Betrothed to My Sister's Ex

That day, I was furious. My little sister Marie, only four years old, had a fever. But my parents said, "You must not enter her room. The doctor said she’ll get better if she just sleeps. Just leave her be."

"That’s no excuse!"

Carrying a bucket of water, I shouted alone. She’s only four! She’s hot, she’s in pain, and she’s definitely scared being all alone!

After the water bucket, I brought in a book that Marie and I both love... The Ragged Red Cat Tale. Reading it aloud loudly, Marie smiled. I thought, thank goodness... but at that moment—

"Anastasia, what are you doing? Don’t disturb Marie’s studies!"

Grandmother Sasha hit me. She always favors Marie like this. She must hate me. But today was the first time she had ever hit me.

I didn’t cry. I was just furious and ran to Mother. Mother always praises me sweetly. I thought she would be angry at Grandmother’s punishment.

Sure enough, seeing my swollen cheek, Mother blew up.

"Marie did this!? How terrible! Even if she’s delirious from the fever—"

"It wasn’t Marie, it was Grandmother."

The moment I said that, Mother’s expression darkened.

"Sasha? …I see. …Well, it can’t be helped then…"

"...Mother?"

Why did she look away? Why wouldn’t she comfort me or kiss me?

Just then, Father came in. He doesn’t get along well with Grandmother. Surely, he would condemn her like I did...

"If Mother says so, it must be true. Indeed, Marie quickly learns what Mother teaches. She’s smart, an excellent child."

"And me? Father, I can read books in the Ips language too!"

"And what does Mother say?"

"Grandmother said... I just translate things roughly, so I disturb Marie’s studies. She called me stupid..."

Father nodded with a “hmm,” as if it were obvious, easily.

"If Mother says so, then so it is. Anastasia, you must stop reading any books at all from now on."

Then he turned his back on me.

...If I were shy and gentle like Marie, I might have quietly obeyed. But I was not convinced. I only got angrier.

—Fine. If no one will help me, I’ll fight back with my own hands! I’ll charge in! Swinging my arms and legs wildly, I stomped into Marie’s room where I had just been kicked out.

Raised as a baron’s daughter, I didn’t have much vocabulary for insults. All I knew were phrases from foreign books, from the ragged stray cat’s speech. Imagining him in my head, I opened the door and shouted,

"You damn old hag! Stop dodging the truth!"

Then—my lips were suddenly pressed shut by an index finger. It was Grandmother Sasha. Beyond her shoulder, I saw Marie sound asleep in her bed.

"She just finally fell asleep. Don’t wake her again."

"...O-Okay..."

"This is a contagious disease. Anastasia, leave the nursing to me."

Grandmother Sasha slipped silently out into the corridor and closed the door quietly. Without a word, she started walking steadily away.

I followed after her. When she returned to her room, she began some paperwork. After skimming through a large stack of papers, she signed them. I peeked at her hands out of curiosity.

"...There are many different languages here..."

"Because I send these to people in many different countries, you see."

I was surprised to get a reply.

"Grey, Gore... These are Father’s names."

"Actually, this isn’t really proper."

Without stopping her work, Grandmother said,

"Unlike official documents, it’s not illegal to write on behalf of someone else here. But writing reveals the heart of the writer. To speak in someone else’s name is disrespectful to everyone: the recipient, the person whose name is used, and the writer pretending to be someone else."

"Then why doesn’t Father do it?"

"Because people have natural strengths and weaknesses."

Her answer was both clear and unclear at the same time. Tilting my head, a hand suddenly rested on mine.

"It’s the same with sisters... Marie is earnest and honest at heart. She has excellent memory, notices things immediately if something’s off, and quickly improves. She absorbs what she’s taught and uses it efficiently."