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Chapter 6 …
When my younger siblings started gearing up for a second round of fighting, my eldest-sister instincts kicked in, and I quickly stopped them. They sat down politely, lips sealed, awaiting my judgment.
“What time is it right now?”
At my sharp question, Jeremiah answered meekly.
“It’s three in the morning, sister.”
“And you think it’s okay to barge into someone’s room and wake them up at three a.m.?”
“No, it’s not. But Davina—”
“Don’t blame me! You were the one who wanted to see—”
“Stop blaming each other. Yes or no?”
“No, it’s not okay.”
“It’s not okay.”
“That’s right. Of course it’s not okay… You little…?”
…Wait. Something’s off.
What is it?
I stopped scolding and tilted my head. Something about this whole situation felt weird, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.
With half-lidded eyes, I scanned their innocent little faces. Jeremiah and Davina sat with drooped shoulders, subdued expressions, and cautious glances in my direction.
If these were my siblings from my previous life, they’d already be glaring at me like they wanted to stab me. But in this life, they were strangely docile.
“…Ah.”
Found it. The weird thing.
They listen. They actually follow basic logic.
Why? How?
Are you really the future villainess and mastermind? Are you actually feeling sorry right now? Is this not an act? No crocodile tears? A diversionary performance sounds much more plausible.
I was so thrown off that I couldn’t say anything. My mouth just opened and closed soundlessly, like a fish. Davina’s prim little eyes wavered nervously.
“S-sis, are you really mad?”
“…”
No, I wasn’t mad. But the question was so unexpected, I didn’t know how to respond. In my previous life, my siblings would’ve pawned the TV and fridge without caring whether I was furious.
“Sister, it’s my fault. Please forgive me.”
“…”
Why is he suddenly apologizing? He didn’t even say hello earlier.
My head was spinning. The entire situation felt unreal.
Were the villainess and mastermind secretly mild-flavored, and modern-day Korean siblings the truly spicy ones? Or were these two staging an elaborate play to mess with me?
“Brother, is she going back to sleep?”
“How about you just stop talking.”
“But she’s lying still with her eyes open. Earlier you said that meant she was sleeping.”
“Oh. You’re right. She is breathing, right?”
“Let’s check!”
Their faces suddenly loomed right in front of mine, blocking my vision with their soft, mochi-like cheeks. Snapping out of my daze, I answered automatically.
“I’m not sleeping.”
“See? She’s awake!”
“Then was she just ignoring us because she’s mad? Sis, did I ma—”
“She doesn’t get mad over stuff like this. So stop apologizing.”
When I cut him off, both their mouths snapped shut. An oppressive silence settled.
Their eyes fixed on me, shimmering with an odd light. Their dilated pupils trembled slightly.
…What is this? Why are they looking at me like that? Did I move them somehow? With what, exactly?
We were locked in mutual hesitation when a hurried knock broke the tension.
“Young Lady Davina, are you in there?”
A voice calling for Davina—familiar somehow. My siblings’ faces instantly froze with surprise.
“I thought the nanny was asleep.”
“So did I.”
They both sighed and, like putting on a mask, their expressions changed.
The warmth drained from their faces, replaced by an eerie calm.
Like werewolves under a full moon, they transformed into their true Valienor selves—their innocent childishness gone, replaced by the cold, calculating expressions worthy of the original villainess and mastermind.
As if what just happened had been a dream, the two left the room like different people entirely.
I stared blankly at the strange sight… then promptly fell asleep.
***
Luckily, when I opened my eyes, I was in Ariel’s bedroom. Sitting on the bed, I soaked in the morning sunlight—it was so beautiful it brought tears to my eyes.
If I’d woken up in the main house, I wouldn’t have gotten to see this sunlight. I was genuinely relieved to greet the morning in my own room.
I sipped a well-steeped black tea, letting the caffeine slowly wake my brain. As my mind cleared, a flood of memories from last night rushed back—memories I would’ve preferred to forget.
For something that happened over half a day, there sure was a lot.
‘If Madam were still alive, the family wouldn’t be such a mess.’
‘I just want Ariel to get better ♥’
“If I’m stupid, then you’re an idiot!”
“What? You moron!”
“Weh-weh-weh-weh. Try hitting me.”
…Damn it. What the hell did I just witness?
A heavy sigh scattered helplessly in the sparkling sunlight. The more awake I became, the more confused I felt.
It was harder to believe last night’s events than the fact I’d transmigrated into a romance-fantasy novel in the first place.
Everyone was acting completely different from the original story—so much so that it was basically useless to rely on it.
Feeling unsettled, I shoved one of the prepared desserts into my mouth.
The syrupy peach and light milk cream melted blissfully over my tongue, and the crisp, buttery cookie layers were perfect.
“…Delicious.”
Even in food-heaven Korea, I’d never eaten something like this.
And as a duke’s daughter, I didn’t have to work myself to death to afford it.
Yes… this life as the eldest daughter here was much better than the one I had there.
That thought calmed me. With a clear head, one could survive even in a tiger’s den. No need to be dramatic.
I brushed the crumbs from my skirt and stretched. Not having to clean up after myself was one of the perks of being a romance-fantasy eldest daughter.
“Alright. Let’s review the situation.”
But it was hard to focus—because of Davina and Jeremiah.
Their voices, gleefully mocking each other, played on repeat in my head.
“You’re such an idiot.”
“Mm~ next dumbass~”
Sure, the mastermind and villainess seemed like they’d be hard to raise, but they weren’t nearly as unhinged as in the original.
In fact, they listened better than my siblings from my previous life, and they had genuine childish innocence to boot.
They didn’t seem rotten to the core. Without major issues during their upbringing, kids like them shouldn’t logically grow into the monstrous versions from the novel.
The original Jeremiah and Davina Valienor were irredeemable trash.
Jeremiah in particular was a textbook psychopath—zero empathy, destructive, self-centered, committing countless atrocities even after getting everything he wanted because of his inner emptiness.
He treated even the heroine like property, never respecting her as a person. The only person he saw as an equal was his younger sister Davina—a prime example of a “paper villainess.”
Despite looking like a final boss, Davina’s actions were laughably petty. Readers actually welcomed her appearances.
Spilling wine on the heroine’s dress, mocking her looks, grabbing her hair and slapping her—the same predictable, cliché evil.
“Yay! Davina’s here, it’s Spri**te shower time!”
Her association with cathartic moments was so strong that “Davina = soda” became an official running joke. She earned the nickname “catalyst for soda moments” for a reason.
In the end, as the Empire’s official villainess, she shouldered all of Valienor’s crimes after Jeremiah’s death and met her end on the executioner’s block.
“Sigh…”
The thought of such innocent kids growing into the story’s worst villains was unsettling.
If they were rotten from the start, it would’ve been easier to accept. But seeing that they could possibly be rehabilitated made them harder to ignore.
…No. Snap out of it.
I’m not some reform-specialist teacher. I’m just the eldest sister. At most, an experienced one. My stepping in isn’t going to magically fix anything.
So don’t get involved. This life is about my happiness.
I bit the inside of my cheek to snap my eldest-sister instincts in half.
I wasn’t going to spend this life pouring myself out for family again. Saving others at the cost of my own well-being was out of the question.
Just as I resolved to cut away this unnecessary conscience, a sudden noise interrupted me.
Knock, knock.
“Young Lady, the duke’s secretary is here to see you.”
“Secretary? Mikhail?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“This early?”
“Well… it is the start of the workday.”
I checked the clock—it was a little past eight—and gave a wry smile.
Guess their working conditions are tough too. I’ll make sure he doesn’t quit.
Mikhail, thankfully, didn’t look tired when he arrived. With his usual businesslike expression, he handed me a box.
“Thanks for coming so early.”
“Don’t thank me. I enjoy doing this.”
…Wow.
Yep. You really are a strange one. Who actually enjoys working?
I tilted my head and accepted the box—a luxurious one, the kind you’d put expensive jewels in.
“What’s this?”
“A gift for you. I found it while sorting through the mansion and thought you’d like it.”
“…Uh, thanks.”
Grateful, but also… uneasy. Why are you giving me a gift?
When I eyed him suspiciously, the corners of his eyes softened with a faint smile, as if to reassure me.
Like someone under a spell, I obediently opened the box.
“…Wow.”
Inside was a Valienor family photo.
From back when Ariel’s mother was still alive.
