I Hid The Crazy Grand Duke's Time-limited Younger Brother - Chapter 1
Translator and Editor: Gina and Tea
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Chapter 1
‘I’ve been feeling a bit sick since this morning.’ Rayna touched her forehead. As noon approached, her fever began to rise, and her forehead felt as if it were boiling. She wanted to lie down on the sofa, but she held back.
‘He’ll be back soon anyway.’
As Rayna expected, the person she had been waiting for returned to the drawing room not long after. It was none other than Duke Lucius Ingerson, the owner of the Ingerson Duchy, who was currently traveling across the empire searching for his missing younger brother. It was such a heartbreaking situation since his younger brother was a terminally ill patient, and his body wasn’t in good shape.
Rayna, despite her agenda, was helping him in his pitiful time. Of course, it wasn’t just out of sympathy that she was involved with him; there was an ulterior motive.
“How did it go?” Rayna asked.
Lucius shook his head in response to Rayna’s question. It meant that he had once again failed to find his brother. Perhaps anticipating this to some extent, Lucius had a composed expression.
“You look tired,” he remarked, examining Rayna’s complexion. “To be honest, I didn’t expect you to come all the way here with me.”
The two of them were currently at an orphanage in a remote corner of the eastern edge of the empire.
The trip was rough, but Rayna didn’t hesitate to follow Lucius. She was just as desperate as Lucius, if not more so, although their motivations were somewhat—no, quite different.
“It’s okay. Let’s go back.” Rayna managed to smile weakly and look away. However, dizziness overtook her, causing her to stagger.
She tried to reach for the table for support, but Lucius was quicker. He grabbed her arm and provided support.
“Ah, thank–” Rayna’s words trailed off, and her eyes widened. It was because she had ended up completely in his arms. Surprised, she tried to pull away, but Lucius didn’t let go.
“It seems you’re not feeling well after all. I can feel the heat even through your clothes.”
He led her to the sofa again, and once Rayna sat down obediently, he instructed one of the orphanage guardians to bring her some water.
While waiting for that person to return, Rayna rested her elbow on the couch armrest and placed her forehead on her hand. Her head was throbbing; it seemed a migraine was coming.
Lucius, on the other hand, observed her for a moment before heading to the window. His eyes were not appreciating the garden view; he had other things on his mind. His gaze was dark, a mixture of various emotions swirling within him.
There was a palpable sense of holding back something that could burst at any moment.
Finally, the employee who left appeared with a glass of water.
“Thank you.” As Rayna reached out to take the glass, her hand suddenly slipped.
Crash! The glass shattered loudly at Rayna’s feet. At that moment, Lucius’ patience shattered into pieces as well.
“Do not touch it,” he commanded firmly.
The sternness in his voice stopped Rayna from reaching for the shards of glass. Perhaps due to the fever causing dizziness, she had almost foolishly attempted to pick up the broken glass with her bare hands.
The flustered employee quickly went to fetch cleaning supplies.
Lucius used his boot to push the glass shards aside and kneel before Rayna. He furrowed his brow deeply, seeing beneath the hem of her dress where the shards had grazed her delicate skin.
“I’ll check your injuries for a moment.”
Before Rayna could object, Lucius had already removed her shoe. With utmost care, he gently examined her exposed, delicate white foot. They remained that way in heavy silence where Rayna felt both burdened and embarrassed.
“Why…” Lucius spoke as he held onto her ankle. “Why are you going this far?”
“Pardon?”
“Why did you insist on following me when you’re struggling to even hold a glass properly?” he continued.
“What do you mean, ‘why?’ I wanted to help even just a little, Your Grac–”
“That’s exactly what I don’t understand,” Lucius interrupted her, raising his head.
Rayna unknowingly shivered, her shoulders trembling. Lucius’ cold gaze sparkled like a jewel, simultaneously beautiful and ominously unsettling.
“Rayna, tell me.” His grip on Rayna’s ankle tightened further with each passing moment.
“Why are you lying to me and hiding my brother, Calyx?”
“!!”
“Why are you deceiving me while pretending to help?”
Rayna’s lips quivered. Her heart pounded violently, pumping blood, but her face remained pale.
‘Please…’ There was only one thought in her mind at this moment.
‘Please, faint. Please!’ Rayna silently pleaded as Lucius pressed on with his interrogation. He was so intimidating that she wished to lose consciousness right then and there.
Whether it was a divine intervention or simply her body reaching its limit due to the illness, Rayna’s wish was granted.
Her vision darkened, and her upper body slumped forward.
“Rayna!”
Lucius urgently called her name and held her.
In the fading recesses of her consciousness, Rayna thought,
‘Poor Calyx… I tried my best, but in the end, it’s come to this for both of us.’
As her eyelids drooped shut, the days of the past flashed before her like a distant mirage, rewinding to the very first day she had met Calyx.
“Rayna! My beloved sister!”
A man with a healthy complexion, who had clearly spent time under the sun, tightly hugged Rayna. He was Rayna’s one and only brother, Jonathan Krollot.
As a cadet at the Naval Academy, he had returned to his hometown for a short break. However, the only person waiting for him at the mansion was his younger sister, Rayna.
The Krollot Count and his wife had gone to their relatives’ house, not knowing that Jonathan would arrive earlier than the expected date.
Rayna, the only family member present, didn’t warmly welcome him. She awkwardly let him hug her, but Jonathan didn’t seem to mind.
“It seems you’re a bit overwhelmed by how happy you are to see me.” Jonathan believed in his sister’s love for him, even if she didn’t express it outwardly.
“Do you remember the day I entered the Military Academy? I still feel a pang in my heart when I recall that day.”
Jonathan released Rayna from his embrace and looked at her with affectionate eyes.
“You were so sad that day, to the point where you developed temporary aphasia.”
‘Not at all. It’s just that I didn’t know what book I had transmigrated into, so I performed a silent oath.’ Rayna replied silently in her mind.
‘The day you left was the day I realized I had transmigrated.’
Her decision to remain silent until she understood the situation was wise. Her new family was a bit unique, and she needed some time to adjust.
Rayna glanced behind Jonathan. She was more interested in the person behind him than in her brother. Jonathan, noticing Rayna’s sidelong glance, smiled.
“You noticed, didn’t you?”
He took a step back to let her look at the person standing behind him.
“I brought a gift for my sister, who’s going to be depressed again when I return to the Naval Academy.”
The ‘gift’ that Jonathan had prepared was none other than the boy who stood before them, a boy who might have just crossed the age of ten. He had a petite stature and pale complexion; his cheeks were not chubby like a normal child’s but rather looked sallow and thin, and he had dark shadows under his eyes. The ruby-colored eyes fixed on the floor were so dark that they seemed to cast a gloomy shadow over anyone who looked at them.
‘Why are you giving me a person as if it were an actual gift…’
And one who seemed like he could collapse at any moment at that. Rayna was shocked, but she didn’t show it on her face.
She calmly asked, “So, you’re saying that you have kidnapped this child for me?”
Rayna tried to remain calm and casual because, as mentioned before, the Krollot family was a bit unique.
The Count and his wife, who governed the Krollot estate, were well-regarded among nobles for their generosity and kindness. Their son and daughter inherited their parents’ outstanding looks and overflowing elegance.
On the surface, they seemed like an ordinary and harmonious family, but the thing was…
“Yeah! Look, look! Doesn’t he resemble that stray cat you used to like so much when you were little?”
Somewhere within their moral values, there was a serious problem.
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Girl there are little to almost none of those moral values that exists 🤣👀