Crouching down next to the door, Christa buried her face in her knees. What thoughts had been going through her head back then? She’d likely felt sad and lonely.
“…Christa?” Finally, she heard the voice she’d been waiting to hear. When her head whipped up, she saw Drossell standing in front of her, looking surprised.
Christa couldn’t remember what happened after that. She’d been so happy that her sister was safe that she’d run over to her. She vaguely remembered saying something, but she couldn’t remember what. Before she knew it, Christa had been thrown to the ground by some sort of invisible force.
A sharp pain ran through her arm, but she couldn’t understand what had happened. Looking down, she saw a red streak running across the upper half of her left arm. Drossell stared in a daze at the blood that welled up from the wound before crouching down and covering her face.
Noticing that her older sister was crying, Christa reached out to touch her arm. At that moment, Drossell’s face whipped up and she violently pushed Christa’s hand away with a frightened expression.
Her actions surprised Christa. Servants who had heard the commotion appeared. When they saw the twins, they immediately hid Christa behind them.
Seeing Christa’s imploring gaze from behind the servants, her elder sister whispered, “S-Sorry…” Then she turned and ran off. It was the first time her sister had ever clearly rejected her.
After that, Drossell obviously started to avoid Christa. She didn’t respond when Christa talked to her and disappeared immediately when they ran into each other. Before she knew it, Drossell had become even more reticent and expressionless, and she had closed herself off to Christa.
Christa just wanted to be by her sister’s side, so why did Drossell reject her? That indignation bottled up inside Christa as she turned six. That was the first year she hated her sister.
It all started during a tea garden held in their garden. Christa had invited other noble boys and girls her age. That day, noble children from families on good terms with the Filiaregis family gathered in the garden with Christa at the center as the star of the tea party.
“Hey, who is that?” one of the girls asked, gazing up at one of the manor’s windows. The other boys and girls stirred as they all followed suit.
When Christa also looked up at the second story window, she saw her older sister standing in front of it, expressionlessly looking down on the party through a gap in the curtains. Drossell had been forbidden from going out into society since the day she used her strange powers. She had been confined to their home, but perhaps she was still interested in parties like the tea party.
As she was thinking this, Christa and Drossell locked eyes. Drossell’s gaze shifted, as if she were bothered, before she quickly closed the curtains.
“Ah, she left…”
“I’ve never seen anyone who looks like her before. And she was so pretty!”
Drossell had only shown herself for about ten seconds, but that was plenty of time to grab the children’s attention. Even though Drossell was gone and they were gathered around Christa, her older sister was all they would talk about.
Seeing this, Christa suddenly remembered that her sister was considered beautiful and rare to others. Even without magical power, she could attract people’s gazes with only her existence.
Christa was jealous. She envied Drossell. Drossell just had to stand there, but if Christa stood in the same spot, no one would even notice her. Even though Christa had loved Drossell so deeply, Drossell now avoided getting involved with Christa for reasons that Christa didn’t understand.
Wanting Drossell to look at her, to finally face her again, Christa learned how to force a smile, how to lie, and how to act. She plastered a flowery smile on her face, sprinkled others with insincere praise, and acted in a way that endeared her to others. She created a mask of a child whom everyone loved.
Eventually, the twins were given a private tutor, and she started to be compared to her sister. Drossell could instantly and perfectly complete the things that Christa struggled with. She started to feel inferior.
But Christa was willing to work hard. She devoted more time and effort than anyone else into dancing, which she was not good at, and sewing, which she hated.
As a result, she was regarded as one of the most outstanding noble girls of her age. But even then, her sister remained a presence far out of her reach. And the older they got, the more the distance between them grew.
“Don’t worry. You are amazingly talented. That despicable child is nothing compared to you.”
Her loving family always smiled gently and comforted her. But Christa was well aware that their words were lies. Drossell wasn’t the one who was nothing; she was. Her sister was far better than anyone in their household.
Since Drossell had lost her place at home, she often went out into town. That sight coincided with the sight of her going to visit her best friend in the past. Before long, Drossell had a butler she’d picked up in the city by her side and she had made a place for herself in a world that Christa knew nothing about.
Christa was unbelievably frustrated and irritated. But since she had no idea what to do with her emotions, her hatred for her sister grew by the day.
Why is it always her? What am I missing?
I just want to be with her…
✦ ✦ ✦
Christa slowly opened her eyes to the sensation of cold paper. When she looked outside through her open curtains, she saw a full moon hanging in a starry sky. Apparently, she’d fallen asleep while reading.
She felt like she’d had an important dream but couldn’t remember what it was about. But something made her feel like she saw Drossell right before she woke up…
Looking down at her desk, she saw an open textbook. There were several books stacked on the side of her desk, each of them for an academic subject she studied at the academy.
“Why…?” Crumpling an exercise paper with formulas and vocabulary words written on it, Christa slowly breathed out and held her head. “Why is it always Drossell?”
One of the villages in the duchy once came up with the idea to start a new industry on an experimental basis. Christa and Drossell had both submitted ideas for industries to their uncle, who managed the province in their father’s place. However, he had adopted Drossell’s idea which brought great prosperity to the village.
Their final exams this time had been the same. The fact that Drossell had surpassed her had a huge effect on Christa. Frustrated that her sister had dismissed it as a trivial matter, Christa had continued to study at home even though the exams were over.
“Miss Christa, do you have a moment?” a maid asked from outside her room.
“What is it?” Christa responded languidly, head still in her hands.
“Miss Salinya would like to see you.”
“Sally is here?!” Christa jumped to her feet as the door opened to reveal a woman with long, wavy silver hair gathered over her right shoulder.
“Hello, Christa. It’s been a while.”
“Sally!” Salinya was the eldest of the duke’s daughters. She was supposed to be undertaking bridal training at the home of her fiancé, a marquis. “When did you get back? I thought you’d be staying at Lord Ulster’s estate longer.”
“Our wedding has suddenly been moved up, so I came home early to start getting ready.” Saying this, Salinya walked toward Christa and held her cheeks in both hands, looking into her eyes. “What’s wrong? You look pale. Did something happen to upset you?”
Under her loving but firm gaze that left no room for secrets, Christa took a small breath and began to talk about what had happened at home, at the academy, and about her twin sister.
“I see. Drossell, huh?” After Christa had finished talking, Salinya placed a hand on her cheek and tilted her head, humming noncommittally.
“Sally, do you have any idea what’s going on with her?”
“Not yet. But don’t worry, Chrissy. I’ll do something about it.” Salinya smiled kindly in reassurance. No one noticed the light flickering in the depths of her eyes.