“How can one be this predictable?”

“W-What?”

“If you really wanted to pour that on me, you should’ve done it quickly so I wouldn’t catch on. Watch me.”

I flipped the teapot right in front of Jane and the hot tea fell close to her feet in no time.

The hot tea ended up soaking her feet.

“Kyaa!”

“You don’t have to scream. I’m not like someone who tries to harm someone’s face.”

“A-Are you threatening me?”

“No way. The weak are supposed to threaten the strong. Why would the strong need to threaten the weak? There’s nothing to gain.”

I looked straight at Jane with a smirk on my lips.

“What do you want to gain by doing this to me? What do you get from pouring tea on me?”

“So I could be the duchess instead of you! I want to make you uglier than me!”

“Ahh, I see. I guess you haven’t given up on your dream? Should I be honest with you? You’re only pretty to your parents.”

“What did you say?”

“You pumpkin-faced wench. Do you seriously believe that the duke would notice you?”

Jane was triggered by what I said and rushed at me.
I threw the empty kettle on the floor, and Jane flinched when the kettle broke.

“Oh my god!”

“Don’t pretend to be weak. There’s nothing to be shocked about.”

The kettle was shattered on the floor.

“W-What are you doing!”

“Pick it up.”

“What?”

“It’s broken because of you.”

“Have you lost your mind? You’re the one who broke it!”

“Have you not figured out what place it is and who I am? This is the duchy and I am the duchess. I’m your master. So pick it up.”

But it wasn’t in her blood to give in easily.

“…No way. I won’t pick it up! Why should I deal with this? Huh? You shouldn’t do this to me if you’re a human being with a conscience!”

“How can you keep saying stuff I want to say so precisely? But you made me do things like this a lot when we lived together, didn’t you?”

Leona’s older sister, Jane, didn’t want Leona to be liked even a little.

As if she wanted the whole world to adore her only.

So if her father and mother paid even the slightest attention to Leona, she’d throw things and make a fuss.

‘She would urge Leona to pick up the shards with bare hands. Then she’d accuse Leona of making a fuss whenever she got hurt. The worst type of human, really.’
“Do you think we are the same?”

“What’s different about us?”

“….You! You! Haa. Forget it. Anyway, you can’t do this, you know?”

“Why can’t I?”

“You just can’t! Do you even know what I know about you? You could get kicked out of here if word got out! You’re only a duchess thanks to your pretty face, but you’re actually a defect, you know?”

Unnie bit her lip as if she tried to hide something important.

Her expression relaxed a bit compared to before.

“I see. But even if I’m a defect, what difference would that make?”

“W-What?”

“Listening to you, you talk as if I’d be kicked out of here for being a defect, but that’s not going to happen. No matter how imperfect I am, how ill I am, or whose daughter I am, he’ll still love me. This is my family and the duchy is my home.”

Jane snorted loudly at my remark.

“That’s funny coming from this sickly bitch.”

“What?”

“Nothing. But let’s see how long you can be this relaxed.”

I was a bit dazed by her claim, and then went back to smiling.

“You must think you know a lot about me.”

“Of course, I know a lot.”

“Really? But I also know something now. The doctor that the Selen family called for me back then is coming soon.”

Her eyes popped open round at my words.

“W-Who is coming again?”

“The doctor.”

“But I heard he left.”

“Ah, don’t tell me the Selen family was the one who caused him to leave?”

“…No way! But he really said he was going to leave and never come back.”

Jane looked flustered more than ever and could only mumble in confusion.

“Unfortunately, we’re talking about the duchy here. We can catch him no matter where he runs off to.”

“Huh…”

“So even if you don’t say anything, I’ll find out about it eventually. About whatever you’re hiding.”

Her complexion turned white. Jane bit at her lips for a long time before opening her mouth.

“I-I will tell you.”

“What?”

“I’ll tell you everything, so let’s make a deal.”

“What for? The doctor will arrive soon. I can just ask him, so I don’t need to make a deal with you. How can I trust the sister who tried to attack me?”

She shook her head as she expressed her disapproval of the doctor’s arrival. But Jane seemed to grow more anxious.

“I’ll also tell you what my mom and dad told me to never tell you. S-So make a deal with me-”

“Is there such a thing?”

“Yeah. No one knows about this. My mom and dad are trying to sell you this information one way or the other. They are trying to earn a fortune through that.”

“What is this information about?”

It was fun. I sat down again on the drawing room sofa. Jane hurriedly sat down next to me as if she had been waiting for this moment.

“Listen. I’ll do better than my mom and dad. But please do me a favor, and I’ll tell you what the doctor said and everything I know about you.”

As if waiting for this moment, Unnie made an exaggerated hand gesture.

Somehow she seemed to expect something.

‘I’ll be the one who enjoys it the most when all that expectation falls apart.’

“Seeing you like this, now I’m curious.”

“If you’re curious, tell me that you’ll make a deal with me.”

“What do you want from me?”

“Give me money but keep it secret from my parents. I heard that you were given a jewel mine.”

So that was it.

My greedy sister looked at me with a gaze full of expectation.

“Do you want that from me?”

“Yes, honestly, my mom and dad are hoping for something else.”

“Something else?”

“Why do you think I’m here?”

I leaned back a little. On the other hand, my unnie, who was trying to appeal for what she wanted, leaned in more closely.

“You are a defect who will die soon. So they wanted me to replace you. They told me to stay here and take your place.”

“Am I going to die?”

“Yeah, and honestly, it’s true that I’m the best option to be the duchess in the long run. It’s been said since ancient times that when one of the sisters dies, the other sisters can enter the family.”

Was that why you tried so hard to survive here?

I kind of had an inkling, but I got speechless when she just said it so blatantly like this.

“What do you think? Aren’t you curious about what’s next?”

She seemed so confident that she piqued my interest.

“So you want me to pay you in order to hear the rest of the story?”

“Rather than paying me with money, I want you to pay me with the jewel mine. Actually, it doesn’t matter to me. Even if you’ve heard something from the doctor, you still don’t know what I know.”

“So you want the jewel mine, right?”

My confident unnie nodded her head.

“Let’s hear it.”

“Don’t tell me you’re going to act like you don’t know after hearing it?”

“Forget it if you don’t want to talk. I have nothing to lose, after all.”

“N-No! I’ll tell you, so make sure to keep your promise later, okay?”

“You’d better say it quickly. The doctor is going to arrive soon.”

Only then my unnie, who had been stuttering, nodded as if she had made up her mind.

“Okay. I’ll tell you. So you have a genetic disease. It’s a miracle you’ve survived this long.”

“A genetic disease?”

“Yeah, it’s probably something that you were born with.”

“By the way, something is off. Don’t you think other doctors would have noticed if I had such a disease?”

“T-That…I guess the doctor who treated you back then was just that skilled! The doctors who have been treating you while you were here must be unable to detect it.”

I tried to soothe my older sister who got angry again for no reason.

“So, tell me more. That’s not the end, right?”

“…Anyway. So he said we must find your family in order to cure the disease.”

As expected, Leona had no relation with the Selen family. I had expected it, but my heart sank the moment I heard it.

“You must be surprised.”

“I expected it. It was so obvious that I wasn’t part of the Selen family.”

“…A-Anyway, that’s not what’s important! Your mother abandoned you because of your disease. A woman with a similar hair color as you stood in front of our house.”

“Did you see my mother?”

“Yeah, I saw her. And you know what’s important? I stole the necklace that your mom left you. How do you feel? Isn’t that infuriating?”

“…I guess old habits die hard.”

My unnie’s face stiffened at my observation.

“Anyway! I saw the woman who left you.”

“Do you remember her face? Or her appearance?”

“Yeah, she looked exactly like you. From her silver hair to the color of her eyes. She was crying, and she wore a white outfit.”

It was exactly as the High Priest had described to me last time.