Episode 75
Elonia quickly wiped away her tears.
She blinked a few times, trying to regain her composure, then took out a handkerchief and gently wiped Olivia’s tears.
Olivia looked up, her voice sharp and accusatory.
“What? Are you pitying me? This has nothing to do with you. Are you crying because you feel superior, because you’ll never experience this kind of pain?”
“No, that’s not it.”
“Then why are you looking at me like that—”
“I was just thinking how lucky your sister must have been to have a sister like you.”
“…!”
Olivia froze as Elonia pulled her into a hug.
She had always been a proud sister.
But she had also been a sister who was easy to marry off.
Had she truly been a good sister to Chelon?
‘…Was Sister Chelon happy to have me as her sister?’
She had always been insecure.
They were both princesses, but Chelon had never opened up to her, never shared her true feelings.
Had Chelon only smiled at her because they were both members of the Heilan royal family, bound by duty? Had she secretly hated Olivia, wished her dead?
Olivia had believed that Chelon had abandoned them, sacrificed herself to destroy Heilan.
After all, there was no way Chelon would have died so easily.
But Olivia hadn’t resented her.
Chelon had deserved to escape Heilan.
But now,
“Whether you were a good sister or not, Chelon must have been happy to have you as her sister.”
Why did those words, coming from the daughter of the hated Ravanta Emperor, bring her so much comfort?
And at the same time,
“That’s… impossible… Then why… why did she leave us?!”
Why did those words make her resent Chelon now?
“Why did she leave us behind? She promised to protect us, to play with us after the war… Why, why did she leave us…!”
This was the first time Olivia had ever resented Chelon.
How could she blame Chelon, knowing what their parents and Felix had done to her and her mother?
But she couldn’t help it.
“She’s a liar. She promised to protect us, at least the two of us… Why…!”
Guilt gnawed at her for speaking ill of Chelon, but at the same time, she felt a sense of relief she had never experienced before.
Olivia finally broke down, sobbing uncontrollably.
Elonia’s shoulder grew warm and damp as she held Olivia and comforted her, but she didn’t care.
She simply patted Olivia’s back, gently stroking her golden hair.
When Olivia finally calmed down, Elonia spoke, her voice hoarse,
“Olivia, I want to hear about your sister.”
Olivia’s shoulders stiffened.
Then, she mumbled, her voice sullen,
“…Why would the Ravanta princess want to know that?”
“I don’t have any siblings. …And I think she wants you to tell me.”
“…This is so annoying. Stop imitating my sister.”
“I need to know what she was like to stop imitating her.”
Elonia chuckled playfully.
“We’ve both embarrassed ourselves enough. Can’t you just tell me?”
“…”
Olivia remained silent.
But now that she had seen Chelon in Elonia,
She couldn’t refuse her request.
Olivia had lost her mother at a young age.
Although her mother had passed away a few years after Simon’s birth, she had still been surrounded by love and affection in the Heilan Royal Palace.
Olivia had considered herself fortunate.
But then she realized,
“Olivia, my precious daughter, is there anything you desire? Do you need more dresses?”
“Olivia, you’re a young lady now. You should behave properly.”
“Olivia, you won’t find a husband if you keep acting like a tomboy.”
King Vermon, Felix, and Dolce had only indulged her because she was valuable, a political pawn.
A pet dressed up as a princess, to be sold off to the highest bidder.
Simon had treated her like a human being, but it hadn’t felt real.
He had been born a prince, not a princess, in Heilan.
‘Only Sister Chelon understood.’
She had known that her mother had mistreated Chelon and her mother.
And Vermon had even killed Chelon’s mother.
So she had assumed Chelon hated her and had given up on the idea of befriending her.
But then,
“Um… Hello.”
“…Are you Sister Chelon?”
“No, Olivia, stay away from me. You might catch something from the battlefield.”
Chelon, whom she had met in the back garden, had treated herself as the unclean one, worried about Olivia’s well-being.
‘How could she do that?’
Olivia’s mother had tormented Chelon’s mother, and Olivia’s father had killed her.
Olivia was the daughter of Chelon’s enemies.
And yet, Chelon had looked at her with such warmth and affection, as if she were the most precious person in the world.
Chelon had replied,
“It’s not your fault.”
And from that moment on, Olivia had adored Chelon.
They were both princesses.
Their circumstances might have been different, but they were both lonely princesses trapped in that wretched Heilan.
Chelon became Olivia’s only family, her only support.
She had been afraid that Chelon would die in battle.
So every time Chelon returned victorious, Olivia would secretly meet her in the back garden, their usual meeting place, and throw herself into Chelon’s arms, seeking comfort and reassurance.
Chelon would always say,
“No, Olivia, I still smell of blood…”
What had Olivia replied?
She couldn’t remember.
She had simply burrowed deeper into her sister’s embrace, feeling safe and happy.
And Chelon, with a无奈的 smile, would lift Olivia and Simon, who was always hovering nearby, into her arms.
Olivia cherished those moments.
She had been truly happy.
But their happiness was short-lived.
“Princess Chelon Heilan has been killed in action.”
Olivia was seven years old when she heard the news.
Chelon had been brutally murdered, her body never recovered.
The news was more devastating than the fact that Heilan had become a vassal state.
“Chelon, sob… Sister Chelon…”
The symbols of Chelon’s glory began to disappear from the palace.
Olivia, afraid that Vermon and Felix would erase even Chelon’s room, quickly claimed it as her own.
She had been surprised at first.
Chelon’s room was so simple and bare, unlike a princess’s room.
Olivia, who had never visited Chelon’s room while she was alive, finally realized how poorly she had been treated.
She spent her days in that cold, empty room, replaying her memories of Chelon.
Those moments of delusion brought her comfort.
But those delusions shattered as she grew older and entered society.
“Princess Olivia, you are the best princess in Heilan.”
“Unlike someone else.”
Don’t make me laugh.
You’re only alive because of Sister Chelon.
Olivia, unable to express her true feelings, forced a smile.
Then, she would return to her room, lie down on Chelon’s bed, and think,
‘It was Father and Felix who controlled her. But everyone blames Chelon. She was just used and discarded, and yet, they judge her without knowing anything…’
Olivia had seen Chelon’s true face, the face she showed after returning from battle.
She had always returned with a pained expression, not a triumphant one.
Olivia had prided herself on being the one who understood Chelon the most, the one who missed her the most, but as time passed, she started to forget Chelon’s face.
And every time that happened, a wave of guilt washed over her, making her days in Chelon’s room even more agonizing.
She had once confided in Simon, hoping he would understand her pain, telling him that she missed Chelon so much that she was going crazy.
“Sister, Chelon is already gone. You have to move on.”
Simon hadn’t understood.
It was understandable.
He had been too young when Chelon was alive, and it was natural for him to forget as he grew older.
Even Olivia’s memories of Chelon were fading.
What had once been vivid memories were now becoming distant recollections.
And as each day passed, those faded memories were turning to ashes.
She had tried so hard to remember, but Simon was treating Chelon as if she had never existed. Olivia felt betrayed.
“You… Sister loved us so much, how, how can you forget her?! Are you even human?!”
And after that, a wall had formed between her and Simon.
And when Lucius, her only hope of escaping the Heilan Royal Palace, was sent to Ravanta as a hostage,
Olivia had been consumed by despair.
But then, perhaps fortunately, Dolce had died, and a new royal hostage was needed.
Olivia saw it as an opportunity.
“Brother Felix, I’ll go to Ravanta.”
“I forbid it. Ravanta demanded a male hostage.”
“This is not the time to be picky!”
Once she went to Ravanta as a hostage, she would never be able to return to Heilan alive.
But Olivia still wanted to leave.
She had no attachment to Heilan, and she didn’t want to interact with those who blamed and insulted her sister.
After years of fighting, Olivia finally got her wish.
Ironically, it was the enemy nation, the nation that had killed three of her family members, that had freed her from this living hell.
The first thing she did after arriving in Ravanta was to search for any record of Chelon Heilan, whose name had been erased from Heilan’s history.
But Ravanta’s history books still mentioned her.
‘Heilan tried to erase her, but Ravanta remembers her.’
Ravanta, the victor, might have dismissed Chelon as a past calamity, but Olivia was content with that.
She might be treated as a hostage, subjected to hateful stares, but Ravanta was still better than Heilan.
Ravanta remembered Chelon, while Heilan had tried to erase her completely.
“…That’s all.”
Olivia finished her story.
Her tears had stopped, but her eyes were still red and puffy.
“…I said too much. Forget it.”
She rubbed her eyes, embarrassed.
Forget it? How could she?
Elonia couldn’t forget that day.
The day she had first met Olivia, the day her adorable little sister had run into her arms, ignoring her warnings about being dirty and carrying diseases.
“You’re not dirty at all, Sister.”
And Olivia had been the only one in Heilan who had understood her situation, the only one who had defended her.
How could she not love her?
Olivia might have changed, but she was still Elonia’s beloved sister.
Elonia would never forget the love and salvation Olivia had given her.
“…Thank you for telling me, Olivia.”
They were no longer addressing each other formally, their conversation casual and comfortable.
Olivia, embarrassed, turned away, muttering,
“I shared something personal, so you should too.”
“After witnessing that mess?”
“…Ah.”
Elonia burst into laughter at Olivia’s belated realization.
Olivia, flustered, turned away, muttering,
“Anyway, it’s all ruined now. I tried to help, and now I’ll be scolded by Lucius.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. I told you, I didn’t do it for your gratitude or apology. And I definitely didn’t do it for you.”
“…Then I understand.”
Elonia smiled.
She stretched her legs and looked up at the sky.
The clear, blue sky reflected her mood.
She felt a sense of relief and happiness after finally having a proper conversation with her sister.
Elonia said softly,
“Olivia, I like you.”