As I finished talking to the Duke of Perdia, Greed and I argued as we left the office and headed towards the bedroom. 

‘Hey. Greed, did you really have to burp in that situation?’

[I was so full. Didn’t you think that diamond really tasted good?]

‘So, you liked it?’

 [I wasn’t full before! What is the matter with you humans? You have no sense of timing!]

 ‘Then why do you talk like that? Are all sins like that?  It’s stupid.’

[Economy of language!]

‘It seems like you’re the only one who doesn’t realize that it’s not economical at all.’

[Hate! I hate you!]

It’s a good thing I was able to keep this childish dialogue to myself.

Otherwise, I don’t know what kind of stares I would have received from the endless servants I encountered.

 Entering the hallway in front of the bedroom, I was confronted by two unwelcome visitors who were waiting for me in front of it. 

 Jansi and Carlot.

 Jansi asked in a friendly tone. 

“Lili. Where were you?”

“I was with His Grace.”

” …..His Grace?”

Jansi, who noticed my change of title, responded with an out-of-the-blue smile. 

But I didn’t feel the need to explain, so I ignored the subtle question. Carlot, who was standing next to me, glanced over and said.

“Sister, are you okay? You’ve…. been crying a lot recently.”

While asking, Carlot looked like a lost puppy, worrying if he might offend me. 

Yet, how long will he be able to worry about me?

 I wondered if he’d still be able to do that after learning my secret. 

‘It’s better this way. Let’s handle both of them at once.’

I revised my plan to slowly reveal that I am not Perdia.

I opened the bedroom door and looked back at the two of them. 

 “Come on in. Carl, you too.”

“Yes!”

Carlot trotted in, beaming as if he’d been invited to a great dinner party; Jansi followed, his expression as reserved as ever, so I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

Martha left the bedroom after setting up some snacks and tea.

Confirming that the door was closed, Carlot, as if eager to know, asked.

“Sister, you’re not really leaving, are you?”

“I meant it when I said I was going to be independent.”

“But I don’t want you to leave. And if you do, I won’t be able to see you as often as I do now…….”

‘Often?’

He didn’t seem to have assumed that I wouldn’t see him at all.

 I looked at Carlot, who stared at me like a puzzled puppy.

At first, it was difficult to adapt towards the changed attitude of this guy and I was surprised, but now, it has become quite familiar.

He had always been my least favorite person in Perdia, but now he became somewhat like a younger brother, and was sometimes even cute.

 I had to admit it. 

He changed, just like I did. 

“Carl. Don’t you still dislike me?”

In response to my unexpected question, Carlot, who was looking uneasy, answered while fidgeting with his hands.

“I told you before, I wanted to get along with you from the beginning. I was just too stupid to realize it…….”

“Why did you want to get along with me?”

“That’s because you are my sister.”

I wonder if he will still be able to look at me with the same level of affection even after finding out the secret of my birth. I always thought I was pushing Carlot away, but without realizing it, I might have become accustomed to him, and words weren’t coming out easily.

But there was nothing more futile than holding on to something that wasn’t mine. 

“What if I told you I wasn’t your sister?”

As if they had never expected my question, both Carlot and Jansi looked at me in surprise. 

“You’re too harsh. “, Carlot said.

“But it’s the truth. Not a single drop of Perdia’s blood is mixed in me. So, I’m not related to either of you. “

Strangers, not family. That was the nature of our relationship.

 “Stop it, sister. It’s not funny”, replied Carlot.

Carlot’s face darkened as if he’d heard a bad joke. 

But I remained silent without responding. 

Then Carlot, looking helpless, shook the arm of Jansi, who had been observing our conversation.

 “Brother. Say something!”

“Hmm…….”

“Surely, you don’t believe what Sister is saying, right?”

Jansi’s response that followed with this question was unexpected to Carlot.

“I believe it.”

“What?!”

I looked at Jansi, wondering if he was treating my words as a joke and giving a casual response, but his expression couldn’t have been any more serious than that.

Our eyes met.

The blue eyes, whose depths couldn’t be fathomed, resembled a distant sea with an unknown depth.

In the past, I used to speculate and guess what Jansi was thinking, making an effort to hear and imagine whatever pleased him.

I didn’t want to lose the only person who treated me well. However, now I wasn’t curious about the depths of that ocean anymore.

Whatever Jansi thought of me or whatever schemes he devised behind my back didn’t matter.

‘If I get a hint of you plotting something, I’ll tell Duke Perdia right away.’

Even Jansi Perdia wouldn’t be able to disobey his father’s orders, so I stopped smiling coyly at Jansi. 

“Brother, did you hear anything?”

“I didn’t hear anything, Carl.”

“But if there was nothing, why do you believe her so easily? Just because Sister says she’s not a Perdia, does that really mean she is not one?”

Annoyed, Carlot raised his voice and questioned Jansi as if interrogating him.

“I never thought about it, but hearing Lili’s words, I guess it’s possible.”

“Brother!”

“Besides, there’s no reason for Lili to tell such a flimsy lie that would be quickly exposed.”

In the face of Jansi’s logically articulated words, Carlot pursed his lips.

His contemplative expression, unsure of what to do, looked rather pitiful.

“If you can’t trust me, ask His Grace. He knows about it too”, I added.

“But what about the power? What happened to the power? It was 

the power of Perdia!”

Innocent Carlot firmly believed in the destructive attribute of the power.

“The power did manifest, but it’s not a destructive attribute.”

“It was the power to destroy toxins……!”

At that moment, Jansi, who had been lost in thought, spoke up.

“Severes…”

Mumbling quietly, Jansi stared straight at me and asked. 

“Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

There was no reason not to tell him, as this was a fact that could be immediately known by asking Duke Perdia.

Carlot looked at Jansi as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“How do you know that? Are you a mind reader or something?”

“I’m just guessing. I’ve always thought Lili’s powers were strange.”

“Why! You’re the only one who thought it was weird! I didn’t find it weird at all!”

As Jansi said, he had always been suspicious of my powers.

Although the explanation that it was a power that destroyed toxicity seemed quite plausible, it was clear that I couldn’t escape the scrutiny of the villain.

“If your power is purification, Lili, that explains everything that seemed strange about you.”

Carlot muttered, rubbing his forehead in confusion.

“Severes? Duke Severes fell into coma nineteen years ago, ah…….”

Without saying a word, Carlot suddenly looked at me with a helpless expression.

It seemed like he had realized something.

“That’s right. The Duke of Severes is my father.”

“Sister, a Severes?”

“Mmh.”

“Darn it. I don’t understand anything. What the heck happened? You, being the blood of Severes… does that make sense?”

Carlot grabbed his head and mumbled in confusion.

It seemed like he was trying to deny reality.

But it was only for a moment, he’ll come to his senses again.

‘I guess that’s the end of this brother – sister talk.’

I had become somewhat accustomed to hearing that title, so it felt a bit disappointing.

But I will get used to it again.

Now that the truth was revealed, it was time to bring this conversation towards an end.

Still looking confused, I briefly summarized to Carlot. 

“You don’t have to make an effort, Carlot. There’s no need to treat me like a sister when I’m not.”

“……what?”

Next was Jansi.

“Jansi.”

“Yes, Lili.”

Jansi responded with a warm smile.

It felt remarkable that Jansi could still smile at me with his usual expression after learning the truth.

I couldn’t imagine myself smiling like that when I found out that someone, I considered a half-sister wasn’t even that.

‘He probably didn’t have any feelings for me to begin with.’

That was the extent of his feelings for me.

With all the hands dealt, I wasn’t in the mood for a tiring family drama anyway. 

“You don’t need to pretend to be kind to me anymore.”

For a moment, the smile faded from Jansi’s face.

I wondered if he was going to say what he really thought now, but Jansi somehow managed to hold his tongue. 

“Do you think I’m pretending to be nice…… to you, Lili?”

“Don’t you?”

“…….”

 “You’ve never genuinely smiled at me, not even once.”

I wondered if he had never thought of me as a sister. That’s why, unlike the shocked Carlot, he wasn’t affected at all. I stopped observing Jansi’s expression.

 It was a futile effort from my end.

I focused on the cold tea in front of me and spoke.

“Don’t worry, I’m not planning on going around saying I’m Perdia when I’m not.”

“…….”

“Don’t worry about us conflicting with each other. I’ll try to stay out of your way. I don’t plan to attend family meals in the future. I would like to return to the annex, but I haven’t received permission yet…”

“…….”

“You’re the one who stopped me from leaving, so if you’re not happy with me, you might as well persuade me.”

I looked up, thinking that this would be the end of the matter, and was met with Carlot´s furious eyes.

“What on earth are you talking about?”

“What?”

“What? How can you casually say such things? Don’t make ridiculous remarks.”

Carlot grinded his teeth and his clenched fist trembled.

It seemed like he was restraining the desire to hit the table.

“Treating you like You’re not my sister? Why do you judge my heart? Even if your blood isn’t mixed, what right does my sister have to speak so lightly about someone else’s feelings?”

“But you and I don’t share even a single drop of blood?”

“What does blood have to do with it? From the moment you were born, you were my sister! Severes? Screw them. Why do they suddenly have to jump out of nowhere? Sister is a Perdia. We are family, and no matter what anyone says, you are my sister. 

Why is he like this……?

“Ha, how dare they. Do you let those Severes take you away sister?”

“Look, Carlot. They don’t know anything about me in Severes, okay?”

I added quickly, feeling like he was going to storm into Severes at any moment, but Carlot was stuck on something else. 

He stared at me in horror, as if he was a vampire who had been crucified. 

“Ugh! Don’t call me Carlot! Call me Carl! Why are you being so distant? I don’t like that!”

“Huh, well…….”

Carlot, who is supposed to be coldly rejecting me, has become even more demanding.

“I don’t care if there’s no blood involved. What are you going to do? You’re my sister, forever, till death do us part, no, even after death.”

And now, with a straight face, Carlot was saying something sinister. 

“Stop it, Carlot.”

“Ah, it’s not Carlot!”

In the end, he even denied his own name.

‘This guy is hopeless.’

Unable to control Carlot, who had turned to this extent, I turned to Jansi.

“Pretending to be nice. Pretending to be nice……?”

What’s wrong with him? Jansi’s state was also far from normal. 

“Haa…….”

Facing this unexpected chaos, I couldn’t suppress a sigh.

‘Why don’t they hate me?’

I never expected this kind of reaction!

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