The Beast of the Albard Mansion - Chapter 32
My sister, who graduated from the academy, returned to the mansion. It had been five years since she left.
Sister had promised to take me to see the capital when I turned fourteen, but she seemed to have forgotten the promise as she hadn’t sent a single letter all this time, not even on my birthday.
I was glad to see her after five long years, but I was also quite hurt, so I greeted her coldly.
Perhaps understanding my feelings, Sister approached me with an apologetic look.
“You’ve become a young lady, Cellie! How did you grow up so beautifully?”
I pouted. A young lady? Though it hadn’t been that long, I had already reached adulthood—yet I still couldn’t freely go outside the mansion.
Naturally, I wasn’t allowed to enroll in the academy either. I was destined to live a boring life and eventually marry into a family Father chose. My future was set in stone, nothing new or special.
I didn’t fully understand what marriage was or how it would change my life, but Father mentioned it every time he saw me, so the word ‘marriage’ was ingrained in my mind.
When I was about fifteen, I expressed my desire to enroll in the academy like Sister. My father opened his eyes wide and shouted that it was absolutely out of the question. He was furious, saying, “Do you want to end up like your sister, who has been rotting away unmarried ever since she entered the academy?”
I gave up on the idea, lacking the courage to confront Father like Sister did.
Sister had fought for three years to get into the academy. She enrolled at the late age of fifteen and only graduated at twenty.
After graduating, she returned home. I heard she graduated with excellent grades. I was secretly proud of her. And also secretly envious.
I had no courage to confront Father like Sister, so all I could do was envy her. I still shrank in front of Father.
In my heart, I rebelled fiercely, but the words I needed to say never came out. It felt like something was stuck in my throat, blocking my words.
Noticing my awkward demeanor, Sister held my hand.
“Sorry for not keeping in touch.”
“…I missed you.”
When Sister held my hand and apologized, my resentment melted away. Forgetting my hurt feelings, I hugged my now stunningly beautiful elder sister.
With her chestnut hair half tied up, Sister looked wise and beautiful. She wore a simple, elegant dress, exuding grace. She was just as I remembered her.
Sensing something different about the mansion’s atmosphere, she whispered in my ear.
“Has something happened at home?”
“…No. Nothing.”
“Really?”
Lying to her made my heart ache.
A lot had happened in the mansion. It took Father two years to lose interest in werewolves. He still occasionally got anxious but had improved.
In the meantime, Father had steadily increased the number of guards and mercenaries. It seemed to be a precautionary measure.
I knew it was all futile but kept silent. Father was stubborn and wouldn’t listen to me anyway.
“The servants seem to have changed a lot… Why are there so many mercenaries?”
Sister looked around the mansion as we entered. I was the only one who came out to greet her, so it didn’t take long to exchange greetings.
“Where are our parents?”
“Father is in the study. Mother is just in her room.”
“Is she still neurotic?”
Sister sighed worriedly. I heard that Mother was once very lively and full of energy when she was young, like Sister.
But after two miscarriages and giving birth to me, her health declined, and she became the difficult person she is now.
“She’s always like that.”
“Mother wasn’t always like this. I remember. When I was little, she used to read to me.”
Mother never read to me. Sister’s image of our mother always felt foreign to me.
Mother didn’t care about me.
“Yeah, I suppose she did.”
While Sister had memories of our mother, I had Ellie. Ellie, though illiterate, always gave me warm looks, so I never felt jealous of Sister in that regard.
But now that Ellie had left the mansion, I felt a bit envious. Sister still had some warmth from Mother, while Mother’s presence felt empty to me. But I hid my resentment and asked Sister,
“How was life at the academy?”
“It was great. I had the freedom to study whatever I wanted. The assignments were tough, but completing them was rewarding.”
“That sounds wonderful.”
“You should go too.”
“Father says I can’t.”
“Then I’ll send you. I’ll work and pay for your tuition.”
“But we need Father’s permission.”
“Let’s talk about it during dinner. I’ll try to persuade him.”
Sister wrinkled her nose playfully, and I smiled, mirroring her. Her words made my heart soar. The thought of attending the academy seemed like a dream coming true.
After Sister went to unpack, I returned to my room.
“Desi, what are you doing?”
“Did you go to greet her?”
Desi, who was reading a book with a neat appearance, welcomed me.
Desi had taken up reading lately. The sight of him sitting with his long legs crossed, flipping through the pages with his slender fingers, had become one of my favorite sights.
