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CHAPTER 04
“…If that was the case, she should’ve just stopped at a reasonable point and moved on.”
Recalling her first encounter with Noella, Adele pressed her pen down hard on the paper in irritation.
According to the original story, Noella—the younger sister and villainess—met her end at a young age. No, actually, calling her young felt too generous—she was practically a child when she died.
The end of a villain. The crown jewel of a trashy drama. A terminal illness.
Honestly, was there an easier way to be written off?
In novels, only the protagonist gets away with everything. Which means, if you’re not the protagonist, there’s no need to be particularly kind or warm.
Thus, even the good deeds from Noella’s heroine days were dissected and reinterpreted, earning her the title of “conspiracy theorist’s ultimate example.”
Apparently, the plague from three years ago? Also her fault. The volcanic eruption from ten years ago? Yep, Noella again.
The theory that Noella was secretly a demon lord was so widespread in the comments section, you’d think there wasn’t a single misdeed in the empire that didn’t have her fingerprints on it.
The ending was as dramatic as the accusations.
Blackmail, false accusations, inciting assault, even murder—her list of crimes was almost absurd.
Cursed by heaven with a terminal illness, Noella suffered excruciating pain that felt like her body was on fire before dying a lonely death.
Adele hadn’t read the final chapter, but according to the comments, her blood had soaked the bed.
“No sincerity, none at all.”
Adele clicked her tongue. No matter what, did they really have to kill off a former heroine in such a brutal way?
From one angle, it was a merciless decision. But as the heir to the Sergio family, it was also a relief.
If things had gone differently, she might’ve had to stain her own hands to protect the family.
“It couldn’t be helped.”
If only Noella had held onto her protagonist role from the beginning, things could’ve ended happily for both of them.
Adele wasn’t completely heartless. As her older sister, she did feel some pity over Noella’s tragic fate.
She’d even tried several times to divert her from that destiny, hoping she could just live an ordinary life as a rich girl—but Noella had eagerly walked the path of the elite villainess.
In that regard, she was practically a prodigy. Despite never being taught, she climbed the ranks of evil with methodical precision.
At age ten, she accused three servants of theft just for not doing as she wanted. At twelve, she led a bullying campaign that forced a peer to drop out of the academy.
Even Caidyn, who shared the same origins as her, nearly died multiple times thanks to Noella—though she was too young to realize it.
“Stupid girl. Do you even know how amazing it is to be a chaebol’s daughter? And all that for some guy?”
She had crossed the river of no return. No saving her now.
Worse, every time Adele tried to pull her back on track, something bad happened to the merchant guild. At this point, Adele was half-convinced it was a divine curse for defying fate.
“Sorry, but I don’t want to fix you that badly.”
If someone told Adele to choose between a villainous younger sister and being a chaebol’s daughter, she’d obviously choose the latter.
Still, she intended to do her duty as an older sister in the most minimal way. The girl wasn’t going to live much longer anyway.
According to the original timeline, Noella had about one year left to live.
Whatever she did in that time, Adele figured she could clean up the mess. Not personally, of course—the money would take care of it.
If there was ever a time to use her “chaebol daughter privilege,” this was it. Adele firmly believed that 99% of the world’s problems could be solved with enough money.
“…But Noella, it’s going to be a problem if you start eyeing what’s mine.”
That remaining 1% of problems came from Noella’s lack of gratitude and self-awareness.
Up until now, she’d been burning with hostility toward Caidyn, who shared her birth origin, but always bowed her head and wagged her tail toward Adele, the designated heir.
“I-I had no idea Zerox oppa had feelings for me. I really didn’t! Sniff.”
What a joke. As if she didn’t know.
It was common knowledge within the guild that Zerox was waiting for Adele.
No matter how innocently she cried, to Adele, it was nothing more than a cheap performance.
What bothered her was the possibility that the villainess had a change of heart.
Was she finally starting to activate?
Was this the moment of her evolution?
“Hmm.”
Furrowing her brows in thought, Adele eventually let out a smirk. So what if Noella was up to something?
“This entire guild will be mine anyway.”
As busy as she already was, there was no need for an heir to stress over petty matters.
It would be much more productive to plan how to make a lasting impression at tomorrow’s annual guild banquet.
Thinking of the guests who’d arrive, Adele went to bed early.
And it didn’t even take a full day for her to realize how careless she’d been
