The Villainous Older Sister Who Loves Her Younger Sister Aims for the Guillotine 131

131: The Beginning of the End

Kneeling on the carpet in the entrance hall, I let Leticia down from my back.

She stumbled, and I caught her hand to steady her.

Then, I pushed her gently towards Ciel.

My most trusted assistant, catching my sister, asked quietly,

“Is something the matter?”

“Nothing worth mentioning.”

I had assumed Ciel was the one who had been with us.

I wondered who had seen us…

…It didn’t matter.

“I’m returning to my room.”

I turned and walked away, my cape swirling around me, as if severing my lingering attachment.

The servants, including Ciel, were all gathered around Leticia.

They would surely be on my sister’s side.

“—Elder Sister!”

I didn’t turn around. But I stopped. I couldn’t help it.

“Um… thank you for today. I had fun—”

“You ‘had fun’?”

As if replaying a scene from the Vandergant inspection, I sharply interrupted her, my back still turned.

“I had fun!”

My sister continued, despite my interruption.

“I really did. Even if it wasn’t… proper noble behavior, I enjoyed spending the day with Elder Sister. I wish… we could do it again… many times…”

Me too.

If every day were like today…

How…

My heart might not be able to handle it.

“Someday, again.”

My sister’s simple words pierced my heart.

I didn’t know what to say anymore.

So, I echoed her words softly,

“…Someday, again.”

The promises were piling up.

Making me hope for a ‘someday.’

“I… enjoyed myself as well.”

“Elder Sister…!”

I could almost see my sister’s face light up.

“—Duty and loyalty. Fulfill your role.”

Still not turning around, I looked up at the grand staircase in the entrance hall.

And then, I started walking.

This was the end.

Even without seeing her, I knew my sister’s smile had faded at my cold words.

“…Yes, Elder Sister.”

I liked my sister’s cheerful voice.

Her subdued tone, lacking even a fraction of her usual charm, unsettled me.

I liked being insulted by my sister, but I apparently disliked hearing her sound so dejected.

Even so, there was nothing more to say.

I reached the top of the stairs and turned the corner—my sister was watching me.

I turned another corner, breaking eye contact, and headed to my room.

I entered my room, closed the door, locked it, and then checked the doorknob, just to be sure.

The lamp was lit. Ciel must have anticipated my return. She would be that thoughtful.

Such small details—the fact that I took them for granted… made me realize, I was a noble.

A commoner wouldn’t be so wasteful with oil.

I was a noble.

I removed my cape by the bed.

I noticed a small piece of grass clinging to it and picked it off. …From when I lay down on the grass.

“…I… enjoyed myself too.”

I murmured softly.

“I really did. Even if it wasn’t proper noble behavior, I enjoyed spending the day with you. I wish… we could do it again… many times…”

I repeated my sister’s precious words in a flat, emotionless voice.

As if trying to taint them with mud.

I crushed the blade of grass, the fragment of memory, between my fingers and let it fall to the floor.

The maids would clean it up.

I tossed the cape, which seemed to hold the memories of today, into the laundry basket by the bed.

I sat on the footstool, untied my shoelaces, kicked off my shoes, and climbed into bed.

And then, I closed the canopy curtains.

Alone in the near-darkness, I collapsed onto the bed.

I lay there, without pulling up the covers, my cheek against the cold pillow.

I wasn’t sleepy… I had slept well.

But I was cold.

I rubbed my arms. The warmth of my sister’s hand on my arm, as I escorted her, felt like a distant dream.

The pillow beneath my cheek felt inadequate, now that I knew the warmth and softness of my sister’s lap.

――I felt… a growing unease.

I felt like the story was… diverging slightly from the one I knew.

While I didn’t know what my sister had been discussing with the [Capture Targets]…

…the general outline remained the same.

Perhaps there would be a few more scenes with the older sister.

But my sister’s kindness, her pure heart, wouldn’t change.

…Could I still… turn back?

I clutched the pocket watch in my breast pocket.

I wasn’t sure if some of the [Events]… had even happened.

And I wasn’t sure if the future ones… would happen.

…What if they didn’t?

I would be a fool. The meanness I had inflicted on my sister would be meaningless.

But as the head of the family, I couldn’t ignore the possibility of a coming calamity.

A trial for the protagonist of a love story.

A test of her strength.

Only the [Protagonist] could overcome it.

The hints scattered throughout her journey.

The bonds she forged with the [Capture Targets].

Her unique perspective as a noble from the “back alley.”

I couldn’t do it. I could only resolve it with force, with acceptable losses.

This convenient calamity.

What if it… didn’t happen?

Perhaps…

“…Lady Adelheid.”

Ciel’s voice, along with a knock.

“—I’m coming. Wait.”

I sat up, opened the canopy curtains, and, reversing the earlier procedure, tied my shoelaces and put on my jacket, hanging on the wall.

I donned my attire as the head of the family, the wall lizard gecko crest embroidered on my chest.

I reattached the silver chain to my pocket watch and placed it in my breast pocket.

I walked towards the door, my footsteps sinking into the carpet.

I had a premonition.

As if… mocked by fate.

Steeling my resolve, I unlocked and opened the door.

I greeted Ciel, impeccably dressed in her maid uniform.

“Were you asleep?”

“I was just resting.”

I shook my head at Ciel, who had noticed the closed canopy curtains, and gestured for her to continue.

“We’ve received a report from Vandergant… There’s something… I need to discuss with you.”

“Alright. We’ll talk in the office.”

Ciel locked the door, and we went to the office next door.

My father had also used it as his study. It was a somber room, with a heavy wooden desk and bookshelves lining the walls.

There were no windows, prioritizing security, which made it feel somewhat… suffocating. While there were two entrances, one led to my private chambers. The ventilation shafts were also separate, with iron bars preventing anyone from entering.

It was the most secure room in the mansion… and also a dead end, with nowhere to go.

While some novels and plays about nobles featured secret passages in the lord’s chambers, I had no desire to sleep in a room where assassins might appear at any moment.

Ciel lit the lamp and closed the door.

Nothing said in this room would leave it.

I sat down at my desk, resting my elbows on it and clasping my hands.

“Ciel… is it… bad news?”

Ciel, who was usually so articulate and concise, hesitated.

“Yes… this is… conjecture. There’s no concrete evidence. It’s more of a… hunch.”

“I trust your hunches. —Report.”

“…There are signs of… a potential epidemic.”

At the word [epidemic], I sighed heavily.

The [Epidemic Event].

…As if the petty meanness of the villainous older sister wasn’t enough…

Fate had set the story in motion again.

I aimed for the guillotine.

But before that, as the lord of Vandergant—no, as the head of the “Coldhearted Vanderwaals,” I had duties to fulfill.

…I didn’t have to worry about what came after.

If the Grim Reaper swung their scythe, I would swing my own blade.

This time, I didn’t have to worry about my reputation.

I had a sister.

The first in line to inherit the Vanderwaals title.

A capable successor, raised to be worthy.

Even so, I couldn’t leave it all to Leticia.

“We can’t ignore it. Report to me immediately if there are any further developments. This is now our top priority.”

I was Adelheid von Vanderwaals.

The head of the “Coldhearted Vanderwaals.”

And her big sister.