chapter 166
166 – Persuasion (6)
‘I’ll be waiting for you to choose.’
It was a strangely familiar word. I felt like I had heard that somewhere else a long time ago.
Memories that had been buried a long time ago suddenly began to surface.
I heard someone’s voice that I heard when they called me Se-yeon Lee, not yet Lilian.
“Se-yeon, choose. “Mom and Dad will be waiting for you to choose.”
These were the words my mother and father said to me while standing between them, a strange man with a stern expression.
When those words came out, Lee Se-yeon stiffened. She was just scared of the unfamiliar atmosphere that was different from usual.
The sharp atmosphere between my parents was like walking on a knife edge.
The eyes of the two people looking at me looked twisted and distorted.
“I will follow your decision. “Seyeon.”
That day, Se-yeon Lee did not choose.
She was so scared of the scary atmosphere that it was difficult to even breathe, so she just burst into tears.
I found out only later.
That strange man was a lawyer, and it was the day her parents decided to divorce.
It was only natural that my parents had often argued with each other from the beginning.
As a result of her choice, Lee Se-yeon’s residence was decided to be by her father’s side.
It was only later that she realized that Se-yeon Lee wanted to follow her mother.
But everything had already gone as it should, out of Lee Se-yeon’s hands.
‘Why did that suddenly come to mind…? .’
It was a memory she had forgotten for a long time.
Lilian looked at Leonhard, who was literally waiting.
When our eyes met, Leonhard smiled slightly. That alone somehow changed his cool mood to a soft one.
“You’re clever.”
Leonhardt’s smile slowly disappeared as he heard Lilian’s words.
That was something that Lilian couldn’t help but regret. Because at least he wasn’t scary when he was smiling.
“I’m just waiting for you to choose.”
Lilian clenched her white teeth tightly at Leonhardt’s words.
Thanks to this, pure white teeth were slightly revealed between the two luscious lips that were unconsciously parted.
Why does this man keep bringing up regrettable memories?
As if he knew something.
‘I had to make a choice…’ .’
Lee Se-yeon always regretted it like that.
He said that if he had not given up on his choice that day, something might have been different.
It may not have changed at all.
After her divorce, Se-yeon Lee had to keep moving due to her father’s business problems.
Because of that, Se-yeon Lee did not have a chance to set foot somewhere.
Her father was always busy and left Se-yeon alone, and because she changed schools, it was difficult for her to make friends.
That alone made her feel helpless and lonely, but the problem was her father’s remarriage.
At first, her stepmother also treated Se-yeon Lee normally.
She wasn’t very friendly though. At least in human terms.
The problem started when the father and the woman’s child was born.
The child was as cute as a pure white rice cake.
Lee Se-yeon quite liked that child.
‘She should be a good sister.’
Lee Se-yeon thought happily as she looked at the cute child smiling at her.
If you have a younger sibling in a similar situation, you will be able to rely on each other and live together.
But was that such a complacent idea?
“Ha. Bothered. “Why do I really have to take care of you?”
After her child was born, her stepmother did not bother to take care of Lee Se-yeon, even for office work.
He took care of everything, starting with the child he gave birth to, and treated Se-yeon Lee poorly.
She even started to feed herself less and less, so from some point on, Lee Se-yeon had to eat alone.
“I told you not to do that! Just stay home like a dead rat! Or maybe he was out playing somewhere!”
Not only that, she found fault with even the smallest details. Violence was also common.
She forgot the ingredients, so the soup spilled on her table.
She even got slapped for just putting down her cup noisily. There was no use in her crying.
She got even more annoyed and started hitting her.
And her father ignored the violence.
Is it because she liked her stepmom and her younger brother more?
Or maybe it was because she was reminded of her former mother when she looked at herself.
She increasingly felt that her father did not love her.
From a distance, her father, stepmother, and their child looked really happy, as if they had been painted.
However, their relationship seemed to be complete on their own.
It seemed like there was no room for her to squeeze in.
‘Isn’t this what it feels like to sell matches and look inside a shiny, warm, happy house?’
However, Lee Se-yeon was inside the house.
Even though she felt her warmth right next to him, she felt as lonely as he did.
That fact made Lee Se-yeon more miserable.
So she decided to run away from home.
It wasn’t that I had nowhere to go.
Her mother was there. She was a person who was much kinder and more affectionate to her than her father.
“I’m sure I’ll be happy if I stay with my mom.”
I tried to make a choice now that I couldn’t make then.
But when I went to visit her mother.
“I’m sorry. Se-yeon. Her mom also has a family now…. “I think it would be difficult to live together.”
After her mother remarried, she had a very happy family.
Leaving Se-yeon alone.
So Se-yeon had to return to her house.
Although her mother met Se-yeon outside her house several times, it was clear that she felt burdened.
“If Se-yeon had chosen her mother…. She might not have met him the way she is now. “Her mom is a little happier now.”
Her mother’s eyes were looking somewhere far away as she said that.
With eyes mixed with regret and gratitude.
Are you really sorry that you left me and became happy?
“I’m sorry. Se-yeon. At least mom can smile now and she’s happy.”
So I found out.
Why did I realize it only now?
After her divorce, her mother never came to visit her.
Lee Se-yeon was now completely alone.
She had no one to love her and no one to accept her love.
It was from that day that the smile became Lee Se-yeon’s shield.
Lee Se-yeon smiled because she did not want to be hated. She thought that if she did that, she might like it at least a little.
“I don’t smile anymore.”
At Leonhardt’s words, Lilian returned from the past to the present.
She was smiling in his eyes, something he couldn’t tell.
On the contrary, he felt as if he had already exposed everything.
“Did you like my smile? “Then would you like me to smile?”
Lilian struggled to move the corners of her stiff mouth.
“No. “That won’t work.”
Leonhard tilted his head.
Leonhardt’s fingers slowly traced over Lilian’s slightly opened smooth lips.
Lilian barely managed to catch his breath as he felt the rising heat.
“Then?”
Lilian asked, hastily letting out the breath she had swallowed as his hand cupped her cheek.
The air in the quiet room became oppressively hot due to his breath.
“It feels more natural now. Why? “I like this one a lot more than the forced smile.”
As soon as Lilian heard those words, she wanted to find a place to hide.
This moment was difficult to bear.
Lilian shook her head as if looking for a place to hide, then lowered her head to hide her face.
She wanted to avoid Leonhard at all costs.
It was as if it was an escape for her when she had nowhere to go, writing her novels and creating her own world.
I didn’t know that the end of that escape would be possession.
After a sudden car accident, Lilian was reborn in this world.
To be precise, I should say that I remembered her past life.
After Lilian first entered this world, she thought that her life had finally become interesting.
Well, that’s right, she entered the world of her novel that she created.
She was not particularly bothered by the fact that she had become an extra Baroness named Lillian Silvery.
It has also been quite some time since Leonhard, the main character of the original work, entered the Academy.
The problem was that this Silvery body had no particular talent for martial arts, magic, or anything else. She had little coordination with the Constellations.
Still, Lillian was a writer in this world.
She was confident that there was no law in this world that she did not know.
She thought that the fact that her abilities were low was just a trivial fun factor.
‘Shall we go find the main character? We have to help him prevent destruction to stop the loop. No. If she goes to see her now….’
There was still some time left until the protagonist returned to destruction.
His destruction was a future that was almost impossible to avoid.
Rather than complicating the situation by helping sloppily, it was better to help later.
So, Lilian first focused on reviving the Silver Lee family, whose fortunes were declining.
At first she said she had a precognitive dream, and she tried various things, but her baron and his wife did not believe her words.
But she soon had no choice but to believe. Lilian’s words have been proven true time and time again.
The Baron’s wealth grew rapidly.
Now she was ready to have a little fun.
But there were also unexpected joys in this life.
“I love you. Hey. I really love you.”
Being loved by someone.
My parents here truly loved me. He gave generous affection.
Even if they didn’t always smile fakely, their love was infinitely real.
In fact, it was an experience that Lilian had never had before in her life.
Is it because she spent a long time starved of affection from her family due to her complicated family history?
I didn’t know what the price of the love I gained so easily would be.
The fact that something that is too sweet hides bitterness inside.
That’s right.
So I made a mistake.
I was deceived by the sweet love whispered around me and made a mistake in my judgment.
Lilian was careless. She was so careless.
Lilian predicted that Gallant, who returned victorious from the war, would suffer a major defeat in the political conflict.
But Lilian, blinded by sweet emotions, did not notice that she should not have said it out loud.
Soon after that, the Silverley family was swept up in various negative events that suddenly devastated the family.
The family’s long-ago debt was suddenly brought to the surface.
Not only that, the legitimacy of the Silverley family’s title was questioned in the temple, and a strong competitor suddenly appeared in the industry led by the Silverley family.
Everything took a turn for the worst.
In an irresistible direction that young Lilian could not do anything about.
No matter how she tried to calm it down, it was like pouring water on her frozen feet as her prestige fell in an instant.
There was only one cause.
Baron Silvery and his wife, who thought Gallant was somehow connected, frequently sent people and letters to Gallant.
There was always an apology written there. Gallant, who read the letter, just tore it all to pieces.
One day, a man came to the Silverley family’s mansion. He was bringing a considerable amount of troops with him.
“It’s because you cursed me with such nonsense. “How much damage do you think Your Majesty suffered because of that?”
The second prince, Gallant Rodmas, sent his subordinate to the Silvery Baron family and spoke coldly.
“Yes, I apologize… ! I apologize! Sorry!”
Lilian cried and clung to his pants.
His pride was completely suppressed.
He never wanted to lose his current happiness.
I quickly learned that it was all useless.
Shortly after, Baron was attacked by an unidentified group.
It was during that attack that Lilian was kidnapped somewhere.
Lilian, who was screaming frantically with a cloth over her face, was thrown into an unknown, damp and unpleasant place.
“Kill it slowly. “As painfully as possible.”
The cold, cold voice of someone with an unknown face came from beyond the darkness.
After that, Lilian realized that she had been thinking of this world too much like a dream.
This place was no different from where she lived.
Painful, painful, cruel.
Then, it was truly a coincidence that Lilian was able to escape.
At that time, the crown prince, who wanted to find fault with Gallant Rodmas, was searching for Lilian.
No matter how much he was framed as a witch, Gallant did not want to be found out that he had imprisoned and tortured the young girl.
So, just as we were trying to escort Lilian to another prison.
The crown prince’s side attacked the convoy.
In the chaos of the battle, Lilian fled in a panic.
Fortunately, it was a stroke of luck that it started raining. She
She and she was hiding in an alley.
She crouched down and prayed that she wouldn’t be caught.
But so? What is possible with this young body?
No matter what you do, Gallant will find you right away. Are you going to go into the dark and sell her body?
‘Would I rather die?’
Lilian curled her body further. Her body became colder and colder as the cold water lost her heat.
If you stay like this….
It was then.
The sound of someone’s footsteps reached the ears of Lilian, who was nervously paying attention.
“…Huh.”
She tried to run away, but now her body had no strength at all.
I just cried helplessly.
‘No matter what happens now….’
Lilian had already given up when her steps stopped in front of her.
However, a friendly voice was heard, and when he raised his head, Lilian saw him.
The main character of this world.
He meant it when he said he would create a place for him to go.
Lilian thought that Leonhard would soon abandon her.
However, Leonhard himself protected Lilian very carefully. He
He provided a place to be.
“I want you to be happy. Until your wounds heal. Until you want to leave me.”
Lilian could tell that his words were sincere.
She truly liked Leonhard.
Not because she is the main character in the novel she created, but because she is such a warm person.
That’s why Lilian wanted to prevent Leonhard’s destruction.
This time, not for myself, but for him.
“If you die anyway, this world will return. “You probably don’t remember it.”
Hearing Lilian’s words, Leonhard worried about Lilian first.
“You said you were a person out of this world. “Then, even if I return, what will happen to you then?”
“I don’t know that far.”
It was a problem that Lilian had never thought about until then.
It was from that moment that Leonhard began to ponder something.