The Fake Legend of Princess Mei Mei - Episode 6.5

She tried to continue speaking, but her thoughts wouldn’t come together. Her mind was completely blank.

Something like that couldn’t be true—she had always thought so. But Tsukika clearly told Keigetsu that it was a fact.

“…You’re lying.”

Keigetsu barely managed to squeeze out the words in a trembling voice.

“It’s the truth.”

Tsukika denied it with a smile.

Keigetsu wanted to say again that it had to be a lie, that there was some mistake. But Tsukika’s smile stopped her. She opened her mouth, but after moving her lips a few times, she couldn’t say anything more.

“It was wrong of me to leave without saying anything. But there was no time, and I had to act immediately.”

Looking apologetic, Tsukika sighed and added more firewood to the stove.

“…What do you mean, no time?”

Keigetsu asked, trying to calm the chaos in her mind. Tsukika turned to her with a slightly annoyed expression.

“There was that marriage proposal with Yurine’s older brother, remember?”

Keigetsu’s heart pounded at those words. A face flashed through her mind—Seishin, with eyes full of anger and contempt, hurling cruel insults at her.

“Once I got married, I wouldn’t have as much freedom anymore. So before that, I wanted to meet my real parents.”

It would probably be the first and last time, but she had to see them, Tsukika said with a smile.

“Father had been searching for me all this time. When we finally met, he said he wanted us to live together. I was so happy, so I agreed.”

It was a natural wish for a father, and a natural decision for a daughter.

But something about the story didn’t sit right with Keigetsu.

“By ‘Father,’ do you mean the King?”

“Yes. Who else would it be?”

Tsukika answered in an exasperated tone, which only made Keigetsu more confused.

“But Mother’s husband was my father. If what you’re saying is true, then Mother must have been unfaithful.”

If Tsukika’s story was true, it meant their mother had conceived a child with another man while still married to their father. That was what had been bothering Keigetsu since yesterday.

She frowned and glared at Tsukika, who responded with a bright smile.

“Mother was Father’s lover. They got separated due to unfortunate circumstances. Back then, she and your father—no, Shugetsu—were not together. So it wasn’t unfaithfulness at all.”

Keigetsu furrowed her brows even deeper at those words.

“…I still don’t understand.”

Seeing her sister’s serious expression, Tsukika tilted her head and lowered her eyebrows in concern.

“Really? You don’t get it?”

Keigetsu shook her head. She had vague memories from before Tsukika was born. She remembered living with both parents and being held by her mother before her belly grew large. She also remembered her silent father always standing beside them.

Based on those memories, Tsukika must have been born after their parents got together.

Seeing Keigetsu’s skeptical gaze, Tsukika sighed and spoke again.

Then, slowly and deliberately, she said something terrifying.

“You’re not Mother’s child.”

Keigetsu’s eyes widened in shock.

“You’re not Mother’s child,” Tsukika repeated.

Even the second time, the words reached Keigetsu’s ears clearly, despite her being frozen in disbelief.

“It’s true.”

Tsukika continued speaking to the stunned Keigetsu.

“I heard it from Mother a long time ago. You’re actually Shugetsu’s child from a previous relationship.”

Tsukika sighed and looked at Keigetsu, whose face had lost all color.

“After Mother left Father, she met Shugetsu, who was raising you as a baby alone.

Eventually, they started living together. You know, it’s easier to rent a house as a family than as a single person. They pretended to be married at first, just to support each other. Over time, they became a real family.”

That kind of thing was common. In small villages, families were trusted more than young drifters. Strangers would sometimes pretend to be siblings or parent and child.

Tsukika continued.

“Mother and I aren’t related to you by bl00d. We’re strangers.”

Her words, spoken with apparent regret, struck Keigetsu deeply, causing a pain that seemed to cut into her heart.

Keigetsu felt dizzy. This unexpected revelation was too much to process. She staggered and gripped the table to keep from collapsing. Her face was deathly pale.

Watching her, Tsukika opened the lid of a steaming basket. The rich scent of mugwort filled the air, bringing a nostalgic comfort. She inhaled deeply, savoring the aroma.

“So, I decided to live as my father’s daughter. Since Mother has passed away, it would be rude to keep relying on Shugetsu, who is just a stranger to me. Father welcomed me happily, so this is the natural thing to do.”

She wrapped the steamed rice cake and placed the used basket in the sink. Someone would clean it up later.

“That’s everything.”

Tsukika smiled at Keigetsu, who stood trembling, her gaze unfocused.

“Mother told me to live as your sister, but now that we both know the truth, it’s fine, right? We don’t have to be sisters anymore.”

Keigetsu looked up in shock.

The smile on Tsukika’s face was bright and carefree, as if she had been waiting for this moment.

(Did she hate it all along?)

Keigetsu was horrified by Tsukika’s cheerful expression.

Had she only been pretending to be her sister out of obligation? Had she always found it annoying when Keigetsu acted like the older sibling, unaware of the truth?

Had their mother known too and kept silent just to keep Keigetsu from feeling lonely?

“Oh, right,” Tsukika suddenly clapped her hands as if remembering something.

She held out her hand.

“Give me Mother’s comb.”

At those words, Keigetsu trembled.

Tsukika smirked.

“It’s only natural, right? Mother’s things should go to her real daughter. Not to you, a stranger.”

She reached out further.

Keigetsu shook her head and backed away.

That comb was hers. Mother had given it to her on her deathbed and told her to keep it.

Seeing Keigetsu refuse, Tsukika’s eyes narrowed in irritation.

“No. Give it to me. It’s mine.”

“But Mother—”

“She wasn’t your mother! Don’t call her that!”

Tsukika shouted and lunged, grabbing at Keigetsu’s waist where she kept the comb.

“No!”

Keigetsu struggled, but Tsukika was taller and stronger. She staggered under the force.

They grabbed, scratched, and pulled at each other—something they had never done as children. Their bodies hit the counters and shelves around the kitchen.

“Enough!”

Keigetsu, unable to bear it any longer, slapped Tsukika across the face.

At that moment, Tsukika’s grip loosened, and Keigetsu fell backward.

“Ahhhhhhh!”

With a loud crash, she landed on a pot of boiling water.

Scalding hot liquid drenched her back, and she screamed in pain, rolling on the floor. The impact knocked over the pot, spilling water onto the fire, sending smoke and ash into the air.

Tsukika shielded her face from the steam.

Keigetsu desperately crawled toward the water jar, trying to cool the burns.

But Tsukika’s eyes were fixed on her sister’s exposed back.

A leaf-shaped mark had appeared on her red, burned skin.

(The sacred mark of the royal family…)

She couldn’t let anyone see that.

Tsukika grabbed a nearby cloth, seized the still-hot pot, and raised it over Keigetsu’s back.