A Painting of the Villainess as a Young Lady

What had made these siblings as foolish as they were?

“We were the ones who made Violet like that.”

“Do you even hear what you’re saying right now?!”

“We were the ones who drove her to do those things.”

With hands clenched into fists, Roen spoke calmly. The guilt he had towards his younger sister had long grown uncontrollably within him.

Even if he were to treat her well now in the name of atonement, it would not erase all the times that he had hurt her in the past.

“Yes, there was a time when I thought it was right to think and act like you, Brother. Violet was always angry. She insulted Aileen, did vicious things and harmed other people out of spite. All of those were terrible acts, and such acts are worth despising.”

As Roen spoke slowly, he could barely keep his voice from trembling.

“But I have to ask you, Brother. Was there ever a time that you thought about why she did that?”

“……”

“Just once. Did you try listening to her properly?”

“What is it that you’re getting at.”

“It wasn’t like this when we were younger. We weren’t like this, not you, not me, not Violet… Vee.”

“……”

“Everyone just started to hate her, everyone just kept saying that she was wicked… Yet she was only a child. For as young as she had been, was there anything that she could have done?”

Violet was always enraged. She always lashed out in anger and acted viciously against anyone in her path. She carried malice towards everyone.

A person who had only received hatred would also only return hatred.

“She asked us for help.”

“Do I have to repeat myself each time? What is it that you want.”

“She begged us for help over and over again—to listen to her, even just once…”

“Roen!”

“I’ve been saying what I wanted to say for a while now, Brother.”

We’re the ones who made her do that.

“If that child is a wicked woman as everyone says, it was us who made her that way.”

At the quiet words that continued to flow, Mikhail’s eyes glinted.

No matter what reason there was behind it, evil was evil. Malicious acts should never be dismissed as the fault of others.

Regardless of anything, Violet was a wicked woman.

“So you, what you’re saying right now…”

Good and evil were the opposite of each other. He who punishes evil was a good man. Therefore Mikhail, who did not tolerate evil deeds, was a righteous man.

He must be a righteous man.

“You’re saying that I.”

“……”

“I’m the bad one here, huh?”

His glinting eyes trembled constantly. Not a single grain of guilt could be seen in those eyes.

Roen smiled.

“…You were wrong, Brother.”

Roen took a sip out of his tea. His mouth felt dry as he smiled bitterly.

“Everything you’ve done so far…”

Malicious acts should not be dismissed as the fault of others, as he said.

“Were things that should not have been done.”

Violet did not blame others for any of her own misdeeds. She did not even show any guilt for them.

But here Mikhail was, insisting that Violet was to blame for everything he did.

“We were wrong. All we did was criticize her for her faults without asking why, all we did was get angry at her, and—right—all you did, Brother, was use violence against her. We kept pushing her and telling her she’s at fault. But you… you’re the one who’s wrong.”

Physical violence was not the only kind of violence.

In this world, there were a plethora of ways, invisible to the naked eye, to inflict harm upon others.

Bang!

Mikhail’s hand hit the desk once more. As he hit the hard surface with his bare hand several times now, it had turned red.

The air trembled due to the aura that now covered both of his fists.

Roen looked straight into Mikhail’s glinting eyes.

“That, cannot…”

He did not admit any of his wrongdoings.

“That can’t be! You’re saying that I was wrong? That I’m at fault? I—”

I am Mikhail!

Roen looked into Mikhail’s eyes, hoping that they would contain even a small hint of guilt.

But there was no such thing.

Just unabashed haughtiness remained in his gaze as it always did. This man did not admit to his guilt. He would not even acknowledge it.

“Why must Violet’s— Why must that evil thing’s wrongdoings be attributed to me?!”

Had he not heard a single word that Roen had uttered thus far? He inwardly clicked his tongue.

He really didn’t know if Mikhail’s brain was capable of a single thought or if it was just truly mere decoration.

‘Indeed, if he had a functional brain, he would have stopped persecuting Violet long before.’

Time and time again, Mikhail vilified Violet. He kept on telling her that she was the one who did everything wrong. How ironic was it that he lived with such double standards.

Contrary to Mikhail’s line of logic, it was impossible for the world to be divided simply between good and evil.

Everett was a noble household and a founding family of the empire.

As a household that had power second only to the imperial family itself, House Everett was leading numerous other vassals. The family carried with them an aristocratic blue bloodline that served to protect the country, and the responsibility they carried on their shoulders included the lives of countless other people.

“…There’s a limit to subjecting others to such bullshit. Leave.”

Thus, House Everett’s successor, Mikhail, had to be completely flawless.

And Roen could only scoff at that man’s obstinacy.

There was no perfect human being in this world. The position of a household heir was a heavy one; even if he had gone mad because of it, must he have numbed himself as he went crazy?