The Villainous Older Sister Who Loves Her Younger Sister Aims for the Guillotine 100

100: On the Shores of Lake Sharthia

I want to go to the lake.

“…Is that… not allowed?”

It was difficult to refuse my sister, who was looking at me intently with a serious expression.

But fortunately, it was a… normal… or rather, a modest request.

“It’s fine. Let’s go.”

“Okay!”

Leticia’s response was enthusiastic.

…I doubted she had some grand ambition like setting a continental free-diving record in the lake.

Why was she so excited?

Lake Sharthia was located a short distance from the capital city.

We took a public carriage, which ran regularly.

While it was bumpier and the seats harder than our private carriage, I was used to it.

Lake Sharthia was the largest lake in the Vandergant plains. It was large enough to have a proper trekking path around it, with rest stops and shops along the way.

Fed by snowmelt from the Berghorn Mountains and natural springs, its water was cold and deep, with a sudden drop-off further out.

It was a good fishing spot for trout, providing Vandergant with a source of protein beyond livestock.

However, since it was a lake, there were fishing restrictions to prevent overfishing.

Fishing was only allowed in the early morning, and the number of fishermen and boats was limited.

It was currently afternoon, so there were no fishermen, but there were still a fair number of people around.

Some strolled along the shore, children played in a shallow area, some fished with rods, some rowed boats… everyone was enjoying the lake in their own way.

As the lord, I felt a quiet sense of satisfaction seeing the peace and prosperity of my territory, the happiness of my people.

However, I was also aware of the fragility of this moment.

Remembering the ‘burning’ of Ruins, a neighboring country I had once visited for studies, I couldn’t afford to close my eyes.

“Young lady, would you like a sample? It’s free.”

“Thank you!”

However, while I wasn’t looking, Leticia was being offered a sample by a young woman with black hair at a stall.

It was smoked trout.

“It’s quite firm, but delicious.”

Thinly sliced, heavily salted, dried, and then smoked until crisp, they were trout chips.

Similar snacks existed throughout Eustasia and even in other countries, so it wasn’t a unique specialty of Vandergant or Lake Sharthia, but it was a local flavor.

It was a relatively recent product, its invention credited to a craftsman who, upon seeing a planer being introduced to a local sawmill, had the idea of thinly shaving smoked fish.

However, since every region claimed to be the originator, it was unclear when and where it was first created.

“Big Sister Adel, have you ever tried these?”

“I’ve made them before.”

…I blurted it out without thinking, responding to my sister’s question.

“Really? You have?”

The black-haired vendor looked surprised.

We probably looked like… well-to-do young ladies, if not exactly nobles.

Especially with Ciel in her well-made dress and Leticia’s inherent cuteness.

“…Your sister’s past is also a mystery.”

“Not as much of a mystery as yours.”

Mine was simply due to Ciel’s educational methods.

The smokehouses hired extra hands during the smoking season, making it easy for someone like me, usually a conspicuous young lady, to blend in.

The vendor looked at Ciel.

“…A complicated family?”

“We were separated due to family circumstances, and we all have different mothers.”

Ciel explained smoothly.

While it was part of our ‘setting,’ it wasn’t a lie.

“We have connections to Vandergant, and we’re here sightseeing today.”

That also wasn’t a lie.

Leticia and I were related to the lord, and Ciel, while not a blood relative, had been connected to me since birth.

“I see… Well, enjoy your visit.”

The black-haired vendor smiled at Ciel, and Ciel smiled back.

“Thank you. As a token of our appreciation, we’ll take a large bag.”

“Coming right up!”

A large bag.

The thin, rough paper bag filled with trout chips, which Ciel received in exchange for a silver coin, was naturally offered to us, and Leticia reached for it.

…I also reached in and took a chip.

I popped the chip into my mouth as we followed Ciel, who had turned and started walking towards the lake.

It crunched pleasantly, regaining its moist texture as I chewed, the smoky flavor filling my mouth.

It was a nostalgic taste. The scraps had been a snack for the temporary workers.

However, I hadn’t actually bought and eaten them before, since I felt like I had inhaled a lifetime’s worth of smoked fish smell while making them.

My job as a temporary worker had been mainly preparation work; I would remove the heads and guts of the trout, wash them, and arrange them on drying racks… and the smell of smoked fish would drift from the nearby smokehouse, carried by the wind and smoke—the taste and smell brought the memory back vividly.

Back then, I had thought I would never eat them again.

Life was longer, and more unexpected, than you imagined.

Even I, who had walked a predetermined path since birth, had been given a new scenario by this strange fate.

――Even the simple act of eating a snack while walking hadn’t been… normal for me.

…But perhaps that was simply because I had been too conscious of behaving like a proper noble.

I recalled the meat station at the tea party, a result of Prince Konrad’s overzealous attempt to impress my sister and outdo Knight Commander Felix.

And he was the First Prince, who should have received a similar upbringing.

And my sister had readily accepted the new—the unknown.

The other young ladies, intrigued, had also ventured into the barbecue zone, despite their etiquette training… and seemed to be enjoying themselves.

I felt like… I was the only one who had remained… stuck.

In the shadows.

While my sister and the other young ladies… only a few years younger than me… were walking in the light.

There was nothing at the end of my path. It ended at the guillotine.

They would create the future.

――I wondered… what path my sister would choose… and with whom.

The scenario of [Moonlight Liberium] only offered a glimpse of the future Kingdom of Eustasia, with her ending up with each of the [Capture Targets].

While I wanted more details, a deeper understanding of the political landscape, it was, after all, a romance story, not a prophecy.

“Big… Big Sister Adel?”

…I had been so lost in thought that I had literally stopped walking.

Ciel and Leticia were waiting for me a short distance ahead.

As I started to catch up, Leticia took the bag smelling of smoked fish from Ciel and ran towards me.

“Here, Big Sister Adel!”

She offered me a trout chip from the bag, beaming.

I froze, captivated by her smile, and, at the same time, unable to process the situation.

“What are you doing?”

“Your tone slipped, Big Sister Adel.”

…Ah, the ‘inspection’ act.

――But even as an act, what was this situation?

“…You seemed a little down. I thought maybe something tasty would cheer you up.”

Was that her first thought?

“No, I mean, the bag…”

“Here.”

Hiding the bag behind her back, Leticia offered me the chip, her hand outstretched.

My sister was assertive.

――I was raised as a ducal lady.

…However, we were currently on an inspection.

And she was my sister, both in our current roles and in reality.

And what she was offering me was a local snack.

Justifying it in my mind, I took the trout chip from my sister and ate it.

My sister smiled as I munched on the chip.

I reached into the large bag she was holding and took another one for myself.

…We were currently on an inspection.

There was nothing in our current roles that required us to act like we were on bad terms.

And what I was holding was a local snack.

“Big Sis—”

“Here.”

I offered her another chip.

“…Are you sure?”

“For now.”

My sister wordlessly took a bite.

Charmed by her adorableness, I gently took the bag from her hand and offered her another chip.

Leticia also took one from the bag and offered it to me, and I accepted.

We were both silent.

Because we had the slightly dry, smoky chips in our mouths.

I allowed myself to indulge in this unnamed feeling, using that as an excuse.

If we both felt the same way…

…perhaps I understood why Leticia had offered me food.