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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: My Sister, My Former Enemy, Cherishes Me
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Money.

Who in the world could hear that word and not be intrigued?

"…How?"

"Will you be my master?"

He looked at me with an expression full of anticipation and asked.

I suddenly remembered something I had forgotten. How much money Theon had brought in for Callista in my previous life.

When my father, succumbing to Calein's aggressive pressure, had squandered a significant portion of the Ducal Family's assets, Theon had boldly yet meticulously invested, earning back more than what was lost.

That money had ultimately led Callista to victory.

What's a little cringe when someone with the Midas touch is offering to make me rich?

"…Alright."

At my answer, Theon's eyes sparkled, and he beamed a happy smile.

Yes, money is a good thing. And you earn when you're young, and you multiply it when you're older.

I'd managed to save up the personal allowance Theon provided, but it wasn't enough to last a lifetime yet.

Moreover, I'd gotten so used to my new maid's massages over the past few days that I could barely live on a small allowance anymore.

"Lend me your ear."

Without hesitation, he leaned in close and whispered something to me.

Simple and clear, yet also a vast web of predictions and plans.

"…Do you understand?"

"Hmm…"

I stopped dead in the hallway, chewing over Theon's words.

He was definitely a genius. He accurately predicted the future based on extensive knowledge and maximized profits.

But I shook my head.

Because his words had, in that instant, sparked a different idea in me.

Theon looked surprised and asked again.

"…You don't like it?"

It wasn't that I didn't like it; it was that something else was better.

"Instead, let's do this."

I tugged on Theon's ear and whispered a few brief words.

A moment of silence passed.

And slowly, Theon's eyes widened. The gentle smile on his lips gradually stiffened.

"…My Lady."

"No?"

Was it something absurd? I nervously looked at Theon.

"Just…."

After a long silence, he finally spoke.

"Just… where did you learn such knowledge?"

His grey eyes behind his glasses trembled slightly.

I smiled quietly, answering only in my mind.

Some trashy Crown Prince taught me.

***

"Hoo-up."

I gritted my teeth and gripped the book with both hands.

"Hwap."

But it was no use. The book remained tightly shut, showing no inclination to open.

It was that damned magic book again. Why did this library have so many expensive and strange books?

I don't know what kind of pervert the author was, but they'd placed a strange spell on it. So that anyone who found the book boring couldn't even open it.

It's not my fault you're so thick and stiff.

I glared at the brick-hard book cover. On its pitch-black cover, only the title 'Imperial Lineage: From the Founding Emperor to All People' was written in white, with no other illustrations.

And it wasn't my fault the cover was ugly.

I took another deep breath and strained until my face turned red. But the book remained unmoving, as if it were a brick.

"That book won't listen to you if you handle it like that."

A familiar voice came from behind me. It was Callista.

I didn't know how long she'd been there, but she stood a few steps away, quietly observing me.

"…Sister."

"Give it here."

She took a few steps closer and took the Imperial history book from my hands.

Ah, so it needed a spell to open it?

I watched Callista, subtly hoping she would perform some dazzling magic.

Was this a struggle between a magic book and Callista's power? Would blue light flash?

Whoosh—

Huh?

WHAM—!

Callista lifted the book high above her head and slammed it down at full speed onto the corner of the table.

WHAM, WHAM, WHAM—!

After three consecutive slams, the tightly shut Imperial history book flapped open.

"Remember. If an object doesn't listen, the easiest way is to just hit it."

Callista said calmly.

"If that doesn't solve it, then you call a technician."

She returned the book to my dumbfounded hands as if nothing had happened.

"…Thank you."

For a moment, Aramis's image, when he'd sliced through the spell-bound walls of Lailly's Room with his longsword, overlapped with hers.

They say master and servant resemble each other.

Callista silently sat down opposite me at the table. A half-read book lay open, suggesting she had arrived at the library earlier than me and had only stepped away for a moment.

"…The scent of chocolate is wafting all over the mansion, you see. I figured the library would be alright, so I came here."

She said, noticing my gaze.

I had also noticed the pervasive scent of chocolate. It was almost time for the Asemor Festival, when people gave sweet confections to their loved ones.

Lovers, families, and even masters and their servants exchanged chocolates and sweets. Many people waited for this day to present chocolates to someone they admired, confessing their feelings at the same time.

It was a day that held little meaning for me, as I had never received anything, but still, the chocolate scent wasn't bad.

"Wouldn't smelling the scent make you want to eat it, even if the real thing isn't in front of you?"

Ah, that's true.

After Callista's further explanation, I understood perfectly.

She glanced at the book open before me and asked again.

"Are you studying history?"

"I'm memorizing the lineage. About the Imperial Family and noble houses."

Theon had told me to. He said if I was going to get involved in investments, I needed to know about the noble families involved in business.

"That's a necessary study. How much do you know now?"

She asked. I couldn't tell if it was a polite question or if she was genuinely curious.

"…I'm not sure."

I answered vaguely.

In my previous life, I had spent a considerable amount of time in the Imperial Palace, but it was mostly under Calein's surveillance. Since I had little time interacting with actual people, my knowledge had gaps here and there.

Callista tilted her head and asked again.

"Do you know the current Emperor and Empress?"

I nodded.

Emperor Alik Pavs Bayan IV and his wife, Empress Litania, were people I had met several times in my previous life.

Calein had introduced me as his fiancée in front of the Empress, and the Empress, fully aware that the engagement was far from normal, subtly facilitated our engagement ceremony.

The listless Emperor, unable to refuse the Empress's words, merely nodded along as if it were nothing.

They must have thought the Luperne Ducal Family's second daughter would bring considerable power to Calein.

As a result, Calein, having gained legitimate cause, directly killed his own father and ascended the Throne.

"Then, the Prince?"

"…"

I momentarily forgot to answer. Calein Bayan's face had appeared too vividly in my mind.

‘Harper Luperne, you cannot step on land I do not permit. If I tell you to die, you will die, and then you will be buried where I permit.’

Those were the last words he’d said to me. Though his own neck was severed first after that.

The more I thought about it, the stranger it seemed. I, too, had suffered in my own way, but when you thought about it, few people in my previous life had lived longer than me.

Vittori, Theon, Soyer, Clarissa, Calein—all of them died before me.

"…Prince Calein."

As I finally managed to answer, Callista nodded.

"Do you know his reputation?"

"No."

Actually, I did. Incompetent, tyrannical, and highly possessive.

"I attended the Imperial Academy with him for a time. He is incompetent, tyrannical, and highly possessive."

He often messed things up because he kept trying to handle tasks himself instead of recruiting capable people.

"He constantly desires to do things beyond his capability himself, which leads to things going wrong. One who desires the throne should cultivate the ability to place people in their proper positions."

When he was younger, the Emperor and Empress used to clean up Calein's messes.

"Though the Emperor and Empress still clean up his messes, that will only lead to his further ruin."

He has a fearsome appearance. A long scar runs across his face, and he's missing his left eye.

"It's true that he's handsome enough that many young ladies are fond of him."

Ah, not yet, then.

They said he was handsome before he lost his left eye, and hearing Callista say it, it seems to be true.

"And?"

"Pardon?"

"You don't know the other one?"

The other one?

I blinked for a few seconds. Was there another one?

"The Second Prince, I mean. He's in the latter part of that book."

…Ah.

A name I had forgotten due to his utter lack of presence came to mind.

Prince Killian Bayan. Calein's younger brother.

As the second son of the Emperor and Empress, he never appeared in society in his previous life due to his weak constitution.

His own mother, the Empress, kept him hidden away, claiming to protect him, so it was rare for even nobles in the Empire to know the Second Prince's face.

At the age of eleven, he went hunting with Calein, met a demonic beast, and died.

On the same day, Calein was said to have returned to the Imperial Palace, having lost one eye and with a long scar etched across his face.

‘His Royal Highness the First Prince, who sacrificed his life for His Highness the Second Prince.’

For a time, the people praised him thus.

Coincidentally, that incident was very similar to the legend of the Founding Emperor, who avenged his brother killed by a Demonic Dragon and built a city on the land where his blood was spilled. Thus, Calein was for a time even nicknamed the Incarnation of the Founding Emperor.

Ultimately, emboldened by this, Calein was appointed Crown Prince.

After that, no one ever mentioned Killian Bayan again. So it was only natural that I didn't know him.

By the time I ran away from home, he had already been dead for several years.

"Just know that such a person exists. He's your age, so you'll probably run into him sometime."

Callista said nonchalantly, then pointed to the next page of my book.

"For important noble lineages, start with the Litra Ducal Family. Their succession is quite complicated."

She said that and turned her eyes back to her own book, but I couldn't focus for a few seconds.

Because for a very brief moment, a thought I had never entertained before crossed my mind.

If the Second Prince had lived, could Calein have been prevented from becoming Crown Prince?

Until now, I'd thought all I could do was escape properly and not give Calein an excuse to attack Luperne.

Was there another way to cut off the root of the problem entirely?

I thought for a while, then shook my head again.

A sickly younger brother, oppressed by his elder brother his entire life, with neither his mother nor his maternal relatives lending him support—how could he possibly defeat Calein?

Furthermore, he and Calein were close brothers. In my previous life, Calein, who even killed his own father, genuinely wanted to save Killian, didn't he?

They weren't rivals.

Unless the Emperor's cousin, Grand Duke Catherine, were to inherit the throne instead.

I shook off the distracting thoughts and, following Callista's advice, began to examine the complex lineage of the Litra Ducal Family.