28: “Goodnight”
The first day of our trip to the countryside ranch for riding lessons ended without incident.
Leticia had progressed enough to ride a horse on her own, and the [Event] with Knight Commander Felix had been triggered… though I felt like it went in a slightly different direction.
After dinner, we each took a bath… and night fell.
Several lamps cast a soft glow around the room.
Leticia and I faced each other in a tense silence.
“There’s only one bed… you know what that means, right, Elder Sister?”
“I don’t.”
This was actually the first time I had seen my sister in her nightclothes.
It was a common style in Eustasia, and I had one of the same design, but thanks mainly to our differing chest sizes, we didn’t exactly look like we were wearing matching outfits.
The slight flush on her skin from the bath, combined with the adorableness of her smile directed at me… any gentleman would turn into a beast at the sight.
I held strong.
“Elder Sister, let’s sleep together!”
“…………”
I glanced at the canopy bed.
It was about the same size as the one in my room.
――Since it was a double room, there was no problem with Leticia and me sharing the bed.
There were even two pillows, thoughtfully provided.
A fleeting memory surfaced of Ciel sleeping beside me when I was very young…
Ciel, seven years my senior, was still a young girl herself then, with no experience in childcare.
Even so, she had diligently fulfilled her role as governess and tutor, and I was eternally grateful to her.
Now that she had grown and I had become the head of the family, she always prioritized my needs and was a model maid.
――And, like a proper maid, she had said, “Please call if you need anything,” and retired to the adjacent servants’ quarters.
I couldn’t help but notice the bellpull at the edge of my vision.
…I was weak.
What was I going to say?
――“My sister is so cute that I want to hug her and sleep with her, even if it means messing with fate. Please make it happen somehow”?
…I would be looked at with pity. In every sense of the word.
That was worse than being beheaded.
How could I even begin to explain [Moonlight Liberium]?
…Actually, it would be simple. I just had to make a prediction or two about the future.
I believed—I had to believe—that Ciel would believe me then.
She would try to change fate.
…It would be a lie to say I hadn’t considered it myself.
Especially now that I sensed my sister seemed to harbor unrealistic expectations about what it meant to be ‘sisters.’
I wondered if we could change fate and end the story of [Moonlight Liberium] as close sisters.
But I had only ever walked the path laid out for me.
The obstacles in my way had always been surmountable.
I had been raised as the head of the “Coldhearted Vanderwaals” and lived as a tool to wield its power—that was the only life I knew.
What could I do?
The story was still progressing according to the script.
I was good at that.
Doing what was expected, what was desired, what was ‘right.’
That was how I was raised, and how I had lived.
And that was how I would continue to live.
――The only difference was that my family name had been replaced by fate as the compass guiding my life.
My sister didn’t need me.
I looked at the sofa in the room.
It was upholstered in fabric, with plush cushions, and it was large… I supposed it was acceptable for my sister to sleep on.
Having my sister sleep on the sofa while there was plenty of room in the bed… wouldn’t that be befitting a mean half-sister?
I was afraid that this ‘meanness,’ which wasn’t in the [Official Event], might interfere with fate, but it was obvious which was more ‘villainous sister-like’: sleeping with her as she wished, or making her sleep on the sofa.
Resigned, I declared firmly.
“…You will sleep on the sofa.”
“But…”
My sister looked stunned.
“—That is an order from the head of the family.”
I inwardly scoffed at myself.
The Vanderwaals’ authority had sunk low.
I had to resort to such measures to deny my sister’s small request.
Leticia, though looking downcast, obeyed my command.
“…Yes.”
I pulled a blanket from the bed and tossed it to her.
“Here.”
“Huh?”
As she reflexively caught it, I threw her a pillow as well.
“Oof.”
Perhaps I had thrown it a bit too hard, thinking it was light, as it hit her squarely in the face.
Leticia caught the falling pillow with her outstretched arms.
Her face was slightly flushed, perhaps from the impact.
“…Elder Sister, what’s this for?”
“I won’t have you catching a cold.”
“Oh, okay…”
My sister nodded.
“Add more wood to the fireplace.”
“Yes…”
My sister clutched the pillow tightly.
…Ah, my sister was so earnest.
A good girl, resilient even against the meanness of being needlessly trampled on, like a delicate flower blooming by the roadside.
Such a girl deserved happiness.
After turning off all the lamps and getting into bed, my sister, having added wood to the fireplace as instructed, spoke.
“Elder Sister.”
…I gritted my teeth.
Even a younger sister in a vulnerable position had the right to complain or express resentment.
And I had the obligation to accept it.
“Goodnight.”
And yet.
All that came out of my sister’s mouth, even at this point, was such a trivial greeting.
The large bed felt unusually cold.
The softness of the pillow, the smoothness of the sheets, the warmth of the blanket, all befitting a noble’s accommodations, were nothing compared to Leticia’s “goodnight.”
And the realization of how petty and despicable I was, expecting complaints or resentment from such a sister, brought tears to my eyes.
I pressed my face into the pillow and gritted my teeth.
The tears didn’t flow any further, but the turbulent feelings swirling within me didn’t disappear. They couldn’t.
I couldn’t erase them. I shouldn’t.
As I wrestled with these raw emotions… I felt like I had to say something to my sister.
Yes. At the very least… I should say goodnight.
No matter how ‘strained our relationship.’
Leticia and I were sisters, connected by blood.
I sat up.
“Leticia?”
There was no answer.
I waited, feeling the courage I had mustered dwindle.
…I heard the sound of soft breathing.
My sister, curled up on the sofa near the fireplace, wrapped in a blanket, was sleeping peacefully, a happy expression on her face.
…She was a sound sleeper.
No longer remembering what I had intended to say, I lay back down, as if collapsing.
As I closed my eyes, sounds reached my ears.
The crackling of the burning wood, mixed with a soft, rustling sound.
It seemed to have started raining.
I should go to sleep.
Depending on the condition of the riding grounds, tomorrow’s lesson might be canceled.
Come to think of it, Ciel had once trained me to ride on muddy roads.
Although it wasn’t at this ranch, I remember both the horse and I getting covered in mud. Afterward, we washed the horse and then bathed together, Ciel helping me clean up.
It was a distant memory.
One of the jewels within my heart that wouldn’t fade even if I were to become dew on the guillotine.
And I replayed the memories of today, still vivid in my mind.
Leticia in her riding outfit. Riding together. My sister in my arms. Leading the horse by the reins. The way she smiled at me when our eyes met on horseback. Her angry expression in front of Felix. Learning a little about my sister’s past.
Not everything was enjoyable, but… it was fun.
I didn’t know how my sister felt, though.
…What kind of memories would today hold for Leticia?
Listening to the strengthening rain, I fell asleep in the bed, alone.
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