Chapter 70 : Trash (1)

The consequence of uttering the words “I’m hungry” in front of Grandma was severe.

“…Grandma… I’m full…”

“Our little one is full?”

“··········”

“Just try eating this.”

“Ugh!”

Every time I said I was full, another spoonful of rice entered my mouth.

Yuri unnie had already been knocked out and was sprawled on the floor.

“…I, I really can’t eat anymore… I already ate…”

“Oh dear~ What should we do if my granddaughter can only eat this much~”

Finally, the food stopped coming into my mouth.

‘Did… did we make it?’

At last, this hardship was over.

So this is what victory feels like.

Yuri unnie! We did it—we successfully finished our meal!!

“Ooooh…”

“Now, let’s eat some fruit.”

“…Huh?”

All the food had been conquered.

We should be done eating now.

At last, we were free from this food torture.

…Or so I had thought.

And then came the fruit rush.

Grandma, with her gentle smile, took turns putting food into my mouth and Yuri unnie’s mouth, even though Yuri unnie looked like she had lost consciousness.

That warm smile felt terrifying.

But that wasn’t the truly scary part.

“Hey… Albinos, have you been starving your eldest daughter for days?”

“…N-No, Father-in-law…”

“Then why is she eating so much? Are you still mistreating the kids?”

“…I-I’m sorry…”

“What, are you admitting to child abuse now? Even if she’s adopted, this is too much.”

“…N-No, that’s not it, Father…”

“Why am I your father?”

“…I’m sorry.”

Just as Grandpa pointed out, Emilia unnie was devouring everything like a dragon that hadn’t eaten in days.

“…A black hole…?”

“Minho, igu maiyer…! (Minho, this is delicious…!)”

As I muttered while watching her, Emilia unnie handed me a turkey leg with an ecstatic expression.

Unable to refuse her pure-hearted smile, I squeezed my eyes shut and took a bite of the turkey leg.

“Mahi-jji?! (It’s good, right?!)”

“…It’s…good…”

When I gave a small smile, Emilia unnie giggled and continued eating.

‘…Pig… How can a half-blood eat more than a pureblood?’

I glanced over at Yuri unnie, who was lying down but still diligently moving her mouth to chew on fruit.

‘Is this the difference between the experiment and the original?’

It was something I shouldn’t have thought about my own family, but the thought crossed my mind.

…Well, whatever. In our past lives, we used to cross the line with jokes all the time anyway.

And so, Grandma’s food torture continued for a long time.

“Thank you for the meal, Grandma.”

“…Ugh… I’m so full…”

“Minho… Are you alive…?”

“Yeah… unnie.”

Among us three sisters, the only one still able to move, Emilia unnie, cheerfully thanked Grandma.

Yuri unnie and I also managed to thank her, though we couldn’t move and had to settle for just saying the words.

I wanted to get up to show my gratitude for the meal.

“Ugh!”

“Sweetie, you can just sit down~”

“Yes, ma’am.”

When I tried to move, my stomach felt so full that I thought everything I had eaten would come back up. So, I sat back down.

Grandma must have found my effort to be polite endearing because she gently patted my belly.

Her warm touch was comforting, so I left my stuffed stomach in her hands.

“Ughhh…”

“It feels nice, right, unnie?”

“Yeah… it feels nice.”

Yuri unnie also had a dazed smile on her face, seemingly enjoying it.

It was then that I finally took in the open field visible from the yard.

The blue sky, the vast field stretching out, and the lilacs blooming all around the yard.

“Unnie, don’t you like lilacs?”

‘…I do.’

“Right? At home, you’re always looking at lilacs.”

Hearing my words, unnie’s expression became a little complicated.

At that moment, Mom joined our conversation.

“Lilacs are pretty, aren’t they?”

Grandma was now beside Grandpa, giggling as he teased Dad.

“Yes, they’re beautiful.”

“…They’re beautiful.”

Mom smiled at our responses and patted our full stomachs once more.

“I like lilacs too. Your dad used to give them to me all the time.”

“The flower language is beautiful too—‘first love.’”

Yuri unnie flinched at that and then looked a bit gloomy.

“Mom, I picked some lilacs.”

“Oh my, thank you.”

“Hehe.”

Emilia unnie plucked a few lilacs and tucked one behind Mom’s ear, then mine, and then Yuri unnie’s.

Of course, she also tucked one behind her own ear before flopping down beside us.

The peaceful atmosphere of the countryside was nice.

I surrendered myself to the cool breeze and hugged Mom tightly.

This was the perfect moment to hear an old story.

If I asked Mom, wouldn’t she tell us something like a fairy tale?

“Mom, I’m bored~”

“Oh my, really?”

“Tell us an old story.”

“Yes! I want to hear a story.”

“…Yeah, me too.”

Seeing the three of us looking at her with expectant eyes, Mom looked slightly flustered as she tried to think of a story to tell.

As I lay there with a full belly, drowsiness started to creep in.

Since Mom was about to tell a story, I figured I could fall asleep while listening to it.

But just as that thought crossed my mind—

“Should I tell you about my first love?”

A magical phrase escaped from Mom’s lips—one that made sleep impossible.

My drowsiness disappeared instantly.

It was the same magic that worked back in school: no matter how sleepy you were during class, the moment a teacher started talking about their first love, you would wake up completely.

Everyone has experienced it at least once.

And now, after a long time, I felt that sensation again.

‘A first love story is always exciting!’

Yuri unnie and I were both hopeless romantics.

Back when I had my first (and last) romantic relationship, unnie had relentlessly pestered me to spill every detail.

That’s how much she loved pure love stories.

I was the same—I wouldn’t even glance at a novel or webtoon unless it had a pure romance.

We were obsessed with first love.

After all, wasn’t first love the beginning of someone’s romantic journey?

A love so intense that you could only think about that one person—

The purest, most beautiful form of love.

Even Yuri unnie, who had been lifeless moments ago, suddenly had a spark in her eyes.

“For the record, my first love was your dad.”

“…A pure love…?”

“Hm? Yuri, what did you say?”

“…P-Pure love?!”

“?”

Yuri unnie murmured the words as if in a trance.

Mom looked at her and let out an awkward chuckle.

“Y-Yeah, it was a pure love…”

“Wow…”

A truly devoted sister, Yuri unnie laid her head on Mom’s lap once again.

Her eyes sparkled as she gazed at Mom, eagerly awaiting the story.

Emila, who had been lying next to me and absentmindedly touching my cheek, slowed down her movements as she focused on Mom’s words.

“Ahem, then I’ll start, okay?”

“Yes!”

“Hehe…”

“…I’m looking forward to it…!”

With all of our expectations resting on her, Mom finally opened her mouth to speak.

“…This is a story from when your dad and I had two years left before graduating from the academy.”

“…Mhm.”

“The classic start.”

“…That’s so long ago.”

And just like that, Mom’s first love story began.

It was the year 1818 in the Unified Calendar.

The story takes us back to when Erses and Albinus were both 18 years old.

“…Hey, Albinus?”

“What?”

In the student council room, Albinus sat slouched in the vice president’s seat, glaring at Erses.

He was in an incredibly bad mood.

‘…I’m the runner-up? And vice president on top of that?’

Albinus had always been the top student throughout his years at school.

But at the start of this year, he suddenly found himself feeling an overwhelming sense of inferiority toward one particular girl.

‘…That clueless-looking girl is the top student? And the student council president, too?’

The reason?

Because the title of top student and student council president had been taken by an unheard-of country girl.

Erses Ordia.

A girl the same age as Albinus who had spent eight years as a mediocre middle-ranking student.

If Haig, who had always been right behind him, had taken the top spot, he might have accepted it.

But instead, it was a girl who trembled nervously every time they worked together and couldn’t even handle paperwork properly.

And yet, she had snatched both titles from him.

Albinus felt like he was going to die from frustration.

Of course, Erses, who was watching him, had different thoughts.

‘Oh no… I can’t concentrate on work.’

Instead of focusing on work, she kept stealing glances at Albinus, her love burning stronger and stronger.

It all started last summer.

Albinus didn’t remember, but during a magic practice session, he had lent her a textbook and smiled at her kindly.

That moment, Erses fell in love at first sight.

When she realized that Albinus was the crown prince, she became determined to catch his attention, no matter what.

Magic training, studying, physical conditioning.

She put in effort after effort, and as a result, she earned the position of top student and student council president.

That allowed her to stand by his side.

‘…He’s so handsome today, too…’

Since she had worked so hard for this position, she was utterly captivated by Albinus.

His every movement made her heart race to the point that she couldn’t even focus on work.

Of course, this only meant that all the work she neglected fell onto Albinus instead, earning his deep resentment.

“…President, why do you keep staring at me?”

“M-Mm, sorry…”

“…Just get to work.”

“…Okay…”

The occasional sharp glares Albinus sent her way did sting, but she could endure them.

Because she thought that meant he was paying attention to her.

‘…One day, I’ll drag her down from that president seat.’

Of course, Albinus was actually plotting to kick her out of the position by any means necessary.

And so it began.

The heart-pounding romantic comedy between the oblivious Erses and the tempestuous Albinus.

“…Mom, why did you even marry Dad…?”

After hearing the whole story, I was in complete shock.

“Hm? Your dad is nice, isn’t he?”

Next to me, Yoori-unnie, who had been listening in silence, glared toward Dad in the distance and muttered,

“…How could he bully a girl who liked him…”

Hearing about how Dad had tormented Mom, even after she had tearfully confessed her love, made us think he was truly the worst.

Of course, there was still some behind-the-scenes context we hadn’t heard yet.