◊ Chapter 6 ◊
My First Love Is Becoming My Sister?
Kai’s eyes darted back and forth.
‘Coral? I must have heard wrong… But I’m sure they said Coral.’
‘Maybe it’s just someone with the same name. But… Coral isn’t a common name.’
Names like Jessica or Irene were everywhere at the Academy.
But Coral…
There was only one.
That was how unusual the name “Coral” was in the Empire.
‘But… Coral?’
Kai’s eyes widened as he pressed his ear against the door.
“Coral is waiting in the hall right now. I left her with the butler.”
“I see. Then she’ll be staying in the east annex…”
Without another thought, Kai sprinted toward the Grand Hall of the opposite annex.
His footsteps echoed loudly through the corridor,
matching the pounding of his heart.
The moment he reached the hall…
he met a pair of pink rabbit-like eyes.
Coral…!
Kai’s legs gave out beneath him.
He collapsed onto the floor.
Coral spotted him almost immediately.
“Oppa?”
Seeing Kai suddenly collapse from shock, Momont reached out a hand.
“Young Master, do you know Miss Coral?”
Still dazed, Kai slowly stood up before mumbling,
“Why are… you here?”
Coral blinked.
“Then why are you here, Oppa?”
Seeing Kai frozen in place, Momont stepped in to explain.
“This is the Young Master.”
“The Young Master…?”
Kai felt like his whole world had collapsed.
Only then did Coral seem to understand the situation.
She looked around the mansion with wide eyes.
“So…”
“This is your house, Oppa?”
That short conversation confirmed everything.
‘My new mother… is Coral’s mother…’
Fortunately…
or perhaps unfortunately…
Coral didn’t seem to realize what that meant yet.
Kai held back his tears as memories flooded his mind.
Six months ago…
Coral had stopped coming to the Academy because of family problems.
‘The day you suddenly disappeared… it felt like my world had ended.’
He had even gone to her house.
But Coral wasn’t there.
On the seventh day of searching,
he finally caught sight of her from afar.
‘You were smiling… a smile I’d never seen before.’
‘Seeing you happier eased my heart.’
Since then,
Kai had spent six whole months lingering around wherever Coral was.
He wanted to speak to her.
But he kept waiting until he finally had a mother.
And now…
the daughter of that new mother…
was Coral.
Kai felt like crying.
‘I was finally going to confess to you… and now my first love is becoming my sister.’
It felt as though someone had stabbed his heart.
‘I missed you so much…’
But…
this wasn’t the reunion Kai had dreamed about.
“Oppa, what’s wrong?”
He forced himself to hold back the tears filling his eyes.
“It’s nothing.”
Looking at Coral’s innocent smile,
Kai made up his mind.
‘Coral… before you find out the truth, I’ll change everything back.’
‘Then… I’ll confess to you.’
His mind raced with nothing but plans to undo this situation.
‘I thought everything would be perfect once I had a mother…’
‘I thought I’d finally be able to get closer to Coral…’
‘But everything has fallen apart.’
‘Out of everyone in the world… why did Coral’s mother have to become my new mother?’
Kai silently resented the heavens.
Just then,
someone called out for Coral from the distance.
She waved happily before running away.
Kai watched her disappear.
His eyes slowly filled with tears.
‘I will never allow this marriage!’
His eyes sharpened with determination.
‘Dad will listen to me.’
‘He’s only getting married because of me.’
‘Because I kept asking for a mother.’
‘So…’
After leaving the mansion,
Coral remained silent the entire ride to the carriage.
I had left her with Sir Momont.
What had happened while I was gone?
But…
she already seemed to know everything.
“Mom…”
“Are we going to live in that house now?”
“…Mm.”
“Do you not want to?”
It was such a simple question,
yet the words stumbled awkwardly from my mouth.
I swallowed nervously.
Coral forced a smile.
“No.”
She was smiling…
yet somehow she looked unbearably sad.
Seeing an eight-year-old child smile like that broke my heart.
She was still far too young
to calmly accept her stepmother remarrying
after everything she had already been through.
There was no way Coral wasn’t confused.
I hated myself for believing
that less than a year was enough for her wounds to heal.
I wanted to cry.
But I couldn’t.
‘Coral is trying so hard herself…’
She was a very perceptive child.
If I looked sad too,
she would notice immediately.
There were so many words
I had rehearsed countless times,
yet never managed to say.
I couldn’t hide it forever.
Today…
I had to tell her.
“Actually… Mom is going to marry Prince Macaron.”
“…”
“If Prince Macaron becomes your father…”
“Nobody at the Academy will dare bully you anymore.”
“…”
“And…”
“You’ll be able to do anything you want.”
These were the words I had thought about for so long.
They came out effortlessly.
As a divorced woman
with low status
and a terrible reputation,
I could never become the strong shield Coral deserved.
But Prince Macaron…
was someone respected and admired throughout the Empire.
He would undoubtedly become a powerful support for her.
There was also her status.
Even after marriage,
I would still remain the daughter of a Viscount according to Imperial law.
But Coral was different.
As his child,
she would be treated as part of the Imperial Family.
Even if she later chose to leave the family after becoming an adult,
that fact would never change.
And that would make things much easier
when she and Kai eventually ended up together.
But then…
“I don’t need any of that.”
“…?”
“Coral only needs Mom.”
My heart dropped.
After being abandoned twice…
what did adults even mean to Coral now?
I quickly turned my head,
not wanting her to see the tears in my eyes.
Just then,
her tiny hand grabbed mine.
“Mom…”
“I’ll be good.”
“So…”
“…”
“Please don’t abandon me.”
“…!”
Her calm eyes,
which didn’t match those heartbreaking words at all,
pierced straight through my heart.
I could feel her tiny hand trembling
as it clutched my dress.
I tightly held that little hand
and wrapped my other arm around her.
“Who would ever abandon such a precious daughter?”
The tears I had desperately been holding back
finally spilled down my cheeks.
That evening,
after Calypse and Coral had left the mansion…
Kai checked on his father’s condition through Momont
before heading to the west annex.
“What is it?”
Macaron’s voice was as gentle as always.
That only made it harder for Kai to speak.
‘Dad probably decided to marry because of me…’
Even so…
Kai couldn’t change the conclusion he had reached after thinking about it all day.
“Dad… she can’t become your wife.”
“What do you mean?”
Macaron frowned slightly.
“She…”
“She can’t become my new mother.”
For the first time,
Macaron’s expression noticeably stiffened.
But Kai,
who had lowered his head,
didn’t see it.
“I… don’t need a mother anymore.”
Silence filled the room.
After a long while,
Kai slowly looked up,
feeling the strange atmosphere.
“But…”
“You were the one who said you wanted a mother.”
Macaron’s marriage was mainly to withdraw from the Crown Prince succession.
But Kai had also played a major role.
Before deciding on the contract marriage,
Macaron had seriously worried about whether Kai could accept it.
A new mother appearing so suddenly could confuse a child.
Should I really force this marriage?
In truth,
having an unreasonable Crown Princess
was far worse than having none at all.
But that wasn’t the only reason.
According to Imperial law,
Kai couldn’t officially be registered into House Crade
without an official Princess Consort.
Macaron had always planned to marry someday.
But only after Kai had grown older.
Then…
“I want a mother.”
Those simple words
had erased all of Macaron’s hesitation.
Everything proceeded smoothly.
He truly believed Kai would be happy.
‘After all… he begged me for a mother.’
Of course,
he never expected a contract wife
to truly act like Kai’s mother.
That would have been shameless.
His only concern
was how disappointed Kai might feel after the divorce.
Even if she was only his contract mother,
he believed Kai would gradually understand.
‘Then why…’
‘Why has he suddenly changed his mind?’
Kai wasn’t the type of child
to change his mind without reason.
But Macaron clearly separated
what could be changed
from what could not.
To casually take back a decision…
was something only fools did.
“The decision has already been made.”
Those words seemed to hurt Kai deeply.
He looked ready to burst into tears.
“You never said she was Coral’s mother.”
“Coral’s mother absolutely can’t marry you.”
Seeing Kai like that
made even Macaron uneasy.
At the same time,
a question arose.
“What relationship do you have with Coral?”
“Why are you so against it?”
“That’s…”
Kai only repeated
that she was a classmate from the Academy.
‘Do they not get along?’
‘No… that’s probably not it.’
Regardless…
it was already too late.
“This matter is settled.”
Even if it was only a contract marriage,
it wasn’t something that could be canceled
just because Kai objected.
If the matter concerned only himself,
Macaron would have given in.
But now…
the contract involved both Calypse
and her daughter.
Kai walked away,
his shoulders slumped,
looking as though he had lost everything.
Even after Kai left,
Macaron couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling.
Trying to clear his mind,
he absentmindedly twisted the puzzle cube in his hand,
only to make it even more scrambled.
Leaning back in his chair,
he pulled the bell rope.
“Find out why Kai is acting like this.”
Momont hesitated instead of leaving.
“Your Highness…”
“This is the first time the Young Master has opposed something this strongly.”
“So?”
Having watched Kai grow up,
Momont understood him better than anyone.
Perhaps…
Kai was the one who resembled his master the most.
For some reason,
Momont felt
that this calm moment
was merely the silence before a storm.
“Perhaps…”
“You should reconsider the marriage…”
“The matter is already settled.”
Seeing the dangerous look in Macaron’s eyes,
Momont almost left.
But he gathered his courage one last time.
As a loyal subordinate,
he couldn’t simply stay silent.
“Then…”
“Could you at least look for another marriage partner—”
But he immediately stopped speaking.
“Who was it that said finding someone with better conditions than her was impossible?”
Of course,
“better conditions”
actually meant
someone with even worse circumstances.
“I’m sorry.”
“I spoke without thinking.”
“Do not bring up this matter again.”
As always,
Momont quickly escaped the room before things got any worse.
