Eleanor felt suffocated beneath the flood of condemning stares and simmering anger directed at her, but she refused to show it.
Keeping her composure, she greeted Leopold first. No matter how chaotic the situation was, the crown prince was still the crown prince.
“Eleanor Stikoff greets His Imperial Highness—”
“You’ve heard the news?”
Leopold cut her off as though even hearing her formal greeting annoyed him. Careful not to stumble over her words, Eleanor answered quietly.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“And that damned fiancé of yours publicly ruined Lydia’s reputation as well?”
“…Yes.”
Leopold’s deep, low voice carried unmistakable fury.
Edward Hans had publicly proposed to his former fiancée’s younger sister in front of countless witnesses.
For someone who treasured Lydia so dearly, there was no way Leopold could remain calm.
Eleanor almost corrected him—former fiancé, not fiancé—but the icy chill in Leopold’s eyes made her clamp her mouth shut.
“Eleanor, is that why you broke off the engagement from the beginning?”
Sinclair’s reproachful tone lashed at her like a whip. He ran a gloved hand through his hair and exhaled irritably.
If Eleanor had simply told them the real reason for the broken engagement, they could have prepared for this in advance.
Sinclair made no effort to hide his displeasure at how her thoughtless lie had returned like a tidal wave.
“Right. But that was—”
“What exactly were you thinking when you hid it? Were you embarrassed?”
Vincent cut her off sharply.
He had been with Lydia during Edward’s proposal.
He had witnessed firsthand just how cornered and humiliated Lydia had been by her older sister’s ex-fiancé, and even now his fists remained clenched so tightly his knuckles had turned white.
“Why did you do that, Sister? If you’d told us Edward Hans liked Lydia and that was why the engagement ended, we could’ve handled this before it escalated.”
Even Ernst’s gentle but pressuring words made Eleanor’s lips tremble.
She didn’t know where to begin explaining. No—would they even listen if she tried?
The tangled mess of words lodged painfully in her throat. No matter how carefully she chose them, those cold, hardened gazes did not seem willing to hear her out.
“…After the engagement ended, everything went quiet. I thought that was the end of it. I never imagined this would happen…”
Eleanor barely managed to speak.
Throughout the entire process of informing both families and finalizing the paperwork, Edward had said nothing.
In front of Eleanor, he had bowed his head like a criminal. He never once came near the Stikoff estate.
Seeing that, she had let her guard down.
Yes, he had confessed that he could no longer hide his feelings for Lydia, but Eleanor had assumed he had finally come to his senses and intended to end things with at least some shred of decency.
She had misjudged him.
She should have remembered the man who had once been her second fiancé—the one who had confessed to Lydia during their youthful years.
If Edward Hans had been in his right mind from the start, he never would have confessed to Lydia at all.
If her older sister’s ex-fiancé declared his feelings for her, Lydia—the girl he supposedly loved so dearly—would inevitably suffer for it too.
But to think he would go beyond a confession and publicly propose?
That foolishness had crossed every possible line.
At this point, he wasn’t merely insane.
This was not something that could be dismissed as simple recklessness.
This was Eleanor’s third broken engagement.
And it meant Lydia had now “stolen” her sister’s fiancé for the third time.
There were almost no people left in the Empire who didn’t know that fact.
Thanks to Edward’s public proposal, the only thing awaiting the two sisters now was the complete destruction of their reputations.
“I thought Edward had enough sense not to do something like that—”
“Don’t make excuses. You stayed silent because you didn’t want to lose face, even though your sister could’ve ended up in this exact situation.”
Sinclair’s cold rebuke shut Eleanor’s mouth again.
Saying it wasn’t because she was ashamed would only make things worse.
It was better to remain silent.
“Everyone, stop it! This isn’t my sister’s fault. Don’t blame her…”
Lydia, who had been clinging tightly to Eleanor’s arm, finally stepped forward.
Her voice trembled faintly, as though she were about to cry.
As if by magic, the four men fell silent at once.
All of them stiffened nervously, afraid Lydia might start crying again.
Lydia carefully wrapped both hands around Eleanor’s, desperately trying to hold back her tears. Even her tiny sniffles looked heartbreakingly pitiful.
“Sister, I’ve never liked any of your fiancés. Really. Even when we met, I only greeted them politely and left right away. I never had any kind of improper relationship with your fiancé—”
“I know, Lydia. I already knew Edward’s feelings were one-sided.”
“I’m sorry, Sister. I’m sorry because of me.”
At last, tears rolled down Lydia’s cheeks.
She cried so delicately that anyone watching would feel their heart ache for her.
Eleanor dabbed gently at Lydia’s cheeks with a handkerchief.
She opened her mouth to comfort her sobbing little sister.
“This isn’t your fault, Lydia.”
But the words did not come from Eleanor.
Someone else spoke first.
Without even turning around, Eleanor recognized Vincent’s voice.
“That bastard’s the crazy one.”
“That’s right, Lydia. You’re the victim here. Don’t cry.”
Ernst gently soothed her after Vincent’s rough words.
“We’ll make sure he never comes near you again.”
“I’ll send a letter to the Hans family first thing tomorrow.”
The men who had spoken so coldly to Eleanor now competed to comfort Lydia with voices warm as spring sunlight.
Lydia sniffled softly, dragging out a tiny, tearful, “Buuut…”
Eleanor said nothing.
She could physically feel the stark difference in how they treated them.
The focus of the conversation had already shifted completely to Lydia, and all Eleanor could do was quietly watch.
“You did absolutely nothing wrong, so don’t cry. Edward Hans crossed the line.”
“Ernst is right. Proposing without knowing his place…”
Sinclair frowned deeply, looking personally insulted.
“But other people won’t think that way. They’ll assume something really happened between me and him because he was Sister’s ex-fiancé. What am I supposed to do?”
“Lydia, we can prove your innocence. Trust us. We’ll always protect you.”
“If anyone says something to your face, tell me. I’ll blast them away with magic immediately.”
Ernst and Vincent offered entirely different kinds of comfort.
Eleanor felt the tension slowly leaving Lydia’s body beneath her hands.
“I’ll cut out the tongues of anyone who dares say such things in front of you.”
“Whaaat… Leo, when you say things like that, it sounds way too real.”
“He probably means it. Vincent too.”
“…What? You’re not all going to fight because of me, right? Absolutely not!”
At Sinclair’s calm agreement, Lydia looked horrified. She released Eleanor’s hand and jumped to her feet.
As the warmth suddenly vanished from her grasp, Eleanor quietly folded her hands onto her lap.
“If it’s not what you want, I’ll restrain myself. But if it’s to protect you, I’ll fight anytime.”
“Still, no fighting. I really don’t want anyone getting hurt because of me.”
“So physical violence is the only thing forbidden, then?”
Vincent immediately seized on the loophole.
While Lydia stood speechless for a moment, he swiftly turned to Sinclair.
“What kind of family is Hans again?”
“A baron’s family with less than two hundred years of history. And he’s only the second son.”
“And someone like that dared aim for Lydia?”
“He got bold because Eleanor agreed to marry him. Didn’t even realize the Stikoffs were far above his station.”
At the mention of her name, Eleanor flinched.
No one noticed.
“Honestly, he was never worthy of marrying into the Stikoffs.”
“It was self-destructive from the beginning. I remember wondering what kind of insane engagement that was.”
“Lydia’s the only one who suffered because of it! Damn it, this pisses me off.”
Vincent stomped his foot harshly, raking a hand through his bright red hair.
Meanwhile, Ernst gently comforted the gloomy Lydia.
“Don’t worry too much, Lydia. This truly isn’t your fault.”
“Okay… But I still don’t understand why things turned out like this.”
“It’s natural for people to fall for you. The problem is that Edward Hans forgot his place.”
Leopold’s lips twisted coldly.
Resting his chin against one hand, he tilted his head slightly. A dangerous shadow darkened his eyes.
“People who forget their place need to be reminded of it.”
“An entirely reasonable statement, Your Highness. We’ll carve it into his bones if necessary—that Lydia Stikoff is far beyond someone like him.”
Sinclair accepted the sentiment coolly.
Among everyone present, those two had been raised with the highest status and privilege. They could not tolerate unworthy people laying hands on the precious Lydia they cherished.
The only people they acknowledged as acceptable around her were the ones already in this room.
No one else deserved even a fragment of her smile.
“Thank you, everyone. I feel better knowing you’re all on my side. …Ah! Sister.”
Lydia, who had stopped crying and was smiling brightly again, suddenly remembered Eleanor and turned around.
Eleanor had been sitting there like a decorative ornament. At Lydia’s call, she instinctively smiled back.
Apparently, her role had returned.
“I’m really sorry to you, Sister. But I swear to God, I was never involved with your ex-fiancé. You believe me, right…?”
Lydia asked carefully, wringing her fingers together.
Even the anxious way she watched Eleanor’s expression looked utterly lovable.
Eleanor lifted the corners of her lips higher.
“Of course. Lydia, I’ve never doubted you for even a moment.”
“…Really? You won’t hate me?”
“Of course not. You’re my beautiful, lovable little sister. How could I ever?”
Lydia’s face brightened completely.
She threw her arms around Eleanor’s neck and rubbed her cheek affectionately against hers. Eleanor laughed softly, both fond and ticklish.
“You really are the best sister! I knew you’d say that.”
Eleanor paused for the briefest moment before quickly smoothing it away and hugging her back.
Right. I’m your sister.
Of course this is what I should do.
A gentle, loving smile—the kind only a devoted older sister of the heroine could wear—rose to Eleanor’s lips.
That smile remained there for a very long time.
Until the moment she left the room.
Eleanor and Lydia’s rooms were on different floors.
Eleanor’s was on the third floor.
Lydia’s was on the second.
Now that the heroine’s extra older sister was no longer needed, Eleanor left Lydia’s room.
No one stopped her.
Lydia even waved goodbye cheerfully and thanked her.
Thanks to that, Eleanor was able to return to her room easily with Lisa.
While Lisa prepared the bathwater, Eleanor rested against the sofa.
What she truly wanted was to collapse onto the bed, but she was still wearing her outdoor clothes.
Instead, she sprawled across the sofa and tilted her head back against the cushion, slowly closing her eyes.
The last image she had seen in that dark room resurfaced in her mind.
Lydia seated in the center, surrounded by the four men sitting close beside her.
It looked like a tiny, delicate flower protected by the sun, the wind, the trees, and the earth itself.
‘Well, they are the heroine and the male leads.’
A faint laugh escaped Eleanor.
After Lydia, the four male leads were probably the most beloved people in this world.
They loved Lydia.
And fundamentally, the way they looked at Eleanor was no different from Edward.
Lydia’s plain, insignificant older sister who only caused trouble.
As male leads, the only person truly important to them was Lydia.
The only reason they showed even the slightest interest in Eleanor was because she happened to be the heroine’s sister.
That was why Eleanor never tried to become close to them.
They were characters created solely for Lydia—people more bound to the novel than anyone else.
To Eleanor, who wanted to carve out a life completely separate from the story, they felt deeply unpleasant.
Noisy voices drifted in through the open window.
Eleanor walked over and looked outside.
Apparently the four men were finally leaving for their respective homes.
Below, Lydia stood seeing them off while the four men gazed at her lovingly.
‘Still… sometimes I can’t help thinking this.’
Leaning her arms against the window frame and resting her chin atop them, Eleanor watched the picture-perfect group below.
They were so harmonious together that she didn’t even feel jealous enough to want to join them.
Her lips parted slowly.
“What a bunch of bastards.”
That thought.
Or perhaps, her genuine feelings.
Understanding they were the male leads with her head and accepting them with her heart were two entirely different matters.
After all, every single one of them treated her like trash.
“…!”
Just as the last syllable left her lips, Leopold suddenly turned and looked upward.
Directly toward Eleanor’s room.
As the wind rustled the tree leaves, his dark black hair shifted with it.
Even from a distance, his violet eyes were strikingly clear.
Their gazes met.
Eleanor startled slightly, but quickly put on a polite, businesslike smile and bowed her head.
It honestly felt like he had heard her insult.
Her heart thumped uneasily.
After offering the bare minimum courtesy, Leopold turned away again.
He gave no response to her greeting.
Staring down at the back of his black-haired head, Eleanor reconsidered her thoughts.
Yeah.
They really were a bunch of bastards.
