This was the truth that only Violet knew.

Only Violet, who—on the surface—was the person who reviled the new member of the family.

“Remember the time when I still cared about you? I really liked you back then. It felt like I had a younger sister.”

“…Don’t— make me laugh.”

“Right. It’s been more than ten years. It’s meaningless now.”

It was after you truly became my younger sister that I hated you.

Saying so quietly, Violet slowly closed her eyes. Aileen’s expression gradually became distorted.

“Ha. Haha. Ahahahahaha!”

Beneath the moonlight, one person’s laughter echoed.

Laughter that carried both a hint of lunacy and relief.

“Now I know why— Why you hated me so much. Why you were so anxious whenever you couldn’t drag me down.”

Thud.

As she took a step back, unable to stop the momentum, Aileen fell on the ground.

Violet reached down slowly and caressed Aileen’s cheek.

“You’re jealous of me, aren’t you?”

Considering that this was the person she hated the most, she was treating her very gently.

Aileen slapped away Violet’s hand.

“Shut— Shut up. The likes of you. There’s no way I’m jealous of you!”

Her high-pitched voice was just as sharp as the accompanying sound of the hand being slapped.

Their positions had become reversed. Aileen was under the impression that Violet was the cause for the change in her circumstances.

That assumption was right to some extent, but on the other hand, also wrong.

However, Violet continued to gently caress the girl’s cheek, guessing why Aileen came to see her now.

“Right. That’s why. You’re jealous of my position. No, you envied me so much that you wanted to drag me down one way or another— to see me crash and burn… You longed to be superior compared to me, Aileen.”

The disgraceful feeling brought about by a sense of inferiority… Violet was aware of the desire to be rid of that emotion.

She loathed it whenever someone saw her weep or struggle as she was at her lowest. That’s why, in any way she could, she wanted to prove that she was superior…

What use was this bloodline.

The smile on Violet’s face was quickly erased. In its place, a cold expression dawned upon her features, and she whispered into Aileen’s ear.

“I won’t ask you since when you started to hate me, my lovable younger sister.”

“……”

“Stay at the bottom forever. Because you can never be me. You no longer matter to me.”

At every word Violet enunciated, Aileen’s expression gradually became more and more distorted.

Why would I be jealous of you? You’re a villainess who isn’t loved at all! You’re a villainess who only bothers everyone each and every day!

She, who endeavored to make the most noble individual a crude woman, tried to hide such ugly sentiments. But in the end, her wish did not come true.

That sense of inferiority followed Aileen evermore.

“Aileen.”

“……”

“You must have come here to blame me. You’re in pain? You’re in that situation right now? In your position right now, you can’t even do or achieve anything at all.”

As Violet moved away from her while asking Aileen all these things, the girl stared at her.

Her hair shimmered with the moon’s illumination.

“I hate you, Aileen. I hate you and everyone in this residence. Everything here is so horrible that it’s impossible to endure.”

“…You’re crazy.”

“So, I’m leaving. No matter how hard you struggle, you can never be me. No matter how good you are at pretending, you can never be a good person… But since I’m myself, I’ve decided to live the life that I want.”

The woman who once wept as she had been ostracized finally, after all this time, looked at peace.

“As you say— I may be crazy. But one thing’s for sure.”

Violet drew closer to Aileen once more and, again, caressed the girl’s cheek.

“In the end, it’s all your doing.”

“……”

“The situation you are in right now, your despair, your anger. Everything.”

You brought it onto yourself.

The girl who had collapsed hit the ground with her fist. Slightly perplexed at the girl’s enraged reaction, Violet tilted her head to the side.

“I will claim what’s rightfully mine.”

“Yes, yes. Take it if you want. If you go and do that, let’s see if you can change anything.”

“……”

The girl on the ground cried.

Violet walked forward, leaving Aileen behind her.

There was no reason for her to look back.

* * *

A new morning had dawned.

As she had not slept a wink all night, Violet’s expression was dark. Stomping her feet slightly, Mary examined Violet’s face and asked,

“Milady, by any chance, did something happen?”

“Nope, nothing at all.”

After Violet had let it all out at Aileen, sleep eluded her all night while thinking about it. She laughed.

It’s a good morning. It had to be a good morning.

Because today was the day that Violet would be getting away from this endlessly tiring ducal household.

“Um, firstly then, here’s a basin so you can wash your face, Milady. After doing so, shall I put on some make up for you?”

“How troublesome.”

Though Violet wouldn’t be using this room any longer from tomorrow onwards, Mary tidied up the room.

After she washed her face with rose water with some rose petals floating above the surface, Violet went on to change into a new set of clothes.

Violet often shopped, but most of her recent purchases were only art materials.

“Now, there we go. Pretty, right?”

“Sure. Your skills are improving day by day.”

As Mary tied up Violet’s hair neatly, she smiled. Then, when Violet beckoned to her, Mary bowed her head.

Liking the touch of her master’s hand upon her, the girl smiled as Violet patted her head.