“You, you keep saying strange things!!”

“Strange things? Sister, I just told you because you were so happy. There was nothing there from the beginning. I just told you because you were so happy.”

“……”

“Ah. It’s today.”

“What about today?”

Elzere, who had been quite excited when entering the room, now looked at Sesenia with a much calmer expression than before.

“News of the sales will come. About the Hephria cotton and firewood that were all sold a week ago.”

“You…… did that on purpose, didn’t you.”

“What?”

“The fact of the sale…… You deliberately didn’t tell me, right?”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

“Why. Why didn’t you tell me?”

Elzere’s face was flushed red, as if she had no intention of hiding the fact that she had set the fire.

“It’s fun.”

“What?”

“I could see you were going to make a fuss. So I deliberately hid it. To give you a sense of despair, sister. How is it? Desperate, right? Because what you worked so hard on turned out to be nothing.”

“……You’re really mean.”

“Look who’s talking. Well then, let’s go out. Sister. Don’t you have to clean up?”

“It may have turned out this way this time, but don’t think you’ll win next time too.”

Sesenia nodded happily.

“Please win.”

“You’re so relaxed. Let’s see how long that composure of yours lasts.”

“Yes. This is it. That composure of always thinking you’re the winner. I really like it when you have that composure. So keep being like that.”

Elzere, seemingly having grasped the situation now, moved towards the exit. Sesenia watched her and skimmed through the documents Rohan had brought.

“We’ve already found the culprit…… but of course, they’re not talking about who’s behind it. What should we do?”

“They should be punished. It’s fine if the mastermind isn’t revealed.”

“Pardon?”

“Rather, I’d prefer if the mastermind wasn’t revealed. That way, sister can keep tormenting me. That’s what I want. For sister to not give up and keep tormenting me.”

And to taste countless despairs.

Only then will she have the heart to fight me with her life on the line.

Sesenia downed the cooled tea in one gulp and smiled brightly while looking at the documents.

**

That afternoon.

After checking all the documents Rohan had brought and deciding how to punish the culprit, Sesenia was enjoying a rare moment of leisure.

But that leisurely time didn’t last long.

“The Marquis has requested a family dinner.”

“A family dinner. Was it already time for a meal?”

“Not exactly, but he said he has something to say today. He said there are several matters to discuss, so he asked you to clear any busy work and make sure to attend.”

Since she didn’t have any busy work anyway, Sesenia nodded at the butler’s words.

“Tell him I’ll participate without being late.”

“Yes, young lady Sesenia.”

It was truly an unwanted dinner gathering. In the past, she had liked those dinner gatherings. Because at least there, she felt recognized as a true family member. But not anymore.

The words ‘I don’t want to go’ rose to her throat, but Sesenia shook her head.

‘Not much time left.’

When spring came, Sesenia planned to leave this house. Determined to endure until then, she forced herself to calm down.

That evening.

Elzere was also at the dinner table. As if she had looked into what Sesenia had asked her to, her face looked quite unpleasant. Sitting across from Sesenia, Elzere barely managed to pick up her fork while suppressing her anger.

“Today is a good day.”

“Did something happen?”

“Hoho. Your pretense of not knowing while you do is quite pleasing to see, Sesenia.”

She had really asked because she didn’t know, but the Marquis praised her as if she was pretending. Like someone trying to win her heart in any way possible, the Marquis’s behavior seemed quite strange.

“Pardon?”

“You’ve done a great thing.”

“By great thing……”

“I hear this business has been a huge success. You don’t need to hide it so much.”

“Ah, that. It’s only natural. It’s because you supported me, Father.”

Sesenia deliberately redirected the flattery to the Marquis instead of herself. The Marquis had always taught Sesenia the virtue of humility. More precisely, he taught her to say that everything was thanks to having such a great father, so that she wouldn’t live off her own merits wherever she went.

The Marquis had sensed it to some extent. That Sesenia was far more excellent than Elzere. So this was one of the methods to prevent her from developing further, and he did so this time too, but contrary to expectations, the Marquis shook his head.

“No. It’s all thanks to your hard work.”

“……You’re strange, Father. Didn’t you always get angry when I said such things?”

“Hoho. I must have been out of my mind then. In reality, you did it all by yourself, didn’t you? Credit should be given where it’s due.”

“You really…… seem like a different person.”

If it had been like this in the past, wouldn’t she have been a little less hurt?

If he had been this kind of father, wouldn’t he have protected her when her husband, the Emperor, was said to be having an affair?

Wouldn’t he have comforted her first when her sister said she was having an affair with her husband?

But Sesenia had already been wounded to her very soul.

‘People don’t change.’

It was human nature to change only a little even with desperate effort. Sesenia too had struggled desperately not to live as she had in the past. She had scratched and re-scratched the wounds received in the past to remind herself of the pain, to change herself.

Even with desperate struggling efforts, she too still had remnants of her past self. But for her father to change? That was an impossibility.

“I must have been a bit harsh. Seeing you say that.”

“You weren’t harsh at all. Is that why you called us for dinner today?”

“It’s killing two birds with one stone. Anyway, well done. I’m very proud.”

“Father. I did that too.”

That’s when it happened. As if she had thrown away all sense of shame, Elzere spoke in a coquettish voice.

“Hm?”

“The Hephria cotton, I mean. I did it too, Father.”

“Oh… oh… That’s right……”

“I was just unlucky and couldn’t finish it, but I did it too, so praise me. Tell me I did well.”

The Marquis smiled awkwardly at Elzere’s manner of speaking, as if a gentle spring breeze was blowing.

“That’s right. You thought of it too, Elzere. Well done.”

“So don’t take just one side too much. I’m starting to feel a little upset.”

“Of course. Of course. I must have been too partial in my pride. I’m sorry.”

It had always been like this. No matter how big a mistake Elzere made, it was just a mistake, but even a small mistake by Sesenia became a big fault. Just like now.

Since it wasn’t particularly surprising, Sesenia picked up a piece of steak she had cut into small pieces with her fork.

“Of course, there was quite a lot of loss.”

“I was just trying hard, that’s all. It’s just a tiny loss, isn’t it? Our family won’t collapse from just that much, right?”

“Th-that’s right.”

Although it was a huge loss enough to make one’s stomach churn, the Marquis nodded as if entranced by something.

“But Elzere. Sesenia started this business, so I think it’s right to praise Sesenia……”

“I just started buying late, that’s all. I thought about it plenty too. You know that, right?”

“Hoho. Yes. Well…… that’s right.”

As if she had already expected this, Sesenia silently stared at them.

‘Even so, she won’t be able to claim it as her own at the founding ceremony like in the past.’

In the past, the Hephria cotton was distributed under the name of the Marquis’s family. But this time it was a completely independent entity. Moreover, the rumor had already spread that the cotton Elzere had was all ruined due to poor storage.

It was because she had spread the benefits of Hephria cotton everywhere and made distribution contracts with many places. Elzere, who tried to sell even the damaged cotton to make up for the loss, had ended up with the truth being completely exposed.

“So Father. Please say that Sesenia buying the Hephria cotton at the founding ceremony was also my achievement.”

Here it comes.

Sesenia swallowed the chunk of meat she had been chewing. Her throat felt blocked.

“Hm? Wasn’t that Sesenia’s doing?”

“Sesenia just noticed that I was going to do it and moved first. So isn’t it thanks to me? So Father~”

The coquettish voice shook the Marquis’s heart.

Elzere, who looked exactly like the woman the Marquis had loved so much. Was that why he wavered this time too?

“It’s thanks to me, right? So you’ll definitely say so at the founding ceremony, right?”

As always, the Marquis couldn’t help himself when it came to his first daughter. As if he had to do everything his first daughter asked for.

He looked at Sesenia with an awkward smile.

“Sesenia……”

“Do as you wish.”

Once again, Sesenia had to give her credit to Elzere.

“See? Why would Sesenia give up? It’s all thanks to me, isn’t it?”

“Ah, I see!”

A way to naturally shift their guilt. And every time this happened, Sesenia felt it. She thought that this person who was supposed to be her father seemed really crazy. How could he so easily go along with that idiot’s words if he wasn’t bewitched?

“Yes. Sesenia. Everything is your sister’s……”

“But will people really believe it?”

In the past, it would have become Elzere’s achievement. But not now. The current Sesenia was different from back then.

“What?”

“Never mind. It’s sister’s achievement, so make sure to say it at the founding ceremony.”