She's Not Our Daughter! Ch 50

Go Ahead and Bully Me All You Want

[Iliena] "Don't leave."

[Cassius] "......"

The Princess blocked his path.

[Cassius] "Did you say you love me?"

Without any intention, Cassius gripped the wrist the Princess extended with complete detachment. Even a doctor checking a pulse would never show such cold rationality.

He chuckled and glared at her.

[Cassius] "You claim you love me so much that you would throw everything away."

His voice sounded bitingly low and twisted. Failing to grasp his true intentions, the Princess' gaze wavered.

Slowly releasing her wrist, he whispered.

[Cassius] "Yet your pulse beats with such utter calm."

[Iliena] "Duke, that is......."

[Cassius] "You evidently think me foolish enough to fall for your cheap tricks."

[Iliena] "......Duke Ideos."

Following her words, he explained quietly yet clearly, casting a freezing glare down at her.

[Cassius] "You underestimated me."

[Iliena] "Fine, I will speak honestly. I...... covet you. Of course, my affection for you is also real."

Her earlobes flushed red as she spoke.

Tilting his head slowly, Cassius waited for her next words, but his patience rapidly neared its limit. The closing time for the palace pharmacy where Sierra stayed approached. Although Sierra told him not to wait, leaving right now meant he could accompany her home. He refused to waste another moment on the Princess' tedious excuses.

[Iliena] "But if I join hands with you, I......."

As he stared at her with an expression of sheer boredom, her voice suddenly dropped.

[Iliena] "I can legitimately leave the imperial palace as the Duchess."

[Cassius] "I have zero interest in becoming your pawn."

He turned away coldly. Her expression crumbled at the absolute rejection.

[Iliena] "I can give you the Lenck Peninsula, and perhaps even the royal scepter."

[Cassius] "I heard the Lenck Peninsula is a natural fortress."

Anticipation brightened the Princess' features as she wondered if Cassius coveted the Lenck Peninsula.

[Cassius] "Regrettably, it fails to interest me."

Having no intention of listening further, he prepared to turn around.

Realizing her final opportunity was slipping away, she hastily embraced his back and whispered.

[Iliena] "I know why you act this way. It is because of that commoner named Sierra."

Cassius pulled her away with absolute coldness.

Watching his departing back, the Princess let out a mocking sneer and muttered.

[Iliena] "She is quite beautiful. Though I don't know if she is worth the Duke going completely mad over."

She swallowed a bitter smile. She recalled Sierra's slender, willow-like figure and lovely appearance. The girl undeniably possessed a different kind of beauty compared to herself, who was hailed as the most beautiful person in the palace. Yet, it defied belief that the Duke before her fell for such a beauty. Women of such caliber were more common than one would think.

[Iliena] "But do you also know this? Many people target that woman."

Opening the door to leave mercilessly, Cassius turned back slowly toward the Princess.

[Iliena] "Who knows if one of them will ascend to the throne?"

Her gaze darkened heavily.

[Iliena] "For example, the playboy of the imperial palace......."

[Cassius] "......"

[Iliena] "Introducing that girl to my older brother is always an option. Do you have the power to stop that?"

He stared down at the Princess' tightly set lips and eyes. She might consider this a decent card to play, but it held no weight with him.

[Cassius] "It makes no difference who it is."

[Iliena] "What do you mean, Duke?"

[Cassius] "It means that anyone who touches Sierra, regardless of who they are, must prepare to face my absolute enmity."

Brandishing a fierce glare as if ready to commit high treason, Cassius turned around. His expression grew even colder, yet the Princess pressed on forcefully.

[Iliena] "Remember this. If it means bringing you into my hands, I will gladly welcome any situation."

He spoke in a low, mocking tone.

[Cassius] "No, you will not even be able to touch her."

He bore the duty to protect Sierra, who resembled a bird that flew directly into his arms. He bit the inside of his cheek hard. Guilt welled up inside him for Sierra, who faced hostile glares ever since she became entangled with him.

I am sorry, Sierra.

She acted indifferent on the outside, but distress undoubtedly filled her heart. Cassius pictured Sierra suffering all sorts of humiliations because she entered his sphere.

Sheer self-loathing surged within him, strong enough to make him sick, yet he could never let her go. He vowed once more to make her happy within his embrace.

I must reinforce the security. I will sever any point of contact with the Crown Prince.

The Princess' crazed eyes left a heavy unease in his chest. She called it love, but that was impossible. She possessed no real reason to obsess over him to such an extent.

I must uncover the Princess' true motives.

By all indications, the Princess showed no signs of giving up on him easily.

Cassius bit his lip as he headed toward the palace pharmacy, resolving to force the Princess to give up on him by any means necessary.

Meanwhile, Sierra returned after excellently executing her assignment at the palace pharmacy. Naturally, the rookie pharmacists, who detested Sierra's favored insertion enough to want her dead, played countless tricks to torment her. However, she paid zero attention to such nonsense. She simply felt thrilled to handle an assignment after so long.

I need to secure a lackey soon and dig into the rumors circulating through the palace.

---

A full week passed with her senses entirely attuned to where her sister might be. Cassius commuted to work with Sierra every single day. He frequently gifted her items like rag dolls. Naturally, an envelope stuffed with cash hid inside the rag doll every time. Every time they commuted by carriage, Cassius handed her money as if presenting an allowance box. Today was no exception.

[Cassius] "Take it."

Unable to tolerate his eccentric behavior any longer after a week, Sierra broke her silence.

[Sierra] "Mm, thank you. But what on earth is this cash envelope doing inside the doll?"

Inside the rattling carriage, Cassius leaned forward, causing their knees to brush briefly.

[Cassius] "Do you not remember five years ago? You said you liked this."

What did I say I liked that made him stuff cash envelopes inside dolls?

Listening to his incredibly gentle voice, Sierra carefully combed through her memories. Come to think of it, around the spring of her nineteenth year, Cassius often gifted her flowers or dolls. His cheeks would flush red back then, too.

“Um.......”

“Yes?”

“I thought you liked these things.......”

“Listen closely, Cassius.”

“Huh?”

“I love money. Specifically, an uncountably massive amount of money.”

Realizing how remarkably consistent her past self had been, Sierra handled the doll with a complex expression.

Cassius leaned in carefully and whispered near her ear.

[Cassius] "If anyone bullies you, bribe them with this money."

[Sierra] "Bribe them?"

[Cassius] "The knights will protect you, but I remain worried."

[Sierra] "Well...... thank you."

At a time when her sister's fate remained unknown, Sierra valued her own safety above all else. Possessing numerous enemies meant she required overprotection whenever she ventured outside. Since Cassius spoke absolute facts, Sierra nodded repeatedly.

Sorting out her thoughts, she stepped out of the carriage and entered the palace pharmacy.

Over the past week, Sierra exerted every effort to gather all kinds of rumors. Because no one spoke to her, zero useful rumors reached her ears. When she ignored their behavior, the bullying worsened.

Good grief, the pharmacists here can't even be bribed with money.

Regrettably, Cassius' funds failed to buy friendship within the pharmacy. Even so, arriving for work, she offered a cheerful greeting.

[Sierra] "Good morning."

As usual, no reciprocal greeting returned to her. Naturally, Sierra, whose nerves resembled steel cables, walked into the pharmacy with a jaunty stride.

Today is the day for identifying and processing medicinal ingredients.

Changing into the palace-issued pharmacist uniform, she entered the preparation room and scanned her surroundings.

Standing shoulder-to-shoulder while processing ingredients, three pharmacists stared at her with freezing expressions. These individuals had been tormenting her relentlessly of late.

When Sierra stood right beside them with a detached expression to inspect the ingredients, blatant slander reached her ears.

[Pharmacist 1] "I heard she graduated from the Imperial Palace Academy with perfectly average grades, nowhere near the top."

[Pharmacist 2] "How on earth did she catch the eyes of the high nobles?"

[Pharmacist 3] "Exactly."

[Sierra] "Hmm."

She frowned at the low-grade ingredients gathered before her. Standing right beside her, Jenny slyly pushed a graduated flask forward and muttered.

[Jenny] "Even if you make such a pitiful face, I don't possess the slightest desire to help you."

This was the same Jenny whom Sierra defeated on her first day of work. Snatching the flask from her hand, Sierra replied lightly.

[Sierra] "Oh, thank you. I needed this."

[Jenny] "Good grief."

Her brow instantly furrowing, Jenny joined the other pharmacists as they whispered within earshot once more. It was slander disguised as gossip.

Bullying never changes from student days.

Frankly, Sierra never cared about other people's opinions. She belonged to the type that thought, "If the world excludes me, I will simply exclude the world."

At this moment, only a single problem existed. Specifically, the rotten ginseng roots they threw in front of her to process.

Sierra frowned at the ginseng before her. Whispers reached her ears.

[Pharmacist 1] "Does she even possess the ability to distinguish whether an ingredient is cheap junk?"

[Pharmacist 2] "Her Academy grades were terrible too."

[Pharmacist 3] "Her mid-term grades always hit a straight B, so her nickname was 'B'!"

Because Sierra strictly followed her sister's advice, she concealed her true skills at the Academy.

Believing that maintaining a perfect B also required immense skill, Sierra let out a long sigh, looked down at the rotten ginseng, and curled her lip mockingly.

Low-grade ingredients are fine. Channeling mana properly can yield better effects than high-grade ones. But giving me rotten ingredients meant to treat patients?

Furrowing her brow deeply, she scratched the bridge of her nose. Until now, their actions failed to interest her. However, the moment they tampered with patients and medicine, she felt the need to teach them a proper lesson.

I can't overlook this.

Furthermore, she needed to evaluate whether these pharmacists could prove useful to her. She tilted her head sideways.

[Sierra] "Hey."

As a thunderous voice erupted from her delicate face, the three surrounding her flinched. Her unexpected side caught them entirely off guard.

[Sierra] "You all utterly look down on me as a favored insider."

[Pharmacist 1] "We don't look down on you because you are a favored insider. You are simply pathetic."

They flared up as if admitting they despised her connections would wound their pride. Sierra shrugged casually and countered.

[Sierra] "Pathetic?"

[Pharmacist 1] "Yes! You entered the pharmacy by winning the favor of high nobles despite your terrible Academy grades."

[Pharmacist 2] "The people here belong to families that served the palace pharmacy for generations."

[Jenny] "Furthermore, everyone graduated at the top of their Academy class. That is the minimum requirement to become a palace pharmacist."

[Pharmacist 3] "The next top graduate was supposed to take your spot, but you ruined everything!"

Watching them smile proudly as if they scored a definitive point, Sierra crossed her arms.

[Sierra] "So, palace pharmacists generally consist of top graduates from the Imperial Academy?"

An entirely reasonable selection process, but then why create a recruitment pamphlet? The imperial palace is ridiculous. In the end, it all boils down to connections.

Swallowing her disdain, she grinned and faced them.

[Sierra] "So, as top graduates, you are absolutely confident that your skills surpass mine?"

Sierra once read a book on military strategy during her days in Sufe Village. The core doctrine of the text claimed that people who become allies too easily are highly likely to backstab you, whereas those who start hostile turn out incredibly loyal later on.

To think I would actually apply a lesson from a boring strategy book.

Sierra spoke while locking onto them. Their eyes burned with passion for pharmacology. To locate her sister swiftly, she required competent lackeys—no, close aides—within the imperial palace whose movements synchronized perfectly with hers.

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