The Stand-In Villainess's Contract Marriage: I Was Divorced After a Year, But For Some Reason, My Ex-Husband Seems to Be Looking for Me - Chapter 3

As time went by, winter arrived.

As the cold days continued, Count Tweed caught a cold and fell ill.

My sister stayed at Count Tweed’s mansion and took care of him desperately.

However, due to his old age, Count Tweed did not recover and quietly passed away.

Until the end, my sister wore Lana’s dress and stayed by his side.

Liana cried at the death of her benefactor.

He was a clumsy, kind, and lonely person.

He must have longed for his beloved wife and daughter.

That longing had turned my sister into a wicked woman.

Count Tweed left part of his assets to my sister, allowing us to pay off a considerable amount of our parents’ debt.

Though some still remained, if we worked hard together for a few years, we would surely be able to pay it off completely.

My sister could return to her true self and finally live her own life.

Liana thought so, and perhaps her sister did as well.

However, the rumors of “the wicked Lana” did not settle down even after Count Tweed’s death.

“Sister, what’s wrong?”

Upon returning from the church, Liana found her sister walking around the room with a restless look and called out to her.

After Count Tweed’s death, her sister, having lost her job as his conversation partner, often stayed in the mansion.

Even when she tried to do housework, her clumsiness caused her to dirty her clothes or burn precious ingredients.

So now, she was learning various things from the elderly butler who had served their father, in hopes of regaining the territory that was now under royal custody.

This morning, before Liana left, her sister had been diligently studying about managing the territory.

Yet now, she was walking around the room with a worried but somewhat happy expression.

“Liana, welcome back.”

Noticing her returning sister, her sister said that and hid what she had in her hand.

“What is it? An invitation?”

The envelope that peeked out seemed like an invitation. So, Liana asked, and her sister made a troubled expression and nodded.

“Yes, it seems that the only friend I made at the academy is getting married. So, she sent me an invitation too.”

Her sister had only attended the academy from spring to autumn.

In that short time, a friend had sent her a wedding invitation.

“Sister, this is a chance!”

Liana ran to her sister and held her hand tightly.

“A chance?”

“Yes! It’s a chance to step into society as Esrie of the Karota family, not as Lana. Eventually, you will have to find a husband and continue the Karota family, right?”

“…Yes, that’s true.”

After their parents’ death, no relatives had shown any intention of inheriting the Karota family on behalf of the two sisters, who were still children.

The debt was under Count Karota’s name.

Inheriting the title would also mean taking on that debt. So now, they were under royal custody along with the territory.

Although women could not inherit titles, if the debts left by their parents were properly repaid, and if her sister Esrie married, her husband would be expected to become Count Karota.

I heard that making the repayment of debts a condition for inheriting the title was to prevent the citizens from being forced into a difficult life.

However, even though it was a debt left by their parents, both were minors at that time.

Making repayment of the debt a condition was, after all, rather cruel. But the debt had been incurred by none other than their parents.

Nonetheless, thanks to her sister’s hard work, most of that debt had been repaid.

All that was left was to find a man who would marry into the family.

It seemed Count Tweed had also worried about various things and had taken her sister to social gatherings, but she would prefer to avoid any matchmaking that had to do with “the wicked Lana.”

Her sister needed to return to society as Esrie of the Karota family and find a husband who would cherish her and the Karota family.

“But I am a wicked woman. To enter society now…”

Recalling those times, her sister’s face clouded over.

“Don’t worry. You are completely different now from the sister who was playing the part of Lana.”

She had worn quite flashy makeup to resemble Count Tweed’s daughter, Lana.

So, Liana persuaded her sister, saying that the friend who sent the invitation probably wouldn’t notice.

“Is that so? If you say so, Liana… But…”

Her sister still seemed hesitant, but seeing her tightly grip the invitation without letting go showed that she truly wanted to go.

The academy, which she had to leave due to their parents’ deaths.

It must have been more joyful for her sister than Liana could imagine to receive a wedding invitation from a friend she had met there.

“Come on, you need to reply that you will attend soon. We also need to prepare a dress.”

“Oh no, that’s too extravagant. I have a dress I received before.”

“No, that won’t do. That dress isn’t for you.”

Among the dresses given to her by Count Tweed, there were some that were not very flashy, which his daughter Lana had disliked.

However, this was a chance for her sister to break free from “the wicked Lana.”

Even if it was a bit of a stretch, Liana wanted to prepare a new dress for her sister.

“This year, elaborate embroidered dresses are in fashion, so I will buy a simple dress and embroider it myself. That way, it won’t cost too much, right?”

She urged her hesitant sister and went to buy a dress to attend the wedding.

Liana took the time to embroider the dress, making it a pure and beautiful design far removed from the wicked woman.

(Hopefully, my sister will find happiness. May she meet someone who will protect her.)

With that prayer in mind, she dedicated herself to carefully stitching, even at the expense of sleep.

Taking her time to create it, the dress turned out to be quite comparable to one ordered from a fashion shop.

“Thank you for such a lovely dress.”

Her sister said that happily when she tried it on.