The Sister I Hate the Most in the World (2)
"......Why did you come here?"
Her voice was laced with ice, her expression so ferocious it made me flinch.
The air in the room froze in an instant under the pressure Chloe exuded.
I'd been about to fetch a teacup, but at the sight of the two princesses locked in a deadly standoff, I held my breath and set it down.
My instincts told me no one would be drinking tea today.
No one's touching tea today.
The gentle, sweet girl who was always so soft-spoken had vanished.
Chloe was radiating a murderous aura, as if she wanted to tear Victoria apart limb from limb.
If Chloe had been the physically stronger one instead of Victoria, I had no doubt she would've already killed her.
But what threw me even more off-balance was Victoria's utterly unimaginable reaction.
"......"
In a situation where she would've normally exploded in rage, Victoria flinched at Chloe's sharp interrogation, her gaze dropping to the floor as she mumbled haltingly.
"W-Well...... The social season's just a few days away, right...? We'll be busy and won't see each other for a while, so I just stopped by for a quick look at your face......"
"Why do you need to see my face?"
"...Can't I?"
"What if seeing it makes me want to kill you again?"
"......!!"
My heart plummeted at the unbelievable word that flew from Chloe's lips.
Kill her?
I had no idea the context, but Victoria didn't utter a single word of rebuttal.
"......"
Whether she was deeply hurt or wracked with guilt, an expression I'd never seen on her before flickered across her face.
Unable to muster even a defense, Victoria's tightly clenched fists trembled as she couldn't withstand Chloe's piercing glare and slowly backed away.
Once she'd retreated fully to the door, she muttered to me in a wretched voice.
"......Ian Sterling. Sorry you had to see this mess. I'll come back later."
With that, Victoria fled the room like she was running for her life.
The room remained shrouded in heavy silence until the sound of her frantic footsteps faded down the hall.
"Hoo, haa......"
Though she'd driven Victoria off with sheer force of will, Chloe wasn't in a normal state either.
Standing there, her face flushed bright red, fists clenched tight, she trembled all over.
The moment I started to approach her cautiously—
"......Hic."
A tear droplet fell from her large purple eyes, soaking into the carpet.
She hurriedly turned her head away so I wouldn't see her crying.
"......Sorry, I'm sorry, Ian. I'll come back next time...... I'll go now."
Stammering through her tear-choked voice, Chloe set the thick book she'd brought down on the table with a thud and bolted out the door.
"Ah, Your Highness! Your book...!"
I called after her, but she was already vanishing down the corridor.
I stared blankly at the open door for a moment before approaching the table and picking up the thick novel she'd left behind.
As I idly flipped open the front cover, a stiff inner page fluttered open, revealing a small memo written inside.
The moment I saw it, a chilling sensation crept over me.
Happy Birthday, my dear Princess Chloe!
Your eternal friend, Princess Aidrian
It was a short birthday message, written in pretty, neat handwriting that seemed perfectly normal at first glance.
But what caught my eye wasn't the content—it was the state of the paper.
Why is just this page so worn out? The cover doesn't look that old...
The corner of the page with the writing was blackened from what must have been hundreds of strokes and caresses.
Moreover, the paper was wrinkled and warped in spots, as if it had been soaked with water droplets and dried repeatedly.
Tear stains, without a doubt.
Princess Aidrian...
My mind raced.
Aidrian—a name I'd never heard in either the original story or this life.
Given the "princess" title, she wasn't from the imperial family; probably a princess from some defeated nation or vassal state.
...She said she killed her.
The word "killed" that Chloe had screamed with bloodshot eyes echoed in my ears.
And the image of Victoria, who was always so bold, bowing her head like a criminal and fleeing at that word.
As the puzzle pieces clicked together intuitively, a shiver ran up my spine, making my body tremble.
...The writing of someone who's dead?
The owner of that faded handwriting was likely no longer of this world.
Chloe, who occasionally showed a chilling side befitting her imperial blood but was always gentle and loving toward her family—her intense hatred for Victoria was probably because of this person.
The tangled imperial family history that even Amber had dodged answering—it had to revolve around this Princess Aidrian.
Did Victoria... kill this princess? Or at least directly cause her death?
Either way, it was clear some bloody incident had occurred between the two princesses, and their hatred was still boiling over in the present.
Honestly, I was dying to know more.
I was the curious type, after all.
But a bad feeling stopped me, and I quietly closed the book.
......This isn't something I should stick my nose into. If I do, I might actually get killed.
By my own assessment, I'd been handling my hostage role pretty well so far.
I'd been diligently building favor with people, to the point where I figured even if something went wrong later, I wouldn't be dragged off and summarily beheaded.
But that was that, and this was this.
No matter how close someone is, there are lines you don't cross—and I'd decided to play dumb about this one entirely.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"Ian, did you get back okay last night!"
That afternoon, even Crown Prince Maximilian came to my room.
"Crown Prince, did Your Highness sleep well?"
"I slept great. Too bad we couldn't drink more. Sorry if I got cranky from the booze."
"No, Your Highness. My joke might've gone a bit too far."
"Haha, no it didn't. But..."
Maximilian glanced around the room before whispering quietly.
"I heard Victoria and Chloe had a blowout in here this morning."
"...You knew?"
"The palace is small. Secrets spread in half a day no matter what. What I want to know is... what did you do?"
"I figured it wasn't my place, so I kept my mouth shut."
"Good man, good. I figured you wouldn't mess up like that. Just so we're clear, don't get involved in that from now on. It concerns you too, and the whole imperial family is super sensitive about it."
"Understood. But... what do you mean it concerns me?"
"Why the Empire prefers princes over princesses as hostages. Something like that. Just keep that in mind. Personally, it's not like we're losing out on this end, so I don't mind much..."
The crown prince's face hardened as he whispered.
"Father doesn't like anyone meddling in this. And I want to keep seeing you around for a long time. Got it? Get tangled up wrong, and you'll be the one bleeding."
"Understood."
"You'll find out eventually. But the longer you stay in the dark, the better... so just remember that for now."
Having thoroughly warned me, the crown prince suddenly grinned with a playful expression.
"Come to think of it, you haven't hung out with the other hostages since coming here. You've just been cooped up in the palace."
"...Yes, that's right."
"Himiko the princess you met yesterday is from a fallen kingdom, so she's an exception. But aren't you curious what the other hostages do?"
"...I assumed they were all living as comfortably as I am."
"Nope, not at all. Like I said before, the Empire worships talent above all. It's been that way since the days of our great ancestor Uzarat. Incompetent royals or nobles don't get treated well here. And most royal hostages sent to the Empire... well, they're the useless ones."
Flashing a wicked smile, the crown prince winked.
"You'll find out at the social season soon enough."
"......? Understood, Your Highness."
"Oh, and I read your last report. That was actually why I came today."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Out of all your suggestions, the policy evaluation section caught my eye most. It's ready to implement right away if we set up the system—no extra costs, no pushback. Could you write a more detailed report on that? Deadline... let's say a week after the social season. Get on it once you're back at work."
"Yes, sir. And about the measurements and standards..."
"Someone's already handling that, so you don't need to."
It was hard to believe this efficient man who handled business so briskly was the same wastrel who'd been pounding drinks between two women last night.
The crown prince patted my shoulder.
"It's great working with a sharp talent like you. I'll head out now."