Episode 22
The Countess and Viarte were already seated. As I entered, their gazes immediately fixed on me.
“Uh…… I’m sorry for being late.”
I rolled my eyes wide to look foolish and bowed my head deeply in apology.
The more they saw me as stupid and ridiculous, the better. Because the more they did, the more opportunities I would be given.
And there was no way they would get angry at me like that. They needed to make me trust and follow them completely—why would they get angry?
As expected, the Countess wore an affectionate smile brimming with pretense and gestured with her eyes to a seat at the table. It was the seat across from them.
“It’s fine. Sit over there.”
“Ah, yes.”
I walked cautiously to the seat and sat down, and a maid came carrying a plate of soup and placed it before me.
The wide, grand table was already filled with plates containing various dishes.
Only moments ago, perhaps because of my nerves, I hadn’t felt hungry at all, but smelling the savory aroma rising from the steaming soup, sudden hunger surged through me.
Perhaps because the sound of me swallowing my saliva without thinking had been heard, Viarte smiled slightly and opened her mouth.
It was a smile that, to anyone watching, would look like that of an older sister fond of her younger sister.
“It seems you’re hungry since you went to bed without dinner last night. Mother, please begin the meal. Only then can I and Herna eat.”
“Very well. Let’s finish the rest of our conversation after the meal.”
The meal began as the Countess picked up her fork.
Before the regression, this had been the first meal I shared with them after my father’s passing.
Back then, I had been so busy watching their moods that I barely knew what I was eating and had only managed a few rough spoonfuls, but perhaps because this was the second time, I was able to endure it fairly well.
Still, feeling as though I might choke, I roughly filled my stomach and set down my fork, whereupon Viarte noticed with uncanny perception and asked,
“You’re eating too little, Herna. Does the food not suit your palate?”
As if that could be true. It was just that I had eaten alone in my room; I had been eating food made by the same chef.
Rather, the number of plates laid upon the table now was more than five times what usually came to me.
So the question of whether it suited my palate was actually quite laughable.
Viarte had wanted to show off her generosity. To show that they were caring for me.
Indeed, in the past, I hadn’t even realized that and had been flustered.
I had been startled, not knowing what to do, then hung my head and apologized timidly.
“Ah, no……. I’m sorry. For making you worry.”
The hell I was sorry.
It wasn’t me who should be apologizing, but the two women sitting before me.
They had treated me like a ghost for ten years and then suddenly changed their attitude—who could adapt to that immediately?
Even so, I had been happy they were treating me well, glad they were seeing me as a human being, and wanting to fill my heart starved for affection, so I had bowed my head unconditionally.
Looking back now, I had been a real fool, but back then, returning to being alone again had been the most frightening thing.
I might have been afraid of having the single ray of light I had barely received, while imprisoned in a cage without bars, snatched away from me.
Because that sole thing had been my only hope.
But now, what should I do? I had no intention of foolishly apologizing like before.
“It’s nothing, Sister Viarte. It’s just…….”
Since I was deliberately mumbling and hesitating, Viarte spoke to me again.
“If you have something you want to say, don’t hesitate and say it. Yes, what were you trying to say?”
An affectionate smile hung at her lips. A perfectly crafted smile plastered with pretense.
Even though I had already thought of what to answer, seeing that smile made something suddenly well up and surge from within.
I barely straightened my lips that threatened to twist and slowly opened my mouth.
Since she wanted to hear it that badly, I supposed I had to tell her.
“It’s just that since I’ve always eaten alone in my room, coming to the dining hall like this and eating together is a bit unfamiliar…….”
Since they were the ones who had neglected me all this time, I slipped in a hidden barb—that my inability to eat properly was their fault—and cast it at them without showing my hand.
Just as they had done to me, I concealed it behind a bewildered expression so they couldn’t discern my true intent.
But had I only imagined that for a brief moment, a peculiar gleam passed through my half-sister’s deep green eyes?
‘Surely she didn’t notice my sarcasm?’
It was around the time I wondered if I shouldn’t have just answered that I was fine and needlessly tested the waters. The corners of Viarte’s mouth rose, drawing a gentle arc.
“I see. Indeed, adapting immediately after your environment has suddenly changed would be more difficult. Now that the meal seems to be finished, shall we discuss the details over tea?”
For a moment, I barely held back a sigh of relief that tried to burst out.
It seemed I had safely passed over. Otherwise, Viarte wouldn’t have made me the same suggestion as in the past.
The half-sister who had spoken to me in a gentle voice turned her gaze toward the Countess as if seeking permission.
“Mother, may I speak with Herna in the parlor for a moment? The child seems surprised.”
The Countess nodded. An affectionate, fabricated smile still hung at her lips.
Looking at that, a thought suddenly struck me. That the three people here alone were enough to put on a play.
After all, everyone was giving a passionate performance while hiding their true feelings.
“Go ahead. Indeed, it’s enough to surprise her since her environment has suddenly changed.”
“Thank you, Mother.”
As soon as the Countess’s permission fell, Viarte rose from her seat without a sound and looked at me. Her bearing was still flawless and elegant, without a single blemish.
Suddenly, looking at that figure, memories came flooding back of how I had practiced over and over to become like her.
Thinking I could catch up to ten years. While blisters formed on my feet, burst, and formed again, dozens of times over.
‘In the end, it was all pointless. I should have used that passion elsewhere.’
Despite such efforts, what had flown my way was not praise or encouragement. There had only been cold, calculating gazes and evaluations toward the half-blooded bastard.
Perhaps that was why I had clung to the Countess and my half-sister all the more. Because I had believed they were the only ones giving me affection.
And only at the brink of death did I learn that it was fabricated affection filled with lies and greed.
“Follow me, Herna.”
The voice of the person who had covered my eyes and ears, making me a fool blinded by affection, echoed in my ear.
Instead of swallowing the boiling rage within, I hardened my lips. To my enemies, it would appear as nervousness.
“……Yes, Sister.”
I rose from my seat, greeted the Countess, and followed behind Viarte. The place she headed was the parlor, just as she had told the Countess.
Upon entering the parlor, she turned to look at me and gestured gently with her eyes toward the sofa.
“Sit over there.”
Sitting where Viarte pointed, I swallowed my saliva without realizing it. Putting aside my fighting spirit, tension climbed up my shoulders and my throat went dry now that I was alone with her.
‘Pull yourself together. I can’t make even the slightest mistake.’
I repeated this continuously in my head and took a deep breath invisibly.
Fortunately, Viarte, sitting opposite me, seemed to take my reaction naturally.
“Don’t be so nervous, Herna. Then it really seems like I’m bullying you.”
That kind voice, tinged with laughter and lingering in my memory, struck my ear. When I raised my head, my gaze met deep green eyes directly.
“I-I’m sorry, Sister. It’s just that I’m still not used to talking with someone…….”
Deliberately avoiding her gaze slightly, I fidgeted with my clasped fingers and repeated the exact answer I had given in the past.
“It’s all right. We understand you. You must have been very upset and distressed being treated like a nonexistent person all this time. How could you not be? I would have been the same were I in your position.”
“…….”
“But Herna, I trust you know the reason we had no choice but to do so. And now, things will change. Since the Guardian Stone has manifested in you, you will become its master, and you are someone our Croizen family must love.”
Yes, I should have noticed then. From the part where she said our Croizen instead of we.
Even then, Viarte had already told me implicitly. That the reason they showed me affection was because I was the master of the Guardian Stone, not because of her true feelings.
For someone as haughty as her, even affection tainted with falsehood must have been too precious to give to a half-blood.
To hide the emotions threatening to spike out like sharp thorns, I lowered my eyes slightly and opened my mouth. As if watching her mood, I mumbled and deliberately used a timid voice.
“I’m grateful even for your words, Sister. It’s just…… because things changed so suddenly, it was hard to adapt.”
“How could you not? I would have been the same were I you.”
When I raised my head slightly, Viarte’s lips still wore an affectionate smile. It was a smile that would make anyone think she cherished her half-sister.
But to me, who knew the hidden truth, that smile only looked like cajoling to lure prey wandering before the trap inside.
As I sneered inwardly, wondering if they thought I would fall for it again, words rang out that snapped my mind awake.
“From now on, many more things will change. I intend to take you to Count Marcus’s banquet in a week.”
“Count Marcus’s…… banquet?”
This time, there was no need to act. Because I was truly surprised.
‘I can attend a banquet this quickly?’
When I looked at her with wide eyes, Viarte smiled gently and added,
“It seems you’re surprised by the sudden news. I’ve already finished speaking with Mother, so you needn’t worry.”
“Ah…….”
“So go upstairs and change into your outdoor clothes, then come back down. We have a great deal to do from now on.”
“……Yes, Sister.”
I, who had been momentarily dazed, quickly nodded and rose.
I didn’t know what she was thinking, taking me to the banquet, but it was an opportunity I couldn’t miss.
Because it would serve as a stepping stone to reach Yubellos.
***
After Herna went up to her room, Viarte, who had been lost in thought, raised her head at the sound of the parlor door opening.
Her mother, Countess Croizen, was entering.
“Mother.”
As Viarte rose from the sofa, the Countess swept her gaze around the parlor and opened her mouth.
“It seems that child has gone upstairs.”
“I told her to change into outdoor clothes and come down. I intend to take her into town.”
“For the banquet preparations?”
“Yes. No matter how much of a half-blood she is, she is still a Croizen. It would be troublesome if she were seen as ridiculous.”
Seeing Viarte’s lips twist slightly, the Countess nodded.
“Very well. Seeing her during the meal earlier, she doesn’t seem like she’ll be much of a problem in carrying out our plans.”
A child who had been extremely nervous, unable to even make eye contact. Stringing along such a child who seemed starved for affection was not a difficult task for either Viarte or the Countess.
What was unexpected were Viarte’s following words.
“Did she seem that way to you?”
“Hm? What do you mean, Viarte?”
“I think we need to watch that child a little more.”
“……?”
A smile slowly rose on Viarte’s lips. It was an enigmatic smile whose meaning even the Countess could not fathom.