Chapter 1

Prologue. The woman who requested for her own imprisonment

The woman stared blankly at the ceiling above her and blinked slowly.

Out of the blue, Violet S. Everett recalled her previous life.

Truthfully, the term 'out of the blue' didn't truly encapsulate her experience of remembrance. There was an incident that served as a trigger to her memories, and that trigger was a near-death experience.

At the expense of having to go through a deathly crisis, she was given the chance to recall her previous life and could now calmly reflect on her actions. Could this perhaps be called a blessing in disguise?

As she slowly regained consciousness, Violet thought.

What is happiness? She wished to experience that, even if it was something from a distant place that she couldn't dare reach.

And so, after three days and nights of teetering between life and death, the very moment she woke up, the first thing that the ducal lady did was to visit her father.

She asked Duke Everett,

—Please confine me to the annex.

* * *

There was a tendency for human beings to pursue happiness in their lives. However, such happiness was abstract, like a mirage that one could not easily touch with one's own hands—something that one would yearn for during an entire lifetime, but could not easily reach.

It was near, and yet so impossible to catch...

"What are you even thinking, Violet?"

As she had been lost in thought, the low voice brought her back to reality. His tone sounded as if there was a surging anger threatening to burst through.

"......"

Violet did not answer his question. The reason why she came here was apparent.

Three days and nights had passed since the eldest daughter of the Everett Duchy had almost drowned in a lake.

So many people had come to visit the ducal lady after she rose again. A doctor came to examine the ducal lady's condition, a priest came to pray for her and wish her peace, and various servants also came to tend to the ducal lady. It seemed like there was no end to them.

And amongst all those people, there was one person she wished hadn't come. It was Mikhail, the eldest son of the household, Violet's older brother.

"I asked you—what were you thinking?!"

As the loud voice growled out again, Violet grimaced. She did not answer because she didn't want to deal with him, however Mikhail continued to pressure her.

This was how he was treating his younger sister, who had just come back from death's door.

Still silent, Violet sat up from the bed. She hadn't yet fully recovered, so even the smallest of movements taxed on her greatly.

"What do you mean?"

"I heard from Father that you asked him to imprison you."

"...Haa."

"What are you scheming? Are you threatening us with your life now? Are you trying to do some sort of protest under the public eye?"

"My head..."

"Are you not going to answer?!"

The conversation went around and around with no sign of a fruitful exchange.

Why was the eldest son of a ducal household acting so unrefined? Whether or not Violet was to click her tongue at his behavior, Mikhail was completely obstinate.

"I don't know what scheme you think I have. I've had a chance to realize my mistakes and reflect on myself."

"...Ha. No matter how you try to cover it up nicely, that kind of talk..."

When she gave him a proper answer, the answer that came back was still full of rage. In any case, they were empty words. She didn't care either, and so she shrugged.

"I'm tired, so could you please leave? With my current state, it's not like there's anything I can do."

"......"

"Or are you going to continue yelling and shouting in your younger sister's room in such an uncultured manner?"

"...Just you wait. Violet, whatever you're up to, you're not going to have your way."

Thus, the not-so-conversation came to an end. Mikhail left the room feeling more enraged than when he first entered through the door.

"......"

As soon as Mikhail left, Violet arranged herself in her seat, but she soon frowned at the immediate knock that followed outside the door.

They're not even giving her a break. The moment the short permission of, Come in, left her lips, two people came in. They were also familiar to her.

"S-Sister."

Fluffy pink hair fluttered behind the person who spoke along with every step she took. Her tear-soaked face looked as if she was about to cry again.

On the other hand, another person who had platinum blond hair beside the girl had a smile on his lips and an unreadable expression on his face the entire time.

Violet let out a deep sigh.

"I-I was worried about you. I'm glad that you're all safe and sound..."

The lovely young woman expressed her concern for Violet in a bell-like voice. Glad to see you're safe, she said.

How adorably she smiled with such a kind expression... that you'd think it was all just fake.

Violet calmed down as she tried to act how she usually would. On top of her body already being in this kind of condition, being agitated wouldn't do her any good.

"Why are you lying, Aileen. You don't have any use for worrying about me."

"S-Sister?"

"I'm not happy at all that you came all this way to say things like that... You must be quite absorbed in that role of yours, this ruse that you're the good sister. If you've come to me, then you must know that only spite would greet you back."

※ Hello! Yonnee here~ I've decided to pick this novel back up, but because this is a D&C novel (meaning, the publisher is extra super strict), I might be forced to drop this again in case a DMCA is sent to me. Thanks.

※ Additionally, this novel's chapters are half chapters, but they're numbered normally to make things simple. Translating involves a delicate process that requires a lot of effort, so the chapters have been divided to alleviate the workload on my part. Still, moving forward, I will post updates as often as I can to compensate for the length. Thank you for your understanding~!