CH 3

Bang. Bang. Bang.

The harsh knock opened my eyes.

“What-what is it?”

What kind of fuss is this in the middle of the night?

With my eyes wide open like a rabbit, I threw my gaze at the door where the sound came from.

I looked at the clock and it was three in the morning.

Who’s coming to visit me at this time?

I pulled the blanket up to my chin in great fear.

Then I heard a familiar voice and looked at the door with eyes full of fear.

“Daisy! Daisy!”

“Are you in there, Daisy?”

Lilliana and Viola.

It was the voices of my sisters.

However, it was not their usual cold voice.

It was the first time I heard their voices filled with fear and shame, so I wondered if they were really my sisters.

“S-Sisters? It’s really Sisters, right? Wh-what are you doing at this hour?”

When my trembling voice came out of fear, another loud noise was heard outside and the door opened with a bang.

No, the door broke and fell to the floor with a loud noise.

Lilliana’s kick broke the door.

“What are you doing…”

That moment when I thought I was so annoyed that they came like this and broke my door.

Suddenly, my sisters ran to me and hugged me tightly.

I immediately tried to ask what was going on, but I couldn’t.

“Huu, I’ll never lose you. Sister will protect you from now on. My precious little sister.”

Liliana, the first sister, who stole the hearts of men and women alike with the most beautiful appearance and splendid speaking skills in the Empire, suddenly grabbed my right hand and cried.

“I can’t forgive anyone who touches my little sister.”

This time, the second sister, Viola, who was the youngest to sit on the throne of the Empire’s highest prosecutor, beating everyone regardless of age or gender, held my left hand and cried.

What kind of fuss is this in the middle of the night?

Liliana burst into tears filled with sadness, and Viola spat out swear words and shed tears.

For the first time, my sisters cried in front of my eyes.

My sisters hugged me for the first time.

‘Have my sisters lost their minds?’

“Are you sick?”

“Viola, why do you ask that?! It’s only natural that she’s fine!”

I guess they’ve lost their minds.

Suddenly, they looked at me as if to check my physical condition, and they were arguing with each other while raising their voices.

My sisters usually had a noble conversation with each other, or quietly fight with each other if there was something they didn’t like…

‘Why are you doing this to me?’

Just in case it was a dream, I raised my hand and hit my cheek hard.

“It hurts…”

Maybe I hit it too hard, but I felt a tingling pain in my cheek.

Holding back the tears that were about to come out, I covered my cheeks with both hands, but Liliana grabbed my hand and pulled it down.

“What’s wrong? Are you sick?”

“What are you doing? Get a doctor right now!”

Liliana stroked my cheek with a trembling hand, and Viola screamed out the door.

‘If it’s not a dream, I won’t be the only one who feels this is strange!’

Viola’s words brought me to my senses and I turned to the door.

The broken door was rolling pitifully on the floor, and the new maid who had just entered through it nodded with a contemplative face.

“I-I’ll bring a doctor!”

As soon as she ran, my chin was caught and my head turned slowly.

“Your cheek is a little swollen.”

Viola said, looking at my cheek with a grave face.

Liliana, who suddenly grabbed my hand, continued speaking in a worried voice.

“Oh, my. Why is your wrist so thin?”

Even Viola continued with the strange worries.

“Is anyone starving you?”

‘There’s no way there’s someone like that in the duke!’

I screamed.

Of course, It was a scream that I couldn’t utter outwardly.

I wanted to say something, but for a moment, I felt like I am sitting on a cushion of thorns, my lips couldn’t utter anything.

Then, hearing the news, my parents and the employees of the duke’s family came running.

“W-what is this…”

“The door is broken to pieces.”

Father and Mother ran out in their pajamas and stared blankly at the pieces of the broken door.

Everyone stared blankly at the wreckage and then looked at us, and I predicted I could get out of the embarrassing situation.

“Father! Mother! Daisy’s body is so thin! How can she live in this harsh world with such a small and fragile body?!”

“Your complexion is blue and you look sick! Is the doctor not here yet?”

At Liliana’s cry, Viola shouted as if she didn’t want to lose.

At the desperate cry, silence came to this space that surrounded us for a moment.

‘Y-yeah. They look strange, right? It’s strange, so come on, tell me what’s going on!’

I looked at my parents with longing eyes, and soon they opened their mouths as if to meet my expectations.

“Oh, my God. Our flower girls have become so close that they take care of each other.”

“I’m so happy that it feels like a dream.”

My mother burst into tears following my father’s emotional voice.

Of course, isn’t it right to be surprised by this ridiculous situation?

But beyond the broken door, the parents, the servants, and the maids all looked at us with tears in their eyes and looked moved.

‘Why, why doesn’t anyone question this strange situation?’

It’s strange that I’m the only one who feels strange here!

Is it my sisters or me that is strange here?

No matter how much I wanted to ask for an answer, my sisters just cried and didn’t tell me what I wanted.

‘Did you eat something wrong?’

Maybe my sisters should see a doctor.

They suddenly showed a complete reversal, so I was worried that I might die the next day.

‘W-we have to end this situation first.’

I pursed my lips and reached out my hand for help, but Liliana took it.

Viola clenched the other hand, her other hand tightly clenching the bed.

“Daisy, my little sister. We’ll protect you for sure. Trust your sisters.”

As they spoke solemnly while holding both of my hands, I decided to give up thinking.

✲ ✲ ✲

The warm sunlight penetrated the room over the curtains.

I frowned and struggled to open my eyes.

All of a sudden, my sisters became strange overnight, and I couldn’t sleep thinking about what the hell this was about.

‘I heard that you will die if a person suddenly changes. Am I going to die soon?’

No, I won’t.

Because there is still one year left until extinction.

“So what’s going on? Did yesterday happen to be a vain dream created by my earnest desire?”

I rubbed my aching head and glanced away.

‘The visit…’

It was temporarily blocked, but seeing the broken door, it was clear that it wasn’t a dream.

Yeah, it wasn’t a dream.

It wasn’t enough that my sisters hurriedly called their doctor at dawn and got a diagnosis, but they also tried to sleep in my room saying that if I got sick anywhere, it would be a big deal.

Even if it was okay for me to sleep alone, they didn’t listen, so I barely managed to get them out the door after giving the reason that I couldn’t sleep unless I was alone.

“Miss Daisy. Are you up?”

I heard the voice of my maid Isabel and answered her quietly, and she came into the room with a big smile.

“Good morning. Did you have a good dream last night?”

Isabel asked in a bright voice as she closed the curtains.

I shook my head at Isabel’s words.

“No. I’m so tired because I couldn’t sleep well. I have a headache, too.”

“Oh. Why didn’t you sleep well? Did you have a bad dream?”

A voice full of worries that didn’t seem to have any doubts.

“It happened yesterday, there’s no way I can sleep well.”

Isabel tilted her head as if she didn’t understand my sigh.

I turned my head to her face, wondering if it was a real dream.

But seeing that the broken door was still there, it really wasn’t a dream.

So all of this is real, but why doesn’t Isabel feel anything strange?

I slowly brought it up with a throbbing head.

“My sisters have become strange. Suddenly they came in the middle of the night, grabbed me and cried, and asked if I was sick.”

I thought Isabel would understand because it was an unimaginable sight considering what my sisters had been showing so far.

But Isabel smiled brightly, saying, “What’s wrong with that?”

Then she asked, tilting her head.

“Was it because of that? Could it be that the two ladies were so impressed by Miss Daisy’s hard work that they finally opened up their hearts?”

At the hopeful words, I looked at her with cold eyes, as if asking if she was serious.

As if she couldn’t see the look, Isabel put her hands together on her chest, closed her eyes, and began to recall what happened last night.

“I was so moved! Miss Liliana and Miss Viola came running in the middle of the night because they were worried about Miss Daisy!”

Isn’t it strange that they didn’t give that much attention and then suddenly give it to me?

Isabel’s words didn’t end.

“It was strange in the first place! If Miss Daisy approached like that, how could anyone refuse so coldly?”

“What?”

“They couldn’t sleep because of the regret you’ve accumulated so far so they came running to Miss!”

Isabel’s words became more ridiculous.

“Isabel, I’m not that great.”

In the first place, I was always compared to my great sisters.

A face far from beauty, and a poor body that barely managed to go out for a day because of poor physical strength.

No social skills, no conversation skills.

I was afraid that people around me would look at me badly, so after debuting in the social world, I’d never been to anyone else’s party, I couldn’t go along with her words saying that I’m great.

“Someone would think I’m a great person. Don’t go around saying this for no reason.”

“Oh, what are you talking about? Miss Daisy doesn’t know her charm!”

Isabel struck her chest with frustration.

“If you go outside, no one will ignore Miss Daisy. You’re so attractive that it takes everyone’s attention, so be confident!”

“What is this charm that you’re talking about?”

When I asked about the charm I didn’t know about, Isabel’s mouth moved quickly without a break.

“Your warm wheat-colored hair is soft to look at, and your red eyes sparkle more beautifully than rubies! Your pale skin looks so soft that I want to touch it every time, and when I see your slender figure, I always feel the need to protect you!”

With a shocked expression, I had no choice but to put down the glass so that I wouldn’t spit out the water I was drinking.

There was only one thought in my head.

‘My maid must be crazy.’