“My issue with Lady Caroline isn’t that I don’t hang out with her exclusively. Do you honestly think that’s a normal expectation for noble ladies?”
At my words, the young ladies exchanged glances, looking slightly taken aback.
“Well, if you’re best friends…”
“Exactly. I’d feel a bit hurt if my close friend spent all her time with another lady…”
“Enough to cry?”
When I interjected abruptly, the lady who had been about to express her hurt hesitated, glancing at her neighbor before saying, “Well, not enough to cry, no…”
One of them remarked that if it were her, she would want to cry if a friend she truly loved only hung out with someone other than her.
“I see. But Lady Caroline and I have only been close for a few months. We only became close after my father bought a noble title with money.”
In those few months, we’d only met in person about three times, and there were only two instances where she’d stood up for me at social gatherings.
The last one felt like we had grown closer because Caroline had blocked a group that was being particularly blatant about picking fights with me, purely because I had bought my status.
That accounted for our three brief meetings, but honestly, all three were quite meaningless to me.
That was only natural; after all, I was inhabiting a body I’d possessed.
The original Ellinea had fallen for Caroline’s kindness during those three encounters and became her ally, but since I wasn’t her, I had no intention of blindly siding with Caroline.
After all, it wasn’t just once or twice that I’d pulled my hair out in frustration while reading the original work, watching her put those around her in danger and cause trouble—regardless of her intentions.
If she didn’t realize it herself, she would never escape the label of a ‘troublesome heroine,’ but I felt bitter just thinking that she’d likely live on forever without ever knowing what a burden she was.
The young ladies buzzed around, divided into factions—some arguing that the friendship was too short, others claiming the duration of a friendship didn’t matter.
What silenced them all at once was Pere.
“Honestly, I can’t watch this anymore. Do you young ladies really have nothing better to do?”
At Pere’s words, the young ladies’ faces stiffened.
“To be so concerned about the friendships of others—why don’t you spend that time considering whether the friends beside you are true friends, or if they’re the kind who would stab you in the back? That would be a far more productive use of your time.”
Even our sister’s advice was classic her.
I looked at Pere with a pleased expression, touched by her heart—how she cared enough to look out for these girls, even while playing the part of a cold-hearted *tsundere*.
Pere looked at me with the expression of a haughty cat and said:
“It’s boring, Ellie. Let’s do the rest at the Duke’s estate.”
“Yes, sister!”
I answered with a bright smile the moment she finished speaking.
***
It was my first time visiting the Duke’s estate, so my heart was pounding wildly.
The atmosphere of Pere, standing inside the Duke’s estate, felt quite different from how she looked outside.
As I watched her—born with an aura that screamed, ‘I am a Duchess’—I wondered why a sister who was this beautiful, sexy, haughty, and kind had been cast as the villainess instead of the protagonist.
That was likely due to the attributes she possessed.
The light attribute of the heroine, Caroline, and the light attribute of Crown Prince Lloyd were the core powers of this novel.
But even so, one might say the original male and female leads were less charming than the second male lead and the villainess.
Regardless of the novel’s plot, I intended to do my best to ensure a flowery path for my favorite sister—who was right in front of me—by connecting her with the Crown Prince she liked.
Of course, to give Pere options, I also planned to keep the Grand Duke, Theor, in the picture.
I only hoped our sister would walk lightly along the flower path I had laid out, toward a future where she could be happiest.
“Who are you going to give yours to?”
Pere, who had been embroidering a handkerchief, asked as she watched me staring blankly at her with an empty cloth and a needle in my hand.
“Uh… well, I don’t know who to give it to yet.”
“Is there no young master you have your eye on?”
“Hmm…”
“If by any chance you have your heart set on Prince Lloyd…”
“Yes?”
“Absolutely not, so give that up right now.”
I was slightly taken aback by the sudden remark, but I burst into laughter at her sisterly concern.
“That’s ridiculous, he’s not even my type to begin with.”
“The Prince isn’t your type? Even with that beautiful face?”
“That might be true for your tastes, sister. I prefer a manly man over a pretty boy, don’t I? Someone like the Grand Duke of the North? Isn’t that kind of face much cooler?”
I praised Theor’s appearance to provide another option for Pere, but she looked a bit indifferent.
It seemed her taste was quite consistent; she only cared for pretty faces like Lloyd’s.
“Then you should make a handkerchief for Grand Duke Etherzan.”
“What?!”
No, why did it end up like that?
When I opened my eyes wide in surprise, Pere looked at me, slightly puzzled.
“You said that face was your type. If you have no one else to give it to, give it to him. Don’t even dream of Prince Lloyd, as that’s impossible.”
“I told you, it’s not the Prince!”
Pere kept assuming I had my eyes on Lloyd.
It must have been because of that time I spoke with the Prince privately at the cafe.
I hadn’t said anything because I couldn’t explain it properly yet, but it was incredibly frustrating that she seemed to misunderstand that there was something between Lloyd and me.
Ultimately, for the sake of Pere’s peace of mind, I decided to make the handkerchief for Grand Duke Theor.
“But what is the Grand Duke’s symbol?”
When I asked, not knowing what emblem represented the Grand Duke of the North, she lifted the corners of her mouth slightly and replied.
“A black panther.”
“……Wow, that suits him.”
Thinking that the image of Theor and a black panther matched perfectly, I blurted it out, and Pere laughed, saying, “Right?”
It seemed she was in a much better mood now that I was making it for Theor instead of Lloyd.
I felt happy for no reason at the sight of Pere’s expression, which was as transparent as a child’s, and I grinned.
I would have to use one ‘wish ticket’ as a surprise gift for Pere soon.
Since that man would likely never volunteer to be Pere’s partner for the hunting festival just because he received a handkerchief, I planned to step in and use the wish ticket to make Lloyd her partner.
Since it would be a surprise, I couldn’t show it now, but my mouth was itching to tell her.
Even though I couldn’t see Pere’s bright expression right away, well, good things were worth waiting for. I decided to keep my mouth firmly sealed for the sake of that future joy.
Thinking that, I diligently sketched the shape of a black panther on the handkerchief with chalk…
“You seem to have a pretty good eye for Grand Duke Theor, don’t you?”
Seeing my sketch, Pere’s jewel-like red eyes sparkled.
At that, I instinctively looked down at the black panther shape.
“I suppose so. Why did he turn out to be such a handsome panther?”
I had drawn it while thinking of Theor without realizing it, and a black panther that was somehow sharp, delicate, and handsome had been completed.
As I took out black thread and threaded the needle, I wondered if Theor would misunderstand me if I made it look too handsome.
‘Well, would he really…?’
Deciding it was an unnecessary worry, I began to sew carefully on the panther shape that even I thought was drawn well.
For some reason, I felt a sudden, strong desire to create a perfect final product without the slightest failure.
***
“Wow! Sister, this is truly beautiful!”
Late afternoon.
Pere’s workmanship, finishing the embroidery in just one day, was truly art.
Although I had provided the sketch, the bird of wind under the sun, which Pere had embroidered stitch by stitch, truly reminded me of the Imperial Prince Lloyd.
In particular, the trail spreading faintly under the wings and tail looked exactly like a bird of wind flying through the sky.
“How can you be so good at embroidery?”
“It’s basic. But you……”
“….”
Sister lowered her gaze, her voice trailing off.
At the end of her gaze was the black leopard embroidery I had worked on, stitch by stitch.
The sketch had certainly been a work of art, but once I embroidered over it, it had turned into some unidentifiable black lump.
“It certainly seemed like it was supposed to be a dignified black leopard, but it’s become something whose identity I cannot fathom.”
Sister muttered in a voice mixed with a dry laugh, looking completely dumbfounded.
I know, right? I think I might as well just tell people I embroidered an ‘attribute of darkness’ instead of a black leopard…