Chapter 2

Three years old.

Far too young to understand reality.

And yet, when I was three, I suddenly became aware of it.

Without any warning.

I had merely been idly shaking a toy when—

This can’t be…!

A flood of tangled memories swirled through my mind.

They were none other than the memories of my previous life.

Because of those memories, I saw the world around me in an entirely different light.

For example…

The world I had been born into was actually the setting of a novel.

And I was the younger sister of the villain who would one day be executed by the male protagonist!

No way…

Thud.

The snake-shaped toy slipped from my hand and landed on the floor.

At the sound, the villainous older brother sitting beside me reading a book turned to look at me.

His ruby-red eyes swept over me indifferently, devoid of warmth.

“What’s wrong?”

“…”

What kind of answer could a three-year-old possibly give to that?

Suppressing the chill running down my spine, I simply smiled brightly.

Snorting as though I were ridiculous, my villainous brother, Adrian, casually lifted the toy snake with magic.

Without moving a single finger.

An ordinary three-year-old would have gasped in amazement.

But with the memories of my previous life, I couldn’t admire it so freely.

He’s using Gravity Distortion Magic this effortlessly… and he’s only seven.

As expected of the greatest villain in the original story.

Hands trembling, I accepted the floating toy snake.

This older brother, who was four years older than me, would one day succeed our father and become the youngest Magic Tower Master in history.

Then, thanks to his twisted personality, he’d wreak havoc across the world…

…before being put down by the male protagonist!

And I’d die right alongside him.

Seriously…?

I absentmindedly waved the toy snake and let out a deep sigh.

I’d thought I’d reincarnated with a golden spoon in my mouth.

Turns out it was only gold-plated.

If the story followed the original plot, I was guaranteed a dead ending.

Poor me.

I’d be executed by association because of my cold-blooded villain of a brother.

So…

How was I supposed to survive?

Like the heroines from all those romance fantasy novels I’d read in my previous life…

Was I supposed to tame the villain?

That insane genius over there who could effortlessly read magical grimoires that even elderly scholars struggled to understand?

Him…?

I’m supposed to tame him…?

I’m three years old…?

“…”

“Why are you staring at me like that? Are you hungry?”

His voice was perfectly flat.

His face was expressionless.

His crimson eyes were icy.

Just like in the novel, he was undoubtedly a cold-blooded psychopath.

How was I supposed to tame someone like this?

Damn it. Forget it.

I’d rather just die.

Wishing my villainous brother would hurry up and kill me, I threw the toy straight at his face.

The long toy snake struck him squarely.

Surely, after such humiliation, he’d kill me now.

Go ahead.

Kill me already.

Resigned, I waited for an attack spell to come flying at me.

Preferably something quick, painless, and clean.

At least he’d show that much mercy to his own little sister… right?

“…”

But no matter how long I waited…

No attack magic came.

…Huh?

I cautiously opened my tightly shut eyes and peeked at my villainous brother.

He stared at me thoughtfully before saying something completely unexpected.

“You want to learn Gravity Distortion Magic too?”

…Excuse me?

No, I just boldly threw a toy at your face.

“So you really are my little sister…”

“You have the makings of a genius too.”

“…”

What kind of misunderstanding is that…?

Adrian sat me on his lap and opened a beginner’s book on gravity magic instead of the advanced grimoire he’d been reading.

Then he urged me to read the tiny letters aloud.

“If you’re a genius, something like this shouldn’t be difficult.”

You lunatic…

How old do you think I am?

Apparently he’d lived his entire life without ever processing the fact that I was only three.

Completely dumbfounded, I awkwardly moved my lips while lowering my gaze to the book.

I wasn’t sure whether I could actually read such a difficult magic text…

But I had a feeling that passing this test might be the first step toward getting close to my villainous brother.

Placing one tiny finger on the first page, I slowly began reading with childish pronunciation.

“Too use Gavity Distoshun Magik… da mana… mus be…”

To manifest Gravity Distortion Magic, the first principle of mana control is…

To my surprise…

I could read it effortlessly.

N-No way.

Was I actually a genius?

Or was this some kind of transmigration bonus?

Or perhaps…

It was thanks to the memories of my previous life finally awakening.

The real question was whether Adrian could tell that I was actually reading it correctly.

For a three-year-old to read aloud this well was extraordinary enough.

Naturally, my pronunciation was still clumsy.

Sadly…

My slightly broken-in-the-head villainous brother didn’t seem to possess that much common sense.

Would he even understand that my pronunciation was only bad because I was three?

“You…”

Adrian gazed at me strangely before speaking in a voice tinged with surprise.

“You’re a genius.”

“…”

Apparently he hadn’t understood that my pronunciation was childish.

He had simply understood every single word I said.

And just like that…

I passed Adrian’s first test.

Whether that was fortunate or unfortunate…

Adrian seemed genuinely pleased by the fact that I was supposedly a genius like him.

He hadn’t been like this before.

But after the Three-Year-Old Reads a Magic Grimoire Incident, he started taking me everywhere with him and showing me the world.

He even told Father that he wanted to personally oversee my magical education.

At that very moment, I desperately pleaded with Father through my eyes.

Father, no!

Don’t entrust me to that madman!

“It seems Roznia earnestly wishes for you to teach her as well.”

What?

No!

You foolish father!

Can’t you read your own daughter’s eyes?

“I’m sure she does. Rose likes me, after all.”

Since when?!

How can someone misunderstand things this badly?!

“I’m glad the two of you get along so well. Then I’ll leave Rose’s education in your hands, Adrian.”

N-No!

That’s not what I want!

I don’t want the villain teaching me!

I hurried over to Father, grabbed the hem of his trousers, and pleaded desperately.

“Dun wanna!”

“Hm? You can’t wait to start learning?”

No!

I said I don’t want to!

Anyone could hear that!

“Roznia’s eagerness to study is admirable. Hurry and begin teaching her, Adrian.”

“Understood.”

These people are insane…!

Adrian strode over and effortlessly lifted me into his arms.

Grabbing his collar, I could only curse inwardly.

You damned villain…

Just how hard are you planning to make my life?

Just wait.

If this is how it’s going to be…

Then I’ll definitely tame you…

And make you my loyal servant!

With that firm resolution, I devoted myself completely to taming Adrian.

Perhaps all my desperate efforts paid off.

Adrian grew up considerably less dangerous than he had been in the original novel.

Compared to the original, at least.

But that was only comparatively.

At his core…

Nothing about Adrian had really changed.

Not when he was seven.

Not when he became twenty-four.

He was still the same cold-blooded Archmage without a shred of mercy.

Now he was celebrated throughout the world as the youngest Magic Tower Master in history.

And I…

Apparently I had become known as the precious younger sister whom Adrian kept hidden away inside the Magic Tower.

Honestly…

Even Rapunzel had more freedom than I did.

Adrian’s overprotectiveness was so extreme that I reached nearly twenty without ever properly seeing the outside world.

Wherever I went…

Adrian always accompanied me.

I’d only meant to tame him a little…

Had I overdone it?

Somehow…

Adrian had developed an absolutely hopeless sister complex.

And that only made my life even more exhausting!

Summer was just around the corner.

I wanted to spend it at our villa on the southern coast.

Unfortunately…

Adrian was too busy to come with me.

Which was exactly the problem.

Because Adrian insisted on accompanying me everywhere, he absolutely refused to let me travel to the villa by myself.

Even after I begged him repeatedly…

He simply smiled sweetly and replied,

“Absolutely not.”

Damn that crazy siscon.

Imagining myself yanking out his jet-black hair by the handful, I viciously tore sheets of paper to pieces.

Living with someone suffering from an extreme sister complex was so stressful that tearing paper apart had become one of my hobbies.

I don’t want to spend another summer trapped inside the Magic Tower!

Isn’t there any way…?

With one sigh after another, I sprawled across the middle of my messy room.

Shredded scraps of paper fluttered around me like feathers.

Is there really no way…?

Perhaps the gods pitied me for suffering under a sister-obsessed maniac.

Because my opportunity arrived from somewhere I never expected.

The Emperor commissioned Adrian to investigate the magical beasts inhabiting the southern sea.

“Brother! I’m coming too!”

Bang!

I burst into Adrian’s office loudly enough to rip the door clean off its hinges.

Since learning not only Gravity Distortion Magic but strength-enhancing magic from the age of three, I’d become absurdly strong.

Whenever I got excited…

Things tended to break.

Chuckling awkwardly, I propped the door—now torn apart like paper—neatly against the wall.

Adrian stared at me with utter disbelief.

“Haha… this door’s pretty flimsy, don’t you think? You should get a sturdier one, Brother.”

“…”

His crimson eyes swept over me with mocking amusement.

His face was infuriating.

But undeniably handsome.

His black hair, crimson eyes, and unnaturally pale skin gave him an almost inhuman aura.

“You want to come investigate magical beasts too?”

“Uh… do I have to?”

“I just want to relax at the villa! I couldn’t go last summer. I don’t want to spend this summer trapped in the tower either.”

Adrian fell silent, deep in thought.

After a long pause, he finally spoke.

“Very well.”

“I’ll take you with me.”

“Yay! Brother, thank you! I love you!”

“…!”

“I love you.”

Adrian was weak against those words.

More precisely…

He was weak whenever I said them.

I’d discovered this magical spell when I was around three years old.

The first time I’d told Adrian, “I love you,”

I’d nearly died from second-hand embarrassment.

But it had been his birthday.

And besides a present, I felt I had to give him something even more special.

Otherwise…

How was this crooked villain ever supposed to develop even a shred of humanity?

Thinking back on his reaction still made me laugh.

When he’d first heard those words from his little sister…

His entire face had turned bright red like an apple.

That Adrian.

Hehe… even now…

After hearing “I love you” for more than ten years, he no longer turned completely scarlet.

But the tips of his ears always became faintly red.

This time was no different.

Secretly grinning to myself after noticing his reddened ears, I thought,

He’ll never know.

He’ll never realise that the adorable little sister he treasures so dearly…

…is actually a transmigrator with thoroughly black-hearted intentions.

Hehehe…

As I laughed inwardly like a little villain, Adrian cleared his throat before returning to his usual impassive expression.

“Then stay at the villa.”

“Don’t go anywhere else.”

“Yes! I understand!”

I’ll sneak out and visit the marketplace instead.

“I’ll assign one of my contracted spirit beasts to guard you.”

“Take it with you everywhere.”

“To the bathroom.”

“While bathing.”

“Even while sleeping.”

This crazy bastard…

Keeping the smile of a good little sister firmly on my face, I obediently nodded.

“…Then go pack your things.”

“We leave tomorrow.”

“Yes! Thank you so much, Brother!”

Overjoyed that I was finally going to the southern sea, I raced back to my room and eagerly began packing.

A beautiful villa overlooking white sandy beaches and the endless blue ocean of the southern coast.

Without the slightest idea…

Of who I was about to meet there.