novel. The More You Rush, The Quicker You Fall ***
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Chapter 78. The More You Rush, The Quicker You Fall
When the nobles heard the news that it was raining only in the Achilles' territory, they were quick to send letters. When he replied that he'd only traveled to his territory, everyone went down to their territories and gave relief supplies to the residents who were suffering from the drought.
Strangely, a few days later it began to rain in other lands, and people started to gossip that the Achilles family had a special ability. The story even reached the ears of the Imperial family and soon they received an invitation from them.
"Enoch..."
The next day, Enoch and Leticia sat in the office alone to talk about what to do.
They looked at each other for a while. Enoch slowly started to speak.
"We could say it's a coincidence."
"However..."
"Some people are just saying it's a coincidence, so it'll be okay."
Enoch knew that Leticia felt burdened when she talked about her ability. That's why he hoped that Leticia would be able to hide her ability, and not feel uncomfortable like this again.
'If her ability becomes known...'
It's clear that there would be people who approached her to abuse it.
Unexpectedly, Leticia showed a calm expression even though she wasn't.
"I know what Enoch is worried about."
"Leticia!"
"I won't be able to hide it forever."
She had guessed, to some extent, that this day would come. She didn't know exactly when, but she'd wondered for a while whether that day was approaching.
She still didn't have an answer then and now.
All that mattered was doing her best.
'But if I can, it's better to hide it. It would be best to write to as many people I know as possible. '
Leticia knew that it would be nice if only good people like Enoch knew, but that just wasn't realistic. Rather, it was clear that there would be people who tried to take advantage of her.
'Like Keena. '
[Don't go back to your family. ]
As soon as she found out that my ability was luck, and not misfortune, Keena threatened her so that she wouldn't return to her family and interfere with her plans.
'Still...'
She wanted to tell Elle and Ian herself.
.
.
.
"Your ability is luck?"
She didn't think she could hide it anymore because they'd find out someday, so Leticia wanted to be honest with Elle and Ian.
At first, their eyes widened in surprise, but before long the twins began to worry about what was for dinner. It was Leticia who was rather puzzled by their attitude.
"Are you really okay with it?"
"What? What are you talking about?
"My ability..."
It went much more smoothly than she thought, and Leticia wondered if that was all right. At her confused expression, Elle sighed and calmly said what she was thinking.
"I think it's fascinating."
"Is that all?"
"What else is there, sister?"
"No, I didn't mean that there should be."
She already knew that Elle and Ian wouldn't have any bad intentions after hearing about her ability.
However, hearing it directly from them, she felt warm and it touched a corner of her heart.
'If it were her family, then...'
Leticia gently bit her lip and lowered her eyes.
Naturally, she couldn't stand greedy people who tried to take advantage of her.
Elle, Ian, and Enoch, only reacted in wonder. They saw her for who she was, and just like the first time she met them, she realized once again that she'd met some really nice people.
"I'm just thankful."
"Huh?"
"What?"
She couldn't control the overwhelming feelings in her heart, so Leticia hugged Elle and Ian at the same time. The two were embarrassed, but laughed shallowly and patted Leticia on the back. ƒ𝑟e𝗲𝘄𝙚𝚋no𝙫𝒆l - 🅽🅽novel
Ian slowly managed to escape from her arms, and said with a calm expression.
"Does my brother know?"
"Hey, why are you asking her that? Of course she would have told us first."
Elle tapped Ian's forearm, wondering why he'd asked, but Leticia just kept quiet.
The reaction was so strange, that Elle squinted at her suspiciously.
"What? Are you serious? Did he know about it first?"
"...."
As Elle clung to her arm tightly, Leticia smiled awkwardly and asked.
"I'm hungry, what are we going to eat?"
"Hey!"
"Sister!"
As soon as she pushed Elle and Ian's hands gently away, they approached her with a scary expression. However, Leticia turned around and ran away.
She tried to ignore the sound of them chasing after her.
***
'I'm doomed. '
Emil sat down at the desk and clenched his fists, then slumped down on the desk listlessly.
'What should I do?'
It was all so clear once he concentrated his investigation on the fact that Leticia might bring good luck to those around her instead of misery. Now that he knew, he was puzzled as to why he hadn't noticed.
Even the butler hinted that only good things seemed to happen, so why did he let it slide.
'I just thought that it wasn't misfortune. '
He didn't expect that she could bring good luck.
The Achilles family, famous for being unlucky, flourished noticeably. While his own family was gradually collapsing, to the point where others felt it was strange. The main factor was whether Leticia was there or not.
'There's no evidence, but I'm certain. '
All of the coincidences added up to one thing.
Duke Achilles, who was disqualified from the Imperial Knight examination multiple times for absurd reasons, finally passed. The younger sister, who'd never shown any previous interest, succeeded in her trinket business. Ian Achilles had never studied properly, let alone attended an academic institute, and became an Imperial official.
'Is this because of my sister's ability... to the point of even making it rain?'
Then word got out about Leticia and Enoch touring the territory and then it began to rain. In short, word spread that good things happened when you were around Leticia or received goods from her. Some people said it was just a coincidence, but it was only a few.
'Who knew you'd be called lucky?'
Emil rubbed his face, and suppressed the urge to scream.
He should've known sooner, then he could've secured her to the family before it was too late.
It was his fault for being so absorbed in what he saw before him.
'It's not too late even now. No, I'm late. I'm too late!'
The more he calmed his mind, the more confused he became instead.
Suddenly, he remembered the look Leticia gave Xavier and him on his way out of the Achilles mansion.
Immediately after being excommunicated, her bitter and sentimental eyes turned into disappointment and despair, but now it showed nothing at all. Rather, she seemed like a stranger, who didn't even want to bother looking at them.
'No, I have to bring her back somehow. '
He'd managed to do everything in his power for his sake and for the family's sake. He didn't have the time to hesitate any longer.
Emil came to his senses, and stood up to go meet Marquis Leroy. He needed to visit his father so they could talk about the situation, and discuss how to bring Leticia back.
Unfortunately, as soon as he stepped into the hall he met Diana, and not Marquis Leroy.
"I thought you'd stay in your room longer. I guess you're feeling better now."
There was no way that he didn't know that she was talking about him failing the Imperial Civil Service exam.
He could feel the anger rising up, but Emil tried hard to hold it in and walked past Diana. No, he tried to walk past her.
"Hey, you've got to do better than that. Don't you understand Father's expectations for you?"
"What did you say?"
"Didn't Irene run away from home without dealing with the consequences of her cheating, and then Xavier only placed second in the Swordsmanship tournament."
"Sister."
"Of course, you should've done better."
Emil didn't even laugh at Diana's crossed arms and her haughtily raised chin.
"You think you can lecture me when all you can do is make it rain flowers."
"What?"
"What right do you have to say that to me?"
The Marquis and Marquess always used to say this to him and his younger siblings. The reason why this family flourished and had outstanding abilities was thanks to Diana, their second child.
Ever since Diana was born, everything went noticeably well. So, their father and mother had always thanked Diana and told them countless times to treat her well. Perhaps that's why she always received special treatment, even though her unique ability was so useless.
Thinking about it now, it seemed to be Leticia's ability that allowed their mother, who was told she was too sickly to conceive anymore, to become healthy enough to give birth to Irene.
'Then, my eldest sister for a long time...'
It meant she'd been awakened.
Before Diana was ever born, whether it was business or health, all of it was slowly getting better.
It just didn't stand out.
'I need to hurry up. I need to have a meeting with my father and tell him the situation. '
Emil passed Diana with a face that had paled with the new truths he'd just realized. However, Diana followed him and pulled on his arm violently.
"Hey, Emil Leroy. We aren't done talking."
"I don't have time to talk to you right now. Let me go."
"I'll only ignore so much. Say it again. Would you like to repeat what you were saying about my ability?"
Emil tried to ignore her, but the more he did, the more persistently Diana held onto him and stared belligerently.
Eventually, Emil couldn't stand it anymore, and spit out everything that he'd been holding in.
"How long are you going to rely on your flower rain?"
"What?"
"Where in the world can you use it? Festivals? Weddings? Maybe a tea party?"
"Hey, you..."
"Isn't it embarrassing that you're lecturing me about abilities?"
It was something he could never say because he was always told to be nice to Diana.
Diana had touched a nerve, and he felt relieved after he burst out with everything he'd been holding in until now.
However, Diana's face turned blue.
"You... Are you finished?"
"So, should I avoid saying unpleasant things when I mean them?"
Emil turned away in annoyance, with a face that showed no sign of regret. He didn't have time to care about Diana's feelings right now.
He started to go down the stairs towards the Marquis' office. Behind him, he heard the sound of footsteps rushing quickly towards him.
"Apologize."
"What?"
"Apologize before you leave!"
She gripped him tightly, and didn't seem to want to let him go until he apologized.
Emil pushed Diana's hand away with a tired look.
"Just let it go."
"What? Aren't you ashamed? Don't act like you know everything!"
"Let go..."
While struggling on the stairs, Diana roughly pushed Emil's chest, and the shove tilted his body off center. Emil tried to grab the stair railing, but his body was already falling backwards.
"Huh...?"
Instinctively, he reached out to Diana. Far from helping, Diana just stood there in shock with a puzzled look on her face.
'I don't have time for this...'
As he was thinking that he needed to quickly visit his father, he plummeted down the stairs.
Then it all went dark.
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