THE REBORN LADY IS LOVED BY HER FOSTER BROTHER: THE SCARIEST VILLAIN

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Chapter: 181. What I Need to Be Happy

“Is that what you were bothering yourself over? How utterly foolish.”

Gérard dismissed Ortansia's worries with a single, sharp stroke.

Because his attitude was so uncompromising, Ortansia panicked and persisted in desperation.

“I—it’s not foolish at all...! Everything you’re going through right now, Brother, all your hardships... if you trace them back to the start, it’s because of my mother and—”

“And what good does it do to dwell on that? It is nothing more than a hypothetical scenario.”

Unlike Ortansia, who had agonized and suffered endlessly, Gérard’s demeanor was remarkably cool, as if he didn't care in the slightest about a happy life that might have been.

“The discord between Father and Mother is not for you to fret over. Both were to blame in their own right. At this point, it is entirely irrelevant.”

Gérard spoke with quiet detachment, as though discussing someone else’s affairs.

Hearing his tone, a faint realization began to dawn on Ortansia.

‘To Brother... What happened between the Duke and Duchess is already ancient history…’

He bore no grudge over his own upbringing or his unfortunate childhood.

He had accepted it as something already in the past.

‘What a remarkably strong person he is…’

Gérard himself had come to terms with his past.

Yet Ortansia could not rationalize it away as easily as he did.

“Even so... what if you had the chance to change that past...?”

To wipe away past mistakes, to undo the tragic events that followed, and to walk a truly happy path—

Even if offered that, would Gérard’s heart really remain unmoved?

As Ortansia lowered her head, Gérard’s palm descended gently onto her hair.

At that tender warmth, Ortansia felt tears welling up in her eyes.

“...Even if we could start over, I have no intention of changing the past in this matter.”

Gérard made his stance crystal clear.

His voice was firm and dignified, without a shadow of hesitation.

“Fake parents and some mysterious little sister would be nothing but sickening. That world and the people you met there are all nothing more than illusions.”

“But... it was such a peaceful, happy world... I couldn't help thinking that everyone would have been better off without someone like me...”

Leaning into Gérard’s warmth, Ortansia let her heart spill over.

“If my mama and Father had never met... if I had never been born...”

“That is precisely why I told you it is a meaningless hypothetical.”

Gérard turned his gaze toward her, and Ortansia timidly raised her face.

He was staring intently at her with earnest eyes.

“Even if we concede for the sake of argument that Father and your mother bore some responsibility, it has nothing to do with you.”

“But... I am their—”

“And what of it? Were you born into this world intending to make someone unhappy?”

His hand moved to the side of her head, gently pulling her closer to rest against him.

At the touch, Ortansia's heart gave an involuntary flutter.

“...Father is no fool. He was well aware of the consequences his actions might bring before he took them. Even knowing that, he chose to become intimate with your mother.”

Gérard spoke as if reasoning with a child.

“I do not believe Father made a mistake.”

His words soaked slowly into Ortansia's aching heart.

...She had been terrified all this time.

Terrified that she herself was robbing Gérard of his happiness.

Terrified that if he ever learned of that alternative possibility, even Gérard would think it better to rewrite the past.

...Terrified that Gérard might secretly resent her.

Perhaps, before she could be hated by him, she had tried to convince herself that “this is the right thing to do” and sought to alter the past.

As if to gently wrap away that hidden guilt, Gérard continued to speak softly.

“You make a great fuss about my happiness, but even without your worrying, I am more than capable of finding my own happiness.”

At those words, her heart tightened painfully in her chest.

—Gérard’s happiness.

Ortansia had spent so long searching for what shape that might take.

Was it finding a warm, understanding companion who could embrace his soul?

Or was it being surrounded by loving parents and a true, blood-related sister?

Yet what Gérard declared was neither of those things.

“What I need to be happy... is you.”

The moment she heard those words, a surge of overwhelming joy washed over Ortansia's heart.

She was not her father’s true child; she was merely a fake ducal lady.

She was someone who could easily be replaced by anyone else.

And yet... Gérard had told her that she was the one he needed.

Ortansia knew she would never, ever forget those words for as long as she lived.

“Brother...!”

Overcome with emotion, she buried her face against his shoulder, and he stroked her head soothingly.

“I have no need for a family where my parents never split, nor do I need a sister bound to me by blood. As long as I have you, that is enough.”

Again and again, as if carving the sentiment deep into Hortensia’s soul, Gérard repeated: “I need you.”

“Do not go anywhere. Stay by my side.”

“Yes...”

A fresh torrent of tears overflowed, dampening Gérard’s clothes.

Even so, he didn't utter a single word of complaint.

“Stop running off on your own. Haven't I always told you to come to me if anything happens?”

“I’m sorry, Brother...”

It wasn't that she didn't trust him.

Even so, there were times when she hesitated to rely on him too much, fearing that he might come to view her as a bothersome, troublesome burden and grow to dislike her.

Perhaps that hesitation had instead been a source of frustration for Gérard.

“In the real world, you have been fast asleep this entire time. Only your mind was trapped within the devil’s domain.”

“Is that... what happened...?”

“...Do you have any idea how worried I was?”

Hearing his mild scolding, a needle-like prick of guilt poked at Ortansia's heart.

“I’m truly, deeply sorry...”

Ortansia was filled with genuine remorse.

No doubt Gérard still had plenty he wanted to say, but he refrained from pressing her further.

Faced with his quiet gentle kindness, Ortansia felt her heart sinking even deeper into a boundless, inescapable marsh.

‘...I really do... love him.’

She couldn't stop the thought from surfacing.

She knew full well that this was a feeling she must never reveal to the light of day.

The man in front of her was her foster brother, Gérard.

The reason he cherished her so deeply was strictly as a member of his family.

No matter how lacking in blood relation they were, if he found out that his little sister harbored romantic feelings for him, he would surely be disgusted and would never treat her with such warmth again.

‘That's why I have to lock these feelings away deep inside me.’

Ortansia renewed her resolve.

If Gérard needed her, she would remain by his side as his sister.

Surely, that was the best possible outcome.

Gérard’s hand, which had been gently stroking her head, suddenly came to a stop.

“Brother...?”

Ortansia softly looked up to find Gérard staring fixedly down at her.

His probing gaze made her heart skip a beat.

After showing a rare moment of hesitation, he seemed to make up his mind and opened his mouth slowly.

“...There is one more thing I wish to ask you.”

At his formal, serious tone, Ortansia caught her breath with a gulp.

‘For Brother to sound like this... what in the world could he want to ask?’