1 Chapter 0: Prologue

Trigger warning: Self harm

Every finger will hurt if you bite ten fingers.

However, there are fingers that would hurt less if bitten.

Blanche Marquette was like that.

Not only at home, but also outside the house.

Outside their home, Blanche was naturally ignored in the social circles of the Lupinus Kingdom.

This is because, unlike her older brother who is the genius of the century, her beautiful twin sister, and her younger brother who is a full-fledged spirit warrior, she has no talent.

To the point where someone could say that it was her talent to go unnoticed even if she had colorful red hair and green eyes like them.

She had the same appearance as her beautiful twin sister, but how can she have no talent? It was simple.

To everyone who knew Blanche, she was nothing more than an imitation of her beautiful older sister.

Because she was sick.

In the aristocratic society, a disabled person was like a curse to the family, so unlike her siblings, she could not make social connections. And then, one day.

That winter, three months before the 17-year-old Blanche sisters became adults, a family meeting was held out of nowhere.

***

Three o'clock in the afternoon.

The time when the precious winter sunlight warmed the drawing room.

A shadow fell upon the faces of the Marquis, Mariette, Blanche, and the youngest Alphonse, who had gathered closely together.

They all had red hair and green eyes, they were a family, as you can tell from their similar facial features.

The portrait of the Marquis' wife, who died giving birth to Alphonse, looked down at the four people sitting on the sofa. The Marquis drooled as he stared at the marriage proposal in his hand.

"Of all things, it's the biggest creditor Count Juan."

The Marquis Marquette, who boasts a history of 152 years, has been in huge debt due to the recent recession and repeated business failures.

Then last year, the biggest creditor of the Marquis became Don Juan.

Don Juan, an old man with gray hair, was a man who had a bad reputation in many ways, even though he bought a title as a full-fledged Count three years ago.

But an old man like that wants to marry Mariette, the most beautiful woman in the kingdom, in exchange for their debt!!!

The Marquis wiped the cold sweat on his forehead and wondered how he could overcome this crisis.

It was then. His daughter, Mariette, who never got hurt in front his eyes, cried.

"Dad, you can't let me marry such a trash! If I marry someone like that, I won't even last a day before being beaten to death!"

"Oh, my beloved daughter, Mariette. Don't I know that? Don't worry. I'll make sure I find a way. A way to protect you."

But Mariette's expression still wasn't convinced.

What's more, the 10-year-old boy Alphonse who was sick and coughed a little, had a gloomy expression.

"But Dad. Well, you've been warned by Count Juan. If you ignore the proposal again this time, we will be thrown to the streets right away."

"That's why we sold all the art in the house to pay off the principal!"

It was then. A faint voice with an indistinct pronunciation carefully interrupted the conversation.

"So, how much interest is left?"

It was Blanche, who had the same appearance as Mariette.

Not only did she limp, but she was also speech-impaired. Blanche Marquette was a stain to the Marquis family. For a moment, Mariette wrinkled her forehead. She was furious at her brother who seemed so willing to sell her to Count Juan right away.

"Blanche! Do you really want to make me go through this d*mn marriage?"

"No, I, I didn't mean that."

But for some reason Alphonse sided with Blanche, whose cheeks were red and spoke gibberish.

"Sister Mariette, calm down. Sister Blanche was just worried because Count Juan is a loan shark. Right?"

Before Mariette could reply, the Marquis leaned back on the sofa, looking tired.

"Anyway, there's still about half of the interest left."

With this, Mariette's face turned pale like a corpse.

"Well, if that's the case, you have to pay the money back by the end of this month, if not...!"

"It means I have to pay half the current interest. But don't worry, Mariette, it's not that there's no way. I'll sell the mansion as soon as possible and pay off the remaining debt. You can't marry that Count Juan, can you?"

"Dad. No! If we do that, we will look like fallen aristocrats! I'll never be a princess with a label like that!"

After seeing Mariette's desperate look, he felt very sorry for her as her parent.

"I'm sorry, Mariette, but it seems like it will be difficult for you to become a princess in our situation."

But she was rather confident despite her father's apology.

"No. I'm already a princess. Actually, the Third Prince and I. Last month, we had a secret wedding in the Great Hall."

The scandal between the Third Prince and Mariette was not just a day or two.

However, the two could not be married until now. This is because the King of the Lupinus Kingdom was terrified of the dying Marquis.

[T/N: He didn't like the Marquis household because they were in debt.]

But even a king cannot break an oath that was made before God.

The Marquis was able to shake off his sorrow at once.

"Oh, Mariette, you are great! But why have you kept this a secret until now?"

"Everything was the will of the prince. So you can't send me to the Count, Dad! The Prince did and I did it! If I have children, His Majesty will have no choice but to bless our marriage!"

"Sister, congratulations!"

Even Alphonse congratulated her without hesitation, but Blanche could hardly shake her worries.

"But my sister. Th-the Third Prince… He already has a fiancée…"

As soon as the words were finished, Mariette raised her eyes fiercely.

"Are you really asking because you don't know? That engagement will surely be broken!"

"B-but the King, His Majesty…"

"Stop it, Blanche. It's not as good as Mariette, but we'll try to find a good marriage for you. What a mean thing to say instead of celebrating such a happy occasion. That's not a good look."

Perhaps Alphonse had the same thoughts as the Marquis, and as if to appease a small child, he comforted his sister who was seven years older than him.

"Dad is right. Sister Blanche. So let's leave the debt to Dad and let's congratulate Mariette together."

Blanche's cheeks flared up at the absurd misunderstanding.

"I-It's not like that."

At that time, Mariette shone like a star, cutting off Blanche's words.

"I have a good idea! Dad, Alphonse!

As always, Mariette began to speak with a bright face at the Marquis who listened to his eldest daughter's opinion.

Her method was to marry Blanche as her to Count Juan, then poison the Count after their first night of marriage. The gist of the plan was that, with Don Juan's reputation, he would have many enemies, so Blanche would undoubtedly become a widow with enormous wealth. Mariette's opinion won a single vote.

Blanche screamed, "N-…..No!"

The Marquis, Mariette, and Alphonse pressured her.

"Blanche. Don't do that, you must save your sister."

"Oh, my dear sister Blanche!!! You should do this for me, for the sake of your future nephew. Besides, if you don't marry Count Juan, our whole family will be ruined!"

"Sister Blanche, please be brave."

Blanche shed silent tears. Something must be wrong with everyone's head.

'I can't believe you want me to poison Don Juan.'

Moreover, if the deception is exposed, Count Juan will take his marriage to Blanche as an insult. And all that anger will be poured out on Blanche, such a slender girl.

The Marquis ordered his second daughter again.

"Blanche. You're the only hope we have."

"B-But if you're going to poison the Count, you can do it yourself, not me, sister Mariette…"

Sparks flashed from Mariette's eyes.

"You selfish girl!" The Marquis did not stand still.

Thinking that he could not convince Blanche like this, he got up from his seat and slapped his daughter on the cheek.

Slap!

"Blanche! How could you say such a thing to Mariette? Mariette, unlike you, is meant to become a princess! But you tell your beautiful older sister to become a widow?! If there is such a flaw, the king will not recognize Mariette as a princess!"

While Blanche couldn't even lift her head at the sharp pain in her cheeks, Mariette pretended to be a friendly older sister and exhorted her younger sister.

"Blanche. This is a great opportunity for you. Even if you can't poison Count Juan, do you think there's a better marriage for you who are sick? Think about it all! Blanche, if you had been born into another noble family, you would have been beaten to death early on! It was because of us that you were able to live up to this point!"

As if waiting, Alphonse and the Marquis helped.

"Sister Mariette is right. Sister Blanche."

"Blanche. Even if you are, I have loved you as a daughter until now. Right?"

[T/N: Even if she was sick, she was still treated 'properly'- so they say.]

With tears streaming down his face, a resignation passed over Blanche's face. It was always like this. Even if they pretended not to, her family always pointed out Blanche's flaw. They acted as if it was in her best interests.

Until now, Blanche had no choice but to be patient, even if it was too upsetting and difficult, she had to endure it.

'If I don't put up with it, I'm not a good kid. I have to be a good kid. As a useless child, I have nothing but good things. Besides, if I say something bad, everyone will hate me.'

Maybe that's how it was. At some point, Blanche was considered a child who was comfortable with the subject, and who of course did not need to be taken care of properly. Blanche was sick of the hypocrisy of her family.

That's why. Today, what she always failed to achieve, she decided to do at this moment.

With a twisted face in tears, Blanche nodded hard.

"A-Alright… I'll get married… I'll go."

It wasn't that they failed to notice the resentment and despair on her face, the three of them were just busy rejoicing.

"Good thinking, sweetheart!"

"Blanche, thank you. Thank you so much!"

"Sister, congratulations on your wedding… Sister Blanche…?"

Slowly, Blanche rose from her seat. She limped and opened the door to the drawing room balcony.

In the midst of the cold winter breeze, Blanche looked back at her expectant family, leaning on the railing of the balcony.

In her wet eyes, there was a poison that was not usually seen.

"T-The Count will marry a dead body as a bride…!"

The first of the three to react was the Marquis.

He took a stance to run to Blanche at once.

"Blanche!"

Mariette grabbed the hem of his sleeve. She frowned as if it was something unseemly.

"Don't worry, Dad. Blanche won't die this time either. You know. Just like a kid whining about losing weight."

'This time either', she said. With that, Blanche's face hardened as if covered in lead. Even though she never did it to get her family's attention from the beginning.

In fact, Blanche resolved her misery and depression with self-harm.

Whether it was right or wrong, after self-injury, she seemed to have a floor to fall on, so she was able to withstand her terrible reality.

Although the self-harm wounded Blanche's body as well as her heart.

But until now, Blanche had faith.

The belief that if her family knew her pain, things would get better.

The hope that her family will truly love her after the long pain as much as the scars she has built up one after another.

But it seems that wasn't the case.

"Uh, my sister, ah, no… did everyone know that I was hurting myself?"

Silence came. Drip. Tears streamed down her cheeks and fell down to her chin. Blanche shook her head and asked again with a twisted expression.

"B-But no one talked to me, no one stopped me?"

There was no answer this time as well. That was enough. Her body leaned lightly behind her like a marionette whose strings were broken.

Thud!

The three of them stared blankly at the balcony in the middle of winter where the warmth had disappeared, as if they couldn't believe the scene just before.

1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds.

Mariette's scream tore the silence.

"Ahhhh! Blanche!"

The family didn't realize that Blanche fell right in front of their eyes.

Blanche became aware of her past life due to this incident.