This BL Novel Is Ruined Now - Chapter 179

BLR has been completely translated on Patreon

Chapter 179

Translator: Yonnee

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When she turned her head, now Ethan was openly scowling at the First Emperor.

“At this rate, this punk might really kill a dragon soon. We should finish our conversation now.”

In agreement with her words, Reina chuckled softly. As Tria warmly observed her, she offered a parting comfort before releasing the magic barrier.

“Reina, your way is not wrong. It’s just different. However…”

The First Emperor, choosing her words carefully for a moment, eventually lifted the corners of her mouth.

“There might be some regrets later on. Yes, down the line.”

“……”

“But in the end, it’s a matter of your choice. How far you’ll compromise with others, how much you’ll change your long-standing habits for the sake of others, it’s entirely up to you.”

It was a response that was both textbook and, at the same time, not quite conventional.

“You’re not saying that I should make an effort for a relationship.”

“If making an effort was the key to human relationships, why are there many separated couples in the world? Why do lovers break up? It all comes down to compromises and sacrifices within the bounds one can tolerate, calling it ‘effort’.”

Fifteen centuries worth of time didn’t seem to be in vain.

In a straightforward yet clear manner, Tria concluded the serious conversation.

“Reina, regardless of how things turn out, don’t complicate it too much, don’t find it too difficult. In the end, the result of all those considerations always leads back to the choice that your heart had initially—instinctively—set on. So, follow your heart.”

Follow my heart. It was the simplest conclusion yet, on the other hand, the most difficult decision.

“Oh my. Look at him. Casting a spell?”

Turning her head at the surprised voice, as the First Emperor mentioned, Ethan was indeed trying to break the barrier.

‘Even when falling, he really fell quite thoroughly,’ thought Tria as she finally released the barrier.

Then, a cascade of words began.

“Why on earth did you cast a barrier? What did you say to her?! If you went that far, don’t expect me to hold back and end this quietly.”

Um. It feels a bit awkward to say this to an angry person… but Ethan’s angry appearance was a bit cute.

How should she put it? Like a son rebelling against his parents? Seeing his unfamiliar yet endearing appearance, Reina unintentionally burst into laughter.

Then, Ethan, who had been pressing Tria with a serious face, stopped abruptly and asked a question with a completely different expression than when facing the First Emperor.

“Reina, are you okay? Did Her Majesty coerce you? Blackmail? Did she offer a twenty-year slave contract under the guise of kindness?”

“Good grief, you’re too much. A slave contract under the guise of treatment? I’m doing it for your sake.”

As if he couldn’t stand it, Ethan sat down, completely ignoring Tria. Watching him, Reina burst into a bewildered laugh.

“That’s why it’s useless to raise a child.”

“I’ve never been Your Majesty’s child.”

“Logically speaking, if I raised you for nine years, shouldn’t you treat me like your mother? I heard it’s quite a long time by human standards, isn’t it?”

Listening to the rapid exchange between the two, Reina’s eyes widened.

‘I guessed it from Her Majesty’s words earlier, but he really didn’t spend his childhood at the Liam estate?’

Only now did everything finally fall into place.

‘That’s why I couldn’t remember Ethan’s face.’

They never met in the first place.

“So, you should contact me every season at least.”

“Says the one who never shows her face at all.”

“It feels like only yesterday when you said that you weren’t happy to see me. That happened just a few months ago, I believe.”

“You really don’t understand common sayings, do you?”

Watching the back-and-forth banter between Ethan and Tria, Reina belatedly understood the peculiar connection between them.

While each member of the dragonkin had a unique personality, in general, they didn’t form strong attachments to humans who only lived for a mere six to eight decades.

However, from the current Emperor Enoch, known for his rough and majestic demeanor, to the Duke Benedict, who found everything in the world bothersome, and even the First Emperor, famous for her blunt and straightforward speech, there was something different in the way they treated ‘Ethan Liam.’

‘Because the imperial family seems to consider him family.’

Considering the lack of familial affection in the dragonkin, the teasing words of the current Emperor might be the closest expression of affection.

“Tch, this ungrateful kid. It’s not rewarding to raise you, not at all.”

“…I always send gifts for Parents’ Day and your birthday.”

Discovering this side of Ethan, Reina couldn’t help but chuckle at this new information.

It seemed like the First Emperor was not the only one showing a different side.

“You must come in person, directly. Instead of just sending a gift without any fuss.”

“There aren’t many teleportation arrays set up.”

“Are you not the same guy who came here without any notice, saying that your lover is in trouble? Without contacting for ten years straight, and not even showing your face? Tsk.”

“Did you explicitly tell me to come?”

“So if I spell it out, you won’t know?”

“I wouldn’t know if I’m not told.”

“Really, what an ungrateful punk.”

As Tria did not relent amidst the bickering, Ethan glared at her while grumbling,

“You were the one who kicked me out for not wanting to leave the lair, Your Majesty.”

It was a completely unexpected expression.

“That was for your sake.”

“No. I didn’t want it. So, it wasn’t for my sake.”

His straightforward response, with his mouth firmly shut, was quite unusual and astonishing.

‘Ethan also has this side. I never knew.’

Duke Liam had always been so strict with maintaining a strict line between personal and work relations, and somehow, he was the same with his own family. That was always on the back of Reina’s mind whenever she saw Ethan.

It appeared as though he had never experienced the warmth of familial love.

However, witnessing his childlike behavior in front of Tria was oddly reassuring in several ways.

Eventually, as she watched the two interact, Reina couldn’t help but let a gentle smile play on her lips.