Sister's Story
Eve Ignis.
The eldest daughter of the Ignis Dukedom and the elder sister of Riel by several years. She is a woman of immense magical talent, one who has refined that gift into a formidable skill that still, in her relatively young years, places her among the elite of the Royal Magic Division.
In the original story, she was the villain.
During her childhood, she had claimed her parents’ love almost entirely, and the resulting friction with Alan Ludwig had only deepened. In the middle-to-late chapters of the original tale, she appeared as Riel’s direct adversary, her hatred so intense that the mere mention of Riel’s name was enough to make her tremble with fury. As the story’s greatest powerhouse—boasting both overwhelming magical prowess and an exalted rank—she ultimately clashed with Alan and suffered a humiliating defeat that brought about her fall.
That was how she had been written.
But when I asked Riel about the family, she never spoke a single bad word against Eve Ignis. Instead, seeing how eagerly she longed to meet her sister after so many years apart, I became even more certain that the original story’s knowledge was useless.
“Sister… you must be terribly busy right now…”
“…”
Eve said nothing. She simply stepped forward and pulled Riel into a fierce embrace.
“…Sister?”
“Our Riel… it feels like it’s been so long since I last held you like this.”
“……”
“I’m sorry, Riel. I’m truly sorry.”
The tender gesture caused Riel, who had been hesitant, to raise her arms and return the embrace.
From behind them, Phyllis watched with a small smile and spoke softly.
“Shall we give them a moment alone?”
“Of course.”
After a brief pause outside the café, I turned to Phyllis, who had followed me out.
“Right now, this is the season when the monsters are growing bold and restless. The knight orders and magic divisions are stretched thin—most forces are deployed to hunt monsters or protect the cities beyond the capital. So I sent you as a contact despite my worries. I wondered if any member of the duke’s family would be willing to talk with you.”
“I was determined to use every possible connection.”
“…”
“I borrowed my lady’s strength.”
Aha. I understood at once.
My mother, Countess Silvia Ventos—born Silvia Illin Palajinia—came from a collateral branch of the royal family, though she was still of noble blood. In her youth she had even served in the Royal Magic Division. With the limited resources she possessed, she would certainly have heard every rumor circulating in the division’s halls.
“Among the duke’s family, Lady Eve was conveniently stationed in Olbria Territory, so I was able to reach her directly.”
Olbria Territory lay only a short distance from the capital; a swift royal courier could reach it in a few hours.
“Olbria Territory? That’s perfect timing.”
“Her Highness the Princess was leading both the knight corps and the magic division there. The permission for Lady Eve to accompany her came quickly because of that.”
“Just out of curiosity, which princess?”
“Princess Aine.”
…She had timed it to the second.
The Palajinia Kingdom had three princesses; the second in line was Princess Aine Guine Palajinia. A royal and an extraordinary mage in her own right, she had appeared in the original story as well and was Lady Eve’s direct superior. She had been on close terms with my mother, and the countess often visited the duke’s domain.
…Hmm.
I suddenly recalled a painful memory.
“Your Highness! It’s truly dangerous!”
“What’s this, you coward? If a man like you starts trembling at the sight of a mere monster, what are you good for?!”
…The image hit me like a stone to the chest.
Now I wondered whether the visit had truly been because of my mother’s friendship, or whether the man had simply been sent to hunt monsters on the Ventos lands.
“In truth, Her Highness was planning to come herself, but I convinced her otherwise.”
“She was persuaded?”
“Of course.”
“Well done.”
I had almost caused a national crisis. If Princess Aine had come, the situation would have exploded; even now it teetered on the edge of disaster.
Given her personality, she would have been at least ninety percent interested in investigating the matter herself.
Just then Riel’s voice drifted out from the café, breaking my reverie. I hurried inside.
Eve Ignis had been born the eldest daughter of the Ignis Dukedom.
From childhood she had displayed extraordinary talent in magic, and her parents’ expectations had only sharpened that gift. Raised among devoted servants, a loving brother, and parents who cherished her, her early years had been filled with nothing but joy.
Then, when she was eight, her little sister was born. They named her Riel, and the entire family doted on the quiet child who resembled Eve in so many ways.
Eve had adored her shy little sister and, in turn, Riel had looked up to her with admiration. The happiness had lasted for years.
But at some point the perfect balance began to shift.
At first it was only a vague unease.
A knight of the duke’s household, commanded by Knight Commander Albert Ludwig, brought his own son to introduce him to the family.
“This is my son, Alan.”
Eve remembered that Alan had been born a few months before Riel. The duke had been overjoyed and granted him a week’s leave.
Now the boy had grown into a handsome youth with silver hair that gleamed like moonlight. When he bowed politely to the duke, the duke accepted him with gracious warmth.
…Eve, however, noticed that every servant’s eyes were fixed on Alan. A strange prickle of unease spread through her chest.
“What is this?”
She instinctively drew the sleeping Riel closer.
Because the boy was the same age as Riel, he was deemed suitable company for the shy girl. Alan’s presence was therefore permitted in the duke’s household.
From that day the unease inside Eve grew sharper, until it became a distinct warning she could not ignore.
“Stay away from my sister!”
She dragged Alan away from Riel, determined to protect her precious little sister.
She could not bear the sight of that strange boy lingering near her beloved sibling.
Yet not long afterward, strange rumors began to circulate inside the estate: that Eve was bullying Riel.
It was nonsense. Furious, Eve immediately tried to uncover the truth. But the servants only whispered among themselves, and no one knew where the rumor had started.
Soon Eve found it harder and harder to meet Riel. It was as though some unseen force were deliberately keeping them apart. The servants, too, subtly blocked her from reaching her sister.
When Eve finally snapped, she punished the servants with harsh words and blows, yet the situation only worsened.
Enraged and desperate, she demanded the dismissal of the defiant servants, only to discover that the final authority rested with the duke himself or with her mother, who managed the household in his absence.
The timing was cruel. Her father had become increasingly busy, and now he rarely returned home; he left the estate in the care of the steward. The steward had served the duke’s family since Eve’s earliest childhood and paid no heed to her commands.
Eve immediately wrote a letter to her father. She asked the most trusted maid from her childhood to deliver it.
That girl would carry her message faithfully and perhaps even rescue her from this nightmare.
The hope was dashed.
The letter never reached her father. The one person she had trusted most had betrayed her.
Eve fell into despair. It felt as though she had been cast into an alien world.
And then the worst happened.
“…Sister?”
After months apart, her little sister stood before her.
Her beloved, the one she had longed to see so badly.
But Eve’s mind was no longer steady.
“…It’s all because of you.”
“Eh…?”
“You! Everything changed the moment you were born!”
The world was already unraveling, and the accumulated stress spilled over. Eve’s fury erupted before she could stop it.
She had not meant to harm her sister. She loved her. She had only wanted to protect her.
“Give her back! Give me back my sister!”
“……”
Eve seized Riel’s shoulders and shook her violently, tears streaming down her face.
Only then did she truly see her sister’s pale, terrified expression.
“…Me?”
“……”
“What have I done…?”
Self-loathing flooded her. Sanity returned, and her face drained of color.
“R-Riel…”
“……”
“I-I’m sorry… I never meant…”
Before the words could finish, Riel’s anguished voice cut through the air.
“Eve!!”
The true culprit who had driven the household to madness had finally appeared—Alan Ludwig—standing between them, shielding Riel with his body.
“What is the meaning of this?!”
“I… I…”
Riel stared back, utterly drained of color, unable to speak.
Alan stood before her like a shield, his gaze locked on Eve with cold fury.
Soon the servants had gathered, their eyes icy as they stared at her.
And there was Eve herself, shouting in anger at her sister while tears streamed down her face.
Eve’s trembling eyes met Riel’s.
Riel looked back at her, fear shining in her gaze.
“Ah…”
“Ah…”
On that day Eve Ignis broke.
Once she came of age, she fled the estate and threw herself into studies at the academy, determined to erase every memory. She graduated at the top of her class and was accepted into the Royal Magic Division at a young age.
Since then she had never set foot inside the duke’s home.
But whenever she tried to convince herself that Riel no longer needed her, the image of those fearful eyes would return, and guilt would wash over her like a tide.
One day, while she was buried in work, her superior, Princess Aine, summoned her to her private quarters.
There she found a familiar face waiting.
“It has truly been a long time, Lady Eve.”
“You…”
It was Phyllis, the woman who had once served in the duke’s household.
In Phyllis’s hands was a letter containing faint traces of Riel’s handwriting.
The letter spoke of long years without seeing each other, of conversations never exchanged, and of a sister who had once believed Eve hated her and now sought her help.
Eve Ignis had no reason to refuse and no intention of doing so.