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My name is Ekaterina Jurnova. Daughter of the proud Jurnova ducal house.

(*Ah, that’s the villainess’s name from the otome game. And her Onii-chan’s name is Aleksei, right? Only the first names were in a sort of Imperial Russia style in that world.*)

At fifteen, I left the ducal domain for the first time in my life to come to the imperial capital and enroll in the magic academy. Until half a year ago I’d been confined with my mother, so the world feels far too vast and terrifying to me.

(*Wait, confined? That wasn’t in the game’s setting notes.*)

The Jurnova Dukedom is one of the three great ducal houses. The first duke, Sergei, was the younger brother and most loyal retainer of Piotr the Great, founder of the Empire. Thus he was granted one of the Empire’s largest and richest domains. The house has produced many empresses and married off many imperial princesses, maintaining a high-born lineage such that, if the Emperor ever lacked an heir, the Jurnovas could even provide one. Our grandmother, my brother’s and mine, was herself an imperial princess.

(*Whoa, that’s huge. That’s like the eighth shogun, Yoshimune, who got adopted from the Kii-branch of the Tokugawa. Your house is basically one of the Three Tokugawa Families—a super elite.*)

Grandmother was proud and strict. Even for the Jurnovas she was in a class of her own as an imperial princess, the center of everything. She adored Father, her only son, but… she utterly despised Mother, who had married in from a marquis’s house.

I’ve never met Father. I’ve heard that after I was born, Father never once came to see Mother. I never saw Brother either. Apparently right after I was born I was taken to Grandmother, and Mother was forbidden to see me.
Being a girl, Grandmother had no interest in me, so she had me stay with Mother. That was fine when I was small, but life gradually grew harsh. We weren’t allowed to leave a detached residence on the ducal lands; we lived together in a cold house, lacking even proper food and clothes.

(*What the hell?! That’s awful. Say no to In-law abuses! Who cares if you’re an imperial princess, you old hag!*)

Mother always said to me: “You must become Empress. If you do, even your grandmother will have to bow her head to you. You’ll be able to do anything you want. That’s why, meet the prince and become Empress. Then you can rescue me from here.” She would say this while crying, with a face that still held its beauty but had grown gaunt—my own face exactly.

(*S-so that’s why you were chasing the imperial prince… Uhh, sorry.*)

Mother had always been frail; by the time I turned ten she could hardly get out of bed all day.
When I wasn’t visiting her, I’d just stare out the window. All I could see were a few servants and the forest changing color with the seasons.

But every so often, a group would pass by the front of the house.

Watching them was my one pleasure. There was usually a boy about my age at the center of the group of burly men, they were probably off going hunting. There were no other children at the house, so those moments were the only times I saw a kid like me. The boy with the light blue hair and beautiful features always stared at me until he passed by.

(*Onii-chan… you must have wanted to see your mother. But the old hag wouldn’t let you, so you just came nearby without being able to show yourself… damn it, old hag, unforgivable!*)

That life came to an abrupt end half a year ago.
A messenger from the ducal manor arrived at our always-silent detached house to announce: Father had suddenly passed away in a freak accident, and Grandmother had followed him in death soon after.

Then, claiming it was the new duke’s order, they shoved Mother and me into a carriage. Mother had been bedridden for years, so they practically forced her against her will. As we jolted along in my first-ever carriage ride, I tried desperately to soothe and support Mother, but by the time we reached the manor she was burning with fever and barely conscious.
The manor’s butler, seeing her condition, turned pale and shouted at the messengers, but it was already too late. He immediately summoned a doctor and had Mother carried inside, but lying on the luxurious bed she already looked far too pale, as if no longer alive.

That was when my brother burst into the room.

But I didn’t realize it was him. He was so tall, and the monocle gave him a stern look—I thought he was a much older, grown man.

Mother opened her eyes.
She looked at him and tears spilled down her face.

“At last… you’ve come for me, Aleksandr-sama…”

She had called him by Father’s name.

Brother froze for a moment. But then he said gently:
“I’m sorry… Anastasia.”

That was Mother’s final moment.

Brother has never once been called by his own name by Mother.

(*Ughhh… I’m crying so hard. Poor Onii-chan, you had it so rough too…*)

Yes, Brother must have suffered too. I actually knew it, deep down.

But as duke he performed perfectly. He held a grand funeral for Mother, secured control of the lands, and looked so grown-up I couldn’t believe he was only two years older than me.

He pitied me and treated me so well. He gave me a large, wonderful room, beautiful clothes, and many servants to call. This was a life out of dreams compared to my livelihood in the detached house. Even after he returned to the academy he sent me frequent letters, asking if I lacked anything or was uncomfortable.

…And yet I’ve never responded properly to him.
I’ve refused the things he’s given me, acted spoiled and harsh. Even on the journey from the domain to the capital, when he tried to speak to me, I stayed stubbornly silent.

(*Sounds like what they call testing behavior. They say abused children do it—trying to see if someone is really on their side.*)

I know I shouldn’t. But whenever I try to respond to him, I remember Mother’s last moments and somehow anger welled up.

(*Because the last person she spoke to was Onii-chan? Even though she was delirious and mistook him for your father?*)

Surely Mother never really wanted me. Grandmother, Father, Mother—they all only needed my brother. What am I, then?

(*Ahh… you’re all twisted up.*
*Yeah, I’m not gonna sugarcoat it, some parents really don’t want their kids. Rare, but it happens.*
*And in a great noble house it’s probably all about the eldest son. That’s normal.*
*But in your case, the evil root was that mother-in-law witch.*
*I can’t say anything about your father, but your Onii-chan, your mom, you—you’re all victims of hers. If you’re angry, write the hag’s name on a piece of paper and stomp it with your stiletto heels, or dropkick her gravestone or something. Taking it out on your brother is just going to hurt you too. You’re actually a pretty good kid at heart, you know?*)

Stiletto heels? Fufu… thank you.
But who are you?

(*Yeah… I think…*
*I think I’m you.*)