Half-Sister 1

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Chapter 1: How it All Started

“Not only did you seduce the Crown Prince, who already has a fiance with your vile body, you also leered at the Crown Prince’s aide as you liked! You think there’s room for compassion towards a woman like you?!”

I froze at my older sister’s cold remarks as she settled her sharp gaze on me.

I am a mistress’ daughter.

My mother passed away from an illness when I was little.

My father is a Marquess, and his legal wife had passed away long before Mother’s death, which was due to an accident.

Thus, I lived together in the mansion with my biological father, my half-sister, and the servants who favored my sister.

One day, I realized why my father shunned and neglected me. ‘My wife and even my beloved mistress are dead and buried, so why are you even still here?’ He said through a loathing gaze.

Just like my father, the servants followed suit. They didn’t pay an ounce of care towards me.

I wasn’t allowed to see my sister at all. And since I had no way of knowing what she was like, I started to feel fearful.

Not only had I felt that way towards my sister, I also viewed my father and the servants the same way. They were frightening. I didn’t know why I was neglected. At this rate, wouldn’t they chase me out of this household? If so, what should I do? Would I die miserably on the street?

My fear then started to grow day by day.

One day, I heard the servants’ chattered. “If only that kid acts and looks a bit lovable like the young lady, I would also pay attention to her.”

“She always looks sullen, it’s depressing.”

I promptly knew it was about me.

My sister was incredibly charming and called the young lady of the house. In contrast, I always looked gloomy to the point that it was depressing.

So it was like that?

Starting from that day, I learned to be charming, I learned to be loveable. I practiced smiling in front of the mirror all day long and privately repeated myself until I was eloquent. I even tried to be more conscious of my manners so they were appropriate for my age.

Like that, the servants’ attitudes started to soften towards me.

“As I thought, when she smiles, she looks more like a young lady!”

“She looks adorable and energetic! Definitely befitting of her age.”

The servants had started to treat me better and even Father had also changed. His cold gaze started to soften, and he brought back me gifts from time to time.

From this I came to understand.

If I continued this up, I surely wouldn’t be kicked out from the household. I wouldn’t die and my dreadful ending would change.

I desperately worked harder to become an even more appealing and loving young lady.

However, even with my better reputation, they still wouldn’t let me see my sister. I ran into her at times, but we didn’t exchange any words.

When I turned 13, I attended the same academy as my sister. My sister was a year above me; therefore, she already left the house to live in the dormitories. 

I was always looking forward to grabbing the chance to talk to my sister. 

From what the servants have said, my sister was a free-spirited person, a befitting role model for me who aimed to be a lovely and charming lady.

She wouldn’t be cold-hearted towards me, right? I wanted to meet her quickly. I wanted to get along with her.

However, before I had a chance to meet my sister, I met him.

It was a fateful encounter.

At the school entrance ceremony, I put on my practiced smile. However, I soon accepted I was getting overwhelmed as the crowds of people grew too much for me. 

So I went to the library.

The library was said to be filled with human wisdom. I, who was interested in history such as folktales and legends, was immediately captivated by it.

Aside from classes, I usually immersed myself in the library and didn’t socialize much.

I did meet my sister and greeted her. But after that, our timing was always off and I soon forgot to talk to her. 

I was too busy immersing myself in the overflowing books.

However, those peaceful days had abruptly ended.

The Crown Prince became interested in me.

Perhaps because he was always surrounded by people, he was curious about students who didn’t get close to him and confronted them himself. I was no exception and was called out.

Since the other party was the Crown Prince, if I just made a slightly wrong response, I would be executed. In fact, Emperor Leonis III, who was said to be one of the most atrocious in the world and had dominated this kingdom in the past, loved to decorate his room with those who had offended him. 

I must not go against the royal family.

I responded to him amiably, but I didn’t know whether the Crown Prince looked at my response in a positive light or not. But not too long after, his close aide joined us.

While I was trying to keep them entertained, I wondered when the conversation would come to an end.

After that, the Crown Prince’s group started to become interested in me.

Since then, the female students in the academy started to look at me spitefully.

On the day I turned 16, my sister and her fiance, the second prince, made an accusation towards me and the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince, who was supposed to shoulder the kingdom in the future had engrossed himself in a woman, neglected his duty, and played around with national assets.

I, who was merely an illegitimate daughter, didn’t realize my own position and seduced both the Crown Prince and his aide.

The convictions were made in front of the student body, the head of the academy, and His Majesty the King.

There was no way for me to evade.

When my sister started to speak, her usual carefree attitude transformed to a sharp, biting one. The air suddenly turned to a menacing atmosphere. I started to sweat endlessly, feeling extremely nervous. 

“Do you have any excuse?” I started to feel light-headed and weak when she asked me that.

I was going to die. I was going to be executed just like the prince’s close aide who was tricked by a woman into assassinating someone. 

He had succeeded, but he was betrayed by that woman and was executed.

“Sister…”

“You don’t have any right to call me sister!”

Even if we were siblings from different mothers, I wanted her to forgive me since I was still her younger sister.

“I despise you… Father and everyone in that house are attached to you and only cherished you. You snatched away the place where I HAD belonged, I really despise you from the bottom of my heart!”

That outcry struck me.

I only thought about how to improve my image, and I never considered my sister’s feelings and what kind of treatment she would have gotten.

I think I know what this was called. Perhaps… This was karma.

“But you are still father’s biological daughter. If you kneel down and beg, you might be excused…”

“I beg for forgiveness.”

I didn’t hesitate.

I shook away the Crown Prince’s hand who tried to stop me. Throwing away my pride and honor, I kneeled down in front of the crowd.

It was a cheap price to lighten my sentence.

However, my sister seemed to be in shock. She staggered back slightly, her breathing became rough and she leaned onto her fiance to support her weight.

“You… really don’t want to be punished, huh?”

I heard her mocking voice, but what she said was the truth.

I didn’t want to die. I hadn’t finished the books from the library yet. I’d hate to die. I still wanted to live.

Thinking about it again, it had been like that since the start. I put on a smile to please people because I didn’t want to die. I put up with whatever the Crown Prince wanted because I didn’t want to die. I groveled down and begged for my life because I didn’t want to die. 

“Due to my carelessness, I caused everyone to be inconvenienced. Please accept my heartfelt apology, sister… no, Lady Freya. I beg your benevolence.”

“Your punishment will be decided later. Please leave for now.”

I stood up and started to walk out as she ordered. The Crown Prince was screaming something, but if I answered it, my sister would be upset. I left without looking back.

After some consideration, they decided to marry me off.

When I heard the news, I was surprised that my punishment was light. But then I realized that for that person to accept me as his wife, he surely wasn’t normal.

Various speculations reached my ears. Would I be one of his countless mistresses, a plaything for his sadism, or a part of a science experiment…? 

In the end, none of them were correct.

It seemed that a strange person living in a remote area was looking for a marriage partner. There was no particular condition, and it didn’t matter if she was an offender like me as long as she came to be his wife.

I was admiring how generous he was, as the servants started to cry and cling to me, “I can’t send our lovely Lady to be that pervert’s bride!” 

They knew what happened at the academy, but they still sympathized with me.

My dad didn’t say a word to me, but seemed like he had a deep talk with my sister since he looked listless. Still, he came to see me off on the day I left.

I hadn’t seen my sister since that day. Her life had fallen apart because of me. I stole the place my sister was supposed to be.

I would love to see her one more time and apologize, but she would hate it, right? At the very least, I prayed that she would attain happiness with her loved one someday.

With that, I left the mansion and rode on the carriage to my husband’s place.

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