STVC 04

Chapter 04

“This can’t be real.”

Eriel shook her head in disbelief.

Ariel, at a loss for words, just parted her lips slightly.

“It’s true. So now, let’s just stop talking and eat the cake!”

The cake that the nanny had brought when they arrived at the greenhouse was still there.

The warm milk had cooled down, but nobody seemed to mind.

“I didn’t cry.”

Ariel pouted and took a big bite of the cake with her fork.

“Neither did I.”

Eriel said the same, trying to act mature, as if to resist being treated like a child, while enjoying the sweet chocolate cake.

The twins happily ate the slightly dried whipped cream cake, and seeing them smile brought me a sense of relief.

Now they looked like children their age again. No matter how much they tried to act like adults, they were still just kids.

“What shall we play tomorrow?”

They say the ground hardens after a storm. That was exactly how it felt.

The distance between the Duke and the twins was still vast, but it felt as if the broken bond had been mended today.

“Doll play!”

“No! Tomorrow, let’s play war!”

Their behavior was normal, but the shadow that had lingered on their faces was gone.

I woke up at the dim break of dawn.

Getting out of bed, I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the window.

The face that had once seemed strange was slowly becoming familiar, though it had taken quite some time. Sixteen years. I lightly touched my cheek, feeling the cool texture of my fingertips.

“At first, I thought it was a dream.”

Shaking off idle thoughts, I stretched. Since I was already up, I headed to my desk to check something. Carefully opening the bottom drawer, I found an old notebook lying there.

“My Original Story Notes.”

The notebook was something I had written back when I could still hold a pen.

The writing was shaky, almost like scribbles, but it was proper Korean.

As I grew older, the details of the original story became increasingly blurry.

I wasn’t yet at the story’s starting point, but I needed to be cautious, just in case.

“For example, the Crown Prince’s birthday banquet.”

The day Ariel would fall for the Crown Prince.

Specifically, the Crown Prince’s fifteenth birthday banquet. Since it was before going to the academy.

It was the first event where the Crown Prince appeared in an official capacity.

“Is it still a year until the birthday?”

In the novel, Ariel’s story was only briefly mentioned in side stories, so there were many gaps.

When Ariel first saw the Crown Prince at the party, it was only said that she fell in love at first sight. Whether she acted on it or had any conversation was omitted.

“And something feels off… What did I miss?”

I flipped through the notebook by the moonlight.

Opening the old notebook was prompted by a strange feeling I had recently experienced.

The label on my newly bought clothes scratched the back of my neck.

“This Cinderella doesn’t wear glass slippers.” It was unlike typical reverse harem novels.

In a usual reverse harem, various handsome men only look at the heroine. Even if she ends up with the main male lead, they live on, pining or remaining single, unable to forget her.

“Three sub-males.”

I traced the letters in the notebook with my fingers, recalling the memory.

“The villain Ariel, the youngest knight Grandwin, and the cursed second prince Sirius.”

But in this story, all the sub-males die.

Only the main male lead, the Crown Prince, survives to live happily ever after with the heroine.

“Though Ardentein was the true culprit.”

The villainous characters, Ariel and Eriel, play an important role in the story, showing a terrifying presence throughout the novel.

Starting from minor quarrels, around the middle, Ariel places a curse on the heroine Daisy at the cost of her own life.

The curse could only be lifted with a life as the price.

Sirius breaks Daisy’s curse without hesitation, sacrificing his own life.

Even after Sirius and Ariel die, the story continues.

Eriel, feeling ignored by Daisy because she is not the main male lead, rebels at the story’s climax. Grandwin dies defending Daisy in a burning castle.

However, the rebellion fails, and Eriel is killed by the main male lead, Helios.

“Kind of a mess, huh?”

Come to think of it, everyone except the heroine died.

I had felt pity for the sub-males who died instead of Daisy, but since my favorite was Daisy, I hadn’t cared much.

“Writing such a messy story convincingly… The author is scary.”

Listed like a timeline, each event was chaotic, but when I read it, the flow and plausibility made it feel natural, not messy.

Admiring the author’s skill, I returned to the main point.

“There’s nothing much.”

I stared at the page where I had organized the novel’s events in a timeline.

The timeline started with the birth of the twins and me.

Before entering the academy, when the story truly begins, there were only two events:

“The Crown Prince’s birthday banquet and Sernia’s death.”

But Sernia, mentioned in the side story, died before Ariel and Eriel turned ten.

I was still alive.

“Things with the Duke and the twins have improved lately, so they’ll probably avoid the villain route.”

Since making a deal with me, the Duke had remained taciturn, but he appeared more frequently than before. Beyond the monthly tea time, he sometimes ate with us or called us to ask opinions.

“Most discussions were about lessons or managing the Ardentein household.”

It was much better than the original story. The twins had changed positively, too.

Maybe it’s just my imagination?

The start of the original story was approaching, so I was probably feeling anxious.

I forced myself to rationalize and placed the notebook deep in the drawer.

Thinking it was nothing more than a trivial illusion.

“I won’t lose this time!”

“Unlike Eriel, I’ve always been praised.”

Today was the monthly tea time with the Duke.

This event, started nine years ago, had never been skipped.

At first, I had been so nervous that even my teacup shook and I couldn’t use a fork properly.

As time passed, the tumultuous tea time became natural.

The twins, who used to get a bit upset after tea, had now gained the courage to smear whipped cream on their cheeks in front of the Duke.

“Well… Eriel is mostly the one who gets scolded, anyway.”

“The Duke has arrived,” announced the maid, opening the door.

The twins immediately straightened up, sitting quietly like well-behaved cats, as if no fight had ever occurred.

“Have you been waiting long?”

“No, we just arrived,” Ariel stood and greeted him.

Eriel cleared her throat and added,

“That’s right. My sister and I have been waiting, but Ariel just got here.”

Of course, she had to say that.

No sooner had the thought crossed my mind than Ariel, in her long dress, covered Eriel’s feet.

Though unseen, a fierce foot battle was surely happening under the dress.

“Ah!”

Eriel frowned and shouted, apparently losing.

When the Duke raised an eyebrow, both girls quietly sat down.

“I wonder what dessert we have today.”

I gestured to the maids to bring out the dessert to lighten the mood.

The perceptive maids quickly set out the tea and desserts.

“Sernia,”

The Duke’s tired gaze swept over me.

“You’ve gained weight.”

“!”

I was so shocked I almost dropped my fork.

Sharp eyes… Well, I had put on a little weight recently.

Still, I couldn’t resist the delicious snacks and, since there was no one to impress, hadn’t been watching my diet.

“D-Do I look bad? Should I lose some?”

“No, you’re perfect as you are. You were far too thin before!”

“My sister, we’re still growing. It’s normal to gain weight.”

I asked the Duke gloomily, but the response came from the twins.

They insisted I shouldn’t lose any weight, even glaring at the Duke for saying so.

Honestly, I hadn’t intended to lose weight anyway.

Living under the Duke’s roof, I just wanted to show some effort if he disapproved.

“Dieting is hell.”

I’d manage my health, but I had no desire to suffer for beauty.

Having failed countless times in my previous life, I had realized dieting was impossible for me.

“You’re not displeased with how I look?”

“Then that’s good.”

I smiled brightly and readjusted my fork.

Today’s dessert was my favorite: Mont Blanc cake!

Even if the Duke had said he didn’t like it, I wouldn’t have given it up today.

“Here, Duke.”

The subtle aroma of Earl Grey filled the room. Once everyone was seated, Dane, who had been waiting, handed the Duke some documents.

It was a record of the twins’ activities over the past month.

A report of the tutors’ monthly evaluations, lesson progress, and all the events at the Ardentein household—the twins’ report card!

The twins couldn’t hide their anxiety.

Seeing their cute expressions made me smile.

‘I can smile freely because no one bothers me.’

I had also learned basic manners with the twins.

Noble etiquette, posture, dancing, embroidery.

As time passed, the twins’ lessons became increasingly diverse.

Since age nine, Eriel had been receiving lessons to become the successor of the Ardentein household and, wanting to protect me, began learning swordsmanship.

Ariel, interested in diplomacy, studied languages and economics.

Watching the twins follow their own paths made me feel proud yet bittersweet.

They were still children who should be playing on the playground.

No, wait. Even before reincarnation in Korea, they were already getting intensive education for gifted children.

Seeing how even in kindergarten, children were grouped by where they lived and their parents’ jobs, I had been shocked.

‘With such a rigid class system here, it must be even worse.’

The slightly cooled Earl Grey tasted even more bitter.

“Ariel.”

“Yes?”

“You’ve finished Shartere.”

“Yes. This time, I want to study the languages of the Eastern Continent.”

In the central continent, where the Aslande Empire is located, the imperial language is the common language.

The next most used language is Brillian, from the second-largest and trade-rich Brillian Kingdom.

The Kingdom of Shartere is small. Even though it’s near a magical tower and Shartere is sometimes used, few nobles study it all the way from the Empire to Shartere.

‘Ariel has already finished Shartere.’