“Hello, Milena. I’m Larriete.”
Young Milena’s eyes sparkled brightly. The world reflected in her emerald-green eyes was always beautiful. And so was the image of her older sister, two years her senior, reflected in them.
Larriete was so beautiful that she was called a child born of the goddess of spring. Young Milena didn’t dislike her new sister. In fact, she was thrilled to have such a pretty sister. Her heart swelled with joy.
“Hello, sister. It’s nice to meet you.”
She had no idea what it meant to have a sibling older than her. She didn’t know what kind of expression her mother wore as she brought in a child from outside. Young Milena simply liked having a sister, purely and innocently.
“How adorable. I think we’ll get along well.”
Larriete’s pink eyes were warm and gentle, so Milena didn’t see the shadow hidden beneath her smile. She didn’t understand the deeper meaning behind her sister’s first greeting.
Milena was like a flower in a greenhouse. Raised in an environment where she was thoroughly protected from the filth of the world, she didn’t know that a flower blooming in the mud could carry deadly poison.
A girl with golden hair as if melted from pure gold and lovely pink eyes. Though she was frail and thin from lack of nourishment, her bright smile made the servants lower their guard and dote on Larriete.
It only took a moment for her to capture people’s eyes and hearts with her enchanting appearance. With a keen sense of survival, the commoner-born illegitimate child blended in seamlessly, as if she had always belonged, gradually taking control of the household.
Even young Milena sensed that something was subtly changing within the family, but she didn’t think much of it.
And then, one day—
It wasn’t long before the bright expression that had always adorned Milena’s face disappeared.
“Hic… Milena, my little sister… How pitiful you are.”
Tears dripped down, soaking Milena’s small shoulders. Larriete clung tightly to her as if offering comfort, but Milena found it irritating. Even so, she couldn’t react.
Her mother—her everything—was dead.
Staring blankly at the freshly piled dirt of the grave, Milena couldn’t believe it.
The cause was said to be sudden death. Her mother had always been weak, but she hadn’t been suffering from any fatal illness. There had been no accident. She had simply passed away in her sleep, without any warning.
Could there be a death more hollow than this?
She had lost her mother overnight.
A sister who had suddenly appeared remained by her side, but she could never replace her mother.
Her world crumbled around her, leaving her with nothing but emptiness. Every emotion evaporated, leaving her unable to cry.
“My goodness, you can’t even tell which one is the real daughter.”
“Indeed. How could the biological daughter not even shed a tear or look the least bit sad?”
“The new daughter fits right in, as if she were always a noble.”
“She’s so beautiful, it’s hard to believe she was once a commoner.”
Though the stain of being illegitimate remained, the Count officially registered Larriete as a noble. She wasn’t a bad candidate for a political marriage as the Count’s eldest daughter.
Rather than mourning the late Countess, the funeral became an occasion to appraise Larriete.
No one truly grieved for the sudden passing of the Countess. All eyes, filled with greed, were fixated on Larriete.
Milena didn’t hear a word of what was being said around her. The vibrant world she once knew had turned pitch-black.
“Milena, are you going to stay in your room forever?”
“Just leave me alone, sister.”
“Alright, I understand.”
After a few attempts at coaxing her out, Larriete withdrew her attention. Milena didn’t leave her room for a long time.
And in that time, she remained oblivious to how Larriete was slowly winning over the people of the household.
Milena, once the only cherished daughter of the Count, became the second.
Her mother’s people were cast out before she could even react, and everyone turned their backs on her.
Even her father.
Smack—!
A sharp slap sent young Milena’s head snapping to the side.
“How can a child be so heartless? Are you looking down on your sister just because she came from outside?”
Milena’s emerald eyes filled with shock. The world shook around her.
She had never been struck before.
Fear gripped her chest. She had never felt such terror in her life. Trembling, she looked up at her father, whose anger was palpable.
“I… I never did anything like that.”
“Everyone knows you’ve been mistreating your sister just because you’re the legitimate daughter! You’ve been trying to steal her belongings! Look at all the things you took in your room!”
“I never—!”
“Lock her in the attic! She’ll stay there until she learns her lesson!”
No matter how she pleaded, no one listened.
The good child was Larriete. The bad child was Milena.
As time passed, that perception solidified.
Milena, raised in comfort, had no idea how terrifying the ruthlessness of a girl who survived in the slums could be.
Comparisons with her sister became inevitable. To prove her worth, she had to constantly struggle.
But the more she tried, the deeper she sank into the mud.
The harder she worked, the more people disregarded and scorned her.
Even the tutors hired for her education looked at her with cold indifference.
And so, Milena spent her childhood alone, isolated within the Count’s household.
At sixteen, she met Calion, the Grand Duke.
It was by chance.
The newly enthroned Grand Duke had stopped by the Count’s estate while inspecting his territory.
She was told to avoid him, so she did. She didn’t attend the formal dinner.
While escaping the presence of the Grand Duke’s retinue, she wandered aimlessly through the garden—until she absentmindedly walked into a solid figure.
“Be careful.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
That was all.
Silver-gray eyes met shadowed green ones, but there was no thrilling spark or heart-pounding excitement.
It was nothing more than a passing moment of politeness.
She barely paid attention to the Grand Duke.
Her mind was occupied by someone else—
A man who secretly met with her sister.
His crimson eyes were even more striking than the Grand Duke’s.
She wasn’t sure when it started, but at some point, a stranger had begun coming and going freely through the estate, as if it were his own home.
No one questioned it.
Was everyone pretending not to see, or did they truly not notice?
Larriete, now officially an adult, spent time with a man whose name no one seemed to know.
Milena thought her sister would be more careful, considering how highly sought after she was in the northern social circles.
Yet, strangely, Larriete—who always managed her behavior meticulously—was careless when she was with him.
With him, she laughed freely, unguarded. It was the first time Milena had ever seen her sister genuinely smile since she came to the Count’s estate.
She looked so happy that Milena couldn’t help but be curious.
‘Who is he?’
Judging by his appearance, he seemed to be a noble, but she didn’t recognize him.
Milena had memorized the entire genealogy of the northern nobility, yet she didn’t know his face.
Could he be from outside the North?
Silvery-white hair and crimson eyes.
A beautiful man.
But she wasn’t particularly drawn to him—just curious.
So, she asked.
“Sister, who is that man?”
Even the maids acted as if they couldn’t see him.
Larriete, who had been conversing quietly with him, turned to Milena.
Her face carried the perfect image of a kind older sister, but her voice was cold.
“Oh my, you can see him?”
“What do you mean?”
“You didn’t put magic on her?”
“……”
The man didn’t answer.
Larriete shot him a sharp glare before responding.
“He’s a mage. Don’t concern yourself with him.”
“A… mage?”
Finally, the red eyes turned toward Milena.
A gaze as cold as the dead made her flinch.
A mage in the North?
She knew how valuable mages were.
The Emperor was desperate to recruit them.
And yet, one was clinging to her sister’s side.
Northern nobles were sending Larriete countless marriage proposals.
Was this mage among them?
“Oh, Milena. No matter how much you stare, he won’t even talk to you.”
Milena ignored her sister’s mockery.
Larriete sighed, then smirked.
“You know, don’t you? The Master of the Mage Tower recently changed.”
So? Milena’s gaze asked.
Larriete grinned.
“This man is the new Master of the Mage Tower.”
