The World’s Strongest Are Obsessed With Me

Chapter 2

“What are you doing?” Hikan immediately frowned. His footsteps also stopped.

“I-it’s to cheer you up...”

Hikan didn't answer.

“A-are you okay, Brother?”

Again, silence.

“Y-you must be sad Father passed away...” Dahlia continued to stutter.

A story from a book she read in her past life crossed her mind. It was the story of how a spy infiltrated an enemy camp to kill the enemy but was unable to do the deed because the enemy gave the spy some bread left over from a recent meal. It symbolized the kindness of humanity.

Humanity! The thing Hikan doesn’t have! The one thing Hikan considers stupid! So take this, Brother!

Judging by his reaction, her actions were correct.

“Ha!” Hikan laughed in disbelief. He snatched the bread out of her hand.

Is he going to throw it on the ground and stomp on it?! That would mean her plan succeeded.

Turn your attention on anything but me! Dahlia wished desperately in her mind as she clasped her hands together.

Upon seeing this, Hikan’s expression warped strangely. He clenched the crumpled bread and turned away. “The funeral is tomorrow,” he said. And that was it.

Did I succeed?

Hikan left. Dahlia finally relaxed. She decided to plan her escape as soon as possible so she could live a new life away from this home. She returned her shocked nanny’s hug while gears turned in her head.

She had memories of her past life. The world she used to live in was far more delicate and complicated than the world she was in right now. She knew how much money and time was needed to abandon her status as the duke’s daughter so that she could live under a new identity.

I need money.

There was a limit to how much she could save by selling dresses and jewels. What kind of noble lady would buy a second-hand dress, unless her family was destitute? While jewels could be re-carved and redecorated, they could only be sold for a cheaper price.

That left only what she knew about the future of the male leads and what would happen in this world. It was all up to how Dahlia would use the information.

But I won’t be able to do anything right now in this small body.

She was barely thirteen. Whatever she did, she was bound to be ignored or scammed. She had to stay within the mansion’s walls until she could gather enough money. The only thing she could do right now was to continue acting like an innocent child around her brother and plan for the future.

For now, she had to focus on Hikan. There was a funeral to attend tomorrow.

* * *

The coffin was slowly lowered into the hole in the ground. Hikan was the first to shovel dirt on top of it. Dahlia was next. Neither of them cried.

“Oh, Miss Dahlia...” Her nanny was the one to wipe tears from her eyes with a handkerchief. She still seemed to be concerned about how Hikan had barged into her room yesterday.

“I’m all right, Nanny.” Dahlia grabbed her nanny’s hands to reassure her. Her nanny teared up in pride at the sight of her lady’s mature attitude. Her nanny was the only person in the entire mansion that Dahlia could rely on.

Should I ask whether the nanny knows anyone who can make a fake identity? No, she’ll probably faint.

Dahlia held her tongue for the sake of her nanny’s mental health. Behind her, she could hear the branch family members whispering.

“...heir is only sixteen...”

“...one of us...”

“...but then Yulio...”

“...No. How can he possibly handle such a position?”

Yulio was the former Duke Pesteroz’s cousin, who'd been recently acknowledged for his success in the trade business.

It was hilarious to hear them discuss how the pie should be cut when the owner of the pie wasn’t planning to share it at all. They were correct, though, about the fact that the duke’s position was vacant due to his sudden death.

The position was also rightfully Hikan’s, but it was impossible for a sixteen-year-old to assume it. According to the law, he would need a legal guardian until he turned eighteen. It was only right for one of the adults to become his guardian.

But from what Dahlia overheard in the conversations between her nanny and the maids, all of the adults in the branch families were more eager to fill their own pockets by becoming the temporary master of the family. Of course Hikan would know this, being smarter than her. He was most likely going to succeed the duke himself.

Dahlia glanced at Hikan. He was staring at the coffin that was being buried. Was he sad, or was he acting? Dahlia couldn’t tell.

This is when I should hold his hand.

That's what the innocent younger sister would do. Dahlia knew how to stick to her role.

From what she knew of the original story, Hikan considered warm-hearted people foolish and blind. Dahlia had to appear the same way to improve her chances of running away successfully. The end game was to lower his wariness of her.

Dahlia carefully approached Hikan and grabbed his hand. It was cold. Her hand would probably feel warm to him.

“Brother.”

Silence.

“Are you all right?”

“Don’t act out, Dahlia," Hikan answered coldly. He didn’t take his hand out of hers. It was certain he viewed her as such a nuisance that he couldn’t be bothered to throw her hand away.

“Young master, Miss Dahlia, may I talk to you for a moment?” Dahlia recognized the voice as one of the men who'd been whispering with the other distant family members.

Hikan briefly sighed, annoyed, and roughly threw her hand away from his as he turned around. Dahlia turned around as well.

“What do you need?” Hikan’s cold attitude made everyone, regardless of age, freeze in fear. The relative, whose name she didn't know, squirmed where he stood before soldiering on.

“We talked to the family lawyer and found that a family representative is needed until you reach adulthood, young master. From what we’ve discussed...”

“Why are you discussing my family matters? Are you a Pesteroz?” Hikan interrupted sharply.

The relative flinched. He was right. The man probably wasn’t expecting a sixteen-year-old to point out the obvious in a scolding manner.

But Hikan is a Transcendent.

Even if the only heir was sixteen, if they were a Transcendent, the situation was treated differently. There was no need for a guardian or representative for Transcendents, who were smarter and crueler than the average person.

Of course, some duke families allowed a representative just to abide by tradition, especially if they maintained a good relationship with the branch families. But the future Duke Pesteroz was a Transcendent. And the final villain. The relatives should have known he was a Transcendent, so their attempt was poorly planned.

“B-but young master! You have such a young sister! You might not need a guardian for yourself, but young Miss Dahlia will need protection. An adult’s protection!” The distant family member refused to back down.

Dahlia could feel Hikan’s gaze on her. Cold sweat beaded down her back. She hadn’t expected them to drag her into the conversation. This wasn’t a good sign. Hikan could erase Dahlia from existence if he found her annoying.

Being nice to him might have been annoying for Hikan but not annoying enough to kill her. She was smart enough to know when to leave him be and when to be nice. But in a situation like this where she was the main obstacle to his comfort…

Is he going to get rid of me?

No way. He was sixteen, and he wasn’t completely gone yet. But Dahlia knew it was easier to get rid of a sprouting doubt than to uproot a tree later down the line.

Dahlia rushed to grab the hem of Hikan’s clothes and hid behind him. She could feel Hikan’s slight bewilderment, but this wasn’t the time to be wary about his every reaction. “I don’t want anyone else in our family aside from my brother.”

“But Miss Dahlia...”

“My brother is my guardian," Dahlia announced firmly, despite the tears in her voice.

The gazes of Hikan and the relative immediately fell on Dahlia. She wiped a tear from her eye—one formed out of desperate acting—and continued to speak. “I don’t even know you. I never saw any of you when Father was alive. You’re all so shameless...”

Immediately, the two parties' expressions changed. Her relatives were frowning, and Hikan looked amused. That relieved Dahlia a little.

“Besides, we’re holding Father’s funeral right now. Why can’t you be respectful of the time and place?” By the time she finished speaking with a wavering voice and beading tears, the man had started to panic. He excused himself and left.

Dahlia had won.

Good, that’s one problem solved. They were going to come back, but she had sailed past the immediate crisis.

Dahlia looked up at Hikan with an I did good, right? expression on her face. Instead of the amused expression she'd expected, Hikan looked glum.

“Dahlia.” He paused. “Right, it really is just the two of us now.”

She didn’t understand why he was repeating her words. Did he want to make two into one?

Before Dahlia could read his expression clearly, Hikan entrusted her to her nanny and returned to the mansion.