Wellmy’s Resolution

Translated by: ME

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MOTIVATION MAX.

*****

「After you stripped her of her possessions...」

Eides continued, his voice relentless.

「You forced her to dye her hair, hid her face behind glasses, dressed her in rags, and worked her to the bone like a common servant, didn't you? And to top it off, you confined her to that dilapidated detached building.」

Every word of it was the absolute truth. These were all things Wellmy had intentionally manipulated her parents into doing.

It had happened when she was twelve. Lola was exhausted, saddled with chores so grueling even the maids dreaded them. Only Oleia helped her in secret, away from the eyes of her parents; the other servants—all recently hired by her mother—simply turned a blind eye.

(If this continues, my sister is going to die.)

One minor mistake was all it took for Lola to be denied a meal or screamed at. Wellmy thought desperately about what she could do. No matter how many times she tried to indirectly appeal to those "demons" by acting sweet and suggesting Lola was pitiful, they would never listen. They only used it as an excuse to double down on the abuse, saying, 「Oh, Wellmy, you’re so kind... compared to that Lola...」

She realized then that she would have to protect her sister by appearing to torment her.

In two years, they would both enter the aristocratic academy. Wellmy had a tutor, but Lola did not. At this rate, Lola would fall behind in her lessons and her grades would suffer. Furthermore, even if she couldn't keep up with her studies, people would surely notice her beauty and those eyes brimming with magical power.

Even if Wellmy could simply tell her, 「Don't use your magic properly in class,」 what would happen if a defenseless daughter of an Earl caught the eye of someone truly malicious?

With that in mind, Wellmy decided to hide her sister's beauty first.

「Hey, Father. Sister’s hair color is an eyesore.」

(Because she's so beautiful, I find myself following her with my eyes.)

「Hey, Mother. Sister is glaring at me. Maybe her eyesight is failing?」

(Because she needs something besides her hair to hide the color of those radiant eyes.)

Only after Lola had grown thin from malnutrition and truly looked wretched did Wellmy deliver the final line.

「Hey, Father, Mother. I don’t want to look at someone as filthy as her.」

In truth, she wanted to see her sister dressed in beautiful gowns. But the current Wellmy could only protect her this way.

「So, why don't we have her live in the detached building?」

The plan worked. Claiming she didn't like the maid Oleia, Wellmy had her sent to the detached building as well. She knew Oleia would protect Lola, at least somewhat, from the malice of the main manor. She also had her mother order that no other servants were to enter or leave the building.

「You're mistaken, Lord Eides,」 Wellmy shot back, even as she mentally praised her younger self for coming up with that protection.

「My sister was the one who said she wanted to learn a servant's work and offered to help. And she went to the detached building of her own accord. I'm sure she just didn't want to see our faces.」

Wellmy gave a bright smile, and Eides let out a derisive snort.

「I’m sure you’re right about that; she likely didn't want to see your faces. But then, how do you explain why you failed to provide her with proper firewood or blankets? And when she fell ill because of it, why was she never shown to a doctor?」

「T-That's because my sister hates doctors—」

「Hoh. When she arrived at my estate, she sat quietly for a medical examination and even became quite friendly with the doctor thanks to her own vast knowledge.」

(I'm sure she did.)

Naturally, the idea that her sister hated doctors was a complete lie. When Oleia had reported that Lola had collapsed with a fever, and even when the butler had warned that the situation was dire, her parents hadn't lifted a finger.

Wellmy had racked her brains then, too.

Her parents frequently attended tea parties and balls. Usually, they went to balls together. On the night after her sister fell ill, her parents were scheduled to go out.

So, Wellmy took a small loose gemstone she had received from her mother and placed it in an envelope with a letter. She ordered the butler to tell Oleia in secret: 「Go tell the doctor to come in the middle of the night.」 She strictly forbade him from revealing who the order came from.

At the same time, she dragged out some unused blankets to give to her sister and handed over another gemstone, ordering that it be used to buy extra firewood for Lola. Her parents never went to the detached building anyway, and she knew Goldray would handle it expertly.

Her parents had left that night, saying, 「If she's sleeping, she can't eat, so we won't need a portion for Lola.」

That meant there wouldn't be much of a meal for her, so Wellmy had to prepare something. She hid one of her own rolls of bread and headed to the kitchen just as the servants were finishing their own meals.

「I’m still hungry, so give me some soup,」 she demanded. The cook handed her a tray with a bowl of soup, warning that there were hardly any ingredients left in it.

Wellmy soaked her hidden bread in the soup to make a bread porridge and shoved it toward Oleia, who had come over from the detached building. As the maid’s eyes went wide with surprise, Wellmy spat out a insult: 「This garbage food is perfect for a useless sister like her,」 before hurrying back to the main house.

Later, after a man who was likely the doctor arrived by carriage and was seen off in secret by the butler, Wellmy finally fell asleep with a sense of relief.

When her parents later remarked without hesitation that Lola 「must have a strong constitution」 to have her fever break, Wellmy finally understood.

(Ah... these people actually want my sister to die.)

She didn't know the reason for such intense cruelty, but from then on, Wellmy continued to do whatever she could to ensure her sister suffered as little as possible—all while making sure no one realized she was the one helping.

Of all her efforts, she felt her greatest success was getting a tutor for her sister.

「Mother! That tutor is so annoying. I hate them. Give them to my sister instead. I want someone much kinder!」

The tutor her mother had hired was exceptionally talented. Strict, but if you followed their instructions on etiquette, you succeeded, and they were very thorough with their lessons.

(This person will give my sister the education she needs to avoid embarrassment at the aristocratic academy.)

With that hope, she subtly hinted to her mother that the tutor was 「someone who could be used for torment,」 and succeeded in having them assigned to her sister.

The tutor who came next for Wellmy was mediocre, but she didn't care. As the year before their enrollment approached, Wellmy had made a single resolution.

(I'm going to help my sister escape this house.)

Even if it meant her own ruin.

*****

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