‘Oh? Countess Viviana?’
I knew it without anyone telling me.
My sister’s appearance seemed to owe a great deal to our mother’s genes.
The Countess also had fair and delicate skin, distinct features, and a slender frame that stirred a protective instinct.
Whenever I saw my sister, I always thought, ‘She lives in a world of her own.’
But after seeing the Countess.
‘Wow, they lived in a world of their own together.’
Is this what they call a real-life goddess appearance?
Her beauty was simply breathtaking.
Being here makes me feel like a sea squirt?
‘Sigh, if my sister were a man, she wouldn’t even give me a second glance.’
I always thought my appearance was quite presentable, but even thinking that seemed forbidden here.
“Hello, Countess Viviana.”
I subtly held my dress and bowed.
“Who?”
“I’m Sadie Le Cleo, the only daughter of Baron Cleo. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Oh, how lovely. Welcome. I’ve heard about you often.”
“Oh, really?”
Did my sister tell my mother about me?
I thought she wasn’t interested at all, but I guess I was wrong.
‘Yay!’
I was overjoyed.
I barely managed to hold back the laughter that kept trying to escape.
“Of course. I’ve heard plenty about Baron Cleo running a trading company.”
“Ah, so that’s what you heard.”
“Huh? What else should I have heard?”
“Ah, nothing! This is just a cookie and tea set that my father asked me to bring.”
“Oh my, how kind. Tell him I’ll enjoy it.”
“Yes, I will.”
The Countess, after receiving the cookie box, smiled as brightly as a child.
Her smile was so radiant that it seemed to brighten my mood as well.
Still, I felt a little disappointed.
I had achieved my purpose for visiting, but I hadn’t yet had the meeting with my sister that I had been looking forward to.
“Um, is Ravi… I mean, Razenka home?”
I almost used her nickname.
Using a nickname at our first meeting would be impolite.
The Countess might not like it.
“You know my daughter?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Really? You know my Razenka?”
The Countess widened her eyes as if she were seeing something bizarre.
What is this.
This strangely disjointed feeling.
Based on my past experiences, this likely means something fishy is going on.
“Yes. Is something wrong?”
“No, I’m just surprised. I didn’t know Razenka had any friends.”
That was unexpected.
My sister wasn’t the most outgoing person, but I thought she had a good reputation and was quite popular.
She had a kind of nonchalant charm that made people’s hearts flutter.
“Oh, I see. Since I’m here, would it be possible to see her for a moment?”
“Hmm, won’t you play with me a little longer?”
Oh.
That unexpected remark made my thought process freeze.
As I was wondering how to respond,
“What are you doing here? Come here, Say.”
My sister appeared and suddenly grabbed my arm.
‘Huh?’
I was very surprised by my sister’s uncharacteristic behavior.
At the same time, I had to be mindful of the Countess.
I wondered if she might be embarrassed.
“She’s my guest. I’ll keep you company next time, Mother.”
“Tch! Fine! I’m going to take a nap.”
The Countess turned around, wrapping the shawl she was wearing more tightly around herself.
By the way, what did I just hear?
‘Tch?’
That’s not an expression that most mothers would use.
‘Hmmmm….’
It felt very unfamiliar.
But I quickly dismissed the thought.
My narrow-minded thinking could create unwarranted prejudices.
A mother who is usually very interested in her daughter might want to talk a lot with her daughter’s friend.
Of course, that’s something I’ve never experienced.
“Ouch!”
I groaned only after reaching the drawing room.
The arm that my sister had grabbed was throbbing.
“Sorry.”
My sister was startled and released her grip.
It seemed she hadn’t realized it because it had all happened so quickly.
“Ah, it’s okay.”
“Let me see.”
My sister acted faster than my hand that was trying to stop her.
In an instant, the sleeve of my dress was pulled up.
“Oh!”
The red handprint was all too clear.
This isn’t why I came here.
“It’ll be okay in a little while, Sister.”
I quickly shook my head, afraid that my sister might blame herself.
Even with my words, my sister’s brow remained furrowed.
“Parker, an ice pack! Quickly!”
“Yes, Miss!”
Parker answered and quickly brought an ice pack.
My sister was really strange today.
She had acted suspiciously cold in front of the Countess, and she had even grabbed my arm roughly, which was unlike her.
These were things that I couldn’t imagine my sister doing normally.
Along with the cold ice pack on my arm, I felt a warm gaze fixed on me.
“I’m sorry, Say.”
My sister apologized again.
I deliberately replied calmly.
“It’s okay. It’ll go down quickly with the ice pack.”
“Still…”
“Actually, just seeing your face makes me feel like I’m already all better? So don’t worry too much.”
I didn’t forget to smile as well.
Since it wasn’t a serious matter, I hoped that my sister would regain her composure.
But even so, my sister’s expression didn’t change much.
“But what brings you here?”
While I was trying to gauge my sister’s mood, she belatedly asked why I had come.
It was understandable since she had been flustered.
I had also forgotten about it for a moment.
“Ah, my father asked me to bring some cookies and tea. I gave them to your mother, so please be sure to try them later.”
“Thank you. Please thank the Baron for me.”
“Yes, I will.”
I smiled again with my answer.
The swelling had quickly gone down thanks to the ice pack, and I had delivered the cookies and tea, so I no longer had any reason to stay here.
It was time to leave.
“I’ve seen your face, so I’ll be going now.”
“Ah! Say, wait a moment!”
“Yes?”
“I’ve just been keeping my guest standing here. Have some tea before you go.”
“Is that really okay?”
I would be grateful if I could.
I was hesitant about whether I could stay here any longer.
The atmosphere with the Countess seemed a bit strange earlier.
“It is.”
My sister’s firm answer put my mind at ease.
‘Wow! I can stay with my sister longer!’
Being able to have tea was like a windfall for me.
I couldn’t stop smiling with satisfaction.
“Say, I’ll tell them to bring the tea right away, so please wait. Excuse me for a moment.”
That’s when it happened.
Crash! Bang!
With a loud noise, the drawing room door burst open and an uninvited guest barged in.
“No! I won’t eat it!”
“Madam! You can’t do this here!”
“I don’t want it! Ptooey, it’s not good!”
The Countess pretended to spit on the floor and shook her head repeatedly.
‘Oh my goodness.’
What is going on?
She had clearly said she was going to take a nap earlier.
‘What am I seeing right now?’
That’s because the Countess’s behavior was clearly different from what it had been a little while ago.
There was a somewhat fishy feeling, but I hadn’t predicted this situation.
Where had her elegance gone? The Countess was now acting like a child throwing a tantrum.
“Madam, you need to come out now. Okay?”
“Madam, please come with us.”
“Nooo!!”
Several maids clung to her to stop her and pleaded with her, but they couldn’t break the Countess’s stubbornness.
They couldn’t just lay their hands on their master’s body.
“Waaaaah! I’m not going!”
The Countess even sat down on the floor like a child and wailed.
Not only that, but she even started kicking her feet.
I froze, unable to do anything.
“What are you all doing?”
My sister stepped forward, cutting through the chaotic situation.
The atmosphere in the drawing room became even colder.
“Ah, Miss!”
“What is this? How did it get to this point.”
I could clearly feel the anger that my sister was holding back in her voice.
“Sister! Punish them!”
This time, the Countess clung to my sister and tattled.
“Mother!”
“Don’t do that. It’s scary!”
“Are you going to keep doing this!”
“I didn’t do anything wrong. The bad sisters gave me salad. It’s not good!”
Listening to my sister’s heavy voice, each of the Countess’s actions felt like a time bomb.
‘Why is the Countess acting like this?’
Not only was she speaking in a childish voice and imitating a child, but she was also calling her daughter “Sister.”
‘Something’s wrong. She wasn’t like this when I greeted her downstairs.’
It was as if she had become a different person.
I just kept biting my lip.
But even so, I couldn’t rashly step forward.
“I don’t know, I don’t know. That sister over there only gave me bad grass. That sister is very bad! Hmph!”
The Countess pointed at one of the maids with her slender hand.
Then the maid lowered her head like a criminal and sobbed.
“Sob, what should we do, Miss…”
“Becky, lift your head.”
The maid called Becky slowly raised her head.
Tears were streaming down her face.
“Don’t be afraid. I’m not trying to blame you. I just want you to explain what happened.”
My sister asked calmly to encourage the maid to speak.
The maid wiped away her tears with the back of her hand and opened her mouth.
“Well, what happened was it was time for Madam to take a nap, but she kept asking for snacks.”
“And then?”
“When I asked if she wanted bread, she asked for salad. But as you know, Miss, the ‘That Taste We Know’ is currently out of stock. So we couldn’t make the salad taste the way Madam wanted.”
Ah!
I understood the general outline of the incident from Becky’s words.
‘So that’s why she said it was her mother’s favorite.’
I recalled the incident when I ran into my sister at the general store.
She had asked me to give up the last remaining ‘That Taste We Know’ because it was her mother’s favorite.
‘That Taste We Know’ has the effect of allowing the person taking it to immediately feel the taste they want.
This made one thing clear.
The potion was a measure to ensure that the picky Countess had a balanced diet.
‘She’ll eat her vegetables well if they taste the way she wants.’
Many thoughts crossed my mind as I grasped the situation.
The image of my sister dragging me to the drawing room with a flustered expression also flashed through my mind.
‘Right, she didn’t want to show me this side of her.’
I felt like I could finally understand my sister’s cold attitude.
The reason why my sister didn’t let people get close to her and didn’t invite them to her house was probably because of her mother.
She had quickly separated me from the Countess, afraid that this fact might be revealed.
‘A sick mother.’
I felt a strange sense of kinship with my sister, who seemed to have no flaws.
However, regardless of my realization, the Countess’s stubbornness only intensified.
“Waaaaah! I don’t want to! I want to be with Sister! Waaaaah! I’m not going!!”
Hmm…
Is it my turn to step in now?