“Not bad, you were able to rank first in the exams. I expected nothing less of you.”
She’s…
“Your future is bright. I am very proud of you.”
…So different from Kiera.
Staring through Rose’s memories, Kiera’s mom stood out quite a lot. She seemed flawless in “nearly every aspect— from her grades to the way she carried herself.
She was a stark contrast to the Kiera that I knew.
In fact, if anyone was more similar to Kiera, it’d be her aunt.
“Rose, you should be more like your sister. Why aren’t you like her?”
I wasn’t the only one to notice this.
Her parents were well aware of it, constantly criticizing her for it. But true to Kiera’s style, she simply ignored them, heading to her room to do whatever she pleased.
In the end, that was all the criticism amounted to.
They seemed to have given up on her.
And she appeared to be perfectly fine with that. She was a free spirit.
“I’ll just ride on sis’s coattails, kek.”
Lying on her bed, she wore a satisfied grin. In a life free from the pressure of perfection, she could do whatever she pleased.
After all, her sister was so good that she wasn’t needed.
‘Is this why she becomes like that…?’
Watching everything from the sidelines, I began to piece together what might have happened and why Rose ended up the way she did.
I had seen so many such stories in the past.
‘Jealousy.’
Right now, she was likely content with how things were unfolding, but in the future, she’d be compared more and more to her flawless sister. That constant comparison would only fuel her jealousy, eventually pushing her to join the Inverted Sky.
The more I thought along these lines, the more likely things seemed to have turned out this way.
‘….It’s a bit cliche, but it would make so much sense.’
As my shoulders relaxed, waiting for things to unfold as I expected, the door to Rose’s room creaked open, and a figure quietly slipped inside.
Rose blinked her eyes and looked in the direction of the door where her sister appeared.
Her mouth had just opened to speak when her sister suddenly spoke.
“Annoying bastards.”
“…..”
She suddenly turned quiet, and so did I.
“I wish they’d just rot in hell. Can’t stand them. Fucker…. Oh.”
As if suddenly taking notice of Rose who was looking at her with wide eyes, Kiera’s mom stopped.
She looked around and nodded in understanding.
“Looks like I’ve entered the wrong room.”
“…No, ah…”
Rose looked to be at a total loss for words.
The two stared at each other in silence, unsure of what to say.
That was until…
“Hey.”
Kiera’s mom placed her finger over her lips while looking at her. Then, with a soft smile, she opened the door and slipped out of the room.
“You didn’t see anything.”
Clank—
That was the first time.
…The first time that I saw the second face of Kiera’s mom.
*
I thought things would change ever since that incident, but nothing really changed. The two of them acted the same, completely ignoring what had happened.
Rose looked more than satisfied this way.
Even when the two joined Haven, they never really interacted with one another. Rose was always by herself while Kiera’s mom was always surrounded by people.
She was the center of everyone’s attention, the model student.
‘In a way, she’s what Aoife is trying so hard to be.’
Besides looks, the two sisters were so different.
Even when they passed each other in the hallways, the two never acknowledged one another. It was as if the sisters existed in their own little worlds, completely separate from each other.
At least, until Rose was suddenly approached one day.
“Are you happy with your life?”
“…What?”
It was a question that seemingly came out of nowhere, stunning both Rose and me who was observing from the side.
“Being alone, with no friends, with no expectations. Do you like it?”
For a moment, I almost thought she had approached her with the intent to start a fight.
Rose also looked to be of the same opinion as she bared her teeth.
“Are you picking a fight?”
“….Maybe.”
“What?”
Rose suddenly frowned, her face contorting. It looked as though she was on the verge of throwing a punch at her sister, but she caught herself just before she could act.
“Kh….!”
‘Kh?’
As her sister’s shoulders suddenly started to tremble, Rose found herself blinking her eyes, her gaze shifting towards her sister, who, almost instinctively, turned her head away.
And then…
“Pfttt—!”
Rose watched as her sister suddenly started to laugh.
“The fuck? What are you laughing at?”
“Kuahk! Hahaha….!”
It wasn’t a fake or forced laugh. It was genuine, her crisp laughter echoing loudly within the walls of the room they were in.
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
Catching herself quickly, Kiera’s mom covered her mouth, doing her best to hold back the laughter. But her trembling shoulders gave her away, leaving Rose with a look of complete confusion as if her head were filled with question marks.
‘Who am I? Where am I? What is going on, and what happened to my sister?’
So was how her expression looked like.
“….I didn’t know my little sister was so funny. How is it that I’ve only just recently found this out?”
“Uh?”
Reaching her hand forward, she patted Rose’s head.
“Maybe I neglected you a little too much. You won’t blame this sister of yours, right?”
“…..”
Rose didn’t reply. She looked too stunned to reply. But more than anything, her face looked red.
‘Red…?’
Was she blushing?
‘No way…’
Slap—!
Quickly snapping her sister’s hand away from her head, Rose took a step back.
“We’ve known each other for fifteen years, and are you telling me that you’re only interested in me now? What in the…”
“I guess.”
Kiera’s mom suddenly smiled.
It was a simple smile.
And yet… it felt like a smile weighed down by exhaustion.
But that smile merely lasted a few seconds before it suddenly brightened up. She once again reached out for Rose’s hair, furling it with more strength.
“Uh, hey!”
“…It’s never too late, right?”
“No, the fuck? Why would I want to be with you…? Don’t you have friends of your own?”
“I do.”
“Then?”
“But they are no fun.”
“Uh?”
Tilting her head to get a better look at Rose, her smile blossomed again.
“I feel like you’re more fun, and you’re also my sister. We should get along.”
“Ah, shit.”
Rose once again tried to slap her hand away, but as if anticipating her movement, she suddenly raised her hand and avoided Rose’s slap.
“Hahaha.”
This made her burst into another round of giggles as she gazed at the stern-faced Rose.
“Fun, so fun.”
That day was when it all started.
…From that day forward, Rose’s days of quietness ended. No longer could she go on her breaks by herself.
“Do you think I look pretty?”
She could no longer find comfort in the silence that she used to cherish so much.
“What do you think about spring?”
“I hate it.”
“Why?”
“Because it sucks. It gets noise. Like now.”
“Haha, you’re so funny.”
“But I’m not joking. In fact, shut up. I like it when it’s quiet.”
“You know… for me, what I really like about spring, is the sense of freedom it gives.”
“What nonsense?”
“It’s as if the world stirs from its long, frozen slumber, shedding the weight that the winter put on you. You’re leaving behind the past, and moving on. There is this sense of freedom—like the soul has finally broken free, allowing you to become the new you. Don’t know… I really like spring because of that.”
She suddenly looked at Rose.
“What do you think? Did I change your mind?”
“…Uh, shit.”
Rose suddenly held her shoulders while looking back at her sister. Her face suddenly winced as she looked at her.
“Holy fuck that was cringe. What the fuck… Get away from me.”
“Hahaha.”
I watched the scene from the sidelines.
The more I watched the scene, the more I found myself frowning.
This…
‘The script is going quite differently from what I’ve imagined. Shouldn’t the two be at odds? Why does it look like they’re getting along well even more?’
Something wasn’t adding up.
Was my first theory wrong? The more I looked at Rose, the more I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was a strong possibility I had been mistaken.
Despite the way she kept her distance from her sister, I could tell from where I stood that she was actually having a good time.
From the subtle smiles to the occasional shy blushes.
She… really did look up to her sister.
So then why? Why would she kill her sister?
‘Hey’
“Oh, right… check this out, Rose.”
As though she was speaking to me, my head moved and I turned to look at Kiera’s mother as she suddenly retrieved something from out of nowhere.
‘That…!’
My breath immediately paused at the sight that greeted me.
A mirror, its entire surface adorned in silver with intricate patterns swirling around, appeared before me—one I knew all too well.
Without realizing it, I felt my chest rise and fall, caught in a trance as my gaze fixated on the distant mirror.
‘Hey!’
Finally, I caught sight of the mirror that I had been desperately looking for. Perhaps, I’d be able to find more clues if I followed the memories.
‘Yes, I might be able to find something this way.’
The thought made me excited.
But not only that. I was actually curious about the past between the two of them. How could the two sisters who looked so close suddenly turn on each other?
…Was it because of the Inverted Sky?
‘Yes, that could be it.’
I swallowed quietly and perked up my ears in preparation for the next set of events.
I was ready, and I found myself excited at the thought of what I was going to find out next when…
“Hey!”
“Uh?”
I suddenly found myself standing in front of Kiera.
No, more specifically, her aunt as she stared at me with narrowed eyes. Her gaze was cold, almost chilling.
‘What in the…’
“Are you done?”
“What? Ah…”
It was then that I realized what I was doing and pulled my hand back. The entire time my face didn’t change as I quietly shook my head.
“To be honest, no.”
“Uh?”
“….You’d be able to tell if I did it or not. Do you feel calmer?”
“No? I feel more pissed if anything.”
“As you can see, it didn’t work.”
“The fu—”
“If you want, we can try again. If I try again then…”
“No, nevermind. I’m good.”
Kiera took a step back.
She then looked back towards the stairs.
“Anyways, let me go back to my room first. I’ll help you out with your mirror thing later.”
“….Sure.”
“Hm.”
Kiera proceeded to turn around and climb up the stairs.
I stared at her retreating back quietly, my lips pursed tightly as I lowered my head to stare at my forearm.
‘Is she also too strong for me to see all the memories at once?’
I sighed and looked away.
‘…I guess I’ll have to wait a bit.’
For now, I needed to see exactly what she was planning.
Closing my eyes, I activated [Lament of Lies] and my body started to completely fade with the background.
Shortly after, I made my way up the stairs and followed her from behind.
The entire time, I made sure to keep enough distance so that she wouldn’t notice. I was confident in my skills, but not to the point where I’d assume she couldn’t detect me at all.
I knew I was far from perfect.
