Chapter 6

I stared at him with a shocked look on my face.

Ah, so I can be detoxified.

I forgot that detoxification magic existed. My mind went blank when he told me I was going to die that I hadn’t even thought of it. I’m such a fool.

But couldn’t you have started off with that instead of scaring me? I hope you know my heart practically stopped beating until you brought up detoxification!

I knew he didn’t do that intentionally though. Now that the weight of my supposed imminent death was lifted, I almost whined about that out loud. The tension went out of my shoulders, and I let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank you so much for helping me. You saved my life.”

I owed Claudia money and Felix my life. The Chamberlain siblings practically owned me at that point.

Am I going to be okay? I mean, I’ll be fine, right? Since they’re both angels... in looks and personality, that is.

That was how the female protagonist and her family were. Well, since they were her family, there was no question they were good people without ulterior motives. I hesitated for a moment and then walked toward him. When I thought I had gotten close enough, I stopped.

He looked at me sheepishly and said, “You’re still too far away.”

I took another step closer.

“Irene, in order to detoxify you, I have to touch you.”

“O-of course!”

My being the explainer of everything was a character trait that didn’t exist in FBD, but it was what allowed me to capture Claudia’s heart during this past year. That being said, I still felt awkward around her older brother to the point where I could barely acknowledge him at times.

“Lady Amber, I see you’ve come to visit again today. Please, make yourself at home.”

“Thank you. Erm, ah... Since I’m your sister’s friend, please don’t feel the need to keep up with such formalities.”

“Very well, Irene.”

I could almost see a halo glowing as he gracefully smiled at me.

“Please, call me Felix.”

It’s pretty telling when I say that that was the last time I spoke to him. This was actually his first time at my house! Claudia must have sent him. Otherwise, why would he come all the way here? Gosh... If it weren’t for Claudia, I would have died from poisoning by assassins.

I went and calmly stood in front of Felix as instructed. No matter how much I wanted to run away out of embarrassment, my life was on the line, so I didn’t have a choice. He slowly reached out to me, revealing the back of his hand from his sleeve. His pale fingers looked like they were meant for playing the piano. It was a gesture you’d make to a frightened wild animal to show you meant no harm. I stood still as I looked down at his outstretched hand. It looked elegant but was larger and stronger than I had expected.

All I could think was, He didn’t have to go that far.

Did he think I was trying to avoid him because I was scared? I was actually just embarrassed.

I looked up into his sky-blue eyes as he gently tapped my forehead with his finger and said, “I understand.”

“Pardon?”

“Claud is like that too.”

It sounded like “Claud” was his nickname for Claudia. Siblings who have nicknames for each other? Yeah, this definitely had to be a fantasy novel.

From his finger on my forehead, I could feel a warmth spreading. It permeated and flowed throughout my body.

“She hates standing close to me because she thinks I look boorish when I look down at her.”

What? Now that’s actually something siblings in real life would say. I thought you guys were two fantasy siblings in a fantasy world.

My eyes widened in shock. However, Felix didn’t seem too hurt by those words from his precious sister. In fact, he actually looked relieved in a way.

“Claud has been as sweet as an angel ever since she was young, so she’s even been kidnapped several times,” he began. “People have always been drawn to her and have tried to court her. If that didn’t work, they usually resorted to using force. Though I’d step in and handle people like that, of course.”

That I already knew. That was why out of all the people around Claudia, the male leads saw Felix as a thorn in their side. It was also why they tried to get rid of him as soon as the opportunity presented itself. Whenever anyone tried to get too close to his precious baby sister, Felix would step in seemingly out of nowhere, and cut them off.

“She’s gotten used to it since it had been happening to her for so long though,” he said in dismay as he spoke of his sister’s plight. “I promised that I’d handle everything and that she didn’t need to worry about anything at all. I shouldn’t have said that...”

It sounded like he blamed himself. Realistically, it wasn’t his fault. After all, these weren’t just ordinary guys trying to woo her. All of them were successful and powerful in their own way throughout the empire. Even if she despised them, it wasn’t like she could be straightforward and tell them to stop hitting on her and get lost. Her reputation wouldn’t survive, even if she was praised as the flower of society. That was just how high society worked, unfortunately.

It was of utmost importance to prevent weird rumors from spreading about Claudia since they’d ruin her reputation. Covertly setting up situations to ward off the three male leads without drawing their ire, well... That was probably the best Felix could do. I could feel just how much he cared about his sister.

“I’ve ruined everything, haven’t I?” I said. “All that work you put in went to waste because of me... It’s back to square one.”

It went without saying that terrible rumors about Claudia were likely already spreading like wildfire throughout society. In the eyes of the nobility, she went up against the prince, the duke, and the paladin, and declared she was going to live with another woman for the rest of her life.

He looked at me strangely at the mention of “back to square one,” but said firmly, “No, I should’ve told her not to hold back.”

He always had a soft smile on his face, so I was surprised to see him look so serious. Felix had always given off the impression of a gentle soul, but with that hardened look on his face, his eyes looked sharper than Claudia’s.

“I had no idea how low her self-esteem had fallen. I thought I was keeping her protected in my greenhouse. I should have told her that it was all right, that it wasn’t her fault. I should have told her to always stand up for herself.”

He mumbled all this as he half-closed his eyes against his self-ridicule. Maybe it was because that gorgeous man looked like he was in a precarious state, or maybe it was because he looked just like Claudia, but... I suddenly felt the urge to give that large, fully-grown man a big hug.

“She’s changed a lot though, and it’s because you’ve been with her. I’ve always been grateful for what you’ve done for her,” he continued.

“Even though it looks like she’s going to be shunned from society and she won’t be able to marry?”

“I can carry on the family line. I just want her to be happy. That’s all. Right now, she looks happier than she’s ever been. It’s the first time I’ve seen her like this since we were little.”

I was speechless.

“So, from the bottom of my heart... thank you,” he concluded with a smile.

After declaring that it was enough for him as long as Claudia was happy, Felix took his finger off of my forehead, patted my head, and said, “There. You’re all set.”

This all happened so naturally that I didn’t even get the chance to run away.

“It doesn’t hurt at all, right?” he teased, then laughed lightly as I stiffened at his touch.

“You’re not teasing me, are you?”

“Of course not.”

He was totally teasing me. With narrowed eyes, I looked up to glare at him and we momentarily locked eyes again.

He looked at me in genuine concern and said, “Irene, you’re also unprotected, and it worries me...”

Well, sorry for not being protected. It’s not like I’m a high-ranking noblewoman. Who knew that I’d have to worry about assassins and poison?

“I see why Claud made such a big fuss to have you brought over now.”

“Why? Because I’m so unprotected?” I asked as I scratched the back of my head. Felix immediately responded.

“Because you’re cute.”

Say what now?

Just as I was thinking he was pulling my leg, I remembered I was talking to Felix. He was not someone to say things he didn’t mean. That was similar to how Claudia was, so Felix probably meant it in the most innocent way possible.

I know he’s blinded by his love for his sister, but did that carry over to me as well because he loves her so much?

I suppose Irene is pretty cute, something that was frequently mentioned by Claudia. I had squishy cheeks like mochi and big round golden eyes. However, I paled in comparison to the two siblings. I wasn’t ugly, but I didn’t exactly stand out either. I was just an extra that was going to die soon. I didn’t know how else to explain the reason why he thought I was cute enough to worry about. He must have been brainwashed by Claudia!

Obviously not immune to his charms, I almost blushed. But then I remembered my place and kept my cool. He didn’t mean anything special by that. He just wanted to be nice to the friend of his sister whom he loved to pieces.

“Anyway, would you kindly allow me to kidnap you, my lady?” Felix said nicely.

He was respectful and kind, but there was a sort of chilling look in his eyes as he smiled.

So he wants me to go back home with him to Claudia since I’d be in danger if I stayed here, right?

Felix was nice, but he had some weird mannerisms like this.

* * *

“Irene!”

Claudia ran out to greet me upon hearing that I had arrived. She squeezed my cheeks and carefully looked me over to see if I had been hurt anywhere. I could see she was extremely angry, so even though my face was squished, and my lips were protruding like fish lips, all I could do was blink.

“I heard what happened! I didn’t know those bastards would lay a hand on you so soon!”

I was rendered speechless by her strong words.

“How dare they try to harm my Irene? I’m gonna find them and break all their bones!”

Oh, my... When did you learn to talk so aggressively like that?!