She stood up from her spot on the couch beside me and walked toward the sofa where Mikhail was seated. He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her in extra close, and looked at me, disappointed.
“Iris, I heard that you hindered your sister’s social life out of jealousy.”
I opened my mouth to explain, “I—”
“Spare me your excuses,” he cut me off. “You’re her older sister, and yet you resent her happiness. I simply can’t believe you.”
“It’s nothing to fuss about, Lord Mikhail,” Airia said. “Everyone calls my sister ‘a person who lives in Airia’s shadow’ or ‘invisible’ or something of the sort. She was just hurt by all the comments.”
“But that’s no reason to treat you with contempt. Oh, Airia, you’re far too kind!”
Airia grinned triumphantly as Mikhail hugged her. Indeed, I’d restricted her social activities. However, this was because I was desperately trying to teach her manners. She didn’t have the proper etiquette fitting for the daughter of Marquess Karelia, but it seemed like Mikhail thought that I acted out of jealousy. Judging by the way my sister had whined to him about it, I assumed she thought the same. I suddenly remembered what she’d told me in the past.
“Your fiancé, Lord Mikhail, is a very beautiful man. A dull wallflower like you would just fade under his brilliance.”
Since then, she’d been treating him as a potential partner. How foolish of me to be so slow to recognize it.
“What’s wrong? You have a grievance to air?” Airia said haughtily as I stayed silent due to my shock. “The royal family approved a marriage between a son of the Streltsy household and a daughter of the Karelia household, did they not? I don’t quite get the details, but Father told me that it wouldn’t be a problem if we sisters switched places as long as a daughter of his got married. Surely this wouldn’t be an issue for you, who cares so much about precedents and manners and the like?”
I let a moment of silence pass before answering, “Indeed. In terms of documentation, I believe this arrangement wouldn’t pose an issue.”
“Exactly! Lord Mikhail would be much happier with me than with someone like you, who lacks presence.”
“Now, now, don’t say that, Airia. She’s still my ex-fiancée and future sister-in-law, you know,” Mikhail lovingly chided.
She giggled. “I’m soooo sorry!”
Airia, my younger stepsister, was a real beauty. She took after her mother with her bouncy and curly golden tresses, silky-smooth porcelain skin, and ruby red lips. She wore dainty makeup, accentuating her beautiful and soft cheeks. Her smile resembled that of the saints often depicted praying in religious paintings. I was proud of my beautiful little sister.
In comparison, my long, pin-straight black hair went flat down to my waist with little volume, and my eyes were darker than the ocean floor. The flowery dresses I wore didn’t suit my sickly pale complexion. It was only natural that Mikhail refused to marry someone like myself. I looked plain and lacked presence or flair.
“Iris, you can go home. I’d like to show my future wife around the house,” Mikhail said coldly, shooing me away with a wave of his hand.
“I understand,” I replied. I didn’t even have time to gather myself. I stood up and tried to leave with as much dignity as possible. “Lord Mikhail, my sister is a bright and cheery girl. I pray that she can continue to smile under your care.”
“That goes without saying. Do you think I’ll make Airia cry?”
After we exchanged our final words, I returned home to the Karelia townhouse. The coachman, who was waiting for me outside by my horse-drawn carriage, looked at me doubtfully when my sister wasn’t with me. After I stated the reason, he silently drove the carriage. As I gazed at the fleeting view from my window, I rested my head in my hands.
“…I wonder if she’ll be a fitting wife for Lord Mikhail,” I muttered.
Mikhail’s mother, Marchioness Streltsy, was rather strict with etiquette. As part of my training to become the perfect wife, I was called for a tea party every month, but not a day went by when my former mother-in-law didn’t scold me.
“Don’t try to act seductive; stay plain. The mole by your eye might be taken as a symbol of lasciviousness.”
“You’re dreary enough as it is. At the very least, try to be free flowing like air instead of a ripple in the water.”
“Make sure you don’t tarnish the name of the Karelia household that your late mother did her best to protect.”
Lady Streltsy was strict, but when my late mother died of an illness, she raised me like I was her own. As such, Airia, who came later and was raised more freely by my stepmother, was sure to irritate Lady Streltsy.
“There isn’t much time until the wedding. At the very least, I should teach her basic etiquette and make sure she has a healthy relationship with her mother-in-law…” I thought out loud.
While I was trying to sort out the situation, the carriage stopped in front of my house. My father called for me the moment I returned. I apologized before I did anything else.
“I’m terribly sorry, Father.” I bowed my head. “I just heard about the engagement from Lord Mikhail. I understand that I’ve inconvenienced you due to my shortcomings.”
“That’s all in the past,” my father replied, turning around. Surprisingly, he didn’t look too disappointed. “Rejoice. There’s someone else who wants a flawed woman like you.”
“Huh…?” The news came as a great surprise to me.
“It seems like he actually wanted your sister, but you’re more than enough for a former commoner.”
“You already found me a new husband?”
He threw a piece of paper at me. The letter, written on the most modern typewriter, stated that I was to become a wife. It was already signed and notarized. I read the name of my new husband.
“Baron Lucas Stock…”
As part of my marchioness training, I memorized the names of almost all the long-established aristocrats that owned land. The name “Stock” didn’t ring a bell, and I hadn’t met him at any of the aristocratic parties held in the royal capital. The title of “baron” was also one that I was unfamiliar with; I assumed that he was a new aristocrat who didn’t own any land and only held a title.
“He’s a nouveau riche from the merchant city, Solalitika. He purchased his title with money he made from his business—a lowly man indeed. He asked for your younger sister in exchange for shouldering some of our debt,” my father explained as I stared at the name on the letter.
“W-Well, this is rather sudden… If he asked for my sister, then—”
“Listen well. It’s already been decided. There’s no need for you to understand anything,” my father cut me off. I nodded. “In any case, he asked for Airia, but I’m sure her mother would be crushed if her precious daughter was sent to the rural countryside of Solalitika. Thus, I told him that Airia was engaged to the son of Lord Streltsy and that you, her older sister, were free to go in her stead.”
“You…ruined my engagement because you wanted to keep my sister close at home,” I realized.
“This is all for the family. Bear with it. Fulfill your duties as a daughter of the Karelia family,” my father coldly told me.
I stood there in shock. It took me some time to process the truth. I’d thought it was odd that my engagement, which had been formally approved by the royal family, was canceled so abruptly. Even a switch of sisters was a rare occurrence that typically only happened when one passed away. I realized that this entire series of events had been planned for a while now.
“What will happen to the Karelia name if I get married?” I desperately buried my emotions. “This house only has myself and my sister. If either one of us doesn’t adopt a child, your title and property will be given to the next closest related male.”
My father grinned, flashing his teeth and gums. “Your stepmother is in her thirties. That’s more than enough time to give birth to another child.”
I stood in silence.
“Even if she doesn’t birth a boy, as long as I’m able-bodied, I can plant my seed elsewhere, as much as I’d like.”
A shiver ran up my spine as my biological father wore a vulgar smile in front of me, his daughter. My father had a distant relationship with my mother and inherited the Karelia title and properties via a political marriage with her. In truth, the pride and dignity of our name had died with my mother.
I reread the letter. Solalitika was a merchant city near the ocean. It took about a week by carriage from the royal capital to this port city. Because one had to cross a mountain to reach Solalitika, news from the royal capital wouldn’t reach there. They had a different culture and spoke a different language. My father most likely didn’t want to send my beautiful sister as this former commoner’s bride and decided that I should go in her stead. Airia, who was smitten with Mikhail, couldn’t have hoped for a better outcome.
“Iris, be obedient as usual and marry this former commoner. You lacked presence in the royal capital, anyway. The countryside would be more fitting for a wallflower like you,” my father said.
The Karelia household had been tumbling down ever since my mother died. However, I didn’t expect the situation to be so dire that I had to marry someone to ease some debt.
“Father, I pray that the Karelia household that my mother loved dearly will be secure for many years to come. May I please bring some of my mother’s mementos with me?” I asked.
“Sure, do as you like. He’d like you to come as soon as possible, so I’ll send you to Solalitika immediately. You’ll do this for the Karelia name, won’t you?”
“Of course, Father.”
I left the room. I couldn’t even shed a single tear.