Slowly, Juliet lifted her head. Charlotte was looking down at her, her eyes still as cold as ever.

“What are you talking about…?”

“Deep down, you realize you aren’t good enough, so you feel inferior to me. Yet shockingly, you still refuse to put in any effort.”

It was a cold, ridiculing, and dismissive tone.

“You seem to think that as long as you’re proactive with acts of charity, you’re fulfilling your obligations as a princess. Don’t you know? There’s a difference between doing something just because you can and doing it because it’s your only option. You’re a spoiled, flawed princess.”

Charlotte was making her disdain toward Juliet clear.

This wasn’t the “older sister” that Juliet knew.

“My sister… isn’t like this… Someone must’ve, said something to you… Yes, you’re being deceived…”

Juliet muttered to herself, trying to find something to blame so she could escape reality. As expected of the happiest princess in the kingdom, who had always been sheltered from unpleasant things.

She’s just too fragile.

Charlotte sighed in exasperation, and Juliet was taken aback.

“That man… His Imperial Highness is deceiving my sister and manipulating her to get what he wants! We’ve always been on bad terms, so he must think our kingdom is in the—”

“—Shut up.”

Juliet was running her mouth, acting as if she’d found a clue to the solution, but Charlotte interrupted her. Her voice was lower than intended, which made Juliet’s shoulders jump in fear.

Everything Juliet said and did was so annoying!

“Your short-sighted thinking never disappoints. He’s not nice to you, so he’s enemy. Even now, you’re still trying to shift the blame, you really piss me off.”

Juliet wasn’t bright. That was why her thoughts were sometimes hard to read, but she also had parts there were easy to predict.

Of course she’d name Ethelbert as the culprit.

“Assume everything you don’t like is caused by someone you don’t like is easy. Indeed, you can distort the truth and reach a convenient conclusion if various conditions are met, such as when the other person agree to it, or evidence is suppressed by someone in power.”

It has happened a lot recently—inconvenient truths were covered up for the sake of the kingdom. It’s not uncommon.

“I won’t let that happen this time. You’re falsely accusing someone, some compassionate princess you are.”

“But that’s… I’ll never, such a thing…”

“You called him a vicious criminal who plotted treason. What part of that isn’t an accusation? Those who instigated it will be punished, since it’s a crime.”

As Ethelbert was an accomplice, it couldn’t be said that he had nothing to do with it. However, Charlotte had initially intended to create this situation without his cooperation. The preparations were simply made faster using magic.

“Open your eyes to reality, Juliet. None of this would’ve happened without you.”

“…Me?”

“Indeed. The spoiled younger sister who was coddled endlessly by her father and never made any effort. Meanwhile, the older sister was neglected and had to clean up all of your messes. You were the one who got spoiled and threw out the opportunity to grow, weren’t you? You foolishly abandoned your role, without any regard to those who’d have to clean up after you. This is something that you brought about.”

“I-I just…”

Charlotte knelt to meet the gaze of the pale, trembling Juliet.

“It was your words and actions that pushed me to betray my kingdom. You did it over and over again. Unfortunately, since it was unintentional, you can’t be held responsible in the slightest. How unfortunate, indeed.”

A gentle voice penetrated Juliet’s ears, it permeated her entire body, and seeped into her heart.

Juliet began to wonder if she should be judged like this.

“No, no… Not like this…”

“Do your best from now on. As the only princess, you can no longer run away from your responsibilities. You can’t just play around. You’ll have to suffer the pain of being constantly compared to me and His Majesty—even more so than I have.”

“…Ah…”

“Besides, the royal family will inevitably be criticized by the people. The twisted truth of the royal family up until now, along with your decadence, will be made public. If you step outside, a storm of abuse will await you. I wonder if you’ll be able to stand it?”

The corners of Charlotte’s mouth twisted into a grin as her eyes narrowed like a crescent moon.

“For the first time, I’ve had fun talking to you.”

In other words, Charlotte had never felt any enjoyment speaking to her in the past. Of course, this conversation had been anything but pleasant to Juliet.

“I hate you, Juliet. For so long, I’ve had no choice but endure the urge tear you apart. Your smile, your voice, everything about you is so annoying, so much so that I want to kill you.”

Contrary to what was being said, the voice that reached Juliet was calm and gentle. It was a voice that Juliet had always found to be reassuring and reliable. Yet now, somehow, Juliet’s heart was beating loud and fast. She was trembling uncontrollably.

No one had ever said they wanted her to die. She had never imagined she could be hated that much, or that she’d be subjected to such malice upfront.

Everyone had always been gentle to Juliet. Her world was filled with kindness, so she had never known a world where such dark and terrifying emotions existed.

Juliet could no longer recognize her older sister. She’d seen Charlotte many times—she’d always wanted to spend time with her. But now, she wanted nothing more than to go somewhere far away, out of her reach, where she’d never have to see her again.

An older sister who’d fluently speak such cruel words, with the clear intention of hurting her, was an impossibility to her.

Juliet’s thoughts were divided between the reality she wanted to deny and the fantasy she wanted to believe in. She felt confused, and above all, terrified. Tears welled up in her eyes; her vision distorted with sadness and fear.

Regardless, Charlotte didn’t stop. She stabbed Juliet with her words mercilessly, as if unleashing all her accumulated pain.

“Aah, seeing your face so full of despair makes me so happy. Feel ashamed as a spoiled sister, and be crushed by your powerlessness and inadequacies as a princess. Let it be known to the world what a failure you are. It’s not hard, that’s the only way you can be a good sister.”

The beautiful, capable, kind woman who was supposed to be Juliet’s sister, was indeed very beautiful. In fact, Charlotte seemed happier than Juliet had ever seen her. However, she wore a cruel, merciless, and clear smile as she shattered Juliet’s heart and threw it to the depths of earth.

“In truth, I don’t really care. But I never expected much from you to begin with, so it’s a compromise. I’ve sacrificed so much for you, after all. You can grant me at least one of my wishes, right?”

There was no doubt that everything she had heard in this cell were her sister’s true feelings. Not a single lie was spoken.

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