Chapter 40

The door opened, and Cheshire came in, stopping abruptly when he saw me.

His mouth slightly opened as he stood there in a daze.

'What's his reaction, what is it~! Is it so beautiful that he can't even speak?'

I cleared my throat and fidgeted with my toes.

"...Why?"

"......"

"Cheshire?"

He, who had been dazed, regained his composure and said,

"Ah. I was just checking if you're okay."

"You were worried? I'm fine. It's not like I was hurt yesterday."

"...That's a relief. I'll go."

"Huh? Wait a moment!"

Cheshire, who seemed about to leave, turned around, holding the doorknob.

"Y-You're just leaving?"

"Isn't that so?"

"Is there nothing you want to say?"

"...What to say?"

"Am I not looking a bit different today?"

"......"

"Oh, not really."

"Ah. You do look different."

"Hmm. How so?"

Cheshire hesitated.

His reaction seemed like he was embarrassed, and I felt hopeful. I tried hard to keep my lips from curling up.

At that moment,

The door burst open.

"Lilith! Are you ready?"

It was Theo.

Theo, who had just come in, saw me and opened his mouth wide.

"Oh my..."

"Big brother is here?"

"Brat!"

Behind him, Leon's voice was heard.

Pushing Theo aside, Leon came in, stopped when he saw me,

"...Haha!"

He puffed out his cheeks and covered his mouth, trying to stifle his laughter.

What's wrong with him.

Leon soon grabbed his stomach and rolled on the floor, laughing mockingly.

"Ha ha ha! An octopus witch!"

W-What, an octopus witch?

For reference, the octopus witch was an ugly villain from "Princess Lala's Adventure."

She had a pale face, black eyes, and thick, bright red sausage lips!

"Leon, stop laughing."

Theo, who tried to stop Leon, couldn't help but burst out laughing too.

I slowly turned to look at the mirror behind me.

'I don't think I look strange...'

It seems my first makeup attempt was a spectacular failure.

"Aaaah! Miss! What's going on here!"

"Oh no! No way! Emergency, emergency!"

Jett and Jun, who followed, were also shocked.

* * *

Caught by my sisters again, I had the octopus witch makeup removed and went outside with the twins and Cheshire.

The garden, full of blooming flowers, was beautiful, and the spring weather was warm, but my heart was heavy.

"...You're beautiful."

Cheshire, who had been glancing at my gloomy expression, reluctantly said.

"I don't believe it."

"I'm serious."

"Okay, thanks."

"Earlier..."

Cheshire closed his eyes tightly.

"...You didn't look bad."

I felt like crying as I looked at him, who had closed his eyes and then opened them.

'Cheshire Rubinstein couldn't lie. He always gave it away by closing his eyes tightly when he had to lie.'

Why did the habit from the original work come to mind so vividly...?

Even though there was no related episode, why did the original work have to describe such useless information...

I wanted to crawl into a mouse hole.

"Octopus, octopus."

"Ah, don't call me that!"

Leon chuckled when I flared up.

"Right, Leon. Stop it. Lilith, you look really beautiful today. You're a princess."

"Uh-huh."

Theo kept looking at me every minute after my makeup was removed, saying I was really beautiful.

I felt like I needed to change my ranking of favorite brothers. That annoying Leon.

"But Leon, you really won't meet the kids? If not, why did you come out?"

When Theo asked, Leon, who had been walking with his hands crossed behind his head, pointed at me.

"The maids said the brat was so cute, so I came to take a look. Why would I want to see Erica Valerine's face on such a nice day?"

"Is Erica coming today too?"

When I asked, Theo nodded and counted on his fingers.

"Erica Valerine, Damon Martini, Jean Weber, Bruno Pensler, Charlotte Meyer..."

I perked up my ears to see if I recognized any names.

From what I heard, they all seemed like extras, but one name caught my attention.

'Damon Martini, I think I've heard that name in the original work. Who was he? My memory is fuzzy, so he must not be a major character...'

Just then,

"Kids!"

A familiar voice came from the garden entrance, and it was Erica.

Beside her was a boy I didn't know.

"What, what! Why is he here so early?"

"Looks like you can't run."

Leon, who was startled, jumped up, and Theo laughed knowingly.

"Oh! Come on! Ah!"

It seems he really didn't want to. Leon, at a loss, grabbed Theo.

"Hey, hey! Let's switch earrings!"

"Are you crazy? No way!"

"Quick! Switch them quickly!"

Leon, like he was snatching, put on the sapphire earring from Theo's left ear and forced his ruby earring on Theo.

Theo, reluctantly, put on Leon's earring.

What is he doing all of a sudden.

"Leoooon!"

Erica, who seemed happy, ran over and hugged Theo's waist.

'Hmm. They can't tell the difference when the earrings are switched.'

I burst out laughing at the sight.

"Phew..."

Theo, who had to pretend to be Leon, pushed Erica away and sighed.

Erica, in her beautiful gray dress, looked like a child model as always.

She must be twelve, so she looks quite grown-up.

"Isn't that sister really pretty?"

I asked Cheshire, who was standing beside me, and he looked at me and shook his head.

"I don't know."

"She's much taller than me."

"......"

"Sigh, well. I'm an octopus witch, after all."

"I never called you an octopus."

"Ha, when will I grow..."

As I mumbled, Cheshire, who had been staring at me, turned his head and said softly,

"Right now..."

"Huh?"

"...Never mind."

"What are you saying, brat."

Leon, who had been listening, suddenly butted in and whispered in my ear,

"You're a hundred times cuter and prettier. She's just always making a lot of noise."

"What? You called me an octopus before."

"Just kidding. You're the prettiest in the world."

At that moment, Erica, who had been annoying Theo, came up to me.

"Hi, Lilith! It's been a while! How have you been?"

"Uh-huh, sister! You look like a princess today too!"

"Oh? Hehe, don't be silly. You still look like an angel, kid. You look so dressed up today? Everyone will fall for you, I bet."

Hehe, Erica laughed and looked at Cheshire, puzzled.

"But who is this? I've never seen him before. Is he a squire?"

Then Theo came over.

"Ah, this is Cheshire. Our uncle is now his guardian, so he's staying with us now."

"Oh, I see. But Leon."

Erica, with her pretty eyes, poked Theo's shoulder.

"Why are you being so affectionate to me today? You're even explaining everything to me..."

"Huh?"

At that moment, Leon kicked Theo's shin.

"Ouch!"

Oh, that must hurt. Theo, who grabbed his knee, gritted his teeth and shouted, pretending to be Leon.

"Me, being affectionate! You annoying girl!"

Despite Theo's loud outburst, Erica, who was used to it, just smiled.

"Now that's the Leon I know."

I nodded, looking at the same old Erica.

'Sure, she has a taste for bad boys.'

I was watching Erica, who clung to Theo with her arms crossed, when I noticed the boy standing like air beside me.

He seemed to be waiting for the right moment to join in and, when our eyes met, quickly came over.

"Nice to meet you..."

"Why are you here? There's no one to greet you?"

"Nice to meet you, Miss Rubinstein. I'm Damon Martini from the Martini family."

Damon, who ignored the openly rude Leon, offered his hand to me.

Seeing Leon stick out his tongue, it seemed they didn't get along well.

'This is Damon Martini. I recognize the name... Remember, Lilith! Remember!'

Damon, with his deep chestnut hair and eyes, had a noble face but a vague impression.

'Martini... Damon Martini...'

As I shook his hand and tried to remember, a light bulb went off in my head.

'Ah, right! I remember! This guy! He was the typical villain extra who always picked on Cheshire and said the Rubinstein family was outdated, making the story less interesting!'

Damon Martini.

He was a character who always picked on Cheshire and said things like the Rubinstein family was outdated, making the story less interesting.

No wonder he felt so familiar...

I glanced at Cheshire, who was standing beside me, and tensed up.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Martini. I'm Lilith Rubinstein."

"Oh, you're quite familiar with etiquette? I was worried you might not be able to communicate since I heard you grew up with commoners."

"Man, this guy's mouth is always so unlucky."

Damon, hearing Leon's small mutter, looked at him curiously.

It must not be Theo's tone.

Soon, Damon seemed to realize the twins were pretending to be each other and laughed.

"Well, there are some people, like Mr. Antrese, who are born nobles but are ignorant of etiquette."

"Right, you do better."

Leon shot back, but Damon just smiled, as if used to it.

"But to be under the guardianship of a duke, I must have missed the news. What family are you from?"

...Of course. As a villain extra programmed to pick on the protagonist, Damon's interest quickly shifted to Cheshire.

I swallowed and quietly held Cheshire's hand.

"Commoner. Don't care."

"What? Is that true?"

Leon answered for him, and Damon's eyes widened and his mouth opened.

"Why would the duke... Ah!"

Damon, seeing my hand holding Cheshire's, nodded as if understanding.

"Just a playmate, I see. You're lucky. To be noticed by a duchess and receive education from a prestigious family. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so work hard and don't disappoint the duke. Got it?"

Anyone would think he was the guardian...

Damon patted Cheshire's shoulder, as if encouraging him.

"...Yes, thank you."

"Right, right. Ah, why don't we all go and get to