Chapter 10
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: 300 Days Later: Taming the Gloomy Girl (3)
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Eugene Calliope...
By the time she realized it, she was writing his name.
From a young age, my sister excelled at everything.
In comparison, I was stupid, slow, and utterly devoid of any talent.
Father and Mother saw only her as the one who could revive our crumbling family.
It hurt, but I still thought of them as family.
But on my sister's birthday.
The day everyone showered her with blessings.
...The day I spent the entire night alone, wracked with a vicious cold.
The party noise echoed endlessly outside my room, but no one came to check on me as I coughed until my throat tore and I spat blood.
That day, I realized the truth.
I was nothing more than my sister's shadow.
'...You called for me, Sister.'
'Yes, Vivian. Congratulations. Your big sister got into Carnea Academy.'
One day, my sister said this while sipping tea at the garden table.
To me, who had resigned myself to living forever in her shadow, it sounded like a dream come true.
The hope I'd buried deep inside resurfaced.
Carnea Academy was fully residential.
Her enrolling there meant I wouldn't have to see her for three whole years.
I couldn't show it, but I was thrilled at the prospect of being apart from her for the first time in my life.
'Getting into Carnea Academy... congratulations.'
The words came straight from my heart.
I thought maybe, without her around, Father and Mother might finally notice me.
I didn't want to steal her place.
I knew someone like me could never replace her.
But...
If I could just have a tiny fraction...
A minuscule sliver of the attention she received...
Wouldn't they finally acknowledge me as family too?
But her next words crushed that hope to pieces.
'Yeah, isn't it great? So you come in next year too.'
'Pardon...?'
I couldn't comprehend it.
No, I didn't want to.
I thought I was finally breaking free, only for her to drag me back under her thumb...
'S-Sister, what do you...'
'Every time you respond like that, you just look so stupid. I'm telling you to enroll in Carnea Academy next year.'
'S-Someone like me could never get into Carnea... I-It's impossible.'
The first time I'd ever talked back to her.
'...Vivian.'
Hearing her call my name froze me solid.
She sliced a piece of cake with her fork and popped it into her mouth.
'Are you seriously arguing with me right now?'
'N-No... That's not...'
'Hmm...'
She twirled the fork between her fingers.
Scary. Scary. Scary.
My legs buckled, forcing me to my knees.
'S-Sister, I was wrong. I-I'll do it. I'll get in somehow.'
'Good. You have to. Things will get ugly if you don't.'
—Stab.
The fork pierced a strawberry atop the cake.
'I'll be waiting, Vivian.'
'Y-Yes... Sister.'
I shouldn't have let myself hope at all.
Unbearable sadness welled up, but I didn't even have the freedom to grieve.
'Smile, Vivian. You're going to the same academy as your proud big sister. You should be smiling.'
'Ah...? Heh... hehehe... Sorry, Sister. I guess I'm just so happy, tears are coming out.'
I wiped my tears with my sleeve and forced my trembling lips into a smile.
Once again, I realized the truth.
A shadow could never escape its source.
A year later, on the day of Carnea Academy's entrance ceremony.
I barely scraped in at 150th place and sat at the very back of the auditorium.
Nothing registered during the ceremony.
Just being at the same school as her terrified me.
By the time I snapped out of my shaking daze, the ceremony had ended, and students were leaving in groups.
I... couldn't go back to my room.
I was scared she might come looking for me.
I stayed seated alone until the library closed, then finally returned.
Lying in bed, tears flowed out.
Why did only I have to suffer like this?
I wanted to die, but I lacked even the courage for that.
...But I was grateful for my cowardice.
If I'd died that day, I never would have met Eugene Calliope.
He helped me without any strings attached.
He matched his pace to my sluggish one, and even when he must have been tired, he deliberately tripped for my sake.
When I tried to help him up out of guilt, he shot me a look that said, "Don't worry, just keep running."
It was the first time.
The first person in my life who acted for my sake, not my sister's.
That day, instead of heading to the library, I waited for him in the classroom.
I was so focused on practicing what to say to thank him that I didn't notice him approach...
The moment the door opened, I panicked and hid in the cleaning supply closet without thinking.
And from there, I watched him drink the water.
"Gulp."
I was overjoyed.
Even if he didn't know it was me.
The fact that he drank it filled me with joy.
It felt like validation that I wasn't a meaningless existence.
The next day, I arrived at the classroom early again.
Part of it was fleeing from my sister, but mostly I hoped to see Eugene.
But he didn't come.
'He's not coming...'
We hadn't even made plans, yet here I was, disappointed on my own. I hated myself for it.
Then the door opened, and someone entered.
It was Eugene Calliope.
I nearly burst into laughter.
We hadn't even talked, but I was happy anyway.
While doodling in my notebook and stealing glances at his profile, I dropped my pen.
'Ah...'
It rolled to a stop right by his foot.
Why did I always mess up like this?
As I berated myself, he picked it up and handed it over.
"Here."
"Th-Thank you..."
"No big deal."
Such a small kindness.
But it was enough to melt into my parched heart.
From that day on, we chatted every morning.
"Oh, a book by Yurius Henrei."
"...You know Yurius too?"
"Of course. One of my favorite authors."
Trivial chit-chat, utterly mundane.
Yet it was the happiest time of my life.
I could hardly believe I was capable of such joy.
But...
The door opens, and the dream shatters.
"Ow! That hurts! It hurts!"
"Quit whining. What's so painful about this?"
I saw Eugene chatting amiably with other girls—not me.
He was my one precious person.
But to him, I was just one of many friends.
Watching him laugh with them made tears threaten to spill.
But crying now would just fluster him.
I bit my lip hard and held them back.
What had I been hoping for?
What had I expected?
I'd known from the start.
...I knew, but it hurt so much.
The fact that I meant nothing to him.
When class ended, I fled back to the dorm.
'...Idiot.'
As if wallowing like some tragic heroine would make anyone notice. How pathetic.
I opened the window to air out the room and found a letter tucked into the frame.
Chills ran down my spine.
What if it was from my sister?
I opened it praying it wasn't—only to find something even more shocking.
「To the author.
I only discovered this work recently.
Thud.
I dropped the letter in shock.
Last year, in summer.
I'd made the worst choice imaginable.
In a twisted bid for attention amid my pain and loneliness, I'd sold an erotic book starring myself.
...But the very next day, I'd come to my senses and reclaimed every copy.
"H-How..."
I thought I'd gotten them all, but this letter meant someone had used the stationery inside.
It was pricey, but I'd included sheets addressed directly to me at the back of each book—just in case, to keep it from the family.
"Wh-What do I do..."
Thankfully, using that stationery meant my identity was safe, but the anxiety of someone reading my book had me pacing the dorm room.
[I wandered into a dusty bookstore, picked this one out, and felt fate at work. I've read many books, but...]
Yet alongside the anxiety was gratitude.
Someone had read my book and written to me...
At least to this person, I mattered.
'I should ignore it.'
It wasn't some ordinary book—it was that kind.
Nothing good could come from engaging. I knew that in my head.
「Looking forward to your reply.」
But that closing line tugged at me.
'...They won't know it's me anyway... Just once.'
Making excuses to myself, Vivian sat at her desk.
"You look happy, Master."
Lucia remarked casually as she cleaned my room, as if it were the most natural thing.
Happy? Of course. This reply was proof my strategy with Vivian was working perfectly.
"...Lucia. You handled the task well, right?"
"Yes! I laundered the request through multiple proxies so no one would trace it. And from the vibe, it probably would have happened anyway, even without your orders."
I nodded at her response.
Not that I had room to talk, since I'd orchestrated this...
But Vivian was perfectly positioned for torment.
As nobility, she couldn't join commoner cliques.
Yet the Beatrice family was a fading house, too lowly for noble circles.
With her timid nature, no social events, no friends or acquaintances, and bottom-tier entrance scores to boot.
And above all...
Her talented but abrasive second-year sister had plenty of enemies.
People too scared to confront her directly had no qualms targeting her little sister.
'From this angle, her sister is basically the root of all evil.'
No wonder Vivian lacked confidence—her sister had awakened her unique ability young and bullied, belittled, and browbeat her into total self-doubt.
'Tch tch. Without the sister, she'd have graduated without issue.'
Tough break for Vivian, but she'd suffer a bit longer.
'Well, works for me.'
I grinned at the thought of taming a Vivian dependent on me.