Chapter 1. I was abandoned by my family
***
https://ko-fi.com/s/8529d5becf
***
At first she thought people were buying them out of curiosity.
It wasn’t until two days later that she realized it wasn’t just that.
“They’ve already sold out and now we’re getting a flood of orders!”
Elle was trying to speak calmly, but the excitement was written clearly on her face. Leticia nodded with a thrilled smile plastered on her face.
“I know, I’m so glad.”
The sale of the cookies was now at a level that Leticia couldn’t handle alone, so she asked for help from the Pegasus company.
The owner had a certain knack for business. So he never misses a good opportunity to attract people’s attention and curiosity by naming the new product ‘Lucky Cookies’.
Thanks to this, the rumor surrounding Leticia ended more easily than expected.
‘Come to think of it, I haven’t seen Lord Achilles these past couple of days.’
She wanted to let him know that she was okay now, but strangely it had been very hard to even see his face lately.
Leticia glanced at the closed front door, hoping that Enoch would open it and walk in.
Elle noticed immediately where Leticia’s gaze was straying and shrugged lightly.
“He must be very busy. I asked what was going on, but he wouldn’t answer.”
“Oh, okay…”
Leticia’s face heated up as soon as she made eye contact with Elle, who seemed to be in a good mood.
“Who said I was curious?”
“You said it based on the look on your face.”
Leticia turned her face away coyly, even though she was already caught.
“Sister, are you going to keep acting cute?”
The way Elle rubbed her face on Leticia’s shoulder was like a cat complaining to their owner.
Leticia stroked Elle’s hair gently.
“You’re the only one who thinks I’m cute.”
“Come on, my brother adores Sister so much, too.”
“What?”
Leticia opened her eyes wide, thinking that she had heard wrong. Elle simply shrugged like it wasn’t surprising.
“Whenever I see you together, Brother always looks happy.”
Leticia looked at Elle, and poked her cheek with a playful smile on her face. No matter how hard she thought about it, Elle seemed to be having fun teasing her.
“Are you going to keep teasing me?”
“It’s true, that’s why I’m saying…”
Hangly tightly onto her shoulder, Elle asked.
“What do you think about him?”
“Huh?”
Leticia’s voice rose at the unexpected question.
Elle pretended not to notice Leticia’s panic and pressed on with determination.
“I’m not saying this because we’re family. To be honest, my brother isn’t lacking in anything.”
Then Elle laid it out plainly; he’s handsome, but not funny. He’s a responsible person, and he’s always sincere with Leticia.
Elle held onto Leticia to stop her from escaping.
Leticia had the urge to run away, because her face had a feverish flush as the conversation continued. She couldn’t push Elle away, who was clinging to her shoulder, so she lowered her head.
“Enough, that’s enough…”
Her flustered reply was muffled.
She could admit that there was nothing wrong with anything that Elle said.
Saying those words herself was another matter. Nevertheless, there was one thing she wanted to say.
“He’s kind and…”
“You’re the only one who he’s sweet to.”
“Is that so…”
She wanted to move onto another topic, but it seemed Elle still had a lot more to say.
“My brother is perfect, except for his lack of money. Is it because of the dowry?”
“What?”
“Ian and I will provide the dowry.”
Leticia was bewildered and perplexed by the casual way Elle said it.
“Elle, the dowry is originally prepared by the bride’s family. Wait, why are we talking about marriage right now?”
Leticia was feeling embarrassed, so she intentionally asked that question in a distrustful way.
Elle did not back down.
“The groom’s family can take care of it. I’m not as tight on money as I’d thought I’d be.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“If we don’t have enough, I’ll make more money for you.”
Elle’s eyes were glistening as she said this. With a slight frown on her face, Leticia then asked.
“Are you still making fun of me?”
“How did you know?”
“Huh, really?”
How did her teasing keep getting worse and worse.
Leticia glanced at her, then removed Elle’s arm from her shoulder.
“I don’t have time for this.”
“Why? Is there somewhere else for you to be?”
Elle looked disgruntled from her arm being pushed away.
Facing her gaze, Leticia gently smiled and held out her hand toward Elle.
“I have somewhere I want to go with you.”
***
Leticia took Elle to a street that sells expensive accessories and dresses.
She’d received her money from the director of Pegasus for the Lucky Cookie contract, and she wanted to give them all thank you gifts for taking care of her.
“Tell me if there’s anything that you want. I’ll buy it for you.”
Leticia nodded firmly as if to tell her to trust her. Elle’s eyes widened, then she immediately had a big grin on her face.
“Really? I have very expensive tastes.”
“I don’t know how expensive it is, but to the best of my ability I will buy it for you.”
Leticia was worried about her choosing something too expensive, and held her hand tightly with a grim look.
Elle felt warmed and contrite at the same time, because Leticia looked like a parent trying to buy their child whatever they wanted, even if it was too much.
“I’m not kidding.”
“What?”
“I’ve received so much from you that I want to give back to you as well.”
Leticia was referring to the money Elle had given her for the wishing bracelets. She’d received so much that she didn’t deserve. She wanted to buy something for her this time, and hoped she would accept it willingly.
Elle never regretted giving Leticia the money. Rather, she was sad that she couldn’t give Leticia more.
‘It was a fair price.’
If Leticia hadn’t given her the idea, she would never have had the opportunity to make her dream come true or the platform to succeed.
Elle was rather touched by Leticia treasuring her.
“Then can I buy two of the same accessory and share them with you, Sister?”
“Which one?”
“Like a bracelet or necklace. To be honest, I always wanted to do this with a friend.”
Elle’s eyes twinkled as she clasped her hands together. She looked like a child desperately asking for a toy that she really wanted.
One thing stuck in Leticia’s mind though.
“Are you sure you want to do that with me?”
“Of course! You’re more precious to me than a friend.”
Her response to the question made Leticia smile and she nodded.
“Okay, let’s get the prettiest accessories and wear them together.”
“You can’t take it off, okay?”
“Okay, let’s go and buy them.”
Leticia had promised to never remove it and excitedly grabbed Elle’s hand. Only then did Elle smile in satisfaction and follow Leticia.
Leticia scratched her cheek with a perplexed look on her face.
‘Come to think of it, I need to buy something for Ian and Lord Achilles.’
She’d already bought a present for Countess Aster.
“Was there anything that Lord Achilles always wanted or liked?”
“My brother?” My brother is…”
Elle was trying to remember if there was something he needed, but couldn’t think of anything. She cautiously answered.
“He used to love collecting famous swords.”
“Really?”
Leticia was confused about why Elle had a complicated look on her face.
Before she could ask what was wrong, Elle smiled bitterly.
“There’s nothing left after my father went into debt.”
“Ah…”
At those words a sigh flowed out.
Elle turned her head awkwardly because she was embarrassed just saying it.
As soon as she saw how self-conscious Elle is, she gently pulled on her hand.
“Then I’ll buy him a sword.”
“What?”
“A very good sword, even if it’s expensive, it’ll be worthwhile.”
Leticia smiled and squeezed her hand gently.
Elle’s heart gradually lightened from her words of comfort.
“Would he like it if I gave him a sword?”
“Yes, he might die of happiness. He locked himself in his room for days after he sold his prized sword.”
“Really?”
“Of course, he’ll like it even more if you gave it to him.”
If Leticia gave it to him, he’d definitely love it. Even a common flower becomes precious if given to you by the person you like.
Leticia chuckled at Elle’s confident nod.
So the two went to the weapon merchant together.
The first merchant had all kinds of weapons on display. Among them, she saw one that was particularly shiny.
Leticia approached it as if possessed, and quietly exclaimed.
‘Pretty…’
She knew she wasn’t buying a sword based solely on appearance, but she kept looking at the jewels and it’s elongated form. In her imagination, she could see Enoch receiving it with a pleased expression and she felt a deep sense of satisfaction.
The weapon’s merchant noticed Leticia staring and approached.
“You have a good eye, this wonderful sword arrived today.”
“Really?”
How much does something like this cost?
Leticia slowly reached for the sword. However, warmth overlapped the back of her hand even before she could touch it.
She raised her head in surprise, and made eye contact with a frowning man.
“….”
“….”
Xavier could not hide his discomfort after touching Leticia’s hand. He even wiped his own hand with a handkerchief from his pocket.
Anyone could tell he acted as if he’d just touched something dirty.
Leticia didn’t even laugh at the sight. She felt her heart grow heavy and tried her best to hold the sword again with an indifferent expression.
Before she could, an irritable Xavier stopped her again.
“I saw that first, Sister. No, you’re not my sister anymore, are you?”
“….”
Elle clenched her teeth and began to approach with a sarcastic remark on her tongue.
Before she could, Leticia looked Xavier in the eyes and said.
“Right, so don’t call me that. I don’t feel very good to be called sister by you either.”
He could no longer smother her with his words, it was almost pathetic to watch him trying to hurt her.
Xavier was glaring at Leticia, when he smirked at her.
“You don’t even know the value of this sword.”
“It’s none of your business because I’ll give it to someone who deserves it.
The weapons merchant was standing there alone with a bewildered expression at the confrontation where neither party wanted to give an inch.
*****************************************************
Baset casts SPOILER on Curufin.
It’s Super-Effective! (๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ
Thank you for the Kofi Curufin ( ´ ▽ ` ).｡ｏ♡