ATHO Chapter 50

Chapter 50 – Stay Together Forever

Chapter 5: A Happy Ending, Part 6

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 novels.space, the original site of translation. TQ*

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The two ran around happily chanting “Bath, bath!” Lien couldn’t help but let a smile spread across his face.

“Hehe, Charles Nii-sama. Next time, let’s take a bath together. I’m looking forward to it.”

Suddenly hearing such a thing, I flushed with heat, imagining taking a bath with Lien.

“Armand, Sophia. Can Jade Nii-sama join us too?”

“Yeah!”

“Thank you. It seems I can join too, Charles Nii-san. A bath with everyone, how exciting!”

“W-Wait… There are children around…”

Even Jade started saying such things. While I was exasperated at what they were saying in front of the little ones, my chest was pounding and my face was burning with heat.

“Nii-san, what’s wrong? Your face is red.”

“Hya!!”

Jade whispered softly in my ear, making me let out a strange sound. Both Jade and Lien were looking at me with mischievous expressions.

While I was distracted by the two, I felt something cling to my leg. Looking down, Armand was puffing out his cheeks.

“Charles Nii-sama, carry me.”

“Ah, okay.”

As I scooped him up, he happily buried his face in the crook of my neck. I stroked the head of the still-clingy Armand, and he giggled, “Ehehe~”. Sophia also asked Lien to carry her, looking content.

“You know, these children really do resemble you, Charles Nii-sama.”

“Do they?”

“Yes. The beautiful black hair, pale blue eyes, and fair skin. Charles Nii-san must have been as adorable as Armand and Sophia when he was little.”

As Jade patted Armand’s head, Armand stared intently at my face.

“Can I become like Charles Nii-sama?”

“You want to be like me, Armand?”

“Yeah! I want to be the one Charles Nii-sama loves!”

“Eh, I want to be loved by Charles Nii-sama too!”

“If you want to be loved by Charles Nii-sama, you have to be a good kid, you know? And you have to eat carrots too.”

As Lien said that, the two made displeased faces.

“Ehhh!!! Carrots…”

“Do I have to eat carrots to be loved by Charles Nii-sama?”

“Hmm, yeah. Little by little, it would be good if you could start eating them.”

“I’ll try…”

The two pouted, but said so, and we all softened our cheeks at their adorably changing expressions.

Surrounded by everyone’s smiles, our life was filled with happiness.

I hoped this kind of life would continue, and I laughed together with everyone.

Sophia and Armand continued to grow healthily. When they turned five, I was touched by how much they had grown from the tiny children they once were.

Armand and Sophia always brought us smiles and energy. I had made plans to play with them after my work was done, so as soon as the morning inspection was over, I hurried back to the mansion.

When I returned home, I found Sophia and Armand crouching in the entrance hall, with the maid-in-charge looking troubled beside them.

“I’m back. What happened?”

Noticing me, the children ran over, their faces scrunched up. I caught them as they clung to me forcefully, trying to listen to the reason. But they were only sobbing, unable to speak.

“Charles Nii-sama… Well, you see…”

The maid-in-charge hesitantly told me the reason for their tears.

That morning, the two had gone to town with the maids, and got into a fight with some local children. Apparently, one of the children had taunted them, saying, “How pitiful, you don’t have a real family.”

The words had deeply hurt the two, and they had been waiting for my return in the entrance hall.

“I see…”

When the two became aware, we had told them that their parents had passed away. We had debated whether to tell the young children the truth, but decided it was better for the family to convey it than for them to hear it from strangers or rumors. Back then, the still-young children had just looked puzzled. But this was the first time something like this had happened in the years since.

After listening to the story, I stroked the heads of the two clinging to my waist, unwilling to let go.

Armand, with tears welling up in his eyes, looked up at me.

“Am I… not your real family, Nii-sama?”

“Armand and Sophia are both my precious family. How about we talk a little in my room?”

“…Yeah.”  

I asked the maid to prepare some warm milk, held the two of them by the hand, and headed to the room.  

As they sipped the milk, their tears finally stopped.  

“Feeling a bit calmer now?”  

When they nodded softly, I gently patted their heads. That’s when Sophia murmured quietly.  

“Hey, Charles Nii-sama… We’re not even family… Is it really okay for us to be here?”  

“Of course it is. As long as you want to stay, you’re welcome to stay forever.”  

Unable to resist, I pulled Sophia and Armand into a hug as they bit their lips, holding back emotions. I wanted to scold the children who had said such cruel words to them, but the fact that they were hurt by those words must mean there’s a part of them that feels uncertain.  

What does it mean to be a true family?  

Just as Mother, Jade, and Lien taught me the meaning of real family, I want to teach Sophia and Armand the same thing. I want to show them that, to me, they are irreplaceably precious.  

“For me, there’s no blood connection between my mother, Jade, and Lien either. But we still think of each other as important family members. Being a family isn’t just about blood ties.”  

“…Then how can we become family with you, Charles Nii-sama?”  

“Well… If Sophia and Armand love the people of the Wahlman family and want to stay with us forever, then we’re already family.”  

Sophia and Armand nodded vigorously at my words.  

“I love Father, Mother, and my brothers too!”  

“I want to stay with everyone forever!”  

Hearing their sincere answers, I hugged them tightly once again.  

“Then we’re family. You two are very important to me, and I want to be with you forever. Having you here makes me so happy.”  

As I smiled and shared my honest feelings, their light blue eyes blinked as they stared at me.  

“Charles Nii-sama, are you happy being with us…?”  

“Yes, very, very happy. When you’re here, my heart feels so full of joy. So, this is a request from your big brother—will you stay with me forever?”  

“Yes! I’ll stay with you forever, Nii-sama!”  

“Me too!”  

Their cheerful replies made me smile warmly.  

“That’s good. If you’d said no… I might have cried from sadness.”  

I joked lightly, and they giggled sweetly as they always did.  

“Hey, Charles Nii-sama… What were our mother and father like?”  

At Armand’s question, I paused to think. I’d heard a few stories about their mother from the sister.  

As for their father…  

“Your mother was kind and beautiful. She loved you both dearly and eagerly awaited your arrival. She thought long and hard about your names. She wanted Armand to grow strong and resilient, and Sophia to grow wise and kind—that’s the wish behind your names.”  

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*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: -To be Announced on Discord-

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