Raising the Princess to Overcome Death-Chapter 297: Beggar Siblings - Immunity

Raising the Princess to Overcome Death-Chapter 297: Beggar Siblings - Immunity

296. Beggar Siblings - Immunity
- "If you understand, get lost. I don't even want to see your face. And don't call my name again. Stop being so familiar."
- "Lena! Watch out!"
Thud. Blood splattered as soon as she was pushed away. The fallen princess cried, "Oh, brother. Please save me," and looked back while crawling on the ground.
What she saw was a bull-headed monster holding an axe, knights blocking its way, and the person who took the hit from the axe in her place...
"T-Tian! ...Huh?"
As she reached out her hand and stood up, the bloody palace was gone, and a gloomy storage room came into view.
Lerialia blinked and put down her raised arm.
'What was that?'
The vivid dream faded away like a wave.
Next to her cramped bedding, there was an empty pillow.
Her brother must have gotten up early to go clean.
Groaning, she stretched and looked for her washbowl as usual. But then, 'Huh? Why am I looking for a washbowl?' She shook off her bedding and stood up.
Though she felt lazy to fold the blanket, she wasn't so dazed as to confuse dreams with reality. Lerialia neatly folded the blanket and pushed it into the corner, then tidied her clothes.
Even though there wasn't much to fix since she was only wearing shabby pants and a shirt, she neatly tucked part of her shirt into her pants, which was unusual for her.
Done. Now I should go to work too.
Lerialia quietly left the storage room. She didn't know the way well, but she thought her brother would be where they cleaned yesterday. She had barely taken a few steps when her brother came running toward her.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Huh? Did you come because you knew I woke up?”
Of course. His {Tracking Skill} pinpointed the person he was thinking of, and most of the time, that person was his sister.
“No, I came because I thought it was time to wake you up, but my little sister got up on her own.”
“Hehe. I went to bed early.”
“…Right. Let's go have lunch.”
Even though she had skipped breakfast after falling asleep right after dinner last night, his sister didn't seem particularly hungry.
She had become accustomed to going hungry.
When they arrived at the dining hall, Lean piled bread and soup onto her tray, but Lerialia hurriedly shoved the food into her mouth as if it was her last chance.
Lean regretted giving her so much and started taking some of it back.
At that moment,
“Brother, I had a dream.”
- “Brother, I had a dream.”
Thud. His heart dropped.
His sister had said that when she had collapsed after drinking stagnant water and gotten sick.
The memory of holding her feverish head and her cold hand while helplessly struggling flashed by. Lean knew it wasn't the same, but he still placed his hand on her forehead. At the same time, he licked his dry lips, worried about what kind of dream she had this time.
[ Achievement: Twenty Photos – Lena occasionally recalls fragments of the past through her dreams. ]
‘Twenty Photos.’ It was because of this eerie achievement.
Through this achievement, the Lenas in different scenarios could remember parts of their previous iterations, but the effect varied for each.
In the Childhood Friends scenario, Lena.
It had a positive effect on Lena.
Sharp as she was, she realized a lot from just her dreams and understood Rev's situation. Then she sought to find her role, wondering what she could do.
In the Fiancé scenario, Lena.
It had no effect on Rera Ainar.
When she decided to sleep, she would immediately fall asleep, seemingly never dreaming at all.
For Rera, sleep was merely a way to recover her stamina.
On the other hand, in the Beggar Siblings scenario, Lena... it had a negative effect on my sister.
Having spent half her life asleep, she saw and learned about the world through her dreams.
For her, dreams were reality, and her miserable reality was like a dream, but Lerialia fully accepted that.
No, the real problem was that the Beggar Siblings scenario always ended in a terrible tragedy.
There couldn't possibly be anything wrong with our precious sister. It's my fault for not being able to make her happy.
Lean asked with some trepidation, “What kind of dream?” Lerialia chewed her food, her cheeks puffed out, and after a moment of hesitation, she spoke.
“Don't make fun of me. I dreamt I was a princess. You were a prince. But in the end...”
`
“...?”
Hearing about a bull-headed monster appearing and some servant named Tian dying in her place, it seemed to be from the previous Beggar Siblings scenario.
But the way his sister spoke didn't seem particularly serious. If his memory was correct, when she dreamed, her personality would almost change...?
Could it be because of {Immunity}?
[ You know the true name of the Beggar Siblings Lena. She is granted {Immunity}. ]
Upon unlocking the Protector Quest, special abilities were bestowed upon the Lenas. As illustrations flashed by, {Divinity} was given to Lena, {Mana Body} to Rera, and {Immunity} to Lerialia.
{Divinity} and {Mana Body} were intuitive in their effects.
Lena, who wanted to be a priest, and Rera, who aspired to be a knight, received abilities befitting their aspirations.
On the other hand, it was hard to grasp what kind of ability {Immunity} was. What exactly was she immune to...?
Recalling the time his sister died from drinking stagnant water, he wondered if it was immunity to poison? But now it seemed this {Immunity} had a much broader meaning.
It might be 'immunity to all status ailments,' allowing her to maintain homeostasis physically and mentally.
If modern-day Minseo, who had played a lot of games, were here, he would have shouted, 'Wow, this is OP! Why not give it to Leo instead?' Immunity to status ailments was a broken ability, whether early or late in the game.
It was essentially a game-ending item or a cheat code given to those who had exhausted all the content in the game and were looking for challenges, but how would Lean know that? He just thought, 'Thank goodness.'
They finished their meal. When Lerialia suggested going to clean, Lean sat her back down.
“Lerialia, you don't have to clean anymore. I’ve talked to them. From now on, you can study and play with kids your age here.”
“Why?”
“Because it’ll be good for you to study and make friends. Listen to your brother. It’ll be fun.”
“Okay. But will you play and study with me, too?”
Lean chuckled. Pinching her cheek, he teased her playfully.
“How could you, a little kid, be on the same level as your great brother? No way.”
“Ugh... Ow!! Why do you keep pinching my cheeks lately?!”
Even if she's immune to all status effects, provocation still seems to work. Haha. Lerialia rubbed her cheek, grumbling, and Lean successfully changed the subject and went to find Ober.
After Ober introduced him to the teacher in charge of the children (“Oh? It’s the kid who used to clean!”), Lean felt relieved only after leaving his sister among the bustling children of the Rauno family.
He felt like he had finally found a place where his sister could grow up healthy.
Lerialia, feeling shy, sat next to Santian Rauno, who looked vaguely familiar, and Lean said, “Study hard.” Then he turned and walked away. Soon, he returned to the hallway to continue the cleaning he had started at the crack of dawn.
Gentle sweeping.
For a prince, it was undoubtedly an undignified chore.
But if it allowed his sister to spend more time with her peers, it wasn't meaningless. Sunlight shimmered on the prince's back as he swept.
*
After that, there weren't any noteworthy events for a while.
This is how things should be.
Lean de Yeriel diligently cleaned the Rauno family mansion, while Lerialia spent her days happily with her peers. At night, she would lie in the shabby storage room and chatter to her brother about what had happened that day.
Lean was happy.
He enjoyed seeing his sister, who rarely spoke about herself, gradually opening up. “Today, we studied history, and they say there was a person named Banun Rauno a long time ago.” Sharing even the most trivial knowledge with her brother was so endearing that it made the tedious and tiring days more bearable.
Lean also occasionally visited Jenia.
He watched her perform at the Arille Theater, where she was the leading actress, and they would have meals together.
Knowing that her boyfriend didn’t have much money, Jenia suggested they dine at her estate, so he wouldn’t feel embarrassed.
Lean preferred it that way too.
At home, they could whisper and spend deeper, more intimate time together. Jenia often asked him to come more frequently.
“Why?”
“Why do you ask when you already know? You’re teasing me.”
Jenia’s face turned slightly red, and Lean spent a little more time visiting her home.
Of course, there was no avoiding the shocked expressions from Katrina whenever this happened…
One day, Jenia said,
“Hey, why don’t we go to an exhibition next time?”
“What kind of exhibition?”
Lean gently grabbed a handful of Jenia’s hair and smelled it.
Jenia was resting her chin on Lean’s neck.
“You know Ellen, right? It’s his exhibition. There are days when it’s open to ‘people like us’ commoners, so I got tickets.”
“Hahaha.”
“…Why are you laughing? Did I say something wrong?”
“No, it’s just... it tickles. I like the idea. When is it?”
“Well… I’m sorry. It’s tomorrow. I should have told you earlier, but I got the tickets with some difficulty… Do you have time?”
Lean barely held back another laugh.
No matter how famous Ellen was as a painter, there was no way it could have been hard for a noblewoman like her to get those tickets.
Finding her cute, he stroked her eyebrows.
“Even if I don’t have time, I’ll make some. If it’s your request.”
Jenia smiled brightly.
“Just keep in mind… it’s for two days. On the first day, his old works are displayed, and on the second… ugh.”
The next day, Lean and Jenia were at the Arille Theater.
The exhibition was planned on a large scale, enough to rent out the entire theater. Naturally, the duration was generous, lasting for two weeks. Jenia playfully said, “Oops, I got the date wrong.”
Lean linked arms with her and wandered around to look at the paintings. Among them were some works he was already familiar with, but what caught his eye was, of course,
“This is Katrina, isn’t it?”
It was a painting of Katrina.
In the picture, Katrina was wearing a beautiful dress, and her belly was slightly rounded.
Her sunset-red hair flowed down and softly embraced her white, swollen belly. Her smile was achingly bright.
And beside it was a portrait of Ellen’s mother.
Ellen clearly knew what his knight wife desired. Lean sighed and turned his head, when—
“Ah!”
“Ah!”
Lean and Jenia both exclaimed at the same time.
The boss of the Rauno family, Joseph Rauno, was staring intently at Lean. Jenia was startled for a different reason.
“L-Lean. Please, over here…”
Edlin Peter.
Her mother was striding into the exhibition hall. Jenia hurriedly pulled Lean away.
‘Just wait a little longer.’
But Lady Katrina had already tattled. She had told them that her daughter was causing a scene by bringing some vagrant.
Of course, Edlin immediately came to question her daughter. “I know you want to live your life as you please, but this is too much!” Jenia was severely scolded. She tried to defend Lean.
“He’s a good person. A wonderful man.”
“You’re a noble! A commoner? Fine, if he’s won your heart. But a beggar? It’s obvious what that guy wants from you! If your father finds out, you’ll…”
“Mother, please. Don’t tell Father.”
“How am I supposed to tell your father this? If he hears you’re involved with some beggar, he’ll have a stroke. Or he’ll kill him.”
“Mother, please. I really like him. Honestly, you felt the same, didn’t you? Father was a bastard child of the Baron’s family. You also…”
“Are a bastard and a beggar the same? And your father became the heir. He loved me passionately, and he still does! Enough of this. Bring that guy to me, now. Now!”
“Mother… he doesn’t even know I’m a noble. He’s not trying to use me.”
“Hmph! If he knew you were a noble, he’d probably be too scared and run away.”
“I told you, he’s not that kind of person! How many times do I have to say it?!”
“Then bring him here!!”
The two women shouted until their throats were sore.
Jenia burst into tears, and Edlin warned that she would never allow this. Jenia was growing more and more resolute.
She should never have sought her mother’s help from the start.
She should have left Orville from the beginning. Yes, even now, she thought about taking him and running away. She was firm in her resolve.
That was also why they had become intimate earlier than she had planned.
She thought it might be nice if she got pregnant right away.
Since Ellen’s exhibition would keep the theater closed for a while anyway.
Jenia pulled Lean away, out of Edlin’s sight. In her haste, she bumped into another attendee.
“Sorry.”
“…It’s fine.”
It was a knight.
Lean glanced at him briefly, wondering why he was there, but he was soon pulled outside by Jenia.
“Jenia. What’s going on?”
“…”
Jenia silently looked back. Confirming that her mother wasn’t following, she asked,
“You love me, right?”
“Of course.”
“Answer honestly. You’re not trying to use me, right? If you are, take this… and leave.”
- Jingle.
A pouch full of gold coins was placed in Lean’s hand.
Gold coins.
Lean frowned without realizing it. He hadn’t even replied, but that was enough to convince Jenia.
He’s not interested in money.
“I’m sorry, but please tell me why you’re doing this. What did I do wrong?”
“Yes. You did something wrong. You really did. You’re a terrible person. Marry me. Marry me and let’s live far… far away together.”
Jenia smiled brightly. She believed he would agree since he usually complied with her requests, but—
“Marriage is fine. But I can’t leave.”
Her lover, who held her hands, spoke firmly.
Bringing his blue-streaked golden hair and golden eyes close, he asked again.
“What’s wrong? Tell me. If it’s for you, if it means I can marry you, I’ll take care of it. Whatever it is.”
For a moment, Jenia saw something immense in his eyes.
From this beggar boy, the air of royalty—no, imperial nobility—radiated and reassured her deeply. Jenia cautiously confessed.
“My mother wants to see you. But don’t be surprised. The truth is, I’m actually a nob—”
“Jenia!”
It was then that Edlin Peter stormed out of the theater. Lean, finally understanding the situation, smiled softly.
Why would he be surprised?
Feeling incredibly fond of Jenia, who was nervously confessing, Lean pulled her into an embrace.

.
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Chapter 297: Beggar Siblings - Immunity