Chapter 3
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
How to Survive as the Villain's Younger Sister Episode 3 I watched intently as the child named Alexis was driven from the room. Sensing my gaze, the girl turned back to me before the door closed. Her eyes, as deep blue as the ocean depths, gazed at me cradled in Father's arms with unmistakable envy. As if she had never once been held that way herself. The door shut and the child vanished, yet I found myself unable to tear my eyes from the space where she had stood. 'This is strange. It feels as though I've witnessed this exact scene somewhere before....' What kind of parenting novel had I possessed into? I rolled my head back and forth. The child's name was Alexis Parkision. So our family name must be Parkision. But Parkision.... I've heard that name somewhere before. '...Wait. Hold on.' Suddenly, a shocking realization struck my small mind with a resounding 'ding'.
"Ugh?"
Father frowned at the sight of me trembling.
"Why are you making such strange noises?"
My body was laid back down in the soft cradle. But I was too stunned to move even slightly.
"Does she sleep with her eyes open?"
Father gazed curiously at my round belly, rising and falling with each breath.
"Truly an incomprehensible creature."
His rambling words barely registered in my ears. This small, insignificant body could not bear the weight of the shocking truth that had just surfaced. Because Alexis Parkision was the protagonist of the novel 【Revenge Alexis】 that I had been reading shortly before my death. And.... 'This novel isn't a parenting story at all!' 【Revenge Alexis】 was a regression novel. More precisely, a regression revenge novel. And the target of that revenge was Alexis's younger sister. The villainous younger sister who had stolen everything from her. 'That's right—it's me! I'm the one!' Everything came flooding back. And it felt as though the heavens themselves were collapsing. I, who would one day bear the name Cyrilia, was the villain who tormented my older sister out of jealousy and ultimately murdered her. Of course, true to form for a regression protagonist, Alexis returns. 'So what will Alexis do after regressing?' Obviously, she'll take revenge on her younger sister! In other words, I was as good as dead. What should I do? Waaah! In the end, I burst into tears I'd been holding back.
"Why are you suddenly doing this?"
The man poked my soft cheeks in surprise.
"Waaah! (Get away!)" I thrashed about with my round fists in protest. I could feel the man's bewilderment. But I no longer wanted to act cute for him. Ugh, I look like I'm dying—what good is charm now? * * * After that day, I made a decision. 'Forget Father! I'll survive by winning over my older sister!' Or so I declared with grand ambition. But my resolve shattered completely not long after I took my first steps. * * * Three years later. I, Cyrilia, had somehow turned four years old. 'Which means I've harbored this futile hope of bonding with my sister for three whole years.' My older sister Alexis desperately avoided me. 'It seems she's already regressed.' Before the regression, Alexis used to play with Cyrilia often when we were young. Of course, Cyrilia was a character-defective villain from infancy. She threw tantrums at her sister every time she played with her, but Alexis found even that endearing. 'But after being brutally murdered by Cyrilia and regressing...' She didn't touch Cyrilia until she gathered enough strength for revenge. Then there was no choice. There was only one method.
"Big sister! What's this?"
"..."
I would relentlessly pester Alexis! So from the moment I began toddling, I followed Alexis everywhere. If I pestered her indiscriminately, she'd recall her past trauma—so I'd only approach her when she was in a good mood! 'Right now Alexis just finished her lessons with her tutor!' Incomprehensibly, Alexis loved studying. After lessons, she spoke more and her expression softened in a way unlike her usual self. Of course, there were exceptions. When Alexis's expression hardened. That was precisely when she saw me.
"You really do eat nothing but things like yourself."
Alexis thoroughly ignored the cookie in my hand and walked away. 'Here we go again.' That was written all over her face. 'I've been rejected again!' I collapsed to the ground in despair. Of course, I could understand Alexis's feelings. 'If I were her, I'd hate a younger sister like me too.' No one would love a villainous younger sister who killed them in their past life. 'But I'm not that Cyrilia.' I hated being despised by family. In my past life too, I was.... A lump formed in my throat. Something hot surged up from within me. Like Lee Ji-ye in my past life, I couldn't die a dog's death in this one either. Not just for my own sake. 'I have to help my sister.' If things continued like this, Alexis would suffer at the hands of the villains trying to expel her from the family in the not-too-distant future. After my regression, Alexis ultimately took control of the family, but the path was treacherous. 'I can't let that happen. This family belongs to my sister!' It was the moment I clenched both fists with determination.
"As expected of our daughter—you've inherited your mother's talent for acting so well!"
My biological mother, Julia, came running with her lustrous crimson hair flowing. Dreiny Volgo, Julia's older brother and my uncle, was with her. He wore a friendly smile, but his plump face was filled with malice and greed. A man from a fallen family who had risen in status alongside Julia's elevation to duchess.
"To deliberately cling to Alexis and create a picture of being hated—if the Duke learns of this, Alexis will be in for quite the scolding."
What were these people saying right now? Julia lifted my small body effortlessly and spoke to the maid beside her.
"You saw that, didn't you? You must report this well to the Duke."
"Yes. How could I refuse?"
I panicked and grabbed Julia's collar desperately.
"W-wait, Mother. That's not what—!"
"Today it's mere slander, but someday our dear niece will drive Alexis out of the family."
Dreiny chimed in with a nasty smile. 'No, no! You villains!' If you touch Alexis, we're all dead! The reason I couldn't grow close to my sister was partly because of these people's interference. This pair of siblings were villains drawn with a ruler. A duke indifferent to his own children. And Julia, that duke's second wife. And Dreiny Volgo, using Julia as a front, lined her own pockets. They didn't stop there. 'They plan to drive Alexis out and make me the family head.' It was nothing short of purchasing a first-class ticket to death itself.
"Um, Mother. Alexis doesn't actually hate Cyrilia, does she?"
"Tell Father exactly that in front of him. He'll pity you even more. Hehe."
There was simply no reasoning with her. That's when it happened.
"Are you heading to meet the Duke, sir?"
A man blocked our path. Ash-gray hair tied neatly back. A handsome face with a cautious expression. He was Roel Parkision, the Duke of Parkision's administrator. And he was also the Duke's nephew. Under normal circumstances, Julia and Dreiny Volgo would have thrown a tantrum—"How dare you block my way!"—but they were meek in Roel's presence. It was because he held the Duke's trust. 'He even handles the family's major and minor affairs in place of the lazy Duke.' Roel spoke in a soft but somewhat arrogant tone.
"I happen to have something to show the Duchess."
"Yes? What is it?"
Julia's eyes widened with interest at Roel's words. Something the Duke's trusted Roel had to show her. She seemed to think it would be advantageous to her.
"It would be difficult here, I'm afraid."
Roel smiled as he adjusted his silver-rimmed glasses slightly. Julia glanced between Dreiny Volgo and Roel, then gestured toward an empty room nearby. Click— We all entered the room, and the door closed. Roel handed Julia a single sheet of paper. Julia carelessly set me down and took it.
"This is...!"
Julia's face crumpled immediately. And then— "You stupid little wretch!"
Whoosh! The paper flew across my face. Hit hard by the thick paper, I tumbled backward.
"I hired an expensive tutor for you, and you get scores like this?"
What fell to the floor was a test score report. A deliberately half-failed score report. Meanwhile, Alexis's score on the same test was perfect. 'She deliberately wrote down wrong answers to make her older sister shine.' But for Julia, that would be infuriating. After all, it was she who had assigned a commoner tutor exclusively to Alexis. 'But no matter how angry she is, how could she strike her own young daughter like this?' I looked up at Julia through trembling tears. Lee Ji-ye's consciousness wanted to glare at her with all her might, but all this four-year-old body could manage was tears brimming at the edges of my eyes and lips quivering with hurt. That helplessness stung far more than being struck by the paper.
"Why are you crying as if you did something right?"
Julia spat the words at me harshly as she stood up, trembling with rage. It was a far cry from the affectionate tone she used when others were watching. Her expression turned cold and bitter. Even when I read the original work, I never anticipated this. That Cyrilia was a child who would never be loved. 'Why does she hate her own daughter so much?'
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org