“Hello, Milena. I’m Lariette.”
Little Milena’s eyes sparkled.
To her emerald-green eyes, the world had always been beautiful.
And the older sister reflected in those eyes was no exception.
Lariette was so beautiful that people often said she looked like a child blessed by the Goddess of Spring herself.
Young Milena didn’t dislike the sister she had suddenly gained.
On the contrary.
She was thrilled.
A beautiful older sister.
The thought alone made her heart race.
“Hello, Sister. It’s nice to meet you.”
She didn’t understand what it meant to suddenly have an older sibling.
She didn’t notice the expression on her mother’s face as she looked at the child she had brought home.
Young Milena simply—
Was happy.
Happy to have a sister.
“How adorable. I think we’ll get along very well.”
Lariette’s pink eyes were warm and gentle.
And because of that warmth, Milena never saw the shadow hidden beneath her smile.
She didn’t understand the true meaning behind Lariette’s very first greeting.
Milena had been a flower raised in a greenhouse.
A child sheltered from all the filth and ugliness of the world.
She had never learned that a flower blooming in mud could carry deadly poison.
Golden hair like molten sunlight.
Lovely pink eyes.
Though thin and frail from years of malnutrition, Lariette needed only one bright smile to melt the servants’ defenses.
Winning hearts and attention came naturally to her.
The illegitimate daughter from the slums knew instinctively how to survive.
As if she had always belonged there, she slipped seamlessly into the household.
And little by little—
She took control of it.
Even young Milena could feel the atmosphere in the mansion changing.
But she never thought deeply about it.
And then—
One day.
The smile vanished from Milena’s face.
“Sob... Milena, my poor little sister...”
Tears fell onto Milena’s tiny shoulders.
Lariette hugged her tightly, pretending to comfort her.
But Milena found the embrace irritating.
Even so, she couldn’t react.
Because—
Her mother was dead.
The person who had been her entire world was gone.
Staring blankly at the freshly covered grave, Milena couldn’t believe it.
The cause of death was listed as sudden illness.
Her mother had always been weak, but she had never suffered from a fatal disease.
There had been no accident.
No warning.
She had simply gone to sleep—
And never woken up.
What could be more meaningless than that?
Overnight, Milena had lost her mother.
She had a sister now.
But no one could replace her mother.
Her world collapsed.
Only emptiness remained.
Even her grief felt hollow.
The tears wouldn’t come.
“My, you’d never know which one is the real daughter.”
“Exactly. The actual daughter isn’t even crying.”
“And the new girl fits in like she was born a noble.”
“She’s so beautiful it’s hard to believe she was a commoner.”
The stain of illegitimacy remained.
But the Count officially recognized Lariette as a noble.
The eldest daughter of the Count’s household.
A valuable piece for future political marriages.
The funeral wasn’t truly about mourning the Countess.
It was a stage.
A place to evaluate Lariette.
No one cared about the sudden death.
No one grieved.
Greedy eyes focused solely on Lariette.
Milena heard none of it.
The colorful world she had known had turned black.
“Milena, are you going to stay locked in your room forever?”
“Please... just leave me alone, Sister.”
“Alright.”
After trying to comfort her a few times, Lariette quickly lost interest.
Milena remained inside her room for a long time.
And during that time—
She never realized how many people Lariette was making into allies.
Once upon a time, Milena had been the Count’s only beloved daughter.
Now she was second.
The people who had belonged to her mother disappeared almost overnight.
One by one, they turned their backs on her.
Even her father.
Slap!
Her head snapped sideways.
“How can a child be so cruel? Are you looking down on your sister because she came from outside?”
Milena’s green eyes trembled.
Her world flipped upside down.
She had never been struck before.
Never experienced fear like this.
Shaking, she looked up at her father.
His face was twisted with anger.
“I—I never did that.”
“I know everything! You bullied your sister because you’re the legitimate daughter! You stole her belongings! Just look at your room!”
“I didn’t—!”
“Lock her in the attic! She won’t come out until she reflects on her behavior!”
No matter what she said—
Nobody listened.
Lariette was the good child.
Milena was the bad one.
And as time passed, those roles became absolute.
Milena, who had been raised with love, knew nothing of the world.
She didn’t understand how cruel a child from the slums could become to survive.
Comparisons became a daily occurrence.
She was constantly measured against Lariette.
If she wanted value, she had to prove it.
Again.
And again.
And again.
But the harder she struggled—
The deeper she sank into the mud.
The more she tried—
The more people ignored her.
Even her tutors treated her coldly.
And so Milena grew up alone.
Alone inside her own home.
At sixteen—
Milena met Kalion, the Grand Duke.
It happened by chance.
The newly enthroned Grand Duke visited the county during an inspection tour.
She was told to stay out of sight.
So she did.
She didn’t attend the banquet.
While avoiding the Grand Duke’s entourage, she wandered through the garden.
And accidentally collided with a solid chest.
“Please be careful.”
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
That was all.
Silver-gray eyes met shadowed green ones.
But there was no flutter in her heart.
No excitement.
No destiny.
Just a polite encounter between strangers.
Milena had little interest in the Grand Duke.
Someone else caught her attention.
A man who secretly met with her sister.
Those red eyes were far more noticeable than the Grand Duke.
At some point, a mysterious man had begun coming and going from the estate as if it were his own home.
Nobody questioned it.
Were they pretending not to see?
Or did they truly not know?
The grown-up Lariette spent her time with a man whose name no one even knew.
The most sought-after beauty in Northern society.
Shouldn’t she be more careful?
Yet strangely—
The always-perfect Lariette became different whenever she was with him.
She smiled.
Her guard vanished.
Since arriving at the Count’s estate—
It was the first genuine smile Milena had ever seen on her sister’s face.
Lariette looked so happy.
So unbelievably happy.
That Milena became curious.
Who is he?
He looked like a nobleman.
But she had never seen him before.
Even Milena, who had memorized every Northern noble family tree, didn't recognize him.
Was he from another region?
Silver-white hair.
Crimson eyes.
An incredibly handsome man.
Yet she felt no attraction toward him.
Only curiosity.
So she asked.
“Sister, who is that?”
Even the maids pretended not to notice him.
Lariette, who had been quietly talking with the man, turned around.
Her face wore the same gentle smile as always.
But her voice was cold.
“Oh? You can see him?”
“What does that mean?”
“Didn't you cast a concealment spell?”
“...”
The man said nothing.
Lariette shot him a sharp glare before replying.
“He’s a mage. Don’t worry about him.”
“A mage...?”
Only then did the red-eyed man look at Milena.
His gaze resembled that of a dead person.
Milena instinctively recoiled.
A mage?
In the North?
She knew how rare they were.
Even the Emperor desperately tried to recruit them.
Yet someone like that was standing beside Lariette.
Northern nobles flooded Lariette with marriage proposals.
Was this mage one of her suitors too?
“Milena.”
Lariette laughed softly.
“No matter how much you stare, he won't even talk to you.”
Milena ignored the mockery.
Lariette sighed.
Then the corners of her lips lifted.
“You know the Master of the Mage Tower changed recently, right?”
So what?
Milena’s eyes asked the question.
Lariette smiled wider.
“This man.”
Her pink eyes gleamed proudly.
“Is the new Master of the Mage Tower.”
For the first time—
The silent man spoke.
His crimson eyes remained fixed on Milena.
Cold.
Empty.
Unreadable.
And yet somehow dangerous.
Milena suddenly felt as if she had stepped into the middle of a story she was never meant to be part of.
A story that had already begun long before she noticed it.
And one that would eventually change everything.