Chapter 19: But… (5)

‘Why did I win?’

It’s true that I won the match.

Riera lost, I won, and I became the head of the family.

At first, I was genuinely happy about my victory and thought it was fortunate.

However, as the excitement faded and I had time to think, I couldn’t help but feel that something was off.

‘There’s no way I should have won.’

After all, I never intended to win this match in the first place.

In fact, I never thought I could win.

It wasn’t for no reason that I said my chances of winning against her were 0%.

Her power wasn’t just limited to what she showed.

‘Did her second phase not activate?’

As someone who had cleared the game, I knew all about her patterns.

I also knew about the ultimate technique she used when cornered.

Like most bosses in dark fantasy games, she had a second phase.

If the second phase activated, I would have to fight her in a much stronger state.

But she didn’t use it.

She chose to lose without using it.

‘Why?’

This is somewhat incomprehensible.

If she had activated it, she could have easily turned the tide.

If that had happened, there’s no way I could have won.

No matter how lucky I am, just as a human can’t beat an elephant in a one-on-one fight, it would have been impossible for me to win.

Yet, she didn’t use it.

I can’t understand why.

“Why?”

So, I had to ask.

Why didn’t she use her second phase?

“…”

In response to my question, Riera remained silent.

She clearly hesitated before answering, then claimed she didn’t use it.

“What… what are you talking about?”

She was playing dumb.

As if to say, ‘You don’t know anything, so what can you do about it?’

Riera was starting to act shamelessly.

“Are you trying to mess with me?”

She even got angry, accusing me of humiliating her after winning.

Unfortunately, this situation was too obvious to be brushed off with such an act.

“Eliza.”

“Yes, Master.”

“What do you think? Did Riera fight seriously?”

“…”

Eliza, who was by my side, had also witnessed the duel between me and Riera.

She must have found this situation somewhat strange too, right?

“…If I may offer my opinion, it doesn’t seem like she did.”

See?

Even Eliza said that Riera didn’t use her full power.

If this was all she had, she wouldn’t have been able to take the position of family head from Laura in the first place.

“Former family head Riera. No, your power isn’t just this. Just look at your duel with former family head Laura…”

During the duel between Laura and Riera, when Riera took the position of family head, she definitely used her power.

“Why?”

No matter how much I thought about it, there was no reason for her not to use her power.

Especially when the position of family head of the Kalts family was at stake.

I had no choice but to press her for an answer.

“…”

But even then, Riera seemed unwilling to speak.

Her lips remained sealed, and she continued to maintain her silence.

“As the family head, I order you. Tell me the reason now.”

I commanded her.

I had won the match and taken the position of family head.

As the head of the Kalts family, I demanded an answer from her.

“You know that the family head’s orders are absolute, right? Answer me.”

She could have ignored me, but I didn’t think she would.

She loved the Kalts family too much, and her loyalty was exceptional, so she wouldn’t dare ignore me.

Of course, this method was quite risky.

Even though I had become the family head, I could still lose the position, so provoking her wouldn’t do me any good.

But I wanted to understand this incomprehensible situation, so I took the risk and asked her.

“…But…”

Finally, her lips, which had been sealed in silence, opened.

Riera began to cautiously explain her reasons.

The reason she intentionally lost to me—what could it be?

I listened intently, focusing on her words.

“But… if I didn’t do this, there would be no way for me to marry you…”

I was met with an utterly absurd statement.

###

‘I like you so much, Oppa!’

In truth, Riera had always had a strong affection for Rovan.

Despite her outward behavior, her heart had always been drawn to him.

‘Oppa is amazing.’

Her reasons for liking him were similar to Laura’s.

Riera had a deep sense of pride as a member of the Kalts family.

As a daughter of the Kalts family, she believed her purpose in life was to bring prosperity to the family.

In that context, Rovan had saved the family, so it was only natural for her to develop feelings for him.

At first, she might have looked down on him a little, but that changed over time.

‘But Oppa doesn’t pay attention to me…’

Yet, every time she met him, she acted out and behaved violently out of jealousy.

Rovan treated his younger sister Riera as well as he could, but his top priorities were always his childhood friend Rivel and Eliza, the head maid.

She was always third or fourth in his heart.

She wished he would pay a little more attention to her.

Even if it meant being disliked a little, at least his gaze would be fixed on her.

That would have made her so happy.

‘Of course, it’s not a good thing to do…’

But she knew that such behavior wasn’t right.

In the end, repeating such actions would only earn her his dislike, wouldn’t it?

She wasn’t unaware of that, but she couldn’t help herself.

‘I can’t help it. I’m his younger sister.’

Because she was his younger sister.

As a younger sister, she could be an important person to him, but she could never be someone he truly loved.

‘Younger sisters can’t get married.’

She couldn’t even marry him, so what was the point?

The Kalts family forbade marriage between members of the same family.

Even half-siblings were no exception.

She hated this situation.

Receiving his attention like this was the best she could hope for.

‘If this is how it is, I’ll just leave the family.’

But she knew she had to make a decision.

She couldn’t keep going on like this.

She decided to step down from her position as the younger sister.

‘I’ll challenge him to a duel.’

She challenged Rovan to a duel today.

The purpose of the duel was, of course, to leave the family.

‘It’s a bit much to banish Oppa, so I’ll leave instead.’

At first, she thought about banishing Rovan, but that didn’t feel right.

Her older brother Rovan hadn’t done anything wrong, so she couldn’t just kick him out of the family.

She didn’t want to make him sad anymore.

So, this was the last time.

Riera planned to challenge him to a duel and intentionally lose.

She would hand over the position of family head to Rovan and leave the family.

‘If I want to marry him, this is the only way. I’ll have to act well.’

If she did that, surely she could become someone he loved, right?

The plan was perfect.

She tried her best not to let it show.

Fortunately, Rovan was surprisingly strong, and she thought she had managed to keep her true intentions hidden.

‘I thought it went well…’

But she got caught.

Her older brother knew her too well.

She didn’t know how he knew about her true power, but there was no flaw in his reasoning.

‘Ugh… this is so embarrassing.’

In the end, when Rovan demanded an explanation, she had no choice but to reveal her true feelings.

Feelings she had kept hidden for so long.

“Waaah…”

As his younger sister, she confessed her desire to marry him.

After confessing everything, Riera ran away.

###

‘Hmm.’

Riera, who had just dropped a bombshell on me, ran away crying.

The cruel, tyrannical image of the family head was nowhere to be seen on her face.

I watched her retreating figure and thought to myself.

‘Is this some kind of new psychological attack?’