◇ ◆ ◇
“Ah, every bone in my body aches.”
Halfway through shifting the bundle of firewood to my other shoulder, I gave my sore joint a few brisk thumps. I had sworn never to live as a doormat again, but a servant’s instinct ingrained to the bone wasn't something easily shaken off in a single day.
It felt like a waste to leave behind the wood I had already gathered, so I lugged it all back. Compounded with the muscle aches from tumbling down that hill, my whole body felt like a battered rag.
“…Look on the bright side. Think positive.”
Without this firewood, we might have had to spend the night shivering. My older sisters and I could tough it out somehow, but Rose was a different story. Our youngest sister was only five, and she had lost our mother the moment she was born, never having tasted a drop of mother’s milk. Caring for her myself all this time naturally forged an extraordinary bond between us. Even if I had awakened and resolved to change my ways, that affection wasn't going anywhere.
Every winter, she hovered on the edge of life and death with racking colds; the least I could do was build a roaring fire.
Poor little thing.
However dreadful my own life had become, young Rose’s plight was just as harrowing. Knowing how sickly she was, the thought of how she might be tossed about in the days ahead made my chest ache.
…Though naturally, I had to survive first.
“Bel, what took you so long!”
“…Melanie.”
The moment I reached the front of the house, my second sister greeted me with a sharp yell.
Just as expected, Melanie sat inside without lifting a finger, casually flipping through a book. Unlike our eldest sister, her problem was that she never stepped foot outside, yet she never helped with the household chores either.
“Why should I?”
That was Melanie’s favorite phrase.
Whether asked to lend a helping hand with chores or to fix Father a meal, she always led with that exact retort. And with such an infuriating smirk, too.
“Because you took forever, nothing is ready.”
“…”
Stunned by her nerve, I dropped the bundle of firewood to the ground.
I was itching to ask if her own hands were broken, but my mind was too scattered. Pressing two fingers to my temples, I focused on sorting out the immediate disaster ahead.
Predictably, Melanie didn't spare a glance at my bruised state—not where, how badly, or why I was hurt.
“If you were going to be late, you should have at least said something!”
“…Anyone listening would think you actually worried about me.”
“What? Bella, what did you just say—?”
“Forget it. Go back to your book.”
I waved a hand dismissively and turned away. Melanie squinted at me with a bewildered look for a second before picking up her book again. She must have assumed her ears were playing tricks on her.
Good grief, what a bookworm.
In truth, Melanie was a selfish nuisance, but there was a reason she had turned out so bitter. Devoted to books and learning, she had nurtured only one dream from an early age: graduating from the empire’s top academy and becoming the head of the Platinum Guild. In South Korean terms, it was the equivalent of graduating from Seoul National University and landing a job at Samsung.
Unfortunately, the moment she matriculated, Father fled in the middle of the night, dragging her along and resulting in her automatic expulsion.
She had at least gotten closer to the academy gates than I ever had, but being so fiercely ambitious, the crushing blow of having her dreams violently derailed was easy enough to imagine.
“…”
Enough… Like I have the luxury to pity anyone else right now.
Realizing how pointless my concern was, I swallowed the bitter taste in my mouth. If we died, we all died together. Whether one went to the academy or not, the entire family was about to be butchered into mincemeat. In a situation like this, nobody deserved my sympathy.
“…By the way, what isn’t ready? Didn't you say something about preparing for something?”
“Preparing to welcome Father, obviously.”
“…What?”
“Father returns today. Don't tell me you forgot?”
Melanie’s expression turned genuinely grave this time.
She seemed to wonder if I was really the same dutiful third sister who had bustled about all morning, talking about preparing Father’s dinner.
“Ah…”
Staring dumbly at her, my mouth fell wide open. Talk about pouring oil on the fire—another memory I would have gladly lived without suddenly rushed back.
Right.
Father had gone up north swearing to strike it rich, and he had sent a letter saying he would be home today. Today was the day he would return carrying a massive ticking time bomb, claiming he had brought a gift for his beloved daughters.
“No… Why does it have to be today of all days?”
How could the plot move this fast?
Even for an R-rated romance novel, this was excessive. When I bought the chapters with my own hard-earned money, I used to grumble whenever tedious exposition delayed the explicit scenes, but was it really necessary to rush things so relentlessly when actual lives were on the line?
“…This is insane.”
“Huh? Bella, what did you say?”
“Rose.”
I looked down at the adorable little creature tugging gently at the hem of my skirt. Blinking those wide eyes at me, her angelic face instantly disarmed my heart.
“Come here, let me look at our princess!”
“Bella!”
Rose clung to me with a beaming smile. Watching her chirp like a chick following its mother, I dropped to my knees and pressed my cheek against hers.
Yes, this warmth!
I finally remembered how much I had leaned on this soft, tiny presence. Just as little Rose had clung to me like a mother, I had endured this cold house solely for her sake.
Though all four sisters shared a resemblance, Rose’s eyes and hair were practically identical to mine.
“Goodness, whose little sister is so pretty?”
“Bella’s sister!”
Clever, too.
For the first time since coming to my senses, my worries melted away, and I stroked Rose’s gleaming platinum-blonde hair.
The realization that this child could be caught in the crossfire snapped me back to reality. Now was the time to stay cold and composed.
Let's see. How can we survive even a day longer?
Before Father arrived and set off that colossal bomb, I had to concoct a viable plan. Say what you will about the man, his drive was terrifyingly unmatched. Once his mind was made up, he wouldn't hesitate to ship our eldest sister, Elijah, off on the spot.
“…Rose, have you seen Elijah today by any chance?”
Recalling the woman at the epicenter of this brewing catastrophe, I looked around.
Then again, if our eldest sister were home at this hour, I wouldn't be sweating in the first place. Noble lady though she was in name, the days she stepped through our front door of her own accord could be counted on one hand. Even then, her reasons were utterly simple and driven purely by basic instincts: either she had run out of men, or she had run out of money.
“…Elijah? I saw her in the village earlier.”
“You did? Let's go find her right now.”
Taking Rose’s hand, I threw the front door open. The rickety screech of the hinges sounded as eerie as a haunted house, like an omen of our family's impending ruin.
“Rose, where did you see her? Hmm?”
Hurrying out onto the narrow path, I picked up the pace. Once Father arrived, a family council would convene immediately; I had to track down Elijah and settle things before then.
I gave Rose’s little hand a squeeze, meeting her gaze with an urgent look, and she answered with total confidence.
“Yup. Behind the watermill.”
“…What?”
“The watermill. I saw her walking back there. Follow me, Bella!”
“Actually, Rose, you’d better stay right here.”
Letting go of her hand, I turned the girl around and nudged her back toward the house. Not understanding the reason, Rose pouted, wanting to tag along, but there were places a child simply did not belong.
And wherever our eldest sister was, it was almost always the latter.
◇ ◆ ◇
“Oh, Max. Why didn’t you come fetch me sooner? You knew perfectly well I was staying at Eugénie’s.”
“I’m so sorry, Elijah. Mother wouldn’t let me leave…”
“Hmph… I thought you’d forgotten all about me.”
“Never!”
The man’s scandalized protest echoed between the bales of straw and stacks of wood.
“How could I ever forget you, Elijah? Not with these beautiful eyes, this nose, or these lips.”
“…Max.”
It took less than a minute for their whispers to turn thick and heavy. Watching the two of them latch onto each other as if to swallow one another whole, I was the one struck by genuine shock.
Wow… Does she have any idea what kind of mess is brewing because of her?
Seeing my eldest sister wrapping her arms around the man's neck without a care in the world made something hot surge up in my throat. It wasn't the first or second time I had witnessed such a scene. Even if I hadn't seen it in person, the novel had described her in this exact fashion.
Elijah wrapped her arms around the man’s neck, her pale violet eyes gleaming with hunger, blissfully unaware that anyone was watching.
“…”
No wonder I hated that lingering prose.
Seeing the novel’s words play out so vividly before my eyes stirred a bizarre feeling. If my own life hadn't been on the line, their passion was intense enough that I might have stayed to see it through.
Perhaps it was because Elijah shared my features—true to our shared blood—that made my mood sour even further. One of us was scrambling desperately for a lifeline, while the other was clinging to a man's neck.
Unable to stomach the infuriating irony, I cleared my throat loudly.
“Ahem!”
“Hm? Wh-who’s—oh, it’s just you, Bella. For a second I thought…”
What was with that relieved tone?
My eldest sister, who looked ready to shriek just a second ago, breathed a sigh of relief the moment I rounded the haystack. At the very least, her lover, Max, possessed a shred of decency.
“Elijah, w-we should really…”
“No, it’s fine. It’s only Bella.”
“…”
Phoo. I raked a hand through my hair. That single remark made it painfully clear what Elijah had thought of me all along.
Not just a pushover, but the biggest, most blind fool of them all.
Remembering how I had spent my life covering up and making excuses for the family left a bitter taste in my mouth.
It would have been better if she had screamed at me to get out. Instead, Elijah merely snickered, treating me like nothing more than a mindless puppet standing in the corner.
