Chapter 44

Raul Berze.

The man I hate the most in the world, the man who became everything to me. Hatred for him is the foundation of who I am now, and I would do anything to kill him.

Even a normal death is not enough. He must grab the hem of my skirt and beg me to stop.

Because he is the man who killed my sister.

—

Layla Nevermore.

My sister, who seemed to embody the word “genius.”

She was perfect in everything—academics, martial arts, art, and even beauty.

She always wore black clothes, her bright golden hair flowing, and her golden eyes piercing through everything, even in the dark.

Our parents passed away when I was three. Greedy relatives tried to take over the family, but my sister, who became the family head at seven, subdued and controlled them.

That’s why my sister was my pride. The smile she showed only to me was my treasure. It was something only allowed to me.

“Rosie. Don’t worry. I’ll chase away anything that threatens you.”

That’s the kind of person she was. Cold as ice to others, but warmer than anyone to me.

That faint smile, that warmth, that kindness—it was all mine.

But everything started to go wrong when my sister became a disciple of that damned Argos, the Minister of War.

She started showing the smile she once reserved for me to her comrades. I could tolerate that. My stomach churned with jealousy, but I could endure it.

But when she brought Raul, I was so shocked by the betrayal that I almost fainted.

—

My sister was smiling brightly, fighting with Raul. My sister, who was always mature and perfect, was smiling like any other child.

“Uh, sis…?”

She said she brought him to train in staff fighting and hand-to-hand combat.

That young master, who dared to fight my genius sister on equal footing, was also smiling. A faint smile, but a smile nonetheless.

—

It was unpleasant. That she showed him a smile I had never seen, that he dared to smile faintly while my sister laughed brightly, that he dared to tarnish my sister’s perfection.

“Raul!!!”

“You don’t have to shout, Layla. My ears are hurting.”

“Aren’t you happy?! This moment, fighting me on equal footing! If time allowed, I’d want to enjoy this fight forever!”

“I’ll say it again. I don’t like fighting.”

“You say that, but your face is bright!”

“Of course. How could I not smile when my other half is with me?”

The two of them laughed as they clashed their staffs.

It was a level of power and speed that ordinary knights couldn’t hope to match. Even to a child’s eyes, their techniques were polished and refined.

I was jealous. If only I had that kind of power. If only I could fight my sister on equal footing.

So I went to Argos, the Minister of War. I was old enough to learn martial arts now, so I asked him to teach me how to fight.

But Argos laughed mockingly and told me to try hitting him. He said he’d hit back with full force.

It was insane. There was no way an untrained child could land a blow on such a monster.

“Ha…”

Even though it was impossible, he laughed and said to me:

“I can turn anyone into a monster, kid. But while I can fix physical weakness… I can’t fix an empty heart.”

“Ha, but how is that possible…?!”

“Do you think what those two are doing is possible? Hah… you’re just a simple flower.”

He laughed at me and left.

I knew I could never catch up to my sister. I was just an ordinary person.

But why was Raul Berze different? Why did he have the same talent as my sister when he seemed so unmotivated? Why?

I couldn’t bear it, so I locked myself in my room and isolated myself.

“Rosie. Why are you doing this? Did I do something wrong? Come out and talk to me.”

Even when my sister called for me desperately, I didn’t answer. I wanted to see the face she didn’t show me. I didn’t want to see her just worried about me.

Because I was just a flower. Unlike my sister, who was praised as a bird that could fly to the sun, I was just ordinary trash.

My sister came to see me every day, juggling her duties and training, but I never answered.

And then someone broke down my door and came in.

—

“You must be the little lady of the Nevermore family, right?”

Arthur Berze. I knew him well—he was called the Empire’s greatest sage, with countless achievements to his name. He was also Raul Berze’s father.

In his hand was a paper I had written last year. It was a failed attempt at researching how to stop the spread of a plague, which my tutor had laughed at as nonsense.

“I’ve decided. From today, you’re my disciple. Well, I decided it, so let’s go with that.”

“Huh…?”

I couldn’t understand. The situation at the time. Why he would take me, an ordinary person compared to my sister, as his disciple.

“But my sister is…”

“Argos, that tin can, has a passing score of 1. My passing score is 100. It’s not a place for a failing student with 99 points in every subject to aim for. You’re a 100, little lady.”

I was a 100? My sister was a 99? I was superior to her?

He was the first to acknowledge me. Even my sister only called me cute, but she never acknowledged me.

“You’re similar to my son in this regard. Suppressed and suppressed again, you’ve become a grumpy mess.”

He shoved something indescribable into my mouth.

It was sweet, sour, fragrant, and soft.

“If you’re going to use your head, you need to eat a lot of sweets, so get used to it, kid.”

He taught me everything. Politics, strategy, technology, medicine, how to handle people and animals, and even how to smile.

Only after learning so much from him did I gain confidence. The confidence that I could see the bright smile my sister had when she met her match.

So, the day before my sister left for battle, I grabbed the hem of her sleeve and spoke to her.

“Sis…”

“Rosie?”

“When you come back… when you come back… I have something I want to show you.”

“Okay. I don’t know what it is, but I’ll look forward to it.”

I wanted to show her how much I had grown. So I could see that bright smile.

So I could steal the expression that man was monopolizing.

“…You’re quite the sis-con, aren’t you?”

“Says you, my other half.”

“That’s why we’re each other’s other half.”

And so I could show that I understood my sister far better than Raul Berze. So I could become my sister’s other half in his place.

—

But my sister died. Without seeing how much I had grown. Without knowing that I could fight her on equal footing. She became a cold corpse.

And it was by the hand of Raul Berze, whom she loved so much. By the hand that held hers so tenderly. By the hand that playfully intertwined fingers with hers.

—

“I hadn’t even seen it properly yet… I hadn’t seen it properly right in front of me…!”

The bright smile my sister had when she met her match… it was right in front of me.

The day I could walk happily with my perfect sister again was right in front of me.

And you, Raul Berze, took it all away. My family, my support, my goal, and my love.

—

Raul Berze. That man took everything from me.

Only I can kill him. Only I must kill him.

That’s why I tried to kill him using my master’s name. He said it himself. We must not hesitate to use any means for our goals.

But I couldn’t kill him. The gap between us was still too great.

Then I would use other means to kill him. I still had many methods prepared. But before I could use them, he coughed up blood and collapsed on his own.

I was flustered. I knew he had a chronic illness from poison, but I didn’t expect him to collapse so suddenly.

“You’re the worst…”

I hated him for even taking my revenge away. He stole my sister’s bright smile and now my revenge.

—

If left alone, Raul would have died. Not by my hand, but by illness. I couldn’t allow that. I couldn’t accept it. I couldn’t let him die.

So I gave Raul Berze a painkiller, then picked some herbs nearby, chewed them, and let the juice drip into his mouth.

That way, he could live. That way, he could continue his miserable life. That way, I could kill him.

Because you must die by my hand.

“Layla.”

He began to murmur my sister’s name, not mine.

Even though he must have lost consciousness from the pain.

“My other half…”

He was a man who didn’t even know the favor of being saved.

If I just left him in front of that beastly woman’s house, she’d finish the rest of the treatment.

That way, he could live. That way, I could kill him.

The void in my heart left by my sister is now filled by you.