Lola and Wellmy
Translated by: ME
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*****
「...Hey, Wellmy.」
「Yes, Sister?」
I turned my gaze toward the mirror, responding to the question from Sister Lola, who was happily combing my hair.
(Ah, she is as beautiful as ever today...!)
It had been about a month since that night at the ball—the night of the "condemnation" that changed everything. Gazing at Sister now, finally reunited, Wellmy was utterly entrantced.
After being officially recognized as the temporary Countess, Sister had returned to our family estate.
I didn't trust any of the servants in that house except for Sister's maid, Oleia, and the butler, Goldray. I had been hesitant for that very reason, but Eides had stepped in, firing everyone else that same day and replacing them with a staff of his own. Furthermore, two highly capable secretaries from House Ormirage and a reliable supervisor dispatched by Leo were assisting Sister with the management of the territory. Only then had I grudgingly given my consent.
「How is life in this mansion treating you?」
When Sister asked that, I couldn't help but feel my cheeks flush.
Over the past month, I had been pampered beyond belief.
Mainly at the hands of Eides. He hadn't allowed me to leave the estate yet, claiming it "wasn't the right time," but he kept me by his side every morning and night outside of his working hours.
He hadn't demanded my body.
But whenever I woke up, I was invariably held tight, roused by a rain of kisses from the crown of my head down to the nape of my neck.
For breakfast and dessert, Eides would personally feed me, insisting on saying 「Say ahh.」
While he was away at work, I was bathed and dressed up by the maids. From there, I underwent—well, perhaps it was more than just "a little"—education in high-society etiquette, domestic management as a mistress of a house, and territorial administration.
After lunch, I was expected to nap. When I woke, sweets would be waiting for me, and I was told I could spend the afternoon as I pleased.
Once Eides finished his work—whether he’d been at the Ministry of Magic or holed up in his office—he would always scoop me up and seat me on his lap for some "skinship."
We ate dinner together as he personally taught me table manners. Then, after another bath and changing into my nightgown, I would keep him company during his evening drink, play board games, or simply be doted upon until we fell asleep.
I had no right of refusal. Whenever I tried to act embarrassed or stubborn, Eides would invariably exert his authority, habitually saying, 「You’ll do whatever I say, won't you?」
(Ugh, that smug face of his...!)
The image of Eides’s sadistic grin flashed through my mind, and I looked down. He made me do so many embarrassing things that I sometimes wondered if I was being toyed with rather than loved. I still wasn't used to being forced to initiate kisses; the mere memory made my cheeks burn.
Recently, he had even started making me sit with him while he worked in his office, gradually assigning me tasks. Even then, he would slip in comments like, 「How adorable,」 「Just looking at your handwriting soothes me,」 「Your stubbornness is quite charming—stay just like that,」 or 「That hairclip I gave you suits you so well, I almost want to attack you...」
Accompanied by that persistent smirk, he would shower me with flowery compliments whenever he saw an opening.
「It—It’s stifling...!」
「You’re happy, then. I'm glad.」
When I squeezed those words out while looking down, Sister nodded happily, though I wondered what exactly she’d been listening to.
「I said it’s stifling! Are you even listening?!」
「I'm listening, and I'm seeing it for myself.」
As Sister cheerfully resumed combing my hair, I let out a low groan.
(Ugh, she’s acting like she knows everything!)
I grumbled in my head... but I was self-aware enough to know that I didn't actually hate it.
I was embarrassed. Ridiculously embarrassed!
But Eides never did anything that I truly "disliked."
I was so happy it was almost frightening.
The current situation was no different. When I heard Sister was visiting today, I had been looking forward to it, even if I was a bit apprehensive. We had been apart for six months, and unlike when we were children, we hadn't spoken properly in years.
But Sister hadn't changed.
She was exactly the same as she’d been back when we played together hand-in-hand—modest, refined, and currently looking so happy to be looking after me. Looking at her face, I was relieved to see she didn't look exhausted like she used to when she and Goldray were working themselves to the bone.
I was the one who couldn't be honest, just like the old days.
「...Hey, Sister.」
「Yes, Wellmy?」
This time, I was the one asking the question.
「Um... what do you like about Leo?」
I had heard from Eides—and from Sister herself just a moment ago—how much Leo had poured his heart into helping her.
...In truth, I had already noticed it myself.
「What do I like...? That’s a difficult question to answer...」
「So he’s so lacking in charm that you have to think about it?」
When I made a spiteful remark, Sister let out a little giggle.
「It's not that. ...I love everything about him.」
「...」
I wasn't amused. The happy expression on Sister's face and the slight blush on her cheeks told me it was the simple truth.
「He is fair, hardworking, kind... and sometimes he's a little childish and cute.」
(Cute...?)
I thought that was a bit rude to say about a grown man, but her next words made me knit my brows even further.
「Yes. In that regard, he’s a bit like you, Wellmy. How you’re both so clever, yet a bit of a crybaby when you want to be pampered.」
「! D-Don't lump me in with him!」
「Of course, you aren't exactly the same.」
As I puffed out my cheeks, Sister poked them as if to say, "See? Just like that."
Fair and kind. But childish.
『...Hey, you. Want to come to the salon? Lola’s there, too.』
I remembered Leo saying that to me one day at school. He’d invited me with a look of extreme distaste on his face. It was just before the atmosphere around Sister—who had always looked so sad and pained—began to change.
『Why would I do that?』
『I'm not inviting Irvine.』
『...Why should I bother going somewhere where I'm likely to run into a coward and people I don't like?』
I had rejected him then. But Leo had surely been trying to bring Sister and me together.
---He had realized that Sister and I didn't actually hate each other.
I chose not to think about how he’d realized it. I had wanted to minimize any chance of Irvine and Sister running into each other. And I had been afraid to admit that Sister might have caught on to my true intentions. If she didn't despise me and hate me, she would only blame herself after my ruin.
In truth, I had wanted to go.
I had feigned ignorance of the kindness Leo showed in inviting me—even if he’d done so with a scowl—despite our apparent mutual dislike.
「Wellmy, why do you dislike Leo?」
「............Because.」
The Wellmy of a short while ago probably wouldn't have said it. But Eides had forcefully peeled away my "good girl" persona layer by layer and pampered me. He had taught me how to seek affection. I had learned that being able to share my honest feelings was a wonderful thing.
So, I told her.
「............Because I didn't want him to take you away from me............」
Eides was different. If he were to make Sister his fiancée, there would surely be a calculation involved. He would value her intelligence.
But I knew Leo's feelings for Sister weren't calculated. I knew that with those eyes of his—the kind that look straight into a person's soul—and his attitude of seeking neither honor nor reward, he would steal Sister's heart.
And I hated that.
Sister's eyes widened at my selfishness... and then she smiled and hugged me from behind.
「Hehe... Leo said the same thing.」
「...Don't group us together.」
「『I'm no match for Wellmy,』 he said. You see, both of you are truly precious to me. And you always will be.」
Hearing that, I gripped the skirt of my dress. I needed to summon the courage to say the thing I’d been terrified to ask.
「...Sister.」
「Yes?」
「When you first... met me. ...What did you think of me...?」
For me, that was the one question I felt I should never ask. After all, I was the sister of the same age who had entered the house with a stepmother immediately after Sister's own mother had passed away.
The proof of our father's betrayal.
I was certain she couldn't have felt anything but resentment.
Sister gently pulled back and gave a troubled smile. She gripped the necklace—the keepsake that had been returned to her—and answered.
「I thought, 'What a lovely child.'」
「Eh...?」
「I was nervous before we met. I was sad, knowing about that man's betrayal of my mother. ...But when you met me, your eyes sparkled. Do you remember?」
(『Wow... You’re as beautiful as a princess! Are you really my big sister?!』)
She said I had uttered those words.
「I knew then that we would be close. I wanted us to be close. ...Listen, Wellmy. Even if we aren't related by blood, you are my precious little sister.」
At Sister's kind words, my eyes grew hot, and I felt tears tracing a path down my cheeks.
*****
Note: What a wonderful sisterly love. More please!
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