Lord Baby Runs A Romance Fantasy With Cash [EN]: Chapter 340

Extraneous Story 20

* * *

The Paeraton Duke’s residence in the capital.

After returning from the opera house, Chaeria entered her room, a triumphant smirk playing on her lips.

‘Hehe, this is so thrilling!’

The corners of her lips lifted as she replayed the events of the opera house in her mind.

Before the performance, Felix was nowhere to be found, prompting her to search for him…

‘And he was alone with Ruatisha.’

She marveled at her own surprise in that moment.

She briefly wondered if she had walked into a trap of her own making.

But then…

“Don’t summon me like this again. It’s annoying and bothersome. More than anything—”

“…….”

“—Chaeria might misunderstand.”

“Wow.”

She had heard it clearly.

The exchange between Felix and Ruatisha.

‘Well, there’s no way this power wouldn’t work, right?’

Even if Felix was a young genius, he was still just an ordinary human, lacking the power of Pasa [a unique magical energy] or any other magic.

There was no way he could resist the power of Kiyasedel [Chaeria’s unique ability].

‘Ruatisha’s face at that moment was truly something else.’

A face not merely sullen, but laced with bitterness.

“Wow.”

The expression she wore as she muttered.

‘Trying so hard to play it cool, her admiration is almost pathetic, isn’t it?’

Chaeria, chuckling softly, glanced down at her diary.

Six of the seven jewels adorning the cover were now dyed red.

“Now, only one last one remains.”

It was time to put the final phase into motion.

Clutching the diary, Chaeria left her room.

* * *

Nabi’s brow furrowed the moment he saw who was entering his room.

Chaeria puffed out her cheeks, feigning offense.

“Must you make your dislike so obvious? We’re in the same boat here, so you’re being awfully harsh.”

“……Just say what you want and get out.”

“Come now, don’t be like that. You and I are the only outsiders here, after all.”

With a practiced, gentle gesture, Chaeria looped her arm through Nabi’s.

Nabi stared intently at Chaeria’s face before speaking.

“That’s a sentiment from when you were truly an outsider.”

“……What?”

Startled, Chaeria met Nabi’s gaze.

However, his eyes were no longer focused on her.

“Even if you were a genuine stranger, I would never feel any kinship with someone like you.”

Nabi coldly pushed Chaeria’s arm away, creating distance between them.

Chaeria clicked her tongue in annoyance.

‘This power is useless on this guy.’

She didn’t know what kind of existence he was in his original dimension, but he was proving to be a nuisance.

‘It would have been nice if I could have made him my puppet, like Felix.’

Nabi possessed the allure of an untamed wild beast.

Unlike Chaeria, who actively participated in social events after arriving in the capital, Nabi had remained conspicuously absent from social circles.

Nevertheless, rumors about Nabi had spread like wildfire, fueled by those who had visited the Duke’s residence.

Numerous people had inquired about Nabi to Chaeria.

‘If I had him under my control too……?’

She would have become an even greater object of envy and fascination.

And she could have harnessed Nabi’s power as well.

‘Well, even if that’s not possible, I can still exploit this guy’s power.’

Chaeria plastered on a smile and approached Nabi.

“Anyway, it’s undeniable that we’re in the same boat. So, just follow the plan.”

Chaeria opened her diary.

The vibrant red power surged from the diary, coiling and overflowing in the air.

“If you use this power, you can make Ruatisha yours.”

“…….”

“Don’t give me that look. I get what I want, and you get what you want. It’s a win-win, right?”

Chaeria playfully tapped Nabi’s stiff cheek, her smile unwavering.

‘Of course, once you finally possess her, you’ll realize how worthless and crude she truly is.’

The reason Nabi desired Ruatisha now was simple.

Because she belonged to someone else.

Because he couldn’t obtain her the moment he desired her.

Because he hadn’t conquered her yet.

‘He doesn’t truly want Ruatisha; he merely wants to satisfy his insatiable desire for conquest.’

“I’ve never been in the same boat as you.”

Nabi stated coldly, reaching out his hand.

The red, coiled power wrapped around his hand, then dissipated without a trace.

“But you still accept my power?”

“Instead of offering unsolicited advice, focus on your own affairs. Unless you want the plan to fall apart.”

Leaving only those words, Nabi turned and left the room.

Alone once more, Chaeria’s smile widened.

‘Yes, you will have Ruatisha.’

Her brown eyes gleamed with a sickly, greenish-yellow light.

‘Even if it’s just a cold corpse!’

* * *

“See you in the gazebo in the west garden.”

Baren, glancing at the note Sidrian was holding, inquired.

“Wow, did the Princess send that?”

“Does it look like it?”

At Sidrian’s rhetorical question, Baren shrugged.

“Well, isn’t that the Princess’s handwriting? And the only person who would send this kind of message to the Commander is the Princess.”

Sidrian allowed himself a small smile.

He clenched the note in his fist and rose from his seat.

Behind him, he could hear Baren and Nemis whispering amongst themselves.

“Giving and receiving cute secret notes. It really doesn’t suit the Commander’s image.”

“When he’s dating the Princess, he seems like a completely different person.”

Ignoring their comments, Sidrian quickened his pace.

Soon, he arrived at the gazebo in the west garden.

He spotted the hem of a dress peeking out from behind one of the gazebo’s pillars.

Sidrian cautiously approached.

The moment he rounded the corner of the pillar.

“You came?”

The person standing behind the pillar turned to greet him.

“Rihan.”

Chaeria beamed brightly, looking up at Sidrian.

Sidrian frowned, instinctively stepping back.

“Why are you here?”

“Why?”

Chaeria closed the distance between them.

No, she moved even closer.

Until their shadows merged into one.

“Look at me again.”

Chaeria’s voice was a cloying whisper in his ear.

“Do you hate that I’m here?”

“…….”

Chaeria’s arm snaked around Sidrian’s neck like a serpent.

Normally, he would have brushed her off before she even made contact.

But Sidrian remained frozen in place.

“Huh? Sid.”

Her purple eyes widened, filled with an unsettling familiarity.

Just like when he looked at Ruatisha.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in Ruatisha’s room.

“This is unusual. Nabi is actually coming to find me first.”

Ruatisha commented while arranging her bandages.

Usually, Ruatisha was the one barging in, but today, Nabi had sought her out for a change.

“Have you finally emerged from your rebellious phase, and your anger at the world has subsided?”

“……Ha.”

“I’m so glad that Mianyang [Nabi’s original name] has finally tasted the warmth of the world.”

Nabi was dumbfounded and ran a hand through his hair.

Ruatisha hummed to herself, closing the medicine box, oblivious to his reaction.

Nabi quietly observed her.

He could feel the power coiled around his left arm, wriggling impatiently.

“If you use this power, you can make Ruatisha yours.”

Ruatisha was always so unguarded, so vulnerable.

Even if he unleashed this power right now, she wouldn’t be able to resist.

Nabi raised his left arm towards Ruatisha.

At that moment, Ruatisha looked up and asked.

“By the way, how did Nabi live before coming here?”

“……There’s no point in someone like you hearing it.”

Even as he answered, Nabi couldn’t understand his own hesitation.

Why had he lowered his arm before Ruatisha could see it?

As if he were concealing something.

“I’m not asking you to tell me a story to gain something. In the first place, you have nothing to give me. You’re broke.”

“…….”

“A complete beggar without a penny.”

“…….”

What was she, really?

Nabi stared at Ruatisha with bewildered eyes.

“It was a simple world. The powerful killed the powerless, and the powerless parasitized the powerful.”

A bleak tale of deceit and betrayal, a constant struggle for survival, poured out of him.

Ruatisha frowned, her expression troubled.

“Not that, what about your family? You must have had a family too.”

Family.

It was a word he hadn’t heard in a very long time.

A word that had long lost its meaning in his world.

Nabi was, in some ways, in a better situation than most.

Because his family had all perished when his world was destroyed.

“……I don’t have one.”

“But you still have a name that your family gave you, thinking of you with love and hope.”

“……So that was the point.”

Ruatisha smiled awkwardly and asked.

“Isn’t it about time you got tired of being called Nabi instead of your real name?”

“You’re the one who calls me that, but you’re good at talking.”

“That’s because Nabi refuses to tell me his name.”

Nabi fell silent, his gaze fixed on Ruatisha.

He always used a pseudonym, a false identity.

In his world, no one revealed their true selves to others.

‘If I just make up any name as usual, she won’t keep asking, annoyingly.’

But why?

He didn’t want to give this girl a fake name.

A girl like the sunlight, radiating warmth and light wherever she went.

When he was in front of this girl, it felt like the blood that had drenched him was finally drying up and fading away.

But at the same time.

‘I want to break her.’

A girl who had been cherished and protected in a happy, perfect, greenhouse-like world.

He wanted to ruin this girl, who was so flawlessly pure and warm.

Maybe that’s why he hadn’t immediately rejected Chaeria’s offer.

“Nabi?”

“……!”

At Ruatisha’s call, Nabi suddenly snapped back to reality.

Before he knew it, he had placed his left hand on Ruatisha’s shoulder.

Her slender shoulder felt fragile beneath his touch.

Thump, thump.

He could feel the frantic beat of her pulse at the nape of her neck, where his thumb rested.

That pitiful, weak beat.

Only then did Nabi realize.

He had been hesitating all along.

This was not like him.

He always took what he wanted.

Even if it meant destroying the world to get it.

Whoosh-!

Red power erupted from his hand.

* * *

‘Hmph, after acting so resistant. In the end, you’re moving according to my words.’

Chaeria sensed the power she had given to Nabi being unleashed within the mansion.

It was proof that Nabi had followed her plan.

‘Ah, my poor cousin. But don’t worry.’

Chaeria smiled, a predatory glint in her eyes.

‘I’ll take all of your influence, sister.’

Even the men of the great Paeraton Dukedom.

Even her grandfather, who had ignored her for such trivial reasons.

Even Ruatisha’s friends, who were so famous in social circles.

All of them.

‘They will become dolls, mine to control, inflating my influence and power.’

Chaeria snuggled even closer into Sidrian’s arms, her grip tightening.

‘As the first of them, I’ll take your precious lover.’

“Sid.”

Chaeria whispered sweetly, closing her eyes.

Her red lips were alluringly offered, a silent invitation.

Sidrian’s gaze dropped to those lips, drawn in by their crimson allure.

It was at that precise moment.

“Sid!”

Chaeria’s eyes snapped open at the sound of the voice coming from afar.

‘Ruatisha?!’

Ruatisha was running towards them, her face etched with desperation.

‘How did she get here……? I clearly felt the power earlier.’

Ruatisha should have been ensnared by Nabi’s power by now.

‘……Was it too weak to restrain Ruatisha?’

No, that couldn’t be the case.

Chaeria had been sufficiently wary of the power of Pasa that Ruatisha possessed.

‘What on earth is going on?’

While Chaeria bit her lip, her face a mask of unease, Ruatisha closed the distance between them.

“Sid!”

Ruatisha’s face was pale, her eyes wide with shock and disbelief.

Seeing that expression, Chaeria felt a surge of relief.

‘I don’t know how she got here, but it doesn’t matter anymore.’

Because it’s already too late.

‘Rather, this is even better.’

Chaeria smiled, a triumphant gleam in her eyes, and leaned her face against Sidrian’s chest, feigning affection.

“Sid, she’s calling you. You can’t ignore her.”

At Chaeria’s prompting, Sidrian slowly turned his head towards Ruatisha.

Ruatisha’s image was reflected in his eyes.

“……Sid?”

Ruatisha, meeting his gaze, called out his name as if she couldn’t quite believe what she was seeing.

Sidrian’s brow furrowed, his expression hardening.

A gaze filled with unpleasantness and disgust.

A look that was sharper than any blade, piercing her heart more deeply than any words could.

“Why, are you looking at me with those eyes?”

Ruatisha asked blankly, her voice barely a whisper.

However, Sidrian remained unmoved by the sight of his shocked and heartbroken lover.

Rather, he only felt a surge of irritation and revulsion.

‘Of course.’

Chaeria smiled, her victory complete.

‘Because Sidrian’s eyes see you as me right now.’

Chaeria savored this moment, reveling in Ruatisha’s pain.

The moment Ruatisha’s clear blue eyes were stained black with despair.

Chaeria cupped Sidrian’s cheek, her touch possessive.

“Kiss me, Sid.”