Is Clara blind?

Out of style glasses, weird clothes that didn’t seem to fit, the stench of cheap perfume, and even touchy behavior.

With this man in front of me, who looked suspicious at first glance, I began to seriously question Clara’s taste.

“Mr. Heinz, this is my younger sister.”

“Hello, I’m Clara’s sister, Ciel.”

‘You can’t be rude to your sister’s partner on your first meeting, no matter how bad or untrustworthy they are.’

I began by lifting my skirt and greeting him. Heinz, the man who met my older sister every day these days, and perhaps her unrequited love, was a commoner who had just arrived at the Capital from the countryside.

Whether it is a reflection of his personality or simply my assumptions, my first impression of him was unfavorable.

There are few people who hate me at first sight, but Heinz glared at me as if I were about to cause trouble.

“Miss Clara, I can’t believe you brought your little sister here. It’s troublesome[1].”

It was amusing because he didn’t know who I was, but he despised me outright. It’s amazing that even after hearing the Valentine last name, he has no idea who we are.

In front of the arrogant Heinz, the kind Clara simply asked for his understanding.

“I couldn’t leave her alone at home. My sister is a gentle and nice girl, so please understand for today.”

“Oh, my God. It’s not like I’ll go around talking about what happens here.”

It seemed suspicious to be that angry. On top of that, it’s strange that the source of his anger is somehow subtly different from what may be normal.

What the hell are you up to? Why are you so wary of me being next to you? This is why it just seemed more suspicious.

For the name, Valentine, usually, an ordinary nobleman makes an effort to look good. A prime example is the former Marquis Norton.

Even if it’s not the case, since my first impression is very strong, I hear a lot of compliments about how pretty I am.

But since the beginning, this man has been treating me like an annoying saboteur child.

His reply was refreshing. 

“Adults are busy with important things, so don’t disturb us.”

“Yes.”

You shouldn’t judge a person by his appearance, but he had greasy hair and mean eyes.

His first impression was a total fail. Minus five thousand points.

Why the hell does Clara like this guy?

Without knowing I was grinding my teeth inside, Heinz even slipped his hand around my sister’s shoulder.

QC/N: Eww be gone you leech

“Let’s go take a look at the flower beds.”

I thought he was working at the association, but he led us out of the academy and took us to a different place.

In principle, no maid or servant can enter the academy.

As a result, I grabbed my sister’s hand and went out of the academy without any attendants following us.

“Will we be alright, sister?” 

“Yes, we’re not going that far.”

I walked down the street with my sister without a carriage or an entourage for the first time.

Things that used to be so natural have become so unfamiliar now[2].

How long have I been walking while surrounded by countless people? The man and Clara set foot in an old mansion.

I looked around and checked the location.

The deep pink flowers that were in full bloom in the flower bed looked incredibly terrible to my ignorant eyes.

My sister, who was a plant lover, tried to bring these plants to life somehow with pure eyes free from any doubt.

“I think we should take a look here today.”

While the two looked elsewhere, I quickly pulled out a flower and hid it in my bag.

I had wondered what she did during the day. My sister took care of these flowers every day without even receiving a payment.

While Clara squatted, pulled out weeds, and watered the plants, the man only looked from afar and gave directions with his mouth.

“What are you doing?”

“Don’t you see? It’s important to check.”

“Are you sure the association made you do this?”

“Children who don’t know anything should stay still. You don’t know what you’re talking about, you’re too naive[3].”

I even brought Levatane just in case, but he didn’t seem to think I was a wizard.

In the first place, I could tell by just seeing how he kept calling my sister ‘Clara’, not ‘Lady Clara’.

This man didn’t seem to notice at all that we were Duke Valentine’s daughters.

But yes, no matter how much of a pushover Clara is, I can no longer see her being bossed around this way.

I picked up Levatane and asked Heinz.

“Why are you just looking while my sister’s working so hard?”

“What?”

“Ciel, Mr. Heinz doesn’t know much about plants yet.”

My pushover sister sided with him again like a sweet potato[4].

She must have been grateful that this man saw her as Clara, not Valentine’s foster daughter, but it’s not like that.

I pulled out the petals of the Dwarf Grass that I had taken away from Louis just in case. How much should I eat? In case it didn’t work, I grabbed a fistful of petals and poured them into my mouth.

Now that I have proof, and I’ve confirmed he’s a weirdo, we should go home. As I chewed, a bitter taste lingered in my mouth.

Ah. My stomach is starting to hurt now.

Suddenly, holding my stomach and groaning, my sister ran to me in surprise.

“Ciel, what’s wrong, are you sick?”

“My stomach, my stomach hurts so much.”

As I was about to collapse in a cold sweat, Clara turned pale.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Heinz, but my sister is sick, I think we should go back.”

Behind my serious sister, I grinned and stuck out my tongue.

Realizing that I was feigning illness, Heinz frowned and snatched Clara’s wrist.

“She seems to be feigning illness, but it’s not going to work.”

“What do you mean she’s faking it?”

It is a characteristic of fake disease grass, but the effect only lasts for three to four hours instead of making you incredibly sick. It’s useful when you want to fake an illness because you’re only in pain for a few hours.

Actually, it was my first time using this. I’ve seen Louis sweat a lot.

It really hurt. My stomach really hurts.

“Sister, I’m so sick.”

“Ciel! A doctor, call a doctor, please! Come on!”

Heinz, who initially suspected it was a fake disease, also seemed to be startled when he saw my symptoms.

I grabbed my necklace in a hurry while crying.

“It hurts, I’m so sick.”

‘I hope that my voice can be heard by Theo.’

Clara tried to carry me and run out, almost out of control.

At that moment, the door opened with a bang. I barely opened my eyes wondering who it was, and through my blurry vision, my brothers appeared.

“Ciel!”

A cry close to shouting hit my ear.

Now I’ll live. My staggering body was lightly hugged by Isaac.

Soon after, a familiar hand touched my forehead. Theo’s expressionless eyes filled with concern.

“Ciel, wake up! This fever is no joke, call a doctor, call a doctor!”

“Ugh, you idiot.”

The black-haired boy was definitely Louis. Why is that guy here?

“Clara, what the hell is going on here?”

“Theo.”

“Who are you to make Clara do this?”

As Theo complained, Heinz couldn’t say anything and just muttered.

“Ciel, don’t die. Please, please wake up!”

PR/N: The drama lmao.

TL/N: the whole family be actors 

Isaac cried pitifully at my unconscious appearance. But Louis, noticing what I had done, was busy being sarcastic.

“I’ve never seen a single person die of faking grass.”

“What do you mean, faking grass?”

At Isaac’s inquest, Louis ended up spilling out his own trade secrets.

Louis, who dug his own grave today, was left alone for now, and I held Isaac’s hand tight.

“Brother, I have a favor to ask of you. Find out what this is.”

Even though I was sweating profusely, I didn’t miss the most important thing: The strange flower that Heinz made Clara take care of, hidden in my bag.

If my prediction is correct, this is definitely a drug. It’s a new breed that only appears in the original, so I guess I’m the only one who knows what it is now.

“What’s this?”

“Give me a second. How do you have this?”

Unlike Isaac, who didn’t understand anything, Louis seemed to know what it was.

Now I was really losing consciousness. I wouldn’t have eaten too much if I knew it would hurt like this.

“Sister is… in danger…”

Unable to finish, I lost consciousness.

* * *

Even though Alex returned to the Capital, no one welcomed him. It was a pitiful return after a year-long expedition.

Despite having successfully subjugated the North, Alex had to return to the Capital without even holding a triumphal ceremony.

He clenched his fist. It was obvious who was responsible for this.

“Your Highness, how could this be?”

“Sir Wilhelm, and all of you, I apologize.”

“Your Highness, how could you say that!”

“I shouldn’t have rushed to the Capital.”

Alex let out a self-deprecating smile.

On the way to the Imperial Palace, he heard news that Stan was heading to Valentine’s manor.

The excuses were enough. Loaded with herbs to ask Clara to investigate, he headed to the Duke of Valentine’s residence.

And on the way back after dealing with Stan, Wilhelm asked.

“Which of the Valentine’s sisters do you have in mind?”

“You don’t know anything.”

Alex’s age is also 19 this year. He’ll be twenty next year so it’s rather late to welcome a Crown Princess.

Lord Wilhelm brought it up first out of frustration, as Alex showed little sign of making his thoughts and feelings obvious.

“In my heart, I thought it might be the older sister, but…”

“Why did you think so?”

Sir Wilhelm, now his right-hand, dared to say what Alex could not say himself.

“Because she’s a foster daughter. You must find someone with a lot of talent and less burden.”

No one would welcome her, no matter how loyal Valentine is.

Moreover, for Queen Lotte, who values status above everything else, Clara, the adopted daughter, would be a better prey than anyone.

Furthermore, there is plenty of room for the Queen to bury her own grave while risking Clara’s status.

Therefore, Alex thought he would choose that side even if the risk was high, but unusually, he couldn’t come to a conclusion.

“Actually, the one I have in mind is the younger sister.”

“You mean Valentine’s Princess, Ciel?”

Even the titles were different because it was not possible to become the Empress of Valentine and Empress of the nation.

Wilhelm was quite taken aback when he heard that he had Ciel in mind, who was virtually the opposite of Alex.

“Why are you so surprised?”

“Because it’s surprising. I thought you’d definitely hate that type of girl.”

Since he had never told anyone about the help he received from her, both materially and mentally, people naturally only knew that Alex was close to Clara, but there was no way to know about his acquaintanceship with Ciel.

Even this may be an ulterior motive. He even suspected that she was trying to raise her sister, who lacks status, to Crown Princess by tying her sister and Alex together.

[1] The translation can also be “It’s a bit awkward.” or “It’s difficult.” or something similar

[2] She’s talking about how she did that in her previous life and now it’s unfamiliar

[3] It says “wet behind the ears” which means she’s immature or naive but usually means inexperienced

[4] This slang means something like being in a frustrating situation or being a frustrating person