Chapter 20

It felt like there was something wrong with my ears.

“B-Brother…?”

“You couldn’t even do that one thing right, and now look what you’ve done?”

“I’m frustrated too. I really am! It was always Betty who cleaned my room. But that day… for some reason, other maids barged in and insisted on cleaning it themselves.”

Kion listened, unable to hide his anger.

As if the suspicious looks between Edward and Lady Kidman at the last ball weren’t enough—now the potion had been discovered as well.

‘Utterly pathetic.’

I was so incompetent, it was almost shameful to call me his own blood.

“Do you even know who the Duke of Winderton danced with at the ball?”

“……”

“It was Lady Kidman. There are already rumors about the two of them being secret lovers. This latest ball only fueled the gossip.”

Now I had to hear about Edward and Sasha from Kion as well.

‘I’m so sick of this.’

I couldn’t say a word in the face of Kion’s rage.

It felt like someone was pressing a hand over my mouth.

“You do understand this is exactly why you need to bear the Duke’s child, don’t you?”

Kion’s cold gaze swept over my entire body.

Shame burned my cheeks red.

“He hates me! He can’t even stand being near me—how am I supposed to do that?”

It was a forced marriage, yet they expected so much from me.

“Listen carefully, Lirie Scarlett.”

Even though I’d been married and living in the Winderton estate for some time, to Kion, I was still a Scarlett.

‘No, to everyone, I’ll always be a Scarlett.’

Kion set down the teacup he’d been holding so elegantly with a loud clatter and walked over to where I sat.

The closer he got, the more my body trembled.

“Brother…”

With his large hand, he wrapped his fingers around my neck and squeezed.

There was a clear intent to kill—this wasn’t a warning.

He was actually trying to strangle me.

“Kh…!”

I wanted to live.

I didn’t want to die like this.

Tears welled up in my eyes from terror, but even when he saw them, Kion didn’t let go.

“I told you before the wedding, didn’t I?”

“Kh… Br—Brother…”

As my breath grew short, my pale face turned red.

With what little strength I had, I raised my hands and clawed at his grip. Kion didn’t budge.

“You said you couldn’t give the Duke of Winderton a child?”

“…!”

“Then you might as well die.”

My eyes flew open at Kion’s words.

I couldn’t speak, thanks to his hand around my throat, but my whole body was shaking.

“I said, you might as well die.”

‘K-Kh… at least let go so you can say it!’

With all the strength I could muster, I slapped away his hand.

The moment air rushed into my lungs, a fit of coughing racked my body.

“If you can’t do anything, then just die.”

“How—how could you say that to your own sister…?”

He’d said those very words to me at my wedding, but I hadn’t wanted to believe them.

‘No matter how much the family comes first, I’m still his sister, his family.’

I’d lived as a member of the Scarlett family for twenty years and thought I understood Kion better than anyone.

But I’d been so foolish to believe otherwise.

“Listen well, Lirie Scarlett.”

“…”

“If you die, we’ll blame the Duke of Winderton. Even His Majesty the Emperor would acknowledge the Duke’s crime.”

He would even use his sister’s death.

As if he’d planned it all along, Kion spoke smoothly.

“So you want me to sacrifice myself for that?”

“If that’s all you can do, then that’s what you should do for Scarlett.”

Kion didn’t hesitate for a moment.

It didn’t matter if I died or suffered, as long as it benefited the Scarlett family.

“…What am I to you, Brother?”

I’d always wondered, even just a little—did he think of me as a doll, or did he have even the slightest affection for me? We shared the same blood, after all.

“Lirie, you were born for Scarlett. Your destiny, your duty, is to do anything for Scarlett. That’s how it was meant to be.”

“So it doesn’t matter what happens to me…?”

“That’s right. It doesn’t matter at all.”

I thought I’d already cut off any feelings I had left for my family, but tears streamed down my face.

In the end, neither the Scarlett estate nor the Winderton estate was a place for me.

“If dying is what’s best for Scarlett, then that’s what I have to do?”

“That’s right.”

My lips moved silently in hollow resignation.

“…All right, Brother.”

Like someone who’d given up everything, I bowed my head.

“Oh, my dear little sister Lirie. Thanks to your sacrifice, the Scarlett family will reach even greater heights.”

“……”

As if he’d made a wise decision, Kion gently touched my sky-blue hair and pulled me tightly into an embrace.

“Oh, and if you’re going to die, you should write a suicide note. You know that, right?”

“One cursing the Duke of Winderton?”

“That’s right. Fill it with as much resentment as possible. Make it sound like you’re dying because of the Duke.”

He seemed almost pleased that I understood exactly what he wanted.

Then, as if bestowing a gift, he handed me something.

“What’s this?”

“Open it.”

When I opened the box Kion gave me, a gleaming sword lay inside.

The hilt was set with intricately cut, beautiful jewels, and it sparkled as if it had been meticulously maintained.

“Isn’t it beautiful?”

“It is……”

It was a rare and exquisite sword, but I had no desire to keep it. It felt ominous.

“That’s the sword you’ll use for your last moment.”

I should have known. Kion would never give me a gift without a reason.

“…Thanks for the present, Brother.”

“Good. I’ll look forward to good news.”

He watched me stare at the sword, then left the drawing room.

Left alone, I picked up the teacup he’d just been drinking from and threw it to the floor.

Clang—!

The piercing sound rang in my ears, but I didn’t care.

No one came to check on me even after hearing the noise.

“How could you do this to me?”

My whole body trembled with betrayal.

The sword Kion had given me glinted dazzlingly, in stark contrast to my circumstances.

I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs, but I was afraid someone might hear.

I clenched my lips together and balled my hands into fists, my manicured nails digging into my skin.

‘He told me to die…’

Words no sibling should ever say—Kion had uttered them without a hint of remorse.

…Calm down, Lirie.

Once I regained a bit of composure, my gaze drifted back to the sword. Maybe dying really would be easier.

‘But I’m not going to write a letter cursing Edward.’

I resented him, but I couldn’t bring myself to inflict more pain on him, even at the end.

After all, Edward was also a victim of this marriage.

‘Would anyone ever understand?’

How wretched my life had been, how much I’d suffered—would Edward ever truly see it?

But even if he saw my dead body, I knew he’d show no reaction.

‘Why do I have to live like this?’

I hated everyone.

‘Edward, I resent you too.’

If only you’d listened to me, just once.

If only you’d held me close, even once.

Of course, between the Winderton and Scarlett families, even dreaming of such a thing was impossible.

If only you’d comforted me.

‘Even if it was a lie, even if you didn’t mean it—if you’d just once said you loved me, maybe I could’ve found a reason to go on.’

No, that’s not it.

If only we’d married and lived like any ordinary couple…

“If I hadn’t fallen into these thoughts, things might have been different.”

If Sasha hadn’t existed in Edward’s life, it wouldn’t have hurt this much.

Seeing another woman beside your husband—no matter how much of a political marriage it was—would be painful for anyone.

‘But now, I don’t care anymore.’

Strangely, my heart was calm.

After letting everything go, the world looked entirely different.

Even thinking of Edward no longer made my heart race.

“I don’t love Edward anymore.”

It was such a brief love.

Like a fleeting summer night, it burned fast and faded.

After living as if I were imprisoned in Scarlett Manor, I’d fallen helplessly for Edward when we met.

Everyone envied him, and I was no exception.

“Yes, it’s time to stop now.”

Clutched in my arms was the jeweled sword Kion had given me.

It still shone as beautifully as before.

“It was the first present I ever received…”

It was the first time my family had given me a gift.

When I was young, I tried so hard, hoping for a present from them.

But I never knew.

The gift I’d longed for so desperately as a child—now, as an adult, I’d finally received it, only to use it like this. I never could have imagined it.

“Yes, if this is what everyone wants…”

If that’s what they all wished for, then I would simply give them what they wanted.

My family, my husband—everyone wished for my death.

Living on in these circumstances was impossible.

“For me, death will be eternal rest.”