TL/Editor: Butter Cat
Status: 4/week mon-thurs
Illustrations: none
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〈 Chapter 6 〉 Chapter 6. Countdown.
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**
New discoveries, new characters, hardships, and adversity.
A villain appearing in the play, Duke Aquitaine, has been added.
That's all.
Even though I knew this would happen, the stance I had to take didn't change.
Yes, I've always been consistent.
Playing and having fun with big sis Remi, reciprocating my parents' loving touch with affection, and generously showering big sis Anna with love, even though it's a one-sided love that will end in heartbreak.
The things I had to do remained unchanged.
Always.
Forever.
Until my soul rots and decays—
**
Betrayal? Conspiracy? Backstabbing?
I've experienced such crude things countless tis. A case like this? Honestly, I only felt that it was too clumsy and weak.
To be honest, I don't feel anything when I see these kinds of people anymore.
Rather, a sense of pity?
A fight, in the first place, is only possible when everyone is on the sa playing field.
"Ugh... Big sis Anna has been so scary lately..."
"...She's probably stressed from studying. Co on! Let's play by ourselves! That first princess is going to be the queen anyway. Hmph!"
After that, the snowball I rolled for months started rolling towards Remi as well.
The relationship between us sisters, which should have been very good, started to crack. Even at pranks she would normally accept cheerfully, she began to react sharply, so Remi must have gotten angry.
Hmm... I'm sorry.
To tell you the results of my investigation, it was indeed Duke Aquitaine. The one who gifted the black pearl earrings to big sis Anna, and the one who cast the curse.
After a bit of research, I could feel a black energy emanating from the earrings, enveloping big sis Anna.
Of course, I couldn't be certain just from the fact that he gave them to her, but my intuition, which I trust more than anything else, told so.
My intuition is practically a Magic Conch Shell.
The verdict is death, bam bam! (TL Note: Get it? Like the judge hamring when they reach a sentence… Never mind, delete this later.)
The one who dies is .
"...Big sis, have you finished your howork?"
"...Eek!?"
"...Haa..."
"I-I was going to do it right after playing, yeah, right after we played!"
Big sis Remi was always the sa.
Lazing around every day, going to the flower garden with to look at flowers, playing hide-and-seek, eating snacks, repeating that kind of life.
You're so lazy... Big sis...
She seems to have gained so weight lately, should I just gobble her up?
Wow.
"—Nom."
"Eeeeeek! Ah, Aris!!"
"This is your punishnt for lying— Nom."
"I-I'm sorryyy!!!"
I gently nibbled on her belly fat. Not painfully. Like a kitten biting its owner's finger.
Is it called nibbling? I don't rember well.
Big sis Remi flinches and twists her body in surprise. She must have been ticklish, as her breathing beca ragged and her face flushed red.
Oh?
So this is her weak spot.
Since I made a good discovery, I nibbled on her a few more tis as a bonus. Her reaction is just too good. She tells to stop, but no way. Nom.
One bite, two bites...
Because of big sis's vigorous movents, we both lost our balance and tumbled in the flower garden, covered in dirt, hugging each other.
"Ah... Aris!!"
"Heehee~ Catch if you can~"
Tata-da, I successfully escaped from Remi at high speed. She chases after , smiling as she sees running away.
Uh, she's too fast.
"Ah, Big sis! Count! Don't forget to count!!"
"No way! You're dead at if I catch you!! I'm going to drag you into the bath with today!!"
"—Eeeeeeh!? That's too much!!!"
It seems Remi is determined today.
If I get caught, I don't think I'll be able to maintain my composure.
With the determination to escape, I run out of the flower garden gate. Remi is hot on my heels.
Even though I'm running at a speed that's hard for a child to achieve, thanks to her natural talent, Remi is sohow keeping up with .
Amazing. Wow.
Is this what a true genius is?
If she added effort on top of that, it feels like a terrifying human being would be born.
Big sis's true potential, which she occasionally shows.
Every ti I see that side of her, I wonder if I should have devised a plan to use Remi to fuel big sis Anna's inferiority complex.
She's the second princess, and if she really put her mind to it, she could create a faction and overthrow the current order, right?
Well, it's too late now.
"Waaaaah!!"
"St-Stop right there!!"
Heh, I'm running away!
I smiled, looking at Remi, whose speed was slowly decreasing due to exhaustion.
Co on, who would actually stop just because soone told them to? Big sis Remi is really naive—
—Thud.
"—Ouch!"
"....!!"
Found you.
Oh dear, I bumped into soone.
My light and fragile body couldn't withstand the impact and I fell backward, landing on my butt. The person I bumped into stood still.
A shadow falls over .
From soone's perspective, it would look like I bumped into them while running hastily around the corner without paying attention.
Well, I knew soone was walking there.
And I knew who it was, too.
"...Aris."
"Big sis Anna! Long ti no see—!"
Anna Akaia.
My older sister.
The first princess.
She was looking down at , who had fallen.
**
After not seeing her for a while, she looked incredibly exhausted.
Even though she was in the shade, her haggard appearance was noticeable at a glance.
Anna had begun her successor training in earnest. She started devoting herself to her studies and martial arts, cutting into her sleep ti to the point where it was worriso for her health. That must be the reason.
Because of that, I haven't been able to see and play with her much lately. Even when I did see her, it was only a few tis, from afar, while she was studying.
She's really changed a lot.
I didn't know a person could change so much in such a short ti.
"Big sis Anna, how have you been? Have you been eating well? Ah, that's right, I made a new flower crown yesterday, and—"
"—Aris."
"...Yes?"
For a mont, I thought I'd misheard.
That's how cold her voice was.
It was chilling.
Wow, for a second, I almost fell for her.
That voice, unable to hide her fatigue and irritation.
It was as if a heavy sense of responsibility was weighing down on Anna's shoulders. You're such a fool, big sis, trying so hard to reciprocate that weight that's only crushing you.
She probably just wanted to live happily with her sisters.
Anna must have wanted to live up to the expectations of her little sister, who approached her despite her being quiet and lacking in charm.
A father who is revered as a benevolent ruler, a mother who is gentle and always welcos us with a smile, two adorable younger sisters.
Originally, she would have grown up well in such an environnt and beco the queen who would lead the kingdom.
It's a real sha.
"—Go back if you have nothing to say, Aris."
"...B-Big sis...?"
"No, I'll be the one to go back. I still have a lot to do. Then, excuse ."
Anna turns back the way she ca without even looking at , who had fallen, or offering a hand.
The palm of my hand that scraped against the ground when I fell stings.
—Lick
"...Gulp."
I lift my hand and suck and lick the blood oozing from my palm.
On my tongue, it just tastes like water. The only difference is a slight, dry, tallic feeling in my throat?
Covering my mouth with my hand, I smile.
"...Big sis Anna...? Why...?"
"......."
"Big sis! Don't go...! Big sis...!!"
"......."
I shouted. In order to sohow stop those relentless footsteps, I tried to throw a lifeline to my foolish sister who was walking into hell on her own.
Even though I was the one who pushed her there in the first place.
Her steps didn't stop. Only her trembling shoulders told that she had heard my words.
This accumulating guilt will only weigh her down further.
When did things go wrong? Is she thinking that?
Because she wasn't talented?
And yet, she wanted to be a 'good ruler'?
She's probably lost in such amusing imaginations, thinking that if only she had Remi's talent...
"Big sis...! I'm sorry for bumping into you! So... Don't go... Let's... Let's play together... Big sis Anna..."
"...I'm past the age of playing gas."
With that cold remark, she turned her head and completely disappeared from my sight.
To unravel this incomplete chain of hatred, we need to go back to the beginning, to why she yearned to be a 'good ruler.'
Because she felt the warmth of family.
Because she wanted to be like her parents.
Because she had the support of her adorable younger sisters, Aris and Remi.
Because she wanted her family to live happily in a happy kingdom.
A repaynt for all the happiness she received in her life.
That's why she wanted to be queen.
But it's too late now.
"Don't go... Big sis Anna..."
"Aris?! What's wrong! Why are you sitting there!?"
Remi, who found wiping away tears with my small hands, quickly ran over.
I cried.
Today is such a joyous day.
Isn't the day a person is born a very happy day? And on that day, everyone cries with one heart and one mind.
Tears for a happy day.
Yes, that's right, I'm crying because I'm so happy too.
"Aris... There, there. Stop crying!"
"Wuuu... Sniff..."
The fuse of the firework has been lit.
The fuse is winding down like a rusty clockwork, tick-tock.
I'm so excited. I don't think I'll be able to sleep properly. I feel like I'll be staying up all night, every night.
It's so hard to wait.
I just want to express my sincere gratitude to the Duke who gave her those earrings. For shortening the ti fra.
Well,
I don't know when that will be.
But one thing is certain—
This explosion, yes, it will be truly beautiful.
**
"A hunting competition..."
"Well, wouldn't it be nice for a change of pace? Honey. Anna seems to be struggling a lot lately."
"If you say so...."
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