Chapter 12
‘Maybe I didn’t get enough sleep. I must be hearing nonsense.’
So… was this just my imagination?
For a moment I wondered if I had misheard. My sister had always cared about me deeply and protected me. Thinking of that, the person in front of me felt like a stranger just wearing my sister’s face.
That’s how confused I was.
But of course, my sister had no idea what I was thinking and calmly continued.
“Actually… I heard something from someone I know.”
About what?
The more slowly she spoke, the more my heart kept bouncing between heaven and hell.
“You know I have a lot of friends, right? One of them told me something.”
She added that it was one of her childhood friends from the academy.
“Father and I always told you that you don’t have to get married or even get engaged. But… a real relationship is different from something forced.”
Ahh. So basically, her friend had been whispering strange ideas to her.
“We realized… maybe we were stopping you from ever meeting a good man.”
No… that’s not really true.
‘I wasn’t even interested in romance before I met Etienne anyway.’
It was my choice not to date anyone. Who would’ve guessed it would turn into a misunderstanding like this?
“So when I was showing off the jewelry you gave me, my friends gave me some advice.”
So this paper must be the result.
My eyes dropped back to the sheet in my hands.
There were notes about family background, education, and other details written under several men’s photographs.
I swallowed nervously and looked back at my sister.
“It may be a bit late… but what about meeting one of these men? They’re all good people. You might like one.”
She looked completely serious — like she genuinely wanted to support my love life.
Meanwhile, my eyes kept getting stabbed by the pictures.
‘Their qualifications aren’t bad… but honestly, no thanks.’
Maybe my sister would approve of them.
But by my standards? Every single one failed.
“I’m sorry, sister. But I refuse.”
I really was grateful.
But this was something I had to cut off cleanly.
And as expected, my sister blinked in confusion at how quickly I turned it down.
‘If I don’t give a convincing reason, she’ll just keep trying to introduce more men.’
I could already see the future.
So I began gently.
“I know you chose them carefully for my sake. And I really appreciate that.”
Start soft.
“But sister — even if everyone else thinks they’re perfect, if I don’t like them, that’s the end of it.”
I wasn’t going to waste my time dating someone I didn’t even like.
“I see. So they just don’t appeal to you.”
She looked a bit sad.
“If you tell me what you do want, I can search more carefully next time.”
Oh no.
‘So we need something stronger.’
Time to make it crystal clear.
I took a breath.
“Listen, sister. The reason I don’t like them… is something you can’t fix no matter how hard you try.”
She paused, then asked gently:
“Then tell me — what kind of person do you imagine?”
I answered immediately.
“I like handsome men.”
The room went silent.
“Not just normal handsome. I mean… the kind of man even the goddess Agnes would compliment.”
That was simply the truth.
Just like a crow loves shiny things, I loved beautiful things.
‘Ever since I met him, no one else compares.’
Etienne was exactly the type of man the goddess herself would bless.
So after meeting him, how could these photos compete?
They all looked plain. Like rocks on the side of the road.
“…So looks are important to you.”
My sister didn’t argue.
‘She can’t really say looks don’t matter… her fiancé is handsome too.’
Even though he’d lost an eye, his beauty remained.
So she couldn’t exactly preach otherwise.
“And also — I want someone who can handle me.”
I continued.
“Someone who’ll adjust to me, not try to control me. But none of these men feel like that.”
I didn’t want someone who’d try to shape me to their liking.
“So honestly… this list is useless.”
My sister sighed like she’d accepted defeat.
“You’re right. In that case, it’s better to meet someone naturally.”
Like she had done — turning a childhood friend into a lover.
“And since you’ve lived happily without romance until now, I’ll stop looking. Let’s leave it at advice only.”
A clean surrender.
“You’re not going to ask for any other reason?”
“No need. You already gave the biggest ones.”
She gathered the papers.
“I’ll get rid of these. Forget we ever talked about it.”
Then she added softly:
“And since I dragged you here for nothing, I should at least give you a present.”
A present?
I opened my mouth to say it wasn’t necessary —
But she continued.
“I was going to give it to you on your birthday this year, but I’ll give it early.”
‘And of course I’ll get you something even better on your actual birthday,’ she added.
Curiosity bloomed.
What could it be?
While she went to fetch it, I decided I definitely wanted it now.
She returned and handed me a long, neatly wrapped box tied with a purple ribbon — the same shade as my eyes.
I untied it and opened the lid.
‘…A drawing?’
It looked like something a child had colored on white paper. Underneath were two messages — one neat, one messy.
“This is a picture I drew before you were born.”
Suddenly the drawing looked completely different.
‘So she was talented even as a child. Of course — she’s my sister.’
Well… most kids draw like this anyway.
Still — now I loved it.
“When Mother found out she was likely having a girl, I drew this and wrote a message. She wrote one too. We planned to give it to you someday.”
So the messy writing was hers.
And the neat script… belonged to the mother I had never met.
“Would you like to read it here? Or in your room?”
She looked at me kindly.
“I’ll read it in my room.”
It felt like a treasure meant only for me.
So I wanted to read it alone.
“That makes sense.”
She stood and came over to hug me warmly.
“I’m so glad you’re my sister, Nini.”
Her embrace was so warm.
“I’m glad you’re my sister too.”
And I meant it completely.
***
When I returned to my room, holding the precious paper tightly—
“Miss!”
Selly rushed over before I could even call for her.
Her expression wasn’t worried.
Actually… she looked excited.
And then she said:
“We just received word from the people in the mine—”
