I Don’t Trust My Twin Sister

However, I felt puzzled by his attitude. If Beralt had tried to bury me completely, he would have made more thorough preparations. Why did Beralt allow Duke Safeldrick to be the judge of this trial? If it were the crown prince’s power, they would have been able to appoint a member of their main axis as a judge, but why? Duke Safeldrick was one of the two major ducal families. There was no way Beralt didn’t know that he would help me. Moreover, he thought that something bigger was waiting besides the evidence presented. I thought there would be a lot of false evidence that could put me in a corner, but unexpectedly Beralt was quiet and things were going well for me. Is this the end?

 

“Is there nothing, Marquis Akpensia?”

 

“…that…”

 

“If there is none, I will make a judgment here. In the name of the four law officers and Duke Safeldrick, I hereby declare not guilty the Lady Alorencia Aztain who was summoned to this trial.”

 

At his words, my heart, which had been blocked, burst out. His tense shoulders became limp and a faint smile appeared on his face. I thought to myself that this incident would pass without any problems, but the truth is that it was a burden. Even one mistake could lead to the downfall of the family. As the scenery before my eyes, which could have been a thorny road or a pit of fire, changed, people’s voices rang out in my ears. I don’t understand the voice saying it’s nonsense. The applause was drowned out by the criticism of the aristocratic members. Even if their windbreakers were active, it was a clear defeat for Beralt. I turned my gaze to look at Duke Safeldrick. He was grinning. I lowered my head again to look at Beralt, and he straightened his wrinkled expression, lowered his gaze from looking up at Duke Safeldrick, and looked at me. The moment I saw his disgusting face, I opened my mouth.

‘Loser.’

 

Although he couldn’t hear it because of the synthesis, I thought he must have seen my lips moving slowly. Beralt glared at me and then turned his head, so the judge declared that the trial was over and the judge made the decision, and the observers each left the court with their opinions. I sighed and looked at Duke Safeldrick again. He turned his head slightly as if he felt my gaze while talking with the law officers. When he bowed in gratitude, Duke Safeldrick shook his head and then waved his hand as if it was enough. He lifted his chin and made a motion to hurry up. I thought back to what he said before the trial. When he told me to leave without looking back, he immediately nodded and turned around. It’s a poisoned cup. I couldn’t tell what kind of cup he meant or what he meant by what he said, but I was willing to listen to what he said. I wanted to leave this place as quickly as possible. He felt like his good mood would be ruined if he were caught by Beralt and told nonsense. After leaving the courtroom, which felt heavy and stuffy, the staff were instructed to prepare to leave immediately. He returned to the room, organized all the luggage I had brought and the documents I had prepared as needed, put them in a bag, changed into comfortable clothes, and sat down in a chair. Since I gave you the word in advance, it won’t take long for me to be ready and be able to leave the castle. I pressed my slightly trembling hand.

 

“Ha…”

 

I let out a deep sigh. My shoulders felt weak and I felt like I was going to collapse. The house that was so difficult to handle alone was gone. When I closed my eyes, I felt so tired that I felt like I was going to fall asleep right away. Still, I was glad everything worked out well. Even though I didn’t see Ian, it was easy to tell that he had been helped by Duke Safeldrick.

I sighed. When I get back, I’ll have to have a serious conversation with Ian. Ian was colorless and odorless, and he moved the pendulum of my feelings that had no humanity. I felt like I needed to get a real feel for how he looked at me. Ian reached out to me countless times and revealed his true feelings. I also showed him my feelings. I thought so, but it was just a feeling inside my small container. Even if I was shaken for a moment, I came back to reality and thought calculatedly, and if Ian woke up, he could have been in that frame too.

But this time came a little differently. Duke Safeldrik’s words were certainly meaningful.

 

“Is Beralt’s life worth giving up everyone else’s existence?”

 

I used to think so. I was anxious to ruin the man, too, and thought that if Beralt was gone, everything would be perfect. But it was something that was locked up in my field.

The vain thought that one could be happy without Beralt was ultimately a past way of thinking tied to Beralt. Can you be happy only if you get revenge on Beralt? Can’t my life of just running away change? No, it is possible. I can be happy even if Beralt doesn’t disappear and I don’t have to take revenge on him. My happiness could be a terrible revenge on him.

I no longer wanted to find my happiness in other people’s misfortune. The past and present, which seemed to be unconnected and tangled with chains of distrust, loneliness, and fear, intersected. The moment those chains came off, I moved on. Moving away from the past where I looked for traces of my value and life in others and into the present where I can look at myself.

 

“I am…….”

 

I bit my lip. A few people I desperately wanted to see flashed in my eyes. I missed my grandfather, and I missed Ian, too. I wanted to ask them to show me how they view the world.

 

‘Ercia.’

 

My younger sister, who has a more narrow view of the world than anyone else. In that small room, I wanted to ask her about the past when she had no choice but to betray me. If it wasn’t completely out of sync, I wanted to have a conversation with my brother, at least if there was still room for conversation. My sister drove me to destruction once, but I think there must have been a reason for it. Beralt did it for his greed and his own purposes. But, why did Ercia do that? Does our family mean nothing to her? If I also had a closed view of the world, wouldn’t the same be true for Ercia? So I wanted to go back and meet her, hold the hand of her sister whose face resembles mine, and ask her.

 

“You… What are you looking at?”

 

* * *

 

I gathered my thoughts and stood up. Suddenly, as if preparations were complete, someone knocked on the door. I walked up to the door, grabbed the handle, and turned it.

 

“Preparations are complete…”

 

I opened my mouth, thinking I would see Yuli, my maid, through the opening door, but a person she had never expected to see caught her eye. My head, which had been spinning for a while, stopped working in an instant. His gray eyes, which were looking at me, had hardened, looked around the room secretly, and then focused on me again. He was smiling.

 

“It looks like you’re getting ready to go back. I see your luggage is all packed.”

 

It was a soft voice, a clear tone that made it clear that the rumor that all women fell in love with his voice was not a lie. But I couldn’t react with excitement to that voice like other women. I took a step back and looked up. I took two steps back and frowned. When I took the last, third step, I was able to force my back to bend.

 

“…I meet the person who will become the master of the great sword.”

 

The man was one of two people who could hear this. The Lirus imperial emblem had two crossed swords and a thick new sword passing between them. The two twin swords symbolized the two major ducal families, and the new sword symbolized the imperial family.

And the sword was owned by only one person: the emperor of the empire and the crown prince who succeeded him.

 

“His Royal Highness Prince Theoreden…”

 

His sneer pierced my bowed head sharply.

 

“Did I come to you rudely, my lady?”

 

I raised my head and met his eyes. The gray eyes were staring at me sharply, as if they were filled with death.

 

“Is that possible?”

 

He barely opened his mouth and let out an answer. Encounter with the Crown Prince. I thought for a moment about how to respond to a situation I had never even thought of. He bit his lip and turned around.

 

“Would you like to come in? I’ll make you a cup of tea.”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

It was quite uncomfortable to hear a pleasant voice passing by my ears. Very little is known about the crown prince. He was at a loss as to how to react. First, I brewed some tea, put it in a cup, and handed it to him as he sat down at the table.

 

“The maids were all busy, so I rode it myself. I don’t know if you’ll like it.”

 

“I’m not a picky eater.”

 

Is that possible? He, who always drinks tea brewed by a maid who has been trained to use the highest quality tea leaves and teaware to suit his taste, is only satisfied with the tea I roughly serve? It’s not even funny. But I sat down in the chair because it didn’t really matter to me whether the crown prince was satisfied or not. He was looking at me blankly. He didn’t have much to say and I figured he’d better leave quickly if he wasn’t going to do something about it. Even though he hasn’t shown much action yet, the Crown Prince was a man with unrivaled power that enabled Beralt to become the center of power. Being the next emperor meant being the next number one. He seemed hateful to him, so there was nothing good about him. However, it was clear that he was my enemy just by putting me on trial with uncertain evidence. He was someone I didn’t need to get close to, someone I didn’t need to meet. He wasn’t someone I could meet just because I wanted to, and he bit his lip. I could understand why Duke Sa Feldrick had asked me to quickly leave the imperial castle. He probably said this because he was concerned about a situation like this happening. Ah, His Excellency Duke Sadric. If you knew this was going to happen, why wouldn’t you have been more specific. Then I would have left sooner and without looking back. I can only blame myself for breathing a sigh of relief and moving leisurely. The crown prince was still tilting his teacup with his mouth closed. I heard you are not a picky eater. Is this true? You’re drinking well. As I glanced at the tea slowly disappearing into my mouth, I also tilted my tea cup at an angle. Can’t you get me a cup of tea, drink it, and quickly disappear from my sight? It feels like I’m wasting time for no reason…

 

“Lady Lawrence.”

 

Just when I thought it would be a good idea to leave quickly, the crown prince, who opened his mouth just in time, started scolding me.

 

“Yes, Your Highness.”

 

“I’m sorry about what happened today.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“He was innocent… I feel fortunate that he was not accused of an innocent crime, but it is a little disappointing that the name of the imperial family has been put in vain.”

 

“Ah…”

 

What should I answer? If I say thank you, will it be perceived as sarcastic? Or should I ask why? In a short period of time, I thought of many things and said the best one.

 

“I think there was some kind of misunderstanding. So, His Majesty the Crown Prince need not worry about that.”

 

“Misunderstanding…”

 

The crown prince quietly repeated my words. He lowered his head slightly, pursed his lips for a moment, then smiled and nodded.

 

“Okay. If it’s a misunderstanding, it’s a misunderstanding.”

 

“Fortunately, I was able to prove that I was not guilty, so I am satisfied with that.”

 

It was a bit refreshing to see Beralt’s rotten face.

 

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Translator Note: