CH 4

Lilika’s nineteenth birthday banquet was a bit special.

At some social gatherings during this time, it was fashionable to choose a dress code, so Lilika also wanted to follow the trend and asked me to wear a fancy dress.

“Sister, since the banquet hall is grand, I think it would be better to wear something fancy so that your dress doesn’t get buried by the surroundings. Like the red dress you wore last time.”

Lilika’s first birthday party.

My mother, who did not discriminate against her children, tried as hard as she could to do what Lilika wanted.

On the day of the birthday banquet, which was held with a lot of effort.

“She must have hated to death seeing her younger sister stand out.”

“I can see she put a gorgeous gemstone on the dress. Whoever sees it will think Yuria Primrose is the one having her birthday today.”

While everyone was dressed in blue, I was the only one wearing an intense red dress that stood out.

I looked at Lilika, who let me know the dress code, embarrassed. Expecting her to make an excuse.

“I think Sister just really wanted to wear that dress. Actually, having everyone wear similar dresses is also a disregard for one’s individuality… I was foolish in choosing a dress code.”

“Lady Lilika. You really…”

Yeah, she made an excuse.

But rather than not saying anything, it was going in the wrong direction.

The moment everyone heard Lilika’s words, they narrowed their eyes towards me, and I wondered how spiteful she was to say something like that.

“But Lilika, you were the one who asked me to dress like this.”

“Wh-what?”

Why was she making a face as if she didn’t know at all? She told me to wear a fancy dress, and even gave me an example of what color to choose.

“The red dress, you clearly said…”

“Ah, that’s right. I think I did. I must have made a mistake! I’m sorry!”

I stepped up late, but it was counterproductive. The eyes of those who had already drawn their own conclusions were stinging even more.

I only got an apology for what Lilika did wrong, but the atmosphere seemed to have gotten weirder.

And it wasn’t just my feeling.

From that day on, rumors began to circulate that I was jealous of the popular Lilika.

“Isn’t it true that she’s more attractive than her older sister?”

“It makes me want to protect Lady Lilika even more. Lady Yuria is too arrogant.”

Unlike back then, when I was helpless, this time, I was thinking of making good use of the dress code she had set to humiliate me.

“Young Lady, didn’t you say a week ago that you were wearing the red dress? Why are you changing your dress on the very same day?”

“Lilika is the main character today, so I thought it would be nice to wear something a little less flashy.”

“But…”

Mina, my personal maid, didn’t look happy with my words.

Well, wasn’t it me who had been openly attacking my younger sister? Trying to be considerate of Lilika at this point was bound to sound ridiculous.

“I’m going to wear a light blue dress.”

I wore a blue dress like everyone else invited to the birthday banquet, not the red dress Lilika told me to wear. It was the opposite color.

“Then, have fun, Young Lady.”

There was no need for the maid to accompany me as it was being held in the ducal castle.

When I was ready, I went out to the splendidly decorated garden of the castle.

I saw it in my previous life, and seeing it for the second time now, it was amazing.

The fact that I was convinced by Lilika to wear a fancy dress because the banquet hall was so splendid was because it really was like that. My mother really did not discriminate between Lilika and her biological children.

No, it looked like she put in even more work in case people said anything.

Even though Lilika was a lowly illegitimate child, this was an occasion to declare that she was undeniably the daughter of the duke.

Where did she even get all the freshly bloomed flowers even though it was still a cold season?

‘How taxing it must have been on her, when her body condition isn’t all that good.’

Originally, banquets were also held at the hall inside the duke’s castle on my brother’s and my birthdays.

But this time, hearing that Lilika wanted to have a birthday banquet outdoors, my mother started preparing several ornaments for her a few months prior. All of them were excellent things that match the duke’s castle.

Even though originally, there was only a small teatime table on the outside of the castle.

‘She isolated me from such grace, and in the end, had me killed at the hands of my family.’

But still, since I died only after that person passed away, I don’t know if I should at least say thank you. I entered the banquet hall while forcing my mouth not to show the bitter smile that was about to come out.

“Hoho, long time no see.”

“I see it takes something like Lady Primrose’s birthday banquet for everyone to gather.”

There was definitely a warm atmosphere in the banquet hall.

But when I came in, people started giving looks to each other. It wasn’t like I entered in an uproar.

“…”

“…”

“…”

The noisy chatter disappeared at once, and only the eyes of the people moved busily in the silence. Everyone pretended not to, but I could feel that they were all watching me.

I didn’t hear any whispering, but even if I didn’t hear it, I could guess what they were saying.

The villainess appeared in the banquet hall of Lady Lilika!

It seems like she couldn’t ignore it since it was held in the Duke’s castle?

What evil deed will she do today?

Why is she like that when she’s her younger sister?

I endured the heavy gaze of the many people and walked away.

Those who curse me to prove that they are morally good; those who dare not touch the duke’s family but laugh at me, saying I am a relatively easy-to-handle person but pretend I’m not; and those who look down on me as if they were looking at a clown…

“Thank you for attending.”

But even among such ugly people, Lilika shone as if she were the main character.

Even those who do not know that this is a world inside a novel, when they see Lilika, they will admit that she is the main character of this world.

“The Young Lady is also here, thank you very much.”

Lilika was responding to the congratulatory words with a warm smile, but the moment she saw me, her face cracked.

“S-Sister…?”

Lilika’s eyes trembled as she saw me, perhaps because it was unexpected. It was rare to see Lilika agitated like this.

‘That’s right, it’s not the red dress, but a dress in the same blue color as everyone else. You didn’t get the picture you were expecting?’

I couldn’t dress up splendidly today, like usual, so I didn’t look impatient. Lacking individuality, except for my unusual silver hair, I didn’t really stand out.

Ah, it’s funny. If it went according to Lilika’s plan, I would have been a fretting, wicked older sister who couldn’t bear to be beaten by her younger sister even at her birthday banquet.

That way, even those who didn’t look at illegitimate children with good eyes could be drawn to her side. Like what happened in my previous life.

“Happy birthday, Lilika.”

“Thank you, Sister. I didn’t know you would come to my birthday party.”

She was somehow making an excessively overwhelmed expression. But I responded as usual, pretending not to notice it.

“You are saying something obvious. It’s the first birthday party where my only younger sister invited other people.”

“Yes…”

Lilika just nodded at what I was saying. It wasn’t like her, who usually pretended to be good with her smooth talk.

‘Yeah, you have a lot of trust in the maids, so I didn’t change my dress until the very day just in case you noticed it.’

Seeing me talking to Lilika so affectionately, the people who expected me to do something evil seemed to lose their spirits.

“Is the older sister going to stay still today…?”

“Just wait. The banquet hasn’t even begun properly yet.”

I want to tell them that they were disappointed too early.

I had no intention of letting the birthday banquet end while simply staying out of Lilika’s trap.

“Then, Sister, sit over there…”

Still, Lilika skillfully corrected her expression right away and led me away, pretending to be a good sister. But that was also brief.

“Oh my, Sir Vieira also came to your birthday banquet. But…”

“Ah, my sister’s fiancé… Huh?”

If the heroine is there, the male lead should also appear.

I laughed when I saw Sir Vieira wearing a light pink suit, just like the light pink dress Lilika was wearing by herself.

“L-Lady Lilika…? I mean, Sir Vieira… What are you doing?”

“It was impossible not to know the dress code. Why are you wearing that color?!”

Except for Lilika, everyone’s dress code was a blue garment line. To help Lilika, in a light pink dress, shine.

As such, Sir Vieira, who was equally dressed in light pink, was shockingly noticeable from the moment he appeared.

“His fiancée is Lady Yuria… Why is he wearing the same color as Lady Lilika, the younger sister?”

“Only Sir Vieira and Lady Lilika stand out. It looks like they coordinated their clothes like lovers…”

A young lady closed her mouth, unable to finish what she was saying.

But it wasn’t just that young lady; everyone was thinking the same thing.

Feeling the severity of the situation, Lilika tried to deal with the situation somehow.

“S-Sir Vieira? You must have misunderstood the dress code…”

However, a young man attending an ordinary banquet doesn’t wear a ‘light pink’ suit because he misunderstood the dress code. No one paid attention to what Lilika said.

And the most important thing. Sir Vieira was drunk on his own love and couldn’t see anything right now.

“I don’t want people to mistake the handkerchief you gave me for someone else’s.”

Lilika’s face turned pale. However, Sir Vieira kindly uttered the line as I recited it.

“Lady Lilika, I can’t hide my feelings anymore. Please marry me.”

That was the end of it.

Whether it was Lilika’s birthday or whatever, the atmosphere in the banquet hall was destroyed.