117: Leticia’s Invitation
I sat at my desk, reviewing the scenario of [Moonlight Liberium] in my mind.
It was about time for the final [Choice-Based Individual Event].
The event where she chose one of the Capture Targets. The climax of the romance.
The [Date Event].
While there were no specific dates in the game, judging by the descriptions…
…with the summer heat fading, even in the capital, following the trend in northern Eustasia… it should be around early autumn.
I had the game knowledge of the date events.
However, I wasn’t involved.
I was merely a supporting character in the main romance.
My role was to be a nuisance, a villain, and then exit the stage, bearing the brunt of the audience’s hatred.
However, it was important to be ‘just’ a nuisance.
The unseen playwright probably didn’t want me interfering even during the dates.
So, I didn’t appear during the date events.
I had no official lines.
There was no mention of what I was doing.
Therefore… it shouldn’t matter who my sister chose, or what happened between them.
It shouldn’t matter.
But the moment I imagined it—my sister, walking through town with one of the [Capture Targets], a happy expression on her face, her cheeks flushed as he whispered sweet nothings to her—a wave of nausea washed over me, a chilling sensation like a centipede crawling across my skin.
The bitter taste of bile rising in my throat brought tears to my eyes.
While I thought I might feel better if I threw up, I swallowed it back.
I didn’t want to make a mess, and I didn’t want Ciel to worry.
I leaned on my desk, covering my mouth with my hand, squeezing my eyes shut, trying to freeze my heart.
But even so, tears seeped through my eyelids, and I roughly wiped them away with the back of my hand.
I could do anything, if necessary.
That was how I defined myself.
I had inherited everything that had been passed down to me.
Duty and loyalty.
Peace for Eustasia.
That was my responsibility as the current head of the “Coldhearted Vanderwaals.”
Even though I knew.
…Even though I knew everything.
I had the game’s memory log.
Etched in my mind with an almost curse-like clarity, I could replay it word for word.
I knew the story of [Moonlight Liberium], in each of the three [Capture Targets’] routes.
No matter who my sister chose, she would act accordingly, like a lover.
I used to find it heartwarming.
I could even… cheer them on, inwardly.
But now…
The fact that it wasn’t me by her side.
The fact that she wasn’t looking at me.
Now…
There was a knock.
“…Elder Sister Adelheid, are you free?”
My sister’s voice.
A voice I didn’t want to hear right now.
And yet, a voice I always wanted to hear…
“Wait a moment.”
I forced my voice to sound calm.
I stood up and poured some water from the pitcher into a glass. I touched the glass to my lips, taking small sips to wet my tongue, soothe my throat, and wash away the bitter taste of bile, careful not to drink too much and make myself sick.
Though the bitterness in my chest wouldn’t disappear so easily.
I went to the door and unlocked it, a habit I had developed.
I turned the knob, pulled the door open…
…and, of course, it was Leticia.
Her expression was serious.
“What is it?”
I tried to keep my voice as neutral as possible.
Leticia’s expression turned anxious.
“Um… Elder Sister, are you alright? You look… a little pale…”
I was slightly impressed that she could see through my attempt to hide my discomfort.
…Though she couldn’t possibly know the reason.
“I’m fine. What is it?”
“Um… I wanted to go out this weekend…”
“…I see.”
Did my expression change?
Did my voice waver?
Was my body trembling?
“Have you been invited by one of the gentlemen? …That’s fine. I’ve already given you freedom of action. I don’t care what you do outside the mansion.”
I deliberately chose words that would hurt her, words befitting a ‘villainous sister.’
It couldn’t be helped that those same words also pierced my own heart.
…I just wanted all the events to be over.
The [Final Ball]… and the [Guillotine] that followed… I couldn’t wait.
“No… I haven’t been invited.”
So, she was going out alone. I had assumed it was a date event.
As I mentally reviewed the rotation schedule for her secret guards, my sister continued.
“…I came to invite you.”
My heart skipped a beat.
“…Invite… who?”
Please stop.
Don’t say it.
Don’t give me any more false hope—
“I want to go out… with Elder Sister.”
I involuntarily clenched my teeth.
“I…”
It wasn’t the response I had expected—not at all.
I was Adelheid von Vanderwaals.
The head of the “Coldhearted Vanderwaals.”
That name wasn’t earned through mere cruelty.
The Vanderwaals family had always considered all possibilities, predicted the future based on extensive information gathering… and achieved the best results with minimal intervention.
I, trained as the next head of the family, had even considered that possibility.
The possibility that my sister, whom I tormented, would invite me, her older sister, to go out with her.
I had dreamed that sweet dream.
Even though I knew it wasn’t in the official scenario.
Even so.
I had dreamed that convenient, impossible dream.
“Walking around town with me… would be boring.”
I turned away, as if to end the conversation.
“Ask someone else—”
“I want to go with Elder Sister Adelheid!”
My sister interrupted me, raising her voice.
She wouldn’t back down.
Her blue eyes, the same color as mine, shone with an intensity that made me wonder why she was so insistent.
She looked at me, this tainted version of myself, with such a pure gaze.
“…Is that… not allowed?”
I realized my sister’s voice was trembling.
Even though it would only hurt her.
Having something precious made it a weakness.
Having expectations only led to disappointment.
Expecting a ‘kind older sister’ from someone like me… she would only be hurt, her kindness rejected.
If I aimed for a ‘close relationship,’ it would only make the ending more painful.
“It’s… not forbidden.”
And yet, the words that came out of my mouth were the opposite of what I intended.
Or rather… perhaps they were what I intended.
What… was I saying?
Just as I was about to retract my words, I froze.
“Big Sister…!”
Because my sister’s face lit up.
I couldn’t say anything.
I couldn’t tell her not to use that casual address.
I couldn’t tell her I had changed my mind.
I couldn’t… tarnish that relieved smile.
Acting like we were close would only hurt us both.
There was no future where we could be ‘close sisters.’
There was a power in this world that transcended human will.
I had decided not to resist it.
All I could do was eliminate any interference, ensure that fate remained on my sister’s side.
That was all.
Just that.
It should have been just that.
“Thank you! Um… I’ll tell you the details later…”
My sister turned and left the room, running down the hallway.
I followed her, my mind still reeling, and as I watched her retreating figure… she turned around at the corner, our eyes met, and she smiled radiantly, waving.
“It’s a promise!”
Her casual tone, less guarded than usual… probably her true self… made me happy.
Her bright smile, the kind I never thought would be directed at someone like me… was dazzling.
I—I found myself waving back.
Even after my sister disappeared around the corner.
This was wrong.
This was a mistake.
There was no [Event] in the official scenario where the villainous sister and the protagonist went out together.
So, this choice was wrong.
And yet, I couldn’t say anything.
I slowly lowered my hand, which I had been waving even after she was gone.
I looked down at my empty palm.
Would it be forgiven… as long as the main plot remained unchanged?
As long as the ending… remained the same?
What if the performers…
Those who weren’t supposed to be close…
Became close… during the intermission?
