WHYMCF 20

Chapter 20

Meanwhile, Lizbet kept stopping him from leaving.

“I really can’t just let you go like this.”

“What if you collapse again outside? I still don’t fully understand my power yet…”

“Max, just drink this before you go.”

As Noah looked into the eyes staring up at him, his resolve naturally weakened.

In the end, he gave in to Lizbet.

Claude, meanwhile, looked like he was simply watching to see how far things would go.

“Fine. I’ll just drink this and leave.”

“…That tea is hot though.”

“…!”

Who drinks hot tea in this weather?!

Noah downed the tea in one gulp and immediately grabbed his throat as his esophagus felt like it was burning.

“C-cough…! Don’t you people drink iced tea?!”

“Are you raising your voice at my sister right now? Your High—”

“No! No, that’s not it…!”

Noah hurriedly covered Claude’s mouth before he could finish.

He shook his head frantically.

He didn’t want Lizbet to find out his real identity like this.

Claude narrowed his eyes at Noah’s desperate signals.

Only Lizbet tilted her head innocently.

“Max, I baked some madeleines. Take them with you.”

“He doesn’t like madeleines, Sister.”

“How would you know that?”

“Well, that’s because the Im—”

—He even runs away from food cooked by the imperial chef.

Before Claude could finish speaking, Noah covered his mouth again and quickly grabbed the basket Lizbet offered.

People without siblings must feel pretty miserable sometimes…

Someone who only has a rude older brother should probably leave this affectionate sibling pair quickly.

Noah forced a smile.

“Thanks, I’ll enjoy them. I’m really leaving now.”

“Are you sure you’ll be okay? If there are any aftereffects later, come find me.”

“…Okay.”

Noah looked suspiciously at Lizbet’s gentle smile before dragging Claude into a corner.

Once they were far enough away from Lizbet, Noah lowered his voice.

“Young lord, please help me out. I don’t want the Lady to find out I’m a prince while I’m like this.”

“It feels like quite a deception that only the Second Prince knows about my sister, while she knows nothing.”

“What deception? I didn’t approach her with any intention! We just happened to meet in the marketplace.”

“…The marketplace? My sister?”

Claude’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

Not noticing, Noah continued pleading.

“I didn’t come today for any special reason either. I just heard something bad happened to her… I only wanted to check that she was safe. But unexpectedly, the Lady used her power on me.”

“….”

So in the end, he had come because he was worried about Lizbet.

Only then did Claude’s expression soften.

He knew about Prince Noah.

Easygoing, straightforward, and above all honest.

There wasn’t a trace of scheming in him.

In the end, Claude decided to believe him.

At least the concern he showed for his sister couldn’t be doubted.

“I understand. I will trust Your Highness.”

“Thank you, young lord. And if possible… could you not tell the Lady even after I leave?”

“…I’ll do that.”

Only after hearing Claude’s firm answer did Noah finally release his arm.

Claude pursed his lips at Noah’s visibly relieved face before pushing him quickly toward the door.

“Then farewell, Your Highness.”

Without the slightest hesitation, Claude sent him away and shut the door.

Click.

The sound of footsteps lingering outside gradually faded away.

But Claude continued holding the doorknob for quite a while before letting out a sigh and turning around.

Lizbet was already sipping tea again.

“You knew, didn’t you, Sister?”

“Knew what?”

“That he was the Second Prince. You approached him on purpose.”

Claude realized it when Noah mentioned meeting Lizbet in the marketplace.

The Lizbet he knew wouldn’t go there alone.

Especially not during times like these, when it could be dangerous.

So there must have been a purpose.

And that purpose must have been Noah.

“You noticed right away.”

As expected, Lizbet calmly admitted it.

“Prince Noah seems to have no idea you know who he is…”

“Yeah. I’ve never met him before, so of course he’d think I wouldn’t know.”

Lizbet answered casually.

Claude hesitated before sitting down on the sofa opposite her.

Then he spoke carefully.

“There must be a reason you suddenly sought out Prince Noah that I don’t know about…”

“….”

“But I still think this is a bit wrong. His Highness doesn’t know anything. It’s basically deceiving him.”

“There’s no way I’d do anything that harms Prince Noah.”

“But Sister… it still bothers me.”

Claude was a devout person.

He valued truth and faith more than anything.

Just like the pure and honest priest chosen by the gods.

Lizbet looked at her brother’s kind face.

He died like this before too.

In her previous life, he had refused to submit to Frederick and stayed true to his beliefs.

Young and pure to the very end.

The memory of Claude from the first timeline flashed through Lizbet’s mind.

“I only pray that God will guide Your Highness to the right path.”

Lizbet had hoped Claude would change a little.

But she also loved the brother who never changed.

So she couldn’t simply ignore what he was saying.

In the end, Lizbet sighed in defeat.

“Alright. It was wrong of me to deceive the Second Prince. I’ll apologize later.”

“Later?”

“Yeah. Later.”

“…Okay. Make sure you apologize then.”

Claude reluctantly accepted her answer.

It seemed their argument had ended, and Lizbet relaxed.

But Claude wasn’t finished yet.

“Can I say one more thing?”

“Sure.”

“….”

Claude hesitated again before lifting his eyes firmly.

“I think you’ve changed, Sister.”

Breaking off the long-awaited marriage with the First Prince.

Meeting Noah in the marketplace.

Those were things the old Lizbet would never have done.

But the moment Claude truly realized it was when he taught her how to use divine power.

When his power carefully reached hers—while he was trying not to upset her—

He saw flashes of something.

The Armierosha mansion burning.

His eldest sister leaning against her husband with her eyes closed.

And his younger sister standing before the gallows.

In front of her sat a blond man.

When Claude saw all of that, he knew something had changed in her soul.

And the emotions Lizbet had felt at that time—grief, anger—flowed into him.

At the end of those blazing emotions remained only one desperate wish.

So Claude had no choice but to say it.

“It’s okay. Everything will turn out the way you wish.”

The boy only wanted to comfort his sorrowful sister.

He smiled brightly so she could feel at ease.

But thinking about it again, something was terribly strange.

What exactly had my sister experienced?

It wasn’t something from the past.

Nor was it the present.

Which left only one possibility.

The future.

Claude looked straight at Lizbet, believing she would tell him.

“I saw what you experienced.”

At his words, Lizbet suddenly froze.

Two identical pink eyes met in midair.

“Since then, I’ve been anxious, Sister.”

“….”

“What if something happens to you? If that happens… will there be nothing I can do for you?”

Hearing her brother’s voice, Lizbet suddenly remembered the last words he had spoken in her previous life.

“I’m sorry, Sister. I should have done better. But I didn’t understand anything… and because of me, you suffered so much…”