I Don’t Trust My Twin Sister

It didn’t matter though. Ercia wore yellow because she wanted to look more beautiful than me and if she wanted to stand out, so I let her do it. Concession was the symbol of my affection, as older sister.

“Ha, grandfather told us to wear yellow and black in separates.”

“He did, but she didn’t ask me to wear the same dress.”

“Yeah, that’s true, but we’re still…”

“Still?”

‘We were still twins’? Se was going to use the same method as before.

“Oh, because we are twins?”

“Yes, yes!”

When I said it with a smile, she smiled even more brightly, probably thinking that I understood. Why did she only show me a fake smile when she could laugh like that?

“Honestly, I also wanted to wear the same dress in a different color, just like Ersia said, but… You know that. I don’t like black very much.”

“Are you going to change it? Before…”

“That’s just a story from the past. I also want to wear bright clothes for this coming-of-age ceremony. But if you and I wear clothes of the same design, you have to separate them by color after all.”

“But sister.”

“Don’t worry too much. I’ll prepare the prettiest dress for you.”

I stroked her hair and looked up at Sir Dale.

“Please make it with the finest fabrics and silk. We need to look at jewelry that suits Ersia, so please check it out. As I said before, you can design your budget as much as you want without any upper limit.”

“All right.”

After giving him a smile as he bent hisr back, I avoided Ersia’s gaze. Then, I pointed at the dress that had caught my eye in the first place.

“How about this one, Sir Dale?”

Sir Dale studied the sketch I pointed to and his eyes widened. Then he made a fuss and poured out rave reviews.

“It’s a very, very, very perfect choice, lady. I always thought that Lady Laurencia had a flair for the arts, but I didn’t expect it to be to this extent.”

“No. Say nothing.”

I accepted his rave, gently tucking my hair behind my ear. Not even that. Sir Dale was so proud of that dress that he used to go out to parties every day and talk about it until his mouth hurts.

“No no no, really, that’s an excellent choice. Besides, I’ve framed this dress in advance, so I only need to fix the dimensions to fit the lady. I have the fabric and jewels already conceived. Would you like to check it out?”

“If you have a catalog, please bring it. I’ll check it out tomorrow.”

“All right.”

I bowed gracefully and smiled at Sir Dale, who disappeared with the remaining sketches. But Ersia couldn’t smile. I bet she didn’t expect me to choose a dress different from hers. And since the dress was highly praised by Sir Daryl, it’s going to be a hassle. But what could she do?

“You’re looking forward to it, right?”

“…yes.”

The wrath of her sister, who has been deceived by her for 28 years, is not over yet.

* * *

The preparations for the party went smoothly. There was a feeling that time was a little short, but there was no big problem because it was just a matter of modifying some of the things my grandfather had done. Moreover, I had the power to make all of that possible. All difficult tasks were solved in front of money. Shortage of manpower needed to be filled. For work that was difficult for one person to do, two or three people were attached, and if it was not enough, five people poured in to finish it.

I had no choice but to urgently notify and prepare for the sudden change of location, but I tried to reduce mistakes to a minimum. He ordered and ordered monotonous and simple work. Directly managed so that the chain of command was not complicated. Some told me to leave it to myself and get some rest. It was a party to celebrate his becoming an adult, but he was full of worries about what to do if he collapsed from overdoing it. but didn’t let go of the job. It was true that it was tiring, but this was not a mere party. It was a place to change the past, in which the Ajstain family had lived by lowering their stance to take care of the people’s livelihood.

I will show them the wealth of the Ajstain family, which has been overgrown only with words and rumors. Everyone vaguely assumes that he owns a lot of property, but they had never seen it with their own eyes. That’s why there were those who argued that our family was a disgrace to the nobility who risked their lives for a lowly merchant. But foolishly, becoming a nobleman didn’t mean that money just randomly springs up. Just because they had a territory and received taxes didn’t mean that everything belonged to them.

Wealth was a symbol of power and could soon become power. To contemplate the world excluding material things was, in the end, only a dream of dreamers and a delusion of philosophers. Wealth, might, and power were inseparable. Of the three triangles, only one of them was special. I could encompass everything. So let’s recognize that it was we who ruled this triangle.

Those who attended the frugal coming-of-age ceremony criticized me with their mouths. I was ignored because I was not even an aristocrat. I didn’t want to hear those voices poured out to my grandfather this time. In the past, I would have kept Ajstain’s way, but now it’s different. I needed the eyes and voices of nobles, and a well-mannered mouth.

‘To protect the family.’

Frugality? Humble? It was of no use to anyone now. There was only one way for the Ajstain family to survive, which had not been able to stick anywhere, and that was only survival.

“Um…”

I forgot about it for a while, but I had recently gained a very large following. I thought of Ian as I kneaded it with my neck bent. A man named Grand Duke Berdian was struggling with money. It wasn’t even a funny story.

“Haha.”

Laughter flowed from me as I recalled the large man’s puzzled face while scrambling. Was he living well? I sent him an invitation, but it must have gone missing. Would he come before then? Rumor said he hated parties, but did such a person throw parties? Thinking that something didn’t match, I thought about it here and there, and then erased it from my mind. What do I know? The important thing was not that.

“Cut those clothes as high as possible!”

The important thing was to prepare for the party.

* * *

It wasn’t until the day of the coming-of-age ceremony that I realized that my whole body was in pain. Ah, I thought that I couldn’t give my manners to others and moved like crazy. Grandpa, who noticed that I was grunting, jumped up in surprise and helped me.

“Why are you like this all of a sudden? Where are you sick?”

“Oh… cof.”

It was hard to be sick. I had to deal with everything perfectly and do it so I could check my safety. In the end, it was common for people to get sick as time passed. Gastritis was the norm, and there were many times when I remembered that I had not eaten for two or three days only after the due date was over.

People cursed at me, saying that I was toxic and saying, “What are you trying to spend money on?” I have a lot of money, but why do I suffer so much?

But there was something that couldn’t be solved even with a lot of money. No, there was something I believed would not be resolved.

“It’s okay. I’ve been anemic for a while…”

“Aren’t you overdoing it these days? You’ve done everything, so what are you supposed to do if you force yourself to take it and work to this point in the end?”

I smiled kindly at my grandfather, who urged me with a stern voice. He was always a worrying person. He’s always friendly, but there were times when he spoke out so sternly for me. That’s why all of these upgrades were good.

“Grandfather.”

“Why are you calling me?”

It was somehow cute that he replied bluntly, wondering if I had a heartache. Was my grandfather like this? Do you like your granddaughter so much? I smiled.

“Don’t worry. I won’t die.”

“Who dies? Are you trying to follow your parents?”

“Ah, that’s too much to say.”

“Didn’t I tell you how to take care of your body? In the end, life is all about physical strength. Always take care of your body.”

“…Do not worry. No matter how much I hurt, I’m sure it’s not worse than Ersia.”

Grandpa flinched. At that time, me and my grandfather had the same thoughts. He would do anything if he could spend money to cure Ersia, but before he thought it was impossible. When I thought of my younger sister who was in pain and suffering, I would quickly forget the tiredness and hardships. Even though it took a long time to lead my weary body to meet my younger sister and nod in front of her.

I thought that if there was a destiny given to me, it would be to live for two things: my family and my dowry. But it was all just my stupid delusion. Ersia mocked her family with lies. No, it didn’t matter if it’s just me. But even as she was dying, she tricked my grandfather, who held her hand, to cheer up for my sick sister.

“It’s okay, Roa.”

I enjoyed the smell of fragrant pies in my grandfather’s arms. I couldn’t lose this cozy embrace. I could never disappoint this guy. So I had to move. Was there anything money couldn’t do? It didn’t even sound funny, I could change the future with that money.

I felt like I was going to fall asleep as I was hugged by my grandfather who patted me on the back. But that was short-lived, and a butler ran up from afar and called me urgently.

“Lady, Lady Laurentia!”

“Why are you calling me?”

I came out of my grandfather’s arms and smacked my lips. I feel like something is missing. Then the butler said with a very urgent face.

“It’s a big deal.”

“A big deal?”

Any big trouble? As I quietly tilted my head, he frowned slightly and spat out the words with difficulty. 

“…the dress.”

At that moment, I guessed something and my eyes widened.

‘No way.’

I ran right away without looking back. The moment I opened the door to the room where my dress was kept, I could see the torn, shapeless pieces of fabric fluttering.

“…this.”

“It looks like it was burglarized last night.”

“A thief? A thief broke in last night?”

It was absurd. Did it make sense now that a thief broke into this castle the night before and ran away with my dress torn to shreds? The butler bit his lip at my insistence.

“I told you to keep it well.”

“Roa! My granddaughter, my baby, calm down.”

My heart became rough and I couldn’t control my anger, so it was my grandfather who stopped me from pressing the butler. As I struggled, my grandfather whispered softly while holding me in his arms.

“Calm down quickly. Don’t get excited. As I always say, the worst comes when it’s hard to anticipate. You know that?”

“Grandfather…”

“What did Grandpa say? Do you remember what I said about the worst?”

I nodded my head slowly.

“Always prepare and be prepared. Then the worst will always happen to the least.”

“You are my granddaughter.”

He nodded his head, facing the emerald eyes that were so beautiful that the sea would envy him. Excited feelings calmed down. Grandpa pulled out his pocket watch and checked the time, then rubbed his chin and thought for a moment. He rolled his eyes as if calculating something, pondering over and over again, and then brought out his question.

“What would you do?”

“…”

‘What would you do if you were me?’ I pressed my forehead and thought for a moment before answering lightly.

“Let’s go to the office first, Grandpa.”

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