Page 55

My heart felt restless.

Inside the carriage, I kept holding onto Mio’s sword sheath, which was attached to my waist. Memories of the insults continued to linger in my mind. It wasn’t something that made me feel inferior and look down on myself, but rather my fault for ignoring that insults.

This situation must not happen any further.

Insults directed at my physical appearance will be directed directly at the honor and pride of the Marquess Rommel family.

My hand accidentally held the cape with the Marquess Rommel family carving prominently. This party dress and cape looked harmonious when attached to my body which looked scary and threatening like this.

My gaze that vaguely saw the reflection of my body in the carriage window made me realize my goal to spread the curse and avenge the sins they had committed after humiliating my dignity in public.

For that, I hope that this plan will go as smoothly as it is.

Should I pray to the Goddess for this?

I guess there’s no harm in praying to my Goddess to make my revenge for this humiliation a great success.

Oh, my Goddess, please let this revenge plan go smoothly and their sins be erased thanks to the curse I’ve given.

[ Oh, this is the first time Lily-chan prayed to me. ]

[ Are you nervous about this royal family party, Lily-chan? ]

[ If Lily-chan wants to escape from this boring event, I can make a thunderstorm rain before Lily-chan’s carriage arrives at the Royal Palace. ]

I closed my eyes and shook my head.

This time, I could feel that the insults and curses of those who bullied me would be different from usual. My weakness of not being able to do anything would soon be forgotten and this would be a story about me who managed to fight back against the bullying directed at me.

I look forward to the day when I can fight back like this.

Not like a stupid noble girl who expects help from others who feel pity.

Even if I were the only girl being bullied at this royal family party, it would greatly increase my position to retaliate against them and rumors of me fighting back would spread quickly.

[ Wow! What a nice move, Lily-chan... ]

[ So calculating and cunning like fox, it makes me want to pinch your cute cheeks. Can I pinch them? ]

No way!

[ Just a little, okay? ]

I don’t want my cheeks to be pinched even for the Goddess!

[How about I give you a chewy sweet that comes in various flavors?]

Chewy Sweet?

What’s is that?

A weapon that’s the same as Mio’s katana or a strange outfit like the ones sold at the Yurification Shop?

[ Fufu... don’t underestimate your Goddess who understands your taste in food, Lily-chan! ]

[ This chewy sweet is not the food in this world. Have you ever heard of a food called marshmallow? ]

Um, marshmallow? What kind of food is that?

[ Fufu... this will be a very interesting exchange for you, Lily-chan. ]

[ I’ll get a little pinch aimed at your cheek and Lily-chan will get a marshmallow. Doesn’t that sound like a fair exchange? ]

The conversation between me and the Goddess took place without moving my mouth and making a sound. That’s because my position was currently inside the horse-drawn carriage occupied by Father, Mother, Alice, and Alyssa. If I let out a sound that attracted attention, it would be very troublesome if they needed to explain who I was talking to.

My Goddess, maybe I can give you a chance to touch my cheek with a pinch for that food.

[ Yay! Finally, I can touch Lily-chan again! ]

[ It’s been a long time since I touched Lily-chan’s body. Oh! By the way, I’ll be possessing Alice’s body for a while. So don’t be too surprised! ]

P-possessing Alice’s body?

What does that mean?

Why does that sound so bad?

[ Don’t worry, Lily-chan. It’s safe. ]

Right after the Goddess said that in my head, my eyes suddenly saw a golden thread tying Alice’s ring finger.

Alice who had been sleepy throughout the journey suddenly woke up and looked at me with her pupils emitting a golden light.

Alice raised a finger to her mouth and made me stay calm because of this sudden change.

"Lily-chan... Ukhum!"

"Onee-sama..."

Alice almost called me using the Goddess’ tone of voice and quickly corrected herself before anyone else heard.

I tried to control my breathing to stay calm when the Goddess appeared in front of me and possessed Alice’s body with a golden mark on her pupils.

"Yes, Alice, is there something you want to ask?" I said in response to Alice’s call.

Alice moved her index finger to my cheek and pinched it.

"There are a few things I want to ask about controlling magic elements, can Onee-sama help me translate this one sentence?" after Alice gently pinched my cheek and pinched it again, her golden pupils suddenly disappeared until the invisible thread wrapped around her ring finger broke.

Has the Goddess finished possessing Alice’s body?

[ Yup, that was very satisfying even for a while, Lily-chan. ]

Un, how about our exchange?

[ Ah! Please accept this special gift from me filled with love, Lily-chan. ]

Before I could answer Alice’s question about controlling magic elements, suddenly a golden magic circle carving appeared in front of me. The magic formula was quickly engraved and produced a small food box parcel with a transparent part on top.

"Onee-sama, is that the magic formula used by Onee-sama?" said Alice who seemed interested in the small food box parcel that came out of the Goddess’s magic formation.

Alice’s words attracted the attention of the sleepy Alyssa and her gaze was fixed on the small food box on my thigh.

"Do you want to try it?" I said while opening the small food box given by the Goddess after handing my cheek to be pinched by her.

Both Alice and Alyssa’s eyes were shining. They seemed so curious about what I had just done. If Mio had been beside me, maybe she would have felt disgusted when she saw the magic circle formation that suddenly appeared in front of her.

"Umu! Alice wants it!" Alice exclaimed without hesitation.

"A-Alyssa wants it too!" exclaimed Alyssa who did not want to lose to Alice.

I immediately opened the small food box and saw its contents which looked full of strange white lumps of food.

When my hand touched the strange food called marshmallow, I could feel white powder sticking to my bright brown hand. The chewy texture and white powder made me curious and unconsciously ate it.

The marshmallow that entered my mouth suddenly felt very chewy before melting in my mouth. A taste of fruit that bite to my tongue immediately exploded and created a combination of chewy and sweet.

"Munyaaa!!" I exclaimed while enjoying a bite of the food called marshmallow.

"Alice... Alyssa... try this marshmallow," I said while handing over my small food box filled with marshmallows.

"Un? Marshmallow? What kind of food is that, Onee-sama?" Alice looked so curious when she found out the name of the food I was going to give her.

Alice’s hand took one marshmallow and bit it until the thick liquid that tasted like fruit melted out of her lips.

"Haa!! It’s delicious, Onee-sama!" Alice shouted happily.

"This is my first time eating this, did the chef at our house make it, Onee-sama?" Alice’s facial expression was filled with a smile that made my heart feel happy.

Seeing Alice who looked happy after eating the marshmallow, Alyssa got carried away and took one marshmallow to put into her small mouth. When Alyssa chewed the marshmallow, her facial expression suddenly changed to a big smile.

"Does it taste good, Alyssa?" I asked Alyssa who seemed to be enjoying one bite of the marshmallow until it was finished in her mouth.

"Umu! This is delicious, Lily-nee!" Alyssa exclaimed while nodding her head.

"Can I taste it one more time?" Alyssa asked while staring intently at my small food box containing marshmallows.

"No need to be shy, Alyssa. Because this is a small snack that I have prepared for this boring trip," I said while lying to them about the equal exchange between me and the Goddess.

If they knew that this food was created because my cheeks were pinched, my pride as their eldest sister would fall a little.

[ Your worth is not that low, Lily-chan. ]

[ I like this exchange even though the price is not equal. ] Find more chapters on empire

[ I should have given you a large food box filled with marshmallows from the Goddess of Culinary. But she is out somewhere. It seems she is busy looking for strange food ingredients that will be made into edible food to feed the strange creatures in her world. ]

No need to bother her, my Goddess. This one small food box alone is enough to make my twin step-sisters smile with joy.

"Lily, what is that?"

When Alice and Alyssa enjoyed marshmallows from the small food box that was on my thigh. My Father felt interested in tasting it and was followed by my mom who looked at my twin step-sisters.

I could see my mom wetting her lips with her tongue when she saw the marshmallows that entered Alice and Alyssa’s mouths.

"Do you want some too?" I said while taking my small food box to them.

"T-Thank you, Lily." My father looked awkward when he saw me pushing my small food box to him.

"Then, Mom won’t hesitate to take it," said my mom while taking two marshmallows with her index finger.

One bite of marshmallow entered my mom’s mouth and the rest of the bite was given to my father’s mouth.

"Hmm... Do you feel embarrassed if your daughter sees you like this?" teased my mom while teasing my father’s mouth with the marshmallow that had been bitten.

"Kuh! S-Shut up!" grumbled my father who received the rest of my mom’s marshmallow bites.

I don’t know why...

I saw their behavior both felt very strange.

Or is it just my feeling?

Without me realizing it, the small food box that was full of marshmallows now only had a few marshmallows left.

This journey feels happy because I saw my parents sharing their marshmallow bites in front of me.

I felt that their relationship seemed strange as a couple who had just married for the second time.

Will my family be okay in the future?

I hope that my family will be more harmonious than this.

Without realizing it, our journey had entered the area of ??the Aurora Kingdom Capital.

Peeking through the glass window of the horse-drawn carriage, I could see the reflection of my face smiling coldly with a threatening red gaze.

Uhm, I hope this appearance doesn’t end the royal family party quickly before Zoe’s curse begins.

I’ve been waiting for this day.

Unconsciously, now I see the reflection of my face smiling threateningly as if waiting for this day as the beginning of me being able to fight back against bullies.