The Villainess Lives Twice: Butterfly's Dream (IF Story) - Chapter 52

Lysia flinched and lowered her head. She hoped that Lawrence wouldn’t recognize her and would just leave.

But it seemed that she had already been noticed.

“Lysia.”

He called her name with a bright smile. The boys all turned to look at her, following his lead.

Reluctantly, she greeted him.

“Hello, Lawrence.”

Since meeting him at Artizea’s tea party when they were eight, Lysia had had occasional opportunities to see Lawrence.

Considering how indifferent he had been to Artizea, it was surprising how regularly he visited Grand Duke Evron’s residence.

He didn’t come to have affectionate, sibling-like conversations with Artizea or play with her, though. After exchanging pleasantries, it was usually Artizea who chattered and initiated the conversation.

Cedric clearly disliked him, but he didn’t go out of his way to stop the visits. In fact, he even joined in the meetings when possible.

Lysia had been curious about this and once asked him directly. Cedric had responded with a bitter smile.

[After all, he’s family to Tia. I can’t just cut off ties like that, can I?]

Lysia, with her young mind, had pondered over this a lot. She felt like she should hate him because Cedric did, but Artizea always seemed so happy to see him, so she thought maybe she should like him too.

Aside from these inner conflicts, Lysia was genuinely happy to see him. Every time he visited, she always stayed close to Artizea.

It was as if the sunlight followed Lawrence and was shining on him. It was heartbreaking to see him often scowling or having a detached expression. She wanted to see him smile brightly.

When she heard he was coming the next day, her heart would race from the night before. She’d often get so excited to talk to him that she’d forget to respond at times.

It was the first time she had ever wanted to be seen in a good light by someone, and she envied Artizea for being his sister.

She also related to Artizea’s desire to grow up quickly. If she was ten, or eleven, maybe she could get a little closer to him. She nodded to herself, realizing that Artizea probably felt the same way about wanting to grow up quickly.

But Lawrence was never kind to Lysia.

[Country bumpkin.]

When they met without Artizea or Cedric around, Lawrence had called her that right off the bat.

Lysia was struck hard by those words. She had suspected he thought of her as a country bumpkin, but it was the first time he had so blatantly said it.

Lawrence’s expression that was twisted with disdain, was like a painful arrow to Lysia’s heart. She had expected him not to like her, but she hadn’t anticipated being so openly scorned.

While she had heard harsh words from her rough-tempered cousin countless times, they never hurt her the way this did. She knew her cousin’s nature, and she didn’t hold him in high regard, so his words didn’t sting as much. 

But Lawrence, with his angelic appearance and aura of brilliance, made his disdain feel like a wound.

She wanted to cry, but her pride held it back.

[Don’t call me that. It’s a bad word.]

When Lysia protested, Lawrence sneered mockingly.

[Don’t look at me with that foolish face. You might put a hole in it.]

[That’s not true.]

[Not true?]

[It’s not!]

Lysia shouted in protest, but Lawrence just scoffed, as if he had heard something absurd. And since what he said was, unfortunately, true, she couldn’t help but flush with embarrassment.

Just then, Artizea appeared, ending the conversation. But this wouldn’t be the last time Lysia found herself alone with Lawrence.

When they were in the garden, he nonchalantly stepped on a headband Lysia had dropped and told her to take it. No matter how much she asked him to move his foot, he ignored her. 

Lysia tried to lift his foot by grabbing his ankle, but there was no way she could move it—he was several years older and stronger than she was.

[It’s something I care about. Please give it back.]

[I told you to take it.]

[You’re stepping on it. Please move.]

Lawrence didn’t respond. Lysia couldn’t understand what he wanted. Frustrated and upset, she nearly started crying. Lawrence just stared at her for a long while before pressing down harder on the headband with his foot to crush it.

After several such encounters, any feelings of a naive first crush disappeared quickly. Lysia buried her feelings, unable to speak to Artizea about it. She began to understand why Cedric hated Lawrence yet still interacted with him.

[He’s a bad person.]

Lysia murmured this to herself, lying under the covers, more times than she could count. It was the first time she truly experienced distress, and strangely, she couldn’t bring herself to talk about it to anyone.

Lawrence’s attitude had changed since last year. 

Lysia tried to avoid him, but sometimes there were unavoidable gatherings, like Artizea’s birthday or a tea party. In those situations, she would just greet him briefly and ignore him, and Lawrence would leave her alone.

But at some point, Lawrence started acting kindly. He began greeting her with a smile, speaking to her politely, and even showing consideration. 

Just like now.

“Why are you here?”

He asked in a gentle voice. Lysia hesitated and answered, keeping her head lowered.

“I was invited by Lady Swaro.”

“Oh, I forgot Igor had a sister.”

The boys gathered around Lysia and chattered. Though their behavior wasn’t exactly polite, the group of teenage boys seemed to be unconcerned with it.

“Oh, this is her? Your sister?”

“She’s cute.”

“How old is she?”

Lysia wasn’t too scared. Honestly, she found Lawrence far scarier than any of these boys.

“I’m not Lawrence’s sister. I’m Lysia Morten, Artizea Rosan’s companion. I’m thirteen years old.”

“Oh, I see.”

“I was surprised when Lawrence greeted a girl first.”

“I’m Igor Swaro. We’ve met before, right?”

Recognizing a familiar face made Lysia feel a little more at ease, and she smiled back.

“Yes, I saw you when you visited last time.”

“Glad you came. Enjoy yourself.”

When Igor spoke kindly, Lawrence interjected in a frustrated tone.

“How long are you going to keep standing around, as if it’s some spectacle?”

“Isn’t it a spectacle? You were the one who greeted the girl first.”

Someone muttered under their breath. Lysia only felt like she wanted to leave. Lawrence was still staring at her, and she felt as if she might run into his gaze if she moved just a little.

“I’ll see you later. Go now.”

Lawrence said. Lysia flinched. Later? Even though she knew it was just a polite remark, she still shrank at the words.

With her gaze still lowered, she quickly gave a half-hearted goodbye and followed the butler, walking toward the tea party.

Lawrence watched her retreating figure for a moment while clicking his tongue. Igor asked,

“What’s going on?”

It wasn’t unusual for Lawrence to suddenly get angry, but this time, Igor had no idea why. It wasn’t like it was because of the little girl, right? Igor tilted his head in confusion.

Lawrence didn’t answer his question and started walking briskly again.

“Hey, Lawrence. Wait up.”

The boys scrambled to follow him. Lawrence led the way, wiping his unpleasant expression with his palm.

‘After being kind to you, why the sour face?’ 

He was incredibly irritated.