The Beloved Youngest Daughter of a Noble Family

Chapter 5 - My Second Older Brother, Born with a Golden Spoon



Chapter 5: My Second Older Brother, Born with a Golden Spoon

“Myaa…?”

Could this ridiculously childish kid be my older brother? If so, could he be Luca, the second child?

As far as I knew, the direct lineage of the Chepesh Kingdom was known to have three children.

Wilhelm, the heir apparent, enjoyed strong support from the pureblood nobles.

Then there was Luca, backed by his mother’s family, who owned one of the largest mines on the continent.

And finally, there was me, the youngest daughter of the Lord’s family, whose information, including that of my birth mother, was shrouded in mystery.

Since Wilhelm, the most publicly active among them, was known for his black hair, it seemed likely that this boy was Luca.

“This is the first time I’ve seen such a small, young baby up close. Look at those chubby cheeks! They’re so cute, I just want to bite them.”

“…Luca, it’s best to be careful with your words.”

“Why? You think I’m going to eat my own sibling?”

For a moment, everyone in the room except Shione and I held their breath.

It seemed that Luca’s words could be interpreted differently due to the perceived rivalry between him and me.

‘He doesn’t seem to be thinking much about it, though.’

True to his mischievous image, Luca seemed to be simply blurting out whatever came to mind. But the problem was that we weren’t ordinary humans; we were vampires. In fact, vampires lived by absorbing the magical energy of monsters, and it was also possible to gain power by consuming the blood and flesh of their own kind.

“But it’s strange. Don’t you feel something weird about her?”

“Not really. I don’t feel anything.”

“She’s still tiny, but I feel a similar energy to my brother. Shione, did you cast some strange magic on her?”

Shione sighed deeply and put her hand on her forehead as she answered. “Luca, you sound just like the Lord,” Shione said with a sigh. “I haven’t done anything to Bella. I simply infused her with magic while she was in the sleep pod.”

“Hmm… but the energy feels completely different from yours.” Luca scrutinized me but soon returned to his cheerful demeanor.

“Ah, whatever. I doubt this little thing has the same terrifying power as my brother. It must be my imagination!”

‘Hey, I’m bigger than a booger, you know.’

I puffed out my cheeks in a pout, and Shione, sensing my displeasure, picked me up and comforted me.

“By the way, how long are you going to keep calling your sister that way? Her name is Bella. The Lord himself named her.”

“Father did? I’m a little envious. When I was a baby, he didn’t even bother to name me, let alone visit me.”

Oh, father… What kind of life have you lived? Realizing that Vlad naming me had some significance, I felt a pang of sympathy for Luca and retracted my pouty lips.

“Anyway, I came all the way here for a reason. I have a gift I want to give her directly.”

“A gift…?”

“Yeah. If I sent it while my mother was at the palace, it would obviously disappear on the way.” Luca gestured to one of his attendants, who presented a small, ornately decorated box.

“It’s made with the most expensive jewels from my mine. I even mixed in some high-quality magic stones. Even my brother wouldn’t be able to get his hands on something like this.”

Inside the box was a baby rattle studded with large jewels, sparkling so brightly that it was hard to look at directly.

‘I might lose my eyesight staring at that rattle. How much did that even cost?’

As everyone gasped in admiration at the dazzling display, Luca puffed out his chest with pride.

Even Shione, who didn’t seem interested in luxury goods, looked intrigued, so it must have been quite an extraordinary item.

‘Hmm, the way he’s showing off his wealth confirms that he’s definitely rich.’

My second older brother, Luca, whose maternal family was one of the wealthiest on the continent, could be quite useful to me. To achieve my revenge and ambitions, I needed a financial foundation, especially since I had practically none.

‘If I can get this naive boy on my side, I’ll have an astronomical amount of funds rolling in.’

‘Hehehe.’

As I grinned, seeing Luca as a giant walking money bag instead of the immature child he seemed, he shuddered.

“Why am I getting goosebumps? I have a bad feeling about this.”

“Perhaps your mother has discovered your little escapade? It might be best to return quickly. Otherwise, you’ll be spanked like before.”

“Eek… I don’t get spanked anymore! Do you think I’m still a little kid?!”

Well, you kind of are. Luca, childishly fuming to himself, soon glanced nervously out the window. It seemed like he was scared of being scolded by his mother.

“Hey, Shione.”

“Yes?”

“Actually, I have a favor to ask.” After hesitating for a while, as if embarrassed, Luca finally mustered up the courage to speak.

“Well… could I, you know, hold her just once? It’s always been my dream to hold my little sister.”

“Luca…”

“But I gave her a gift! And she might grow too big to hold soon. That’s why I rushed over here.”

Shione looked at Luca with pity, then turned to me with a thoughtful expression.

‘Well, I suppose it’s alright for a moment.’ He certainly made a bad first impression, but since I planned to win him over later, I could endure this minor inconvenience.

“Alright… I’ll show you how, so you can hold Bella. But if she doesn’t like it, you must immediately hand her back to me.”

“Okay. I’ll be careful.” Luca, his face full of tension, carefully picked me up.

“This is my little sister…”

Thump, thump.

I could feel Luca’s heartbeat quickening through our bodies. It was pounding so fast that I worried he might faint.

“Woob…?”

I looked up at Luca, whose face had gone from red to pale, and wrinkled his nose. He was breathing so heavily that it was making me anxious.

‘If I leave him like this, something bad might happen.’

While I’m well aware of my own cuteness and charm, I had no intention of sending anyone to an early grave because of it. I counted to three in my head, then delivered a mighty slap to Luca’s cheek!

“Myaaa!”

Smack. With a satisfyingly crisp sound, Luca’s head jerked to the side.

“That’s enough. Take her away! It’s starting to feel strange, and I don’t like it.”

“Hehe, you enjoyed it, didn’t you? It’s no trouble. The more one looks at Lady Bella, the more endearing she becomes.”

“Pfft! It’s trivial. She felt hot and mushy, almost like a slime.”

The audacity of this guy.

‘Should I smack the other cheek red too to knock some sense into him?’ I clenched and unclenched my tiny fists, revving up for another slap, when Luca stammered, adding to his previous statement, “W-Well… I didn’t mean it wasn’t cute in a way.”

“You didn’t have to phrase it so indirectly.”

“I really didn’t mean it like that!!” Luca tried to deny it, but the others, having already caught on to his feelings, simply smiled knowingly.

Belatedly realizing the awkward turn the atmosphere had taken, Luca hurriedly prepared to leave the room.

“Oh, I should get going now. …Can I come again later?”

“Of course. But next time, please come with proper permission. Don’t sneak out like this.”

“Ugh… that might be a bit difficult.” With a disappointed look, Luca’s shoulders slumped. He glanced at me one more time before leaving for his own palace with his attendants in tow.

***

As the days turned into weeks, and weeks into a month, I grew rapidly under Shione and the maids’ devoted care, and finally, I took my first steps.

“Oh my goodness, Bella is a genius! To be walking so soon, she’ll surely be talking in no time!”

“Indeed! Once she learns to write, she’ll master magic in a flash. She is the Lord’s daughter, after all!”

To be called a genius for simply taking my first steps… It’s clear that these ladies are completely smitten with me.

‘Well, it’s not entirely wrong, I suppose.’

I had become aware of a growing power within me. At first, I didn’t know what it was, but I soon realized it was magic.

‘Come to think of it, Luca said he felt a similar energy in me as in Wilhelm.’

Even though he acts like a fool, I’m surprised he has such keen senses. Luca may be lacking in some areas, but I guess he can’t hide the fact that he’s the Lord’s blood.

“The weather is lovely outside. How about we have a picnic to celebrate Bella’s first steps? We can pack some delicious snacks and lunch!”

“That’s a great idea. The new stroller we ordered just arrived, so it would be nice to test out the stroller and be back soon.”

With Shione’s approval, the excited maids rushed to the kitchen and returned with a picnic basket overflowing with goodies.

I felt a little sorry that they had to pack so much stuff for a short outing, including my formula, snacks, water bottle, diapers, baby chair, and towels. But they didn’t seem to mind at all.

Soon, I was dressed in a picnic-ready muslin dress with a bunny pattern and a cute ribboned hat, and then placed in the luxurious stroller seat.

“Oh, I almost forgot the pacifier.”

One of the maids handed me a box filled with pacifiers in various colors.

I chose a yellow one, guessing it was banana-flavored, and popped it into my mouth, sucking on it with gusto.

“Sllluuurp!”

‘Ah, yes. This is it.’

The most lethal and sweetest taste a baby can have!

“Giggle!”

My mood lifted, I beamed a bright smile, and the faces around me bloomed with happiness.

We then headed out to the garden of Rose Palace, where I resided, spread out a blanket, and enjoyed a lovely time together.

Surrounded by people who meant no harm and basking in the warm sunlight, I suddenly thought of the cold stone tower where I had lived in my past life.

‘It was so lonely back then.’

By the time the tears I shed as a girl had dried on the bricks and turned into the tower’s damp air, I had become an adult.

A lonely and isolated adult who no longer cried.

‘Perhaps there’s another meaning to this second life I’ve been given… besides revenge?’

Like, for example, my own happiness.

‘Happiness… what is it?’

I once thought that happiness would be to shed my status as a princess and live an ordinary life with someone I love.

But in truth, I didn’t know how to love or how to live an ordinary life.

If happiness is achieving what you truly desire, then for me, it would be revenge.

But isn’t it too pitiful to call something like that happiness?

Lost in such vague thoughts, I listlessly sucked on my pacifier.

Shione, who had been silently observing my melancholy, stood up.

“I’ll take Bella for a walk. You girls can rest here.”

“We want to come too!”

“I think Bella is getting tired. I’ll just take her for a short walk to test out the stroller and be back soon.”

Leaving behind the disappointed maids, Shione strolled along the path with me in the stroller. After about ten minutes of walking while listening to the peaceful chirping of birds, the figure of a man began to emerge from the path ahead.

Whistle.

The man, whistling skillfully enough to be mistaken for a bird’s song, was a handsome young man in his early twenties with striking platinum blonde hair and a tall stature. Dressed in a well-fitted white uniform with an impressive sword at his waist, he appeared to be a high-ranking knight.

Shione frowned as she saw the man approaching, waving amicably as if they were already acquainted.

“What is he doing here…?”


Tip: You can use left, right, A and D keyboard keys to browse between chapters.