I Only Raised Men for Revenge - Chapter 1

“Why?”

“Shouldn’t ‘I’m sorry’ come first? Even if it was a mistake, that’s what you should say first.”

Elzer scoffed and nodded at the words I spat out, filled with resentment.

“Sorry.”

Even though she said it, I knew all too well that my sister wasn’t truly sorry.

“……”

“Okay but this isn’t something that can be solved with an apology.”

“I said I was sorry, and now it can’t be helped. You’re so rigid.”

As if she were some enlightened modern woman, Elzer clicked her tongue at her younger sister. Nevertheless, Sesenia didn’t stop talking.

“Do you think this is normal? Well, if you had any sense, you wouldn’t have slept with your sister’s husband in the first place.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“I may have been stupidly putting up with it until now, but not anymore. Unfortunately for you, sister. No matter how hard you try, you’re just a woman who spreads her legs for any man, and a piece of trash who stole her sister’s husband. Do you understand? Irreclaimable trash?”

“Hey!”

“Hey, nothing. The Empress of this country is standing in front of you. And no matter how hard you try, you can’t be Empress. Who knows? Maybe things would be different if we could turn back time. If we went back to when the Crown Prince was choosing who to be engaged to. But I’m already the Empress, and I plan to punish you. Unlike before. Take her away.”

Elzer’s face turned pale at the completely unexpected situation.

“W-wait a minute. You weren’t like this before. You just kicked me out.”

“Yeah. I was. But I can’t anymore. I showed you mercy for too long and you didn’t learn your lesson.”

“Wait. Empress. No. Sesenia. This isn’t right.”

“What do you mean it’s not right? I can’t do anything about you, the Emperor, but at least when it comes to my sister, I can’t just let this go. I’m going to make it public.”

The Emperor, who had been leisurely lying on the bed, jumped up at that moment.

“Sesenia! Make it public?!”

“I haven’t done anything until now because you’re my husband, and I didn’t want to tarnish your reputation, but I’m going to formally make this public and properly punish Elzer.”

“W-wait a minute. We don’t have to do that, right? Huh? Sesenia. Do we have to go that far? Besides, you know there’s nothing good for you in that either. Usually, women are supposed to be docile and obedient. Why are you being so violent?”

Perhaps she had tolerated her husband’s affair for her own sake.

Because she was the Empress, she didn’t want to be the subject of gossip, so she had been lenient with the Emperor. But not anymore. Sesenia was resolute.

“Empress, listen to me.”

The Emperor naturally got off the bed and grabbed Sesenia’s shoulder. But as he got up, the blanket draped over his body fell limply, revealing the Emperor’s nakedness. Perhaps that was why Sesenia’s face hardened even more.

“Don’t even think about touching me, you’re filthy.”

Sesenia’s face was harder than ever as she shook off the hem of her clothes where his hand had touched.

“Sesenia. How dare you treat the Emperor like this…!”

“An Emperor has to act like an Emperor to be one.”

‘Do you even know how I’ve been enduring this?’

Sesenia didn’t even glance at him as he burst into anger, and instead looked at the knights in front of the door.

“Take that woman out and lock her in the dungeon.”

“Yes…? B-but…”

“What are you worried about? That she’s the Emperor’s mistress? Or the Empress’s sister?”

“…Are you sure about this?”

“I’ll take care of this. So, take that filthy thing away.”

“Yes.”

In the end, the knights didn’t say anything else and took Elzer out. At that moment, Elzer’s gaze turned to the Emperor in the room.

Perhaps realizing that the fire was now falling on him, the Emperor showed no reaction even as Elzer was dragged out. He was just busy watching Sesenia’s every move.

‘But I want to stop now too.’

As soon as she looked at him, the Emperor nudged her with a greasy face and expression.

“Sesenia. This is just a temporary, a very brief dalliance. You know how much I love you.”

I thought we loved each other.

Each other. I thought his actions were just a dalliance. That’s why I wanted to protect him. So, I didn’t make anything public so that he wouldn’t be harmed. But now, Sesenia no longer had the desire to protect this position or him.

“I’m going back.”

“Wait, listen to me. Sesenia. Sesenia…?!”

But that was all.

Sesenia didn’t listen to the Emperor. She just went back to her room.

Time passed like that. It was like a typhoon in her life, but the days passed monotonously.

All Sesenia could do was give up everything she had been doing as Empress and as the head of the Marquis family, and stay in her room.

No matter how trashy the Emperor acted, she never neglected her work, but now she did.

She was just tired of everything. Even when she saw her sister and husband together, she wanted to kill her sister and make it public right away because of the anger she felt at that time. But as time went by, lethargy came over her.

“I heard the rumors.”

Sesenia didn’t meet anyone until the day her only friend, Ian, came to her room. She even skipped meals.

Sesenia, who had been sprawled on the sofa, slowly got up like a corpse and looked at him. Her body staggered as if her head was shaking because she had been starving for days.

If he were a friend, he would have caught her, but Prince Ian just watched her quietly.

Sesenia, whose vision had turned black before regaining her senses, smiled awkwardly.

“…Those rumors spread so easily.”

“So, what are you going to do?”

“…I don’t know. I was so angry at the time. I was going to have my sister executed right away but she’s my only sister.”

“That’s right. If you did that, your aging father would collapse.”

Ian chimed in as if he had been waiting for it. It was an unusual reaction from someone who hadn’t shown much reaction even when she was staggering or moving. Of course, Sesenia didn’t suspect Ian at all.

“What should I do?”

Ian was almost the only person Sesenia could confide in. Because one person had passed away a while ago, Ian was the only one by Sesenia’s side. Prince Ian. He was also her husband’s younger brother, but he had been her only friend since childhood.

He seemed to be thinking for a moment before opening his mouth.

“Why don’t you just send her far away?”

“Far away?”

“My mother has a villa. In the north. No one lives there, and it only gets colder as time goes by. It’s a hopeless place. Send her there.”

“Ah.”

“She’s family, so you can’t do anything about it. Even if your sister, even if she did something wrong, it’s a bit much to execute her. You don’t want that either, do you?”

Sesenia felt strangely like Ian was worried about Elzer, but she dismissed it as her being too sensitive and just nodded.

“I guess so.”

“Do as I say. That’s the way to minimize your guilt while still punishing her.”

Nevertheless, Sesenia couldn’t easily make a decision. Because she knew what she was choosing, because she knew what would change because of her choice, the decision took quite a long time.

Ian visited Sesenia several times after that day and forced her to do as he said.

As if she had to.

It was actually Sesenia, not her sister Elzer, who was cornered. She wanted to give up everything. So, she had no choice but to do as he said.

“Okay. Let’s do as you want.”

On the day she made her decision, she told the Emperor directly. As always, the Emperor didn’t pay any more attention to the woman he had spent the night with. To him, women were like food that changed every day, eating whatever suited his taste at the time. Elzer was no different.

The Emperor seemed to be only worried about the damage he would suffer by announcing this.

It was the other side that was making a fuss.

The two sisters’ father, Marquis Bestel, stopped Sesenia.

“I’m holding back from wanting to kill her, Father.”

“She’s your sister.”

“If she’s my sister, she shouldn’t have done that. When I had to get married, you said he was a womanizing Crown Prince that he wouldn’t become Emperor, so you had me marry him instead, and now that he’s become a decent Emperor, you’re coveting him.”

“That’s…”

“What kind of sister covets her sister’s husband? If I could, I would really tear her to pieces… I’m just letting it go because it’s too hard for me. So, so please, please don’t provoke me.”

It was always like that. She was never a priority to her father. Was it because her sister Elzer looked just like her mother, whom her father loved so much, or was it because she was more affectionate than the blunt Sesenia?

Even though he said he didn’t discriminate against his children, the Marquis discriminated terribly.

It was the same today. Sesenia had a sad expression on her face.

“As always, you’re not on my side, Father. Seeing as you don’t even ask me if I’m okay, even though I’m the one who was wronged.”

“Sesenia…!”

“It’s okay. It’s always been like this. I have no expectations or resentment. Even if I go back, I’ve let go of the desire to be loved by you.”

That was the kind of heart she had. Sesenia had never been loved for over twenty years. She was always a substitute for her sister. Discrimination was natural, and because she was the younger sister, because she was the younger sister, she had often heard that she had to give way for her sister.

Nevertheless, I might have hoped. That in these moments, he would still take my side. That before siding with my sister, he would ask me if I was okay.

‘Even at this moment, you’re on my sister’s side.’

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