To Those For Whom Even Regret Is A Luxury - Chapter 22

“Oh my…”

Sophie murmured while brushing her hair with a pearl comb.

“You look dazzlingly beautiful, truly.”

“Thank you.”

Noticing that I had responded half-heartedly, Sophie widened her eyes and raised her voice.

“I mean it! You were always beautiful, but now that you’re all dressed up like this, it’s truly blinding. Anyone who sees you now would fall for you at first sight!”

She looked like she might get angry if I didn’t believe her.

I gazed at my reflection in the mirror.

Platinum hair cascading over a pure white dress. A tiara placed on top and a wedding veil flowing down.

The typical bride’s appearance, almost to the point of being cliché. Yet not a single smile graced that face.

I tilted my head slightly.

‘Should I try to look more excited?’

Like someone overjoyed to be uniting with their beloved on this day.

As I looked in the mirror and tried to lift the corners of my mouth, the door opened.

“Are you ready, sister?”

Elena appeared with her smooth voice.

“…Oh my.”

Sophie murmured softly as she turned to look at Elena.

Elena was wearing a light pink dress and even had a large crystal necklace on.

The crystal, which reflected light with each change in angle, illuminated Elena’s face like a reflector.

Elena’s face seemed to crumple for a moment when she spotted me.

But as if it had never happened, Elena’s expression bloomed as she approached me.

“Ah, just as I thought.”

Elena covered her mouth after looking me up and down.

“Sister, your skin is as pale as a ghost, and with the dress being so white, it really doesn’t suit you at all. I’m worried, really.”

Elena sighed heavily as if upset.

I smiled slowly.

“Is that so? You look pretty.”

Elena had gone to bed last night and woke up at dawn to start getting ready, they say.

As if the effort of soaking in honey and milk for a week had paid off, Elena’s skin was gleaming brightly.

“Really? I’m pretty?”

“Yes.”

A satisfied smile spread across Elena’s lips at my straightforward answer.

“So much so that the guests might get confused about who the bride is.”

“Oh my, surely not!”

Elena burst into laughter, saying it wasn’t that extreme.

Then, as if bestowing a favor, she patted my shoulder.

“You’re pretty enough too, sister.”

At that moment, I witnessed Sophie gripping the pearl comb like a weapon.

“It’s your big day, sister, so I wanted to tone down my beauty, but then I thought it wouldn’t be right to look too shabby either. There’s only three days left until the performance, right? Many distinguished guests will be coming as wedding guests today. If the prima soprano looks beautiful, it will surely be a topic of conversation, so I put in some effort.”

Elena spoke melodiously as she gestured to Sophie.

“Hey, can I use that comb too?”

Sophie’s hand holding the pearl comb trembled for a moment, but when I gave her a subtle look, she bit her lip and handed over the comb.

Elena sat in front of the vanity, brushing her hair with the pearl comb.

The elegant hand movements as she brushed and gazed into the mirror were quite refined, like a lady in a painting.

“The moment love’s golden arrow pierced my heart…”

Elena hummed while brushing down her luxurious platinum blonde hair.

“I knew I would become an eternal sinner. But if it’s with you, even hell would be welcome. Mmm…”

An alluring humming flowed from Elena’s nose.

It was ‘The Adulteress’s Aria’. The part where the female lead acknowledges and accepts her wrong love, deciding to seize it.

I slowly opened my lips.

“You seem to like that song.”

“If love is a crime, then I’m sentenced for life… Huh? What did you say?”

“You used to dislike it at first.”

As I faced Elena with a smile, she furrowed her brow and raised her voice.

“Well, the title was so ridiculous! But I decided to change my mind. With my skills, I think I can elevate even a less dignified and lowbrow song into art. Isn’t that true talent?”

Elena looked at herself in the mirror with confidence dripping from her face.

I nodded lightly.

“You certainly sing it well.”

A proud smile spread across Elena’s lips.

I tilted my head slightly and continued.

“But your acting still seems a bit awkward.”

“…What did you say?”

“A soprano isn’t just someone who sings. You shouldn’t forget to properly convey the protagonist’s emotions to the audience.”

“Ha, do you think I don’t know that? Don’t you know who the most promising soprano in the empire is?”

“If you know, then try to put a little more emotion into it.”

I turned to Elena and advised in a serious voice.

“The protagonist is having an affair with the husband of a friend who treats her like a little sister.”

Elena looked at me with a slightly furrowed brow, as if seeing something strange.

I smiled brightly and continued.

“So act as vulgar as that.”

“What?”

Elena’s lips parted.

With a face drained of all color, Elena stammered.

“Vul… vulgar?”

After muttering that word a few times, Elena widened her eyes and twisted the corners of her mouth.

“What did you just say? How dare you tell me to act−”

“Ah.”

I opened my eyes wide as if surprised.

“Good, that expression just now.”

“What?”

Elena frowned severely.

“It looks very vicious and…”

Facing her distorted expression, I smiled sweetly.

“Vulgar.”

“Ha!”

Elena’s face began to flush red as if autumn had come.

She jumped up and shouted.

“What are you really saying?!”

“You really are an excellent soprano, Elena.”

I stood up as well, placed one hand on Elena’s shoulder, and whispered.

“The female lead’s role isn’t just a persona, it’s as if it’s you yourself.”

Pfft.

Sophie, who had been twitching the corners of her mouth, let out a laugh and then covered her mouth with a prim expression.

“Ha, I can’t, I can’t believe this…”

Elena trembled, her eyes wide open.

She seemed unable to figure out where to aim her counterattack, like a prosecutor suddenly attacked from a blind spot.

With a face flushed red, Elena let out a sharp, mocking laugh.

“Sister. You’ve been saying some strange things.”

“Me?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know! What kind of sister calls her younger sister vulgar and vicious?! What’s wrong with you, suddenly? Did you eat something bad−”

Bang.

At that moment, the door burst open without warning.

I turned my head to find quite familiar faces.

A middle-aged woman with her brown hair elegantly styled.

And all the people spread out like wings on either side of her were familiar too.

“Tsk.”

The middle-aged woman at the center and front, the Duchess Fedegrin, clicked her tongue in annoyance.

Then the women standing behind her began to speak one by one.

“My, my. What are you doing standing there blankly in front of your future mother-in-law?”

“You should bow your head respectfully first, Miss Ariana.”

“How dare you look straight at your future mother-in-law? I can’t believe you haven’t even learned such basic etiquette yet.”

Huh.

Elena openly laughed at the words aimed at me.

At that sound, the Duchess turned to Elena and raised one eyebrow as if just noticing her.

“Oh, you were here too. But why is your complexion so red?”

“…Ah, hello, Duchess.”

Elena blinked rapidly, apparently not expecting the arrow to suddenly turn towards her.

Her face, which had flushed when insulted by me earlier, reddened even more.

“It’s the day your sister is forming a connection with a great family, yet you came without proper care. Tsk.”

The Duchess clicked her tongue in displeasure and muttered to herself quite openly.

“This is why breeding matters…”

Elena’s face turned as red as if it had been set on fire.

On the surface, they were both members of the same count’s family, but Elena was a half-sister with a commoner mother.

Not having a drop of noble blood was Elena’s sore spot.

Elena couldn’t utter a word and just opened and closed her mouth.

The Duchess, being Lucas’s mother and the mistress of a prestigious family, was a figure more terrifying than a tiger to Elena.

“I’m sorry, Duchess…”

Elena murmured in a voice as quiet as an ant crawling and bowed her head before leaving.

Clicking her tongue sharply once more, the Duchess turned to me this time.

“It seems you only received care for your face.”

Her blatant gaze swept over my entire body.

“My, how can you look so unbecoming even in a wedding dress… Being so skinny, I’m really worried if you’ll be able to properly bear children.”

“I wonder if that’s really my fault, Duchess.”

As I slowly opened my mouth, the Duchess’s eyebrows twitched.

I smiled gently.

“Shouldn’t the seed be healthy for the sprout to grow properly?”