Chapter 1

"You are the older sister, so you should give in to your younger sister."

How many times had she been told this? Cordelia sighed inwardly but did not show it on her face.

She maintained her composure, a matter of pride as a countess's daughter and simply out of habit. In contrast to Cordelia's dry eyes, the girl in front of her wore a delicate smile.

"Big sister, please. I've fallen in love with Mr. Tupac."

Her voice was like the tinkling of a bell, and her smile was charmingly innocent. Priscilla, looking up at Cordelia with her large eyes, leaned against the young man beside her. The young man—Tupac, Cordelia's fiancé—was now gazing at Priscilla with a sweet and passionate look.

"I love her, I love Priscilla. I feel bad about it, but..."

Tupac's awkward words trailed off, and Priscilla's delicate hand enveloped his.

"Priscilla..."

"Mr. Tupac..."

Cordelia watched the two of them, their moist eyes locked on each other, with a blank expression. The words of apology and guilt from Tupac's mouth were just formalities, it seemed, mere ingredients for him to indulge in the sin of falling in love with his fiancée's sister.

Cordelia watched the two lovers, who were drunk on their love, with a cold eye. Two people stood in front of them, as if to protect the affectionate couple.

"Cordelia, don't get any funny ideas about breaking them up."

"It's painful, but you should give up. Love can't be stopped."

It was Cordelia's parents speaking, not comforting their daughter whose engagement had been broken but piling on the pressure.

"As the older sister, you should think about your cute younger sister."

Think about the sister who steals your fiancé?

"Tupac is a wonderful man. Unfortunately, he and you just weren't a match."

The wonderful man who unilaterally broke the engagement?

"Priscilla has finally found her destined love."

How many times has she found her destined love now?

While mentally pointing this out, Cordelia felt exasperated. To her parents, Cordelia was nothing more than an obstacle to Priscilla's happiness, a familiar scene in the Guenberg family that had never changed.

"I understand. I accept the end of the engagement. I will let Priscilla take my place as Tupac's fiancée."

She understood. She had always understood. Over eighteen years, she had been made to understand, to the point of disgust, that her parents cherished Priscilla and that as the older sister, Cordelia had to give everything to her younger sister and had no choice but to give up.

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The Guenberg family was a middle-ranking noble family in the Liorbern Kingdom. Cordelia was born as a countess's daughter and, three years later, her sister was born, casting a dark cloud over Cordelia's life.

Priscilla, with her well-defined features, showed glimpses of a beauty from a young age. Her parents were captivated by her charm and doted on her as if she were a precious gem.

Cordelia's earliest memory was of herself, held by a nursemaid, watching her parents dote on Priscilla.

The care of an infant is demanding, and her parents being preoccupied with her sister was only temporary, the nursemaid had told her. Even as a child, Cordelia endured and tried to hide her loneliness.

If she was a good girl and waited, once her sister grew a little older, her father and mother would surely dote on her too. This childish hope never came true, even as Cordelia turned eighteen.

With her translucent silver hair, large dark eyes, and porcelain-white skin, Priscilla was delicate and often ill. Her parents were completely focused on her, leaving Cordelia unattended.

"You must not resent your parents. To be able to help your sick sister, you must become a proper countess's daughter."

These were the words of Cordelia's paternal grandmother, who had raised her. She took on Cordelia's education, which her parents had neglected, and molded her into a proper young lady. She was strict but full of deep affection, the only relative Cordelia truly respected.

"I hate Grandma. I absolutely refuse to live with her!"

But Priscilla, spoiled by her parents, hated her grandmother intensely. Priscilla was only frail in her very early years. By the time she was seven or eight, she was mostly healthy, but the pampering had made her a spoiled and impatient child.

However, Priscilla was a very lovely girl. Even her complaints and tantrums were adorable, and her parents were completely smitten with her. Cordelia and her grandmother were distanced from the family and moved to a secondary residence on the estate.

Fortunately, life with her grandmother at the secondary residence was not bad. She was spared the sight of her parents doting on her sister and spent her days acquiring the knowledge and culture necessary for a countess's daughter. She became friends with the local people and enjoyed chatting with the friendly maids. This peaceful and happy life came to an end three years before her grandmother's death.

At the time, Cordelia was fifteen. As she was of marriageable age, she was called back to the capital and introduced to the fiancé her parents had chosen for her.

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"It didn't even last two months..."

Alone in her room, Cordelia muttered. Her first fiancé lasted two months, the next six months, and the one after that only ten days. All of them fell in love with her sister Priscilla and asked for the engagement to be broken.

"This time, Tupac lasted three months, which is longer than the others."

Despite his somewhat indecisive nature, Tupac was gentle and easy to get along with. Cordelia had a certain fondness for him, but he too had been taken by her sister.

"Really, I'm so tired of this..."

Her sigh could be directed at her innocent sister who stole her boyfriend, her parents who indulged her, the ex-fiancés who chose her sister, or herself for being taken advantage of, or all of them.

By the fourth broken engagement, she had become accustomed to it, but the discomfort never went away. To distract herself, she immersed herself in paperwork when a knock came at her door.

"Big sister, are you there? Why aren't you coming to the celebration?"

It was Priscilla. Dressed in a mint-green dress with silver hair adorned with light pink flowers, she looked as delicate as a fairy. But only in appearance.

"I told you I wouldn't attend the celebration, didn't I?"

It had been three days since Tupac broke off the engagement. Her parents, delighted by her sister's new love, had arranged a celebration, but Cordelia had declined to attend.

"Why, Big sister? Are you still mad at me? Are you going to take Tupac back?"

"Why would I do that..."

After stealing her fiancé, what was she saying now? Cordelia had no intention of clinging to her ex-fiancé or getting in their way. In fact, she had taken on the tedious tasks related to their engagement, and she felt she deserved some gratitude.

"Priscilla, I'm busy. An engagement is a new contract between noble families. It involves many people and requires a lot of procedures."

"But that has nothing to do with my celebration, does it?"

Cordelia's face lost all expression as she looked at Priscilla, who tilted her head in confusion.

This was typical of her sister. She took what she wanted from her older sister, pushed all the troublesome tasks onto her, and didn't even try to understand.

Cordelia didn't do the work for her sister out of willingness. She was the only one in the Guenberg family who could handle the work properly. Her sister was out of the question, and her parents were just frivolous, indulging in her sister's whims. If Cordelia abandoned her duties, the family would soon fall into ruin. This time, her parents were irresponsibly celebrating her sister's new love, leaving all the procedures and tasks to Cordelia. Given her busy schedule, Cordelia couldn't bring herself to celebrate her sister's happiness.

"No matter what you say, I don't have time for your celebration. The dinner is about to start, so you should go back."

"I don't want to go without you. Come on, let's go."

Cordelia's sleeve was tugged by her unyielding sister.

"Stop it, you're stretching my sleeve."

"Oops!"

Cordelia gently shook off Priscilla's arm, causing her to stumble. Just then,

"Priscilla, be careful!"

"Mr. Tupac!"

Tupac, who had come around the corner, caught her. The two of them, now in close contact, held hands and embraced. Tupac smiled sweetly at Priscilla and then glared at Cordelia.

"I'm disappointed in you, Cordelia."

Thank you for reading. I plan to post the second chapter tonight, so I hope you enjoy it.