-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: My Sister, My Enemy, Cherishes Me
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Callista graduated at the top of her class from the Imperial Academy this year. At only sixteen, she was also the youngest student in history to complete the Academy's curriculum.
Talent, background, effort. With all three in perfect harmony, her achievements were bound to be spectacular.
"The mansion cleaning is already finished. Young Lady, you should change and go out to greet them."
"…Oh, right."
Yes, I had to greet them. Though she hadn't yet received the title of Junior Duchess due to Father's dithering and the Elder Council, she was effectively the most authoritative person in the Ducal Family.
It was only natural, as Father, the head of the household, was rarely at the mansion, using business as an excuse.
Though, in reality, it seemed he was more engrossed in travel and women.
'He also returned to the mansion on the same day as my sister.'
Today was important for another reason too. Because someone else would be arriving while we welcomed Callista.
I changed my clothes as Jena instructed. Something clean but not overly flashy, maintaining a moderate sense of dignity while still being inconspicuous enough to blend in with the maids.
Fortunately, Theon had bought and sent about ten sets of casual clothes a few days ago, so finding something to wear wasn't difficult.
"Greet them quietly, similar to the servants, but keep your mouth shut."
"Okay."
"It's best not to catch Young Lady Callista's eye."
"Okay."
"Don't smile... No, I didn't mean glare. Why are you opening your eyes like that?"
"…How about now?"
"You look like a lost puppy. Perfect."
Jena, who had become unusually meticulous over the past few days, tied my hair with a modest navy ribbon and warned me several times.
"Go downstairs first. I'll be right behind you."
I took a deep breath, stepped out of the room, and descended the stairs. The air, which I felt throughout my body, was indeed different from usual.
"You stand a hand's breadth to the right, and Knight, to the left... No, move just a finger's width to the right again."
"If anyone's collar is askew, they'll be drilled until they puke."
In front of the entrance, decorated with red carpets and freshly picked morning flowers, maids, servants, and even knights were diligently figuring out how to stand perfectly aligned.
Gulp.
I swallowed hard. I had never seen the staff so perfectly synchronized.
Don't stand out, don't stand out...
"Huh? Stop right there."
Just as I was about to step back into a shadowed spot beneath the stairs to avoid being in the way before Callista arrived, something blunt, like a wooden sword, touched the back of my neck.
"…Hmm?"
"Are you planning to slack off while everyone else is practicing their greetings?"
Ugh, and it was the voice of a rude, adolescent boy from behind me. It sounded strangely familiar.
I turned my head. Another person was already at the bottom of the stairs.
He was a boy with dark brown hair and a slightly tanned face, appearing five or six years older than me. His disdainful expression caught my eye.
I knew that expression. Clarissa sometimes made a similar face when she couldn't hide her true feelings.
"…Louis."
He was the boy who had joined the Luperne 3rd Knight Order as a Trainee Knight a few months ago, and Clarissa's nephew from her side of the family.
Naturally, he wasn't in a position to treat me, a Lady, so disrespectfully. Normally, he should have greeted me politely...
"Hey, fake. You go stand straight over there too."
Wow, listen to his manners.
Unfortunately, most of the staff in the Luperne Ducal Family regarded me as Father's illegitimate child. A kind of fake Lady.
Things had improved a bit recently after Clarissa apologized to Jena, but it seemed that news hadn't reached the Knight Order yet.
"You brat, do my words sound like a joke?"
Louis extended the tip of the wooden sword and poked my back, shoulder, neck, and even my cheek.
"…That kind of hurts?"
Now I remembered properly. Louis.
As a low-ranking Trainee Knight who was constantly pushed around by the knights, he usually sought out someone to vent his stress on. Someone he could treat poorly without resistance.
It would be an outrageous scandal if it ever got out, but that person was me. Of course, only when no one was looking.
"Move it."
I pushed the wooden sword away with a flick and said.
In my previous life, I'd lived weakly until the very end, but this was different. To have regressed only to be bullied by some pathetic kid who wasn't even Callista or Calein.
"Huh?"
Louis tilted his head as if he'd never seen me like this before. I paid him no mind and asked.
"Does Uncle Soyer know you're using a wooden sword even when it's not training time?"
When I mentioned the Knight Commander of his order, Louis's face turned ashen. He must have thought I'd listen with my usual terrified expression.
"You, if you tell them about this without any proof..."
"I will tell them. And also that you're speaking informally to me."
I crossed my arms and looked up at him, speaking.
From the other side of the stairs, the Head Maid's voice could be heard lining up the staff. Sounds were also coming from the garden, indicating that Callista's arrival time was drawing near.
Jena must be looking for me then.
"I'm leaving."
"You, you've never been hit with a wooden sword, have you? If I really wanted to..."
"Oh yeah? Hit me."
I shrugged. I was quite the coward in my previous life, but Louis always just threatened me; he never had the guts to actually hit me.
No matter how unloved a daughter she was, the Ducal Family had its reputation. Who would let a Trainee Knight who hit a Lady get away with it?
To only realize such a truth after dying once.
"I said, hit me?"
I edged closer to Louis, provoking him. His face flushed scarlet, but the hand holding the wooden sword was actually lowering.
"Th-this..."
Louis barely managed to grab my collar. His voice was getting softer, indicating that this situation was overwhelming for him too.
"All talk, no guts."
I was just about to deliver one last jab and walk past him.
"Uh-oh...?"
Perhaps Louis had grabbed my collar harder than I expected, causing my body to sway and lose balance.
"Ugh, uwaaah!"
"Ah!"
Thudding and banging!
We both tripped over each other's feet and tumbled down. The shadowed space at the bottom of the stairs vanished, and bright light streaming through the window fell upon us.
"Ow, ow, ow..."
Still lying on the floor, unable to lift my back, only muttering groans, my eyes caught sight of dozens of pairs of feet neatly lined up.
Here were the maids, over there the servants and cooks, four Knight Commanders, those trembling feet belonged to Jena, the crane-like legs to Theon, and...
My gaze stopped in the middle of the red carpet.
Spotless black shoes, a deep blue dress that, though devoid of ribbons or lace, was clearly luxurious at a glance.
The tension that had eased when I met Louis now flowed through my body again. Slowly, I lifted my eyes to identify the person before me.
Long silver hair tied up sharply, the small crystal necklace she always wore, and eyes of a deep, cold blue, beautiful as the abyss.
"Oh, Sister..."
It was Callista. Standing perfectly straight, looking down at me.
In her unwavering, icy gaze, I felt a sense of contempt directed at me. My entire body froze in place.
A silence, whether seconds or minutes, stretched on. Finally, Callista's tightly closed lips parted.
"…Stand up."
I tried to move my body according to her words, but it wouldn't obey.
Only then did I realize that Louis was sprawled on top of me, and his hand was still gripping my collar.
"My, my Lady! I am Louis!"
Louis practically shoved me aside and knelt. His quickness was entirely different from how he treated me.
"I greet you, Sister."
I, too, uttered the greeting I had practiced, albeit weakly.
There were more formalities, but what was the point when I was lying on the floor, making eye contact?
"…What on earth has happened to the discipline of Luperne?"
Callista's low, cold voice echoed through the quiet mansion. My shoulders automatically flinched and trembled. I tried to open my lips, but no words came out properly.
"I-I'm sorry..."
"Soyer, it seems you wish to resign from your position as Commander."
The moment I tried to apologize, Callista turned her head towards the door. There, Soyer Marcel, the Commander of the 3rd Knight Order, stood with a stern expression.
"Was it so difficult to teach manners to a Trainee Knight?"
"Trainee Knight...?"
I processed the situation and blinked a few times.
She wasn't scolding *me*?
"I am truly sorry, Young Lady!"
Soyer knelt on one knee, shouting loud enough to shake the mansion.
"It is all my fault! Please, punish me!"
Only then did I glance at Louis to see him trembling all over, his eyes wide.
"It seems I entrusted you with a task beyond your capabilities, so I shall instruct him personally."
Callista spoke in an even tone and approached Soyer.
When she extended her hand, Soyer swallowed hard, then offered the training wooden sword he wore at his hip.
"...Yes, Lady."
*Whoosh-*
Before I could even grasp what was happening, Callista aimed the sword towards Louis. Louis answered, his lips trembling.
"Lady..."
"Raise your wooden sword."
"B-but..."
"If you endure well, both you and Soyer will be forgiven without punishment. But if you don't stand up, I will use a real sword."
A suffocating silence swept over the dozens of people present. Callista merely looked down at Louis, her expression unchanged from before.
"...Yes."
Louis slowly stood up and picked up the wooden sword. His arm trembled uncertainly before finally finding its direction.
Their heights were similar. Callista might have been a couple of years older, but Louis was larger and stronger than his peers.
In a fleeting moment, a small flicker of hope crossed Louis's eyes as he assessed Callista's physique.
Having only joined the Ducal Family a few months ago, he had never met Callista. Naturally, he had never seen Callista wield a sword.
His eyes shone a little brighter.
If he won, or even just managed to endure, he could be forgiven for his recent mistake and simultaneously gain Callista's favor... Such thoughts must have vaguely crossed Louis's mind.
Of course, that hope shattered into dust less than a second later.
