3.2 Charlotte: Chapter 1, Episode 2
“Sister!”
When Juliet spotted Charlotte, she trotted over. Quentin followed suit, looking flustered.
“Your Highness Juliet, please refrain from running as it is dangerous.”
“I’m not a child anymore!”
Quentin knitted his eyebrows in annoyance as Juliet puffed her cheeks. Charlotte coldly stared at the two. She could tell at a glance how close they were.
Even though she’s really just a child.
Charlotte wished it were a joke, however, Juliet clearly wanted to be taken seriously.
“Hey, Sister, I’m going to take a stroll around the castle town. Would you like to come with me?”
After school, unless Juliet was feeling sick, she always took a detour somewhere before heading home. She’d drink tea at a café in the castle town and go shopping. Despite being a princess, she never had to go straight home to fulfil her duties.
…And every time Juliet spotted Charlotte, she always invited her.
As always, what followed was as Charlotte expected.
“Your Highness Juliet, Her Highness Charlotte has to return to the royal castle and assist His Majesty, so please do not cause any trouble.”
Quentin would gently turn Juliet down without even asking for Charlotte’s opinion. For him, that was just how it was going to be.
Regardless, even if he had asked for her opinion, she would have most likely refuse. After all, strolling around the castle town with Juliet would have just been a complete waste of time.
If you have the energy for a leisure stroll around the castle town, study some history.
No, not just the history of the country and the world, but please do some self-introspection while you’re at it.
As a member of the royal family, Juliet didn’t seem to have any pride because she never tried to do anything about her shortcomings.
“But it’s just once in a while…”
“No, you can’t. She’s busy, please understand.”
Why does Quentin seem so apologetic? Charlotte wondered for the umpteenth time.
Quentin knew Charlotte’s schedule. He was well aware that she had a lot of work to do, that no matter how much Juliet begged, she wouldn’t budge as she was stuck with work.
“Alright, I understand. In that case, Quentin will accompany me, right?”
“I have work, too—”
“Quentin is also busy…?”
Furthermore, when it came to work, Quentin wouldn’t hesitate to leave Charlotte behind. Yet, for some reason, he always compromised with Juliet. In fact, even Frederick, the guards, and the servants would bend over backwards for Juliet.
It only took Quentin a few seconds to relent to Juliet.
“Alright, but we have to return right away.”
“Thank you, Quentin!”
Juliet was overjoyed, and Quentin in turn smiled sweetly at her.
It’s the same flow as usual.
Quentin wasn’t only Charlotte’s fiancée, but also her secretary. However, he seemed to prioritize being Juliet’s partner over any of that. Frederick had given permission to prioritize anything that involved Juliet as much as possible. Therefore, unless Quentin’s work was significantly hampered, Frederick most likely wouldn’t object.
If there was someone who’d have to bear the consequences, it’d be Charlotte.
Due to Quentin’s absence, the work that was to be given to Charlotte was delayed. If Charlotte didn’t complete her work on time, she’d suffer Frederick’s wrath.
Frederick would reprimand her, telling her not to be lazy when her tasks were so trivial. After all, it wasn’t like Quentin was gone all day.
If there was someone to blame, it’d be Charlotte. Not Quentin or Juliet for shirking their duties.
How unreasonable can someone be?
When Charlotte turned on her heels and walked to her carriage, Juliet noticed and called out to her.
“Sister! See you again at dinner!”
Juliet’s smile was certainly adorable. However, to Charlotte, it was just a malicious smile.
Instead of replying, Charlotte hopped into the royal carriage that was parked right in front of the gate. Once the driver drove the carriage, Charlotte could finally breath.
Why do I have to work so hard?
Despite thinking it was foolish, she still saw to all the tasks. She completed the extra work left by Juliet and aced her exams. On the surface, she still performed everything meticulously, without breaking a sweat.
If she was a kind older sister, if she was an excellent heir, would father treat her with a bit more kindness?
Would she be accepted as his daughter, or at least a member of the family?
Once, she had such faint hopes. However, they were dashed a long time ago.
No matter how good her results were, they were just the bare minimum to those around her. As a princess, it was only a given that she achieved such a feat.
Her efforts would never be acknowledged.
Regardless, Charlotte had no choice but to remain there as the crown princess.
Now, the only thing she spent her days thinking about was to not become a ruler like that man.
Besides ascending the throne, Charlotte wasn’t allowed to do anything in this kingdom.
At times, she’d had the urge to give up on everything.
Is there any point in holding back? Any point in trying to force myself to meet everyone’s expectations?
Even though she always had doubts in her mind, she went on with her life as usual.
***T/N: Quentin was so afraid that Little Doll (Courtesy to Andrain) would trip over and shatter like Tweedle Dee
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It’s kinda messed up how the mc’s whole issue with her sister seems to boil down to “this young girl gets to act her age and gets treated excessively well by others while I’m abused and overworked. She should also get abused like me!”. Neither of them should be worked to death, made to memorize all of everything by age 12, and refused any free time. Even putting aside the whole ‘noble privilege/responsibility’ aspect of things, this is way too much put on her with a unnecessarily toxic living/working environment owing to her parents, but she’s directing all her anger at someone with zero power over her life and situation and who doesn’t deserve the treatment the mc gets either. Her sister is basically still a child, and while she does get spoiled, she doesn’t get to decide how her parents raise either of them or directly control how others think of her. And by being raised like this she’s also being set up for failure in life by their shitty parents. The sister thus far hasn’t done a single thing to harm her sister other than exist and not be the target of the worst her parents have to offer like she has.
TLDR: The mc is a victim of an abusive home life, but just because she’s taking out all her anger on her sister in her mind doesn’t mean we have to. When it comes to how she thinks about her sister you should keep in mind she’s a young girl who isn’t a totally reliable narrator, and I’d argue one effect of that is that her sister is being made out to be a villainess when from what we’ve been told/show her primary ‘crime’ here for the mc is that she isn’t also abused.
I mean, I think something important to remember about a villainess story is that the MC doesn’t have to be right. It might be that the younger sister 100% isn’t at fault, but our MC doesn’t have to care about fault, but blame if that makes sense? If the younger sister has what the older sister wants, even if it’s the father screwing up, the older sister can be mad at her. Blame often isn’t just about “you deserve it” but “you benefited from it and never said anything”
Don’t worry, the sister’s sins will be revealed in the last chapter.
As Charlotte will say to her abusers: “The traitor before you is the end result of 13 years of your dilligent work”
Ugh my blood pressure already went up several points. How much of this crap will they shove onto us before the face slapping begins?
What sort of amazing moves does our Princess take to burn this worthless state to the ground?
Also, I do feel honored my nickname stuck a bit. I just wonder if she’s aware of her ignorance?