princess took on this project in the first place because of budget issues? What if there is a problem with budget execution?”

“You’ve been thinking quite a bit.”

“Huhu [an onomatopoeia for laughter], I have to do this much to survive in this position. Your Majesty the Grand Empress Dowager must help with this matter.”

The Grand Empress Dowager took a sip of alcohol and nodded.

“I guess it’s related to the West. Well, which material should I touch?”

‘Good.’

The Empress’s eyes flashed sharply as she smiled.

‘Luatisha Paeraton. It won’t be easy this time.’

She would finally be able to flatten the nose of that bitch who kept grabbing her ankle at every turn.

‘If you make a big mistake in the water management project, not anything else, how will people see you?’

The Emperor, who cherishes Luatisha, will also turn away.

Not only that.

The people who follow Luatisha so much will also turn their backs at once.

In the end, the most important thing is their own lives.

* * *

“Isn’t that too much?”

I complained, grumbling.

Anna, who was brushing my hair, laughed, hoo hoo [another onomatopoeia for laughter].

“But in the end, they’ll give in to you. They always have.”

“But you’re also at fault, miss.”

“Me?”

I was taken aback and turned around, and Nancy nodded her head greatly.

“Even if you just said that you were developing a good relationship with the Prince, they would have been shocked and bedridden.”

“To kiss so passionately in front of them.”

“I don’t understand. I’m all grown up.”

“What if the 3-month-old hamster that you cherished so much suddenly said it was going to marry another hamster and leave the house?”

“Goodbye, sister. Hamsooni will live happily with her brother.”

“Absolutely not! My baby! Where’s Nike?”

Nike jumped out of the inner room.

“Mama!”

“Ogu ogu [a sound of endearment], my baby. Don’t get married, our Nike, and live with Mommy forever?”

“Woong!”

Nike rubbed her face in my arms.

“…I guess blood doesn’t go anywhere.”

“To prove such maternal inheritance…”

I tried to ignore the voices of my sisters muttering.

“Is a 3-month-old hamster the same as me? I’m seventeen.”

“3 months in hamster years is exactly your age, miss.”

“No matter how much you grow up, you’ll always look like a small child in your parents’ eyes. They worry about whether you’re careful when crossing the street, and whether you chew thoroughly so you don’t get indigestion when you eat.”

“…”

Hearing those words made my heart ache for some reason.

Should I go to Dad?