2.【Meeting of the Sisters】
I stared intently at the girl before me.
In a sense, it was a familiar face.
I know the story of [Moonlight Liberium].
I followed the three stories, each featuring the [Protagonist] girl falling in love with one of the three [Capture Targets], like reading a novel where I was the protagonist, like watching a play performed just for me.
――I know how this girl will live out the story from now on.
What she will think, what she will say, how she will face difficulties—everything.
But this was the first time I had seen her with my own eyes.
The first thing that caught my eye was her short, tangled, and dull blonde hair, different from my long, wavy silver hair.
Like me, she had the fair skin common in the snowy Kingdom of Eustasia, but the moisture and firmness… were incomparable.
Her clothes, too… I felt a pang of guilt for even thinking this, but they were worn out… cheap.
This is the “back alley.”
How harsh it must be for a girl with no parental protection, no backing whatsoever, to live in these slums without losing her pride.
It would be misplaced to pity her.
There are countless people like her… Many girls who had no choice but to resort to whatever means necessary to survive.
I wear well-tailored, aristocratic clothes, my hair and skin are well-maintained, and I even have a maid with me.
She is alone, in soiled, tattered clothes, with unkempt hair and skin.
Standing face to face… the difference between aristocrat and commoner was stark.
The only real difference in our physique, despite me being taller, was that… wait, am I the one who’s malnourished? There was that much of a difference.
In the chest area, for example.
I couldn’t help but stare.
…It’s a wonder she’s safe in such a dangerous area.
…She is safe, right?
Shaking off my anxieties and distractions, I looked her straight in the eyes.
――Blue eyes, just like mine.
The eyes that stared back at me were the same color as the ones I always saw in the mirror.
I felt the blood flowing through my body whisper.
It told me that the person I must protect was right in front of me.
Embrace her, cherish her in my arms, and if anyone dares to harm her, destroy them.
I felt like a mother bear with her cub.
Is this the power of fate?
Or is it the connection between those who share, even if only half, the same parents?
She is my younger sister.
With a quiet certainty, I decided to proceed with the [Official Lines].
The idea of hugging her at first sight, acknowledging her as my sister, and proceeding casually did cross my mind for a moment.
But that would be a bit… outside the performer’s discretion.
“[Miss Leticia? Are you claiming to be related to the Vanderwaals family?]”
“[…Yes. When I turned sixteen, my mother gave me a small box, telling me to look inside. Inside were a letter and… this pocket watch.]”
We exchange the official lines, (probably) word for word.
Then, the silver chain pocket watch she offered is taken by the maid I brought as an attendant—the head maid, Ciel, with her long black hair tied in a bun at the back and tucked into a cap. Ciel examines it and then hands it to me.
“Hmm…”
It seems I can speak lines other than the official ones.
What I just said wasn’t much of a line, but at least I can vocalize normally.
I can deviate from the script, just a little.
Then, if I accumulate these small differences—perhaps I can change fate.
Perhaps I will be able to.
I looked at the small pocket watch resting in my palm.
It probably hadn’t been cared for. The edges were slightly rusted.
I don’t know how many years it’s been, but it should have been kept in a box, and even before that, regular maintenance would have been out of the question, so it’s only natural.
The crest engraved on the lid of the pocket watch was a wall lizard gecko.
The wall lizard gecko, clinging to walls and moving silently, is the symbol of Vanderwaals.
As one of only three ducal houses, it is a noble family with power second only to the royal family, and a family that symbolizes the dark side of this country.
Its nickname is “the Coldhearted Vanderwaals.”
That is the kind of family I head.
The infamous, feared yet respected crest is embroidered in gold thread on the badge on my chest, and a small silver gecko hangs from a chain on Ciel’s neck ribbon.
Naturally, the crests of noble families are strictly controlled, and only those related to them can use them.
And—this watch looked exactly the same as the crested pocket watch I now keep on my chest.
My father’s pocket watch, now a memento, was much larger.
My crested pocket watch was a gift from my father.
Click, I open the lid.
The hands were stopped, but the glass covering the dial was clean.
The inside is the same… or so it seems.
I thought this watch was one of a kind.
…Wasn’t it a gift meant only for me?
“[And, this photograph was with it…]”
A worn photograph.
There’s talk that color photographs will be possible someday, but for now, they’re still black and white monochrome.
The photograph given to her showed a man and a woman standing side by side.
The woman was sitting in a chair, and the man had his hand gently on her shoulder.
The man was wearing well-tailored clothes. The woman was in a dress, but she seemed somehow unaccustomed to wearing it… but it’s a small photograph.
Photographs are expensive. This one looks like it’s from more than ten years ago, and no one but a nobleman would think to take a photograph.
…The man looked like my father.
I turned the photograph over and looked at the back, but it was blank.
――I had hoped that the date, place, and the people in the picture would be written there.
“[The man looks like my father. Who is this woman?]”
I asked what I already knew.
I ‘know’ the answer, and even if I didn’t, it’s easy enough to guess, but still.
“[…My… mother.]”
“…[I see.]”
But knowing something intellectually and experiencing the [Event] are different things.
My deceased father’s favorability rating keeps plummeting.
What have you been doing, Father…?
Seeing my father, much younger than when he died, made me want to sigh inwardly.
Oh yes, yes, you’ve placed a striking item to make a visual appeal, haven’t you?
I feel incredibly exasperated by the unseen playwright’s methods.
I wish they had considered the feelings of the daughter whose father cheated on her mother.
…Come to think of it, my sister’s father had another family, and her mother might have been just a plaything.
I felt a strange kinship.
An unpleasant kinship, but kinship nonetheless.
“[May I see the letter?]”
“Ah, yes. [—Please.]”
I felt a momentary sense of dissonance.
I realized immediately that her line was slightly different.
Like the pocket watch, Ciel took it first and glanced over it.
She is the head maid, the assistant to the head of the family, and the one who manages the Vanderwaals’ dark side—the “shadows.”
She is a guard capable of handling rough situations, but she is also an excellent butler.
Since she handed it over immediately, I read the contents as well.
Hmm.
In the ‘original story,’ I didn’t show any particular reaction.
I couldn’t react.
It simply stated that Leticia’s father was a nobleman… the head of the Vanderwaals family.
My sister’s mother.
Please… tell me what happened….
The details are not revealed in the game.
There are plays that deal with such topics, but here, the element of ‘noble illegitimate child’ is the only important thing… I suppose.
I understand that having the protagonist’s past narrated at length on stage would only worsen the pacing unless it’s significantly related to the main plot.
I understand, but…
Since it was a part I was quite curious about, I was disappointed.
“Um… is something wrong?”
“No. …Ciel. What do you think?”
If I acknowledge her, this scene will end.
However, the provided evidence was too flimsy.
“…………”
She fell silent, which was unusual for her.
She closed her ash-gray eyes and touched the small, silver, flower-shaped hairpin in her left bangs, as if in thought.
But it was only for a brief moment. She quickly opened her eyes and began to speak in her pleasant, slightly low voice.
“…The pocket watch, the photograph, the letter. Individually, they are the kind of evidence that could be gathered if all one needed to claim to be a nobleman’s illegitimate child was to gather such things.”
I felt uneasy.
If she denied it, I would have to force the scenario to proceed as planned.
“…However, I believe it to be true.”
But Ciel continued.
“…Why is that?”
She thinks logically.
I was taught by Ciel herself to always look at reality, gather information, predict the future, and act to choose a better future, rather than relying on wishful thinking.
Such flimsy evidence is too weak to believe.
Unless there’s a reason.
Unless it’s the push of fate itself.
“The two of you bear a strong resemblance. …If you two are not sisters, then what are you?”
My chest felt filled with warmth.
I did think we looked somewhat alike.
But I didn’t think it was to the extent that someone would say that.
――I have a younger sister.
A half-sister. It seems my father had an affair. If I acknowledge her as a relative, it will complicate things politically, like the right of succession to the title.
I’ve never even met her before.
But she’s my sister.
I’ve known of her existence for three years.
I knew, even though I shouldn’t have.
This world is a stage for a story.
[Moonlight Liberium] has indeed begun, just as I knew it would.
Even if some exchanges that would be omitted on stage are allowed, as long as I don’t try to change things, it will surely unfold as fate dictates.
I will try to bring this story to the ending I know.
I will strive for that.
For my one and only sister.
I’m sure she’ll come to hate me.
But that’s okay.
I intended to do this, but I also had doubts.
But meeting my real sister has strengthened my resolve.
I aim for the guillotine.
No matter what awaits me.
I extended my hand to the protagonist of the story.
And I uttered the lines that would conclude this chapter.
“[—I acknowledge you as a member of the Vanderwaals family, Leticia. …No, Leticia von Vanderwaals.]”
My sister hesitantly took my hand.
Perhaps she had been nervous, as she relaxed her shoulders and softened her expression.
Then, she smiled at me.
“…Yes! Big sister!”
…I like the lines I don’t know, too.
Image: Leticia von Vanderwaals
Character Profile
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Main Character: Leticia von Vanderwaals
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CV: (Censored – Voice Actor Name) *Name Changeable
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Scenario Set 1 Scenario Set 2 Scenario Set 3
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The eldest daughter of the prestigious Vanderwaals family, her goal is a love story. In [Moonlight Liberium], she is the main character. While facing various difficulties that befall the kingdom, she falls deeply in love with someone. A cheerful, energetic type of protagonist. She possesses hidden stats of kindness and consideration, and her “commoner background” makes her feel closer to the people than other nobles. She seems to hold a deep affection for Adelheid.
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