Chapter 12
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How to Survive as the Villain's Younger Sister
Episode 12
With each word I spoke, the smile drained from Alexis's face like water through a sieve.
By the end, her ears had turned glacially cold.
"Della."
"Y-yes?"
"What a shame. All that effort you put into your appearance and hair to impress Dain, now ruined."
"!"
"Regardless, you should have obeyed your master's command to get up. Instead, you threatened to tattle everything to Dreiny Volgo."
A chilling glint of murderous intent flashed across Alexis's eyes.
'She heard everything.'
Everything that had transpired between me and the servants.
Della's legs buckled beneath her in terror, and she collapsed to the floor.
The other servants began trembling violently.
"Of all the people in this room, only Cyrilia spoke to me with complete honesty."
Alexis laughed bitterly at the irony.
Then she issued orders to Dain and Maran.
"Those who cannot even recognize their own master have no place in the Parkision Dukedom. Terminate all their contracts and expel them from the estate permanently."
"Yes, understood."
"I shall see it done at once."
Dain and Maran bowed their heads.
The punishment was more merciful than I'd anticipated.
Merely cast out and nothing more.
The servants' relief was palpable enough that even I could sense it.
My shoulders sagged slightly in disappointment, and I felt a gaze upon me.
I lifted my head to find Alexis's blue eyes boring down at me intently.
It was as if she were saying, 'This isn't over yet.'
"And before you cast them out, charge them with child abuse and have them punished according to the law."
"By 'according to the law,' do you mean we should brand their crime upon their faces?"
"Precisely. If they've inflicted scars upon a child that will never fade, they deserve to bear those marks themselves."
"Understood. Child abuse is among the gravest crimes under Imperial law."
Such a punishment existed?
A chill ran down my spine.
The servants' faces drained of all color.
"P-please, Your Grace!"
"W-we were wrong! Forgive us!"
"Have mercy, I beg you...!"
The servants wailed in desperation.
With such a punishment, their lives would be effectively over.
Yet Alexis, unmoved by their anguished pleas, rose and departed.
Only the maids' piercing screams and sobs echoed through the Rose Garden.
* * *
Dreiny Volgo rushed frantically toward the Parkision Ducal House.
'All of Cyrilia's personal maids have been dismissed!'
And with their crimes branded upon their faces, no less.
'Since the branded crime wasn't treason, my involvement shouldn't have been exposed, should it?'
That was a relief, at least.
But the loss of this crucial connection was a serious problem.
'I need to involve myself before Alexis arbitrarily selects new maids! Using my authority as Cyrilia's uncle....'
"Argh!"
Dreiny Volgo cried out in alarm mid-thought.
The carriage he was riding in had suddenly stopped.
Dreiny Volgo threw open the carriage window and bellowed at the coachman.
"Are you insane! I nearly got hurt!"
"My lord, you cannot proceed beyond this point."
But it wasn't the coachman who answered—it was the knight guarding the entrance to the Parkision Dukedom's residence.
Dreiny Volgo's expression darkened considerably.
"Cannot proceed? You fool, do you know who I am?"
"You are Baron Dreiny Volgo, the late Duchess's brother and Miss Cyrilia's uncle."
"If you know that well, how dare you block my path?"
"It is the Duke's orders."
"What?"
"His Grace has forbidden Baron Volgo from entering the Parkision residence."
"That cannot be! You must be mistaken! Go tell the Duke I've arrived!"
Dreiny Volgo shouted at the top of his lungs.
The commotion brought the Butler outside as well.
"Listen here, Butler. This fool is spouting nonsense, blocking my way like this."
"His Grace's prohibition on entry is indeed accurate."
"What did you say?"
"He instructed that you contact us in advance and receive permission before visiting. Please send a formal request and await approval."
"There's no need for that—if you simply inform His Grace right now that I'm——"
"A formal written request, if you please."
"What?"
"This applies equally to all visitors, not just yourself. Now, please return home safely."
The Butler spoke thus and turned to leave.
"Wait, wait! Hold on! You there!"
Dreiny Volgo called out desperately, but it was futile.
* * *
"Your Grace, as expected. The moment rumors spread that the maids had been dismissed, Baron Volgo came calling."
Dain spoke.
"The Butler personally turned her away, yet Miss Cyrilia insisted on seeing me. So I brought her myself."
Maran continued speaking.
He seemed to be hoping for Alexis's praise.
Alexis, who had been reviewing documents at her desk in the Office, let out a silent scoff.
'Dreiny Volgo. A man whose intentions are transparent as glass.'
I already knew that Dreiny had planted spies within the Parkision Ducal House.
After becoming Duke, my first priority was precisely that.
'Rooting out the spies Julia and Dreiny had placed among us.'
But if I wasn't careful, it could appear as tyranny—dismissing innocent employees.
I needed to catch them red-handed before removing them.
The most pressing thorn in my side was the spy positioned close to the Duke.
Next came the spy Julia had kept at her side.
After Julia's death, they had all cared for Cyrilia.
Having spent so long with young Cyrilia, she would surely become anxious if they suddenly disappeared.
'She might cry and become troublesome.'
That's what made it so difficult.
I was still contemplating how to remove them.
'But thanks to Cyrilia, I was able to cast her out.'
It seemed I kept receiving help from Cyrilia lately.
For mere coincidence, these opportunities were far too convenient, far too necessary.
'And to think her personal maids were tormenting her.'
Weren't those personal maids Julia's people?
'Julia may have treated Cyrilia harshly, but I doubt she would have allowed mere servants to abuse her own daughter.'
It was somewhat confusing.
My third life.
Having lived through countless days, everything in this world now appeared crystal clear to me.
Or so I thought.
Yet whenever it concerned Cyrilia, that clarity wavered.
'Seeing how the maids threatened to report her to Dreiny, it seems she isn't even loved by her uncle.'
So in the end, Cyrilia had no one by her side.
That little girl had no one.
I was taken aback.
And I felt bitter.
'Cyrilia must have been so lonely.'
Perhaps her cruelty stemmed not from malice, but from a desperate struggle to survive.
Without thinking, I arrived at this conclusion, and I was startled by my own thoughts.
'Get a grip, Alexis. You don't need to understand her to this extent.'
Kill or be killed.
That was the fate of us two sisters.
Hadn't I learned this painfully through two previous lives already?
"Miss Cyrilia must be one of Dreiny's spies. You should either cast her out or, if you're concerned about public opinion, confine her."
Maran spoke.
Alexis, who had been lost in thought, lifted her head.
"There's no need for that."
"But...!"
"If Cyrilia is indeed one of Dreiny's spies, then she must know about the other spies positioned throughout the Parkision Dukedom, wouldn't she?"
Alexis fixed her gaze on Dain.
"Right now, Cyrilia must be in chaos with all her personal maids suddenly replaced. While you pretend to care for her in such a state, find out the list of spies."
"Yes, Your Grace!"
Dain grasped Alexis's deeper intention and nodded.
"Why Dain? Wouldn't it be better to have me do it instead?"
But Maran cried out as if aggrieved.
Alexis shook her head.
"You think you can persuade Cyrilia into revealing the spy list?"
"Yes. I can do it better than the soft-hearted Dain with my firm personality."
Alexis imagined Maran interrogating Cyrilia for the spy list.
"If you don't hand over the spy list, I'll hang you upside down from the window, Miss!"
"Ugh, ahhhhh!"
Only a sigh escaped her.
"You'd be so forceful that you'd only seal Cyrilia's lips shut even more."
"What do you mean...?"
"You know the tale of the Sun and the Wind? The wager over who could make the traveler remove his coat?"
"Yes, Your Grace. But why suddenly speak of a fairy tale?"
"Maran, you are the wind, and Dain is the sun. If you wish a child to remove her coat and speak the truth, a sun burning hot enough to warm is far better than a cold wind."
Dain's face flushed shyly at the praise.
Meanwhile, Maran's face twisted.
"Maran, I'm not blaming you. You are equally indispensable to me in other matters. Surrounded by countless enemies as I am, there is nothing I desire more than to rely on a strong wind like you."
"Y-Your Grace."
Even Maran, who had been sulking, blinked at Alexis's praise, moved.
'Her Grace wishes to rely on me!'
Letting Cyrilia live grated on him, but he would devote himself to loyalty nonetheless.
Maran made this vow to himself once more.
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org