Five years later…
“Haaaah—Mommy!”
“Tani, why are you crying again, hm?”
It was noon, bright and clear, yet Tani’s room had been filled with her sobs since morning.
“Huuh… hngh… uhh…”
“I heard she had a scary dream last night,” said Bitty, the maid who looked after us, smiling weakly.
I let out a long sigh.
It had been five years since I made that vow—to raise Tani with all the care I hadn’t been able to give Cindy.
But my little sister was more timid than I ever imagined.
She was smaller than other children her age, slower to speak, and startled by the smallest things.
But coddling her won’t help.
I knelt and held her small arm firmly.
“Tani. Attention.”
“…!”
Her tears halted at once.
“What did I tell you to do when you want to cry?”
“Tani… isn’t a crybaby. Crybabies scream so loud…”
“And what do you do, then?”
Her trembling lips clamped shut. Her tear-stained cheeks scrunched up, caught between shame and fear.
I counted silently to three, then raised my voice.
“One, two—”
“Te–Tani!”
Her round little body straightened. She clenched her fists tight and shouted with all her might.
“Tani is not a crybaby!!!”
Her voice boomed louder than her sobs.
I pulled her into a tight hug.
“Good. Very good. Feeling better now?”
“Uh… sniff… I’m okay…”
“So it was just a dream, huh?”
“My body… it was so hot… and I…”
“But it was only a dream. See? You’re fine now.”
I stroked her chubby cheek until she nodded, calmer now.
“It’s all over, right?”
“…Yes.”
“Ah, Miss Ethel, thank you so much!”
“Please, don’t thank me every time,” I told the maids, who looked at me with obvious relief.
They had struggled all morning to soothe her.
“It’s nothing. Tani’s just a little scared, that’s all.”
But as I watched my sister’s red-rimmed eyes, I thought grimly, I’d hoped she’d be braver by now. Perhaps that will only come with age.
Tani was already five. And cursed.
I had sworn I’d rewrite her fate, but nothing had changed. The story still led toward that cruel ending.
Still, there was one small comfort.
I looked around the room.
Squares. Triangles. Sharp corners everywhere.
Not a single curve in sight.
I smiled to myself.
It wasn’t only Tani’s room—the entire mansion was purged of anything resembling a sphere.
It was my greatest achievement in these seven years of life.
“No! I don’t want to see circles!”
When I was seven, I’d raised such havoc that every round ornament, every polished bead or pearl, had been thrown out. Guests still eyed our halls nervously, as though even their cufflinks might offend me.
But I had reason.
In the original novel, Tani’s curse began with a glittering bead.
Sorry, Mother. Father. But my sister’s life comes first.
Of course, precautions alone weren’t enough. If curses could be prevented so easily, no fairy tale princess would ever have pricked her finger on a spindle.
“Still… if I’ve done this much, it should hold at least until her birthday,” I murmured.
“Huh? Sister? What did you say?”
“Nothing, Tani.”
Her birthday was only days away. I would keep her safe until then—no matter what.
“Tani, let’s get dressed. Guests are arriving soon.”
Father had invited them for the birthday banquet.
“Ah…”
Tani hesitated, clutching her arm.
I let her go and smiled gently.
“You’ll wear a pretty dress, sit beside me, and we’ll match at the party.”
“…Pretty clothes?”
“Yes, very pretty.”
Her face lit up for the first time that day.
“Okay! See you later, Unnie!”
I clenched my fists behind my back as I left.
She was so kind… she only cried too much.
If anyone dares bring tears to her eyes today, I won’t forgive them.
“Oh my, welcome!”
“Count, so glad you could come. Whitton, you too!”
Guests poured through the front door that afternoon.
I held Tani’s hand as we descended the grand staircase. She clutched her beloved rabbit doll, Tosuni, tightly. No one could separate her from it.
While our parents entertained, I led her outside.
The backyard had recently been renovated—part garden, part open courtyard. A massive old tree spread its branches over a pond glimmering in the sun.
As always, Bitty and another maid watched us from a distance.
“Tani, shall we play with Tosuni?”
“Yes! Let’s play house!”
We gathered pebbles and set them on the grass.
I grasped Tosuni’s little paw and pretended to stir an imaginary pot.
“Welcome to Tosuni’s restaurant, Miss Titania. What would you like to eat today?”
We often played like this, happily lost in our own little world.
But then—
“Oh my, playing like children again?”
The sharp voice froze Tani instantly.
“Hello, Edelweiss. And Titania.”
I turned, my stomach sinking.
A girl with a sly, twisted smile sauntered toward us.
Julia Ward. The only daughter of the Ward family. And Tani’s tormentor.
Her soft brown hair and green eyes gave her the air of a gentle child—but I knew better. She was cruel to the core.
Two more faces appeared behind her.
“Hmph, still dragging dolls around?” sneered one.
“You’ll cry again, won’t you?” laughed the other.
Ilan Neneri. Jeremy Chanston.
My expression darkened. Of all the people to show up together…
Children of my parents’ friends, yes. But they were also the very ones who had bullied Titania in the original story.
And Julia’s lackeys, at that.
The worst part was how slyly they did it—never enough for the adults to scold them.
Thud.
“Hey, is this supposed to be fun?”
“…!”
Ilan kicked over the pebble mound we’d built, scattering dust over Tosuni. From where the maids stood, they couldn’t see a thing.
Tani’s eyes welled at once.
“Ah… Tosuni…”
“Ne–Neneri! Don’t kick other people’s things!”
“Hmph, such whining.”
“Don’t bother, Ilan. Catch!” Julia snatched up Tosuni and tossed it toward him.
“Ah—Tosuni!”
Tani and I chased after it, but they only laughed, throwing the doll back and forth like a toy in a cruel game.
“Hhhnnngh…!”
At last, Tani’s sobs burst free.
That was enough.
I lunged at Jeremy, who held Tosuni now, ready to grab him by the collar if I had to.
“You—!”
“Wah!”
Startled, Jeremy fumbled, and Tosuni slipped from his grasp.
The doll tumbled through the air—
—and landed at the feet of someone I had never seen before.
“…!”
The children froze, stunned.
Slowly, the boy bent and picked up the rabbit.
“Aah…” Julia gasped softly.
I, too, stared, breath caught in my throat.
The first thing I noticed were his long legs, his neatly tailored clothes.
Then the jet-black hair, the sharp lines already forming in his young face.
And finally—his eyes. Crimson eyes that shimmered faintly each time he blinked.
Our gazes met.
“So,” he said calmly, “you were already playing together?”
