Chapter 20
Chapter 20
The advanced music classroom for third-year students.
A luxurious chandelier hung from the ceiling, scattering tens of thousands of crystal fragments into dazzling light.
At the center of that radiant glow, Ophilienne played her violin.
The high, slender notes sliced through the air of the classroom like a knife.
Her graceful movements with the bow were elegant, like a figure in a still-life painting.
Her slender fingers gliding over the strings were delicate, precise.
When the last note dissolved into the air, Ophilienne lifted the violin from beneath her chin.
Clap, clap, clap.
Her friends, seated on antique Renaissance-style sofas, applauded quietly.
"That was amazing, Philly."
"Isn’t she too good? Haha."
"Of course, it’s Philly."
Ophilienne lifted the corners of her mouth slightly in response to their praise. She pinched the hem of her skirt gently and bowed gracefully.
The friends praising her on the sofa were heirs of prominent noble families, peers in social rank.
When Ophilienne handed the instrument to an attendant and approached the sofa, her friends hastened to give her space.
She sank into the plush sofa, crossing her smooth legs elegantly.
A noble young woman standing nearby carefully handed her a steaming cup of black tea.
"Thank you."
Ophilienne received the cup with a picturesque smile, savoring its aroma.
The calm and peaceful moment lingered until one friend spoke softly.
"Ophilienne, you haven’t had any problems with Franz, right?"
"Why Franz?"
"Didn’t you hear? I heard he got into an argument with your brother."
Clink.
The cup she had been sipping from settled onto the round table with a heavy sound, drawing attention from everyone nearby.
For the first time, a strange ripple crossed Ophilienne’s icy gray eyes.
"An argument… with Franz and Matios?"
"I don’t know the details, but that’s what the rumor says. Someone saw it happen."
Ophilienne’s smile slowly faded.
If the rumor were true, this wasn’t just simple sibling rebellion.
Franz was one of the Crown Prince’s closest aides and his right-hand man.
A rift between him and Matios meant interference in her union with the Crown Prince—that crucial bridge she needed to become the head of the Moretti family.
She had to become the head of the Moretti family.
To do so, the Crown Prince’s support was indispensable, and marriage was a necessary step for its completion.
"I need to have a conversation."
Ophilienne murmured quietly to herself.
"You got into a fight with Franz, didn’t you?"
It was after class that day.
Ophilienne, seated on the dormitory hall sofa, stood and approached Matios as soon as she saw him.
Had the rumor already reached here?
"Did you really fight?"
"Yes, but—"
"But?"
Ophilienne smiled faintly at Matios’ evasive answer.
"Don’t you know who Franz is?"
"I do."
The fourth great noble family of the empire. The legitimate heir of the Georg Ducal House.
A family comparable to the Moretti, also among the closest to the imperial court.
"And yet you provoked him?"
"He provoked me first."
"Still… you, you must be out of your mind."
Her voice rose unexpectedly. Like shards of broken glass, the sharp sound echoed chaotically throughout the hall.
Conscious of the surrounding stares, Ophilienne grabbed Matios’ wrist as if hooking it and pulled him up to her room.
She walked quickly on her long legs. Click, clack. Matios struggled to keep up. A creeping irritation grew in him. He hadn’t done anything wrong.
"Come in."
Ophilienne opened her door and entered. Matios forcefully shook her hand off.
Ophilienne’s grip, unprepared for resistance, left her hand awkwardly in the air.
Her delicate eyes widened like lamps.
Looking at her hand, she then looked at Matios.
"What… are you doing?"
A twisted smirk appeared on her face.
"I’m sorry for worrying you. But there was a reason."
"A reason more important than offending the Crown Prince’s faction?"
She smiled lightly, almost mockingly.
"What is it? What could make my brother act like that?"
"Tiana."
"That commoner?"
Again… that girl.
Ophilienne felt a surge of irritation, like a boiling kettle. She suppressed the urge to scowl. Leaning against the doorframe, she twirled her hair between her fingers.
"Franz tried to touch Tiana. You know what kind of man Franz is. He would have forced her—"
"So what?"
Ophilienne cut him off coldly.
"So what? Why the fuss?"
"It was a close call."
"A close call? What close call?"
"You know."
"Mat…."
She placed her hand gently on Matios’ shoulder, shook her head, and spoke with a sad expression, her eyebrows drooping.
"You can’t worry about everything in this world. Neither can I. We’re not gods."
"So… just let it go?"
"No. You can do it. You’re just greedy. And besides, you don’t know the world. Maybe that situation was better for Tiana."
"What do you mean?"
"Tiana Filrn… what future could a girl from the countryside, raising sheep, possibly have?"
Ophilienne looked out the window.
The night sky scattered brilliant stars indifferently across the heavens.
"Franz will become a duke. To be the woman of a man like that is to seize a future like this starlight. Even if the light is as common as mistresses, money and power, that’s enough, isn’t it?"
"Tiana doesn’t want that."
"Sigh… Matios. Why are you so stubborn?"
Ophilienne pressed her temple and exhaled a long sigh.
He was so naïve. Still believing the world was a fairy tale.
'Not wanting money and power?'
She scoffed inwardly. Nothing was more ridiculous than that delusion.
'No one in this world doesn’t want money and power. Not a single person.'
Even she had been ready to sell her soul for it.
'Being good doesn’t make you right, Mat.'
She decided to crush her brother’s foolish fantasy. Her voice was calm and smooth.
"A person’s heart is deceitful. Even if they seem noble now, it can change in an instant. And there’s no guarantee Tiana’s true feelings match your assumptions."
"…"
"Of course, you did a kind thing, Mat. But being kind isn’t always right. Maybe Tiana secretly wanted this. To be Franz’s woman."
Matios’ lips pressed together tightly.
"The lowly one’s desires are obvious, aren’t they?"
He stayed silent, staring at his sister.
"Or perhaps, secretly, she might take Franz for herself? That would give her a chance she would never get again."
Ophilienne continued without noticing the chilling look in her brother’s eyes.
"You know what it means to become a nobleman’s mistress. She might have been dreaming of wealth she could never touch in her life."
He had forgotten.
"Girls from the countryside are often more ambitious than you think. You naïve young men wouldn’t know, but they’re more common than you imagine. Those lowly types."
And he had forgotten.
Enchanted by her friendly demeanor, he had forgotten what kind of person she really was.
This was her true face.
Matios felt empty. At the same time, an indescribable disappointment filled him.
She was the “villainess” Ophilienne, who would paint the empire’s future red.
‘I’ll read you a story. Come lie down next to me.’
In his childhood,
‘You are my brother. You’re mine. Mine.’
Her gentle hand stroking his head, warm eyes.
The memory of that young sister shattered, twisted like broken glass.
"Forget that lowly girl. She was never meant to be with you. Friends with a shepherd… ridiculous, isn’t it?"
Ophilienne said gently, smiling.
‘That should be clear now.’
Her clever brother should have understood her words. She opened her arms and pulled Matios close. Pressing her face to his neck, she inhaled his familiar scent deeply.
"So, Mat. Go apologize to Franz. Okay? If I go with you, Franz will forgive you too—"
"No."
Thwack.
Matios flung his sister’s arms away coldly.
"I won’t apologize."
"Mat… I’m not joking right now."
"I’m not joking either."
Matios’ voice was detached.
"…More than anything, I’m disappointed, sister."
His voice was lifeless. No anger remained, only deep, profound emptiness.
Ophilienne’s eyes froze for a moment.
"What…?"
"I guess I had pointless expectations."
Matios turned and went to his room without a trace of hesitation.
Just before the door closed, his sunken gray eyes swept over Ophilienne coldly.
It was no longer a look directed at his “sister.”
"…"
Ophilienne froze in place. She blinked slowly and opened her mouth.
"…Ah?"