《I Will Make an Effort to Change the Genre》 Chapter 1 - Of All Things, Why Did it Have to be About Revenge? Chapter 1. Of All Things, Why Did it Have to be About Revenge? The dense darkness settled outside the opaque window. The moon rose above my head, as I heard the sporadic cry of a small owl in the distance. Underneath the flickering light of my lamp, I wrung the washcloth with all my might. *drip, drip, drip* The sound of water splashing into the washbasin seemed to be unusually loud. I placed the damp washcloth on my young nephew Luca¡¯s forehead. His fever was so high that I could almost see the water from the washcloth evaporating in front of my eyes. Never in his life had Luca received such proper care, so this situation seemed quite awkward to him. Luca was so uneasy that he was at a loss for what to do. I forced him to lay down and then tried to calm him down by patting his shoulder for hours. Luca was breathing lightly, his chest barely rising. His throat swelled up to the point that he could barely speak. He struggled to open his eyes and when he looked towards me with those frail eyes, my heart ached for him. If it were up to me, I would have already carried him to the 24-hour emergency room, but there was nothing even close to a hospital around here. I tried my best to keep his fever down by continuously changing out his washcloth. Even though I was frustrated at this situation, I gave my best effort to soothe his nerves. ¡°Luca, hang in there. As soon as the sun comes up, I¡¯ll get you some medicine.¡± *cough, cough* ¡°I¡¯m alright. What medicine¡­ We have no money.¡± ¡°There¡¯s some money I stashed away. Besides, no kid should have to worry about money.¡± A small child like that worrying about our finances didn¡¯t sit well with me. What¡¯s more unsettling is Luca¡¯s concern about the lack of money around the house. I didn¡¯t have enough money to pay for the medicine, so as soon as the sun rises, I¡¯ll head into the forest to gather some medicinal herbs and somehow barter with the village doctor to take the herbs as partial payment. While I was calculating how it would all pan out, he must have read my mind, as his face turned dark. ¡°You can go have fun at the May Day Festival. You said that you¡¯ve been really looking forward to it.¡± Even after saying that, he rolled his eyes at me as he sensed my facial expression. If I actually went to the May Day Festival, he really would have been disappointed. Why is he beating around the bush like that? I simply grinned as I replied how silly that was. ¡°Pah, what about the May Day Festival? Stop saying such nonsense and focus on getting better faster instead.¡± He kept on insisting that he was alright, which was hard to believe. I wonder how much time has passed. I¡¯m not sure when he fell asleep, but his breathing became more steady. Nodding on and off, a small sigh escaped from Luca¡¯s lips as he muttered in his sleep. ¡°¡­¡­Mama.¡± It would make sense that he would miss his mama. Out of empathy, I gently patted his small hand that was rested on top of the blanket. Luca¡¯s fingers slightly twitched then swiftly latched onto my fingers. As if his life depended on it, he refused to let go. I have to change his washcloth though¡­ I let out a small laugh of bewilderment, but I didn¡¯t want to let go of his hand. That¡¯s fine, I guess I¡¯ll just let it be then for a little bit. And so, I stayed by his side to take care of him, dozing on and off throughout the night. I can¡¯t say that I really got any sleep last night, but before I knew it, the early rays of the sun began to shine through the windows. Without a sound, I managed to slip away from him. My eyes were sunken and my mind was cloudy from the lack of sleep, but I shook my head in an attempt to come back to my senses. ¡°Boy, I really could go for some coffee right now.¡± I¡¯m pretty sure this body never had coffee (not that it really mattered or anything), but as soon as morning arrived, my thirst for coffee glowed brightly in my eyes. As I left the house, this unsatisfied coffee craving continued to linger. Before the apothecary opened, I rushed into the forest, quickening my pace. It was such a relief that this body more or less remembered how to identify medicinal plants. If this body had no such recollection, then there would have been nothing for me to do in this world. About now, everyone should have gotten an idea that I am not myself; I have entered the body of a woman named Judith Maybaum. Like a typical character from a story, I had too much to drink and got into a car accident. Next thing I knew, I suddenly woke up in a different world. But the most unfair part of this story was that the car that hit me was slowing down while turning into the alleyway I was passing by! I don¡¯t have much memory of how I died, let alone the fact I somehow entered a stranger¡¯s body. Boy, was I confused¡­ At first, I thought it was only a dream. Sun-faded blonde hair flowed down a slender body, complemented with light lavender eyes. A seemingly-cold beauty I have become! She appeared to be difficult at first glance. Still, I was elated with the fact that I became the beauty of my dreams, but¡­ Who would¡¯ve thought that I would have to live like this? I became so infuriated that as I bawled my eyes out, I ripped out my long fair hair. ¡°It would have been better if I entered the body of an aristocrat¡¯s daughter. Instead, I¡¯m without a servant.¡± And on top of that, I have another mouth to feed¡­ The owner of this body, Judith, lives in a rural village with her nephew Luca by themselves. Other family members either died from accidents or plagues. Luca and I didn¡¯t have that good of an aunt-nephew relationship. To be more specific, Judith simply hated Luca for no reason and abused him relentlessly. Why in the world did I hate my young nephew like that so much? As I reminisced about my body¡¯s memories, I suddenly realized why. This world that I fell right into, the world of this novel¡­ It was about revenge. Have you ever heard of revenge overflowing with hopes and dreams? For me at least, I haven¡¯t. The first (and most ideal) scenario involving revenge: Horrific events happened to the protagonist but they manage to succeed in exacting revenge and therefore living happily ever after. And the second scenario involving revenge: The protagonist succeeds in exacting revenge but because of that, their life is ruined, or even worse, they become the target for another¡¯s revenge. As I was written in this enchanting novel, it seems to be more like the first scenario. At least I have hopes and dreams that seem to have promising outcomes. But within this novel, when you think about Judith Maybaum¡¯s situation, there¡¯s no way that any of this can end well. Therefore I, as the protagonist, will seek revenge against the villain, as one of my ulterior motives. To keep it simple, yes, I will die. Chapter 2 I became aware about this world and its story of revenge, thanks to Luca. Luca Maybaum. He later becomes Luca Winterwald, the main character in the novel, The Master of Winter Forest. I have an uncanny fascination with plots focusing on revenge. The protagonist enjoyed putting their heart and soul into building up the story and then going with the flow for the rest. And when the moment of revenge finally arrived, they experienced full gratification jolting through their veins, a cathartic masterpiece. My favorite classic literature is The Count of Monte Cristo, my favorite movie is Mr. Park¡¯s Trilogy of Revenge. And my favorite novel and its genre is none other than The Master of Winter Forest. The novel¡¯s synopsis is as followed: The illegitimate son Luca, suddenly one day, stumbled upon one man claiming to be his uncle. The man informed Luca Winterwald that he comes from a noble bloodline, the Duke of Winterwald¡¯s family. Of course, there were many men that desired to become the Duke of Winterwald. They did not want to let Luca claim the title of Duke due to his illegitimacy. His distant relatives wanted to be the Duke themselves, and so they devised conspiracies to prevent Luca from taking the title. The young child Luca was so helpless in front of them. Ultimately, Luca lost many a thing to his distant relatives. His status, honor, nobility, and close relatives that protected Luca would all die. Simply put, all those that stayed by Luca¡¯s side died off. The uncle that took Luca in. The owner of this body, Judith Maybaum. All of them. Series of misfortunes including multiple failed assassinations haunted Luca. As a result, Luca concealed his surname and identity to seek revenge. Against all odds, he succeeded in reclaiming his status as the Duke. That was his story. My favorite part of this story was when everyone believed that Luca finally died off, but the grown Luca, donned in military uniform, wiped out the family of Winterwald before reclaiming his rightful title as Duke of Winterwald in a dignified manner. Even the empty, hollow feeling lingering after the finale was totally my style. [Freed from all grudges, Luca Winterwald dragged his tired body into the mansion. The Winterwald mansion greeted him as usual, but had a different air to it; all those who protected Luca existed no more and he was left with a wasted childhood. Luca sunk back deeply in his grandfather¡¯s chair, gently closing his eyes. His revenge melted away with the frost of winter. As if mauled by vicious animals, his life was permanently ravaged. The title that everyone coveted, the Duke of Winter Forest, was at last claimed by none other than Luca Winterwald himself. Soon enough, spring will arrive. Everything will begin to flourish and bloom, and spring will bring joy. But, would spring even come to this frozen-over Winter Forest? Luca won¡¯t be able to find out.] Ahh~ Even when I think about it again, it¡¯s so nice. However¡­ I absolutely refuse to be the stepping stone for my favorite scene! No matter how difficult the situation was, it¡¯s better to be alive than dead. Even though I unexpectedly entered this body, I still wanted to live a little bit longer. But why did it have to be like this in this novel? Is it because it¡¯s my favorite genre? My friends criticized me for my peculiar preferences and recommended that I should read inspirational or more mundane stories instead, which I wrote them off for¡­ I should¡¯ve listened to them. Then, at the very least, this possessed world could have been somewhat normal. Well, not exactly. At least this world doesn¡¯t deal with poverty or survival, which I¡¯m thankful for. If I were a zombie fanatic¡­ Eugh, geez. Ah, but why, of all people, did it have to be Judith Maybaum? There are plenty of other extras available! For instance, I could¡¯ve been a princess that saved Luca from being assassinated¡­ In all honesty, I didn¡¯t like Judith Maybaum. Actually, to be more precise, not one individual liked her! No wonder, since Judith, his only living relative from his mother¡¯s side, abused him during his youth and later sold him off to his uncle. On top of that, Judith was used by Luca¡¯s distant relatives as part of their schemes to threaten and get to him. In this novel, that stupid, self-centered villian could only be her. She only existed to get in the way of the protagonist. Could it be true that subconsciously, I was similar to Judith? When I thought about it like that, I began to detest myself even more. In any case, I wanted to live, but obviously I wasn¡¯t even aware about the obvious flag of death that was flying in the distance. Chapter 3 From his childhood to his young adulthood, he didn¡¯t have a chance to be a kid, unable to live with even a breath of confidence as he was constantly tossed back and forth. It was such a pitiful life. Because of his ill-fated life, it would be nice if he made some happy memories here. From now, there was about a year left. I couldn¡¯t completely change Luca¡¯s mind, but for now, I¡¯ll plan to try my best. I¡¯ll take care of his meals, I¡¯ll try to talk with him more, enjoy walks together¡­ For a month, I tried my best, but Luca¡¯s sealed heart was unyielding. In fact, he became more defensive and often ran away; it was even harder for me to see him. But it seemed like it was tough to brush off the pain that was already inflicted upon him. Yesterday evening, Luca suddenly got sick and suffered through the night. He had no other option but to lay there quietly and helplessly, to the point where he couldn¡¯t even avoid my hand. With both body and mind so feeble, it seemed like he let his guard down even more. Although he was moaning softly with sickly pain, he glanced towards me and let out a sigh of relief. He couldn¡¯t hate his only flesh and blood. Seeing that tormented me. Thinking about Luca being so miserable at home, I was determined to gather those medicinal herbs. ¡°Alright, since I¡¯m already gathering medicinal plants¡­ I should pick more to buy some sausage.¡± Meat seems to be the best remedy when you¡¯re sick. Especially when you¡¯re a child. With that, I was motivated to collect more medicinal herbs. *** I wonder how much time has passed since then. The early hours of hazy dawn passed, and the clear sun was slowly shining between the foliage. I finally straightened my bent back. ¡°Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow,¡± a reflex moan escaped my lips. Loud pops in rapid succession erupted from my spine that was hunched over this entire time. As I hit my lower back with my hand, I looked down at the basket full of medicinal herbs. ¡°I should return to the village about now.¡± Content with my efforts, I felt myself getting lighter with each step. I rushed onto the dirt path towards the village and suddenly began to hear the clapping sound of a horse¡¯s hooves. As I turned around startled, a carriage was right behind me. ¡°Wha-, what was that?!¡± It looked like the carriage was coming too close towards me, so I tried to take a step back, but tripped over my own foot. Just like that, I fell backward and landed on my bottom. ¡°Owwww¡­¡± Of all places, why did I have to fall in the mud? My clothes were completely ruined. Unaware of my fall or had no intention to help, the carriage continued on its way. When I lifted my head up, it was long gone. I had only a moment¡¯s glimpse of it but it looked quite fancy. Perhaps the carriage belonged to an aristocrat who came to enjoy the festival. ¡®In any case, here or there, guys who have fancy wheels seriously have awful manners.¡¯ I really wanted to curse them out, but there was no one to curse at. Instead, I calmed down by mumbling to myself. I patted my dirtied clothes and trudged toward the village. I wanted to go back home to change out my clothes, but even that time was too precious. It was the beginning of May Day festivities, so the village already started to become crowded early in the morning. There were people taking out and tuning their musical instruments and others were rushing to fix up their fences and finalizing last-minute details. Between them, a lady carrying around a basket full of food loudly reminded those around her to eat. While everyone was busy preparing for the festival, I hunched over and tried to avoid others¡¯ eyes as I rushed over to the apothecary. Judith¡¯s memories remained, but even so, it made me uneasy to meet other villagers. On top of that, I didn¡¯t want to deal with them if they saw Judith¡¯s sullied appearance. I was trying my best to dodge their sights, but of course, it was impossible to be invisible. ¡°Oi, Judith. Did you come to find a guy again? But what¡¯s up with you? Is that a new look?¡± a sneering voice asked, filled with sarcasm and curiosity. ¡®Judith¡¯ was quite infamous around the village of Emden. She was known for wanting to be wed off to a rich man to live comfortably, a gold digger. To be more specific, she only relied on her looks to size up potential men, but her prime marriage years passed by. Older women who couldn¡¯t get married early enough had a saying between them, ¡°you became just like Judith.¡± But, what¡¯s wrong with being 27 years old? That¡¯s still quite young, come on. I sighed and I stared back at them. Those unsightly toads had smirks plastered over their faces. Chapter 4 It felt as if I was struck across the face. Dumbfounded, I vacantly gaped at Luca. When I recalled ¡°Judith¡¯s¡± memory of Judith and Luca¡¯s conversations, I could sense how their conversation typically went, but it was certainly shocking, to say the least. Basically, the conversations between the two were along the lines of¡­ ¡°Luca, you filthy pig. Stop eating so much and earn some money already!¡± ¡°I earned this bread. You¡¯re the swine around here! ¡­ more or less. Yep, they normally shot insults back at each other in this fashion. And then all of a sudden Judith becoming kind is obviously suspicious. You reap what you sow. Judith¡¯s way of talking was so horrendous that it would be odd for Luca to reply calmly. ¡°Judith¡¯s at fault, it¡¯s all Judith¡¯s fault.¡± I tried to side with Luca as if I was his mom. But there were so many reasons why I couldn¡¯t side with myself¡­ Luca was the novel¡¯s protagonist, who I favored from the very beginning. ¡®It¡¯s obvious that I like him since he¡¯s the main character of the story.¡¯ Fair enough. I didn¡¯t expect him to open up to me after cooking for him once. Luca¡¯s mom, Larissa, died 5 years ago. Of course, Judith didn¡¯t abuse him as severely 5 years ago. At first, it simply started with being annoyed by Luca¡¯s existence, but the neglect quickly escalated. Notably within the last 3 years, the neglect crept towards abuse. It became significantly worse when Luca¡¯s looks began to bloom. Three years isn¡¯t that short of a timespan. But for the young Luca, 3 years felt excruciatingly long. I have to anticipate that it¡¯ll take a long time for him to open up his heart. But time is in my favor¡­ Since Luca¡¯s uncle, R¨¹diger Winterwald will come to pick up the 10-year-old Luca on May Day¡­ Exactly 1 year remained. ¡®Come to think of it, did Luca always get sick when May Day rolls around? In the original plot, he was also sick when R¨¹diger arrived.¡¯ R¨¹diger, a year ago from now, discovered Luca¡¯s existence shortly after Luca¡¯s dad Jonas died after falling off a horse. And he rushed to the Maybaum residence a year later. By then, Luca was ill and suffering alone at home. Whether he was sick or not, Judith didn¡¯t care. She cared more about enjoying her time at the May Day festival. When R¨¹diger arrived at Luca¡¯s house late at night, he saw what kind of treatment Luca was receiving at home and finally confronted Judith. Beyond furious, he shouted, [You have no right to be his guardian! How can an adult act so irresponsibly¡­! I will take Luca away from you.] [You neglected the illegitimate child all this time, so you have no right to say that! Do you know how hard it was for me to take care of him until now? As a single guardian, I couldn¡¯t live my own life! And you can¡¯t just take him for free! I want proper compensation! Give that child support money to me! R¨¹diger despised that woman for demanding to sell off her nephew Luca. In the end, R¨¹diger caved in to her request of exchanging Luca for payment but added a final term that she should have absolutely no part in Luca¡¯s life anymore. [As you wish. I should give you some kind of compensation for keeping Luca alive. However, this means that you have no right to interfere with his life anymore. Understood?] Judith was so thrilled with the lump sum of money in her hands. She finally got rid of that thorn from her eye and she got money for it! There¡¯s absolutely nothing that could have made her happier. And so Judith sold off Luca like that, a sense of relief washed over her. But that large sum of money disappeared as easily as it was obtained. Since her wealth vanished, she decided to leach more money from the Winterwald family. As she circled around Luca like a hyena she was bound to stir up some trouble¡­ Because of this incident, Luca opened up to R¨¹diger and poured out his frustration to him, but completely gave up on Judith. Well¡­ since I¡¯m Judith now, I won¡¯t let that happen. In any case, I didn¡¯t want to give Luca the impression that he got sold off when he goes to the Winterwald family. In the original story, that part left deep scars for Luca. He¡¯s already going to be faced with difficult hardships, so I don¡¯t want to leave him with more bad memories. When I think about Luca¡¯s future, tears suddenly well up in my eyes. I wiped my tears away. It was fun reading the novel! It overflowed with catharsis! But since all of this is actually happening in front of my eyes, this life that is unfolding in front of a living, breathing young child, I felt sorry for his foreseeable future. Sure, Luca was victorious in the end, but if you asked him if his life was happy¡­ Chapter 5 From his childhood to his young adulthood, he didn¡¯t have a chance to be a kid, unable to live with even a breath of confidence as he was constantly tossed back and forth. It was such a pitiful life. Because of his ill-fated life, it would be nice if he had not too bad of memories for at least a year. From now, there was about a year left. I couldn¡¯t completely change Luca¡¯s mind, but for now, I¡¯ll plan to try my best. I¡¯ll take care of his meals, I¡¯ll try to talk with him more, enjoy walks together¡­ For a month, I tried my best, but Luca¡¯s sealed heart was unyielding. In fact, he became more defensive and often ran away; it was even harder for me to see him. But it seemed like it was tough to brush off the pain that was already inflicted upon him. Yesterday evening, Luca suddenly got sick and suffered through the night. He had no other option but to lay there quietly and helplessly, to the point where he couldn¡¯t even avoid my hand. With both body and mind so feeble, it seemed like he let his guard down even more. Although he was moaning softly with sickly pain, he glanced towards me and let out a sigh of relief. He couldn¡¯t hate his only flesh and blood, and seeing that tormented me. Thinking about Luca being so miserable at home, I was determined to gather those medicinal herbs. ¡°Alright, since I¡¯m already gathering medicinal plants¡­ I should pick more to buy some sausage.¡± Meat seemed to be the best remedy when you¡¯re sick. Especially when you¡¯re a child. With that, I was motivated to collect more medicinal herbs. *** I wonder how much time has passed since then. The early hours of a hazy dawn passed, and the clear sun was slowly shining between the foliage. I finally straightened my bent back. ¡°Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow,¡± a reflex moan escaped my lips. Loud pops in rapid succession erupted from my spine that was hunched over this entire time. As I hit my lower back with my hand, I looked down at the basket full of medicinal herbs. ¡°I should return to the village about now.¡± Content with my efforts, I felt myself getting lighter with each step. I rushed onto the dirt path towards the village and suddenly began to hear the clapping sound of a horse¡¯s hooves. As I turned around startled, a carriage was right behind me. ¡°Wha-, what was that?!¡± It looked like the carriage was coming too close towards me, so I tried to take a step back, but tripped over my own foot. Just like that, I fell backwards and landed on my bottom. ¡°Owwww¡­¡± Of all places, why did I have to fall in the mud. My clothes were completely ruined. Unaware of my fall or had no intention to help, the carriage continued on its way. When I lifted my head up, it was long gone. I had only a moment¡¯s glimpse of it but it looked quite fancy. Perhaps the carriage belonged to an aristocrat who came to enjoy the festival. ¡®In any case, here or there, guys who have fancy wheels seriously have awful manners.¡¯ I really wanted to curse them out, but there was no one to curse at. Instead, I calmed down by mumbling to myself. I patted my dirtied clothes and trudged towards the village. I wanted to go back home to change out my clothes, but even that time was too precious. It was the beginning of May Day festivities, so the village already started to become crowded early in the morning. There were people taking out and tuning their musical instruments and others were rushing to fix up their fences and finalizing last-minute details. Between them, a lady carrying around a basket full of food loudly reminded those around her to eat. While everyone was busy preparing for the festival, I hunched over and tried to avoid others¡¯ eyes as I rushed over to the apothecary. Judith¡¯s memories remained, but even so, it made me uneasy to meet other villagers. On top of that, I didn¡¯t want to deal with them if they saw Judith¡¯s sullied appearance. I was trying my best to dodge their sights, but of course, it was impossible to be invisible. ¡°Oi, Judith. Did you come to find a guy again? But what¡¯s up with you? Is that a new look?¡± a sneering voice asked, filled with sarcasm and curiosity. ¡®Judith¡¯ was quite infamous around the village of Emden. She was known for wanting to be wed off to a rich man to live comfortably, a gold digger. To be more specific, she only relied on her looks to size up potential men, but her prime marriage years passed by. Older women who couldn¡¯t get married early enough had a saying between them, ¡°you became just like Judith.¡± But, what¡¯s wrong with being 27 years old? That¡¯s still quite young, come on. I sighed and I stared back at them. Those unsightly toads had smirks plastered over their faces. Chapter 6 If they were trying to piss me off, they sure succeeded. And the fact that those ugly guys were laughing at me made me feel even worse. Outraged, I retorted. ¡°Luca¡¯s sick, so I¡¯m heading to the apothecary.¡± ¡°Oh, since when? I thought you didn¡¯t care about Luca? You said that getting sick is part of growing up.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not in the mood to joke around.¡± I wanted to ditch them all, but Thomas didn¡¯t care and stayed right next to me. He glanced towards me and wanted to gauge my reaction. ¡°Hey, by the way, a fine gentleman came by today. It looks like he¡¯s an aristocrat so Lea already set her eyes on him.¡± Emden village isn¡¯t that big of a place, everyone was in the know with everything. If any stranger were to come to the village, that gossip traveled quickly. That¡¯s how it was around here. I could only guess who came to the village. It must be the owner of the carriage that ruined my clothes, that aristocrat. ¡°Ah, I think I know who it is.¡± ¡°You met him? You saw him?¡° ¡°No, I couldn¡¯t. That carriage almost hit me and I fell down.¡± ¡°So is that why you look so messed up?¡± There was some sense of contentment in his voice. He seemed happy that I didn¡¯t get involved with that aristocrat. I didn¡¯t even try to show any interest in what he was saying; his words went through one ear and out the other. I reiterated again and again that Luca was ill, but he kept rambling on with his pointless small talk. Whether I met the aristocrat or not, it didn¡¯t matter to me. I ignored him and only continued to go my own way. Thomas, who was still standing next to me, cleared his throat. ¡°Um, hey. So, do you have a partner today?¡± I should¡¯ve known that as soon as I entered the village, he would swarm around me like a mosquito. My eyebrows deeply furrowed. He didn¡¯t even listen to what I said all this time? ¡°I told you, Luca¡¯s sick. What about a partner? Stop pestering me. Go find someone else to bother.¡± ¡°Come on, don¡¯t use Luca as an excuse. And since when did you care about Luca that much?¡± Thomas repeated those same words over and over again. He must¡¯ve really thought that I was lying. Boy, was I pissed off. I had no motive to let others know of my true intentions. To change the villagers¡¯ long-standing perception of Judith Maybaum would take too much time, especially since I entered this body only recently. 27 years and 1 month. This body¡¯s karma needed to run its course. But every time I spoke, everyone always assumed that I was lying, so there was no other option but to feel bad. ¡®At least she wasn¡¯t that infamous nor a notorious villain, so I need to be thankful for that. And if I were to head to another village, maybe I won¡¯t receive this kind of treatment.¡¯ After I send Luca to the Winterwald residence, maybe it¡¯ll be better off for me to move to another village. In any case, I still needed to avoid his distant relatives¡­ They tried to find every possible angle to strike down Luca from. Even if Judith didn¡¯t try to coax more money from Winterwald, as she did in the original story, it was only a matter of time when they would find her, as she was the only living relative from his mother¡¯s side during Luca¡¯s childhood. Since Winterwald is up north, that¡¯s a no go. The west is dangerous for strangers, so that¡¯s also not good. And since Emden is down south, nope¡­ Heading east or towards the capital was promising. For a young single woman without a place to call home, settling down in a rural village didn¡¯t seem to be a good idea though, so heading to the capital seemed to be the best option. ¡®If you want to hide a tree, go to a forest to hide it.¡¯ Thomas was clinging onto me so much that I became even more desperate to move away. Like a parrot, I kept on trying to say things to brush off Thomas. But even that had limits. I couldn¡¯t handle it any longer and rage erupted from my eyes. ¡°Since when did I give Luca as an excuse? If I hated something, I would tell you that I did. Don¡¯t you know that?¡± ¡°I-I know.¡° ¡°Do I have to spell out every damn letter in order for you to understand?¡± My eyebrows furiously furrowed as I shouted. Soon after Thomas stopped talking, his shoulders slouched. Whether he didn¡¯t want to give up or justify his position, he started mumbling to himself. ¡°But¡­ stop playing so hard to get. You know, that¡¯s why you still aren¡¯t married and have to take care of your nephew instead. No one¡¯s going to take you if you don¡¯t lower your expectations.¡± He snapped at me as if he rehearsed this line perfectly. Blood vessels on my forehead burst out in anger. Although there are countless differences between Judith and me, some similarities do exist, I suppose. One similarity was that we wouldn¡¯t want to lower our expectations just to get married. Judith¡¯s first term for marriage: wealth! As much as she has an inferiority complex about her appearances, she enjoyed prettying up herself. Chapter 7 She always was fascinated with dresses and jewelry to make her look better. In order to finance that, wealth was a necessity. The second condition for marriage: attractiveness! If she were to only consider wealth, she would¡¯ve already married some successful merchant as a second wife, but then she wouldn¡¯t be content with her kids turning out ugly. In order to bear better-looking kids than Luca, her husband had to be a good looker. That¡¯s why Judith¡¯s shot at marriage got slimmer¡­ but I totally agree with her terms. And that was that. On top of that, his personality needs to be good; his voice needs to sound nice; he can¡¯t let himself loose and be lazy; and he can¡¯t be too scrawny, since that¡¯s not attractive. Oh, and being tall is a must! It was absurd to settle for less with that neverending list of conditions for marriage. I snorted as I replied. ¡°You have quite the knack for saying stuff as if it didn¡¯t pertain to you, huh? Don¡¯t worry about me and focus on yourself, Thomas. You have high standards for liking me, so if you don¡¯t lower your own expectations, you won¡¯t get married?¡± His face flushed red as I kept on arguing. He didn¡¯t work up the courage to talk back to me, so he grumbled something to himself and scampered away, his tail tucked between his legs. I chortled. He was trying to talk me down, thinking that he would have a chance with me, did you think I wasn¡¯t aware of that? Larissa and Luca were exceptionally beautiful, but Judith also was quite the beauty that turned heads, especially in this small rural village. When I revisited Judith¡¯s memory, Thomas never dared to talk to her when she was younger. He didn¡¯t have any courage back then, so why is he trying now? He is trying because he¡¯s getting older? No, it looked like he assumed I lowered my standards. Judith from back then and now, with the exception of age, didn¡¯t change much. On top of that, Thomas and I are the same age. We are both considered old to get married, so it wasn¡¯t even funny that he was trying me. ¡®The pressure to get married by a suitable age was imposed on women more so than men¡­¡¯ Unaware of how much I would get hounded by others about marriage, even in this world, I drowned in my own anger. I barely peeled off Thomas from my side and since I didn¡¯t want to face more guys like him, I hastened my pace. Of course, since today was May Day, the streets were packed with people. I tried my best to walk as fast as I could to avoid them. But then, I collided with a large man who abruptly appeared out of nowhere. He remained on his feet unaffected while I got flung backward. ¡°Ouch!¡± Even though I fell towards the ground, people continued to walk past me. I hurried to pick the scattered herbs back into my basket. If they got stepped on and crushed, it would have been bad news. First a carriage, now a person. There must be black ominous clouds following me today. Dark clouds suddenly blocked the sun shining above me. A little too late, I realized that it was the shadow of the man who I bumped into. The man offered a hand toward me. In front of my nose was a dark-patent-leather-gloved hand, twice the size of my own hand. ¡°Are you alright, My Lady?¡± His deep sonorous voice was rather pleasant to my ears. My eardrums were ringing due to his voice. A lovely voice it was, but I needed to stay level-headed. Along with a strange voice and the fact that he called me a lady, he was definitely not from around here. Noticing the shiny toe caps of his dress shoes, I¡¯m fairly certain that he must come from a wealthy family. ¡®Getting off on the wrong foot with someone like him would definitely cause some trouble.¡¯ With my own drabby looks, it would have been a grave mistake to tangle myself with someone like him, but with Judith¡¯s beauty, she had no problem doing so. Chapter 8 Every day, I carry and move this body around, yet I always get startled after I wash my face and I look at myself in the mirror. If I were Judith, I would put my best smile forward and put my hand on his; I didn¡¯t want anything to do with him though, so I lowered my head, trying to hide my face. Unaware of my feelings even a tiny bit, he continued to speak to me. ¡°Excuse me, I was in too much of a haste. I apologize.¡± ¡°No apology is necessary. I was rushing myself.¡± I didn¡¯t even think about grabbing his hand, I simply bounced back up on my own. He must¡¯ve seen my ruined dress and asked in a worried tone. ¡°Wait a minute, My Lady. Your dress¡­¡± ¡°Ah, it¡¯s alright. It¡¯s not your fault. I have a very urgent matter to attend to, so I must go now¡­¡± As much as I didn¡¯t want his concern, I said what I needed to say, bowed once, and simply took off. But then, oddly enough, I felt his stare on my back. ¡°Surely, he¡¯s not following me¡­¡± I wanted to turn around and confirm, but I was hesitant to make eye contact with him. So I tried my best to ignore his stare, and proceeded to hide among the crowd of people. Fortunately, as if he read my mind, that man didn¡¯t follow me. I safely arrived at the apothecary and was able to get a discount on Luca¡¯s medicine with the herbs I gathered. ¡°What? That medicine is for Luca?¡± The medicine man looked at me with such disbelief. As if I was talking nonsense, his piercing glare cut through me but I awkwardly laughed it off. I got used to those reactions of skepticism. Feigning my callousness, I raised my chin up as I declared, ¡°Since Luca¡¯s sick, you should give me a better deal for his medicine so I can also afford some sausage to help him recover faster. Besides, you haven¡¯t been able to get many herbs as of late with everyone else getting ready for the May Day Festival.¡± ¡°What the¡­ alright, fine.¡± His laugh rang empty, ever still dumbfounded. No matter his reaction, I grinned to myself as I got paid more. With that money, I entered the butcher¡¯s shop and bought some sausage. I had carrots, turnips, and bouquet garni at home, so I decided I¡¯ll cook some pot-au-feu. Bringing back an abundance of medicine and meat, a sense of satisfaction swelled inside me and there was joy overflowing in my stride. At that moment, women around my age gathered around the corner of the village and spotted me, wanting to chat with me. ¡°Huh, Judith?¡± ¡°Why are you here?¡± ¡°Why, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Unaware of the situation at hand, I quickly inquired. One woman stormed out from the crowd, her eyes filled with vicious jealousy bore through my body. She was Lea, whom Thomas mentioned earlier. She should be attending to that aristocrat, so why is she here? I wasn¡¯t sure how she reacted to my own reaction, but I saw Lea¡¯s entire face dropped as if her pride was damaged. Perhaps trying to hide her emotions, she rushed in a feeble attempt to continue speaking normally. ¡°A while back, I was trying to flirt with that young aristocrat, but he was only interested in where you lived and quickly disappeared afterward. So, I thought you hooked up with him and took him to your house, but, I guess it¡¯s not true?¡± ¡°What? An aristocrat?¡± ¡°Yeah. A gentleman with a nice build in officer uniform. He did look somewhat intimidating and brusque but¡­ You don¡¯t know?¡± There was no reason for some man to visit my house¡­ ¡°Wait a minute.¡± Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind. My face turned pale. Is it possible that R¨¹diger is coming this May Day? But without a doubt, the original story mentioned that Luca left for Winterwald when he¡¯s 10 years old¡­ A realization struck me. ¡®Oh, Judith Maybaum, you crazy witch! How could you not even know your nephew¡¯s age!?¡± I assumed that there was 1 year left, thanks to Judith¡¯s memory. Judith really did believe that Luca was 9 years old. Chapter 9 ¡®Luca was so tiny that even I thought that he was 9 years old¡­¡¯ Then again, if he was starved like that, it would¡¯ve been even perplexing if he was any taller. ¡®I should¡¯ve known. It was a weird coincidence that Luca got sick only on May Day. This time around, even the year after¡­¡¯ A completely unexpected turn of even this was, I just wanted to rip out my hair. What am I going to do? I still have a lot to do for Luca, not to mention that I didn¡¯t even have a chance to be emotionally prepared¡­ Lea, oblivious of my internal struggles and concerns, was only curious about how I captured his attention. She subtly pressed on for an answer. ¡°So, how did you charm him? Truthfully if you only look at his face, it looks like he¡¯s hard to get. He looked rather difficult.¡± But I wasn¡¯t in the mood to reply to Lea. The thought of ¡®him,¡¯ R¨¹diger Winterwald, standing in front of my house made my blood boil over. ¡°Uhh¡­ Sorry, Lea. Let¡¯s chat later. I gotta go for now.¡± ¡°What? Hey, J-Judith!¡± As I abruptly ended my conversation with Lea, I rushed home with these goods in my hands. She screeched at the top of her lungs towards my direction. ¡°Hey, is that guy more important than your friend? You¡¯re the absolute worst, Judith!¡± *** Regardless of Lea¡¯s screaming, I ran back home, panting relentlessly. The house seemed so far away, it felt as if the trek would never end. While I was running, I was hoping that all of this was just Lea¡¯s misunderstanding. Maybe he¡¯s looking for someone other than me¡­ Despite my wishful thinking, when I arrived closer to my house, a man with a large build presumed to be R¨¹diger was surely standing in front of my house. I guess Luca was so sick that he couldn¡¯t afford to drag himself down and open the door. I tried to stop gulping for air as I slowed myself to a steady walk. After knocking several times on the door, he must¡¯ve thought that no one was home, and turned away with a small sigh. At that moment, our eyes met. I gasped. Hold on, Mx Author. There was no mention of this man being this handsome¡­! Underneath his military cap, his slicked-back black hair resembled a kingfisher¡¯s plumage glistening in the mist, radiating a vibrant blue aura. Like his straight hair, his eyebrows and eyelashes were thick. His slate-blue eyes that directly looked at me were mesmerizing, like the sky after rainfall. His sharp, prominent nose continued down to his closed lips and his chiseled chin displayed his strong will. It was hard to argue that he was attractive. In addition, the dignified look of his raised collar revealed his long, straight neck and square, broad shoulder, the result of a properly-fitted military uniform. With his long arm and legs and well-defined muscles, he resembled a majestic stallion. I gulped. Without my knowing, my feet halted to a stop. Snap out of it, snap out of it. If no one were around, I almost wanted to slap myself for letting him sweep me off my feet. And to think Luca¡¯s angelic appearance took away my breath too¡­ In any case, R¨¹diger¡¯s looks were far better suited to my tastes, which violently took me by storm. My heart was already pounding in my throat. Then again, it was obvious that my heart would race after seeing such a pristine, polished apple on the pedestal that was R¨¹diger after only seeing the dirty potatoes from the field that were the villagers. How could Lea describe this kind of man as ¡®stone-cold and scary¡¯? Was he so tall that she couldn¡¯t get a proper look at him? That couldn¡¯t be it either. Lea was only a hand¡¯s width shorter than me. I clicked my tongue in disbelief, unable to believe Lea at all. Meanwhile, the man assumed to be R¨¹diger walked towards me. To think that he looked tall even from afar, but while he was approaching¡­ Oh, wait a sec. Of course, since he was so big, it made me feel uncomfortable. Unknowingly, I began to shuffle backward. Chapter 10 Although Judith isn¡¯t particularly short, my eyes only came up to his chest. I only felt awkward, but from his perspective, it seemed like I was terrified of him. He stopped and kept his distance. He focused his eyes on me. The luxury to live like a victor was fairly evident in his intense glare. ¡®H-How awkward¡­¡¯ As I was trying to break my bone dry lips open, he began to talk. ¡°We meet again like this.¡± How in the world was a person so good-looking, tall, and had such a nice voice? Distracted with admiring R¨¹diger¡¯s appearance, which God most certainly crafted with the utmost care, I finally understood his words a beat later. ¡°¡­Huh?¡± We meet again, he says. If I saw a man like him even once, I would have never forgotten. R¨¹diger continued in a calm manner while looking at my eyes filled with suspicion. ¡°Back then, on the street.¡± ¡°Oh, a-ah¡­.¡± I finally realized where I met him. At the village plaza where I crashed into him, with that pleasant voice, it was him. His deep, echoing and hair-raising voice seemed familiar. Of course, there couldn¡¯t have been 2 people with that kind of voice. I gazed at him. How can I get involved with someone like this under such unfortunate circumstances? R¨¹diger offered his hand towards me. The last attempt was to help me up to my feet, this time was for a handshake. ¡°I am Rumgart¡¯s Royal Army Central Division Colonel and Saxon Viscount, R¨¹diger Winterwald. Are you the owner of this residence?¡± ¡°Yes, I am. What brings you to my humble abode, esteemed Viscount of Winterwald?¡± As if uninformed, I simply shook his large gloved hand. ¡°Have you heard anything about Jonas Winterwald?¡± ¡°Jonas?¡± Of course, I knew. But that¡¯s not what ¡®Judith¡¯ would know. Wearing an air of innocence, like hearing something for the first time, I looked at him with wide eyes. ¡°I do not know of this Jonas you speak of¡­ Perhaps you came to the wrong house.¡± ¡°That is not the case. If this is the Maybaum residence, then I have come to the correct place.¡± R¨¹diger was certain. It felt as if he already made the ruling. My shoulders shrugged as I gingerly replied. ¡°Well¡­ You have indeed found the Maybaum residence¡­ For now, let us go inside. Our conversation may carry on too long.¡± To be frank, as I kept on listening to R¨¹diger¡¯s voice, there was no way I could stand without my legs trembling. It felt as if his voice was grazing my ear with a plush feather¡­ It was that kind of voice women would eagerly die for but men loathed as it exuded masculinity. For now, I invited R¨¹diger inside the house, but there wasn¡¯t an appropriate place for him to sit. Instead of the living room, I proceeded to ask him to sit in one of the chairs in the dining room. He sharply raised his eyes at this seemingly awkward situation, but he held his tongue. ¡°There¡¯s a child at home, but he¡¯s quite sick. May I give him his medicine first?¡± ¡°Yes, of course.¡± R¨¹diger without hesitation permitted me to do so. I anticipated that he would agree. With that, I walked up the stairs to the second floor with the medicine I brought from the apothecary and a spoonful of honey. ¡°Luca.¡± The frail Luca turned his head towards my direction as the door creaked open. He barely lifted his red blood-shot eyes. What a sorrowful sight it was, tsk, tsk. Thankfully, this will be the last time he suffers so horribly since he will soon leave for Winterwald. As if leaving something on the table, I tried to remain cheerful as I spoke. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s take the medicine.¡± His face scrunched at the bitter medicine, but he managed to gulp it down. ¡°Aw, our Luca was able to hold down his medicine so well.¡± ¡°¡­Big deal. Since when was I a kid?¡± Well, you are a child. Instead of arguing, I just fed him the spoonful of honey to which Luca disapproved of even more. ¡°Let¡¯s eat some Pot-au-feu.¡± ¡°¡­With what money.¡± ¡°Since we have enough money for that.¡± Chapter 11 To think that Judith badgered Luca so much about money while growing up that he wrapped up all of his thoughts with it¡­ I chuckled as I stood up with the jar of medicine in my hands. As soon as I rose from the bedside, his eyes shuddered nervously, alarmed. ¡°Busy?¡± He probably wanted me to stay by his side a little longer. From last night¡¯s response, approving of my going to the May Day Festival, his reaction now was completely different, not that it was a bad thing. A child needed to be a child. However, Luca tended to bottle up everything too much. As much as I wanted to stay by his side, this situation didn¡¯t allow me to, regrettably. ¡°I¡¯m not busy per se, but a guest is here.¡± ¡°¡­A man?¡± ¡°Yeah, how did you know?¡± ¡°I heard something outside.¡± ¡°Was he really loud?¡± ¡°No, was he trying to look for you?¡± ¡®He was looking for you, not me. He¡¯s your uncle,¡¯ was at the tip of my tongue but I had to restrain myself. ¡°No, it doesn¡¯t look like he was looking for me¡­ but I should talk with him more to figure that out. Get more rest in the meanwhile, Luca.¡± I pulled the blanket up to Luca¡¯s shoulder and patted his chest lightly before I left. I didn¡¯t want my conversation with R¨¹diger to be heard so I closed the door behind me, but Luca¡¯s expression changed as if he sensed something was wrong. An air of uneasiness lingered¡­ Whatever suspicion Luca had envisaged, it wouldn¡¯t happen so I let that concern go and walked away. *** R¨¹diger remained seated unchanged as if I never left upstairs. ¡°May I offer you a cup of tea?¡± ¡°I will gladly take your offer.¡± I placed the tea kettle on top of the fire. Moments later, the kettle whistled as steam escaped. While I poured the tea into the teacup in front of R¨¹diger, I anxiously added. ¡°This tea is brewed from dried flowers that were picked from the roadside. It may not suit your taste, but this is all we have available at home.¡± ¡°The fragrance is pleasant.¡± He lauded but a single crease appeared on his forehead as if it tasted rather bitter. There was yet another similarity between Judith and him. Both of us didn¡¯t have a knack for brewing tea well. As I poured the tea, I was sorting through my thoughts about what I should be cautious with saying. First, and most importantly, I can¡¯t give off the impression of selling Luca off to R¨¹diger, as much as possible. Second, I can¡¯t spill the fact that I know about this ¡°novel¡¯s¡± contents. R¨¹diger will do anything to take Luca anyways, so I just need to be cautious for the most part. The outcome has been already decided so my decision was made quickly. I sat myself down in front of him and resumed the conversation we started outside of the house. ¡°This is the Maybaum residence. However, I have never heard of the name Jonas before. There is no reason for our meager household out in the boondocks to be involved with the respected Winterwald residence.¡± ¡°That cannot be. Five years ago, you wrote a letter to Jonas, have you not? About his illegitimate child.¡± Ah, Larissa must have written the letter to Jonas. Perhaps right before she died from the plague¡­ Between Judith¡¯s and my own memory, there was no recollection of such a letter. Regardless, the fact of the existence of Jonas¡¯s illegitimate child was far more important than how he learned about it. ¡°If the letter was sent 5 years ago, isn¡¯t the response rather late?¡± ¡°I have no excuse for that.¡± R¨¹diger sincerely apologized with his head down. ¡°I am Jonas¡¯ half brother. He hid the existence of his illegitimate child from our entire family. I recently found out that my brother¡¯s illegitimate child existed through a letter stashed in his belongings after his death from falling off a horse.¡± ¡°Oh dear, I hope he rests in peace.¡± He¡¯s a good-for-nothing scumbag who ignored the existence of his own child. Even in the original plot, it described him as a complete ass. Chapter 12 I thought to myself that it was better with him dead, but I obviously couldn¡¯t say that to his younger brother R¨¹diger¡¯s face. I tried to find some way to express my shock at this situation while paying my condolences for Jonas¡¯ death, all the while acting uninformed. R¨¹diger was also so overwhelmed with this situation that he didn¡¯t pay much attention to my reaction. I was slightly relieved. ¡°In the letter, no identifier other than the surname Maybaum was mentioned; that is why it took so long for me to find you. My sincerest apologies.¡± ¡°There is no need for any apologies. Your older brother hid this, so nothing could have been done about it.¡± I responded with ease. The truth is, I liked R¨¹diger as much as Luca, as the character R¨¹diger Winterwald. It¡¯s not hard to love the novel¡¯s protagonist, his supporter, and his devoted mentor. On top of that, since both were pretty handsome, it was clear that my impression of them could only grow more favorable. As I replied out of courtesy with unexpected courage, this handsome ally glanced towards the stairs up the second floor and whispered with hesitance in a low voice. ¡°It appears that the child presumed to be my brother¡¯s child is upstairs.¡± ¡°So it must be.¡± ¡°The name is?¡± ¡°Luca. He goes by Luca.¡± R¨¹diger kept on repeating Luca¡¯s name. He must¡¯ve been ecstatic now knowing about his nephew¡¯s existence. On top of that, R¨¹diger didn¡¯t want to get married; as if he had a child of his own, learning of Luca¡¯s existence brought him much pride and joy. Even in the novel, R¨¹diger took Luca in as his own and cared for him. But¡­ ¡®With that look and no thoughts about marriage, that¡¯s kind of like an insult to humanity¡­¡¯ That superior DNA must be passed onto future generations so that humankind can be at least a little bit happier. I couldn¡¯t stop being so disappointed. Weren¡¯t living beings programmed so that they grow in number and evolve with better genes? Lost in my thoughts, R¨¹diger carefully asked, somehow snapping me out of it. ¡°Pardon me, but how are you related to Luca, ma¡¯am¡­¡± ¡°Aunt, I am his aunt.¡± I rushed to reply. His expression somehow was more at ease. With a relaxed voice, he asked, ¡°What about Luca¡¯s mother?¡± ¡°She died 5 years ago due to the plague¡­¡± As soon as I replied, R¨¹diger¡¯s face turned somber. Glancing down, his blue-gray eyes wavered like the morning fog. His expression abruptly reverted to his usual calm, stony demeanor. He closed his mouth and silently made the sign of the cross. ¡°May she rest in peace.¡± His figure appeared so holy; it looked like rays of light shone from behind him. ¡°I have no words to say concerning Jonas¡¯ wrongdoing. Even as a member of the same household, I am ashamed.¡± ¡°Well, there is a black sheep in every household, regardless of status.¡± Judith was that person in the Maybaum home. Since I wasn¡¯t myself, I lied through my teeth. R¨¹diger, likely unaware of Judith being the black sheep, he nodded in agreement. ¡°Jonas was single, so Luca was his only child. My mother and father learned of Luca¡¯s existence and are enthusiastic to meet him.¡± He briefly paused. He was about going to bring up something that seemed disgraceful. Even though I had a rough idea of what¡¯s to come, my heart was still racing. R¨¹diger¡¯s lips unsealed as he deeply inhaled with determination. I could see his fist clenching on top of the table, the veins in his hands bulging. He finally spoke. ¡°I realize it is rude in asking since you have been taking care of Luca until now, but may I take Luca to Winterwald with me?¡± As expected! Luca is heading to Winterwald! Watching the novel finally spark into motion firsthand, I honestly felt quite excited; I wanted to give a standing ovation. But I couldn¡¯t do that. I had to rethink about the 2 things I had to be cautious about. ¡®I don¡¯t know anything, other than I¡¯m a good aunt who cherishes Luca. I¡¯m a good aunt.¡¯ As if I conditioned myself many times, I put on a face of shock and worry. I wasn¡¯t sure when to time my nods to not raise any suspicion, so, as if I was lost in distress, I fiddled with my teacup instead. Chapter 13 Perhaps my act was a success, R¨¹diger tried to persuade me. ¡°I understand your concerns. However, the Winterwald household will strive to offer the best environment for Luca.¡± R¨¹diger¡¯s words seemed to ring true. R¨¹diger and his parents, therefore Luca¡¯s grandparents, sincerely treated him as their real grandchild, not an illegitimate child. Matter-of-factly, R¨¹diger had no thoughts of getting married, so Luca was their only grandchild¡­ That¡¯s why they wanted to make Luca the next heir, carrying on their family name. When thoughts of all the horrendous events awaiting Luca came to mind, I grimaced. All of a sudden, hesitation welled up inside me. Must I send off Luca¡­ It wouldn¡¯t be too bad if he stayed with me like this¡­ But the Winterwalds wouldn¡¯t give up on Luca. Although R¨¹diger didn¡¯t mention it, the fact that Jonas had a living descendant was far more important than anticipated. I¡¯m only his aunt, not his mom, so I wouldn¡¯t be able to win if there was a custody battle. Even if I were his mom, there still would be no way to win against the Winterwald family. If that wasn¡¯t enough, all the abuse from the past can¡¯t be justified with being nice to him for just a month¡­ Luca probably wanted to follow R¨¹diger. Looking back, that month¡¯s effort seemed meaningless, leaving a sour taste in my mouth. ¡®I shouldn¡¯t be so clingy! The reason why I was trying to be kind to Luca was not that I wanted something in return, but simply because I wanted to. It¡¯s probably for the best to proceed with what I planned from the beginning. Besides, it¡¯s better to go with my gut instincts, not second-guessing myself.¡± As I tried to gather all my disordered thoughts, I sighed deeply. ¡°It¡¯s just so sudden¡­¡± ¡°I understand.¡± R¨¹diger bowed his head. I barely managed to smile and quietly added, ¡°Luca¡¯s sick right now, so it¡¯ll be rather difficult to tell him about this situation so soon. If he takes his medicine today, he should be better by tomorrow. Would you like to meet with him tomorrow then?¡± ¡°Thank you for your consideration.¡± ¡°No worries. It¡¯s for Luca.¡± I gave my best impression of a melancholic aunt parting with her nephew until R¨¹diger left. I was relieved when he didn¡¯t suspect any impression of sending off Luca from the start. ¡®Whew, I somehow managed to climb over that mountain.¡± As R¨¹diger vanished from my sight, I let out a small sigh of relief. *** That evening, I gave my best effort in making Pot-au-feu for dinner. It must¡¯ve not tasted too bad, as Luca cleared his bowl with haste. I watched him eat, pleased. ¡®I suppose this can be our last dinner together. It only lasted for a month, but I did whatever I could to the best of my abilities.¡± I tried to remember this proud moment in the making. I purposefully didn¡¯t tell Luca that R¨¹diger was here earlier. He would find out the reason tomorrow anyways¡­ R¨¹diger¡¯s sudden appearance today was so jarring, I struggled to find a way to lessen the shock of it, even a little bit. And the next day, as expected, R¨¹diger came. Luca, whose fever completely dropped overnight, was startled by R¨¹diger¡¯s sudden appearance. ¡°Uncle?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m your uncle, Luca.¡± I cracked a smile and gently patted Luca¡¯s back, nudging him to greet R¨¹diger. But Luca stood still with his back stiff. He was afraid of strangers. I gave an embarrassed smile to R¨¹diger and urged Luca, ¡°You have to introduce yourself, Luca.¡± ¡°¡­That mister doesn¡¯t look like me at all. How can he even be related to me?¡± Luca looked at R¨¹diger with utter disbelief. Uh oh, it wasn¡¯t supposed to be like this. Something¡¯s amiss, but since Luca¡¯s sick, he may have been more sensitive, so I tried to reason with him. ¡°Luca, you and I don¡¯t look alike, yet we are family. You can¡¯t just judge someone based on their appearances.¡± Of course, Judith was able to understand Luca¡¯s suspicion. In terms of hair color, eye color, and even facial features, there was no resemblance between R¨¹diger and Luca whatsoever. The original story stated that they were relatives though, so that must be true. If I didn¡¯t know any better, frankly, I would be doubtful too. Chapter 14 ¡°It¡¯s not the same!¡± Luca clamored. R¨¹diger¡¯s eyes scowled with hostility towards him. In the original story, Luca accepted R¨¹diger as his uncle immediately, so what went wrong here? Do I really need to show my aggressive side against R¨¹diger to Luca¡­ No, that¡¯s a rather iffy idea. While I was finding a way to persuade Luca, R¨¹diger was equally frustrated as sweat trickled down his face. His face, normally smooth and impenetrable as steel, managed to get compressed with this perplexing situation. ¡°Luca, you look just like my brother. Blonde hair and blue eyes¡­ I do not resemble my brother at all. He takes after his mother while I take after my father. So it is understandable that you and I do not look alike. Oh, right, I do have a portrait of my brother in my locket. Have a look.¡± R¨¹diger listed one excuse after another as he searched through his pockets for the pendant; Luca fixed his eyes at him with incredulity. As if it was Luca fully grown, there was a side portrait of a man resembling a Greek sculpture in the locket. I was curious why in the world Larissa had a one night stand with such a hooligan, but now I felt I could finally understand it all. ¡®If he looked like that¡­ It makes much more sense.¡¯ I nodded my head in agreement with myself. Unwilling to face reality, Luca held the locket in his hand and glowered at it. I held his small shoulders close and in a bright-toned voice, I tried to calm him down, ¡°Uncle¡¯s family is super well off. And they¡¯re aristocrats. If you go with your uncle, you can eat meat every day, learn whatever you want to; don¡¯t you want to do whatever interests you?¡± ¡°¡­What about you, auntie?¡± ¡°Me? I have to stay at home.¡± At least called me auntie. I felt honored. To think that she asked for child support money in front of this kind kid. All in all, Judith Maybaum was the problem. ¡®Now Luca shouldn¡¯t feel betrayed¡­ Alright, it¡¯ll be ideal to leave on good terms like this.¡± However, contrary to my intention, Luca¡¯s eyes quivered, clearly reflecting betrayal. He blinked his eyes as if his world ended. Why is he suddenly like this? What¡¯s wrong? At that moment, the glint in Luca¡¯s eyes swiftly shifted. Luca suddenly wrapped his arms around my waist and shouted, ¡°M-mom!¡± ¡­What? Initially, I thought his calling mom wasn¡¯t directed towards me. Of course, that wasn¡¯t the case. His mom was Larissa, and until now, he never called Judith his mom, not even once. On top of that, he rarely called me aunt. When he did call me aunt, his voice carried such animosity and resentment¡­ What an awkward situation it was, so I stumbled and denied, ¡°W-Why am I your mom? I¡¯m your aunt, not your mom!¡± But Luca shouted again with absolute certainty. ¡°Mom! Please don¡¯t abandon me!¡± ¡°But, I¡¯m not your mom. Luca. Why are you suddenly like this?¡± I embarrassingly laughed as I glanced back and forth between R¨¹diger and Luca. R¨¹diger also opened his eyes wider, confused. His clamped lips began to twitch, not knowing what to say. For now, I had to calm down Luca first, then worry about explaining this to R¨¹diger later. I spoke to Luca with a gentle voice, but he squeezed tighter and soaked my dress with his tears. ¡°I¡¯ll call you auntie from now on. So, don¡¯t abandon me, please?¡± Whoa there, this situation just got really weird. It sounds like I¡¯m his real mom, but I wanted to act like a single lady, so I forced Luca to call me auntie instead¡­ Just as expected. R¨¹diger¡¯s expression continued to harden. Ah, I hear something. The crackling sound of the atmosphere growing chillier¡­ Regardless, Luca was wailing as he clung onto my waist as if the world was coming to an end. ¡°Ah-ahem.¡± R¨¹diger interrupted as he cleared his throat, likely after sorting through his thoughts about this complicated situation. ¡°My Lady, didn¡¯t you mention that you were Luca¡¯s aunt?¡± As expected, it was clearly etched on R¨¹diger¡¯s face that he began to think that I was his mom. I murmured in despair, falsely accused. Chapter 15 ¡°But I am his aunt¡­¡± ¡°Mom! Mom!¡± As soon as I mentioned the word ¡°aunt,¡± Luca screeched like a nestling, chiming ¡°mom¡± endlessly. If I kept on denying not being Luca¡¯s mom, I could¡¯ve been seen as a ruthless mom. I tried my best to not be an unforgiving aunt, so this is all I get¡­? He bit the hand that fed him. Luca, how can you do this to me¡­! I saw the resentment and dejection bottled up in the Luca latching onto my hip. At that instant, he snuck a glance towards me and our eyes met. Luca¡¯s blue eyes burned with relentless obsession. Why in the world is this happening? What does Luca want? Perhaps¡­ He wants me to go with him to Winterwald by calling me mom¡­ Haha! There¡¯s no way that can be! He¡¯s just throwing a tantrum because he was surprised by his uncle¡¯s unexpected appearance. If I can explain it well, I think Luca can understand this situation. Why would Luca want me to go with him to Winterwald by insisting I¡¯m his mother? We¡¯re not that close anyway. It doesn¡¯t make sense, not one bit. But the situation wouldn¡¯t go as smoothly as I hoped. R¨¹diger with a bitter face looked at me and Luca, suggesting, ¡°I do not know what the current situation is¡­ Madam, I mean, Lady, if you are Luca¡¯s mother, I cannot separate a mother from her son, so please, let us all go to Winterwald? O-oh, no! All hell would break loose because of revenge that¡¯ll play out, so why would I go there! Aside from my pity towards Luca, I didn¡¯t want to follow him to Winterwald. Going there meant that I would be heading straight toward the deadly plague, without a doubt. My sympathy and compassion for Luca existed while he stayed in Emden. I refused with my whole body, shaking my hands and head. ¡°No, I prefer this rural, idyllic life¡­¡± ¡°You said you wanted to live in a castle like a princess before.¡± The bawling Luca abruptly argued without slurring his words. Like sparkling blue crystals, his eyes shone with resilience. Disregarding Luca¡¯s defiance, I promptly listed the reasons why I had to stay behind in Emden. ¡°Living a simple life appeals to me.¡± ¡°You said you wanted to wear jeweled rings on all 10 fingers.¡± ¡°My tastes are so simple that eating greasy meats upset my stomach.¡± ¡°But you said that you¡¯d die to have a slice of veal steak.¡± ¡°¡­¡± He kept rebutting everything I said; by the end, I had no more excuses to give. Luca recalled a lot of Judith¡¯s past remarks verbatim rather well, a lot more than I thought. Even I had no memory of it at all¡­ Until now, I was unsure whether Luca was calling me mom intentionally or not, but this time, it finally became clear to me. This was absolutely deliberate! Looking at it from all sides, even from 100 yards away, it was obvious that this was on purpose! At this rate, I¡¯ll really be dragged with him to Winterwald. I tried to persuade Luca in my most stern voice. ¡°Luca, of course, I would love to live a wealthy life, like others. However, I lived in Emden all my life for 27 years. All my friends are here too. I don¡¯t want to live anywhere else.¡± I was thinking about going near the capital after Luca left for Winterwald, but no one knew of my intentions. Without any hesitation, these blatant lies slipped out from my mouth. ¡°Aunti- I mean, mom, but you don¡¯t have any friends.¡± Oi, Luca. Sheesh, must you say such hurtful words to someone? Good grief. Even if Judith had no friends to call her own! I looked at him with eyes full of anguish as he raised his chin confidence. ¡°If you say it like that, then I also lived here my entire life for 10 years and all my friends are here, so I¡¯ll stay here in Emden forever.¡± Like this he spoke clearly before turning a 180, changing his attitude as he bawled instead. ¡°You wanted to get married, after you sent me off, right? Since I¡¯m such a burden, you sold me off to that stranger! I know it all! I¡¯m not going anywhere, no way! I¡¯m going to live with you for the rest of my life, mom!¡± Chapter 16 What a good actor. He¡¯s so good looking and he acted well. If he were in my world, he would¡¯ve blown everyone away as a brilliant Hollywood child actor. I unexpectedly discovered my nephew¡¯s new hidden talent, but it was such an irony that I couldn¡¯t be happy in this situation. As much as I was desperate, Luca was too. This was a conflict of desperation from two opposing sides. But there was another desperate person here. The one determined to take Luca to Winterwald at all costs, R¨¹diger. As soon as Luca stated that he wanted to stay put in Emden, R¨¹diger¡¯s eyes shook with anger. Then, R¨¹diger and Luca¡¯s eyes met. In that short moment, as if the two made a pact, they exchanged understanding glances. Excuse me, can you not be so obvious when you plot a scheme in front of me? R¨¹diger cleared his throat and began to speak. ¡°Well¡­ If you consider remarriage, would it not be better to find your spouse using Winterwald¡¯s resources rather than finding them with no help in the village of Emden? It also appears that marriage is not your top priority right now¡­ Since the child looks so distressed, let us all go together.¡± Luca¡¯s face frowned when he heard of matchmaking, but his voice boomed. ¡®Y-Yeah! That would work! It¡¯s good for you, mom, and for me too!¡± What. I said before that it¡¯s not good for me¡­ But when you look at the conditions objectively, there was no reason for me to not go. It looked like I was throwing a fit instead. If someone mentioned that I was acting like this because I wanted compensation, I couldn¡¯t disagree with them for the misinterpretation. I couldn¡¯t stand the helplessness I felt as the deadly plague approached me, I pleaded with Luca with a tearful voice in one last attempt. ¡°What if I get mistreated over there, hm? I¡¯m only an outsider if I go there, Luca. Think about it. I¡¯m the sister of the woman who gave birth to their dead son¡¯s illegitimate child. Do you think they¡¯d want to take a woman like me in?¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be alright, since you are that very woman who gave birth to their deceased son¡¯s child?¡± How long are you going to keep on calling me mom for¡­? About now, it was basically a battle of the minds. Someone had to break down first¡­ But everyone knew that this was an unfair fight. In terms of being outnumbered, the strength of justifications, and being realistic, I was destined to lose. My only ¡®reason for not going to Winterwald¡¯ is the fact that I know what the future holds. Even if I die, I can¡¯t present such evidence to them. My other opposition R¨¹diger solemnly spoke, ¡°Residents of Winterwald are wealthy enough to take care of more than one person if need be.¡± He continued so that I couldn¡¯t disagree, ¡°If you appreciate the rural, idyllic environment, I can have that kind of environment in the castle built for you. If you wish to live like a princess in a castle, that can also happen. Whether you enjoy meat, vegetarian or healthy foods, we can provide whatever meal you desire. You can delight in everything in the Winterwald residence.¡± Whatever excuse escaped my lips, he was confident that money could satisfy it! At the 2 men¡¯s display of strong will, I broke into tears and I had no other option but to nod in agreement, ultimately speechless. Well. It looks like I¡¯m going to Winterwald after all, how sad. Chapter 2. I Know What The Future Holds, Yet Nothing Is Going As Planned (based on the ebook) I just felt sorry for Luca¡­ Taking care of Luca wasn¡¯t that big of a deal, but I didn¡¯t realize Luca would change this much because of it. By treating him well was like a boomerang returning to its thrower. Was my altering the story, even a just little bit, reaping what I sowed? Uh¡­ I honestly forgot for a split second that everything had a price in a transmigration novel. If I were to let the original plot proceed as written, it always ended up straying off on a different path, however, if I chose to take an alternate route from the original path, then it ended up following the initial plot; such was the terrible price I had to pay with that mysterious power. Put simply, if I wanted to change my tastes, that couldn¡¯t happen; it was impossible; there was no way for it to go that way, basically. Chapter 17 Dejected, one sigh after another continued to escape from me. Black clouds appeared over my head. Of course, those clouds would stick around. Regardless of my miserable disposition, the other two were distracted with preparations for Winterwald. Luca¡¯s face finally lit up after my decision. I got goosebumps after hearing him say ¡®mom¡¯ to me but then dropped it soon after that decision. Of course, since he stopped, R¨¹diger didn¡¯t quite let down his suspicions either¡­ Luca merrily packed his belongings. Since we didn¡¯t own much, it didn¡¯t take all that long. We loaded our scarce belongings onto the carriage. In front of our house, that resplendent black carriage looked awfully familiar. It was the same carriage that almost hit me early yesterday morning. I should¡¯ve known better that this was all ill-fated ever since I saw it. For no special reason, I gave the carriage a nasty glare. Just like that, I took off with Luca to Winterwald at lightning speed. Even before the villagers tried to react to the unexpected arrival of the aristocrat, hearing that we were leaving with him was even more startling. I don¡¯t know how the rumor spread, but villagers heard that I won over R¨¹diger and then became his wife and a part of the aristocrat¡¯s family. The rumor also had it that the aristocrat had such a big heart, he was willing to take Luca to raise him. But the truth of the matter was that I was taken because of Luca¡­ I didn¡¯t even have the luxury to even explain myself. When Lea heard of the rumor, she was hellbent to find me. Her lips and fists were clenched tightly, shaking in fury. ¡°Judith, you¡­ You said so many times that you wanted to snatch a wealthy aristocrat, so I guess you finally succeeded¡­¡± No, that¡¯s not it. We¡¯re not like that at all. If you keep talking like that, what would R¨¹diger, who¡¯s right next to me, think of me? I quickly glanced towards R¨¹diger. At that instance, he was busy conversing with the horseman. I prayed that he didn¡¯t overhear our conversation. As I desperately pleaded, I fanned my crimson face. He looked in my direction after finishing his conversation with the horseman. ¡°It appears that preparations are finished. We need to leave now, so please get on the carriage, Lady Maybaum.¡± He held out his hand towards me. Instilled with genteelness, the modest well-mannered gesture exuded natural elegance and ease. Lea stared as this situation unfolded with boiling jealousy. And she shouted as if she was challenging me. ¡°Fine. From now on, I¡¯ll have bigger ambitions. I¡¯ll find a spouse who¡¯s going to be better than your husband, so just join that aristocratic society and wait!¡± ¡°Wait, Lea! Lea!¡± I called for Lea, but without even turning around once, she stormed away. She made her point in a peculiar way¡­ I didn¡¯t have any ill feelings for Lea, so I hoped that her misunderstanding would clear up. ¡°Was there an issue with your friend?¡± R¨¹diger leaned towards me and whispered. Because of the difference in height, his breath tickled my ear. His cologne-infused voice hitched my breath without my knowing. Uh, Mr. R¨¹diger. Can I please have some space¡­ The distance between us grew smaller; unable to mask my fluster, I unintentionally let out a yelp. ¡°A-Ah, no. There was no problem at all. We can leave now. Let us hurry.¡± I quickly got on the carriage as if I was running away from R¨¹idger. When I boarded the carriage, I was finally able to let out my breath. Whew, geez. Outside the carriage, R¨¹diger vacantly gazed at his palm. He opened and closed his hand several times before letting out a small sigh. I finally realized then that I completely disregarded his gesture of kindness. Oh, no¡­ It wasn¡¯t on purpose. I awkwardly scratched the back of my head. What if R¨¹diger misunderstood it as that I didn¡¯t like him? I wanted to stay on good terms with R¨¹diger, so I was trying to explain what happened. But before I opened my mouth, Luca, who was already in the carriage, suddenly interrupted. ¡°Hey mister, what are you still doing out there and not coming in.¡± Chapter 18 Luca¡¯s voice of complaint had the impression that he still didn¡¯t let his guard down. His cheeky way of addressing him shocked me, so I quickly corrected him. ¡°Luca, he¡¯s not a mister, he¡¯s your uncle.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Not wanting to hear it whatsoever, Luca promptly turned his head away. With his attention towards the window, while only shaking his legs, he looked quite disrespectful. In the initial story, he was such a kind child though¡­ Deprived of love, Luca was desperately keen about presenting himself well in front of his new family. How he wanted to receive attention. But with how he¡¯s acting now¡­ Uh, no way. How can I teach him so that he actually listens to me¡­! From the beginning, I never had any experience with parenting but¡­ In any case, let¡¯s start with how to properly address someone. Since he can¡¯t continue to call him ¡®mister¡¯ forever. ¡®This is totally different from what I read! This is just the destruction of his character!¡¯ In the original story, the dedicated mentor R¨¹diger and Luca had a father-son-like relationship, now, I can almost hear it crumbling away like a collapsing sandcastle. ¡®Of course, if the original story followed its intended path, then I would get into a sticky situation¡­ Even so, it would¡¯ve been better if the relationships between the characters were somewhat close to the original piece, how disappointing.¡¯ Like that, I tried to correct Luca¡¯s impolite mannerisms for the better as much as I could in a calm fashion. I was trying so hard that I ultimately forgot that I needed to apologize for dissing R¨¹diger when he was trying to be polite. In the midst of all of this, the carriage left the village of Emden. Passing by the plaza in the carriage, through the small crack of the window, my eyes met Thomas¡¯. His eyes were brimming with betrayal. As if I chose money and power over an old love. But we weren¡¯t even like that, good grief. This wasn¡¯t even remotely funny. All in all, this was simply unbelievable. I smirked and leaned back. It was more spacious than I expected inside the carriage, to the point I could almost comfortably stretch my legs out. ¡®This is so much better than an economy seat in an airplane.¡¯ If traveling by carriage is like this, then it¡¯s not too shabby. But that thought didn¡¯t even last 5 minutes, it simply shattered. With any excursion, rideability is important¡­ I nearly forgot that travel isn¡¯t only determined by the comfy and spacious the seating is. If that were the case, then riding in a cart with my arms and legs spread wide apart would¡¯ve been the best way to travel¡­. Because of the rural village¡¯s rocky dirt path, the carriage shook back and forth, side to side. If there weren¡¯t any comfy cushioned seats, my bottom would¡¯ve been deeply bruised. As the carriage wheels rolled over rocks, I tried hard to hold back whimpers of pain. At least we¡¯ll only ride on this path for a little longer before transferring to the train, it should be ok then. When the scene with the train in the novel came to mind, my forehead wrinkled, still in agony. I guess Luca mistook my pained expression with my not wanting to go to Winterwald, as he astutely asked, ¡°You don¡¯t want to go that badly?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to go there that badly¡­¡± ¡°Really? Your face doesn¡¯t look like that, auntie¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with my face?¡± ¡°It looks like death.¡± ¡°Haha, I keep on mulling over nostalgia from Emden. There¡¯re too many precious memories.¡± I had absurd excuses like this. But Luca nodded his head, seriously contemplating that my excuses were fairly reasonable. Soon after, Luca began to doze off, as traveling drained him. Seeing this, he¡¯s definitely a kid after all. I grinned as I observed his head bobbing sleepily like that. R¨¹diger watched us quietly, speaking after Luca completely fell asleep. ¡°He must be tired.¡± ¡°He must not be completely recovered. Normally, he is a child with a lot of energy.¡± I placed Luca¡¯s head on top of my knees, concerned that he may fall forward if he was left alone. Luca couldn¡¯t even sense that his head was resting on my knees, he was sleeping soundly. Chapter 19 ¡°He resembles my older brother so much when he was younger.¡± His lips being sealed up until now seemed like a blatant lie, as he continued to make conversation with me. But then again, there was a lot to be curious about and there was a lot to ask too. To be honest, R¨¹diger was basically forced to be silent after he got on the carriage. The reason was that when R¨¹diger was trying to talk with Luca, he didn¡¯t respond well, and when he tried to talk with me, Luca kept on interrupting. R¨¹diger watched the sleeping Luca as he kept on mumbling that he resembled his older brother. Somehow, there was a disheartening sense of restraint in his murmuring that I understood. ¡°¡­But are you certain that you are not his real mother?¡± ¡°I am not?¡± I jumped in surprise. R¨¹diger¡¯s gaze revealed slight puzzledness, he was still confused whether or not I was his mom or aunt. ¡°Seriously, think about it! I¡¯m 27 years old! Luca is 10 years old. You are saying that I got pregnant at 16 years old then. Is your brother that much of a knave?¡± ¡°My brother is most certainly that kind of a person¡­ He openly stated that he had no preference for women regarding age. He even was caught secretly meeting with a woman who was older than my mother¡­¡± Of course¡­ He was such a scoundrel in society, it¡¯s almost awful that I expected such common sense and morals from a Casanova like that. So then, how can I prove my innocence to R¨¹diger? ¡°Can¡¯t we go back to the village and ask the villagers? Everyone there would say that I¡¯m Luca¡¯s aunt. And Luca¡¯s midwife is still alive.¡± While asking the villagers, Judith¡¯s abuse of Luca may be brought up though, which I was slightly concerned about¡­ But there was no other solution. As I suffered in silence, R¨¹diger answered with his typical expressionless face, ¡°No need to bother with that. When I think about it, I am certain that you are not Luca¡¯s mother, Lady Maybaum.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Indeed. Do not worry. I will definitely notify my family about that.¡± With R¨¹diger¡¯s considerate assurance, my face lit up. Even then, it¡¯s still somewhat worrisome if he thought that Luca was a liar¡­ Maybe I wanted to make sure that R¨¹diger didn¡¯t have a negative first impression of Luca, so I noted. ¡°Luca isn¡¯t a liar, it¡¯s just that¡­¡± ¡°He¡¯s not, I know. He called you his mom so that he could travel together, as he wanted. It seemed that he did not want to be separated from you, Lady Maybaum.¡± ¡°Thank you for understanding it like that.¡± Now, I can finally put my mind at ease. Is this like the mindset of a mother? Not only do I care about how he thinks of me, but also how he thinks of Luca¡­ I wondered if the small, witty child was aware of my internal struggle or not. I let out a small sigh and I gently pinched Luca¡¯s cheek, whose head was resting on my knee. ¡°Mmmh¡­¡± Again, I couldn¡¯t be upset with his peaceful angelic appearance. I released his cheek and stroked his cheek with the back of my hand. R¨¹diger staring at my hand, as he shattered the silence, ¡°I believe I could understand the reason why Luca likes you now.¡± ¡°Pardon?¡± ¡°It is obvious that you raised him like your real son.¡± ¡°I-it¡¯s not quite like that¡­¡± Because of R¨¹diger¡¯s compliment, a pang of guilt grew inside of me. Even if Judith¡¯s wrongdoings were disregarded, I did good deeds for only a month. It almost felt as if I wasn¡¯t worthy of hearing such praise. I didn¡¯t know how to take the compliment, so my body squirmed; R¨¹diger just took it as if I was being modest. He suddenly made a promise with determination. ¡°I will think of Luca like my own, modeling after you. We could be Luca¡¯s mom and dad and raise him well.¡± Are you joking with me right now¡­? With his handsome face, he said such bullcrap, I gawked at him, bewildered. I mean, thinking of Luca like his son is alright, and looking after him like Luca¡¯s dad is ok too¡­ But now that I¡¯m involved¡­ This is really¡­ Chapter 20 ¡®We¡¯re like a couple then.¡¯ R¨¹diger¡¯s words were bound to be misunderstood. ¡®But R¨¹diger doesn¡¯t believe in marriage.¡¯ He wouldn¡¯t bring up such a conversation because he likes me or anything. He only brought that up because he wanted to raise Luca well. Although I wouldn¡¯t misunderstand him, I don¡¯t know what others would have thought about this situation. I sighed and added, ¡°Excuse me, others will misunderstand.¡± ¡°About what?¡± ¡°I understand where you are coming from, Sir Winterwald, but if you say that to another woman, there will be a huge misunderstanding, no doubt. She will think that you are asking for her hand in marriage.¡± Not understanding my advice out of concern, R¨¹diger frowned. ¡°Who else would I talk to about this besides you, Lady Maybaum? Luca only thinks about you as his mother. Therefore, do not worry yourself with such matters.¡± No¡­ I don¡¯t worry about other women being treated like Luca¡¯s mom, your statement getting mistaken as a proposal was the real problem. You did say such words, words that could easily be misunderstood! But it seemed like R¨¹diger had no clue about what I was trying to say. Anyhow, in R¨¹diger¡¯s eyes, I¡¯m not a woman, just a companion, someone like him, to take care of Luca together? That¡¯s the type of person he perceived me as. That¡¯s probably why he didn¡¯t even think about his wording, let alone being misunderstood like that. ¡®You should be lucky that I¡¯m actually not Judith, seriously. If I were the real Judith, she would¡¯ve latched onto you when you mentioned mom and dad, already.¡¯ R¨¹diger was a handsome and wealthy aristocrat. In simpler terms, he was exactly Judith¡¯s type. The original piece even mentioned how much Judith tried to hit on R¨¹diger, so it was, conceivably, a reasonable guess. Of course, Judith from the original work wouldn¡¯t even have a chance with R¨¹diger from the beginning, since he wouldn¡¯t even bother with her¡­ At that moment, the scenery from the window began to change. The thicket of the forest disappeared, exposing vast rolling fields. R¨¹diger peeked through the window. ¡°We will soon arrive at Neuhardt.¡± ¡°Neuhardt?¡± ¡°Yes. From here, we will transfer onto the train. As soon as we get off the train, we will arrive at Winterwald, so before we board, we should do some shopping at Neuhardt.¡± Ah, right. The city, where the train station is located, is Neuhardt. Even if it was one of my favorite novels, it¡¯s been a while since I last read it, so I completely forgot about the names of these areas. I may have forgotten the name, but the reason why I still remembered Neuhardt was simple, even if it was just a city we passed through to reach our final destination. Here, there was an episode where R¨¹diger completely transformed Luca into a young lad fit to be a member of the wealthy aristocratic family. This was the moment where the old Luca, in ragged, moth-eaten clothing, became a young gentleman first savoring the life of the riches. This was one of my favorite episodes, where Luca¡¯s thrill and awestruck continued with the banquets basked in luxury. I still wasn¡¯t pleased with going to Winterwald; I feel like if I could, I would turn back right now. But, if I could actually immerse myself in the small scenes that I loved firsthand, I wouldn¡¯t mind as much. I wonder how eager Luca was since what I read in the novel must¡¯ve felt different from looking at it afar from the sidelines. Of course, you can¡¯t beat the real deal¡­ Besides, since Luca was like an angel, he would look good in anything he wore. A navy blue children¡¯s tailcoat, sleek umber equestrian uniform too¡­ The detailed description of his outfits from the novel came across my mind. It was essentially picture-perfect¡­ Does this world not have cameras yet? If it were up to me, I would like to capture the images in my head as photos. The thought of dressing up Luca piqued my ever-growing enthusiasm. Unable to hide it, my face was flushed with excitement as I spoke. ¡°It would be nice if we arrived at Neuhardt quickly. I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± *** Chapter 21 ¡°What do you think about this? It looks like it fits the contours of your body not too badly.¡± ¡°Eh, not really. Wouldn¡¯t it be better if the backside of the dress was fuller?¡± Both men conversed in a serious tone. It was so serious that it looked as if they were discussing some deep, profound topic. But the reality was¡­ After he browsed around for dresses in the tailor¡¯s shop, R¨¹diger clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction. ¡°I¡¯m sure you expected a lot, Lady Maybaum, but standards are not quite up to par, as we are not in the capital.¡± No. I wasn¡¯t forward to this. I was hoping that I could Luca to be dressed up like a doll, I didn¡¯t want to be dressed up as the doll! Of course, it wasn¡¯t bad buying my clothes. It¡¯s actually for the better. Boutique stores from this world had a different vibe from the shopping malls, so this was a refreshing change¡­ It was also intriguing to see new dresses and clothing alike. I was eager at first. When would I ever have the opportunity to wear such expensive and beautiful dresses? Even more so, since R¨¹diger was paying for them, I couldn¡¯t pass up this chance. But it shouldn¡¯t take this long if there wasn¡¯t an issue? Already, R¨¹diger and Luca scanned through 20 dresses. It was tiring just to stand there and have them put clothes on me. I had to even try on dresses that caught the two men¡¯s eyes occasionally¡­! This wasn¡¯t just a one-piece dress where you slip your arms and legs through and it¡¯s done, this was the kind of dress where people had to help me wear, so my energy just plummeted. About now, it seemed like we looked through most of the dresses at this shop. Can we not just slowly check for Luca¡¯s clothes about now. I awkwardly let out a laugh and spoke to the men still seriously debating, ¡°I think these are enough dresses for me, can we look for Luca¡¯s clothes now¡­¡± ¡°This lavender one seems rather adequate.¡± ¡°My aunt looks better in darker colors. She looks more elegant that way.¡± Excuse me, can you please listen to what I¡¯m saying? On top of that, Luca didn¡¯t you still have your guard up against R¨¹diger even before coming into this tailor shop¡­? Why are you suddenly acting as if nothing¡¯s wrong? Putting their heads together like that while they conversed, they appeared rather close. R¨¹diger viewed the clothes on display and clicked his tongue discontentedly. ¡°It is unfortunate that we have to purchase made-to-measure dresses as we are running out of time. No matter how much these dresses are adjusted, it will nowhere be close to bespoke dresses¡­¡± Particularly because of R¨¹diger¡¯s extremely sharp, discerning eye, he passed by countless dresses. Even these splendid dresses that I saw for the first time in my life R¨¹diger continued to disapprove of. The ones he OK¡¯d off on, they still weren¡¯t up to his standard. These didn¡¯t resonate with him; compromise after compromise, he finally gave up and reluctantly selected a few dresses that were at best mediocre. Then again, after being born as a member of a wealthy aristocratic family, R¨¹diger must¡¯ve seen many lavish goods in his life. But what about you, Luca? You¡¯ve never seen such dresses in your life, yet you already know what you like and dislike so naturally¡­? On top of that, women¡¯s dresses¡­? Flipping through catalogs, as if well-versed, he asked R¨¹diger, ¡°What about this dress?¡± ¡°Shopkeeper, bring over this dress,¡± With a content look, R¨¹diger asked the tailor shopkeeper. The shopkeeper swiftly brought over the dress to the fitting maids. It was a white marten-fur-lined deep forest green velvet overcoat. On the velvety fabric, delicate diamond-shaped latticework was embroidered with spun gold. Dainty pearl buttons decorated the inner portions of the latticework. It was a rare occasion that the owner themselves personally helped out customers. R¨¹diger was such a magnate, there was no other option but to help out though. That¡¯s right. When would I ever get such treatment? A small sigh escaped me, sheepishly laughing as I asked, ¡°Is this alright?¡± ¡°Mhm. It suits you well.¡±