One Day My Sister Died - Chapter 2 - Part 2
Chapter 2 Part 2
***
Aunt Priscilla was a petite woman with a gaunt frame.
Wearing heavy makeup and high heels to conceal her short stature, roaming freely through the bedroom still filled with her mother’s scent.
“There’s not much in terms of household items, but there’s plenty of stuff that looks valuable.”
The glamorous Aunt Priscilla frowned upon seeing the neat clothes in her mother’s closet.
“I expected more from the nobility, but all the clothes smell like books.”
She dismissed most of the maids and filled the Felice mansion with her own people.
She sold off her mother’s jewelry and redecorated the Felice mansion according to her tastes.
“Do you think this little wench can handle the accounts?”
Though she was a merchant’s daughter, Aunt Priscilla was not good with numbers. When she heard that Yuan, who had been treated like a servant, had been learning bookkeeping over the butler’s shoulder, her eyes lit up.
“We needed a maid, and here she is.”
***
The cousins brought by the new Count and Countess of Felice were children who surpassed all of Yuan’s common sense.
Regina, who was the same age as Yuan, widened her eyes as soon as she entered the mansion with her father.
From the entrance to the first-floor lobby, even the decorations on the staircase railing, young Regina, who was looking around eagerly, let out an exclamation to a scream when she entered Yuan’s room.
“This is all mine now!”
Even when the owner of the room followed her, Regina didn’t bat an eye and hastily opened the closet, rummaged through the clothes, and tried on the jewelry and accessories Yuan received as a birthday present from her parents.
“They all look better on me, don’t they?”
Neither the uncle nor the aunt pointed out her rudeness.
While the uncle was busy consulting with lawyers to see if there was any hidden property from her father, the aunt was busy rummaging through the entire house, trying to find and assess the value of the artworks and jewelry brought in by her mother as a dowry.
“The young heiress of the Felice Count? Hmph.”
When the butler, who had been with the household until the end, called Yuan by her title, Regina rolled on the floor laughing, clutching her stomach.
With tears streaming down her face, the red-haired, green-eyed cousin laughed heartily, and without hesitation, directed sharp words at Yuan.
“Now the Count of Felice is my father. You are now nothing more than a servant to my mother. You better know your place.”
After taking over the room, Regina, who had always looked for anything she could take, finally exchanged even the black dress that Yuan had worn throughout her parents’ funeral for something more fitting for a “servant” as an excuse.
The protesting butler was dismissed, and even the troubled maid left the mansion, leaving Yuan increasingly shocked and withering away.
The new servants who came in did not treat Yuan and Louise as young masters; rather, they joined in tormenting Yuan and Louise along with Regina and Frederick whenever the Count and Countess were not looking.
Meals had to be taken care of themselves, and with Regina taking everything away, and only a few old clothes left, the sisters had to do the laundry themselves.
The only time things started to get a little better was when the uncle, who knew nothing about the Felice estate, began to ask Yuan about various things.
The uncle, who was always preoccupied with comparing himself to his ancestors, treated the family moderately and called Yuan into the study.
Naturally, the servants couldn’t treat Yuan as a servant when she freely roamed the study, and the aunt’s attitude improved slightly as she needed Yuan to help her with the troublesome account books.
In the meantime, what bothered Yuan the most in the mansion was Regina and Frederick.
Especially the fact that Yuan freely roamed the study, a place where everyone was forbidden to enter, became a tipping point not only for Regina but also for Frederick, who had never shown any interest in household affairs.
“I’ll hit girls too. If you act so arrogantly, know that I won’t spare you.”
Taking care of the family business instead of the uncle.
Without rest, helping the aunt.
The candy was a reward for a job well done, and it had been taken away by Regina.
Frederick was a big, strong boy who wanted to go to the military academy, and his threats terrified her.
Every day was like walking on thin ice for Yuan.
As the mourning visits to the mansion continued for quite some time, Yuan felt like a person afflicted with aphasia, sitting dazedly among unfamiliar family members, not knowing how to live.
Yuan’s older sister Louise was also a stranger to her.
One day, when Yuan heard her uncle and aunt arguing over the issue of driving out Yuan and her sister, Yuan’s anxiety reached its peak.
While listening to the loud argument echoing through the mansion, Louise, who was also listening to the quarrel between the couple, quietly approached Yuan and comforted her.
Despite the bruises on her arms and legs, as if she had fallen or been hit somewhere.
“Let’s do anything, Yuan.”
“……”
“Whether as a servant or a maid, let’s work harder for what we want.”
“……”
“If we become useful, they won’t abandon us.”
Yuan nodded quietly as she was embraced by Louise’s comforting arms.
But she couldn’t stop the lingering sense of injustice, anger, and resentment towards Louise, who was innocent.
“If it weren’t for you.”
On days when tears poured down, even though her parents wouldn’t have pushed the carriage too hard to bring you home.
Even though she couldn’t see them often, her parents who always warmly embraced her would still be alive.
Young Yuan, even with her long-awaited sister right in front of her, sometimes found herself engulfed in resentment and despair.
While living through hellish days relying on Louise, she always had nightmares.
The scene was always the same.
Early morning. A day when snow was pouring down.
Louise entered with the parents’ bodies she had brought amidst the blizzard.
When things got tough, Yuan always dreamed of the day she lost everything, and Louise, knowing that, still embraced her.
“Yuan, your sister loves you. I’ll always be by your side.”
Thank goodness for having a sister.
As ten years passed, at some point, Yuan felt the urge to dissolve her resentment and tell Louise that.
Although she had never said it before.
***
And now, back to the present.
Yuan faced the snowstorm outside the entrance, just like that day ten years ago.
Just like the nightmare she always had.
While replaying the words of the man who had brought the living Louise and now the dead Louise.
“Your Majesty, the Queen.”
It was no wonder the mansion became chaotic when the man, known as the Marquis of Compani, addressed Yuan by this title.
“I suppose I must accompany you immediately.”