Big Sister Esmae

As time flew by, Faenia had fully embraced her life as Faenia Lutatia Roscius. In the beginning, she found all of her lessons to be quite time-consuming and sometimes hard even. She wasn't originally a sophisticated person, all the rules were bothersome and yet she had to comply to become a fine lady. The lessons became easier for her later on once she got the hang of it. She also got used to having four bodyguards on her tail twenty-four/seven. The knights were Lewin, Ulric, Nigel, and Ivo.

She had suspected that her father placed a few more knights protecting her in the dark, just as what her father had mentioned in his conversation with the knight commander. She was right, however, it turned out to be unnecessary. She was supposed to experience getting kidnapped by rogues few times but her four bodyguards were so competent, each time the kidnappers didn't have the chance to execute their plan before they got captured. What happened next, Faenia didn't know but she guessed the criminals were taken to be questioned before getting thrown in prison to rot. That was the kind of world she lived in; most punishment would lead to death.

Nevertheless, except for the attempted kidnappings, her life so far was peaceful. She stayed at home most of the time, either studying or bumming around. The best part of it was eating as many desserts as she wished, though the maids would stop her before she ate too many. The four knights were gentlemen and diligently stayed by her to protect her from any harm. Outside of not having much personal space, the luxury was so great it got to the point she would mistake herself as a princess if she didn't know better.

"Lady Orephia, I'm so jealous of you. How can you have such a well-mannered and pretty daughter? Ah, mine is so disobedient, I don't know what went wrong."

"Indeed. Although I don't have a daughter, you should see my son… Just thinking about it gives me a headache. Lady Orephia, what's your secret?"

All the noblewomen looked at Lady Orephia with admiration. It wasn't the first time they have asked such a question; every time they attending the tea party hosted by Lady Orephia, they couldn't refrain themselves from asking. Lady Orephia was troubled, her daughter had always been well-behaved and quiet ever since she was born, so there was no secret.

Lady Orephia chuckled. "Ladies, I actually didn't do anything. I guess she took that from her father. Adrius, my husband, has always been a reserved person but he is also very talented."

One of the ladies sighed in adoration, it was the countess of Vanne, she said, "Lord and Lady Orephia are both amazing, of course, the daughter has to be amazing too. I hope mine will stop skipping her lessons to play around, I fear for her future."

"Your daughter is so energetic. At least she comes to her mother to play, " Lord Orephia sighed sadly, "Mine is well-behaved and mature, but she never plays with me. In fact, she's more with her father than her mother, me. How sad is that? I'm starting to envy her father."

All of them began to laugh happily. Even if they talked about their own children as if they were troublesome, they still loved them. Talking about their children was one of the topics to pass time since they weren't particularly interested in politics, something that could turn into an unpleasant conversation. Tea parties were supposed to be filled with peace and joy among the ladies.

"Well, seeing the children getting along here makes me feel happy."

"Lady Rochforth is right, having the children join the tea party is such a good idea."

Faenia, who could hear everything, wanted to disagree. Since the tea party was inside the Roscius manor and she had to attend it, her father agreed to temporarily dismiss her bodyguards. Naturally, she was happy with the result, but she was annoyed at how the children of the invited noblewomen approached her, interrupting her free time.

She didn't want to get to know the children—but then again, she was a child herself. Faenia sighed as she had no choice but to play along because those children would become adults that played a part of the female lead's life, no matter how small or big of a role. On the bright side, who knows, she might be able to use them in the future. Faenia wasn't a saint, she would manipulate and exploit people if needed, anything to survive and escape her death.

"Lady Faenia is so pretty!" The voice belonged to Esmae Priya Rosamund.

Faenia gently shook her head. "I think Lady Esmae is prettier. Your golden hair shines very brightly, just like your smile."

Instantly, Esmae felt like fainting, her cheeks reddened. Such a cute and kind girl who was only two years older than her, Faenia didn't understand how she became a villain in the novel.

Esmae Priya Rosamund was known for her beauty and talent in playing the piano, she was a lady any man would love to marry. However, she fell in love with the crown prince and seeing another girl by the side of the man she loved, she turned into a dangerously jealous woman. She abhorred the female lead, she did everything to make her leave the crown prince. In the end, her wicked jealousy got the best of her, and karma visited her. Both she and her family fell out of favour and ceased to exist.

Truth to be told, although reading the things Esmae had done to the female lead disgusted her, Faenia pitied her. To go so far for a man, to lose her dignity and self-respect just to make him love her back, was something Faenia could never understand. The man she loved was just another possessive, unreasonable, lovestruck fool. She could have done so much better, with the things she had, she could have found herself a better man. Even then, she could have captured the crown prince. But she didn't, she used her advantages unwisely and reaped what she sowed.

Faenia was different from Esmae, she would make sure to use the advantages she knew of wisely. Forget being a person with good morals if her life was at stake. If she had to become bad, she would make sure she was good at it and smart enough to not get checkmated.

Having to go to such great lengths just to avoid making the female lead fall into the river to save herself was ridiculous. But Faenia knew, the reality was harsh and unfair. She knew that if she didn't make the female lead fall into the river, who knew what was going to happen the next time?

Perhaps the female lead would trip herself while greeting her, or the female lead would burn her tongue drinking tea while having a chat with her—ultimately, the male lead would have her executed in either case. Faenia had no doubt the male lead was capable of doing it. After all, he was an unreasonable tyrant in love, anything that could harm his love he would destroy. The point was, being with the female lead was a ticking bomb. But, avoiding the female lead for the rest of her life was only her own wishful thinking.

She was in a novel, her character was not only the daughter of a marquess but also the female lead's closest friend, no matter how she saw it, it was inevitable to be a part of the female lead's life. This meant she was destined to die; death was her ending. The current Faenia was someone who loved to be alive, so her ending was unacceptable to her. She needed to create her own path, to survive until she could find a way to get out of the novel she so disliked. What was important was how she would play her cards right to turn into a role that was not meant to die due to the female lead.

A smile crept across her face. "Lady Esmae, you can call me Faenia instead. There's no need to be formal."

Esmae was flustered and rejected, "I can't do such thing, Lady Faenia. That would be wrong of me to do."

"Then… how about I call you big sister Esmae? We can be sisters! I'll be your little sister, what do you think?"

Esmae fiddled with her fingers, looking shy and happy at the same time. "Okay! I'm very happy to have you as my little sister."

Faenia laughed and said, "That's great. Big sister Esmae, let's hang out often!"

Esmae was full of glee, she smiled happily. "Yes, little sister Faenia!"

Both Faenia and Esmae were happily having their little moment until someone interfered.

"What's this? A piggy made a friend, wow."