IBTDRI 1

Episode 1

“Are you even fit to be the head of a family, being this irresponsible?!”

“Irresponsible? Who are you to talk about irresponsibility!”

A fine morning, a fine day.
But as always, the sound of my parents’ fights thundered up from the floor below.

Sigh. They’re at it again.

The vicious insults, the sound of objects being thrown—by now, I was used to ignoring it.
Trying to step in would only get me hurt.
Last time, I got a huge lump on my forehead for interfering.

Instead, I tucked a bag of bread and today’s newspaper under my arm and opened the attic door.

“I’m back, Cindy!”

“Unnie…?”

In the corner of the shabby attic, sitting on an even shabbier bed, Cindy turned her head toward me.

“I smell bread, unnie.”

She reached out into the air.
I walked over with deliberate footsteps and pressed a warm roll into her hand.
My little sister smiled faintly as she traced her fingers across the soft surface.

“Is this… a croissant?”

“That’s right.”

“Wow… I like croissants the best. Unnie, the newspaper?”

“Of course I brought it. Want me to read while you eat?”

“Mm-hm.”

She opened her mouth wide and bit into the bread.
I pulled up a chair, sat down, and unfolded the newspaper.

On the third page of The Fulrum Daily was the most despised serial novel of recent days, The Bride of the Scales’ Guardian.

But my little sister adored it.

“Do you remember where the story left off yesterday?”

Her unfocused eyes sparkled at my question.

“Wasn’t it when Tani attended the ball for the first time? At the end, she met a handsome man.”

“Right. Today picks up from their date.”

“Lucky Tani…”

I faltered for a moment at her wistful voice.
Cindy had lost her sight years ago due to illness.

Shut away in the attic all day, this novel was the only window she had to the world.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and steadied my voice.

“Alright then. ‘Titania Knightley’s heart raced as she gazed into the man’s eyes, like woodgrain etched with life…’”

That day’s chapter began with the heroine meeting the male lead and feeling destiny strike.

“His name was Cain Brahms, a knight with beautiful green eyes. And Cain, too, was drawn to Titania.”

By then, Cindy had finished her croissant and was blushing.

“They fell in love at first sight, didn’t they?”

“Most likely.”

“Wow…”

I watched her react, pouring my whole heart into my dramatic reading.
The deeper the story went, the brighter her blind eyes seemed to glow.

So much so that it felt like a crime that the chapters were so short.

“‘Would you… grant me the chance to see you again?’ Cain whispered to Titania.”

“And that’s how he asked her on another date. The end for today.”

“Kyaa!”

My most enthusiastic audience member clasped her hands and squealed with delight.

‘If only she could see herself… she’d realize she’s glowing brighter than Titania herself.’

But while Cindy envied Titania, the world hated her.
Readers thought she was far too indecisive.
Even attending a single ball had felt like chewing glass.

More than once, I’d crumpled the newspaper in frustration while reading aloud.

“Cindy, you seem extra happy today.”

“Titania’s about to set off on an adventure with Sir Cain to break the curse, right? I envy that so much, unnie.”

“……”

“I want to go outside too…”

Thank goodness she couldn’t see my face.
If she could, she’d have seen my expression turn grim.

‘You’ll go outside someday, just like Titania…’

But I couldn’t bring myself to say it.

“Unnie, if I could go out—cough, cough—then…”

“You’re too excited. Take your medicine and rest a little.”

“Mm…”

I laid her down on the bed.
Though I tried not to notice, her body was nothing but skin and bone now.

“Unnie, I’m sorry…”

“There’s nothing for you to be sorry about.”

I pulled the blanket over her and stiffened my throat,
not wanting her to hear how it trembled.

Once she was asleep, I slipped out of the attic and collapsed just outside the door.

‘My poor little sister…’

Cindy was terminal.
First she lost her ability to walk, then her sight.
No matter how much money I scraped together, no matter the medicines—she never got better.

Maybe that’s why she clung to Titania, that timid girl.
Maybe she longed to go on a great adventure of her own.

‘So please… let Titania find happiness. If Cindy can see that ending, maybe she’ll find the will to keep living.’

But a few days later, Cindy died—without ever reaching the ending.

“Good riddance! Her medicines were a waste of money anyway!”

Our parents, who had never so much as glanced at her, wasted even more money once she was gone.
Our already broken family fell to ruins in an instant.

I tried desperately to keep our house from being seized—
the last trace of my sister—
but my strength alone couldn’t keep the creditors away.

“Disgusting! Shameless! You call yourselves parents?!”

Weeks after Cindy’s death, I wandered the streets drunk.
That night, the Fulrum Daily caught my eye again.
And of all things, the novel had ended.

“Titania, you idiot! Who did you just follow?! Who?!”

I crumpled the paper in rage.
The story had spiraled into a travesty:
Titania, captured by the villain in the final chapter.

“When you could have had a happily ever after… all she did was watch as the hero was taken away! At least one of them should have had a spine! Is this what I endured for—”

My knees buckled mid-rant, and I stumbled into the road.

“Hey! Watch out!”

The thunder of hooves, a coachman’s frantic shout—
but my body refused to move.

All I could do was stare helplessly at the massive carriage barreling toward me.

“Wow… really…”

What a miserable ending.

The colossal impact struck. Darkness swallowed me whole.

“Waaah, waaah!”

Ugh… so noisy.

“Waaahhh!”

An infant’s wail pierced the void and pulled my consciousness back.
The accident had happened so suddenly, I didn’t understand.
But when I opened my eyes—

“What…?”

Why was everything so high up?

The world shimmered with ornate decorations.
Not a street, not a carriage wheel in sight.

“Edelweiss?”

A man I’d never seen before called me gently.
His voice was kind, his gaze even kinder.

Dazed, I let him carry me to a large bed.

“Let’s go say hello to your sister.”

“Sister…?”

The words came out slurred, my tongue clumsy.
The sound startled me so much I bit my tongue.

A child’s voice…?

The suspicion turned to certainty when the man lifted me to the bed.

“I… I’ve become a baby?”

On the bed sat a breathtakingly beautiful woman, cradling a newborn.
The infant, skin still flushed red, wailed softly.

“Edel, this is your little sister. Her name is Titania. Titania Knightley.”

“……!”

The name froze me.
Silver hair like her mother, and surely, pink eyes like her father.

Titania Knightley… the heroine of that cursed novel.

I reached toward the tiny baby.
Her small, chubby hand waved weakly until it brushed mine—
then clasped my finger tight.

“Oh my, she recognizes her sister already…!”

“……”

Warmth spread into my chest. My throat ached.

At last, I understood.
Why I had opened my eyes here, in this place.

Whether the original Titania had an elder sister named Edelweiss didn’t matter.

“Titania… I’ll protect you. Always.”

“Oh, my lovely Edel!”

“Darling, our daughters already share such a bond.”

But I hadn’t said those words for them.
I had said them for myself.

I clenched my tiny fist around hers and vowed once more.

Cindy was gone, but I was reborn.
As the sister of the very heroine she had loved.

“If I couldn’t do it for Cindy, then I’ll do it all for Titania.”
“And if Titania can grow strong, bold, and happy—then Cindy will see it from heaven.”

So, Titania—my little sister.
Unnie will make everything different this time.
Unnie will make it right.