Thought It Was 'The End', Only to Return to a Changed Genre - Chapter 148
“If you starve yourself, I’ll be too sad, Adeline.”
“…When you put it like that, it makes me feel like total trashā¦”
If they were to break it down, Adeline was the victim, and Patrick and Jeff were part of the group of offenders.
So why did it feel like the emotional roles were reversed?
Jeff spoke up.
“When I say something, you just scoff, but when he says it, you listen.”
“When have I ever ignored you?”
“Come on, be honest. If I had told you to eat, you would’ve brushed it off and ignored me.”
“……”
“This is where you should deny it, you fool. The problem with you is that you have this half-baked sense of conscience.”
Jeff sneered coldly.
Adeline took a spoonful of the soup that Patrick was feeding her. It was Lloydās well-made carrot soup. It didnāt quite leave a good taste in her mouth.
“Thatās why you’re stuck in a place like this.”
“Says the person who locked me upā¦”
“For the record, Brother and I were against all this.”
Patrick nodded to support Jeff as he continued speaking.
“But our parents wereā¦ really adamant. You met Mother earlier, so you know how she feels. Father is also furious. Of course, heās not as angry as the Crown Prince or Shane, but heās grinding his teeth, swearing heāll tear the culprit to pieces.”
“…Father is terrifying when he’s angryā¦”
“You know that, and yet here you are.”
“No, but seriously, itās not my fault! Itās not like I knew the drink was poisoned when I drank it!”
Both Lloyd and Emma acted as though she had intentionally gotten herself poisoned.
Adeline shouted passionately.
“I really didnāt know! I didnāt realize and got poisoned!”
“Thatās not something to be proud of.”
Even Patrick, who normally took her side, sighed softly and shook his head.
“In any case, itās not like our parents plan to keep you locked up here forever. Just think of it as time to rest and recover for now.”
“Iām so tired of restingā¦”
“Maybe you should first think about how much youāve thrown yourself into everything?”
Jeff said with a smirk, delivering his sharp truth.
“Youāre not even fully recovered, so stop skipping meals and trying to act tough.”
“Thatās exactly why itās hard to just go along with what you say!”
Patrick could say the same thing but make it sound so much kinder.
Jeff scoffed.
“Heās only like that with you. Seriously, whether itās him or Father, theyāre both so fake when it comes to you, our youngestā¦”
“Jeff.”
“Ugh, fine. Iāll shut up.”
Despite being the type who didnāt back down easily, Jeff rolled his eyes and shook his head.
“Anyway, the Brubewein Kingdom is in a huge deal of trouble now.”
“Brubewein?”
“You know, the kingdom with the legend about sorcerersāthe one you mentioned before, Adeline.”
“Ahā¦ right. But why?”
“Because the poisoning attempt happened when you were with the Crown Prince. If the poisoner turns out to be from that kingdom, they wonāt have any excuse, even if the kingdom falls to ruin.”
Adeline sensed that something significant had happened while she was lost in her dream.
Jeff wasnāt the type to speak carelessly unless he was sure of something. Although he had added that it was still just suspicion, she could tell he was confident.
“Neither Princess Mia nor her lady-in-waiting are the poisoners. We had people watching them, and the attendants we placed around key figures, like the Crown Prince, were all wearing bracelets blessed by the Saintess. There was no opportunity for them to get close.”
“What, have you grown attached to them, Brother? Did I suddenly become the enemy of my future sister-in-law?”
“Cut the nonsense, especially around our youngest. Think about the age difference.”
“Our youngest is literally an adult now, Brother. Thereās not much of a gap.”
Jeff ended up getting smacked by Patrick.
After her brothers left, Adeline sat on the sofa, pulling her knees up and clutching her head.
What on earth have I gotten myself intoā¦?
The Bertrand family wasnāt going to stand by quietly, and Shane, Genevieve, and Edwin were all doing whatever they pleased.
Meanwhile, she was left all alone, stuck here.
