Chapter 356 – 35. Time Between Dogs and Wolves (6)
Do you know the contradictions of the world?
The absence of a deficiency creates another deficiency. Because the group of royalties is bound to commit sin under the shackles they were born with, like instinct. Almost everyone faces their ugly existence at some point and takes sides.
‘It’s time to choose, daughter.’
Are you going to deny the evil within you? Or are you going to be positive? Nothing can be said to be correct, but choice is essential. The woman who was reborn from a cute little princess to a beautiful princess was no exception.
‘You decide where you stand.’
The father, who was assassinated by a political opponent, suddenly left behind these words. A few days before her death, she awakened her troubled only daughter with short but clear advice. Don’t let them know that the person who made even my own death part of a grand plan was only evaluating its usefulness.
‘If you can’t do that, you will just be trampled.’
After the birth of her half-brother, she was able to overcome some of the feelings of inferiority that arose from not receiving her parents’ affection. As I was taking care of that bright and innocent child, a little joy bloomed in a corner of my empty heart.
However, Marguerite of the Duke of Dior was a weak girl.
It’s such a pity, though. Even though he inherited the blood of his parents who committed evil deeds without hesitation, his nature was different from them. Her essence was that of a small citizen who suffered because her given conscience was too burdensome.
‘The funeral will be held with a state funeral. I will be the head of the funeral, and Charles will be the family representative, so you do not need to attend. The church’s priest will arrive tomorrow, so pack your bags in advance.’
‘Was this what it ended up being? Are you saying that I, who is only an obstacle to my brother’s rise to power, should disappear? Did you covet the position of head of the family so much that you allowed your only sister to spend the rest of her life locked away in a cloistered monastery, unable to attend her parents’ funeral?’
‘Jacques fell from office due to Emilian’s revelations. Even though he accepted the dethronement, his faction is just waiting for the right moment. I don’t know what kind of harm will be inflicted on you, especially since there was even talk of an engagement with the crown prince. Still, do you have any objection to my actions?’
Arsene, his brother, who was growing gaunt by the day, sent him to a cloistered monastery under that pretext. She imprisoned me in the same place where troublesome people and members who were pushed out in power struggles were disposed of.
That was the last chance.
The death of a parent sometimes brings opportunity to the child. Even if it were the third son who disappeared without a word, wasn’t even the second son, who was actually treated as an outcast, able to cling to the family? There was no reason for her to be an exception just because she was the eldest daughter.
Even though Gaul is not a friendly country for women, there was a good chance of victory if one tried to secure a position within the family. However, that was the reason why Marguerite, who knew this well, complied with her brother’s disposition.
She was not confident that she would become a demon.
Like her father and mother, like her brother and her mean younger brother who followed her, she did not have the courage to reject her own limitations and be ambitious. If there was such a thing, she would have been honest about her desire for her youngest child.
‘Look over there, is that her?’
‘She got kicked out of the house because of some kind of accident…’
‘That’s right, Little Princess Dior.’
Life in a monastery was never easy. They weren’t particularly extravagant, but they were from an upper-class family. No matter what I did, I had no choice but to live in a worse environment than before, and because of that, I became more and more withdrawn and passive.
‘Hey, didn’t you hear that we should do our own scripture transcription homework?’
‘Why do I have to do your part too!’
‘I’m helping you because I think Princess Little lacks faith, so give it to me!’
‘Give it back! It’s my handwriting anyway, so if I tell the head nun… !’
‘Why don’t you try it? It’s rare to check in such detail, and even if we get caught, all we have to do is agree with each other. She said that the princess, who had a bad habit of living outside, had been making us do her homework.’
Social stigma and resulting prejudice led to widespread harassment even within the cloistered monasteries. So subtly that the supervising nuns didn’t notice, but so persistently that he decided to commit suicide several times because he couldn’t bear it.
‘Do it in moderation, you guys.’
‘Oh my? This white-haired sister is the dog bone she used to eat somewhere, but is she interfering in an honest religious discussion with our princess?’
‘If you really want to know, talk more. Because I’m not the kind of girl who will just sit back and suffer like that kid you guys are bullying.’
What supported Marguerite at the time of the attempt was the ill-fated relationship that followed later in life. She was a nun from the Lumière Workhouse, a woman with a record of losing all of her children there and returning to prison. After realizing that power is justice, she went to the City Alliance and lived as a mercenary for many years. Her true identity is the so-called special case.
‘Hey, stop it and let’s go.’
‘Just let it go, a girl who just entered the monastery doesn’t have long hair.’
‘That’s Olivia. The mercenary woman brought in by a high-ranking member of the church.’
‘… Tsk, he was acting out somehow.’
‘Just leave it alone. It’s better not to have any dealings. Are you avoiding it because it’s dirty or because you’re scared?’
It was Olivia, the woman whom Archbishop Albert Monet personally persuaded to return to her order. As a woman with such background, she was destined to become the youngest heretic inquisitor in the future. She was the one who readily showed favor to a woman from a family that was almost her enemy.
‘The daughter of a famous family, who was rumored to be soon marrying the crown prince, ended up in such a shabby monastery.’
‘… Because she was dethroned, by her younger brother.’
‘Hmph, anyway, be good at being inconspicuous. Because I personally don’t like your family. If you make a pointless mistake and become bothersome, then you won’t say anything.’
She was the daughter of a family with a long-standing grudge. Even though she knew that the child was not guilty of her crime, she could not control her emotions. So Olivia, who helped her bully, responded even more bluntly and left.
In the end, the two became quite close before leaving the monastery.
Anyway, there were many difficulties in the process. Most monastery people still treated Marguerite of Dior as a nuisance. Moreover, she gradually became more and more lonely, perhaps as a reaction to the realization that she had no one to rely on.
‘Sister Mar, are you doing well there?’
The only thing that soothed her feelings a little was a letter from her brother that arrived late. It was a letter that arrived without an envelope, on crumpled yellow letterhead. It was clearly Roman’s with messy handwriting, but it felt like a mockery.
‘Rom is having fun at the mansion. Arsene and Charles have been really nice to me these days. Yesterday, we all went on a picnic to the garden together and ate delicious snacks and played. It’s a pity that I don’t have a sister, but it’s okay because it’s still fun!’
I should have known sooner. The fact that a ten-year-old child was driven out to a cabin on the outskirts of the territory and is having a harder time than me. In the midst of all this, I had to realize that I had to find expensive paper and write a letter to say hello.
‘Have fun? Even without me?’
Unfortunately, Marguerite couldn’t do that at the time.
‘Sister Mar, send another letter! I’d like you to reply, can I ask you a favor? But the place to receive the letter is somewhere other than the mansion! Arsene built me a villa for me because I’m being nice these days! A hut made of really nice wood!’
For a boy who could not afford to hire a postman, the only way to convey his news was to ask a traveler heading to his sister’s place. Because of this, sometimes duplicate letters with not very different content arrived.
It seemed like they were considering the possibility that it might have been lost and never arrived. This was proof that he was anxiously waiting for a reply from his separated half-sister. Nevertheless, Marguerite, who was younger than her younger brother, deliberately did not convey any news.
‘There’s really warm heat coming out of the fireplace! Uncle Morris brings his maids every day and cooks them lots of delicious food! Buy me any toys! It might be as good as the heaven that Sister Mar said! Hehe, I miss you! Rom is doing well, so don’t worry. You should definitely reply to me about how your sister is doing.’
Was it jealousy or envy? Or maybe it was a good thing because it was like that in the beginning, but now they have become even more impossible to form a relationship with.
‘It’s Rom again! How is your letter going? I’m sad that I can’t find out about my sister. Arsene and Charles are busy these days and don’t come to the villa often. So, it would be great if I got a reply from Mar this time. Um, but if you’re busy, you don’t have to force it. It’s okay if I just do what’s right for me!’
The younger brother’s letters, brightly boasting about his tranquility, increasingly made my sister go against his wishes. In fact, I eat the same bread every day and lie in a lukewarm bed, so there was no way I would be happy to see a post bragging about a comfortable bed for a sumptuous meal.
‘Not long ago, I saved a man who had fallen on the street? They say they come from a country called Britanya! It’s an island country that can be found if you go straight toward the setting sun! This is my first time hearing about ROM! Very cool guy! But I got hurt in a fight with my friend, so I decided to stay at the villa for a few days! I also nursed it myself? Just like I learned from my older sister!’
Just before the bullying subsides and I become friends with someone who opens up my heart even a little.
‘Sister Mar! Do you remember the guy I mentioned before? They say they’re almost done and will be leaving here soon. I’m so sad. I heard it a lot. Still, I learned a lot, and if I learn this well, I will be able to meet my sister Mar again, and she will be able to live more comfortably than now. Rom will work hard to meet us, so let’s eat something delicious together then! Of course, I eat it every day! Because it’s better if I eat it with my sister!’
That was the borderline. Marguerite, who was tired of constant bullying, was fascinated by something when she received the unfortunate letter that arrived at the right time. My younger brother, who followed me so much, wrote the reply he wanted and mailed it.
‘You may be living comfortably, but your sister is having a hard time here!’
One letter.
‘Have you ever thought about the feelings of someone who only reads posts bragging every day?’
Another letter.
‘Anyway, sister, it’s my fate that I won’t be able to leave here from now on. So, I’m telling you, stop writing useless letters and live your life! With the handsome Arsene oppa and Charles! Don’t let this change your mind as you’ll probably forget it once you grow up!’
I wrote it with anger. I regretted it for a while, but I was able to forget it all when the hardships of monastic life and the even more difficult feeling of alienation came. The letters that had been arriving periodically stopped coming, and I was bitterly convinced that this was what was going to happen in the end.
And how long has it been?
It was around Dalpo. Just when I was learning how to survive in the monastery by studying the scriptures half-heartedly, a package arrived out of the blue. When I opened the package with the family seal on it, what I found was a crystal ball. What appeared from that was the younger brother on the other side.
‘Is it worth living there, Sister Marguerite?’
‘… Charles?’
‘That’s really talented. I thought I was stuck there for the rest of my life and would never see anything again, but when did I prepare an ambush like this again?’
‘Trick? Ambush? What are you talking about?’
‘You’re perfect even when it comes to pretending to be silly. My sister is also Dior. It’s different from a half-baby bastard. Well, it would be a shame to let such talent go to waste. So, sooner or later, my brother will get you out of that cloistered monastery.’
‘What are you talking about? Explain so I can understand!’
‘Whoa, calm down. I don’t really have any feelings towards you either. No matter what, I can’t make you come back to the mansion right away. You know Arsene’s personality. At least this is what Rom asked for after defeating that wanderer. I will find a monastery where you can live in a moderate amount of luxury, so let’s compromise with that.’
Was it a mockery of me who didn’t even know the truth? Or was he really so impressed that he was just spouting it off? In any case, while communicating with her younger brother, who had changed beyond recognition, Marguerite encountered something so shocking that she began to loathe herself.
‘But if you don’t mind, tell me the secret. How was that foolish bastard Rom able to defeat a wealthy knight? No, ever since I was little, I thought it was just a normal play for two people to cuddle up, but this is, wow…’
The day I was imprisoned in a cloistered monastery, my beloved half-brother was kicked out to a shabby cabin on the outskirts of the territory.
‘Why, why does he lie like that… ?’
‘Hmm?’
I never went on a picnic to the garden, and I often skipped meals, let alone snacks.
‘It was definitely a letter to me… !’
‘Ah, well, I guess I didn’t want to worry you.’
The fireplace never burned even in the cold winter. Toy was just a fancy name for a rock rolling on the side of the road. The feast was nothing more than grassroots, tree bark, and moldy bread that even beggars would not look at.
‘Isn’t it obvious?’
‘Well, it’s a lie…’
I don’t want to worry my precious half-sister. With just that single thought, he endured a very harsh environment at a young age and never complained. Rather, he supported his sister by acting as a bright boy who did not feel like he was lacking anything.
‘Ugh, uhuh…’
I wonder how embarrassed he must have been for being so petty on such an adult subject. I realized too late how valuable the letters I had torn up in anger were. It is no exaggeration to say that he goes back and forth between life and death, but his half-brother is indeed very talented.
‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry sister…’ …’
I scribbled with a writing tool on a crumpled and frayed piece of paper that I had worked hard to obtain.
‘Ugh, huh, huh…’
So much so that every time I see a passing traveler, I ask for their destination and almost beg them to send it to them.
‘Rom…’
I always cared and loved myself.
