Philip watched Asella as her body shuddered like a dying animal with a cruel smile on his face.

“Even if it didn’t, I will feel lonely when you leave.”

“F-Father…”

“I figured it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have someone else come to take your place.”

Asella’s eyes twitched in shock.

Mariel. Her only sister.

This was Asella’s weakness and the reason why she had been living in this mansion without defying Philip in any way.

Three years ago, when Mariel made a small mistake, Philip got extremely angry.

“You stupid bastard! How much do you think that’s worth?! You shattered it into pieces!”

“I made a terrible mistake. I’m sorry, Father.”

“Stop it!”

Just before Philip’s hand reached Mariel, Asella stood firmly against him. With the single aim of protecting her sister in mind, she mustered the courage she didn’t usually have at that moment.

It was her first and last act of rebellion.

“If you hit Mariel, I will not stand by and watch.”

“And if you don’t?”

“How long do you think I’ll… keep my eyes closed, ears closed, and mouth shut?”

No matter how ruined Asella’s position was, he could not prevent her from doing the essential social activities.

Even if the aristocratic society had a decent view of Anthony, if she were to say or do anything against that, it would cause a big scandal.

As he looked for a way to strip her from her title and kick her out of the family, the only thing that remained was her political standing, and it wasn’t long before she had her debutante.

The plan was to have her participate in important social events, including the Imperial banquets for the New Year’s and Founding Festival, so that she could be sold off as soon as a suitable marriage partner appeared.

However, it was at these important events that Asella could expose Philip’s true colours and for raising his hand on Mariel.

“How dare you threaten me?”

Philip’s expression twisted grimly. His angry face turned red as if it were about to burst with steam. He gritted his teeth and shouted.

“Do you think you’re gonna get away with that?”

“But you won’t be able to achieve what you want.”

Philip was the guardian of the future heir to the Chartus family.

As such, when stories circulated that he had abused his daughter, the official bloodline heir, in order to make his own adopted son the heir, Anthony’s succession to the marquisate would be far from certain.

The nobles were a group that cared not only about their own interests, but their prestige and appearances.

If it was just the vassals of the Chartus family, he might be able to push them aside with force, but he couldn’t make enemies with the other nobles.

In the end, Philip could not raise his hand to whip Mariel after that day.

“I don’t even want to see your face, so go to your room and lock yourself in! Don’t even think about crawling out until I call you again!”

Asella patted herself on the chest, thinking that she was lucky that the issue ended at that level.

However, Philip’s retaliation continued.

A few days later, he sent Mariel to a villa in the southern part of the Marquisate.

The Marquisate of Chartus was relatively close to the capital, but even so, it took four days by carriage to reach the southern part of the Marquisate.

One night, when Asella went to a banquet that Philip had ordered her to attend, she found Mariel’s room empty and cried all night.

She couldn’t even greet him properly, and she couldn’t sleep for a while because she felt guilty that she had left the little girl alone.

A month later, she received a letter. The letter was carefully written in Mariel’s childish handwriting.

[Dear Sister, I’m doing well here. The weather is warm and everyone is kind.]

Asella read the letter over and over, thinking of Mariel, who must have worked very hard to write it with her clumsy little hands.

“Perhaps it was for the best…”

It’s not like she was going to stay here.

If Mariel could live comfortably, it might be better for her to leave. Of course, there had to be a price to be paid for her sister’s safety.

“You do know that it’s only through your hard work that Mariel is doing well, right?”

“You don’t care about Mariel anymore?”

Philip used Mariel as leverage whenever necessary, and Asella could not disobey a word he said. She could not dare to speak back.

She wondered if her little sister, now alone and far from home, would get hurt if she disobeyed.

Just like now.

“When someone is kind to you, you have to be able to accept it gratefully. Otherwise, I might change my mind and it might come back to bite you in the neck.”

‘Do you understand, Asella?’

Philip’s venomous eyes curved softly. His cracked tongue twitched as he whispered terrible words.

Like a doomed animal, Asella’s will was instantly broken.

As the withered plants and dried branches turned into dust, the faint budding of hope vanished, leaving only ashes behind, as if it had always been such a thing.

“Just because something upsetting happened, you shouldn’t have to keep recalling it.”

“…”

“Do you understand?”

Philip reached out and lightly tapped Asella on the shoulder.

The touch of his hand on her shoulder gave her goosebumps and caused her stomach to feel nauseous. She even had an instant urge to cut off the part where he touched.

She thought that being lashed by a whip might be better.

But she had to respond.

“… Yes, Father.”

Asella barely answered, blinking away the tears in her eyes.

The expression on Philip’s face became less stiff as he smiled after listening to her answer.

Only then did Philip smile, and then they heard the butler’s voice from outside.

“Your Excellency, Madame Efredieu Boutique just arrived. They are waiting in front of the house.”

“Just in time.”

Philip said with a satisfied smile.

“Tell them to come in.”