“Let me see Juliane.”

When Alfred spoke again, Kyle shrugged his shoulders, feigning ignorance.

“I’ve told you many times before. She refuses to see you.”

Kyle’s expression contorted as he gave Alfred a wry smile. …It should’ve been a wry smile, but why did he seem so contemptuous?

“I’m aware this will come off as disrespectful, but you’ve always mistreated my sister. Your surroundings mocked her, calling her a cash cow. Did you ever protect her? No, you never even comforted her.”

While Kyle was talking, Alfred’s expression didn’t change.

“Did you think you can just shove her around as you like? That she wouldn’t budge? That she would endure no matter what?”

If she could endure that much pushing and pulling, she’d be a Yokozuna. Such a silly thought crossed my mind.

“Certainly, no matter how hard my sister tries, her appearance is so-so and her charm is subpar. Over the past years or so, she had gotten fat. As such, her breathing became rough, and her sweat slimy…”

You, how dare you say something so tactless!!

I was about to beat him up, but I decided against it. Jack had gone through a lot of trouble to sneak me here. If I was found out, it’d be all for naught.

A momentary silence ensued between the two.

Wanting to show his sincerity, Alfred came into the room without an escort. On the other hand, there stood Kyle, who acted all self-righteous, calling me “my sister this” and “my sister that.”

“—Even so, my sister isn’t just an ordinary women.”

Kyle finally spoke.

But no matter you look at it, I am just an ordinary woman? I thought to myself.

“My sister is really bad at estimating herself. She may be arrogant and prideful, but she has low self-esteem.”

A gloomy smile crept up to Kyle’s face.

“Talent, or rather, intellectual ability and looks, are something that each person is born with. It’s difficult to notice, but I think hard work also falls into this category. There are those who can do it, and those who can’t. My sister can. She can put in effort.”

No, no, no. I shook my head and waved my hands inwardly.  

It wasn’t that I was particularly outstanding in any way. I was just average in everything I did, and I didn’t have anything that’d make someone praise me and call me “amazing.”

“My sister became so skinny, haggard, and worn out. It’s all your fault. That’s why I’ll never forgive you. I can’t forgive you, ever.”

Kyle’s voice was sharp. His expression was growing increasingly sullen. It was as if he was burning with rage at the memory.

“To start with, it was your fault that she gained so much weight.”

I was so confused.

Why? Where did this overprotective younger brother come from? Was it because I nearly died? Still, it didn’t make any sense.

“I know. Everything happened because of me. Juliane always gazed straight at my back, yet I ignored her. I was too concerned with pride, reputation, and things like that.”

Alfred bowed his head slightly.

I’m really troubled. If you ask me why, I can’t really explain, but I’m really troubled.

These two handsome men, who were far more than just good-looking, were acting melodramatically with dead serious faces. The central character in all of this was me, who wasn’t even present (supposedly).

I felt so embarrassed, I wanted to scream out loud.

But for some reason, my eyes are getting hot. Why is my chest so stuffy?

I bit my lips a little. If I didn’t, I’d have cried.

Next to their thighs, their fists were clenched tightly—so much so that all four ridges at the base of their fingers turned white. It was like an old teen movie.

“Just because she’s lost weight and looks somewhat better, you started to care about her? Shouldn’t you be ashamed of yourself?”

Kyle’s voice was low and slightly menacing.

“That’s not true.”

Alfred said firmly. Kyle snorted.

“I wonder about that. No matter what you say, I can’t let you see my sister. She’s been teetering between life and death for a week, you know? Even though she’s regained consciousness, she’s still not ready to go out in public.”

No, I’m fine. Of course, I couldn’t say that out loud.

“…Okay. I’ll come back tomorrow.”

“No matter how many times you come to visit—”

Kyle paused and snorted.

“—Well, what’s impossible is impossible. Oh, she won’t be able to attend regular tea parties in the future. Or rather, why don’t we cancel them altogether?”

“I’ll refrain from asking any further, so not another word.”

Alfred shot him a sharp look.

Kyle flinched a little, but then let out a throaty laugh, saying, “What are you talking about?”

It felt as if I was about to succumb to the mysterious pressure that was swelling out of me. Both of them were supposed to have pretty intense emotional ups and downs. So what was this silence? It was, how should I put it, really scary.

Then, Alfred and Kyle left the room.

A brother who was fuming because he was worried about his stepsister, and a sincere man who just wanted to apologize.

Even though that was all, the tension between them was so cold, it made me shiver.

That was terrifying…

Jack silently slid into the reception room and led me back to my room.

I can’t do anything but wait. Whatever happens, I can only wait.

I dove into my bed, buried my face in the pillow, and kicked my legs.

Still, I never thought Kyle would support and protect his ugly, shameless stepsister to that extent. He acted so ruthlessly, like a proper head of the family, that I was a bit confused.

Hmm. I guess Kyle doesn’t want to get what he deserves from me…?

The next day, Kyle ordered the closet in the reception room at the back of the first floor to be sealed off.

Damn, Kyle. You noticed, huh? See, he’s good.

“You’ll catch a cold if you’re curled up in such a dimly lit place.”

Such was Kyle’s reasoning. Neither Jack nor I got angry. I was surprised and astonished.

He’s a really good guy. Even though that was the case, it was annoying how he didn’t seem like a completely good guy.

He looked like he was up to no good, so he seemed like a bad guy.

After that, Alfred came every day.

His stays, which only lasted a few minutes, got longer with each passing day. Ten days after I woke up, I heard that he’d been talking with Kyle for over an hour.

Ever since I woke up from my coma, I’d been suffering from minor ailments such as headaches and fatigue. Even though I should’ve been sleeping properly every day, I didn’t feel refreshed at all. I felt like my body wasn’t my own, and it made me really anxious.

Since the cause was unknown, the doctors couldn’t do anything about it.

I wonder if there were some after-effects after all… The memories from my past life are coming back to me, my brain is overloaded, and my body is also weakened.

Two weeks had passed since I woke up. I was drinking tea in my room with Sasha and the head chef. Liz was on a break, by the way.

Suddenly, my heart started to hurt. My body felt feverish. The cup slipped out of my hand. My head felt hot and dizzy, and for a second, I thought I was finally going to die.

I had said everything I wanted to say the first time, so what should I do?

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***T/N: SHE DYIN AGAIN!?

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