“Sister!”

The door of the magnificent mansion opened with a creak, and someone rushed into my arms.

“Why did you come only now? I was so bored without you, sister!”

My three-year-younger half-sister and the apple of the Schmidt family’s eye.

Leonie Schmidt looked up at me with such adorable eyes and acted coquettishly.

She buried her face in the nape of my neck. Her curly orange hair tickled my neck.

‘When I didn’t know your true intentions, I used to fall for this act.’

I had to force a smile and accept her.

Pushing away my sister at will was not an action I was allowed in this household.

“Ahaha. I’m sorry, Leonie.”

Sorry my ass.

Inside, I wanted to throw her far away right then, but I couldn’t do that.

“Our Leonie has such a kind heart. Even treating someone like that as a sister.”

Unlike her elegant tone, a crude remark was heard nearby.

As I turned my gaze from my sister, I saw the frowning Viscountess Schmidt.

Her tightly pressed lips conveyed her displeasure.

Leonie released her arms from me and ran to her birth mother.

Then, just as she had done to me, she tightly hugged the viscountess’s waist and acted all cute.

“Mother! How could you say such a thing? Vivian is my precious sister.”

“Oh my, I must have given birth to an angel, not a human. How can our Leonie have such a noble character?”

The viscountess’s expression, which had been full of displeasure, melted away.

The viscountess gently stroked her daughter’s hair, whom she always kept close, and praised her.

At that moment, the master of the mansion, Viscount Schmidt, appeared beside them and added a word.

“That’s right, my dear. Leonie has always had such a noble character since she was young. I’m truly glad you have such a warm heart.”

Hahaha. Happy laughter filled the entrance hall.

The servants and maids standing guard around also gave fond looks towards the family of their masters.

I, standing outside the door, quietly watched the scene of the harmonious family inside the mansion.

A happy and beautiful family, as if painted in a picture.

A happy family already complete in themselves.

Only I stood alone like an uninvited guest.

‘…It’s been a while since I felt like this.’

It had been two years since I returned here.

I thought I would have become indifferent after being away from them for so long, but it seems I was mistaken.

Even though I came prepared, I fell into a terrible sense of alienation.

But I quickly steeled my heart.

‘Do these people have any conscience? Calling me here and then treating me like I’m invisible.’

If it were the past me, I would have been terribly hurt in this situation.

Honestly, I’m not completely unharmed even now. No, actually, I’m quite hurt.

Still, I had decided to change.

Ever since the day I realized this was the world inside a book.

After all, they are just devices for the unfortunate past of a minor villain who only appears briefly at the beginning.

It’s only natural that they try to torment me.

Thinking like that, strangely, my mood improved a little.

I felt confident I could endure whatever my family did.

I clenched my fist as a sign that I wouldn’t lose to such devices of tragedy.

But then the viscount, who had been talking among themselves, looked at me and started clicking his tongue.

“Leonie is so kind. But you, being the older sister, tsk tsk.”

“…I’m sorry.”

A scolding without any context.

I apologized insincerely to words I had heard dozens of times while living here.

After all, they just want to subdue me.

If I don’t say I’m sorry, they’ll probably hold me back and give a long lecture or try to discipline me under the pretext of education.

“Father! Don’t be too harsh on Sister Vivian.”

Leonie, with puffed cheeks, put her arms on her waist and spoke up to her father.

Her action of even defending her wicked sister must have seemed quite lovely in the viscount’s eyes.

“Oh my, I’m sorry, my daughter. If Leonie says so, I should stop.”

“Did you hear that, sister? Father says he’ll stop.”

“Mm, thank you.”

“Instead of doing this here, let’s talk while we have dinner.”

Leonie approached me again affectionately and linked arms with me.

Then she pulled me along and guided me to the dining room inside the mansion.

An uncomfortable mealtime began.

“So, what did you learn in class today?”

“I learned about poetry from a century ago. It was really enlightening.”

“Oh, poetry. Would you recite some for us? I’m curious.”

At the urging of the viscount couple, Leonie put down her fork with a shy face and then began to recite poetry.

She recited the poem with her beautiful voice, like a nightingale.

I was just quietly watching the scene, unable to even touch my food.

‘I’m already tired.’

My family in name only was happily engrossed in their own conversation, treating me as if I didn’t exist.

Somehow losing my appetite, I nibbled a bit and then put my utensils back on the table.

Catching that sight, Leonie once again pretended to be kind and spoke to me.

“Sister, aren’t you going to eat more? You must be hungry.”

“No, it’s okay. I’m full.”

“Mother, Father. I think we might have excluded sister too much. I’m sorry, sister. From now on, I’ll talk about things you know too.”

Ah, I don’t want that.

My cunning sister pretended to worry about me with a kind face.

Even though she was the one who had excluded me from the beginning.

Leonie was always like this.

With an angelic smile, she would paint me as a bad and strange person.

And then suddenly, she herself would become the lovable youngest daughter who even cared for such an incompetent sister.

Whether they didn’t know or pretended not to, my stepmother and biological father always fell for Leonie’s cunning behavior.

After similar incidents repeated dozens of times, at some point I came to be called the pathetic Vivian.

‘When I was young, I was so naive that I thought Leonie actually liked me.’

In a time so distant I can’t even remember. Back then, I actually had a pretty good relationship with Leonie.

Thus, I never dreamed that she would harbor ill feelings towards me.

Through various incidents, I realized her true intentions, but it was already too late.

By then, even the viscount, my biological father, had begun to despise me.

Although it was not easy to manage my expression due to old memories, I tried hard to force a smile.

Leonie changed the topic with a bright smile.

“Let’s talk about our soirée! This is the first time sister has received an invitation. We should also decide when and where to meet and depart.”

“Ahem. There’s no need for that. Vivian, you come separately. Surely you weren’t planning to come with us, being an illegitimate child? Don’t think about tarnishing the Schmidt name and just quietly attend the soirée befitting your status.”

“Father! How could you bring up the word ‘illegitimate’, really.”

“No, it’s alright. What the viscount says is true. Don’t worry, I’ll go alone.”

I spoke pretending to be pitiful, but in truth, I preferred it that way.

It was already uncomfortable just going to the soirée, but sharing a carriage with these people was something I would definitely refuse on my part.

However, upon hearing my words, Leonie puffed her cheeks as if something displeased her.

“Even if it’s true, to say such harsh words to sister… It’s really too much. I’ll stop eating here.”

“Leonie? How can you stop eating after eating just that much.”

“Hmph. It’s fine.”

Leonie answered primly and then approached my side.

“Sister, if you’re done eating too, follow me. There’s something I want to show you!”

Even though I didn’t answer, Leonie linked arms with me and led me in the direction she wanted.

Eventually, we reached our destination.

“What do you think? Isn’t it extremely beautiful.”

What Leonie wanted to show me was a dress.

The green dress was full of splendid decorations.

A dress adorned with golden ornaments that glittered so brightly it hurt the eyes. Yellow topazes were embedded here and there on the skirt.

It was obvious that both the production time and price would be absurd, so I pretended to be in awe.

I had been practicing pleasing Leonie for a lifetime. It was time to properly demonstrate those skills.

“Wow, it’s really too beautiful. Are you going to wear it to this soirée? I think it will suit you so well. With this dress, you’ll surely stand out the most?”

If it seems soulless, that would be a misconception.

“You think so too, sister? Actually, I heard that those people from the ‘Belvedere’ family are also coming to this soirée. Father said he plans to submit a marriage proposal to them.”

“The, the Belvedere ducal family?”

I unconsciously stumbled over my words noticeably as I asked back, startled by the familiar name.

“Yes. I thought it would be good to make a good impression before the formal courtship. There are rumors that he’s a scary person, but that’s how all noble marriages are, right?”

“Ah, y-yes.”

To think they would submit a marriage proposal to that narcissistic appearance-obsessed man.

For me, knowing Dietrich’s true nature, it was such a shocking story that I didn’t even want to imagine it.

“You’re lucky, sister. You’ll be able to marry whoever you want. Sometimes I envy you for that.”

I was amazed at my sister who naturally picked on me for being illegitimate, but I didn’t show it.

“Anyway sister, now that you’ve seen my dress, let’s go see yours too!”

“Ah, right. The dress. I was actually coming to look for that. I was wondering if getting a new dress tailored would be too expensive.”

Of course, I have amassed wealth under an alias, so I could buy hundreds of dresses if I wanted to.

However, since my family thinks I have no money, it felt a bit odd to suddenly have a dress tailored.

“You’re talking about the dress your birth mother left behind, right? I already told the maids to prepare it. It should be ready in the next room.”

My birth mother who passed away just a year after I was born.

All of her possessions were burned, but there was just one thing that remained. It was a single dress.

My mother, whose wish was to personally dress her daughter in a gown she chose, had ordered this dress imagining my future self before she passed away.

Although she didn’t get to see the finished product before she passed, when I was young, I could feel my birth mother’s warmth looking at that dress.

‘I’ve wanted to wear it someday ever since I was little.’

A sky-blue dress with elegant lines.

Because the viscountess had consistently prevented my social debut, I had never been given the chance to wear it.

And that’s not all, they didn’t even let me take it when I left the mansion.

Using the excuse that there was a high risk of theft, they forcibly prevented me from taking it with me.

‘But now I finally get to wear this.’

The reason I had the courage to come to this mansion I didn’t want to visit was because I still had the desire to wear this dress to a social event.

With a heart full of anticipation, I boldly flung open the door to the room where the dress should be.

However, the dress was completely different from what was in my memory.

Fabric torn here and there as if someone had slashed it with scissors.

The skirt, which should have been a transparent sky blue, was stained in places.

The jewels that should have been embedded between the skirt’s pleats had all fallen off and were rolling on the floor, and the ribbons were completely frayed, no different from rags.

“What, what in the world…”

“Oh my. Good heavens! What should we do, sister? It seems crows must have gotten into the room. I was worried because it’s such a shiny material…”

“…”

“I was afraid this might happen, so I told the maids to close the windows! I’ll scold the maids right away.”

As Leonie said this, there was a strange hint of a smile on her face.

I, who had been barely holding on all day, helplessly crumbled.