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Chapter: 07
The Changing Future (1)
With that beautiful face, as if she had killed me herself, with that innocent expression, as if she had driven my younger sister to her doom…
‘I have to bring hell to you and them. Only then will I feel less wronged.’
Juggling the necklace around her neck, Sesennia forced herself to calm her heart and quickened her steps.
“Let’s go see Father. He doesn’t like being kept waiting.”
“Even if you’re late, you just have to act cute with Father. Men always like that.”
As always, Elzer was like this. Even if she made mistakes, all she had to do was act cute, and men would fall for it. There was no man who could resist that.
‘The Emperor must have been charmed the same way.’
“Really?”
“Sesennia, you have too little charm. Why do you make life so difficult? If you do it like this, everyone will move according to your wishes.”
“Elder sister.”
“Hmm?”
“I hate it when everyone tries to solve things so carelessly. I also hate it when you sweep everything aside like that. Don’t think everyone will do as you wish.”
For a moment, Sesennia’s instincts burst out, unrestrained.
‘I know very well that this person is not the same as her. Maybe this is just me being stubborn about what I’ve gone through. But my heart keeps twisting.’
Realizing she’d already said too much, Sesennia hurried to correct herself. But Elzer clicked her tongue with a disgusted look.
“Sorry, what I said…”
“That’s why you’re unpopular.”
“Huh?”
“If you live like this, no one will want to marry you. You’re my sister, but what a boring life. Be careful. For now, His Highness the Crown Prince keeps the engagement to maintain ties with our family… but he might break it because he’s tired of your attitude.”
Only now did Sesennia realize it. Her elder sister had openly looked down on her all along. Not just the woman she had encountered before—Elzer had been dismissive of her from childhood.
Sesennia, who had thought it was a different way of expressing love, now even suspected: could this be the same woman who had killed her before?
‘That must be her true nature. Really… she’s making it so easy for me to take revenge. Elder sister.’
Sesennia’s lips twisted slightly. Her face was unusually cold.
“I think my life is interesting enough.”
“What?”
“My life. I think it’s interesting enough.”
Perhaps displeased at Sesennia’s unusual rebuttal, Elzer’s face stiffened.
“Sesennia, you seem determined not to lose today. It’s like you’ve become someone else.”
“That’s not true. I’m just saying what I need to. Now, let’s go to Father quickly.”
Irritated that Sesennia didn’t follow her wishes, Elzer pressed her lips together but released Sesennia’s arm and quickly headed to Father’s room.
In Sesennia’s memories, her elder sister had been a kind, good person—someone who would do anything for her. But now, she realized her memories were significantly flawed.
How could anyone see her as a genuinely good person? Or had Elzer changed over time?
Sesennia stared at Elzer, who was ahead of her.
“Miss, aren’t you coming?”
It was Lizbeth urging her. Standing a step behind with a worried expression, Lizbeth encouraged her to move.
“Ah… I have to go.”
“Don’t mind what Elzer says. She always wants things her way.”
“Is that right?”
Sesennia’s gaze naturally turned to Lizbeth.
“When things go her way, she’s as angelic as anyone. But if not, she can be harsh. Don’t take it to heart.”
“Okay.”
Only then did Sesennia remember. Listening to Lizbeth, she finally understood why she had remembered Elzer as such a kind person. She had been a compliant, obedient younger sister who rarely clashed with Elzer, so there had been little reason for conflict.
Her elder sister had seemed so good. Since their mother died, Elzer had been like a mother, a sister, a friend, and the most trusted person for Sesennia.
‘But in reality, that wasn’t true.’
It was slightly amusing. Elzer had sometimes thrown fits at the servants over trivial matters: dresses not prepared, or the wrong carriage.
A sudden memory resurfaced.
‘Elder sister… you weren’t exactly a good person either. Angelic, huh.’
If her original nature had truly been angelic, if the image everyone knew was her truth, she wouldn’t have committed the audacious act of killing her younger sister for her own ends.
Sesennia, amused by how things were unfolding, continued walking.
‘I’m going to become like a devil anyway. Perfect. Two sisters with ruined personalities.’
“This will be fun.”
“Huh?”
Lizbeth, beside her, looked at Sesennia with surprised eyes.
“No, let’s just go.”
Sesennia decided to put on a mask for herself. She tried to appear as her 20-year-old self, not the 25-year-old woman who had seen the worst of the world, who had been worn down by life. She repeatedly convinced herself of this.
‘I am… 20 years old.’
**
“Father, sorry for being late.”
Elzer had entered the Marquis’s room first, clinging close to him, smiling at Sesennia for arriving late.
“You should come early. Can you keep Father waiting?”
“Yes. Sesennia, from now on, come early. Try to be more like your sister.”
“Yes.”
“Anyway, now that you’re all gathered, there’s something to discuss. I only have two children, so I must decide who will inherit the family. Now that Sesennia has come of age…”
So this was the day.
“Originally, I think it would be right to give it to your sister. After all, Elzer is the eldest. Is that alright, Sesennia?”
It must have been then. Sesennia, who had spoken her mind freely.
‘But if I act as I did in the past, I could be at risk of being killed by Elzer again. In Elzer’s mind, the family belongs to her. So I don’t need to save the family. What I need is mine alone. I don’t care what happens to the family.’
Sesennia’s gaze went to Elzer, sitting on the armrest beside Father, leaning close to him.
Her stiff expression softened.
“That’s right. It’s correct to give it to my sister.”
The past Sesennia would have expressed her wish to inherit the family. But the Marquis had been firm, questioning how someone who had just come of age could inherit the family. He had only called Sesennia to inform her, so he could give everything to his favored child, Elzer.
Sesennia’s chance to inherit the Marquisate came not from speaking her mind, but because she restored the struggling family, which had money but drained constantly like a bottomless barrel.
Even so, the Marquis intended to give it to Elzer, but Elzer, disliking tedious tasks, handed it to her sister.
‘And then the family prospered, so she pretended it was hers.’
Sesennia recalled Elzer in prison, expressing herself freely just before her death, and slowly nodded.
‘Go ahead, take it. Unlike the past, I won’t be the one building this family.’
“Uh? Right… Sesennia, now that you’ve come of age, it seems you’ve gotten your act together. You always wanted this position.”
“I know my place. The family can be given to my sister. That’s right.”
In the past, Elzer had struggled with the responsibilities of the Marquisate, leaving everything to Sesennia while she went out to play.
“Alright, then let’s conclude it that way. Elzer, are you okay with that?”
“Yes. If that’s Father’s wish, I’ll do my best!”
The Marquis’s smile widened at her slightly lifted, gentle laugh.
The Marquis had never been fair between Sesennia and Elzer.
‘You’re still the same, Father.’
The two sisters gave completely different impressions, like black and white. Sesennia, with black hair and red eyes, resembled the Marquis; Elzer, with brown hair and damp violet eyes, resembled their late mother.
For the Marquis, his deceased wife had been his first and last love. That was why he favored Elzer, who resembled her. Elzer had also been sickly as a child, making the Marquis helpless around her.
Even knowing this, sometimes Father’s words—“I trust you”—helped Sesennia endure.
She told herself it wasn’t favoritism; Father simply worried more because her sister was unwell. Otherwise, it would have been too painful to accept.
Her reserved nature, trusting only Ian and Lizbeth, was all because of the Marquis. She had to be strong to receive even a fraction of his love.
Between Elzer and the Marquis, a world of their own seemed to exist.
“Yes, yes. Father will support you as much as possible. Try running it.”
“Yes!”
Sesennia, watching the two immersed in their own world, intervened at the right moment.
“However, I have one request.”
