At the dining table, Juliet told Frederick about the shops she visited while strolling around the castle town, what she talked about with Quentin, and how much fun she had. Meanwhile, Charlotte waited silently for the food to be brought to her.

Juliet, who was having a lively conversation, suddenly remembered something. She gave instructions to a servant who then proceeded to deliver a small bouquet of flowers to Frederick.

“This is a gift for you, Father. A girl was selling flowers, so I asked her to make a bouquet. Look, isn’t it wonderful?”

She left her work to others, casually strolled around the castle town, and bought gifts.

Being thanked and praised were all that Juliet ever thought about.

“Thank you, Julie.”

Like always, Frederick gladly received it. After all, it was a gift from his dear daughter.

The bouquet itself was simple, common, and unremarkable. In fact, it was the same bouquet as before, with the same fragrance and everything.

Your daughter just came back from playing after brushing her duties aside. How about you reprimand her a little?

In reality, he had too much of a soft spot for Juliet. He never really scolded her.

“I also have something for you, Sister!”

Prompted by those words, the servant presented Charlotte with a bouquet of flowers. They were adorable, pastel-colored flowers wrapped with a pink wrapper and ribbon.

“Can you bring it to my room?”

At those instructions, the servant bowed in agreement and left the dining room. After seeing the servant off with only her gaze, Charlotte turned to the front and saw Juliet’s eyes sparkling with anticipation.

Aah, how gross.

A younger sister who wasn’t the slightest bit aware she was being a nuisance, acted as she pleased, and played whenever she wanted.

A loathsome existence.

Dark emotions were swirling in Charlotte’s heart, but she didn’t show them. She smiled and suppressed her true feelings, which threatened to surge.

“I’ll take a proper look at it later in my room.”

“Yay!”

Charlotte didn’t thank her. Yet, Juliet fully believed her sister was happy. She never imagined that her sister might despise her.

“Let’s eat.”

By that point, Frederick must’ve received so many gifts from Juliet that it wouldn’t be strange if he got sick of them. Yet, he always treasured them. Even when he entrusted them to the servants, he reminded them to handle them with utmost care. Afterwards, he’d announce the start of dinner.

Because of Juliet’s wish for the three of them to eat together, Charlotte had to set aside time for dinner almost every day.

What a pain.

Due to work commitments—of course, referring to only Charlotte and Frederick—there were times when neither of them could attend. When Frederick was absent, Charlotte would be there for Juliet, and the opposite was also true.

Of course, it was another story if Juliet fell ill. Neither Charlotte nor Frederick wanted to dine together. Above all, Frederick would accompany Juliet when she was unwell. In those cases, Charlotte usually ate alone in her room.

Less stress that way.

Charlotte’s most taxing moment was when she and Juliet ate together. Generally, Juliet was the one who initiated the conversation. When it was only the two of them together, it fell to Charlotte to entertain her. If she acted dismissive, the waiter would tell Frederick. As a result, Charlotte had no choice but to pretend to be engrossed in the conversation.

However, when it was the three of them, Frederick took on the role of a listener for Juliet. Charlotte was honestly glad because there was less of a burden in terms of conversation. After all, she still had to be mindful of her etiquette.

“Ah!”

Perhaps distracted by Frederick and her conversation, Juliet knocked the cutlery against the edge of the plate. With a rattle, it tumbled down to the floor.

“I’m sorry.”

“Your Highness, are you hurt?”

“No, I’m fine.”

“Are you being truthful, Julie?”

“Yes, I’m okay, Father.”

The waiter immediately prepared a new knife and the meal resumed. If Juliet had been injured, there would’ve been an uproar.

Things settled down after a bit.

If Charlotte had been the one who had dropped her knife, Frederick would’ve scolded her for acting unsightly. Rather than worry about her injury, he’d have focused on her mistakes.

‘Everyone makes mistakes.’ Yet, even in such a private setting, Charlotte’s mistakes were never tolerated. As the princess and Juliet’s older sister, she shouldn’t be anything less than perfect.

Juliet looked just like the late queen that Frederick loved and cherished from the bottom of his heart. She inherited her pink hair, sky blue eyes, and facial features. Moreover, she was also frail. Thus, Frederick’s feelings inevitably leaned towards Juliet.

Although sickly, Juliet had grown stronger and no longer got sick as often. Yet, as a princess, she couldn’t do anything. There were various other roles she could’ve fulfilled if she worked hard, however, those around Juliet were satisfied if she simply showed the willingness to work hard, even if she ended up abandoning her responsibility later.

Juliet could make mistakes and abandon her duties as often as she wanted, and nobody would bat an eye.

Juliet Callista Reevesmore was definitely the second princess of the Kingdom of Lymore. The reputation of the second princess could affect the kingdom as a whole.

This environment, where she’s excused for everything just because she’s somewhat sickly, is abnormal.

Of course, there were also those who were dissatisfied with Juliet. After all, as a rightful heir to the throne and the member of a royal family, she was lacking in many aspects. But give it time, and they’d eventually grow to like and accept her.

…Well, even if there were those who remained dissatisfied, they wouldn’t cause any trouble. The king of this kingdom, his vassals, and all the influential figures were all in favor of Juliet. As such, neither aristocrats nor servants dared deny her. Only an extreme buffoon would insult the king’s beloved daughter.

Even those with common sense and who weren’t fooled by her excuses of being frail favored Juliet.

As long as the man named Frederick existed, their expectations for Charlotte were no different from anyone else’s.

Juliet’s enemies weren’t necessarily Charlotte’s allies.

No matter what happened in that kingdom, Frederick Chester Reevesmore’s presence was too great.

After the meal, which could only be described as a kind of torture, Charlotte was able to return to her room.

Away from Frederick and Juliet, her heart was at peace. At last, she was freed from that suffocating space.

As she walked towards the chair, feeling a bit more relaxed, she saw something on a table and her stomach lurched.

A certain present that she’d completely forgotten about was forcibly making its existence known when it was just a nuisance.

Charlotte remained silent for a while, staring at the bouquet with disgust, and then slowly reached out for it. She looked at the cutely arranged bouquet as if it were an insect. Then—

—Smack!

She stomped on the bouquet as hard as she could. She swung her right foot down over and over again, crushing the bouquet with her weight.

Just scatter and disappear.

A few minutes later, as she looked down at what was left of the bouquet, Charlotte regained her senses.

Did I go too far?

Rather than feeling bad for Juliet, it was because she had made a mess in her room. Maybe she did feel a bit guilty for the flowers.

When she called for a maid, she came right away. Upon seeing the trampled bouquet of flowers, she gasped.

“I accidentally dropped it and stepped on it. Could you please clean it up? Please get rid of my shoes, as well.”

“Understood…”

She removed her shoes, the soles of which were soiled with leaves, and gave them to the maid.

A bouquet of flowers that was too tattered to have been accidentally stepped on, and shoes with the remains of flowers on them. The maid sensed that something was off, but she changed her mind when she saw the smile on Charlotte’s face.

“Please don’t tell Juliet. It’ll only make her sad.”

“Yes, I understand.”

That fake smile of a thoughtful older sister could fool even Frederick. Not like the maid could see through her true feelings, which were pitch-black, anyway.

As expected, the maid was easily fooled. The woman probably came to a conclusion that since it was a gift from Juliet, Charlotte couldn’t have done such a terrible thing on purpose. Afterwards, the maid quickly finished her cleaning and left the room.

Even Charlotte’s maid favored Juliet. She might have been proud of the fact that she served the princess, but that was about it. Charlotte had lost to Juliet. Although she wasn’t inferior in ability, she had been sorely defeated.

In fact, Charlotte had thrown in the towel a long time ago. She didn’t have the necessary charm to surpass Frederick and Juliet. She was less skilled at manipulating people’s hearts than those two.

Charlotte herself was distrustful of others, and never opened up to anyone.

She looked around the room.

There were several vases filled with flowers in her room. They were all gifts from Juliet, gifts that didn’t reflect Charlotte’s tastes in any way, but instead those of Juliet. In fact, the same went for the chairs, tables, curtains, jewelry, and everything else.

I want to crush all of them under my heels.

It must’ve been because she had crushed the bouquet with all her might that the smell of the leaves and stems were stronger than usual.

---

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***T/N: Even the waiter is on it too!? What business does she have!? Why does she need to inform the king about it?!?!

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