Chapter 50
“Good grief. I can’t believe my eyes.”
I shifted my attention from the center of the drawing room toward the source of the voice.
“Is it your new mission to kill my appetite for every single meal today?”
I wondered which milestone I would hit first: becoming immune to his constant pestering or finally getting Leon Frazier to agree to my proposal.
The latter was certainly the more desirable outcome.
Choosing silence as my primary defense, I took a slow sip of the lukewarm herbal infusion a servant had delivered earlier.
“So, we’re doing the silent treatment now?”
He strolled into the room, his gait as arrogant as his tone was biting.
I didn’t let my composure slip as I looked him in the eye. “Were you addressing me?”
“Who else is here?”
“My mistake. I assumed you were merely talking to yourself.”
“Talking to myself?”
I set the porcelain cup back onto its saucer with a soft click. “I simply presumed no one would use such a hostile tone when speaking to a member of their own family.”
“Hah.”
Leon Frazier dropped heavily into the chair across from me. He hooked one leg over the other and shifted his weight forward, closing the distance.
“Listen.”
“I’m listening.”
“You aren’t the real Tulia Frazier.”
“…Beg pardon?”
For a fleeting second, my pulse thrashed against my ribs.
Leon locked his fingers together, his expression shifting into something uncharacteristically grim. “The person I know would be throwing a tantrum like a wild animal by now. Unless you actually lost your mind so thoroughly that you ended up acting sane.”
“…”
The sheer absurdity of his logic left me speechless, yet he seemed genuinely lost in thought about this theory.
My scowl clearly irritated him, as he mirrored my expression with a deep frown of his own. I braced myself for the next round of insults.
“Anyway, what brings you to my quarters?”
The question was surprisingly civil.
I took a breath. This was it. I needed to finish the task and get out of his presence as fast as possible.
I lifted the basket I had brought and placed it firmly on the table between us.
“What’s the point of this?”
He reached out with a mix of suspicion and habit, but I moved quickly to intercept his hand. The way he recoiled, as if he’d accidentally touched a stinging insect, was incredibly grating.
‘Ten thousand coins. Think of the ten thousand,’ I chanted internally, forcing my facial muscles into the semblance of a pleasant smile.
“To start with, I assume you have a doctor on call?”
“Obviously. Why?”
“That’s good. Please have him come here immediately.”
“Good heavens! Is this truly Wood Flu? No, wait—this is Golden Lily Grass! My stars, even Thousand Year Snow Leaves are in here…!”
The moment Leon’s personal physician arrived, my work was done. I didn’t have to explain a thing. The man was practically vibrating with manic energy the second he peered into the basket.
“Where on earth did you acquire such legendary specimens…?”
“My grandfather gifted them to me during my previous illness,” I answered calmly.
“Of course. Only the Grand Duke himself could assemble a collection of such exquisite rarities in one place. Truly magnificent, truly marvelous…”
I watched the doctor flutter around the herbs like a possessed scholar before cutting my eyes back to Leon.
The boy looked mortified by his physician’s display. However, as soon as he noticed me watching, he fixed his mask of indifference back in place.
“What is this? Did you come here just to show off your presents from the old man?”
“Doctor.”
“I am at your service, Lady Tulia!”
I ignored Leon entirely, keeping my focus on the physician with a polite smile. “Assuming you utilize all the materials provided in that basket…”
“Yes?”
“Can you ensure Leon’s face is completely healed within three days?”
“Oh… oh my!”
The physician gasped for air, overwhelmed by the challenge and the resources. Leon, who had been so eager to fight a moment ago, lost his cool. He shoved his hands through his hair, a low curse escaping his lips as he looked away in visible embarrassment.
I couldn’t really blame the doctor. My own physician had reacted with the same trembling reverence when he saw the Grand Duke’s gifts. To a medical professional, that basket wasn’t just plants; it was a mythical treasure hoard.
“Well, Doctor?”
“Without. A. Doubt. It can be done,” the man declared, his eyes burning with a mix of professional duty and sheer greed for knowledge.
I turned back to Leon. “You heard the man.”
“I have ears. I heard him. So what?”
“That bruise on your cheek is turning a lovely shade of charcoal, in case you hadn’t noticed.”
“And why do you care if my face turns black or falls off entirely?”
“Why do I care?” I looked up at the ceiling, rolling my eyes. “You’re a fool, you know that? Our relatives start arriving the day after tomorrow.”
“…A fool?”
Since I couldn’t manage a gentle approach, I decided to lean into brutal honesty. My words were sharper than intended, but since he hadn’t tried to strangle me yet, I figured I would stick with this strategy.
“Aside from Lisian, is there anyone else in this entire estate capable of marking you like that?”
“…No.”
“Exactly. No one.”
Lisian was the undisputed academic star of the Academy, but I was well aware that when it came to a blade, Leon was the one who held the top rank.
“We are already without parents.”
“…”
“Do you really want to put your conflict with Lisian on display for the rest of the family to gossip about?”
“…”
“Let’s be real for a second.” I took another sip of my tea, which was now quite cold. “You’re aware, at least vaguely, that our extended family doesn’t exactly hold us in high regard.”
This was a calculated risk. In the world of the game, the Lilius family—Aubrey, Tedrick, and the Viscount—didn’t seem like total villains. The game’s mechanics were built around romance and Coriko’s social climbing, so the focus was rarely on the intricacies of the Frazier family tree. It was entirely possible they only despised Tulia because of the rumors surrounding her birth.
The twins, however, were the undeniable sons of Marquis Aster Frazier. Perhaps the relatives treated them with more respect or even pride. If so, Leon might think I was just trying to poison his mind.
I waited for his response.
The silence that followed was brittle, like thin ice stretched over a deep lake. It was transparent and fragile, the kind of quiet that precedes a moment of absolute truth.
Leon stared at me for a long time before he finally spoke.
“Are you truly…”
“…”
“Tulia Frazier?”
The heavy tension snapped, replaced by a strange sort of bewilderment. I looked away, addressing the doctor instead.
“Doctor.”
“Yes, Lady Tulia?”
The man was looking at me as if I were a holy figure, likely because of the fortune in medicine I’d just handed him.
“Did Leon take a blow to the head as well?”
A series of knocks echoed through the room.
First a polite pair, then a frantic trio, followed by a rapid, desperate sequence.
Lisian looked up from his book, the persistent sound impossible to ignore. He reached for the bell cord, signaling that the visitor could enter.
The door creaked open to reveal Leon.
It was their first private encounter since the incident in the library.
“Brother.”
Leon walked in with his usual air of unearned confidence and slumped onto the sofa.
The words out of his mouth were the last thing Lisian expected.
“I need to borrow some money.”
