CH 1

Betrayed by My Sister and Fiancé

Falco, the son of a marshal of the Illuminati Kingdom, had a fiancée named Lucrezia. She’s nicknamed “The White-Haired Lady” behind her back because of her veiled silver-white hair that made her look like an old woman. Known for her modest and humble personality, she avoids entertainment and other social activities, wears plain clothes, and lives her life like a real old woman.

Lucrezia’s austere attitude seemed a bit unsatisfactory and dull to Falco. “That was probably the reason,” said those who later learned the story of the “incident” with a knowing look on their faces.

It all started when Falco met Lucrezia’s sister. From the moment they met, they felt that it was destiny and were attracted to each other.

When Falco requested to stay at the villa of the Duchy of Serravalle, Lucrezia’s family, for the summer vacation, it was not Lucrezia who was most pleased, but her sister, Rosa.

“I get to spend time with Falco-sama this summer….. Oh no, what am I going to do?”

Lucrezia gazed at her sister, who was entranced by the prospect of a wonderful love, with her unreadable eyes.

Her sister, Rosa, was a very lovely girl. She has beautiful strawberry blonde hair with a hint of red, and bright emerald eyes reminiscent of young buds. Her childlike beauty could be compared to a rosebud. Her precarious beauty on the verge of blooming strongly attracted men.

But, Falco is Lucrezia’s fiancé. The reason he was allowed to come for the summer vacation was to spend time with Lucrezia.

Lucrezia, however, was already resigned, watching over Falco and her sister’s secret love affair.

‘You want to have an affair with your sister’s fiancé of all people, it’s a sin.’

Lucrezia, a devout Divine[1] believer who has been diligently serving monasteries and orphanages since childhood, has always viewed their relationship with a critical eye.

But no matter how much the scriptures forbid it, human beings are bound to sin.

Lucrezia was well aware that their illicit love affair would not be seen as much of a problem in court.

And since Falco and Rosa are cunning enough to know this, they boldly whisper their love to each other without regard to Lucrezia.

That’s not a problem for Lucrezia though. Rosa can do whatever she wants. In the end, it was Lucrezia who would be chosen.

What puzzled her was the fact that her father, Duke Antonio Serravalle, of all people, was supportive of their affair.

“Welcome to my villa, Falco-kun. You liked hunting, didn’t you? Rosa seems to be getting interested in it too. I’m sorry to ask this so quickly, but would you teach her?”

“If you’re going hunting, I’d also like to go with you–”

“Lucrezia, you should be studying at home. How can a would-be marshal’s wife be playing around?”

‘I wonder what father is thinking.’

Lucrezia felt uneasy and squeezed the pendant she was wearing hidden under her clothes. It was the only item Lucrezia had ever received from her father.

Lucrezia’s father was not one to indulge Lucrezia and often gave her unexplainable punishments. At first, Lucrezia was hurt and shed tears because she did not understand the reason at all, but one day, after encountering the teachings of the scriptures, her view of her father changed.

According to the scriptures, God gives trials to his beloved children.

It is said that only those who have the potential to do well are subjected to a trial that they can endure, and if they successfully overcome the trial, they are given a great blessing.

When she began to think that her father was probably strict because he saw through Lucrezia’s qualities and was putting her through the trials for her own good, Lucrezia stopped crying.

‘It’s puzzling to me, but….I’m sure father has a plan for this too.’

Lucrezia thought optimistically and decided to do as her father said.

Taking advantage of Lucrezia’s silence, their love soon grew. They kissed each other in the company of Lucrezia, and in the worst cases, they whispered their love in a voice that even Lucrezia could hear, and flirted with each other. They seemed to think they were sneaking around when Lucrezia wasn’t looking, but she knew and would look away when they did so, pretending to be casually concentrating on the book or embroidery in her hands.

The summer vacation was a series of such immoral ‘ignorant pretensions’. Lucrezia didn’t make a single unpleasant face after enduring the ordeal, but time moved hellishly slow, betraying her desire for the vacation to end soon.

“Let’s play hide-and-seek.”

Falco suddenly said.

Of course, he doesn’t really want to play such childish games. This is just an excuse for Falco and Rosa to get together and get away from Lucrezia.

After leaving Lucrezia, the two of them would probably……have an ulterior motive.

Lucrezia took the role of “seeker” with weak-willed eyes and quickly returned to her room without looking for them.

They enjoyed their secret rendezvous all afternoon and were so satisfied that they kept asking to play hide-and-seek the next day.

The distance between Falco and Rosa grew closer and closer physically during the summer. At first, they sat side by side on the couch, still reserved and not touching each other, but little by little they grew closer, and more often than not, when Lucrezia looked away, they were hugging each other around the waist or putting their hands on each other’s shoulders.

And Rosa began to talk down to Lucrezia in an increasingly condescending manner.

“Sis, you’re really no good. Dad, can you give me some advice? How can I get along well with my sister?”

“There’s nothing I can say. You can’t do anything about it.”

The Duke of Serravalle has always been strict with Lucrezia, but her sister has been teasing her more and more about it lately.

“Falco-sama, you are so kind. The other day when I was caught in the rain, he hugged me and warmed me up. I asked him if he does this with sister, and he said he had never done it before. I wonder why?”

“That’s because I never forget my attendant, who holds an umbrella over me when the weather looks bad.”

Sometimes Lucrezia would argue with her, and Rosa would get angry and retort many times over.

She would say, “Sister, you’re really out of touch with the world, or maybe you don’t see reality at all. How can you be the wife of a marshal if you’re like that?”

Perhaps there is some contempt for the foolish sister who cuckolded Falco in the background. Saddened more than anything that her once lovely sister had become such a scornful person, Lucrezia kept silent with an emotionless gaze that was often described as ‘creepy’.

‘I wonder if father is satisfied with this.’

Eventually, all feelings of love for Falco disappeared from Lucrezia. Since she began to ignore their passionate love affair without feeling anything, her studies have become even better than before.

On one occasion, Lucrezia was so absorbed in a difficult mathematical equation that it took her several days to solve it. She wanted someone to look at it, and when she looked around, she saw that Falco was flirting with Rosa, putting his hand into her clothes.

Lucrezia took a deep breath as she found herself completely unhurt.

‘So this was it. Father’s trials.’

Perhaps her father wanted Lucrezia to learn to control her emotions. A powerful person must not let their personal feelings get in the way of their leadership. It is essential to have an unwavering heart, no matter what.

‘Because I am going to be the wife of a marshal.’

No longer dreaming or hoping for a marriage of love to Falco, Lucrezia instead began to look forward to her eventual service to the people as the wife of a marshal.

So when Falco told her that he was breaking off the engagement, Lucrezia, as expected, went blank.

“I’ve fallen in love with Rosa. That’s why I can’t marry you.”

Lucrezia tried to argue that love is not necessary for an aristocratic marriage, but the following words shattered everything.

“The Duke of Serravalle has already agreed. I’m sorry, but I’ll re-engage with Rosa.”

‘Father….. why…..?’

‘Father must have loved Lucrezia. That’s why there was a trial. Wasn’t it because he had pinned his hopes on Lucrezia as the only one who could become the wife of a marshal, and that’s why he was so cruel to her–!?’

Lucrezia, still confused, nodded “Yes”.

‘Father said yes so Lucrezia can’t go against him.’

“Thank you. I’m getting re-engaged, but it’s not that I don’t like you. So, I’d be happy to continue our relationship as before.”

Lucrezia was so shocked that she couldn’t think clearly, and paid no attention to everything Falco said.

Translator Notes:

1. The raws said「ディヴィーナ」which is supposed to be “Divina”, but I felt weird using that, so I changed it to “Divine”. ↵