55: The Girl I Want to Make Happy
“Leticia, how are you feeling?”
“Oh, Dr. Louis! I’m fine!”
The gentle voice addressing my sister belonged to Louis, the last of the three [Capture Targets].
The Chief Physician of the Eustasia Royal Medical Corps, he was a fine young man, highly trusted by His Majesty and well-regarded by his patients.
He wore the white coat with black trim of the Royal Medical Corps, along with a matching round cap. On his chest was a brass badge bearing the corps’ emblem of holly. The round cap was adorned with the same emblem and a raptor feather, signifying his position as Chief Physician.
Short black hair, kind black eyes behind his glasses.
Of unknown origin, he was from the nomadic people, scattered across the continent, and it must have been incredibly difficult for him, someone with no roots here, to gain trust within the Royal Medical Corps.
He glanced at me after greeting my sister… and narrowed his eyes.
“Lady Adelheid, it’s been a while. …Have you… reconsidered your treatment of Leticia?”
What a way to start a conversation.
Everyone was far too fond of my sister.
The Chief Physician, known as a champion of the weak, was naturally an adversary of an absolute power like myself.
“—Reconsider?”
I smirked.
The [Capture Targets] were all, arguably, my equals. While Konrad was currently the least powerful, he would surpass me once he became king.
However, I was the current head of the “Coldhearted Vanderwaals,” the ‘villainous sister’ of [Moonlight Liberium].
Being disliked wasn’t a problem, and I didn’t need to hold back.
“What is there to reconsider?”
“That would be—”
I closed the distance between us, shoulder to shoulder, and placed my hand on his shoulder, gripping it like a raptor seizing its prey. The fabric of his coat crumpled under my hand.
“Isn’t it inappropriate to interfere in another family’s affairs? …Don’t you agree?”
He averted his gaze, looking uncomfortable under my intense stare.
While he had experience dealing with difficult people, he was still a small fry compared to me.
Averting your gaze was a sign of defeat.
I sensed Prince Konrad and Knight Commander Felix behind me, hesitating about whether to intervene, but they were too slow. I wasn’t afraid of those spineless cowards.
“It’s alright. Elder Sister has been very kind to me.”
A carefree voice broke the tension.
Of course, it belonged to my beloved sister.
I didn’t know if she was completely oblivious…
Either way, she was incredibly thick-skinned.
My grip on Chief Physician Louis’s shoulder loosened as I defused the situation, and he turned to my sister.
“…Leticia, if you say so… But are you sure you have no complaints?”
“None at all.”
Leticia answered immediately.
That was also… questionable.
I was quite frequently mean to her.
“There are difficult times, but it’s the same for everyone, in every family, isn’t it?”
The four of us—the Capture Targets and I, the villainous sister—nodded vaguely in agreement.
First Prince, Knight Commander, Chief Physician, and the head of a ducal family—positions many would envy.
However, with position came responsibility.
If you became intoxicated with power, even your life wasn’t guaranteed.
While the era of war was long past, the logic of power still prevailed.
That was the world we lived in.
“…Every day has been… truly enjoyable.”
We all straightened our backs.
My sister hadn’t changed her tone. There was nothing unusual about what she said.
And yet, all four of us…
“Incredibly so.”
I wanted to give her happiness.
I wanted her, who seemed to have such a difficult past, to believe in her current happiness.
And I wanted to do it myself, with my own hands.
I wanted to make this girl happy.
All four of us must have felt the same.
…I didn’t know who my sister would choose.
No matter who she chose, the others would also work for her sake—for Eustasia’s sake.
A slightly better future.
A happy future where my sister smiled.
I had already ‘seen’ it.
The ending of [Moonlight Liberium].
I had already seen all three happy endings.
In every route, I was a minor character, my death mentioned briefly in the reused guillotine event.
I was the only one of the four with no route where I could be chosen by my sister.
But even I could be a foundation for my sister’s happiness.
Louis looked at me intently.
As if to say he wouldn’t avert his gaze this time.
“…Lady Adelheid, while every family has its circumstances—even so…”
He paused.
Konrad and Felix also looked at me silently, but their gazes were stern.
Good. Their gazes were good.
Having a common enemy united people.
While I wasn’t bothered by their animosity, since I didn’t care if they disliked me, it was… reassuring to think that they would support my sister and the Kingdom of Eustasia after I was gone.
My sister, having gained three allies, however, took my side.
“Elder Sister is strict, but she’s even kinder.”
“…Kind?”
“Who are you talking about?”
“…………”
Prince Konrad and Knight Commander Felix furrowed their brows.
Chief Physician Louis also had a complicated expression.
There were several words that didn’t suit me, and ‘kind’ was probably at the top of the list.
“Just the other day, we took a walk together in the garden. She let me sleep on her shoulder on the bench, and even gave me a blanket!”
Leticia looked happy.
The three men all looked at me.
What uncomfortable stares.
“…Ciel gave you the blanket.”
Damn, was it a trap?
Should I have woken her up?
My sister was just too cute.
Leticia, resting her head on my shoulder, was just too adorable.
I couldn’t help myself.
My sister smiled.
“Let’s just say that’s what happened, okay?”
What did she mean, “let’s just say that’s what happened”?
That was exactly what happened.
I was about to retort, but my sister simply continued to smile at me, saying nothing more.
…What an…
What an uncomfortable stare.
Trust… perhaps even affection… from someone I didn’t want to dislike, but had to dislike.
I was used to animosity, to malice.
I knew how to deal with hostility, how to crush enemies.
I knew how to forge alliances, how to make deals, how to grant favors.
So, I had allies, not just enemies.
I had people I could trust, people who wouldn’t betray me.
That was the position I had built for myself.
But Leticia didn’t want anything from me as the ‘head of the Vanderwaals family.’
Unable to meet her blue eyes, the same color as mine, I averted my gaze.
Averting your gaze was a sign of defeat.
If you looked away from your enemy.
But she wasn’t my enemy.
…And my sister, being the protagonist of [Moonlight Liberium], had plot armor.
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