Ep.8 - The Sisters' Tale (2)
Ep.8 - The Sisters' Tale (2)
***
A proud older sister.
An older sister who was perfect in every way.
The older sister was beautiful,
yet kind like an angel,
precocious, and modest.
Neva was a possessor of innate talent who carried everyone's expectations on her shoulders alone.
No one could dispute that, and even those who envied and were jealous of her eventually could not overcome Neva's ability and flawlessness and knelt before her.
She was unrivaled.
She was a talent befitting the family,
a talent who would make the family shine even brighter.
She was brilliant,
her swordsmanship was radiant,
and she possessed a pride worthy of a knight more than anyone.
She was righteous.
Like a pure white sandy beach, she was perfect and had the generosity to embrace all things.
She was truly beautiful.
Was there anyone among humans who could follow her?
But, regrettably,
her younger sister ended up living a slightly different life.
A small girl,
short in height,
powerless,
and one who often burst into tears.
She was also beautiful,
but behind the radiant brilliance of her older sister, such an appearance was hardly remarkable.
"Eva-yang is still young, so. Haha. Anyway, Neva-yang..."
"Eva, could you deliver this to your sister? Hm? I'd appreciate it..."
Even at the school for young noble ladies, Neva naturally displayed her perfection and received everyone's admiration, but the gazes directed at Eva were quite different.
When she was very young, she was [Neva's little younger sibling], used to make connections with Neva.
"Eva, you really can't do it? Shall we try one more time? Strange, clearly your sister..."
"Eva! You're now a second-year, so you must set an example for your juniors. Your sister at your age already..."
When she grew a little, she was [the younger sibling who would follow in Neva's steps], receiving expectations like Neva.
"I'm afraid Eva-yang appears to have no special talent. Her swordsmanship is about average, and her grades are just slightly above average..."
"Neva wasn't like that. Why are you..."
After that, she was [an ordinary younger sibling, unlike Neva].
"Eva, it's God again, isn't it? I thought so. Aren't you ashamed? Your sister is raising the family's prestige, and the younger sibling is like this..."
"Is it true that your sister is Neva-nim? Hm? Perhaps I could also..."
"How can you be so different from your sister..."
Next, she was [an ordinary girl who didn't match Neva].
Eva always just followed behind Neva and watched.
Before her, Neva was always there.
Neva was always several steps ahead, blazing the trail,
and Eva, while struggling to follow behind that Neva, ended up always being compared to her sister and watching people's reactions, yet...
"Eva, shall we go for a walk together today?"
"Yes, unnie!"
Eva loved her sister.
Sometimes, she secretly wiped away tears,
but even so, Eva loved her sister more than anyone.
A proud older sister.
Even if everyone compared her to her sister, Eva would just laugh it off with a hehe~.
Eva loved Neva.
The two loved each other more than any other sisters.
To Neva, Eva was,
to Eva, Neva was,
like a precious treasure that could not be exchanged for anything.
As the years passed, they grew out of a sisterly feeling, and the gap began to widen as if Neva were the mother and Eva the daughter,
yet they cherished each other.
For Eva, home was like the only refuge.
There, no one compared her to her sister,
and there was only the best family who loved the small, cute girl.
"You two, you sneaked out again, didn't you?"
In the embrace of a gentle father and
a strict yet tender mother,
the little girl would always smile brightly and just whine.
"No! We got a little lost on the way, so we're a bit late."
"Sure, sure. Counting today, you've gotten lost a full ten times already. Next time, I'll have to draw pictures on the road so Eva can find the house properly."
"For real! Instead, I found pretty flowers. Look at these!"
Eva always had flowers in her hand.
The young girl loved flowers.
Flowers were like her sister, beings that bloomed beautifully without caring about their surroundings.
Eva loved flowers just as she loved her sister.
They couldn't dare compare to the perfection and beauty of her sister, but the flowers in her hand were always fragrant.
"The scent is nice. Shall I plant these flowers in the garden as well?"
They always brought smiles to the faces of her lovely family. No matter how hard the day had been, Eva's family regained their smiles with a single flower she brought.
Eva loved such flowers.
She admired the flowers that were like magic making everyone happy.
But just as flowers are trampled, the young girl's life was also trampled.
The world is not always tragedy, but the girl came to accept a flower she saw for the first time.
"Unnie, where are Mom and Dad?"
"..."
In Eva's memory, Neva could not open her mouth and was only crying.
In the memory of those young days when she couldn't even understand why her sister was crying, Eva remembered all the adults who came to see her clearly.
"The Lord is so indifferent too. How are these little ones to live..."
"Neva, still, your parents lived a glorious life and went to God, didn't they. Don't cry. Straighten your shoulders and live with dignity."
They each came with a flower, as if to pay respects, said a word to Neva and Eva, then trudged away and disappeared from view.
"They gave me flowers again!"
Eva was delighted. More than any of the flowers she had picked while walking about, the mournful blue flowers that had grown were far more fragrant.
"Unnie, Mom and Dad will really like this, right!"
Before she knew it, Eva's hands were full of blue flowers. Unable to hold them all with two hands, Eva hugged the flowers with both arms and smiled brightly.
As the flowers increased, Neva's expression grew darker,
but Eva's expression only grew brighter.
Mom and Dad had gone across the far sea to defeat monsters, so when they return, she would give them all these blue flowers she collected.
Surely they'd smile right away as always, stroke her head, and praise her.
[Our Eva, how praiseworthy you are. Indeed, the flowers you bring always smell so nice.]
Eva eagerly accepted the flowers brought by the adults, anticipating her gentle father's words.
In the end, after so many flowers had piled up that they could not be held with both arms—flowers as tall as Eva herself—
people still brought those blue flowers.
"He-here, put them on top of this!"
"..."
Eva diligently accepted the flowers.
Until her vision was completely filled with blue flowers,
the little girl eagerly gathered flowers.
"Uh, unnie, let's quickly plant them in the garden. Mom and Dad will really love them! My arms hurt now..."
"..."
"Unnie?"
That day, Eva saw her sister crying for the first time.
"Unnie, look at these flowers...!"
Eva didn't know what to do and stared blankly at her sister, then held out a single blue flower with her tiny hand and offered it to her sister,
but Neva didn't smile even after taking the flower.
She merely shed tears onto the blue petals.
A few days later, the little girl who understood the death of her parents cried and threw tantrums for days and nights, but there was no longer a father to gently embrace her, nor a mother to carry her on her back.
Now, the only one by her side was Neva, who had become more silent than usual.
-----------------------------------
Neva could not collapse.
Although she had been freed from the shadow of her parents quite early, she returned to her original daily life in just a few days without even having time to grieve sufficiently.
Unlike her younger sister, who spent all day crying under the covers and longing for their parents,
Neva picked up her sword again and trained.
Now, she was the only one responsible for the family.
There were quite a few nobles who offered to help her,
but Neva was not foolish enough to grab the hands they extended.
Her blue eyes were so discerning that she could easily read the desires and lies of adults.
Those who wanted to absorb the powerless family into their own and seize all the honor, glory, and benefits they would receive as fallen in duty.
The nobles who extended their hands to Neva and Eva were all the same. Neva did not permit them and inherited the family herself. It was a considerable burden for Neva, who was still young, but she...
"Eva, it's okay."
"Hic, sob..."
"I'll take care of it. I'll protect you, so don't worry."
She could willingly shoulder the burden for her young sister.
She loved Eva.
But Neva's love alone could not sustain the small, fragile girl.
Unlike Neva, who grew like a monster with insane talent combined with insane effort and broke all records,
Eva could not achieve anything no matter how hard she gritted her teeth and tried.
There was no longer a father to hold her,
no mother to stroke her hair,
but the ridicule and disregard toward Eva only grew.
Eva was scorned wherever she went.
Her smaller-than-peers stature and noticeably lacking talent.
Eva, who was just about average, gradually fell behind,
and eventually, when she reached the point of ranking at the bottom of her grade,
there were no longer any peers who spoke to her.
Because her sister happened to be Neva, there were no groups that dared to bully Eva,
but there were no nobles who would associate with a bottom-tier shorty.
Eva was alone,
and while she merely collapsed on the ground crying,
Neva always moved ahead.
To the point where there was no one who could match her,
to the point where people felt she was a being on a different level,
Neva continued to grow.