Lovely Lady and Loser Lady

[Portia's POV]

Let me tell you a story. It is about two women from the same house with different paths of fate. Yuri and I are like the sun and its shadow. Of course, she is the sun, and I am the shadow.

I remembered how she grew up from a shy and weak little girl into the most loved girl in Tamerlaine Empire.

Of course, I envied her.

I have done everything, even changed myself into someone I don't recognize anymore, but still failed.

Nobody saw me.

Yuri was the one they looked at.

I guess I was just being Yuri's shadow for the entire time. It sucks, actually. The feeling of hate and jealousy towards Yuri led me to do things that made me regret in the end, and in return, I lost everything I had.

My closest friend, my family, my self—one by one, I have lost every single person in my life just to pursue my own hatred and jealousy towards Yuri.

The question is, did I really hate Yuri?

She is a cute, pretty, and lovable girl. She has never done wrong or upset me. She is sincere and kind to other people, even me, who always gives her a cold gaze or pushes her away because I hate seeing her kindness.

Perhaps the main problem here is with me.

"Look over there. Miss Yuri is walking on the flower field. She is like the goddess of the flower itself!"

"I know, right? She is so beautiful, even when doing nothing. No wonder she gets the title of loveliest girl in the Tamerlaine empire! Even the prince is falling in love with her!"

"How about the other one?"

"You mean that 'Loser Lady'? She is not even worth looking at. Rumour says she is doing bad things to our Miss Yuri because she is jealous of her beauty. I guess she will soon get the karma of her own deeds."

"Pssssst—she is right behind you."

Was I really all wrong about everything? Or the society that makes me become like that?

No matter what it is, they are right about me. I have done bad to Yuri, making her suffer for a long time. She does not deserve all of that. This time, I will apologize to her and protect her in my own way.

"Here, takes this grilled beef. You seem to like it." I put a slice of grilled barbeque beef on Yuri's plate. She looks surprised and widens her eyes that look like a pair of a blue crystal ball—her absolute beauty indeed passed from her biological mother, Adeline Palmerston, the current Duchess. She married my father, Anthony, when I was 4 years old and then gave birth to Yuri the following year. So, practically, Yuri is 5 years younger than me. Now, she is 8 years old.

"Why? Didn't you want the beef? Sorry, I think you will like it since you only eat the meat from today's dishes."

I am just about to take back the meat with my fork before Yuri eats it first and makes her cheeks puff up because she is chewing all the meat inside her mouth. I can not help myself not laughing when seeing her cute action. "Pffft—what is that? A little squirrel?"

Seeing me laugh, Yuri is smiling too. She looks so angelic and pure. Oh, now I am questioning myself about why I hate this little angel for something that is not her fault.

Anthony laughed wide when looking at his two precious daughters getting along well after and lifting his glass higher. "Chef, bring the best wine here! I need wine to celebrate this beautiful morning!"

"Darling, do not bring your bad habit to the breakfast table! The kids are here—" Adeline gives Anthony a warning glare, but it seems it was not working. She lets out a sigh and turns to her daughter. "You two, please do not inherit that bad habit of your father."

I turn my face away with guilt feeling. Sorry, but I have inherited that from him. My throat feels dry whenever getting stressed and ended up drinking wine to wipe all the problems inside my head. But that does not mean I can not fix that. "Of course, Father is a bad example for us. Is it right, Yuri?"

She nods with excitement. "Yes, Sister. Father is a bad example for us!"

"Gah—" Anthony gasps wide. Then, he puts down the glass and sulks. "What can I do? I do not want to be a bad example for my girls. They will hate me and do not want to marry me in the future. I feel so depressed. Help me, Darling." He turns to Adeline and asks for her help, but she pretends not to hear that.

"Darliiiiing—"

"Do not talk to me."

"What, do you hate me, sweety?"

"No, I am not."

Ugh, it is so embarrassing, even for me. I can not help looking at those two like a love-struck couple. However, Yuri looks so happy. She must have been dreaming of this rare scene a long time ago.

I was selfish back then. I never wanted to eat breakfast with all the family members whenever Yuri was there, which left a large crack in our household. However, I will not allow that to happen again. Not when I promise to keep the Palmerston household upright and being the strongest Ducal household in Tamerlaine as it should.

After improving relations with Yuri, maybe I will start to learn about the history and the economy to prepare for future problems. Suppose the timeline goes the same as my past life. In that case, some significant events will happen, making it nearly impossible for the Tamerlaine empire to survive and almost fall into ruin. Somehow, a crazy idea came up straight into my head.

"Father, can I ask you something?"

Anthony raises one of his eyebrows. "Of course, tell me whatever that you want, Portia. New dress? Jewel? Gold? A huge teddy bear? I will fulfill it for you."

I chuckle. He loves messing with me. The old me will get mad and leave the room because I feel belittled. Oh, how embarrassing is that!

"No, Father. Thanks for those kind offerings, but I would like to ask something else."

"What is that?"

"I want to join Central Academy."

Clang! The fork in Adeline's grip falls into her plate, and she gasps wide. Not only her, but Anthony also looks so surprised too. He does not even care about the wine that spills onto the table because his hand tilts unconsciously. Only Yuri stays calm at this table because she does not know about that.

Yeah, I have to admit that is a little bit shocking because the old me would never want to go to school—she thought school was for those who were cowards and did not have faith in themselves. However, I blamed myself for that irrational thinking and regretted it.

I want to enter school and become the best graduate, so I will have a scholar certificate—no one will look down on me. I will prove to them, to the people and society that always calls me with the title 'Loser Lady,' that their 'Loser Lady' was gone and replaced by me, Portia Palmerston, the first daughter of Duke Palmerston and the future Duke of this household.