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Chapter Two: Iora and Wellmy
A month had passed since Wellmy began living at the Ormirages’ secondary residence, and today, Iora was visiting her for the first time.
“Wellmy?” Iora suddenly said as she combed her sister’s hair, a bright smile on her face.
“What is it, dear sister?” Wellmy asked, meeting her gaze in the mirror.
Ah... Iora is as radiant as ever today! she thought. The gorgeous gown her sister had worn to that fateful engagement party had suited Iora perfectly, but her neat and tidy everyday clothes made her look radiant in their own right. Wellmy couldn’t take her eyes off her.
Having received permission to temporarily manage the Ernest territory, Iora had moved back into what had once been their parents’ home, much to Wellmy’s dismay. She didn’t trust anyone in that house save for Orea and Gordley, so she would have preferred her sister to stay with her. Aides had ordered Iora to dismiss every other staff member and had temporarily assigned a few of his own servants to work at the Ernest estate—including two of his secretaries, both extremely talented—and assist with her duties. Leo had also appointed an inspector he trusted to help Iora manage her domain. Under these conditions, Wellmy had reluctantly agreed to let her sister go. In truth, eighty percent of her reluctance was that she had wanted the two of them to stay together.
Е nǔm ă
“Are you enjoying your life here?” Iora asked.
Wellmy’s face flushed at this. She had spent the last month being spoiled rotten at the hands of Aides.
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He had denied her request to leave the mansion, claiming that the time still wasn’t right, but spent every moment of his free time with her. He never touched her in that way, though.
Every morning without exception, he would take her in his arms and shower her with kisses, from the top of her head to the back of her neck. Then, he would hand-feed her breakfast.
After he left for work, Wellmy’s maids would bathe and dress her before sending her off to her lessons. Each day, a teacher would arrive to spend some time (all right, maybe a little longer than “some time”) drilling—ahem, instructing Wellmy on various subjects: how to behave like a proper lady, how to manage a household and a territory, and so on.
Once lessons were over, it was time for lunch and a nap. The servants would wake Wellmy with some sweets, and afterward, she was free to spend the rest of the afternoon however she pleased.
E nŭ m a
Aides either worked at the Ministry of Magic or in his home office. The second he was done with his duties, he would find Wellmy, lift her in his arms, and sit her on his lap, showering her with more affection. During dinner, he taught her proper table manners to prepare her for dinners with the royal family and foreign dignitaries.
Then, after Wellmy took another bath and changed into her nightgown, the two of them would play board games or chat while Aides enjoyed his nightcap before heading to bed. Some nights, Aides would use that time to lavish affection on Wellmy again.
It went without saying that Wellmy couldn’t refuse any of his advances. Whenever she claimed it was too embarrassing or stubbornly resisted, Aides would remind her of that stupid promise she’d made.
“Aren’t you supposed to do anything I ask of you?” he would tease.
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A-And always with that amused smile of his!
Wellmy’s head drooped as she imagined her fiancé’s sadistic smirk. He was constantly making her do things she was ashamed of, to the point she’d started to wonder whether he truly loved her or simply enjoyed toying with her. Even now, she couldn’t bear it when Aides demanded that she kiss him herself. Her cheeks burned at the mere thought of it.
Е_n̈ ūm̆ а . і̄d̊
Recently, he had taken to having Wellmy sit with him in his home office, where he would assign her little tasks. Then, he would constantly give her these saccharine compliments as she worked, with that infuriating smirk plastered on his face.
“You’re adorable.”
“Seeing your handwriting is enough to alleviate my fatigue.”
“I like it when you’re stubborn. Don’t ever change.”
“That barrette I gave you suits you so well, it makes me want to push you down right here and now.”
Etcetera, etcetera.
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“Wellmy?”
Iora’s voice brought her back to reality.
What did her sister think, seeing her sit there in silence while her face reddened?
“I-It’s stifling!” She choked out the words, her head hanging low.
Iora nodded, a bright smile on her lips. “You seem happy. I’m glad.”
Had she misheard Wellmy’s response?
Е̊ n̂ um̀ а̊_
“I just said it’s stifling! Are you even listening to me?!”
“I am. And I’m looking at you too,” Iora said as she resumed combing her sister’s hair, apparently in a good mood.
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Wellmy groaned. Wh-Why is she acting like she knows everything?!
Despite all her complaining, Wellmy had the self-awareness to recognize that she didn’t hate her current life. It was just embarrassing. Very, very embarrassing.
Yet, Aides never pushed her to do anything she would truly hate. If she had to be completely honest, she was so happy that it almost frightened her. Today had been no exception.
Once she’d learned that Iora would be visiting, a mix of anxiousness and excitement had bubbled within her. She knew that her sister loved her as much as she did, but the two of them hadn’t had a proper conversation in years.
Е̌ ṅ.um̈а
Her fears were unfounded. Iora hadn’t changed in the slightest since they were children.
Just like she used to back then, when Wellmy would grab her hand and drag her off to play, Iora loved to fuss over her little sister, gentle and demure as ever. Relief washed over Wellmy as she took in Iora’s face and didn’t see any hint of fatigue. She clearly wasn’t as busy as she’d been when their father had had her and Gorley manage his territory alone.
No—the one who had changed, who couldn’t be honest with her feelings, was Wellmy.
“Iora?” This time, it was her turn to call her sister’s name.
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“Yes, Wellmy?”
“Um... What do you like about Leo?”
W e b́n о̄ v́ ӗl Е ǹ úm̃ а̄
Wellmy had heard from Aides, as well as from Iora earlier that day, that Leo had gone through great pains to help her sister. She’d always had an inkling that the prince hadn’t just stood idly by while Iora suffered, but she had wanted to hear it from her.
“What do I like about him? Oh, that’s a difficult question...” Iora said, pressing her hands against her cheeks and cocking her head to the side.
“I see. He has so little charm that you can’t even think of one good quality about him.”
Iora chuckled at Wellmy’s biting remark. “It’s actually the opposite. I like everything about him.”
Wellmy was aware that she was the one who had asked in the first place, but she wasn’t satisfied with her sister’s answer. The radiant smile on Iora’s face and her slightly flushed cheeks made it clear that she was telling the truth.
“He’s a kind, impartial, and diligent man, but he also has this slightly childish side. It’s adorable.”
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“Adorable...?” Wellmy repeated, frowning.
Isn’t it rude to call a grown man “adorable”? she wondered.
But Iora’s next words only deepened the creases between her eyebrows: “Yes, adorable. He’s a bit like you in a way—clever, but a little needy.”
“D-Don’t lump me in with him!”
“Of course, you’re not entirely the same.” Iora poked Wellmy’s puffed out cheeks, as if to say, This is exactly what I’m talking about.
Impartial. Kind. Yet childish.
W̄ӗ b̌nо v̌el Е̄ ń üm̃a
Wellmy thought back on a conversation she’d had with Leo one day at school. It had been a little before Iora’s overall aura had changed, and that constant sad, pained look had faded from her face.
That day, Leo had approached her with a reluctant expression. “Hey, you. Want to come to my salon?” he’d asked. “Iora’s there.”
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“Why would I?”
“Ah, but just so you know, I’m not inviting Arvine,” Leo had added, sidestepping the question.
“Well,” Wellmy had begun after a brief pause, “why would I choose to spend time with a coward and people I can’t stand?”
Needless to say, she had refused his invitation.
E ň ũḿ a . і ḋ
Thinking back on it, it had likely been Leo’s attempt to reconnect the two sisters. He must’ve known that Wellmy and Iora hadn’t actually been on bad terms.
Wellmy had sensed it back then, but had purposefully chosen not to pursue that line of thought. After all, her main goal at the time had been to keep Iora as far away from Arvine as possible.
The real reason, however, was that she had been unable to bear to acknowledge that her sister had uncovered her plan. The thought had terrified her. Because it would’ve meant that Iora didn’t hold a grudge against her. That she didn’t hate her. And if that had been the case, then Wellmy’s doom would have saddened her.
In truth, Wellmy had wanted to accept Leo’s invitation. Even though he hadn’t seemed thrilled about the prospect of having her—his enemy—around, he had gone out of his way to invite her. Yet at that moment, she had pretended not to notice his kindness.
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“Why do you hate Leo so much?” Iora asked.
“It’s just...”
Е̂_n̄ umă .і̌ d.
The old Wellmy likely wouldn’t have given an honest answer to Iora’s question. But after weeks of being pampered by Aides, who had stripped away her masks one by one, she had learned how to be vulnerable. She now understood the beauty of expressing her feelings openly.
So she said it. “I don’t want him to steal you from me...”
Sending her sister off to be married to Aides hadn’t bothered her. After all, the lord of magic would’ve only accepted to take her as his wife if he had something to gain from it. Before Aides revealed that he had been aware of her plan all along, Wellmy had assumed he’d been after her sister’s intellect.
But she had always been acutely aware that Leo’s feelings for Iora weren’t driven by self-interest. She knew that he would steal her sister’s heart with those piercing eyes that saw to the depths of a person’s soul and that straightforward attitude that sought no glory or reward.
That was why she hated him.
Iora’s eyes widened at Wellmy’s selfish remark. The next instant, a beautiful smile bloomed on her face as she wrapped her arms around her little sister from behind.
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“Leo said the exact same thing.” She chuckled.
“I told you not to lump me in with him,” Wellmy protested weakly.
“He said that he couldn’t win against you. Listen, Wellmy: You and Leo are both very precious to me. You’ve always been, and you will always be.”
Wellmy softly gripped the skirt of her dress.
“Iora?”
“Yes?”
Е̄ n ü m̌ а́ . і d̂
Mustering her courage, she finally asked her sister the question she had always been too scared to voice.
“When we first met...what did you think of me?”
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All this time, she had felt like she shouldn’t ask that question. Iora had barely lost her mother when her father had welcomed his mistress and illegitimate daughter into his home. Wellmy was the living proof of Savarin’s betrayal, and she had always feared that was how her sister saw her. Of course, now she knew that Savarin hadn’t actually fathered either of them.
Iora let go of Wellmy and, with an awkward little smile, clutched her mother’s pendant, which hung from her neck.
“I thought, ‘What an adorable little girl.’”
“What...?”
Wе̂ b̃ n ov̈ еl̀ Ӗnǔ m а̄
“I was nervous at first...and also sad to learn that he had betrayed my mother. But then, I saw the way your eyes sparkled when you looked at me. Do you remember, Wellmy?”
“Wow...! You’re so pretty! You look just like a princess! Are you my new sister?!”
That was the very first thing Wellmy had said when she’d laid eyes on Iora.
“I immediately thought that the two of us would become friends—I wanted to become your friend.” Iora paused, then added, “Wellmy, even if we’re not related by blood, you are and will always be my precious little sister.”
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Wellmy felt her eyes burn at her sister’s kind words. The next moment, tears ran down her cheeks.
※※※
Е̂n ũ m ă
I gently embraced my crying sister from behind and stroked the top of her head.
Do you realize just how much you have done for me?
Wellmy probably didn’t have the slightest idea of how important she was to me.
Losing my mother at such a young age had left me with a broken heart.
Because of it, I must’ve been quite precocious compared to other children my age. Adults would call me “clever,” but I’d never liked that word. I hadn’t been clever: I’d simply felt like I had to grow up faster than others. And that had been the case ever since my mother had learned that she didn’t have much time left.
But you, Wellmy, helped me become a cheerful and carefree child again.
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I still remembered your vermilion eyes brimming with curiosity, restlessly darting around, looking for new adventures. How your platinum blonde hair glowed under the sun as you grabbed my hands and beamed at me, your expression full of love.
“My pretty sister!”
“My wonderful sister!”
“My gentle sister!”
Back then, you’d praised me over and over.
You were like an angel, Wellmy.
Е̂ṅ u m̊ a .і̃d̀
While I was devastated to have lost my mother, your presence by my side softened the blow. I only started to feel the pain when you couldn’t be with me anymore.
I was sad when those people who called themselves our parents stole my mother’s pendant from me and gave it to you. But even more than that, I couldn’t bear to see the shock on your face. The thought of the wound it had inflicted on your soft, innocent heart filled me with worry.
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Wellmy... I was aware of your plan all along—and it was unbearably painful.
I felt a pang in my heart every time I saw the sorrow in your eyes when you’d try to do something for me—whenever you made those cruel suggestions with that innocent face of yours.
I wanted to tell you that you didn’t have to try so hard, that I was fine.
The more desperate you became, the more that mask you wore took over.
Ên̆ u.m̄а. і̊ d̊
Seeing you lose your true smile was the hardest thing of all. It hurt more than the hunger I felt after being forced to go without food, more than the beatings I received for making mistakes, more than any of Savarin’s attempts on my life.
On the surface, you played the role of a crafty, vicious villainess, yet your true self—your desire to protect me—would occasionally break through.
Only when Arvine nullified our engagement did a bright smile finally grace your face. But the only time I saw your true smile in the last several years was when I left for Lord Aides’s estate.
The idea of running away without you was unthinkable. I knew I had to go, but it tore at me from the inside.
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Still, I went, because I knew that it was what you wanted. Had that not been the case, I would not have left your side for even a moment.
Wellmy...to tell you the truth, at first, I had been planning to use Leo. I wonder how you’d look at me if you knew this.
Е nu m а
When I met him behind the school, my first thought was that I should find a way to catch his eye and make him fall in love with you. That way, you could be free from Arvine. I also contemplated playing for sympathy and using his money to improve my appearance so that Arvine would set his sights on me again.
You seduced a man you hated for my sake, Wellmy. I refused to stay idle while you did all of the dirty work.
But I immediately realized that I couldn’t put such a plan into motion.
Unlike Arvine, Leo actually saw me for who I was, and I don’t just mean my purple eyes. He saw the real me, the one hidden under that skin you’d put on me for my own protection.
He had a beautiful heart, just like you do—and he wanted to help me.
I was weak, Wellmy. What if you noticed that I took advantage of such a kind boy to further my own agenda? I couldn’t shake the feeling that it would sadden you, that you’d be disappointed in me—and it terrified me.
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I hesitated a lot. If I didn’t proceed with my initial plan, it would take me even longer to save you. Was I making the right decision by choosing to trust Leo?
I could only persevere because you were there, Wellmy. I was never as kind and talented as people believed me to be, unlike you, doing everything you could to save me. You were a much better person than I could ever be.
I still mustered the courage to ask Leo and the others to help me save you, but we couldn’t make our move right away. Your situation weighed on my mind so heavily that, when Leo confessed his feelings to me, I wasn’t able to reciprocate his affection. Not that I wasn’t attracted to him—quite the opposite, actually—but I simply couldn’t bear the thought of basking in happiness while you suffered.
I came up with the idea of using your own plan to help you when I saw you fall under the lord of magic’s charm at our débutante ball. I immediately understood that you would try to arrange an engagement between us.
Knowing how much you cared about me, if you determined that he was the kind of person to whom you could entrust me, he must’ve been a good man—a man who could love you, my wonderful Wellmy, the most in the entire world. And you would love him just as much.
That was when I resolved myself to our conjoined happiness. If I were going to be happy, then we would be happy together, my dear little sister. Because I loved you just as much as you loved me.
E̊nu̇ m̃ă. і d́
Today I was so glad that we could finally laugh and smile together at last.
As I made my way to the gate, the adorable words you had offered me as you saw me off echoed through my mind.
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“Iora... May you be happy with Leo.”
“What about you, Wellmy? Are you happy now?” I’d asked.
Your vermilion eyes had glanced up at the lord of magic beside you before you, my adorable Wellmy, had nodded in response.
Everything would be fine now.
Еn̈ um ӓ
The mage lord had been able to do in an instant what had always been impossible for me—remove that haughty mask from your face and shower you with affection.
You had a gift for seeing the true nature of people, Wellmy. And I was glad that the mage lord had found you. I could safely entrust you to him.
Your maid escorted me to the gate, where Leo was waiting for me. He gave me a little wave, and I— Oh, Wellmy, I know that it wasn’t proper, but I couldn’t help myself; I hugged him.
“I-Iora?” he stammered, his cheeks reddening slightly and a look of confusion appearing on his face.
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I smiled at him, the man I loved.
“You’ll always be my big sister too, Iora,” you had told me earlier as tears rolled down your cheeks. You couldn’t even begin to imagine how happy these words made me, Wellmy.
W̄е̄ b ṅ о̊ v̀е̃l̃ Е̌ n̆ û mӑ
The tears of relief I’d been holding all this time spilled from my eyes at last.
“Wh-What’s wrong? Did something happen?” Leo asked.
“Mm... Leo?”
“Yeah?”
“Wellmy has given her blessing for our relationship.”
Leo blinked at my words. He had a tendency to do this—blink repeatedly whenever he didn’t quite understand something.
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After a moment, the realization dawned on him, and he broke out in a grin.
“Is it true?! Iora!” he exclaimed, returning my embrace.
“Yes, it is.”
“May you be happy with Leo.”
“I’m sorry for making you wait all this time,” I added.
“Eh, what’s a measly four years?”
Eṅ ü m̀а
“It’s still a long time,” I retorted. “Thank you, Leo.”
Years ago, I had told Leo that I wouldn’t be able to reciprocate his feelings until Wellmy was happy. He promised that he would wait for me—and he did.
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As the two of us sat beside each other in the carriage, our fingers interlaced, I spoke to him again.
“Leo?”
“Yeah?”
“Even if His Majesty were to approve of you taking me as your wife, there will be many people who will think that I’m not good enough for you.”
W еb̊nо́vе́l Ēñ ù ṁа
After all, I was the daughter of a former count, and the current head of a house that was about to be destroyed. On top of that, I would be seen as “damaged goods” in the eyes of noble society, as I’d had two former fiancés break their engagements to me, didn’t have the backing of any high-ranking noble, and had no advantages to offer the royal family.
Leo had done the thing that his father had warned him against: He’d “lost his mind to romance.”
It was likely that some nobles would deem me unfit to become queen.
Leo’s lips curled into a daring smile when he heard my concerns.
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“But you don’t have any intention of losing to these people, do you?” he asked, his eyes soft. “I don’t either.”
I couldn’t help but grin. He understood me so well. “I don’t. That’s why, I’m, um...thinking of accepting the mage lord’s proposition.”
Ëńŭ mа.і̄ d
He had offered to grant me admission to the International Magic Research Institute, whose biggest supporter was House Ormirage. It was an independent transnational organization established by the Magical Society and was at the forefront of magical research.
The lord of magic had honored his promise to Wellmy: He had offered me his support by offering me a place where I could make the most of my slightly above average talent for magic.
“If I manage to produce good work there, the Magical Society will grant me the qualifications of Elite International Mage.”
That rank was right below the highest title, Archmage, and would grant me a position equivalent to that of a countess. Aides had promised to then look for adoptive families among high-ranking nobles that wished to have connections with elite mages and the royal family. If there weren’t any, he would take me in as a member of House Ormirage.
“But it’s going to take a while, isn’t it?” Leo asked.
“Well... The graduation thesis that I submitted under Wellmy’s name—the one about reducing magical strain—was officially certified as mine the other day, remember? The academic society has already approved of my paper, so if I repurpose what we were secretly practicing at the salon, I might be able to move on to practical tests right away.”
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All members of the salon Leo had created at the noble academy had been brilliant individuals. There had even been professors there, with whom I’d had great discussions. I had yet to put most of the things I had tested at the salon in writing. The illusion spell I had come up with to replicate the effects of Leo’s ancient transformation item was one such idea.
Leo and Wellmy were the ones who had screened the people who could attend the salon; it was only natural that they would all be outstanding.
“I could never thank you and Wellmy enough...”
Now, I could make that spell I had developed into a magic item myself. If House Ormirage and Karla’s family agreed to lend me their support to arrange distribution channels and production facilities, I would have a rock-solid system to ensure its success.
“I hope the others will agree to grant part of the property rights we’d have over the items to the royal family. It would make things move along a lot smoother, but...”
“None of the salon’s members will dispute your decision if you go through with that. You were the one leading the project from the start.”
Ėn u m̊.а̂
“Do you really think so...?”
My father had always taken credit for everything I achieved as if they were his own accomplishments, so I wasn’t very familiar with how these matters worked. My friends all told me that my self-esteem was too low, but I still wasn’t sure I truly understood what they meant.
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“Everything will be all right, Iora. Just keep doing what you want to do. I’ll be here to help with whatever you can’t. I’ve got power and influence; may as well use them while we can,” Leo said with a chuckle.
Reassured, I nodded and scooted a little closer to him.
Just like you, Wellmy, Leo likely didn’t realize just how much he’d done for me.
