The Villainous Noble Son Wants to Capture His Stepsister! - Chapter 19

SIDE: Primelia

“…And so, the prince and the girl became husband and wife, and they lived happily ever after. The end.”

With those words, my mother concluded the story. When I begged her to read me another, she smiled gently and patted my head, saying, “It’s already late, you need to sleep now.”

Even though we were poor, those days were filled with happiness. I loved my mother’s smile, and I loved the stories she would read to me.

My mother had once worked as a maid for a viscount’s household. She had been taken by the master only once… and that was how she conceived me.

When the viscountess learned of the pregnancy, she was furious. While my mother was spared from being killed, she was thrown out of the estate with nothing but the clothes on her back.

Despite this, my mother somehow managed to find a place to live and work, and eventually, she gave birth to me and raised me on her own.

I only learned the truth after she passed away from illness. There was barely any time to grieve before a man from the viscount’s house came to take me away and explained everything to me.

“Hmph. I see. You do have the same well-proportioned face as that maid. And I hear your magic capacity is quite high. You might even be able to become a concubine for a high-ranking noble.”

The carriage took me to a grand mansion.

A middle-aged man with a round figure greeted me upon arrival, but his gaze was cold as he looked me over.

This was the viscount whom my mother had once served.

This was… my father.

“From today onward, you will receive tutoring. We have no daughters in this household, so you must work hard to secure a good marriage.”

Decisions were made for me without a single regard for my feelings.

Was this what being a father and daughter was supposed to be like?

The viscount—my father—spoke as though he had done his duty, then immediately turned on his heel to head back inside.

I couldn’t let him leave without saying this.

I had to say it.

“Um…!”

“What? I am a busy man.”

His cold gaze sent a shiver through me, but I mustered all my courage, pushing through my fear to speak for the first time in my life with a raised voice.

“I will do as you say! So, please… please, at least… at least let my mother have a proper grave!”

My heart pounded.

Tears spilled down my cheeks, one after another.

But I couldn’t back down—not when it came to my beloved mother.

“Hmph. That much should be fine. But know your place.”

With that, he finally disappeared into the mansion.

Relief washed over me, but only for a fleeting moment—then my knees gave out, and I collapsed onto the ground, uncaring of the dirt staining my clothes.

My tears fell silently, seeping into the dry earth.

Thus began the most agonizing years of my life.

From morning until night, I was relentlessly drilled by my tutors.

The servants treated me like a nuisance, and whenever the viscountess or his sons saw me, they made sure to torment me.

Most of my time was spent alone in the attic, which had been assigned as my room.

Even my meals were taken there, always alone.

Every time I ate the cold, tasteless food, I would recall the warm meals my mother used to make for me, and the tears would start all over again.

Years passed in that torment.

My heart cracked little by little, and eventually, I stopped thinking altogether.

I was going to become nothing more than a doll of this house.

That was what I believed… until the day everything changed.

“Rejoice! Duke Wertheim has decided to take you in!”

The viscount, whom I had barely seen in years, suddenly addressed me with a triumphant grin.

Apparently, he had been trying to sell my high magical aptitude to various noble houses, and the duke’s family had decided to adopt me.

Even the viscountess, the concubines, and my so-called brothers—who had always looked at me with disgust—were now all smiling.

Their smiles sent a chill down my spine.

“Thanks to you being taken in, we will receive a substantial sum of money. And if, by some miracle, a royal takes an interest in you, we will have a connection to the throne. Ah, I truly am glad we kept you after all.”

I felt nothing upon hearing those words.

After all, changing houses wouldn’t change my fate.

I had no hope that my suffering would ever end.

Or so I thought…

◇

“Nice to meet you. I’m Kraut von Wertheim. If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to ask. From today onward, we are siblings.”

The person who greeted me with a warm smile was like a prince from one of my mother’s bedtime stories.

His calm demeanor, his composed voice, his gentle expression—he seemed far more mature than his age.

Though his frame was slender, there was an undeniable strength to him.

He looked nothing like his father, aside from the color of his hair.

Up until now, the only boys my age I had known were the viscount’s sons.

Compared to their repulsive sneers, the smile Kraut offered me was beyond comparison.

And then—then, for the first time in my life, a boy took my hand.

I was so flustered that I couldn’t even look him in the eye!

From that moment on, I found myself repeatedly caught off guard.

Twelve years old, yet already serving as the acting governor of the duke’s territory.

Being teased by a maid (who, by the way, was a stunningly beautiful woman) and visibly sulking.

Despite his status as the duke’s heir, personally guiding me through the mansion.

My knowledge of noble society came solely from storybooks and the viscount’s household.

Even so, I could tell that Kraut was… different.

I had resigned myself to a hopeless future.

But now, it felt like something was slowly seeping into the cracks of my broken heart.

After parting ways with Kraut in front of his study, I was led to my new room by another maid, separate from Heliotrope.

Despite my newfound hope, I couldn’t shake my apprehension.

Sensing my unease, the maid in front of me suddenly stopped and turned around.

“Lady Primelia, is something troubling you?”

“Ah, um…”

She watched me hesitate, then smiled.

A truly charming smile—one that even I, as another woman, found captivating.

She was beautiful, but in a different way than Heliotrope.

“Your room is just ahead. I’ll prepare some tea, so if you’d like to talk, we can do so then.”

With that, she walked a few more steps and stopped in front of one of the many doors.

“This is your room, Lady Primelia.”

“Wow…!”

As she opened the door, I couldn’t help but gasp in awe.

A spacious, elegant room decorated in a soft white color scheme.

Luxurious but not excessive, with tasteful furnishings and lovely decorations that gave it a feminine charm.

“This is… amazing! I wasn’t expecting such a beautiful room, especially on such short notice!”

From what I had observed, no one in the household had known about my adoption except for the duke himself.

And yet, they had prepared such a perfect room for me in such a short time.

“Kraut personally wrote the instructions, and the rest of us worked together to prepare it. To think he even has an eye for a lady’s room… As expected of him.”

The maid’s expression was one of pure admiration.

Not just Heliotrope, but even this maid seemed to respect and care for Kraut deeply.

Meanwhile, I had barely managed to utter a proper response to him.

After all his kindness, I hadn’t even thanked him.

…At dinner, I hoped I would finally be able to speak with him properly.