The Sister I Hate the Most in the World (1)
“……Ugh, my stomach.”
I steadied my staggering steps as best I could and pushed open the door to my quarters.
The root of the problem was those two bottles of potent whiskey Maximilian had pulled out—downed without a single bite of food or sip of water.
This is why you should only drink booze you pay for yourself. I chugged it like it was beer…
Thinking back to how that terrifying crown prince had startled me with a drunken joke, making me flinch and stammer excuses, even brought a hollow chuckle bubbling up through the haze of alcohol.
As I approached my quarters, the guards snapped to attention with crisp salutes and opened the doors. My personal attendant hurried over the moment they swung wide, taking my outer coat.
“Welcome back, Your Highness. You seem quite intoxicated.”
“Y-yeah, thanks for working so late. His Imperial Highness was generous with the good stuff… Ah, I’ll need a proper hangover cure tomorrow morning.”
“Understood, Your Highness. Is there a particular dish you’d like for breakfast?”
“Hmm…… Just boil up some spicy ramen for me. With a raw egg stirred in.”
“Pardon? R-ra… ramen? Might I inquire what that is……”
The attendant blinked in confusion at the unfamiliar word.
Only then did the foggy alcohol-soaked haze in my brain flash with the reminder that I’d long since possessed a body in this romance-fantasy world.
Damn, I always get like this when I’m drunk.
“Ah, sorry. It’s, uh, a dish from my hometown……”
I pressed my throbbing temples and began describing the ramen in my head as precisely as I could.
“Like… noodles boiled in a meat broth with spicy chili powder? The noodles should be slightly wavy and decently thick. Just stir in one egg and bring it over.”
“Ah, I see—a spicy, hot meat noodle dish. I’ll have the head chef prepare it at once, Your Highness. Please rest easy.”
I nodded vaguely at his response, then collapsed onto the bed and plunged into deep sleep.
The next morning.
It was the weekend, with the official social season still four days away.
Clutching my pounding head, I woke up late, yawned, washed my face, and fussed around a bit. By the time I lifted the lid on the breakfast tray the attendants had brought, I let out an exclamation.
“Ooh……”
Steam rose invitingly from the deep red meat broth, topped with thin slices of green onion, and a perfectly stirred egg mingled with the noodles.
“Damn, they even added green onions without me asking—how’d they know my taste? Here goes—ahh……!”
I skipped the spoon, lifted the bowl to my lips, and slurped down the broth straight.
Of course, it lacked the chewy crunch of instant-fried noodles or that artificial MSG tang from my old world.
But ramen was ramen, and the imperial palace head chef’s skill didn’t disappoint. The rich depth of broth simmered from premium meat and bones, paired with the numbing spice of chili that scorched my mouth—it more than met my expectations for a hangover cure.
“Haa, now I feel alive.”
I wiped the beads of sweat from my forehead with a towel and scraped the bowl clean, not leaving a drop behind.
After finishing, I took a refreshing hot shower and did some light stretches to loosen up.
“Alright, feeling sticky—maybe a light jog for some cardio.”
With my body much lighter, I headed out in light clothes for a run along the riverbank.
But just as I reached the entrance, a guard who’d normally just nod and step aside politely blocked my path.
“My apologies, Your Highness. External outings are strictly controlled today.”
“Pardon? You let me go yesterday without issue.”
Perplexed, I asked, and the guard pointed awkwardly toward the palace exterior.
“That was fine until yesterday morning, but since last evening, high nobles arriving for the social assembly have been flooding the capital. With pre-events and parties starting tomorrow, citywide inspections are triple the usual, and palace security is at maximum alert.”
“Ah……”
“Moreover, Your Highness’s outings require escort by your assigned watcher, Knight Amber White, by protocol. We’ve overlooked it before at Intelligence discretion, but in this emergency with nobles swarming, we must enforce the rules. To avoid any incidents.”
“Got it. Disappointing, though.”
“Shall I contact Knight White immediately for escort approval?”
“No, it’s fine. I don’t want to drag her out on her day off. I’ll just rest quietly in my room today. Thanks for your work.”
I accepted it cleanly and turned back.
Can’t even run, so might as well study obediently.
I decided to crack open the Imperial ancient tongue book—basically Mongolian—I’d borrowed from the library.
In my past life, I’d been something of a language whiz.
English? Interpreter in the military, even supported major summits. Japanese as basic otaku literacy, Latin and German from interest and as a second foreign language, even Arabic for Seoul National University entrance (just basics there). I’d dabbled in a bunch.
But Imperial ancient tongue? It was insanely difficult, beyond imagination.
“Seriously, the pronunciation… ugh, too hard? At least the word order matches Korean……”
No wonder hardly anyone studied it anymore. The more I dug in, the weirder the grammar popped up, driving me mad.
“Ah, my head hurts.”
I stuck the quill pen crookedly in my mouth, tore at my hair with both hands, and dove into studying.
Impressing the Emperor with ancient greetings was great, but sustaining that favor took effort.
I wanted to reach conversational level eventually.
Knock knock.
Then came a knock at the door.
“Come in.”
I answered casually, and the door opened. Chloe stepped in briskly, wearing a bright lemon-yellow casual dress.
“Ian, are you busy?”
“Ah, Your Highness! What brings you here?”
I hastily spat out the pen, shot up from my chair, and greeted her warmly.
Her spring-breeze smile cleared the throbbing in my head like magic.
“The social season starts properly next week, right? As a princess debuting, I’ll be dragged to endless balls, tea parties, and ladies’ gatherings…… So I don’t think we can read together in the annex for a while.”
“I see. You must be swamped, Your Highness.”
“That’s why I stopped by before it gets crazy—maybe squeeze in one last book session and tea? I’m not interrupting, am I?”
Chloe glanced apologetically at the books strewn across my desk.
I shook my head vigorously.
“Interrupt? Nonsense! I was wrestling with ancient tongue and my brain was about to explode. You’ve come to save me, Your Highness.”
“No, Ian! You’re studying ancient tongue too?”
“Hoping for basic conversation by year’s end. Let me brew some warm tea. Please, make yourself comfortable on the plush sofa.”
“Heehee, thank you.”
Whistling happily, I turned to the cabinet for the tea set and leaves.
That’s when it happened.
“Ian, I’m here!”
“……!!”
I jolted in surprise, and Chloe, about to sit, whipped her head toward the door.
The door flew open, revealing Princess Victoria with a new wooden sword slung over her shoulder.
“Ian, been well? Things’ll get busy, so I won’t see you much—thought I’d drop off a little gift—”
Striding in confidently, Victoria froze mid-step upon spotting Chloe demurely seated on the sofa in the middle of the room.
“Gasp.”
Victoria sucked in a sharp breath.
And in that instant, the gentle smile Chloe had worn while looking at me vanished from her lips.
Thud.
Chloe set the book she’d been holding down on the table with a sharp clack, then rose slowly and turned toward Victoria at the entrance.
Her clear, kind violet eyes filled in an instant with raw killing intent.
“……Why are you here?”
With a gaze laced in venomous contempt and hatred, Chloe spat coldly at Victoria.