This Three-Year-Old Is A Villainess - Chapter 32
‘Did I go overboard pretending to be a kid?’
I tensed, waiting for him to say something.
But he didn’t. He just returned to his work.
‘…’
I fiddled with the lace on my dress.
‘Father seems like a better person than I thought.’
He might appear cold, but he didn’t overly dote on a child.
In fact, he didn’t even indulge my fussing.
‘Maybe he likes me a little…?’
As I thought about it, I nodded my head slightly.
I don’t believe in love that doesn’t come with a price.
Maybe it exists for others, but at least for the unfortunate me, it doesn’t.
‘It was the same in my original world.’
Back when I was Lee Hyemin, I lived alone with my mom. My dad passed away early.
My mom remarried only after I started to walk.
My maternal grandmother was very pleased.
“I thought you’d live as a widow with a child for the rest of your life, but now I have such a good son-in-law who’s working for a great company.”
As much as my maternal grandmother was happy, my stepdad was a good person.
He treated the daughter his wife brought in well.
‘…Until my younger sister was born.’
Seven months after my mom and stepdad got married, my little sister, Se Eun, was born.
She was a cute and adorable baby, and everyone in the family fell in love with her.
My maternal grandmother would always say while holding Se Eun,
“My daughter fixed her bad luck and gave birth to you, so you’ve already fulfilled your filial duty for life. Oh, such a pretty child.”
Whenever I heard those words, our neighbor lady would say, “Your grandmother is from a different era,” shaking her head.
But I didn’t think she was entirely wrong.
My mom was also overwhelmed by my little sister’s beauty.
After Se Eun was born, I became less of a focus for my mom’s attention, but I was okay with it.
Because my mom was happy.
Then one day, when I was entering elementary school, a quarrel broke out between me and my sister over a doll.
“Gib! I wan it!”
“No. This is a birthday gift from Mom!”
I couldn’t control my frustration, and I ended up shoving my sister, thinking the doll’s neck might snap.
“What are you doing?”
My stepdad stormed in and yelled at me with fiery anger.
Then, he held my crying sister gently and scolded me.
“I’ll buy you ten of those. Hm? Stop now. Stop. Se Eun’s pretty eyes will swell up.”
My sister, in his arms, stuck her tongue out at me.
My maternal grandmother heard the commotion and rushed in.
“You’re the older sister, yet you’re fighting with your little sister over a doll. Will you take responsibility if your dad and mom can’t get along because of you? Will you?”
“…”
“Reflect! Just reflect!”
My mom pretended not to know anything.
She patted my sister on the back in her arms and went into the bedroom, not coming out.
Children are more sensitive than you’d think. They quickly pick up on their own situation.
I had a vague sense that I had entered this family as someone lesser than my sister’s understudy.
My sister also realized that I was a person she could take lightly.
Until Se Eun graduated, her homework was entirely my responsibility.
My younger sister had just started playing the piano, so even as I was a college student myself, I never missed a day of work to earn her lesson fees.
We couldn’t afford her high-priced lessons with just our father’s salary.
But still, my sister used to joke:
“Se Eun, who’s the one cleaning up what we ate?”
“Oh, that’s our home’s maid.”
She said it as a joke, and I didn’t take it too seriously. My sister had become the family’s princess as a reward for her role in my mom and stepdad’s marriage.
Meanwhile, I had come into the family without any compensation, so I was like a maid…
‘Enough, stop it.’
I quickly shook my head. Thinking about it only made me feel worse.
However, thanks to my sister, there was one good thing. I discovered the novel ‘Grandvill’.
It was a novel my sister enjoyed reading.
‘If I had become Erylotte without knowing anything, what would I have done?’
With these thoughts in mind, I glanced at my father.
‘In any case, to gain favor from Father, I need a price.’
I wondered if there was a good way. As I contemplated, I heard a knock on the door.
“It’s me, Conrad Marshal.”
Conrad!
I jumped up, and Enzo, who had received permission from my father, opened the door for him.
Conrad entered the room, greeted my father, and then his eyes met mine for a brief moment, and he smiled.
My father asked, “What’s the matter?”
“The scouts have found a clue about the Purification Stone on Hadix Mountain.”
“And?”
“There is a request for your troops to search for the Purification Stone on Hadix Mountain.”
“We returned no less than three days ago.”
“His Grace said that if you succeed in finding the Purification Stone, the budget for the jurisdiction will be reconsidered.”
