Chapter 4

***

All that I could do was gape as I stared at the arm that had emerged all of a sudden.

‘This guy must be crazy!’

"Don't be so surprised, Lili. I'm not a bad person."

The arm in the wall shook a bag as it spoke. It seemed almost like a scene from a horror movie.

‘What the hell? That’s terrifying!’

"Lia..."

"Hey wait, don't call Lia. I haven’t made up with her yet,” said the already-terrifying dangling arm as it flopped around eerily.

‘Really, what the heck is that?!’

"I would come in completely if I could, but Lia put up such a strong barrier... anyway, don't be frightened, dear. Can you accept this first?"

"But I don’t even know you..."

I mumbled in my best-frightened voice.

‘Oops, did I sound too mature?’

Nevertheless, I couldn’t help it. I was too flustered to consider such things!

"I'm really not a bad person. This is a cookie. You like cookies, so we could become friends, right?"

"..."

‘What a load of bullcrap...’

I looked back at the arm, which was now drooping sadly, and gulped.

He had to be using magic. And considering how he knew Julianne, he was probably her classmate. Moreover, with such a strange personality…

Naturally, one of the four male lead candidates suddenly came to mind.

The craziest in Delire Academy. The complete opposite of Julianne, but surprisingly close to her.

It had to be Allen Lowell.

Seeing him in person now, he seemed to be even crazier than I’d originally thought. I let out a deep sigh and turned around.

Lia had specifically warned me not to talk with strangers, after all.

"Wait, Lili!"

A sad, desperate cry came from behind me, almost sounding like a man trying to hold onto a departing lover.

‘Wait, how did he know my nickname in the first place?’

I picked up the pace and swiftly left the garden.

‘I don’t even have to listen to any more of this. You’re out, dude.’

***

"I'm sorry, Julianne. It's my fault that I couldn’t properly stop Lowell."

A man with light blond hair and emerald green eyes similar to Julianne's spoke politely.

I gently swung my legs back and forth, gazing at the man in front of me.

He had quite a bulky figure, a gentle yet cold-looking appearance, and a polite manner of talking.

There was only one person with such characteristics.

It was Cedric Royston.

"You brought him here, Cedric?” Julianne asked, her voice noticeably chilly.

I never knew my sister could be that stern… actually, I did know. That was one of her characteristics, after all.

But I hadn’t expected her to act that cold in front of me.

I stared at the tempting cookie right before my eyes and licked my lips.

The very same cookie that some lunatic had handed me, just one arm sticking out of the wall.

Anyways, upon hearing Cedric call him Lowell, I was now sure that lunatic was indeed Allen. I nodded my head approvingly as I looked at him.

Well, his looks had screamed Allen Lowell when I thought about it.

With his flowing silver blue hair and mischievous blue eyes, he was Allen Lowell, my favorite character in the novel.

Of course, not anymore though. It was only fun to see the crazy ones when reading from outside the novel. If he appeared in reality, he likely would have become a criminal in less than an instant.

But that wasn’t the point right now.

I immediately shifted my gaze from Allen and looked at the cookie in front of me.

After only eating things like carrot cookies every day, seeing a sweet cookie made my mouth water.

Yes, he had surprised me, but the cookie itself was innocent… so of course, I had to eat it.

"You’re only allowed five, Lili."

Julianne spoke up as soon as I reached out to grab one.

‘This isn’t what you should be worrying about right now, Lia.’

However, I nodded and looked at both Allen Lowell, who was chuckling, and Cedric, who in contrast looked anxious.

What an odd pairing.

I wondered how they’d ended up here together.

"You’re even cuter up close, Lili."

"How do you even know Lili's nickname, Allen?" Julianne wrapped her arm around me, asking coldly.

"I heard it often when passing by. You two seem to have a lot of fun together."

There was no way he could’ve heard that. I immediately tilted my head.

Come to think of it, it had sounded like he could see me, even when he’d only stuck out his arm.

As expected of a magician.

Of course, Julianne was still way more talented than him. I leaned my head against her side.

I didn't know whether Lilianne had any magic abilities or not since it had never been mentioned in the novel, but Julianne, due to her family's unique constitution, could cast spells at a high level.

Earlier, I’d vaguely heard that even the mansion’s magic barrier was managed by her.

Either way, that was quite impressive. The protagonist must be special, I guess.

"Your sister is so adorable," Allen said, staring at me in awe.

‘Wait, didn’t you come to see Julianne? Why are you only looking at me?’

Avoiding his uncomfortable gaze, I burrowed into Julianne's embrace. While the cookies were delicious, I still didn’t like him.

‘Sorry for you, buddy, but you can’t join us…’

"Anyway, I really did come here to apologize."

Soon enough, Allen shifted his gaze to Julianne and opened his mouth. Cedric automatically let out a sigh at the same time.

It seemed like things like this had happened frequently. Allen causing a problem… Julianne getting angry… and Cedric intervening to have them make peace.

When I thought about it, I had seen situations like that in the novel.

I was amazed by how Julianne even became friends with Allen in the first place.

"What apology?"

Julianne replied coldly. I wondered what Allen had done wrong to make her act like that.

I reached out and grabbed another cookie. Now, I could only have three more.

‘Three cookies…’

Allowing me to eat only five was unfair when there were more than ten different kinds alone.

"Back then, you asked me if I could examine Lili, but I didn’t. I’m sorry that I just disappeared without saying anything."

Allen apologized in a sincere-sounding voice, completely different from how he’d acted just before.

Upon seeing him, not only Julianne, but Cedric, also seemed surprised and looked at him with widened eyes.

‘Oh right, I loved Allen for his character’s depth when I read the novel,’ I thought to myself while I chewed and swallowed my cookie.

It seemed like Julianne had asked Allen for help when Lilianne became sick in the original story. It was never shown in the novel, so that was my first time hearing about it.

Come to think of it, wasn't Allen Lowell an expert in healing magic?

Anyways, Julianne would definitely have been mad at him if he’d suddenly disappeared without saying anything.

She probably would’ve completely trusted him to help her.

But if he had treated Lilianne back then, would I never have possessed her in the first place?

‘Hmm, I don't know. I’m just going to have some cookies.’

"So, why did you do that?" Julianne asked.

Hearing how she had softened up slightly, Allen put on a sullen expression and spoke.

‘He's just like me. He knows how to use his looks to his advantage.’

“There was a small war on the border. They were short on healing mages, so I got sent there urgently.”

"You could’ve at least sent me a letter, Allen."

"I was so busy that I couldn’t..."

Allen sheepishly smiled and scratched his head.

No matter how busy he was, I couldn’t believe he hadn’t even sent a single letter.

‘No matter how much I think about it, you’re still out.’

Just as I began shaking my head, I locked eyes with Cedric.

It seemed he had been looking at me all this time.

When I saw him now, he looked the closest to my type, leading me to smile as I gazed at him.

Of course, I couldn't just impose my tastes on my sister. I had to find the one who would suit her best, the one who would bring her the most happiness.

If not, she’d really just have to live with me!

In that sense, I needed to get a better grasp of Cedric's personality. Unfortunately, I had focused more on the story with Robain, so my memories of him were a bit hazy.

Was he cold-hearted…? Was he gentle…?

I clearly remembered Michael and Allen, but I couldn’t recall how Cedric was. Well, I was going to figure it out soon enough either way. He was one of the male lead candidates, after all.

"So, Julianne…"

While I was lost in thought, Allen slowly opened his mouth.

“As an apology, I’ll visit regularly to give Lili checkups. She doesn’t look completely recovered. I can even play with her.”

Allen smiled brightly as he finished his sentence. Everyone here was so clingy.

I raised my eyebrow once and looked at Cedric.

‘Now, what excuse are you going to come up with?’

"I…"

Cedric soon followed Allen and slightly opened his mouth, his gentle voice echoing throughout the room at the same time.

But only then did I remember Cedric's character traits… along with the reason I couldn’t remember them in the first place.

"Well, I already saw that you're doing well. That’s enough for me."

It was because of his modest personality.

Actually, it would’ve been more accurate to say that he was timid.

In other words, despite being a potential male lead, he wasn't that much of an eye-catcher from the very beginning.

He was quite popular thanks to being a modest man, but that wasn't my taste, so I always just skimmed through the parts with Cedric in them.

But now that I was facing him, he looked… kind of nice…

"…Okay, Allen. I'll accept your apology, but you have to give Lili regular checkups."

Pretending to give in, Julianne spoke primly, leaving a bright smile on Allen’s face.

‘No, Lia, isn’t the modest Cedric better than him...?’

He was perfect for a workaholic like her. Of course, I wasn’t into guys who hesitated like that.

I wished that he would at least assert himself clearly.

"Big bro."

Once I was done thinking, I immediately spoke up. And at that moment, all three of them directed their gazes toward me.

Julianne seemed amazed that I referred to someone as “big bro.”

Well, since I’d called both Robain and Michael old men, it must’ve been surprising for her to hear me say that.

"Come and visit again next time,” I said to Cedric as I showed him a wide smile.

‘You poor thing, I’ll kindly give you a chance.’