Alicia stared at Rosetta in a daze.
It was something she had already anticipated, but hearing it directly carried a different level of shock.
Strangely, no tears welled up.
There was no fear or anxiety either.
These feelings…
Instead, the emotions she felt now were closer to relief or clarity.
It was a peculiar thing.
She had expected that once all of this was revealed, something significant would happen, but nothing close to that was happening.
But, wasn’t that what she saw in her dream?
There, her sister resented her, hated her, even cursed her.
But in reality, there was no hint of those feelings.
“How difficult it must have been, Alicia.”
Instead of resentment, her sister offered comfort.
Alicia felt her strength drain away for a moment.
Rosetta held her firmly as warmth enveloped them both.
Amid this comforting embrace, a few questions swirled in Alicia’s confused mind.
How did her sister know about this secret?
When did she find out?
However, the question that weighed the most on her mind was.
It’s…
“Even though you knew the truth, why… didn’t you tell anyone?”
Alicia’s trembling voice asked this question.
Rosetta responded with her usual nonchalant tone,
“Why should I have said anything?”
The response was just as casual.
The casualness of it all left Alicia feeling weak. Her shoulders slumped, feeling powerless.
But her confusion persisted.
“You’re the real one, aren’t you? The real daughter… of Mother…”
“Well, that’s true.”
“But then, why…?”
“What’s important is not who our real mother is.”
“…Huh?”
“They’ve both been gone for a long time now, our biological mothers. We have the same father. In this situation, what difference does it make who our birth mother is?”
As Alicia listened to the explanation, she found herself nodding without realizing it.
There was a persuasive quality in Rosetta’s casualness.
“But… I deceived you…”
“Was it either one of us who did the deception? We were just pawns manipulated by the villains.”
And those villains had already received their deserved punishment and become people of the underworld.
Rosetta wanted to add that last part, but she thought better of it.
In the meantime, Alicia was deeply puzzled by the strange persuasiveness of it all.
She was so lost in her confusion that she remained silent. Rosetta noticed and continued speaking.
“Both our father and I, even our older brother. We’re long past the age of choosing sides and assigning blame.”
At the mention of ‘father’ and ‘brother’, Alicia’s shoulders trembled.
Since Rosetta displayed such an unconcerned attitude, her remaining fear was now directed at those two.
“But… Father and Brother… might still consider it important.”
“Well, maybe they would have been affected if things were still as they were before.”
Even Rosetta herself had not been obsessed with blood ties in the past.
That obsession had led to loneliness and, unintentionally, even invoking the ‘end of the world’.
But that was not important now.
“Do they still seem that way now?”
“What?”
When Rosetta left a pause, she continued and asked.
“Do Father and Brother still seem to be concerned about something like that?”
Alicia, who had been pondering Rosetta’s words, shook her head thoughtfully.
“…No.”
The atmosphere in the dining hall as they dined together was genuine and sincere.
Although her throat choked with guilt, the moments of happiness that kept flowing were real.
The icy atmosphere of the past in the household was no longer even a memory.
Rosetta gently brushed Alicia’s disheveled hair.
“That’s right. We’re already a family, regardless of those things. We hold each other dear just as we are, so what does it matter which bloodline we belong to?”
“Really… Do you think so?”
“Don’t you trust me?”
Pretending to be sulky, Rosetta asked, and Alicia’s eyes widened.
“Of course I do!”
Rosetta smiled as she saw the returning spark of vitality in Alicia’s features.
“Still, just in case,” Rosetta began.
“Of what?”
“If, by any chance, after they learn the truth, they come to hate you…”
“……”
“I’ll take you and run away. Let’s live peacefully as sisters in a little cabin. How does that sound?”
Although her tone was somewhat playful, for Alicia, there was no greater comfort.
The tears that had been withheld from her dry eyes began to well up once again.
Tears welled up quickly, and Alicia burst into sobs.
“Hiic… hiiiic… uwaahhh…”
Looking at how Alicia was crying like a child, Rosetta chuckled quietly.
Then, when Alicia saw Rosetta’s upturned eyes,, she had to stifle her own laughter as well. They both ended up laughing together.
Kyahaha!
Their hearty laughter mingled with tears, filling the room.
Alicia, who had wiped her nose a few times, embraced Rosetta tightly, with all her might.
“Sister, you… You’ll forever be my sister.”
Rosetta patted Alicia’s back as she thought to herself.
‘I’m relieved. I was worried she might ask me to call you my older sister…’
And it was a relief that Alicia couldn’t hear these thoughts.
* * *
After a whirlwind of tears and laughter, the two of them lay side by side on Alicia’s bed.
Rosetta was the first to close her eyes. Alicia blinked as she gazed at Rosetta’s face. Memories of their earlier conversation floated up above the peacefully sleeping face.
“Should we keep it a secret from Father and Brother?”
“Yes. I want to tell them in person. After I prepare myself a little more… please.”
Alicia spoke nervously.
She couldn’t help but be tense. After all, this was a very important matter.
The reason she insisted on keeping it a secret was due to the ‘prophecy’ that Daniel had mentioned.
She wanted to protect her sister at all costs, especially after learning from the prophecy that they had switched.
If people realize that the one being pertained to in the prophecy was Rosetta, then…
That would be a huge problem.
Well, the story of the two of them switching places should remain a secret for the time being, at least until the prophecy is revealed to the world and Alicia would be apprehended instead of her sister.
Then…
‘Even if my sister tells everyone that we’ve switched, they won’t easily believe it.’
They would probably think she’s just trying to save her little sister, nothing more.
With these thoughts in mind, Alicia swallowed her dry saliva and awaited Rosetta’s response.
Fortunately, Rosetta nodded in agreement, but she added one condition.
“Instead, don’t feel guilty for not being able to speak as you have so far.”
It was an unusually affectionate condition.
Alicia stared at Rosetta in a daze, then she replied with a smile.
“Of course.”
It was at this moment that her heavy heart suddenly felt remarkably light.
As she looked at the sleeping Rosetta, Alicia’s face broke into a quiet smile, reminiscing their conversation.
‘Sister… You’re my hero.’
Whenever she felt scared or was in trouble, her sister would always appear and light her way.
So wonderful and so amazing.
Her one and only beloved sister.
‘Just like in the divine prophecy, I will protect my sister.’
Alicia’s eyes slowly closed.
A tear that had been clinging to the corner of her eye finally rolled down.
It seemed like she could finally sleep comfortably after a long time.
* * *
I made a bored expression for a moment as I gazed beyond the carriage window.
There was a terribly long line of carriages outside.
‘Were there this many nobles in this country?’
The New Year’s celebration brought about quite a buzz.
It was about two weeks later, since then.
The eagerly awaited day had finally arrived.
The coming-of-age ceremony.
“Rosetta, Alicia, don’t be too nervous about the coming-of-age ceremony.”
I don’t know how exactly Damian interpreted my bored expression, but he reassured us from across the carriage.
Instead of saying that I wasn’t nervous, I simply nodded.
To Damian’s credit, at least Alicia seemed tense.
The rattling carriage stopped and moved repeatedly as it ran toward its destination.
In the distance, a gleaming palace adorned with vibrant lights came into view.
That was the site of the decisive day.
* * *
After getting off the carriage, we immediately headed to the ballroom.
Alicia linked arms with Damian, and I did the same to our perpetually silent father.
As I did, his already expressionless face stiffened even more.
Others might not notice the subtle change, but I could.
“If I’m walking too fast, let me know,” Father muttered, his voice betraying his tension.
He seemed to want to say something else, but he was just so awkward about it.
His steps were not nearly fast. As a matter of fact, he was being painfully slow, to the point where it felt like we were dragging our feet.
He was probably being considerate about the high heels and the dress I was wearing.
I smiled and nodded at Father.
We entered the ballroom with such slow steps. The doorman didn’t even bother checking our invitations, he just opened the door.
The family’s eye color itself served as proof of our identity.
Creeeeak.
The massive door opened, and along with it came the trumpets announcing our entrance.
Then, the loud proclamation of the doorman.
“Entering, the members of the Valentine Duchy!”
All eyes in the room were instantly fixated on us.
Admiration attached to the name Valentine.
Curiosity about the debutante duke’s daughters.
Fear. Anger. Caution.
The negative emotions were all directed at me.
The ducal lady who might be the mastermind behind the blue monsters.
Rosetta Valentine.
I smiled broadly as I was surrounded by those gazes.
Such scrutiny didn’t bother me in the slightest.
They couldn’t even lay a finger on me.
Alicia stared at Rosetta in a daze.
It was something she had already anticipated, but hearing it directly carried a different level of shock.
Strangely, no tears welled up.
There was no fear or anxiety either.
These feelings…
Instead, the emotions she felt now were closer to relief or clarity.
It was a peculiar thing.
She had expected that once all of this was revealed, something significant would happen, but nothing close to that was happening.
But, wasn’t that what she saw in her dream?
There, her sister resented her, hated her, even cursed her.
But in reality, there was no hint of those feelings.
“How difficult it must have been, Alicia.”
Instead of resentment, her sister offered comfort.
Alicia felt her strength drain away for a moment.
Rosetta held her firmly as warmth enveloped them both.
Amid this comforting embrace, a few questions swirled in Alicia’s confused mind.
How did her sister know about this secret?
When did she find out?
However, the question that weighed the most on her mind was.
It’s…
“Even though you knew the truth, why… didn’t you tell anyone?”
Alicia’s trembling voice asked this question.
Rosetta responded with her usual nonchalant tone,
“Why should I have said anything?”
The response was just as casual.
The casualness of it all left Alicia feeling weak. Her shoulders slumped, feeling powerless.
But her confusion persisted.
“You’re the real one, aren’t you? The real daughter… of Mother…”
“Well, that’s true.”
“But then, why…?”
“What’s important is not who our real mother is.”
“…Huh?”
“They’ve both been gone for a long time now, our biological mothers. We have the same father. In this situation, what difference does it make who our birth mother is?”
As Alicia listened to the explanation, she found herself nodding without realizing it.
There was a persuasive quality in Rosetta’s casualness.
“But… I deceived you…”
“Was it either one of us who did the deception? We were just pawns manipulated by the villains.”
And those villains had already received their deserved punishment and become people of the underworld.
Rosetta wanted to add that last part, but she thought better of it.
In the meantime, Alicia was deeply puzzled by the strange persuasiveness of it all.
She was so lost in her confusion that she remained silent. Rosetta noticed and continued speaking.
“Both our father and I, even our older brother. We’re long past the age of choosing sides and assigning blame.”
At the mention of ‘father’ and ‘brother’, Alicia’s shoulders trembled.
Since Rosetta displayed such an unconcerned attitude, her remaining fear was now directed at those two.
“But… Father and Brother… might still consider it important.”
“Well, maybe they would have been affected if things were still as they were before.”
Even Rosetta herself had not been obsessed with blood ties in the past.
That obsession had led to loneliness and, unintentionally, even invoking the ‘end of the world’.
But that was not important now.
“Do they still seem that way now?”
“What?”
When Rosetta left a pause, she continued and asked.
“Do Father and Brother still seem to be concerned about something like that?”
Alicia, who had been pondering Rosetta’s words, shook her head thoughtfully.
“…No.”
The atmosphere in the dining hall as they dined together was genuine and sincere.
Although her throat choked with guilt, the moments of happiness that kept flowing were real.
The icy atmosphere of the past in the household was no longer even a memory.
Rosetta gently brushed Alicia’s disheveled hair.
“That’s right. We’re already a family, regardless of those things. We hold each other dear just as we are, so what does it matter which bloodline we belong to?”
“Really… Do you think so?”
“Don’t you trust me?”
Pretending to be sulky, Rosetta asked, and Alicia’s eyes widened.
“Of course I do!”
Rosetta smiled as she saw the returning spark of vitality in Alicia’s features.
“Still, just in case,” Rosetta began.
“Of what?”
“If, by any chance, after they learn the truth, they come to hate you…”
“……”
“I’ll take you and run away. Let’s live peacefully as sisters in a little cabin. How does that sound?”
Although her tone was somewhat playful, for Alicia, there was no greater comfort.
The tears that had been withheld from her dry eyes began to well up once again.
Tears welled up quickly, and Alicia burst into sobs.
“Hiic… hiiiic… uwaahhh…”
Looking at how Alicia was crying like a child, Rosetta chuckled quietly.
Then, when Alicia saw Rosetta’s upturned eyes,, she had to stifle her own laughter as well. They both ended up laughing together.
Kyahaha!
Their hearty laughter mingled with tears, filling the room.
Alicia, who had wiped her nose a few times, embraced Rosetta tightly, with all her might.
“Sister, you… You’ll forever be my sister.”
Rosetta patted Alicia’s back as she thought to herself.
‘I’m relieved. I was worried she might ask me to call you my older sister…’
And it was a relief that Alicia couldn’t hear these thoughts.
* * *
After a whirlwind of tears and laughter, the two of them lay side by side on Alicia’s bed.
Rosetta was the first to close her eyes. Alicia blinked as she gazed at Rosetta’s face. Memories of their earlier conversation floated up above the peacefully sleeping face.
“Should we keep it a secret from Father and Brother?”
“Yes. I want to tell them in person. After I prepare myself a little more… please.”
Alicia spoke nervously.
She couldn’t help but be tense. After all, this was a very important matter.
The reason she insisted on keeping it a secret was due to the ‘prophecy’ that Daniel had mentioned.
She wanted to protect her sister at all costs, especially after learning from the prophecy that they had switched.
If people realize that the one being pertained to in the prophecy was Rosetta, then…
That would be a huge problem.
Well, the story of the two of them switching places should remain a secret for the time being, at least until the prophecy is revealed to the world and Alicia would be apprehended instead of her sister.
Then…
‘Even if my sister tells everyone that we’ve switched, they won’t easily believe it.’
They would probably think she’s just trying to save her little sister, nothing more.
With these thoughts in mind, Alicia swallowed her dry saliva and awaited Rosetta’s response.
Fortunately, Rosetta nodded in agreement, but she added one condition.
“Instead, don’t feel guilty for not being able to speak as you have so far.”
It was an unusually affectionate condition.
Alicia stared at Rosetta in a daze, then she replied with a smile.
“Of course.”
It was at this moment that her heavy heart suddenly felt remarkably light.
As she looked at the sleeping Rosetta, Alicia’s face broke into a quiet smile, reminiscing their conversation.
‘Sister… You’re my hero.’
Whenever she felt scared or was in trouble, her sister would always appear and light her way.
So wonderful and so amazing.
Her one and only beloved sister.
‘Just like in the divine prophecy, I will protect my sister.’
Alicia’s eyes slowly closed.
A tear that had been clinging to the corner of her eye finally rolled down.
It seemed like she could finally sleep comfortably after a long time.
* * *
I made a bored expression for a moment as I gazed beyond the carriage window.
There was a terribly long line of carriages outside.
‘Were there this many nobles in this country?’
The New Year’s celebration brought about quite a buzz.
It was about two weeks later, since then.
The eagerly awaited day had finally arrived.
The coming-of-age ceremony.
“Rosetta, Alicia, don’t be too nervous about the coming-of-age ceremony.”
I don’t know how exactly Damian interpreted my bored expression, but he reassured us from across the carriage.
Instead of saying that I wasn’t nervous, I simply nodded.
To Damian’s credit, at least Alicia seemed tense.
The rattling carriage stopped and moved repeatedly as it ran toward its destination.
In the distance, a gleaming palace adorned with vibrant lights came into view.
That was the site of the decisive day.
* * *
After getting off the carriage, we immediately headed to the ballroom.
Alicia linked arms with Damian, and I did the same to our perpetually silent father.
As I did, his already expressionless face stiffened even more.
Others might not notice the subtle change, but I could.
“If I’m walking too fast, let me know,” Father muttered, his voice betraying his tension.
He seemed to want to say something else, but he was just so awkward about it.
His steps were not nearly fast. As a matter of fact, he was being painfully slow, to the point where it felt like we were dragging our feet.
He was probably being considerate about the high heels and the dress I was wearing.
I smiled and nodded at Father.
We entered the ballroom with such slow steps. The doorman didn’t even bother checking our invitations, he just opened the door.
The family’s eye color itself served as proof of our identity.
Creeeeak.
The massive door opened, and along with it came the trumpets announcing our entrance.
Then, the loud proclamation of the doorman.
“Entering, the members of the Valentine Duchy!”
All eyes in the room were instantly fixated on us.
Admiration attached to the name Valentine.
Curiosity about the debutante duke’s daughters.
Fear. Anger. Caution.
The negative emotions were all directed at me.
The ducal lady who might be the mastermind behind the blue monsters.
Rosetta Valentine.
I smiled broadly as I was surrounded by those gazes.
Such scrutiny didn’t bother me in the slightest.
They couldn’t even lay a finger on me.
