50 - How to Escape the Reverse Harem Cliché
Episode 50
“Stop it, both of you.”
I don’t know why it’s always my role to break things up.
Thinking that if the two of them seriously clashed with their abilities, our side might become a mess, I first pushed between them to block them.
Aiden, reading my mind, nodded and took my hand.
“Let’s go, Laila. You don’t need to stay here now that I’m here.”
“Sir Pascianne. If you’re leaving, leave alone. Leave Laila here.”
“Sir Aint, you have no right to force an unaffiliated civilian.”
“Who are you calling a civilian?”
“……”
“Tomorrow, I will register Laila as a Guide and make her my personal Guide.”
“Hey! Are you crazy?!”
“Don’t you know that’s the safest option?”
Unlike me, who had somewhat expected it, Aiden’s expression was one of utter shock. I quickly grabbed him, as he looked like he was about to lunge for Evan’s throat.
“Calm down for now, Aiden.”
However, Aiden pushed me back and shouted at Evan as a warning.
“Sir Aint. How can you guarantee that being by your side is safe?”
“Because I will lay down my life to protect her.”
“That’s not even funny. You, who has more enemies than any of us, saying that? The Imperial Family and House Olivite are all desperate to find Laila to get their hands on your leash. What? You want to take Laila as your personal Guide? Are you insane?”
“That’s why she needs to be by my side, isn’t it? She needs to be in front of my eyes so I can protect her.”
“Stop talking nonsense. Laila is not something you can tie down.”
“Pascianne. You seem to be mistaken, but all the Guides by our side are like that.”
“……”
“Even Rose, who Guides you, is bound to us by force.”
At Evan’s words, Aiden’s face contorted savagely. Yet, unable to retort, he could only bite his lip.
This is why I hate Espers. The promise to protect is just a hollow pretext; in reality, they want to keep them by their side for their own sake.
Of course, Evan might genuinely want to protect me, but the fundamental reason still lies in my Guiding, which leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.
Ah, I really hate being a Guide. It’s so unfair to have to carry guilt I wouldn’t otherwise have because of Guiding.
Thinking about how I struggled earlier, unable to properly Guide Valerian, made me feel even more conflicted. Separate from the guilt, the situation revealed my own incompetence, which was embarrassing.
If only I had properly learned even the basics of Guiding, I could have reacted appropriately in an emergency instead of panicking.
Perhaps I was taking this world too lightly.
I wonder if I was too complacent, thinking I could avoid the original story just by saving Aiden.
“Commander. A messenger has arrived from House Olivite.”
It was then, as the three of us glared at each other in the quiet stillness.
The unwelcome news from outside the tent made both Evan’s and Aiden’s eyes turn to me. Then, without a word, they picked up Valerian’s discarded outer coat and threw it over my face.
“What business does the family have?”
“They wish to speak with you in person.”
“Tell them to wait.”
“Yes.”
I heard the messenger leave the vicinity of the tent.
Soon after, Aiden put his arm around my shoulder, and Evan pushed me towards somewhere.
“Take her to your tent without being seen.”
“Don’t worry about that. Are you still in contact with House Olivite? You’ve been reinstated as a prince.”
“Do you think they’ll let me go easily?”
“……”
“Don’t worry. I only let it slide until now because I was tracking Laila. Now that there’s no need, I won’t be swayed by that family.”
Evan, saying this, slightly lifted Valerian’s outer coat and met my eyes.
“Rest, Laila. I’ll be there soon.”
“……Is your Guiding sufficient for now?”
Perhaps he hadn’t expected me to ask that, as Evan’s eyes widened slightly. Then, with a face unable to hide his joy, he nodded.
“Honestly, I’d lie just to receive your Guiding, but your brother is glaring, so I can’t. It’s sufficient, so don’t worry.”
“Be careful, Evan.”
“……I still prefer the name Evan that you call me over Andreas.”
“……”
“Sir Pascianne. I’ll go out and draw attention, so take Laila straight to your tent.”
“Don’t worry about that.”
Evan’s laughter mixed with Aiden’s displeased voice.
Soon after, Evan went out first, and I heard sounds of him gathering people. Seizing the opportunity, Aiden and I slipped out of his tent through another door.
After that, we ran, or rather, walked quickly, following Aiden’s lead, and successfully reached his tent.
“Were you suffocated, Laila?”
As soon as we entered, I nodded vaguely at Aiden, who took off the outer coat for me, and tidied my messy hair with my hands.
Ugh, I’m getting all the exercise I haven’t done lately right here. Lena told me to exercise… Ah! Lena!
“Lena! Aiden, Lena…!”
“Lena? Your maid? Did she leave with you?”
“Yes. Lena and my servants will be waiting for me near the Tene River. I need to tell them to go to the villa first.”
“Understood. I’ll send my subordinates. They’re reliable…”
“No. Your subordinates are from House Pascianne.”
“Is it because Mother is looking for you?”
“Aiden, it’s complicated to explain everything, but for now, my existence shouldn’t be known to the family. Can you do that for me?”
“What did Mother do to you?”
It wasn’t a question of ignorance, but of certainty. As I quietly closed my mouth and looked at him, Aiden’s expression grew sterner.
“What did Mother do to you while I was gone, Laila?”
“What do you mean, ‘what did she do’? Nothing like that happened.”
“What else did Mother make you take?”
“You… you knew?”
We looked at each other with faces struck by shock.
I hadn’t expected Aiden to know about the existence of that drug. Aiden, frozen with surprise, took a step back.
He let out a long sigh and buried his face between his palms. Then, with a short sigh through his teeth, he frowned and grabbed my hand.
“Laila. I’m sorry. I didn’t know Mother was still doing that to you…”
“Wait a minute. ‘Still’? When did you know?”
“When we were young.”
“So, when was that?”
“My fifth birthday. ……Don’t you remember?”
Aiden’s fifth birthday was when I was four. Of course, I couldn’t remember. I hadn’t even transmigrated then.
I have no prior memories of Laila. I only have my complete memories from the age of seven, when I transmigrated.
Therefore, what Aiden mentioned about when I was four was something I was hearing for the first time. It wasn’t even mentioned in the original story…
“I was too young to remember. What happened?”
“……”
“Aiden. Please tell me.”
“On the day before my fifth birthday, you caught a severe cold and were confined to your room.”
Laila had a fever even on Aiden’s birthday, so she had to stay in her room instead of attending the party in the garden.
However, Laila, watching the situation in the garden from her window, got out of bed despite her feverish body. The Countess, spotting her, brought her back to her room.
Aiden, who followed her upstairs, said he witnessed the Countess feeding Laila something.
“As soon as you ate it, you became quiet, so I thought it was medicine… but thinking about it now, it doesn’t seem like ordinary cold medicine.”
“……”
“So, Laila. You tell me what you know too. Did Mother give that to you while I was gone?”
“No. I was mistaken. I never took any medicine.”
“……”
“Aiden. For now…”
“You still don’t trust me?”
I closed my mouth tightly at Aiden’s indignant voice. His purple eyes, tinged with a heavy hue, held me within them.
“Laila. Since some time ago, you… seemed to have become an adult too early, and it scared me.”
“……”
“When I was young, I thought it was because I wasn’t acting like an older brother. When I couldn’t even avoid that small spark and had to be protected by you, and you even got scars on your body. I really… I really wanted to cry, Laila.”
“Aiden.”
“Even though I became an Esper, you still don’t trust me. You still seem to see me as a burden.”
That’s not it. For you to see me as a burden, that’s really not true.
Rather, I hope for your well-being, Aiden. If you’ve manifested as an Esper, I hope you live well with such a high rank.
That’s why it’s difficult to talk about family matters.
For Aiden to be as successful as he is now, he needs the backing of the family to some extent. While Pascianne isn’t as great a family as House Astolphe, it’s at least not a family that can be easily ignored.
I didn’t want Aiden’s life to be complicated just because of an adopted fake sibling.
Aiden’s words just now confirmed it. The Countess knew I manifested at a very young age and, for some reason, had been suppressing me with medicine so I couldn’t live as a Guide. Whether her intentions were good or malicious was something I needed to investigate.
My concern for Aiden’s life isn’t simply from a place of ‘goodness.’
Aiden was truly precious to me. Unlike the other male protagonists, who still feel like characters in a novel, Aiden alone was simply my Adrian.
That’s why Aiden’s words just now hurt me.
