I Became the Older Brother of a Villainess - Chapter 1.1
She had never been happy.
At the age of 3, she lost my father. By the time she was 6 she had also lost her mother and began moving from one relative’s house to another.
Things went from bad to worse, and starting from the age of 9, she was practically a hospital regular.
And by the time she turned fifteen, she became a gaming recluse.
My younger sister was a reclusive loner who’s addicted to various types of games. Perhaps due to her ailing body, she couldn’t attend school properly, which left her with hardly any friends.
Yet, I never nagged her. I was thankful that she had the energy to play games.
Suddenly collapsing and rushing to the hospital, losing weight within a week, and frequent vomiting—these were common occurrences. In my eyes, my sister was a filial child who wouldn’t die.
Yes, as respect for her parents, I raised her like a daughter. My sister, fifteen-years old, had a thirteen-year age difference from me. Maybe that’s why. I bought her any game she wanted, indulging her every whim.
Then one day, I took a peek at what game she was playing.
“What game is so entertaining?”
“Otome games.”
“The protagonist’s name is Otome?”
My sister shot me a disgusted look and explained the game to me. It was a game where you manipulated the protagonist to romance all the characters in the story.
“She’s the villainess, trying to sow discord between the protagonist and the guys to monopolize their love.”
“Those villains are wicked. So, are you fighting with her? Did you win?”
Ohoho! On the screen, the villainess Daria laughed and pushed the female protagonist aside. The guys surrounded the protagonist, praising Daria.
Watching the villainess and her minions, my sister muttered.
“If I were Daria, I wouldn’t act like that…”
My sister clearly wanted to overcome reality through the game. The protagonists in the game not only attended school but also had plenty of boyfriends. How sad must it be for her, unable to do anything? A lump formed in my throat, tears welled up. To empathize with a character in the story. I grabbed my younger sibling’s shoulder, suppressing the rising sadness.
“How do you think you would have handled that?It’s really envious, you know? If there’s anything I can do…”
“Are you really that foolish?”
“Um?”
My younger sister responded more realistically than I expected.
“Especially, I don’t like Daria. She’s supposed to be a duke’s daughter, but she doesn’t study, just picks fights while chasing after the nerds the female lead likes.”
“Oh, is that so?”
“If I were Daria, I’d kill them all and become the douchess.”
What my sister gestured with her hand included all the characters in the game.
“You want to kill them all…?”
“Yeah, every single one.”
Both the female protagonist and the male protagonist. And even the current duchess and duke.
“If you kill them all, wouldn’t Daria be a bit lonely?”
“To gain great power, significant sacrifices are necessary.”
“Oh, I see…”
“I hope there’s an annihilation ending!”
“Yeah, have fun with that…”
I thought to myself, “Ah, puberty has truly arrived for that brat.” My younger sister’s future aspiration of wanting to become a princess had somehow transformed into becoming a tyrant. Still, as long as she was healthy.
Not long after, that became my sister’s final aspiration. She was happy.
Until my fifteen-year-old sister had spent her year left to live.
***
After the funeral, I returned and sat in the spot where my sister used to play games. Tears, not spared even during the funeral, streamed down. In the dimly lit house, only the game screen glowed pale. Unfamiliar with the game, I tried pressing any button to find traces of my sister.
The vibrant illustrations changed rapidly. Hours passed manipulating the game with an empty mind. I started to recognize the characters my sister had favored.
Among them, the most noticeable was, without a doubt, the villainess Daria.
Daria, whom my sister had described as foolish, surprisingly shared many similarities with my sister. Being orphaned at a young age, having an older brother with a turbulent age, and experiencing unhappiness.
Depending on the player’s choices, Daria’s preferred man changed. Each time, there were gifts and ball invitations… She was undoubtedly an attractive and proactive woman.
The only problem was that Daria wasn’t the protagonist of this game.”
“The situation always favored the female protagonist.
[Why! Why don’t you pay attention to this Daria?!]
“Because you’re not the protagonist….”
I couldn’t help feeling sorry during the villainess’s moment of despair. It wasn’t because Daria’s love had failed. My sister was right.
Ah, life isn’t meant to be lived like this!
“You have money, and your brother is a duke. There are plenty of men in other countries! Look away!”
After watching it for a while, it became frustrating from the end. As my sister said, it would be much more satisfying to eliminate all those guys over there, and Daria becoming the duchess.
In the end, I watched until the ending. The happy ending where the female protagonist and the male protagonist come together. However, I was not happy at all.
Rather, it was a more heartbreaking feeling.
I went back to the branching point and repeated the game, but the results were all similar. The female protagonist found happiness with different men, and Daria lost both her status as a duke’s daughter and all the love that she could have received.
“Daria couldn’t find happiness until the end.”
Was that the only ending allowed for Daria?
What if my sister had that kind of wealth, honor, and status?
If I were Daria’s brother, Duke Cierra Glutoni, what would have happened?
