Chapter 33: Brother and the Troublesome Younger Sister (Part Two)

Inside the royal castle, in the second prince’s chamber—

Sitting on the bed with a sulky expression, Neige kept glaring at the green substance being scooped up with a spoon.
The maid feeding him wore a troubled look as she urged him to eat.
Because Neige’s low-grade fever persisted, she was trying to make him consume highly nutritious food, but he stubbornly refused to cooperate.
At a loss, the maid finally pulled the spoon back for the moment.

“Your Highness, please, I beg you, eat.”
“But it doesn’t taste good.”
“It is made with highly nutritious ingredients for the sake of your health.”
“Please endure it a little longer and eat.”
“…Fine.”

Reluctantly, Neige accepted the spoon the maid offered again and swallowed the green mixture.
The cooks had done their best to prepare it in a way even a child could manage, but unpleasant was still unpleasant.
After he finished everything with a pout still on his face, the maid let out a relieved breath.
Once he drank the bitter medicinal tea prepared as a decoction, the maid cleared the dishes away.

“Haa…”

No matter how many times he repeated this routine, he would never get used to that awful, bitter food and medicine.
His weak constitution was something he was born with, so there was nothing to be done about it.
Neige fell back onto the bed and stared up at the pure white ceiling.

Today was Faustina’s eighth birthday.

“Since Faustina is different from before, even Brother’s present ended up being different.”
“Well, whatever.”

Previously—no, all along—the gift had always been a pure white ribbon.
This time, it had changed to a lapis-blue ribbon.

“White is the safest color.”
“Unless someone has silver hair, white suits just about anyone.”
“…No, that’s not it.”
“He hated it, didn’t he.”
“‘Why do I have to choose something for someone with such a rotten personality?’”
“That’s what he said.”
“Then, when his attendant suggested a safe color, he went with a white ribbon.”

“But,” Neige continued, weaving his words with an angelically sweet smile.

“Whether Faustina stays the same as before or changes, nothing really changes.”
“In the end, Brother will fall in love with Lady Elvira and abandon Faustina anyway.”

—And then, Brother and Lady Elvira, bound by ‘fate,’ will be happy.

Even if that happiness comes at the cost of casting aside the woman who mattered most to him.

“Even so, they’ll end up happy anyway…”

—Vitkenshtein Ducal Residence—

Since her elder sister Faustina had gone to the church by carriage with their parents for her birthday, no one was in her private room.
After finishing breakfast, Elvira, having had her morning preparations done by Trisha, quietly slipped inside.
Careful not to be seen by anyone.

She approached the table placed in front of the sofa.
The box containing the lapis-blue ribbon she had noticed earlier was gone.
She had heard that Faustina hadn’t used it when she went out, so where was it?
Looking around restlessly, Elvira spotted the box on the desk Faustina used for studying.

“This is it…!”

The lapis-blue ribbon showed no sign of having been used.
Elvira puffed out her cheeks in a sulk.

“With this, if I use it, she’ll find out right away!”

Why hadn’t she worn it?
The ribbon had been a gift from Bernhard, Faustina’s fiancé.
Elvira felt an intense pang of envy.
No matter how much Elvira begged, he would surely never give her a present.
Faustina received it only because she was his fiancée.

The ribbon was pristine, without a single wrinkle.
She couldn’t tie it into her own hair.
Still, she wanted to stand before the mirror and hold it up, just once.

“My sister really is something.”
“Not wearing a present that Lord Bernhard went out of his way to give her.”
“If it were me, I’d put it on right then and there.”

Faustina always ran away whenever Bernhard came to visit, making Rinsu chase after her every time.
She must truly hate the engagement.
And yet, she took her queen-consort training seriously and had earned extremely high praise from the queen.
Even though she was her own sister, Elvira couldn’t understand her at all, and she shook her head.
Then, for some reason, her expression fell.

“My sister aside… my brother is hard to understand too…”

From the moment they were born, the futures of Faustina and Cain had already been decided.
Faustina would become the future queen.
Cain would inherit the ducal house.

Elvira often attended various tea parties with her mother, Lyudmila.
She frequently heard that her brother was calmer and more intelligent than any child his age.
People called him mature, but it felt like more than just that.

Also, despite living together, Elvira could hardly recall ever seeing Cain smile.
All she remembered were looks of exasperation, anger, or a neutral expression.
Nothing else.

As for Faustina, she had changed greatly.
Before and after her first collapse.
Because of that, Lyudmila often seemed as though she wanted to speak to Faustina, yet could only watch from afar after being rejected.
Elvira herself had never had much interaction with her sister, so she thought nothing of it.
Her brother often scolded or teased her, and her mother frequently lectured her.
That was all.
At least, until the engagement with Bernhard was decided.

No matter what anyone said, Bernhard had to be happier with her than with Faustina.
She was far better suited to him.

Elvira took the lapis-blue ribbon out of the box.
If she didn’t tie it, just held it up to her hair, the chance of being found out would be low.
She stood before the full-length mirror, spread the ribbon out, and held it against her hair—

Just then, the door opened.

Everyone in the mansion knew Faustina was out, so there was no knock.
The person who entered—Cain’s attendant, Lune—froze in surprise upon seeing Elvira inside.
Then, recalling what Cain had told him, he hurried toward her when he realized she was about to use Bernhard’s gift without permission.

“Lady Elvira, that belongs to Lady Faustina.”
“You must not enter without permission and touch her things.”

“I-I’m not doing anything wrong!”
“It’s not like I was trying to dirty it!”

“That is not the issue.”
“The problem is that you are trying to use someone else’s belongings without permission.”
“Now, please put it down and return to your room.”
“I will keep what I saw today a secret from the master and the others.”

“That won’t do, Lune.”

Both Lune and Elvira jumped exaggeratedly, their shoulders jerking in shock.
When they turned around, Cain stood there, holding two thick books in his arms, his ruby-red eyes cold as they fixed on them.
His gaze was especially frigid toward Elvira, who had tried to use—sister or not—someone else’s belongings without permission.

Elvira looked on the verge of tears.

“Lune.”
“When someone needs to be scolded, you have to scold them properly.”
“Elvira, did you ask Fana before taking that ribbon out?”

“N… no…”

“Right.”
“No matter how kind Fana is, she would never let someone else use a present given to her by her fiancé.”
“So tell me, Elvira.”
“Who taught you that it’s okay to use other people’s things without permission?”

“…!”

“Cain, you don’t have to go that far—”

“If she’s going to cry just because she’s told something a little harsh, then she shouldn’t have done it in the first place.”

Elvira clenched the hem of her yellow dress tightly.
Large tears spilled from her eyes, but the one scolding her was her brother, who showed no mercy even when she cried.
When Lune tried to tell Cain he was being too harsh, Cain cut him off with a cold call of his name.

“You’re being soft.”
“These things need to be corrected before they become habits.”
“The one who’ll suffer later is Elvira.”
“Tell me, Elvira.”
“What do you think Lord Bernhard would say if he knew you were the kind of sister who uses her elder sister’s belongings without permission?”

“!!”

Elvira’s face drained of color.
If that were discovered, she would be utterly disappointed and hated.

“N-no, I don’t want that!”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Brother!”
“I’ll never enter my sister’s room without permission again!”
“I won’t touch my sister’s things ever again!”
“S-so please, don’t tell Lord Bernhard…!”

She didn’t want to be hated.
If she were hated, she would never be able to talk to him again.
She might never even be allowed to meet him.

Seeing Elvira apologize desperately, Lune began to feel sorry for her and looked to Cain for guidance.

“Haa…”
“Then hand the ribbon to Lune.”
“Lune, put it back the way it was.”

“Yes.”

After confirming that Elvira handed the ribbon to Lune, Cain let out another sigh.

“Honestly…”
“Elvira, if you don’t fix that selfish personality of yours, you’ll regret it someday.”

“Why are you always so strict with me, Brother?!”

“Am I?”
“I say even harsher things to Fana.”
“Things that would make you cry hysterically if I said them to you.”

“I’ve never seen my sister cry like that!”

“That’s because she’s Fana.”

“That’s not an answer!”

“Cain, I’ve put it back.”

Cain thanked Lune, then told him to take Elvira back to her room.
Carrying the two thick books, Cain left the scene.

Walking alone down the long corridor.
He had felt a bad premonition when he saw Bernhard’s gift.
When he visited Faustina’s room with a faint hope, it had been crushed without a trace.

“Just as expected,” he muttered, letting out his third sigh.

“How do I make this better?”
“Compared to Fana, Elvira really is the bigger problem…”

Cain returned to his private room.
He set the books he had been carrying onto the bed, then sat at his desk.
Taking out some stationery from a drawer, he quickly wrote a letter with his pen.
After folding it into quarters and placing it in an envelope, he sealed it.

“Good grief… such troublesome younger sisters…”

When Lune returned after escorting Elvira, Cain handed him the sealed letter and told him to deliver it.
Upon hearing the destination, Lune left with the letter in hand.

Cain stood up from his chair, picked up the two books from the bed, and returned to it once more.
Opening them to the necessary pages, he paused.

“Come to think of it… why did Lune go to Fana’s room in the first place?”