Chapter : 02
The Villain’s Adopted Sister
“Soon we’ll arrive at the main estate, so don’t worry anymore.”
The noblewoman, whose glossy black hair was swept up like a raven’s feathers, smiled at me.
Even inside the swaying, rattling carriage, I couldn’t help but admire how composed she was.
“Yes, th-ugh, thank you, urgh……”
I bit my lip to suppress the nausea rising inside the carriage.
“Cassandra, are you all right?”
I forced myself to return her kind smile despite my pale complexion.
“You only recently suffered a carriage accident, and now you’ve had to ride in another carriage again…… Of course you’d be having a hard time.”
No, it’s just motion sickness.
I used to get carsick, but I guess I’ve upgraded to carriage sickness here.
Though, naturally, this is even more uncomfortable than a car!
“My husband and Alexei will welcome their new daughter and sister with open arms. I’m very happy that we’re finally able to bring you to the Clayman family’s main estate.”
I’m not happy! I’ll die if I go there!
You will too! And so will I! All because of that damn Alexei!
Of course, there was no way I could say any of that.
“……Th-thank, urgh, you. I’m so grateful to be welcomed into the Clayman Duke—blegh!”
In the end, I vomited before we even arrived.
The kind duchess patted my back, assuring me that it was all right despite the fact that I must have smelled awful.
Madam…… You really are so kind…….
If it weren’t for Alexei, perhaps I might have actually enjoyed this life.
But—
“Marina!”
“Andrei.”
“You’ve finally returned.”
My relief at the duchess’s consideration lasted only a moment.
The moment we entered the enormous castle, I tensed up again.
“Mother.”
The first thing I saw upon entering was an extraordinarily beautiful boy.
The boy’s black hair, seemingly inherited from the duchess, was luxuriant like a raven’s feathers, while his skin was almost unnaturally pale.
Above his neatly pressed lips was an elegant nose, and below them was a strong, defined jaw.
Yet none of those features could compare to his brilliant golden eyes.
“Welcome home.”
He was, quite simply, a frighteningly beautiful boy.
So this is the final boss……!
Unlike me, who was practically spellbound by his dazzling appearance in more ways than one, the noblewoman who had arrived in the hall smiled gracefully at the welcome from her son and husband.
I quickly turned my gaze away.
The surroundings that came into view were so magnificent that I felt as though I had stepped onto the set of a movie.
The marble floor was covered by a red carpet leading up the grand central staircase, decorated with an elaborate emblem of a black wolf intertwined with a golden trident.
Above us, a chandelier covered in countless crystals glittered brilliantly.
The servants, maids, butlers, and head maids whom I had only ever seen in movies were standing around the Clayman ducal family, all bowing respectfully.
Large vases overflowing with flowers stood throughout the halls, while the walls were covered with portraits of unknown nobles and elaborate landscape paintings.
I really have entered the Clayman ducal family…….
It was magnificent enough to finally make the reality sink in.
And even more overwhelming than it was magnificent.
“……So this is the daughter of Kylie and Olivier, Cassandra.”
Oh.
At the duke’s voice, I quickly turned my head.
As my wandering gaze returned to the front, my eyes met Alexei’s golden ones.
The beautiful curve of his lips had hardened into a cold line.
Huh?
I could almost feel cold sweat running down my back.
This…… doesn’t feel like a good sign.
“Yes, Andrei. She has only recently recovered enough to move around, so I was finally able to bring her here. Cassandra, say hello.”
“H-hello. I’m Cassandra……”
“Johannes Clayman.”
The duchess smiled and answered for me when I couldn’t continue.
Haha…… Is someone as shabby as me really allowed in a place this precious?
Really?
“Don’t feel intimidated, Cassandra. Although Kylie and Olivier were distant branches of the family, they were our friends. After their deaths, it is only natural that we take responsibility for caring for you.”
“That’s right, Cassandra. You have no idea how happy I am to welcome you as my daughter. I used to envy the other ladies who had daughters so much……”
“Alexei, aren’t you happy to have a sister now, too?”
At the duchess’s words, Alexei maintained his cold gaze and merely lifted the corners of his mouth.
Alexei Clayman.
The black-haired, golden-eyed male lead who played the role of the Duke of the North—the decadent, obsessive type.
The moment he first met Serena Cotton, the blonde, green-eyed beauty who was the heroine of I Didn’t Want a Reverse Harem, he fell in love with her at first sight.
In other words, he’s a sucker for pretty faces!
And I currently looked absolutely terrible.
Obviously!
I had just been throwing up in the carriage!
I’d be lucky if I didn’t look like a ghost!
“Yes, nice to meet you. Sister.”
His face and his words aren’t matching at all.
Does he dislike me because I didn’t pass the visual inspection?
“T-thank you, Alexei.”
Despite the fact that I had gone out of my way to greet him, Alexei didn’t even bother listening to my response.
Instead, he turned his gaze back toward the duchess.
The duke and duchess were too busy welcoming each other and paying attention to one another to notice anything.
Meanwhile, Alexei continued glaring coldly at me from behind.
I swallowed my tears internally.
This first meeting is definitely a disaster, isn’t it……?
To put it simply, without dragging things out—
I had been possessed.
No, but why?!
I wasn’t even dead!
There was no reincarnation truck or anything like that.
I had been perfectly healthy and had even taken my college entrance exam without any problems.
Unfortunately, just as these possession systems always seemed to work, I too arrived in this world in the least pleasant way possible.
When I regained consciousness, my entire body hurt as though I had been in a traffic accident.
P-please save me……!
While I was groaning helplessly from pain so intense it felt like I might actually die, I eventually came to my senses and realized that an unfamiliar woman was holding my hand.
“Cassandra…… I’m so relieved that at least you survived.”
What?
There’s no way my name is some Western name like that.
I’m a lifelong atheist who doesn’t even believe in God despite coming from a Christian family!
Was there some kind of registration error?
No matter how hard I thought about it, this woman was a complete stranger.
So why was she holding my hand?
“I am Marina Anselou Clayman. As the mistress of the Clayman ducal family, I promise you. We will take care of you here in the Clayman family.”
A stream of names that sounded familiar yet unfamiliar poured over me.
Where have I heard them before?
Cassandra.
Cassandra—the prophetess from mythology who was blessed by the gods with the ability to see the future, only to be cursed so that no one would ever believe her.
The Clayman ducal family?
A duke?
Nobility?
A feudal social system?
“……And Alexei will be happy to have a sister, too. I’m truly glad that at least you survived……”
Alexei.
Sister.
Clayman.
Alexei Clayman?!
An overwhelming shock struck me as though someone had slapped me across the cheek.
The romantic fantasy novel I’d recently been reading:
I Didn’t Want a Reverse Harem.
It was a reverse-harem romance centered around the heroine, Serena, and thanks to its attractive male leads, the competition among readers over which male lead they preferred was fierce.
Personally, I wasn’t particularly fond of heroines who were simply loved by everyone, so it wasn’t my favorite novel.
Even so, I preordered the paperback the moment it was released.
Why?
Because I absolutely adored Anthony Lionhearts, the prince of the Marcel Kingdom where the story took place.
He was a gentle and affectionate man with golden hair like the sun.
And he’s the big-puppy type with well-developed chest muscles…….
The best! Absolutely the best!
He was exactly my type.
A precious, gentle, big-puppy male lead.
I loved him.
But unlike my personal preference, the most popular character in the novel was Alexei.
The male lead who wasn’t chosen by Serena—
And the villain who rose to the level of the final boss.
How could the author take the wildly popular Duke of the North and use him as a villain instead of the male lead?
The author really knows what they’re doing!
……It feels like only yesterday that I was so fond of him.
The duchess smiled at her son as he welcomed her.
“Alexei, would you mind taking on the task of showing your sister to her room?”
I had been standing there in a daze, but I suddenly snapped back to reality.
What?
No, I don’t think that’s a good idea!
Look at that boy’s eyes! Doesn’t he look like he’s about to freeze me to death?
“I-I’m fine. Alexei must be busy……”
“Oh my, you’re already close enough to call him by his name. Alexei, you should learn from your sister and take the initiative to approach her first.”
“……Understood, Mother.”
Alexei smiled while shooting me a terrifying look.
He looked like he could dismember me alive at any moment, and my entire body instinctively prickled with fear.
Why?
Could he be upset because I casually called him by his name?
But my instincts delivered a verdict completely different from my rational guess.
Unlike Alexei, who had fallen in love with the heroine Serena at first sight—
Perhaps I had become someone he hated at first sight.
In the novel, Alexei fell for Serena the moment he saw her.
And in contrast to how quickly he fell in love, his feelings were deep and enduring, and he remained by her side for a very long time.
However, the heroine Serena chose Anthony instead of him.
For a reverse-harem story, it was unusual in that the story didn’t drag out the love triangle or keep multiple men hanging around indefinitely.
Everything progressed quite quickly.
Nice! Serena!
Serena wasn’t my favorite type of heroine, but her man was exactly my type, so her choice made me extremely happy.
Everyone who said Anthony could never become the male lead, come out here!
Look at this!
Unlike me, Alexei fell into deep despair when his love wasn’t reciprocated.
That part, I could understand.
But turning into a completely insane psychopath immediately after being rejected?
No matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t understand that!
No one but me can stand beside you.
With terrifyingly obsessive lines like that, the rejected male lead Alexei eventually became the final boss of the latter half of the story.
He became the villain.
He even started a rebellion!
All because he wanted to kill Anthony, the prince Serena had chosen!
How exactly does his brain work?
That’s right.
Among all the male leads in the reverse-harem cast, Alexei Clayman was the one responsible for the category of:
“Obsessiveness so insane that it crosses the line into criminal territory.”
“This is your room.”
I had apparently arrived without realizing it while nervously following behind him.
Alexei pointed somewhere with the tip of his chin.
But there were several doors in that direction, so my eyes wandered helplessly.
Which door are you talking about?
Can’t you explain a little more kindly?
But perhaps Alexei had no intention of answering my thoughts.
He turned around without even looking at me.
Before I had any chance to stop him, he was already walking away.
“Hello, Lady Cassandra. I am Hannah, the maid who will be assigned to you from now on.”
Following the maid’s guidance, I entered the room.
It was enormous.
Gah! Gah!
Why isn’t this just one room?!
Why does it keep going and going?!
Beyond the dazzling reception room was a bathroom.
Beyond the bathroom was a dressing room.
And beyond the dressing room was the bedroom.
The sheer unfamiliarity and staggering wealth were enough to make my stomach tremble.
“I…… I want to be alone.”
“Yes. I shall withdraw. Please pull the bell whenever you need me.”
Only after I was finally alone did I collapse onto the bed.
This is crazy…….
The four intricately carved bedposts and the silk curtains hanging from above were breathtaking.
I was lying on a magnificent bed that looked as though it belonged in a foreign museum.
If not for the sensation of the sheets against my body, I wouldn’t have been able to believe this was reality.
I really have come to the Clayman Duke’s castle.
The very place where the extra I had possessed—
“Cassandra Clayman”—
would be murdered.
