3.【Necessary ‘Meanness’】
I was preparing to welcome my sister.
Granting her noble status would come later.
First, I would bring Leticia into my home.
I secretly assigned guards, gave her enough money to avoid getting caught up in crime, and gave her a few days to prepare. My sister would likely have people she wanted to say goodbye to.
In the game, the protagonist younger sister’s room is an attic without even a fireplace.
――On the day of the first snowfall, driven into the attic used as a storage room, the protagonist warms her hands with her breath and says:
[“It’s cold… isn’t it…? But it’s better than nothing, having a roof that doesn’t leak and glass windows that keep out the wind and snow…”]
I don’t know her background.
Even in the game, it’s only hinted at and ‘kept vague.’
A half-sister who grew up in the “back alley,” sharing the same father—that’s all I know.
It was a bit surprising that our father had the ability, whether through affection or lust, to have a child with someone other than his designated partner.
You should have paid more child support…! I sent a resentful thought towards my deceased father, or perhaps the unseen playwright.
I voiced my inner thoughts to shake off my hesitation.
“The meanness itself… is necessary.”
For the ‘Villainous Sister’ to be sent to the guillotine, meanness is necessary.
Actions worthy of being called evil.
Malicious, ‘meanness.’
While each individual act falls within the realm of meanness, they accumulate enough to warrant the guillotine—enough that anyone would judge me as evil.
The denunciation of me, which takes place towards the end, begins like this:
[Giving her own flesh and blood sister a freezing room unbefitting her status]—
In truth, I wouldn’t mind giving up my own room, and as befitting a noble family, we have guest rooms, and it would be easy to renovate a spare room or two.
It should be easy.
I sighed.
“Honestly… what was the ‘me in the game’ thinking? It would have been fine to simply dote on my sister.”
Even now, I have a desire to do so—not that I don’t.
However, working in such a shady business, one understands how insignificant human power can be—and one understands that history has a flow.
I don’t know if it’s appropriate to call it fate… but there are moments when something beyond human comprehension compels people to act.
My fate has already been decided by the unseen playwright.
So has my sister’s.
And fortunately, she has a happy fate awaiting her.
If the head of the “Coldhearted Vanderwaals” is to be a sacrifice for that, so be it.
However… I cannot allow my cute little sister to freeze.
I can’t say for sure that it’ll be alright just because this is based on a game world.
Cold can kill.
Winters in this country are long and harsh.
Even the live-in maids in our house are given rooms with fireplaces, albeit shared rooms.
That much is easy for the Vanderwaals, one of the most prominent noble families.
And yet, she’s alone in an attic without a fireplace.
It’s a great story for garnering sympathy.
But who is she selling that sympathy to now?
I will obey what is called fate.
I will follow the general outline presented to me.
I will not let anyone change the ending.
However, I will take the liberty of handling the behind-the-scenes—the unwritten spaces between the lines.
I will not allow my one and only blood sister to freeze, not even for fate.
I pulled the cord and rang the bell, summoning the head maid.
After a short while, I heard a knock, knock, knock.
“Ciel. Come in.”
“Yes, Lady Adelheid.”
I spoke without getting up from my chair, still facing the wall at my desk.
I heard her enter the room and close the door behind her. Without wasting any more time, I told her my business without turning around.
“Have that attic in the corner cleaned.”
“Yes. May I ask the reason?”
As my assistant head of the family, and formerly my governess and tutor, she is my most trusted subordinate.
“I’m assigning it to my half-sister.”
“…With all due respect, that room is currently being used as storage. It has no fireplace. It’s a bottom-of-the-barrel environment, perhaps even worse than the stables.”
Even she, with her usual restraint, voiced her objection.
“I’m aware of that, and I’m telling you to do it. Begin preparations immediately.”
“…Yes.”
…It’s an absurd order.
A pointless, shallow, mean-spirited prank… ‘meanness.’
Still, she nodded.
Ciel obeys my orders.
I am the head of the Vanderwaals family, and she is my assistant.
“Also, double the servant budget.”
“…Yes?”
I sensed Ciel’s rare bewilderment at the lack of connection and the abrupt change of topic, but I continued.
“Use it for firewood. I hear the fireplace in the servants’ break room isn’t always lit, but from now on, it should be kept burning. Use any leftover funds for snacks or whatever they like.”
The servants’ break room is—directly below the attic assigned to my sister.
“Also, change the bedding in the guest room. Leave the disposal of the old bedding to the servants. They can take it home if they want. It’s going to be thrown away anyway.”
“…Yes, ma’am.”
She had a puzzled air, as if to say, “What is this master talking about?”
I didn’t have the courage to turn around.
“…May I… ask for a detailed explanation?”
“I cannot answer. Unnecessary remarks are strictly forbidden. Consider this an order from the head of the Vanderwaals family, Adelheid von Vanderwaals.”
“Understood, Lady Adelheid.”
“Good. Then, I leave the details to you. Submit the expenses as usual. —Begin preparations.”
After Ciel left the room, I stood up and locked the door.
Then, returning to my original position, I slumped over my desk.
“[This scenario]… feels forced…”
What a low-level prank.
And yet, it will cause real harm.
In a novel, it might be a single page, in a play, a single scene… but for my sister, it’s a room she’ll live in for at least a year.
The roof will likely get scorching hot in the summer due to the sun, but this is the Kingdom of Eustasia, with its cold climate. She’ll just have to endure it.
But the cold is unacceptable. Absolutely unacceptable.
I can only assume the person who wrote this scenario has never experienced a snowy country.
“…Ciel was definitely suspicious…”
I’m a little concerned about how I appear to Ciel right now.
I, the current head of the “Coldhearted Vanderwaals” and the protector of this country, the Wall Lizard, was molded by her, my tutor.
She trained my body, honed my skills, and sharpened my intellect.
Seeing me engage in such an intellectually bankrupt prank, is she crying inwardly?
…Is she… disappointed?
“Oh dear…”
I wriggled, crossed my arms, and used them as a pillow.
This is a sight unbefitting the head of the Vanderwaals family.
I’m not familiar with the nuances of the ‘Villainous Sister’ role, but I know that a villain shouldn’t let their guard down, appear slovenly, or show weakness in public.
“…I wonder if Leticia will be disappointed.”
I can’t give her the luxuries she might expect from a noble family.
What if… she was expecting that?
I can’t act like a kind older sister to her.
What if… she was expecting that?
Even so.
Even if she never thanks me.
She is destined to be loved by men in positions envied by women all over the world, and to find happiness.
Everyone in this country will know her name as the “Saintess who Saved the Nation.”
The head of the “Coldhearted Vanderwaals” is a stepping stone for that.
That’s how the [Scenario] is written.
So, even if I can’t make her happy.
My meanness surely has meaning.
It should.
Vanderwaals Family, Head Maid
Ciel
CV: Censored
Sample Voice 1 Sample Voice 2
The head maid of the Vanderwaals family and assistant to the head.
A support character in [Moonlight Liberium].
However, she is basically a beginner’s guide and does not get involved in the scenario.
She has served the Vanderwaals family since before Adelheid was born, and acted as her governess and tutor. She is 29 years old, 7 years older than Adelheid (at the time of her appearance).
She has a wide range of knowledge and skills, which she also instilled in Adelheid.
She is Adelheid’s most trusted subordinate, and also her ideal woman.
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