She was like poison…
A subtle but lethal poison that gradually consumed a person from within.
That’s how Rose would describe her sister.
The closer she became to her, the more wrong she found in her. How could a person be so caring, and yet so uncaring?
‘…No, it’s more like, how can someone not be like her when put in the same situation as her.’
Their parents…
They weren’t the best of parents.
They were the typical parents who only cared about achievements and image. The better one of them performed, the greater their face.
…Because of how outstanding her sister was, they didn’t particularly pay much attention to her.
Rose was never jealous of their lack of attention.
After all, she saw how they were with her sister.
“You’ve managed to rank first, but that’s not enough. The gap between you and the second place has shrunk. You won’t be served tonight’s dinner.”
“I heard that you’ve gone out to hang out with friends. No wonder your grades have started to slip.”
“I will be taking you out of the Academy’s dormitory. From now on, I’ll personally have you return to the estate every weekend.”
She was like a doll.
A doll that their parents could freely control to make themselves look better. But it wasn’t like they didn’t love her.
They were just…
Greedy.
But what made things even worse wasn’t their greed.
No, it was her smile.
In spite of the harsh treatment she received, she always maintained that smile of hers. Was it a shield, hiding her true emotions, or was she simply the kind of person who always smiled, no matter the circumstances?
Rose didn’t know back then.
After all, even she struggled to see through her sister’s smile. Even so, she didn’t care. She enjoyed spending time and bonding with her sister.
Especially with how often she laughed at her jokes.
Nobody laughed at her jokes.
All was good.
Life was simple, and Rose wished for it to continue until they both turned old.
But life loved to throw curveballs at people.
It was spring.
Darned spring.
“Sis, I’m going to get married soon.”
“Uh, what?”
“…He’s the apparent heir of the Mylne family. I’ve met him already. He’s a good man with great looks.”
“Wait, what? That… since when? How can—”
“I think I’m going to marry him.”
She was still smiling when she broke the news.
But something about that smile of hers felt different.
Her crimson eyes of hers…
They felt even more exhausted than usual.
*
He appeared from out of nowhere.
“What really happened between you and your sister?”
Rose wasn’t able to sense him at all.
In one moment, she found her tongue slipping, and in the next moment, his face appeared from out of nowhere.
His gaze was cold, almost distant.
…In a way, his gaze reminded her of her sister’s.
“That…”
Her lips quivered, still unable to fully comprehend what was happening.
She was already familiar with him.
He had left a lasting impression on her the last time they had seen each other, but his recent exploits had also reached her ears.
He was no longer the simple figure she knew back then.
Right now…
“Are you really sure you don’t know where the mirror is?”
He stood above her.
And the thought made her face bleach.
“So?”
But she only remained flustered for a few short seconds before recovering herself. Shaking her thoughts away, she stepped back, her crimson eyes locking directly with his hazel ones.
Licking her dry lips, she finally managed to open her mouth as she spoke,
“For how long have you known that I’ve been here? My disguise should be perfect. How could you see through it? Was it from the way that I acted? Was that what gave it away?”
“….”
Julien didn’t answer immediately.
He simply stared at her.
But then, Rose suddenly seemed to have a sudden thought and hastily looked towards her forearm.
Could it be…?
“The emblem has nothing to do with it.”
Julien’s words were quick to dispel her thoughts as he kept his gaze firmly locked on her.
“…Let’s just say that I have a certain skill that enables me to do so.”
“There’s such a skill?”
“Yes.”
Julien nodded, and Rose pursed her lips.
Taking a deep breath, she managed to calm herself down further as she shot a glance in Kiera’s direction. She was about to open her mouth to speak when Julien cut through her.
“About the mirror, do you know where it is?”
“…Ah?”
Rose was suddenly reminded of Julien’s previous words and her face changed.
“What makes you think I know where the mirror is? Why would I be here if I knew where the mirror was?”
“But didn’t you say before—”
“That’s a completely different matter.”
Rose cut Julien’s words off, her tone unknowingly raising as Julien’s brow raised.
“I don’t have it. I don’t know where it is. I wouldn’t be so obsessed with it if I knew where it was!?”
That look on his face—the one that seemed to say, ‘you’re slipping’—made Rose’s face twist. She really didn’t know where the mirror was. It had been years since she had started searching for it, all to no avail.
It used to be something her sister always carried with her.
…And yet, all of a sudden, it disappeared.
Ki didn’t seem to know where it had gone, and neither did she. She had scoured every corner of the estate, but it was nowhere to be found
It was almost as if one day it had suddenly disappeared from existence.
Her search for the mirror had become her obsession. To the point where at times, she even found herself growing mad.
And yet… here he was, talking to her as though she actually had an idea of where the mirror was?
“That bitch…!”
Rose suddenly started to ruffle her hair.
“She hid it somewhere for some reason. Even when she’s gone.. she just finds a way to annoy me. I hate her. I hate her so much!”
Her words came out hoarsely, her voice rising in volume with each word that escaped her lips.
She wanted to desperately control her tone, but she found herself unable to.
It was frustrating.
She felt so frustrated.
“She ruined my life you know? None of this would’ve happened without her. She… why did she have to ruin my life? …Hers. And everyone involved?”
Rose clenched her teeth, staring down at Kiera. Slowly, her tense expression weakened as the realization of what she had done began to sink in, leaving her feeling weak.
“I hate her.”
Her voice was now weak, frail almost.
“I hate her so much, you know? I—”
“Do you really hate her?”
Julien’s soft words cut through her speech. As her words faltered, she looked up to find him staring back at her.
“Wha…?”
He pressed his hand against his cheek.
“If you hated her so much… why are you crying?”
“Eh? I’m not. Why would you think that…”
Rose quickly pressed her hand to her cheek, only to feel a small, damp streak.
“Uh?”
That…
Was she really?
As if that wasn’t enough, sensing something, Rose lowered her head to see a pair of familiar crimson eyes stare back at her. They were wide open, looking at her with what one could describe as shock and confusion.
Rose covered her face with her hand.
“Ah… shit.”
***
At the same time, in one of the rooms within the estate.
Following the events in the morning, Aoife and Evelyn found themselves going back to one of their rooms together. Neither one was sure whose room it was.
…Their thoughts were more preoccupied with other things to care about.
“What do you think?”
“Why are you asking me?”
Evelyn frowned, her gaze drifting to Aoife, who sat on the bed with her arms crossed, brushing her red hair behind her ear.
Raising her brow, she looked back at Evelyn.
“Aren’t you the expert in these things?”
“I am?”
“Weren’t you the one who helped Julien?”
“Yeah, but…”
“Then?”
“How would I know?”
Evelyn threw her hands in the air. She wasn’t a cleric. Although she was somewhat adept in a few of their methods, she was far from what one would call an expert.
She was at most a third-rate, third-rate cleric if that even made sense.
Still, it wasn’t as though she was completely clueless.
“Kiera definitely did act strangely, but I don’t think she’s possessed.”
“Do you think it could be because of her stress? She doesn’t really like to talk about her family, so I’m not sure what made her act so strangely, but the general vibe today was quite different from the usual one. It felt more…”
“Forced?”
“Yeah… forced.”
Aoife snapped her finger then.
“Yes, exactly that. It was like a completely different person with a similar personality was trying to act like her. Er… something like that I guess.”
“…I also feel the same way.”
Evelyn didn’t disagree with Aoife. She also felt the same way, but this felt more like a hunch than anything.
Having grown closer to Kiera over the past year, she could easily spot the discrepancy in her behavior. However, there were many factors that could have caused her to act that way.
In her opinion, it would be best if the two of them acted carefully and observed Kiera over the course of the next day in order to see if there was something truly wrong with her. Once they were sure then they’d—
“Yes, please send over someone to the Mylne household.”
“….!?”
Taken aback, Evelyn’s head flicked in Aoife’s direction.
There, she found Aoife sitting on the bed with her communication device in hand. As she spoke into it, their eyes met.
“I don’t really know how strong, but the stronger the better. How long do you think they can come? One hour? Yes, that’s good enough for me. There should be enough time. Thank you.”
Turning off the communication device, Aoife tossed it to the side and patted her hands in satisfaction.
“There, that should do it.”
“….”
A strange silence followed after her words. One that lasted a few seconds before Evelyn suddenly opened her mouth.
“Did you just…?”
“Um? Oh, this?”
As if noticing Evelyn’s confusion, Aoife pointed at her communication device.
“I just called back home and asked them to send several guards to the estate.”
“No, I get it, but…”
“Evelyn.”
Looking at Evelyn, Aoife suddenly sighed as she stood up and patted her on the shoulder.
“If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the past few years, it’s that if something looks suspicious, it’s probably suspicious.”
“Yes, but..”
Aoife patted Evelyn even harder.
“No, but. I’m not going through more bullshit like the past. I’ve learned from the past. So what if this turns out that I’m overthinking? Better safe than sorry, and I’m a princess. Abuse of power doesn’t exist with me… kakaka.”
Aoife suddenly cackled, alarming Evelyn.
That laugh…
Was Kiera the only one she had to worry about?
