The World’s Strongest Are Obsessed With Me

Chapter 9

The next day, Dahlia woke up in her room. The sun was high in the sky as though she had somehow woken up right after she fainted in the carriage. The image of Hikan visiting her was so unrealistic that she figured it was a dream.

“Are you awake?” a kind voice rang out.

Dahlia found Duchess Blueport sitting at the head of her bed. She was knitting, as though she had been waiting for Dahlia to wake up the entire time she was out.

“Duchess Blueport!” Surprised, Dahlia flung herself upright. A smile spread reflexively across her face. “Why are you all the way over here?”

“I got worried when I heard you were in a terrible accident," Duchess Blueport said with a smile. She adjusted her mask.

Dahlia was relieved by the sight of the duchess being her usual self. If Duchess Blueport was here, it meant that Hikan had never visited. Now she was sure his visit was a dream.

In fact, Dahlia was relieved it had only been a dream. If he had truly sat by her bed, she would have been embarrassed to even talk about it.

“Young Duke Hikan finally became the official Duke Pesteroz. Has your relationship with him gotten better?”

Dahlia shook her head. She furiously whined about what Hikan had said to her as they left the Imperial Palace. She wasn’t sure whether Hikan would overhear her like last time, but she really wanted to vent her emotions. “Still, my brother saved me. I thought he wasn’t going to because he hesitated until the very end.”

Duchess Blueport listened to Dahlia’s words with a serious expression, but as soon as Dahlia finished speaking, she beamed. “It seems like this generation’s Duke Pesteroz isn’t honest about the feelings he's denying.”

Dahlia didn’t understand what the duchess meant, so she looked at her with eyes that begged for an explanation.

Duchess Blueport ran her hand through her lustrous brown hair and continued to speak in a calm voice. “Transcendent people like me are good at viewing the world in terms of efficiency. If your brother had allowed you to live because you seemed useful, that’s not something you should dwell on because it was a logical decision. When he saved you, I’m sure he didn’t act out of logic, but out of his pure emotion. Don’t be worried, Dahlia.”

The understanding that struck her was unexpected. Dahlia felt strange. For the first time, she could sympathize with Hikan’s lonely expression.

Duchess Blueport made a face as though she understood everything Dahlia was going through. “Dahlia, I was very bad-tempered once myself.”

“No, you’re lying, right?” Dahlia shot back immediately in surprise.

“I’m being honest.”

Still, Dahlia thought it was ridiculous for Duchess Blueport to have a bad temper. It was like hearing Hikan was good-natured.

“I changed once I met my husband. People change, Dahlia. I hope you don’t forget that.”

Dahlia stared at Duchess Blueport’s smile. It was warm, as though she were staring at her own daughter. Dahlia could tell despite the mask that covered most of the duchess’s face. That smile had always cheered her up, but today, it made her sad for no reason.

But... I know the future of this world. What will happen to Hikan...

But Dahlia couldn’t say that. Knowing the future of the world she lived in was a lonely thing. Dahlia stared at Duchess Blueport as she silently acknowledged the reason behind her sadness.

She had considered one possibility as she watched Hikan receive his position as Duke Pesteroz.

Why doesn’t Duchess Blueport appear in the original story four years from now?

In the original story of the game, the master of the Blueport family wasn’t Duchess Blueport but the male lead, Lewain Blueport. So where did that leave Duchess Mary Blueport in the original story? Why did she pass down the position of duke to her son within four years?

Could it be... Could it be that Duchess Blueport didn’t exist by the time the original storyline began?

No, that’s impossible.

Dahlia was sure she was mistaken. Even though she'd played the game numerous times, it didn’t mean she knew the story inside out. She was sure there was a line or two in the dialogue she had skipped that mentioned Duchess Blueport. There had to be.

Dahlia shoved the thought to the back of her head again. Duchess Blueport smiled. “Now that your brother is Duke Pesteroz, there will be a ball to celebrate the new duke. I’ll be there, so let’s see each other again then.”

“Really?” Dahlia exclaimed.

Duchess Blueport rarely left her house, so the fact that she was going to attend a ball was a precious occasion.

“Yes. The ball will be too tedious for you without me, Dahlia," she said warmly. Dahlia grinned widely in response.

“I promise to send you an invitation!”

“Please don’t draw it yourself like last time. It was adorable, but it looked childish.”

The two smiled at each other and broke out into laughter.

* * *

Hikan didn’t visit Dahlia although he knew she was awake. Still, he appeared for dinner the same day.

Dahlia wasn’t disappointed in him. After hearing Duchess Blueport’s story, she had decided to be more generous towards him. At least a little bit. Though it was still hard for her to believe, Hikan had apparently saved her because he wanted to. That was something to be thankful about.

Also, she wasn’t sure whether she was imagining it, but he seemed less cold to her than before. She thought she saw him flinching when she smiled widely.

That was when the idea came to her.

This might be my best opportunity to make Hikan less suspicious of me!

She mustered all of the cuteness she had held back until now and decided to pour it out on Hikan. The decision was easy to make since she hated him a little less than before. Besides, this was the only time she could talk to him, as meal time was considered an official event.

“Wow! Hikan, this is delicious! Do you want some more?” Dahlia smiled and pushed her pre-cut slices of lamb onto Hikan’s plate. She secretly hated lamb.

Hikan didn't answer, and pointedly avoided the pieces Dahlia had given him.

No, no... I won’t give up.

Dahlia clenched her fists in determination. That was when Hikan glanced at her, which in turn made Dahlia feel nervous that he’d misinterpret her balled-up fists as intent to punch him for refusing her food.

Hikan looked down at Dahlia with a bewildered expression.

N-no!

She raised the fists to her head and awkwardly opened her hand to make a small heart. Hikan’s expression turned even stranger. He looked uncaring as though looking at a crazy younger sister, but there seemed to be pity in his gaze, too.

He sighed, stabbed the lamb Dahlia had pushed onto his plate with his fork, and ate it. Dahlia wanted to evaporate where she stood.

The moment she got back to her room, she looked into the mirror and re-enacted the heart she'd shown Hikan. She had to know how hilarious she must have looked. But studying her reflection resulted in something different than what she'd expected.

Wait, he is weird. How is this not cute?

In fact, once she began, she found that thirteen-year-old Dahlia was cute no matter what she did. She grew so worried that she was overdoing the cuteness that she ran to her butler to check.

“Goodness, Miss Dahlia, why are you…?”

“Butler! I like you a lot!” Dahlia made the same heart she had made for Hikan.

The butler froze in place for a long time, then lowered a knee before Dahlia. “M-miss Dahlia! Please, never do that in front of another person!”

“Huh? Why?”

Oh, maybe I’m not that cute after all.

“It’s too... you might get kidnapped.” He seemed to be struggling to hold back words like “it’s too cute” or “it’s very lovely” because of his position as the butler. Dahlia's confidence swelled.

I knew it! I wasn’t the weird one!

Excited, Dahlia ran around the mansion shooting hearts at the gardener, her nanny, and all the maids. Everyone fell in defeat, powerless to resist.

“Ohhh, Miss Dahlia!”

“Oh my god... How did such a lovely person end up in this...”

The entire mansion succumbed to Dahlia’s power. Overconfident, Dahlia stuck out her chest and strode around the mansion.

Until she ran into Hikan turning a corner…

Just when Dahlia was shooting a heart towards a maid who had begged for just one more, please, the two came face to face. After a long pause, Hikan spoke. “It seems like... you have a strange new hobby.”

Dahlia couldn’t put Hikan’s expression into words with her limited vocabulary. He had a look of disappointment that was sharp against his cold and uncaring face. “I didn’t know you went around doing that to everyone.”

Th-there’s no need to go so far as disappointment, is there?

Dahlia awkwardly lowered her hands, fixed in the heart position. She decided to stop doing what went against her nature.