The Villainous Older Sister Who Loves Her Younger Sister Aims for the Guillotine 134

134: A Field of Salvation

My sister was assisting Chief Physician Louis with the work of the Medical Corps.

Her assistance mainly involved visiting and comforting the sick.

With trade disrupted, and even rationing being considered, maintaining public morale was becoming increasingly important.

Rationing itself wasn’t a bad thing.

…However, when it was implemented, the population count would be based on the poll tax.

And the residents of the “back alley” weren’t included in that count.

No one knew how many people lived in the “back alley.”

And ironically, the “back alley,” where second- and third-rate goods were usually sold, was less affected by the disruption of the distribution network caused by the current epidemic.

With the supply lines from Vandergant disrupted, even our family’s meals were meager, for nobles.

…I didn’t have the heart to enjoy luxury while others were suffering. Resentment over food could easily turn deadly.

After breakfast, my sister caught me in the hallway and spoke hesitantly.

“Elder Sister… this is… just a possibility… but I might have some information about the epidemic…”

――Here it comes.

“Tell me. I know you’ve been researching in the library between your visits.”

“Yes…”

My sister nodded slightly.

She had been unusually quiet lately. …While I understood that her usual cheerful demeanor might be considered inappropriate during an epidemic, I also didn’t want to see her sad, so I felt conflicted.

I, on the other hand, could simply maintain my villainous facade. That was easier.

My sister’s expression became serious.

“—There’s a medicinal herb called Yamaidome… that might be effective.”

The herb I had plucked and thrown at her during the horse riding event, the herb I had seen at the Vandergant herb garden.

Hearing its name, I felt a sense of relief.

In the scenario of [Moonlight Liberium], she would suffer. She would listen to the cries of those she couldn’t save, her heart breaking, yet she would continue to care for them—and then she would find a solution.

That was how it was supposed to go. That was the ‘setting.’

But…

…what if she didn’t?

There were already signs of the scenario unraveling.

If she couldn’t find a solution… if we were too late, thousands, tens of thousands would die.

Even if the epidemic didn’t destroy the nation, many would lose their livelihoods.

“So, um…”

I wished this scene had been an [Official Event].

How had the ‘me’ in the game been persuaded? —The ‘me’ with such an abnormally low favorability towards my adorable sister.

Or had she gone directly to Louis? …Had she gone to the Medical Corps because I had dismissed her? It was possible.

…I was afraid that my choices… might change the future.

“Leticia, you know our family has other territories besides this mansion, near the capital.”

“Y-yes…”

“Accompany me.”

“Y-yes…?”

My sister nodded hesitantly.

While I could explain the details now, it was… tedious.

She would understand when she saw it.

I boarded the carriage with my sister and Ciel and set off for the outskirts of the capital.

On the way, I checked the book Leticia had brought.

“—We’ve been expecting you, Lady Adelheid.”

“Sonia?”

Sonia greeted me at the foot of a hill outside the capital, under a cloudy sky.

Her brown hair was still long and unkempt, her forehead exposed, but her demeanor was unusually calm—she had been like this since the epidemic began in earnest.

While she no longer worked for the Medical Corps, she had chosen a path to help people—this disease was also her ‘enemy.’

Her open-front purple robe identified her as a researcher in the Vanderwaals herb gardens.

Sonia wasn’t mentioned in the scenario. However, anticipating that her skills would be needed, I had summoned her from Vandergant when the first signs of the epidemic appeared.

“Yes, it’s been a while. Lady Leticia.”

Sonia lowered the cloth covering her mouth and bowed.

She narrowed her eyes, a hint of frustration in their depths.

“Lady Adelheid, we haven’t found a solution yet… I apologize.”

There was no reason for her to apologize.

However, she was a conscientious person. It would be pointless to tell her not to worry.

But she was also one of my pawns. A valuable subordinate… a useful… tool.

While I didn’t want to see her that way, I had no other choice.

“That’s what we’re here about. My sister found something in our library, a past case that might be helpful. —Leticia.”

I prompted my sister.

She offered Sonia the large, leather-bound book she had been holding. It was from the mansion library.

Several bookmarks were placed between the pages.

I caught a glimpse of one of them—a pressed white flower.

“Yes, um… according to this book, a medicinal herb called Yamaidome… might be effective…”

“Yamaidome?”

Sonia blinked.

And then she tilted her head.

“—The one Lady Adelheid ordered us to increase production of four years ago?”

“…What?”

My sister looked at me.

“Yes, the one used as a stimulant.”

“—The cultivation fields are just beyond that hill.”

Hearing that, my sister dashed off.

Sonia, Ciel, and I followed.

As we caught up to Leticia, who was standing still on top of the hill, we saw a field of white flowers stretching before us.

A sea of jagged leaves and small, delicate white flowers, still blooming despite the approaching winter.

It was once a common sight throughout the continent.

Even now, it should be flourishing in more remote areas…

But we didn’t need to rely on those.

Sunlight, like a ladder, streamed down from between the thick, dark clouds that covered the sky, illuminating the white flowers.

A sudden gust of wind swept across the field, scattering the petals, sending them swirling into the air.

Leticia turned and looked at me.

“…Elder Sister, this field… Don’t tell me…”

I had ordered the cultivation of these flowers.

To secure a source and eliminate the need to gather them.

So that my sister could personally—under the Vanderwaals name—produce the medicine, not just rely on information.

To follow fate, yet also defy it.

“Yes, that’s exactly what it is.”

I smirked, a villainous expression befitting my role.

The perfect villainous sister.

Destined for the guillotine.

“So I could survive—”

“Elder Sister has also been researching folk remedies, and you concluded that this flower might be effective against the current epidemic?!”

“…What? No, this is for my own survival.”

“What are you talking about? You don’t need this much.”

She had a point.

My sister was truly a saint.

“No, listen, I—”

Leticia took my hands in hers and looked intently into my eyes.

Even now, I couldn’t help but feel a flutter in my chest, and I was speechless.

“Elder Sister—please lend us the power of the Vanderwaals. You can… spread rumors… right?”

“I… suppose I could.”

Overwhelmed by her intensity, I nodded.

“If this is truly effective, whether or not we can turn it into medicine… is a race against time. In the meantime, could you… spread the word… no, the truth? That the Vanderwaals are developing a cure… and that it will be distributed once it’s completed.”

This was… fast.

While I felt a sense of dissonance, it was true that time was of the essence.

“Alright.”

I nodded and turned to the two behind me.

“—Ciel. Sonia.”

“Yes, Lady Adelheid.”

Their responses were perfectly synchronized.

“I hereby declare this disease an enemy of the Vanderwaals.”

“…With all due respect, there’s no guarantee that this will be effective against the current epidemic…”

Sonia spoke cautiously.

“I don’t care if it’s a straw or a cat’s paw. If we’re at a dead end, we’ll take any chance we can get. Sonia, you will lead this project. Examine the literature with the others and begin testing.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Sonia nodded.

“Ciel, provide Sonia with your full support. This is our top priority, in the name of Vanderwaals.”

“Understood.”

Ciel also nodded.

I looked away from them, towards the field of Yamaidome.

Delicate flowers.

They would save many lives.

And they would indirectly cause the deaths of a smaller number.

“I authorize unlimited clinical trials—I don’t care how many die. If there’s even a sliver of a chance, make it a reality.”

“Elder Sister?!”

I ignored my sister’s horrified gasp.

“Yes, Lady Adelheid… I will endeavor to keep the number to a minimum.”

“I will ensure that it causes as few problems as possible.”

Sonia and Ciel bowed their heads.

Leticia tugged on my sleeve.

“Elder Sister! That’s…”

Her voice trailed off as she met my gaze.

“Leticia, if you have an alternative, tell me. —If not, be quiet.”

She obediently closed her mouth.

“…Leticia—assuming Yamaidome is the cure… how long do you think it would take for the proper procedures to be followed?”

“…How long?”

Leticia parroted my question.

“Until the ‘higher-ups’ in the Medical Corps act? Until it’s discussed in the royal court? Until they conduct their slow, safe trials? —Well-intentioned, unintentional incompetence kills the most people.”

That was why the Vanderwaals family existed.

We were… intentional malice.

The wall lizard gecko, watching from the shadows, ever-watchful.

I shook off my sister’s hand, which was still clutching my sleeve, and declared,

“I will take full responsibility.”

A villainess who used the people as test subjects in clinical trials, sacrificing their lives for her own survival—

It was a crime worthy of the guillotine.

Saving people was… complicated.

Especially if it was done efficiently.

Especially if the dangers were preemptively eliminated.

It wouldn’t be ‘praiseworthy salvation.’

Killing people was… simple.

Even if it was a ‘necessary sacrifice.’

Even if delaying meant more deaths.

Killing was always ‘evil, to be condemned.’

The “Coldhearted Vanderwaals” had killed many.

And… as long as the number we killed was deemed less than the number who would have died otherwise, our existence was tolerated.

Even so—our actions were always ‘evil.’

But in reality, there was no universally accepted ‘justice.’

Therefore, we had chosen the survival of the nation as our purpose.

We swore to protect the foundation that allowed the most people to live and prosper.

The Vanderwaals family was born for that purpose.

Adelheid von Vanderwaals was raised to be its next head.

Even so, I would have hesitated…

…if I hadn’t known the scenario.

If I hadn’t known that [Moonlight Liberium] was a romance story with a happy ending.

If I hadn’t had a sister.

If Yamaidome had been just a common herb used as a stimulant, nothing more.

I wouldn’t have been able to find a solution.

If my ‘role’ hadn’t been that of the [Villainous Sister].

I didn’t want to die.

As the head of the family, I couldn’t simply die.

But even a trump card had to be played at the right time.

This was the time to play these two cards: the sister who had grown into a worthy successor, and the head of the family, ruthless and hated.

…Fate had made the board so… simple.

If the scenario played out as planned…

My sister would be the saint.

And I would be the villain.

My sister would find the solution, and I would give the order.

A perfect division of light and darkness, a cure would be created.

My sister would be praised, and I would be condemned.

Even the lingering doubts in my heart, the question of whether there could have been a better way, would be washed away by the guillotine.

There would be another problem, also involving the “back alley,” but my sister would resolve it.

Then, it was my role, as her older sister, to solve everything else.

I would fulfill my role.

…To protect everything I loved.