Maxi felt the blood drain from her face. A gust of aridwind swept past. She hugged her forearms as they broke out in goosebumps.
“Wh-Why? What on earth i-is he…?”
Rosetta shrugged. “I don’t know the details. The beating must have been quite a shock. He confined himself in his room for a while, but then he began calling for his vassals to take letters all over Wedon. He might be pretending to obey the royal commands, but I think he’s secretly planning something. I’m sure he intends to carry it out once I’m married into the royal family.” Her lips twisted in irritation, but her face quickly regained its usual indifference as though none of this really mattered to her. “I’m simply letting you know. When the time is right, you should warn your husband to be prepared.”
Maxi blanched. “Wh-Why…didn’t you speak of this b-before? If you had—”
“Your husband would not have acquiesced. After all, it would be more expedient for him to deal with our father with force at the outset,” Rosetta replied coldly. “But I don’t want a war to send our kingdom into turmoil. Even I have a person or two I wish to protect.”
“I-I also don’t want a war…but…” Maxi forced a gulp. Although it was the truth, she hated the thought of Riftan being caught in a difficult situation even more.
Rosetta watched Maxi’s ashen face with a bemused expression. “Do you love him?”
Her uncharacteristic sentiment momentarily stupefied Maxi. She could not fathom Rosetta’s intentions in asking such a question.
When she remained silent, Rosetta gave her a spiteful smile. “It won’t work out. It’s beyond your capabilities.”
The certainty in her sister’s remark made something lurch in Maxi’s chest. It was no mystery that Rosetta thought little of her, but her blatant expression of it made Maxi’s blood boil.
Her face flushing in anger, Maxi raised her voice and said, “R-Riftan…ch-cherishes me. For a long time now, h-he has—”
“I didn’t say he was the problem. You are. You will never be able to love another person.”
Rosetta’s retort was cruelly calm. As though pricked by a thorn, Maxi’s hand flinched.
She shook her head to say that she found the accusation absurd. “A-And what makes you think…you know me well enough to say those things? You know…nothing about me. You said that I n-never bothered to get to know you, but the same g-goes for y—”
“But I do know you.”
Rosetta’s conviction temporarily left Maxi speechless. They had never been close. She could not fathom the reason behind her sister’s certainty.
Regardless, Rosetta continued in her detached manner, “I am probably the only person in the world who understands you, even if just a little bit.”
Maxi bristled at her sister’s arrogance. “S-Stop this nonsense.” Her face crumpled in anger. “Y-You? U-Understand me? How c-could you…when you’ve been showered with…p-praise and affection…all your life? No, you know nothing—”
“Affection?” Rosetta’s face twisted coldly. “Do you truly think that Father is capable of loving another soul?”
“H-He has always been p-proud—”
“Father considered me useful. He did not love me.”
“Y-You, at least—”
Maxi pressed her lips together. She could not bring herself to finish the sentence.
With a disdainful scoff, Rosetta said, “Yes. Unlike you, I was never beaten.”
The contempt in her voice made Maxi’s face burn. Yet Rosetta did not laugh at her expense. After gazing down at the dried grass on the flower bed with a forlorn expression, Rosetta said wryly, “The year I turned ten, Father made me watch as he whipped you.”
Maxi was stunned. “Th-That’s not possible. H-He never struck me…w-with you in the room.”
“The room with the mirror…had a small partition on one side. Father opened it…and made me watch.”
It felt like all the air in Maxi’s lungs had been squeezed out. Her sister had seen her being beaten like a beast. She covered her mouth with a trembling hand, humiliation washing over her. Though she had assumed that Rosetta undoubtedly knew of their father’s treatment of her, she had never once thought that her sister would have personally witnessed her crawling on the floor, broken and bleeding.
Rosetta watched with a vacant expression as Maxi staggered from the shock.
“Father wanted to show me the fate that awaited those he deemed useless. He called me to the adjacent room whenever you were punished,” she continued, her voice void of any emotion. “And as he intended, watching you being whipped like an animal terrified me. I had nightmares every night. I thought that I would get the same beating if I failed to be perfect. That next time, it could be me beingsummoned to that room. Father had no purpose for useless beings. I…made every effort to meet his expectations. I never once let my guard down.”
