ATHO Chapter 19

Chapter 19 – Lien: My Nii-sama (Part 1)

Lien: My Nii-sama, Part 1

Novel Title: 嫌われ者の俺はやり直しの世界で義弟達にごまをする (As the Hated One, I Flatter My Stepbrothers in a World Where I Get a Second Chance)

Author：赤牙 (Akakiba)

Art：古澤エノ (Furusawa Eno)

Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)

Protagonists: シャルル (Charles -MC), リエン (Lien -ML1) & ジェイド (Jade -ML2)

*Please read at freenovels.net, the original site of translation. TQ*

֍֍֍

“Lien, Mother’s remarriage is a happy thing for us too, so you don’t need to worry. If anything difficult happens after we move to the Marquis household, I’ll always protect you.”

“Okay…”

That night, after hearing about Mother’s remarriage, Jade hugged me as I trembled with anxiety. I was nervous about having a new father and a new older brother. But as a child, I also felt a small spark of hope.

What kind of person would my new father be?

Would my new older brother be kind to me, like Jade?

As I pondered these thoughts, I met Charles for the first time… and my first love began.

Charles was beautiful, sweet, hardworking, and just a little bit of a crybaby.

I loved everything about him.

What I loved most was his gentle smile, followed closely by his occasional tearful face.

His crying face was breathtakingly beautiful. The way his light-blue eyes glistened and tears streamed down his cheeks never failed to stir my heart. Maybe it’s strange to find someone’s crying face endearing, but the memory of Charles crying when we first met still makes my chest tighten.

The way I felt about Jade was completely different. When I asked Mother about my feelings for Charles, she teased me, saying, “That’s love.”

I didn’t understand what ‘love’ was, so I looked it up in a book. What I read perfectly described how I felt about Charles. My heart would race when we were together, I wanted to know more about him, and I couldn’t stop thinking about him.

“I’m in love with Charles…”

Hugging the book to my chest, I became certain of my feelings and wished to always be by Charles’s side.

Charles was always thoughtful of me and Jade, spending time playing with us and never complaining, no matter the activity.

“Lien, what do you want to play today?”

“Hmm… Can you read me a book?”

When I brought him a thick philosophy book, Charles gave me a wry smile and said, “This one again…” But he still sat me on his lap and began to read aloud. Within ten minutes, he’d start to nod off, his head bobbing sleepily.

After a few attempts to wake him up, I glanced over and saw him sound asleep.

“Hey, Charles Nii-sama, are you awake?”

“…Yeah.”

Half-asleep, Charles mumbled a response to my question.

“Really? Then… do you love me?”

“…Yeah.”

Hearing his reply, I couldn’t help but grin. When Charles was sleepy, he’d respond “yeah” to anything. Knowing this, I’d always give him a difficult book and then ask the same question.

“Well, I love you too, Charles Nii-sama!”

Overjoyed, I hugged him tightly. But the thought of confessing my true feelings terrified me. I feared he might avoid me if he knew, and the idea alone filled me with despair.

Too cowardly to be honest, I enjoyed these playful conversations with my sleepy older brother.

While we were chatting, Jade entered the room.

“Another complicated book for Charles Nii-san to read?”

“Hehe~”

Jade glanced at Charles’s sleeping face before sitting beside him and picking up the philosophy book I had brought.

“Hey, Jade Nii-sama. Is that book fun to read?”

“Not at all.”

“I thought so. I don’t like it either.”

“Then why do you make Charles Nii-san read it?”

“Hmm… just because!”

Jade sighed in exasperation, but before long, we all dozed off together, cuddled up to Charles.

As I hugged Charles tightly, I whispered in my heart; Let’s always stay together.

***

Days of peaceful happiness continued, and my feelings for Charles only grew stronger. Even after starting school, Charles continued to dote on me, letting me cling to him during carriage rides to and from the academy.

Though school life was full of fun, lately, Jade had been scary. When I asked Charles to help me with my tie, Jade scolded me, saying, “You’re ten years old. Stop being so dependent.”

Did he have to get that angry? I was still grumbling about it when, on that same day, I ended up sharing the carriage ride home with Jade alone.

The tense atmosphere made me uncomfortable, so I stared out the window in silence.

“Hey, Lien. Do you have feelings for Charles Nii-san?”

“Huh?”

Caught off guard by his sudden question, my voice came out high-pitched. Jade’s gaze was stern as he looked at me.

Unsure if I should admit it, I decided to be honest.

“I… I like Charles Nii-sama.”

“I see. I like Charles Nii-san too.”

“What?!”

Jade’s expression was serious.

Stunned by his confession, I stared at him, wide-eyed.

“Do you really like Charles Nii-sama too, Jade?”

“Yes.”

Jade nodded. I’d never imagined he’d have feelings for anyone, let alone Charles. Was it the same kind of ‘like’ as mine? Or just familial affection?

“My feelings for Charles Nii-sama… I want to kiss him. That kind of ‘like’.”

“…Same. I want to kiss Charles Nii-san every day.”

If Jade liked Charles that way, then that made us rivals!

Suddenly faced with unexpected competition, my mind went into chaos.

I couldn’t understand why Jade suddenly brought up this topic.

“Hey, Jade Nii-sama. Why are you asking me this?”  

“Watching you, I was pretty sure you liked him. I just wanted to confirm it.”  

Jade’s sharp gaze made me flinch slightly.  

Was he trying to warn me off?  

“Are you trying to tell me to give up? Just so you know, I’ve loved Charles Nii-sama since the moment I met him! Even if you threaten me, I’m not giving him up!”  

“I love Charles Nii-san even more than you do. I won’t hand him over… But that’s not what I want to talk about.”  

“Huh?”  

“If you really love him, you must never confess your feelings to Charles Nii-san.”  

I had been bracing myself for a showdown over Charles, but Jade’s words made me tilt my head in confusion.  

“Why shouldn’t I confess? Wouldn’t it be okay to share my feelings with him?”  

“Think carefully, Lien. If we were to tell Charles Nii-san how we feel, what do you think he would do?”  

“Uh… he’d probably smile awkwardly and say, ‘Sorry,’ and then things would get awkward between us.”  

“Exactly. And because Charles Nii-san is considerate of Father and Mother, he’d likely dwell on it….”  

“And maybe disappear somewhere by himself…”  

The thought of Charles leaving us made me feel utterly miserable.  

֍֍֍

*GLOSSARY: 

• Nii-san/Nii-sama/Onii-san = (Big/Elder) Brother

☝🏻I’ll be using these throughout my translation. Jade would call Charles ‘Nii-san’ while Lien would call him ‘Nii-sama’.

Next update: 2025.09.12

֍֍֍