99: The Jam Stall
The capital city of Vandergant was sometimes compared to a labyrinth.
All old fortress cities were similar. While the city walls had been expanded, creating more space, a lack of space was the inherent fate of such cities.
Buildings stretched towards the sky, haphazardly expanded, occasionally collapsing under their own weight. Flowerpots and watering cans, placed by residents, lined the narrow alleyways, and overhead, clotheslines crisscrossed, laundry obscuring the sky.
The web of alleyways within the city walls eventually led to a main street or a square.
We strolled through the city, passing through several alleyways, emerging into squares, browsing the stalls, and then, as we reached a particular square, Leticia took my hand and pulled me along.
Emerging from the shadows of the buildings into the sunlight, Leticia, still holding my hand, turned to me.
The light was so bright that I had to squint.
The sunlight piercing through the dim alleyways… or perhaps Leticia’s smile…
It was dazzling.
Leticia’s disguise was perfect.
“Big Sister Adel, Big Sister Ciel! I decided that if I ever came to Vandergant, I would definitely visit a jam stall!”
Passersby smiled at the sight.
They strolled past at a leisurely pace, as if appreciating a pleasant moment.
As if to say that these ordinary, everyday moments were what truly mattered.
Who among them would think that this girl, with her short blond hair and red-ribboned straw hat, was a ducal lady?
…Who would know she was my half-sister, from the “back alley,” the [Protagonist] of some romance simulation game called [Moonlight Liberium]?
In any case, her disguise was flawless.
“Leti, what do you want?”
“Everything! …Well, that’s not possible, so… um…”
My sister pondered Ciel’s question.
And Ciel, who had just asked with such a gentle, perfect older sister demeanor, was also perfectly disguised.
Unlike Leticia, for whom this seemed to be her natural state, Ciel’s range was different.
While my sister also seemed a bit more… excitable than usual, Ciel today was completely different.
I thought I had seen many sides of Ciel.
Since we had known each other since before I was born, it was natural that my memories of her from when I was very young were hazy.
Even so, I vaguely remembered her lullabies, sung in a childish voice.
After I grew older, her educational style became… more intense, like dragging me into a bear-infested forest without my consent.
My governess and tutor, who had treated me as a young lady—as ‘Lady Adel’—until I became the head of the family, was gone.
“What about you, Adel? What do you want?”
…But now, before me stood ‘Big Sister Ciel,’ acting even more like an ‘older sister’ than back then.
While I wanted to play that ‘role,’ I probably couldn’t.
“Blackberry.”
“Okay. Why?”
Her constant, natural smile, the kind I used to ask for, made my heart race.
I couldn’t help but avert my gaze… even though it was Ciel.
“They say it’s a good harvest this year, so I wanted to… check the quality.”
This was officially an inspection.
Or rather, it was an inspection… it was supposed to be.
“Big Sister Ciel, what about you?”
“Strawberry.”
Ciel answered immediately.
“Then I’ll have raspberry!”
Leticia, who had been studying the menu, seemed to have made up her mind.
“Leticia, you already had raspberry in your berry candy.”
“That’s why I’m having it again.”
That… made sense.
“One blackberry, one raspberry, and one strawberry, please.”
“Alright, three copper coins.”
The elderly woman at the jam stall placed simple wooden spoons in each jar as she spoke to Ciel.
“Oh, Big Sister Ciel.”
“I’ll pay.”
Ciel took out her wallet from her handbag and efficiently paid the exact amount.
I watched her as she received the spoons filled with jam.
I also had a wallet in my pocket…
“…Are you sure? I can—”
“It’s fine… Big Sister gets paid too, you know. This much is nothing.”
Ciel smiled, interrupting me just as I was about to say “secret funds.”
Ciel was well-paid.
As other customers approached the stall, we moved aside, and Leticia spoke.
“…There’s something I’ve been wanting to ask…”
“What is it?”
As a ducal family, we paid our servants well—to discourage any… unfortunate betrayals.
As head maid and assistant head of the family, Ciel received the highest salary. …Including hazard pay for her work with the “shadows.”
“…Big Sister Ciel, what do you spend your salary on?”
――I had never seen her spend it.
Ciel smiled vaguely.
“…It’s a secret.”
A recent novel I read said that attractive women were mysterious.
…Come to think of it, I, who meticulously investigated my subordinates, had never ordered a background check on Ciel.
It was Ciel herself who decided who to investigate, aside from new hires.
The cornerstone of our family’s security… a blind spot.
Ciel had served me since birth, as my governess and tutor, and as my assistant head of the family since my inauguration.
If she were to betray me—it could mean the end of the Vanderwaals family.
…But there was no need to waste money on that.
What reason did I have to distrust Ciel?
Everyone had secrets they didn’t want to share with their master.
I decided to accept that and tasted the dark, glossy blackberry jam on the simple wooden spoon.
Yes, this year’s blackberry harvest was excellent.
The sweetness of the sugar, combined with the rich, mellow sweetness and tartness of the berries, filled my mouth.
I had expected the jam from a street stall to have seeds, but it was strained, the smooth texture pleasant.
Glancing at Leticia, she was savoring the taste with her eyes closed, a soft smile on her face.
And Ciel… she, too, was smiling as she tasted the strawberry jam.
“…Big Sister Ciel, do you like strawberries?”
“Yes.”
…I felt a pang of… something… realizing that I didn’t even know the favorite food of my most trusted subordinate, who had served me my entire life.
It was Ciel who had taught me not to be picky about food.
As a servant, she rarely had the opportunity to eat with me, and she always maintained a composed expression, never revealing her thoughts or feelings.
Furthermore, I had been taught not to reveal my preferences, as knowing someone’s favorite food made it easier to poison them.
――That last lesson had been surprisingly useful since gaining a younger sister named Leticia.
…Though I was slightly worried that Ciel might have noticed.
“…I just thought of something…”
Leticia spoke, having finished her jam and holding the clean wooden spoon, and Ciel and I both looked at her.
“If we kissed now, would it taste like mixed berry?”
That was a waste of attention.
“Don’t be absurd.”
“Want to try?”
Leticia, seemingly waiting for that suggestion, and I, who was about to dismiss it, both turned to look at Ciel.
“I was joking.”
Ciel, playing the role of our ‘older sister,’ maintained a straight face.
Since she rarely joked, there was an unsettling sincerity to her words.
…Who… and who…?
I couldn’t help but glance at their lips.
I looked at Ciel’s lips, then at Leticia’s… and then quickly looked away.
My heart, which had skipped a beat earlier, was still pounding.
…And yet, I was someone with no chance of experiencing such romantic love.
I had always assumed I would be betrothed to someone deemed suitable, someone who would benefit our family—or the nation.
There were rumors about Konrad, but that would never happen. Not him. Anyone but him.
There were few men of marriageable age who weren’t intimidated by the Vanderwaals name.
The only exceptions were perhaps the three [Capture Targets].
Perhaps that was why they were suitable partners for Leticia… for a Vanderwaals lady—men with the status and courage not to be intimidated by the “Coldhearted Vanderwaals.”
As the head of a ducal family, I had no chance of experiencing such romantic love.
That’s why I liked stories.
They made me believe that there were beautiful things, kind things, in this world.
That pain and suffering weren’t burdens I had to bear alone.
Now that I was a character in a story myself, I had some… thoughts about that, but…
If the story had a happy ending… as long as my sister was given the role of the protagonist, the one who would find the greatest happiness, I wouldn’t interfere.
I tossed the simple wooden spoon, stained with blackberry jam, towards a nearby trash can.
It landed with a clatter, on top of the other discarded spoons.
Ciel also discarded hers… but Leticia was staring intently at the spoon in her hand.
“…Is something wrong?”
“…It seems… like a waste…”
The wooden spoons used at the jam stalls in Vandergant were supposedly made from scrap wood from the sawmills on the outskirts of the city.
While they were smoothened for comfort, they weren’t durable. Disposable items, sold in bulk.
She could afford silver spoons now.
“…Just throw it away.”
There was no use keeping it.
My sister seemed to understand, and she discarded her spoon before I could say anything more.
She was a ducal lady now.
While she was showing clear growth as a noble, becoming more like the [Protagonist]… her heart was still tied to the “back alley.”
In the story, one of the three [Capture Targets]—Prince Konrad, Knight Commander Felix, or Chief Physician Louis—would become her partner and eventually fill that void in her heart.
…However, they didn’t seem to have reached that level of intimacy yet.
While all three were clearly pursuing her, my sister didn’t seem to be pursuing any of them.
While I thought they were incompetent, I also wasn’t sure if I could maintain my composure if they started flirting before my head was chopped off.
Aside from the [Final Ball], which was like a curtain call for a happy ending… and the [Guillotine], which was merely a narrated event, there were only two important [Events] remaining.
One related to the romance… and one related to the main plot.
It wasn’t my role, as the villainous sister, to resolve those. It was the protagonist younger sister’s role.
“…Leticia, is there anywhere you’d like to go?”
The guilt of placing the entire burden on my sister made me say such uncharacteristic things.
While I intended to do my part, according to the scenario, no one could replace my sister.
Anyone could play the role in [Moonlight Liberium]. That’s what made her the [Protagonist].
But at the same time, it was precisely because she was irreplaceable that she was the protagonist.
“Really? …Then…”
My sister paused, her gaze wandering.
She opened her mouth, then closed it, as if lacking the courage to speak.
…Were there really such… difficult-to-name places in Vandergant?
A jewelry store, perhaps…? I had enough money to buy out an entire store…
What if she wanted to go to that… certain establishment in a hidden corner of Vandergant, the one with the ‘bunnies’?
I started to feel uneasy, all sorts of unlikely possibilities running through my mind.
As I waited patiently, my sister spoke again.
“—I want to go… to the lake.”
The lake?
