Chapter 48
My gaze shifted to Lari, sleeping softly beside me, breathing evenly. Her complexion had improved. As if to prove that it hadn’t been poison after all.
But since that day, there had been no real change. Lari was still living in a haze of sleep.
There is something that’s changed, though.
The clothes Lari wore, the food Lari ate, every single thing Lari did. Because I followed all of it, my own health had gradually worsened as well. I started sleeping more, and even after walking just a little, I became exhausted.
I couldn’t bring myself to show it even to Rohen. He would definitely worry.
Once I become completely identical to Lari’s condition, and then start removing things one by one in reverse, I’ll figure out what the real problem is.
In a world where no one takes our side, this was the only way to find out for sure.
Even if I told the Grand Duke, without solid evidence, nothing would change from last time.
“Already awake?”
That was when it happened. As I half-sat up and gently stroked Lari’s hair, Rohen rubbed his eyes and sat up.
“Yeah. For some reason, I woke up wide awake today.”
“You should’ve woken me.”
“For what? You would’ve gotten up on your own when the time came anyway.”
I smiled softly at Rohen.
“You look like you’re in a good mood today.”
“Huh? Do I?”
“Yeah.”
“Did I usually look like I was in a bad mood?”
“A little… maybe?”
“Sorry.”
I apologized hastily. Twins who had lived their entire lives without good experiences were bound to be sensitive to others’ moods, but maybe I had been living too honestly with my emotions.
“Why are you apologizing?”
“Just because.”
“…Don’t say you’re sorry. Not to me, and not to anyone else. Don’t shrink yourself. It pisses me off.”
Rohen’s brow furrowed deeply. Anyone could tell he was clearly upset.
“It pisses you off?”
“Anyway… don’t say things like that. Why should you be the one apologizing? There’s nothing you need to be sorry for.”
“Okay.”
I forced a smile as I looked at Rohen. Ever since coming here, he had become strangely sensitive. I wondered if he had always been like this after arriving at the Grand Duke’s estate. Since I didn’t know Rohen from the past, it felt a little odd.
Is he sensitive because Lari is sick?
“I won’t say I’m sorry anymore.”
“…Sorr—”
At my response, Rohen let out a deep sigh and lowered his head.
“Hm?”
“No, nothing. I didn’t say sorry.”
“…Did you just say sorry?”
“I said I didn’t! We’re going to the temple today, right? Let’s hurry and go. Lari. Wake up. It’s time to head out.”
Rohen awkwardly shook Lari to wake her.
“Uuu… unng…?”
Lari finally opened her eyes, looked around, then hugged me.
“Sister…!”
“Yeah. Did you sleep well?”
“Kiss me!”
Smiling brightly, Lari stuck her forehead out toward me. She hadn’t been like this at the orphanage, but since coming here, she’d been acting much more like a baby. And where she’d learned the word “kiss,” I had no idea. I pressed a quick kiss to Lari’s forehead.
“Mmm! I saw you in my dream, sister!”
Lari squirmed in my arms like a baby. Since the height difference between us wasn’t that big, her head kept popping up awkwardly.
In the end, perhaps realizing it wouldn’t work, Lari lifted her head and looked me straight in the eyes.
“You saw me?”
“Yeah! But sister was a really big adult!”
“Was I?”
“Yeah, yeah! And you called me ‘young lady’! I wanted to tell you not to, but you kept doing it again and again. Sister, you can’t call me young lady! I’m Lari! Your pretty little sister!”
I gently stroked Lari’s hair.
“What else did you dream about?”
“I learned the word ‘kiss’ there too. They said it’s something people who like each other do. But there, no one kissed me. Except for just one person. I don’t know who it was, but that person told me.”
She pouted sadly for a moment, then smiled brightly again. I nodded as I watched her. Lari’s words gave me a strange feeling, but because Rohen had already gotten up and was glaring at us sulkily, I had no choice but to stand up.
“Rohen, did something bad happen?”
“No. Just, just…”
“Just?”
Rohen, who wouldn’t properly explain, fidgeted and rubbed his forehead. It seemed like he didn’t like us acting this way.
“Should we not kiss?”
“No, do it!”
“Huh? Do it?”
“Yeah. Do it. You said it’s something people who like each other do. So do it. You can do it again and again!”
Rohen, whose mood seemed to be swinging back and forth, looked at me with an expression full of anticipation.
Only then did I realize it. Rohen was jealous of Lari. I didn’t know why he was acting this way toward me, but it was definitely jealousy.
“I’ll try to avoid kissing Lari as much as possible.”
“Yeah. Okay, good.”
Just as I expected. Rohen smiled brightly and nodded, as if what he really wanted was for me not to kiss Lari.
“Hmph… but I want to kiss sister.”
“No.”
“Tch… Big brother is greedy!”
“Yeah. I’m greedy.”
I couldn’t fully understand why Rohen had become greedy, or the entirety of their conversation, but even so, I watched the two of them with a fond smile.
Meanwhile, Lari wriggled her way down from the bed.
“So why did you wake me up?”
“Today’s the day we go to the temple. Because of Aisha.”
“Oh, right! That’s right! It’s our first time going out together, the three of us! Hehe.”
Lari bounced up and down in place.
“Lari. That’s dangerous. You’re not in good condition to begin with.”
“But I like it! I really, really like it. Sister!”
“Yeah. I like it too.”
Just then, perhaps noticing the commotion, the maids entered the room. Like machines, they began preparing us without saying a word. By now, even without being told, they dressed Lari and me in identical outfits.
Of course, just in case, I would always put on whatever the maids dressed me in, then repeatedly switch clothes with Lari afterward.
Because I did everything they did for Lari, they often looked at me with extreme displeasure.
“Will you be changing clothes again today?”
“Today, I’ll just wear them as is.”
“…Until when do you plan to keep doing this?”
“There’s no problem, is there? Lari and I are almost the same size anyway, so there’s no need to prepare separate outfits.”
From their reactions, I could tell for sure that the physician’s words back then hadn’t been nonsense. Ever since I started acting this way, Lari’s symptoms had changed, even if only very slightly. At the very least, they weren’t getting worse.
Of course, the change was far too subtle to tell the Grand Duke, and nowhere near enough to use as evidence. Still, judging by how the maids were acting, it seemed they hadn’t given up on Lari yet.
“Or perhaps there’s something you need to do only for Lari?”
“There’s no way.”
“Then just let us prepare you. If you continue behaving so suspiciously, we may have to report it to His Grace.”
Seeing that I refused to back down at all, the maids ground their teeth and resumed preparing us.
“I don’t want you to hate sister! Sister is me, and I am sister. Don’t say bad things to sister!”
When Lari, who had been obedient the whole time, said that, the maids looked stunned and fumbled over their words.
“N-no, young lady. We didn’t do anything. Rather, the one who said something was—”
But Lari narrowed her eyes slightly. Seeing the usually kind and well-behaved Lari make that expression, they hesitated, then nodded.
“Yes. Understood.”
Now she really looks like a young lady. I patted Lari’s head.
“Our Lari is doing great.”
“Yeah! Anyone who’s mean to my sister, I’ll never let it slide!”
I smiled along with Lari as she beamed brightly.
Preparations resumed once more. Saying that he hated cumbersome clothing, Rohen dressed lightly as always, and Lari and I, dressed in matching outfits like a set, headed toward the carriage.
As expected, the Grand Duke was there. We boarded the carriage together with him and headed for the temple.
As soon as the Grand Duke’s carriage arrived at the temple, I hopped down from it. And the first person I came face to face with was someone familiar.
“Sister Melodia!!”
“Aisha, my goodness.”
It was Priestess Melodia. Seeing her again after the orphanage days made me smile without realizing it.
“How have you been? You’ve become so beautiful since the last time I saw you.”
“It’s thanks to you, Sister.”
She was someone who had liked me, and someone who had truly cared for the children. That was why I rubbed my face against the hem of her robes.
“Is that so? I didn’t do anything at all. But more than that, I never expected to see you here.”
“Didn’t you ask to see me, Sister?”
“Hm? No. I only came out to greet guests from the Grand Duke’s estate.”
This was unexpected.
When someone from the temple had examined me after I collapsed and told me to come to the temple, I’d thought it was at Priestess Melodia’s request. And since she was here again today, I naturally assumed she had arranged it.
“Really?”
“Yes. But still, it seems my prediction was correct after all.”
