I Need to Raise My Younger Sister Right

Prologue

Tears began to trickle down Ye-An’s cheeks like rain.

“Damn it. I knew this was going to happen!”

The novel she had been earnestly waiting on updates for over the past six months had come to an end—with an ending she absolutely didn’t want.

Because it was a genre novel, it was no surprise that the main protagonist would get a happy ending, but still!

Ye-An suppressed the urge to throw her phone and trembled with her hands balled into fists.

Damn it!

A thirty-six-month installment plan.

She still had twenty-four months left to go, so she had to endure it.

“If I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth, I could’ve lobbied the author to revive my favorite character…”

The Beloved Saintess… That was the main protagonist of this novel.

With a rags-to-riches storyline where a commoner suddenly awakens her powers and turns her life upside-down by becoming a saintess, the plot was rather simple: to be loved, just like the title had stated.

The saintess never had to lift a finger and simply accepted whatever her male lead contenders would offer her… until eventually, she met the emperor, and the story came to an end.

A cushy life, to say the least.

But the thing was…

“My favorite character isn’t the heroine of the novel!”

That’s right!

Obviously, the saintess was meant to end up with the emperor given that she was the main protagonist of the novel.

“But why did my favorite character have to die? Huh, Author?!”

That wasn’t to say that her favorite character didn’t do anything to deserve death. For one, she tried to kill the saintess because she was annoyed by her presence around the emperor, and towards the end, she even started a rebellion to kill the emperor because she couldn’t have him.

Her downfall was expected, but…

Ye-An covered her mouth to hold back a sob.

“Bring my favorite character back to life…”

Arrogant and condescending Liz.

Liz, who would use her water magic to crush everyone that got on her nerves and looked sexy while doing it.

Liz was different from the heroine, who was easily able to get everything she ever wanted thanks to her natural luck.

Liz was always desperate and passionate in everything she did.

It was so pitiful and endearing how Liz would always give her all to get what she wanted that Ye-An had begun to fall for her before she realized it.

“You were the same even till the very end, but still! How could you die on me like that?”

***

[Who said love was a beautiful thing?

To love is to desire.

To exploit endlessly, subdue, and possess.

That’s what I learned, and that’s how I lived.

Liz looked at the emperor’s army through the window as she drank her poison without hesitation.

Her life had begun against her will, so shouldn’t she have the freedom to end it according to her will?

Blood came gushing out of her mouth, yet she sat elegantly with her back upright like she always did.

“Though I wasn’t able to make you mine in the very end, I have given it my best, and so I have no regrets.”

She felt the power leave her body and smiled faintly.

“If I had known love like you did, would I have met a different ending?”

With such meaningless assumptions filling her mind, her consciousness sank into the endless darkness…]

***

You should’ve abandoned the emperor, who doesn’t love you, and found an obedient and good-hearted gentleman so that you could live happily ever after!

This won’t do.

I have to ask the author to publish a sequel with Liz as the main protagonist.

My Liz. She said she didn’t have any regrets, but she was clearly regretting it.

Ye-An opened her Tweeter app to send a message to the author.

At that moment, she heard the sound of something screeching against the asphalt, and her vision turned upside-down.

Huh? Why am I looking at the sky all of a sudden?

Her neck was bent helplessly, and she saw a stream of blood crawling away like a snake.

Amidst her blurring vision, she noticed a fallen motorcycle.

Has my fangirling moved the heavens?

That doesn’t mean you have to go so far as to send me to be with my favorite character…

With those thoughts, Ye-An lost consciousness.

Just when she thought that she was going to die…

Where am I?

***

Chapter 1

To open your eyes in another world after being involved in an accident…

Wasn’t that something that only happened in novels or comics?

When she awoke from her sleep, what welcomed her was a large portrait hanging at the very center of the room.

Pale silver-blue hair that resembled the moonlight, eyes shaped as condescending as a cat’s, and pupils as clear as the sky.

She checked her face in the mirror just in case.

Though she appeared gaunt, there was a dainty woman in the mirror, just like the one from the portrait.

An hour had passed since she awoke from her sleep.

Ye-An slapped herself on the cheek, hoping to free herself from the dream, but no matter how hard she slapped herself, all she felt was pain.

There was no such thing as waking up from this dream.

“Haa, I can’t believe I transmigrated...”

She had woken up inside The Beloved Saintess.

How did she know?

Because the unfamiliar memories belonging to the owner of this body naturally came flooding in as if they were her own.

Rachel Agnus.

The head of House Agnus—a founding contributor to the Castor Empire.

Half a year ago, she inherited the title after the former duke and duchess were involved in a carriage accident during an excursion.

There’s no way I wouldn’t know the Agnus family.

It was her favorite family after all.

So that begged the question—what exactly was the role of this body in The Beloved Saintess?

Hah. Such a thing doesn’t exist.

Before the original novel even began, she was the half-sister that the author decided to kill in order to bring her favorite character and the novel’s villainess, Liz Agnus, back into the household.

“This is crazy! Really crazy! I can’t believe I’ve become the half-sister of my favorite character!”

Liz was the illegitimate child of the former Duke Agnus.

She was forced to live elsewhere as a commoner, and when this body eventually passed from an addiction to alcohol, Liz would enter the house and become the duchess.

Upon becoming the duchess of a failed household, young and innocent Liz would endure all kinds of humiliation, which would slowly begin to taint her.

“Let’s see. I’m guessing this is about ten years before the original novel begins?”

That meant that this body was going to die from alcoholism within the year.

The realization that she was terminally ill wrought goosebumps.

“It…It’s all right. I just won’t drink! Yeah, that’s it!”

The cause of her death in the original novel was alcoholism, so if she stopped drinking, there wouldn’t be a problem!

Even if she were to go back to her reality, the only thing waiting there would be her wrecked body from the accident.

She had no idea what her parents were up to as she couldn’t get in touch with them, and her bank account was almost at zero.

But here she was, the owner of a vast territory?

On top of that, she was the half-sister of her favorite character!

Since she’d transmigrated anyway, she might as well live a lovey-dovey life in this world with her fave until she became a gray-haired grandma!

As she imagined the fun-filled fangirling life ahead of her, someone opened the door with a creak.

Ye-An—no, Rachel looked flustered at the person who’d entered without a single knock.

It was a woman in her early sixties with brown hair and brown eyes.

As she locked eyes with Rachel, who was sitting at the edge of her bed, the woman froze with a surprised look on her face.

That woman is…

Perhaps it was due to the memories that remained in the body, but everything she knew about this woman naturally came flooding into her mind.

The head lady-in-waiting, Abigail.

As a former countess, Abigail had established herself by working as the head lady-in-waiting for the past ten years, after the passing of her husband.

“What is it? You didn’t even knock.”

“A-apologies. I thought I had knocked. Did I not?”

“Why are you so distracted already? It’s only morning.”

“Your Grace, perhaps you should forget your troubles for a moment. Take a sip of this and you’ll feel a lot better soon.”

“House Agnus isn’t some lowly household where problems will arise simply because the duchess takes a rest, is it?”

“It’s all right. All the hard work should be left to the people beneath you. It will be wiser for you to leave it in the hands of those who are more skilled in such areas.”

***

Abigail’s repeated brainwashing and offer of alcohol would eventually turn the original Rachel incompetent.

As if that wasn’t enough, she even made this mentally weak character give up her authority over the territory.

Even if the head lady-in-waiting was the ultimate decision-maker when it came to internal affairs, the duchy wasn’t something that she could control as she pleased.

But with Abigail’s background and the duchess’s authorization, she was more than capable of doing so.

Abigail was the former countess of House Weiber—the most powerful of the noble families under the influence of the Duchy of Agnus. Naturally, House Weiber was protecting Abigail, given that she was part of their family.

Though Abigail would later be executed at the hands of Liz once she took over House Agnus, Rachel felt she had to be the one to purge Abigail no matter what.

Abigail was the reason that her favorite character lived a life of suffering!

“Your Grace, this is a wine from Lewis. It’s your favorite. Just look at the color.”

Abigail handed her a glass of wine.

How could she possibly offer alcohol to someone who would eventually die of alcoholism?!

“My head hurts. I don’t want to see any alcohol near me for the time being, so put it away.”

Abigail scowled as she shook her head.

“There is no better cure than sleep when it comes to a headache. I shall bring it back after you’ve taken a nap.”

It was obvious how much of a mess the territory was without having to see it.

Yet Abigail wanted Rachel to sleep more?

Surely it was so that she could act as the ruler of the mansion while Rachel was asleep.

“Abigail.”

“Yes?”

Upon hearing Rachel’s cold voice, Abigail tilted her head in a puzzling way.

“I’d like to take a bath. Prepare the water.”

“Of course. Then I shall also prepare some refreshments to enjoy with your—”

“You’re being quite bothersome today.”

When Rachel coldly reprimanded her, Abigail’s expression hardened.

“I apologize. I shall prepare the bath at once.”

How was there any time for rest?

Currently, this body was twenty years old. Ever since she’d become the duchess, she’d drowned herself in alcohol and neglected her duties for half a year.

There was a lot of work to be done in order to lay a flower path for her favorite character to walk on.

***

The bathroom was very luxurious.

White marble covered the floors.

A delicately curved bathtub was placed at the center of the room.

It was incredibly extravagant compared to the storage rooms in the mansion, which were most likely empty.

It was no wonder that Rachel hadn’t noticed the decline of her household as she was blinded by such extravagance.

There was no telling how rotten the places were that she couldn’t see.

She placed her foot into the bath full of bubbles.

“Hmm?”

As she was relaxing in the tub and enjoying her bath, a lady-in-waiting came in.

The lady-in-waiting very naturally put down a tray on a side table next to the bathtub.

Rachel frowned.

It was wine and refreshments.

“Who told you to bring this?” Rachel, who was lying relaxed in the tub, asked with a sharp voice.

This surprised the lady-in-waiting and caused her to fumble with her hands. As the glass and plate clattered and shook precariously, the lady-in-waiting quickly lowered her head.

“I’m sorry, Your Grace. The head lady-in-waiting advised me to prepare it in case you might want it.”

“The head lady-in-waiting?”

The crease in her brow deepened.

Why was she so adamant about making Rachel drink?

Come to think of it, the head lady-in-waiting had even served the glass of wine herself this morning…

Something didn’t quite feel right.

“Hmm, I understand. Let the head lady-in-waiting know that I’ve received it well.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

The lady-in-waiting politely lowered her head and glanced back subtly as she left the bathroom.

Her eyes were full of suspicion, as though she had seen something she shouldn’t have.

It was true that up until yesterday, this body had been moving limply, not in her right mind, but still, wasn’t their reaction a little dramatic?

What could it possibly be...?

Rachel pretended not to notice her gaze and brought the wine glass to her lips nonchalantly.

After seeing that, the lady-in-waiting let out a sigh of relief and disappeared.

I knew it. There must be something going on.

As soon as the lady-in-waiting disappeared from sight, Rachel took her lips off the wine glass.

“Hmm.”

She raised the glass towards the window in the hope that she would be able to see something.

What the hell?

Chills ran down the back of her neck.

When the glass was held to the sunlight, she could see white powder that hadn’t fully dissolved at the base of the glass.

I wonder what this is?

Whatever it was, it definitely couldn’t have been good for her.

It doesn’t quite feel like there’s anything wrong with my body as of yet…

She was feeling a little nauseous from her hangover, but there were no other symptoms in particular.

For now, Rachel hid the wine in the corner and contemplated her next steps as she left the bathroom.

At that moment, a lady-in-waiting who was waiting outside approached her.

“I’ll help you get dressed, Your Grace.”

The lady-in-waiting examined her complexion while helping her dress as if to check whether she drank the wine or not.

Because Rachel didn’t know what the contents of the wine were, she simply closed her mouth and observed the lady-in-waiting.

At that moment, someone entered the bedroom.

“I’ll go check who it is.”

The lady-in-waiting closed the door behind her, but the sound of a man’s voice could be heard through the crack in the door.

“I’m here to see Her Grace.”

“Her Grace is currently getting dressed. You can come back at a later time.”

“And you’ll tell me to come back again when I come next time. It’s urgent, so let her know that I must see her at once.”

“Did I not tell you to come back at a later time?”

“How am I to know when she’s drinking again? I must see her today. Move aside, or else I shall forcibly...”

It seemed as though this man had some important matters to discuss with her.

Seeing that Abigail’s subject was doing her best to block him, Rachel had to meet him.

She walked towards the door and flung it open.

“What’s with all the commotion this morning?”

The lady-in-waiting, who was fussing with the man, apologetically opened her mouth.

“I’m sorry, Your Grace. This man kept insisting that he must meet with you…”

“This man?”

She turned to face the man.

Early thirties.

Brown hair and brown eyes.

He was so thin that he could easily have been mistaken for a beggar.

That man…

“Your name is Marcus, isn’t it?”

There was a sound like someone grinding their teeth, but Rachel ignored it.

“It’s an honor that you remember my name.”

My goodness, is that really Marcus?

The aide of the former Duke of Agnus, who would later become the right-hand man of her favorite character.

A subtle smile hung on Rachel’s lips.

It’s a good thing he came to find me on his own. I was wondering how I was going to get in contact with him anyway.

She concealed her inner sense of closeness to him and opened her mouth.

“Stop making a fuss out here and come in.”

Baron Marcus Lanton.

He was the one person who knew the current location of her favorite character.

After all, he would be the one to bring her favorite character to House Agnus and turn her into the duchess after the death of this body.

“Oh, right. Before that...”

Rachel turned around as if she’d just remembered something.

She looked at the lady-in-waiting, who was trying to sneak out, and ordered Marcus, “Grab her!”

It would be quite troublesome if she were to go run over to Abigail, wouldn’t it?