The Villainess Lives Twice: Butterfly's Dream (IF Story) - Chapter 58
Lawrence hated Pavel.
He hated Pavel more than he hated Cedric or Graham. Pavel was foolish and childish. The groups they associated with both despised each other. Emperor Gregor had once suggested, subtly, that since they were close in age, they should try to get along, but that was never going to happen.
However, Lawrence was no longer childish enough to display his feelings outright, so he quickly returned to his calm demeanor.
“Good afternoon, Prince Pavel.”
When they were younger, he had spoken more casually, but he couldn’t do that now. Even though Pavel hadn’t inherited his title yet, both seventeen and eighteen years old, it was the age when one had to act mature.
“It’s been a while, Lawrence.”
Pavel answered casually to Lawrence’s formal greeting. Although they were half-brothers, there was no reason to act like siblings.
Artizea gazed uneasily between Lawrence, Pavel, and Lysia. Pavel gave her a wink, signaling that everything was fine.
Though he didn’t particularly like Lawrence, he wasn’t about to start a fight. He had only come down from the carriage with the intention of protecting Artizea and Lysia.
Lawrence shot a disgruntled glance at Lysia before looking back at Pavel. He was clearly irritated.
He had returned from Count Aeson’s territory just to see Lysia. The fact that she wasn’t home when he visited had already annoyed him, but now he was dealing with this interruption.
It bothered him. He knew that Pavel was close to Cedric and often came to the house, but he hadn’t expected that Pavel would be close enough to take Lysia out by himself.
It also bothered him to see Lysia, who had been tense and uncomfortable when he was around, now smiling happily. Of course, he didn’t want her to be at ease with him, but the fact that she seemed to get along so well with Pavel made him uncomfortable.
When his gaze landed on her, Lysia shrank slightly. Pavel gestured to his coachman to move the carriage and spoke to Lawrence.
“There’s no need to hesitate because of me. You were about to leave, right?”
“Your Highness, were you not planning to drop Lysia off and leave?”
“My mind changed.”
“…”
Lawrence’s glare sharpened, but Pavel didn’t care.
He knew that Cedric was worried about leaving Artizea and Lysia alone with Lawrence, and while he hadn’t understood why Cedric was so cautious, he now saw the reason. Lysia looked like a frightened puppy, afraid of being bullied.
Artizea quickly intervened.
“I’ll see him off. You can go inside, Brother Pavel.”
“It’s fine. It’s been a while since I’ve seen Lawrence. I should at least see him off. Go ahead.”
Lawrence’s carriage arrived at the empty space.
He felt a sense of discomfort. After all, it felt as if he had been chased away, despite him claiming he was leaving anyway.
He hadn’t even had a proper goodbye with Lysia. When he looked back at her, she lowered her eyes.
Instilling fear was one of the things Lawrence enjoyed most, but it lost its appeal when he didn’t have full control over the situation.
He was about to call out to Lysia, but he stopped himself. Pavel was the one in charge here. Since he was waiting for his carriage, Lawrence had no choice but to leave.
When Lawrence turned to leave, Artizea called out.
“Brother.”
“Why?”
“Um…”
Artizea clasped her hands tightly in front of her chest. She was so tense that her whole body felt rigid, but she knew she had to say this.
“Please, don’t come by without notice anymore.”
It didn’t matter to her. Lawrence’s visits didn’t have a significant impact on her. All he did was drink tea, make small talk, and leave afterward.
But Lysia was different. Artizea wasn’t oblivious enough not to realize that he used Artizea as an excuse to see Lysia.
If it had been her, Artizea would have endured the torment. But his interest wasn’t in her. It was in Lysia.
She could see others’ situations more objectively than her own. Artizea knew that Lawrence enjoyed seeing blood, and she also understood now that the things he used to do for fun as a child were not normal.
She understood why Cedric was always there when Lawrence came around. When Cedric wasn’t around, Artizea knew she had to protect Lysia. But, in this case, she felt like she had become an excuse for Lawrence.
Lawrence looked at her, slightly surprised, before his face twisted into a small grimace.
He sneered.
“Mother was right.”
“What…? What?”
“She said that now you see family as nothing but useless trash. Got it.”
Artizea’s face went pale. Lawrence felt a hint of satisfaction from seeing her expression for the first time.
He didn’t care about Artizea’s feelings. He had never attached any meaning to the ‘family’ Milaira spoke of.
The only reason he said those words was because he knew it would hurt Artizea the most.
“Hey!”
Pavel raised his voice, but Lawrence ignored his shout and closed the door.
The coachman hesitated, but with Lawrence’s order from inside, he had no choice but to start driving the carriage.
Artizea stumbled, and Lysia quickly rushed to support her. Pavel, looking both confused and concerned, examined Artizea’s face.
She blinked a few times, sniffled, and shook her head with her eyes red. She managed not to shed any tears.
“I’m fine.”
“Lady Tia… if this is because of me…”
“It’s not because of you. Really, I’m fine. It’s true that it’s rude to show up without notice. I didn’t say I wouldn’t meet him again.”
Artizea spoke with a slightly hoarse voice. Her face looked determined.
Pavel’s mind became unexpectedly complicated as he recalled Cedric’s words about not being able to sever ties with family on one’s own.
“Still, that guy’s too much. Why would he say something like that?”
He pretended to grumble lightly and gently patted Artizea’s head.
“Our little cub’s eyes really turned into rabbit eyes. Maybe I should’ve beaten him.”
“You shouldn’t fight.”
Artizea shook her head in surprise at Pavel’s harsh words, said in a gentle tone. Pavel ignored her response and continued.
“If anything comes up that you need to hit him for, tell me. You too, Lysia.”
“Yes.”
Lysia smiled as if she thought it was a joke and answered.
Artizea eventually was unable to hold back the choked up tears and went inside first.
Only then did Lysia turn to Pavel to greet him sincerely.
“Thank you.”
“For dropping you off? Why say that now?”
“Just… honestly, I didn’t want to face Lord Lawrence.”
“Is he that bad? Has he been bothering you a lot?”
“Not really. It’s just… uncomfortable in many ways.”
“I wasn’t joking when I said to tell me if you need to hit him.”
Pavel said seriously again. Lysia laughed.
“I’ll definitely remember.”
“Don’t forget.”
With that, he began to walk toward the mansion. Lysia was surprised and asked.
“Aren’t you going back?”
“I’m going to see Ced’s face. What’s he so busy with?”
“I don’t know much, but from what the knights were talking about, there seems to be something happening in Evron.”
Pavel frowned. Though both he and Cedric were eighteen, unlike Pavel, who was still treated as just the heir, Cedric was practically ruling over Grand Duchy Evron.
Still, today he would make sure to talk to him. Pavel walked ahead, still irritated.