Chapter 31: At the Breakfast Table
The guesthouse dining hall was furnished with a variety of wooden tables—rectangular, round, large, and small—each occupied by guests.
While I couldn’t see Felix, it seemed the other tables were filled with members of the Eustasia Knights.
They apparently lacked the courage to sit near the head of the Vanderwaals family, keeping a respectful distance.
As expected of the Eustasia Knights, who received etiquette training, they weren’t gossiping within earshot.
However, their conversations were… shallow, to say the least. Things like, “Nice weather today,” “Yeah, it rained hard yesterday, but it’s nice today,” “It really is a beautiful day.” It was as if they were just making sounds with their mouths.
Their acting was atrocious.
They should just stay silent.
…No, that would be too quiet.
They were trying to be considerate, in their clumsy way—even if it was misguided.
There was no doubt they were eavesdropping.
Oblivious to—or perhaps aware of—the attention she was attracting due to the strangely unnatural conversations at the surrounding tables, Leticia, sitting across the round table from me, was smiling brightly.
I didn’t know what she found so amusing, but her gaze was fixed on my face—I wished it were piercing.
If it were a harsh glare, it wouldn’t bother me. As the head of the Vanderwaals, I needed a thick skin.
However, her gaze was pure… and I could only interpret it as adoration for me as her older sister.
I knew I had a bad personality, so I couldn’t believe I was worthy of such a look.
I understood it was necessary for the story, but why had fate made my sister so pure and adorable?
“Elder Sister, please teach me how to ride again today.”
And when she finally spoke, it was this.
I wanted her to dislike me so much that she wouldn’t even want to look at me—however, in [Moonlight Liberium], her inner thoughts about me were so sparsely described that I couldn’t understand what was going on in her mind.
Ultimately, I would be sent to the guillotine.
As a scapegoat, embodying the old ways, the old aristocracy.
It was the same method I had used countless times in the name of national interest. I had no right to complain.
In our country, the guillotine was the ultimate form of dishonorable execution and was rarely used. It shouldn’t be used in my lifetime.
However, three years ago, in the Principality of Ruins, the revolutionaries used it against the old royal family… and the citizens used it against the former revolutionaries.
I hadn’t ordered that. As far as I knew, it was a spontaneous act by the citizens.
Well, regardless of the process, I was going to the guillotine. That was the scenario.
However… my sister would plead for my life.
Of course, it would be denied. That was how the story went.
My final event, [The Guillotine]… even if I was a mean-spirited, unsympathetic older sister, if my death meant taking away my sister’s only remaining family… if she was hurt by it, that would be sad.
So, I was trying to minimize the impact of my death on her.
I was aiming to become someone she would be relieved to see gone… someone she would hate.
However, whether she expected something from me, whether she held some illusion about what it meant to be an older sister, remained a mystery. My sister… didn’t seem to hate me.
…What I feared wasn’t being hated by my sister.
Of course, it wasn’t the guillotine either. That was ‘predetermined.’
But.
What if.
What if…
――What if I wasn’t hated?
What if Leticia possessed such extraordinary purity that she continued to care for her only remaining family, despite all the meanness she was subjected to?
My death would leave a scar on her heart.
…If my existence remained in my sister’s heart, even in such a way, I supposed that would be alright. That thought alone showed how twisted I was.
“Elder Sister…? Are you feeling unwell…? Do you have a fever…?”
My sister leaned closer, reaching out to touch my forehead, and I pulled back, avoiding her hand.
“…No. You seem to be looking forward to your riding lesson.”
“Yes, I’m looking forward to practicing with Elder Sister.”
Why did she correct herself just now?
“Lady Leticia, regarding that matter…”
Ciel arrived, a welcome interruption to my faltering words.
Today, she wasn’t wearing the dashing tailcoat from yesterday but her usual long-skirted maid uniform.
Some noble families had their maids wear shorter skirts or more revealing tops, but I couldn’t understand what they thought maids were for.
She deftly carried three square wooden trays laden with breakfast.
With graceful movements, Ciel placed the trays in front of me, Leticia, and herself, in that order, before taking her own seat.
Since this was a casual trip, not a formal occasion, I had instructed her to join us.
Besides, Ciel was practically family.
“Due to last night’s heavy rain, the riding grounds are unusable. So, unfortunately, today’s lesson is canceled.”
“…What?!”
Leticia’s eyes widened, and she looked at me.
“I-is it really that bad? I don’t mind getting a little dirty…”
“It’s not just ‘a little.’ Besides, do you intend to get your clothes, not to mention the horse, covered in mud?”
I had undergone such training.
――But my sister didn’t need it.
She was meant to be loved, not hated.
“Ugh…”
Leticia slumped in disappointment.
“Lady Leticia, it’s not far, and once you’re more experienced, we can make it a day trip. We’ll arrange another practice session.”
“Yes… but, Elder Sister…”
Leticia glanced at me.
That look pierced my heart, and the ‘good older sister’ within me smiled, thinking, “Yes, let’s practice together again.”
――But that was an illusion.
“I’m busy. I can’t accompany you every time.”
I dismissed her flatly, and she slumped again.
However, this time, she recovered quickly.
“—If I become… a better rider…”
Leticia paused.
I waited for her to continue, wondering what she was going to say.
“Will there be another opportunity… to ride with Elder Sister?”
…There was.
There was a [Horse Riding] event.
“…There might be such an opportunity.”
I smiled faintly.
My sister’s face lit up.
“I’m looking forward to it!”
…It probably wouldn’t be the enjoyable event she was imagining.
It was an [Official Event] where I would subject her to petty, mean-spirited pranks, and the three [Capture Targets] would defend her.
A key item for the story would also appear later.
But that was still far off.
It was late autumn now; that event would take place early next summer, after a winter and a spring.
She wasn’t yet skilled enough to ride freely on her own, and, more importantly, she hadn’t met the ‘third’ Capture Target yet.
Every time she acquired a new skill befitting a noble, I climbed another step towards the guillotine.
――I would endure any dishonor.
No matter what kind of death awaited me at the end of this path, it wouldn’t stop me.
If the scenario for my sister’s happiness was already written, I would simply follow it.
“Come on, let’s eat.”
I picked up a roll from the plate and tore off a piece.
It was still warm in the center, and a pleasant aroma wafted up with its warmth.
“Okay!”
Watching my sister mimic me, tearing off a piece of bread and smiling at the scent of wheat, her adorableness almost made me smile as well, but I restrained myself with all my might.
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