Morning came.
Ariella opened her eyes. It seemed she'd cried in front of the mirror last night until exhaustion overtook her, then collapsed onto the bed and fallen asleep. A blanket covered her. Who had tucked her in? She fidgeted with the edge of it. Soft silk. It felt nothing like the scratchy hospital blanket.
Sunlight poured in through the window. The spring morning air drifted in through the window she'd left open last night. It was cold, but refreshing. It was air she'd never once smelled in a hospital room.
She slowly sat up. Nothing hurt. She'd checked last night, but feeling it again in the morning made it even stranger. Even when she drew a deep breath, her chest didn't ache. She didn't cough. Her heart beat quietly and powerfully.
She was alive.
Truly alive.
She climbed out of bed. Her bare feet touched the marble floor. It was cold. She liked that coldness. It meant she could feel things.
She saw the mirror.
The same mirror from last night. She approached it carefully. Had it all been a dream? Would she open her eyes and find herself back in a hospital room? But the silver-haired girl was still standing in the mirror. She'd slept and woken with her hair tangled and her eyes swollen. The face of someone who had cried herself to sleep. And yet she was beautiful.
"...So it's real."
She murmured, and the girl's lips in the mirror moved with hers.
Ariella de Belfior Rosher. The villainess in the novel. The doom ending. She remembered the resolve she'd made last night. She wouldn't die. She wouldn't be abandoned. She would become someone who protected others.
All right. To do that, she needed to understand the situation first.
She dredged up what she knew of the original novel. Ariella was the second child of House Belfior. Her older brother was Leoniel, and her younger sister was Liriela. In the original novel, Ariella was an arrogant and cruel young lady. She bullied the heroine and treated her family coldly, too.
So what?
She thought as she looked at herself in the mirror. Pretend to change little by little? Take it slow so no one got suspicious? She didn't have the luxury. In her previous life, she had died in a hospital bed after being unable to say what she wanted, do what she wanted, or do anything but stare at the ceiling.
She had no intention of living like that in this life, too.
Knock, knock.
Knock, knock.
Someone knocked on the door.
"My lady, are you awake?"
The voice was soft and low. It wasn't a maid. When the door opened, a middle-aged woman entered. Her brown hair was neatly pinned up, and she had gentle brown eyes. Instead of a maid's uniform, she wore a white apron over a black dress. It was a higher rank of attire than the maids of House Belfior wore.
Her nursemaid.
Knowledge of the original novel surfaced in her mind. Marga. The nursemaid who had been by Ariella's side since the day she was born. Even when the original Ariella treated her coldly, she'd never left. In the original novel, she was the only person who stayed by Ariella's side until her downfall.
"Come in."
She didn't say it coldly. She simply spoke normally. There was no reason to act like the original Ariella.
Marga brought her toiletries and clothes. Ariella naturally lifted her arms. She tilted her head slightly while Marga brushed her hair, turned her shoulders when she was dressed, and held out her wrists when perfume was applied. Her body knew what to do. When she reincarnated, all of the original Ariella's aristocratic manners had remained. As if she'd lived this way since birth, every movement of a young lady of House Belfior came naturally to her.
"Thank you."
Ariella spoke, and Marga's hands stopped. She froze with the brush in her hand.
"...M-My lady?"
"I said thank you. You do this for me every day, don't you?"
Marga looked up at Ariella. Her brown eyes had gone wide. It was the first time she'd ever heard Ariella thank her. Her lips trembled, and the corners of her eyes reddened. But the nursemaid didn't cry. Instead, she brushed Ariella's silver hair once more and said softly,
"...Your hair is especially shiny today, my lady."
Ariella didn't mind. If she was grateful, it was only natural to say thank you.
A finished Ariella stood in the mirror. Her silver hair was neatly brushed, and a pale purple dress wrapped around her body. Her eyes gleamed in the sunlight. She was no longer the girl who had cried herself to sleep the night before. A perfect young lady of House Belfior stood in the mirror.
She drew a breath.
All right. Let's do this.
The dining room was spacious.
The only dining room Ariella knew had been the cafeteria in the basement of the hospital. The place where she'd stood in line beneath fluorescent lights, holding a plastic tray. This was different. A white tablecloth covered the long table, with silverware lined up across it. A garden was visible through the window. Rose bushes had just begun to form buds. No flowers had bloomed yet, but every branch was tinged with green.
Someone was sitting at the end of the table.
Bright red hair. Sharp eyes. He was reading a book. When Ariella entered, he looked up. His eyes were cold.
Leoniel de Belfior Rosher. Her older brother.
In the original novel, Leoniel disliked Ariella. More precisely, he was disappointed in her. He disapproved of the young lady of House Belfior acting arrogant and cruel. But he never showed it. He simply kept his distance, coldly.
"Sit."
Leoniel's command was brief. Ariella nodded and sat across from him. Her heart pounded. An older brother. Someone Seoha had never had in her previous life. In a life with no parents or siblings except for her younger sister, the existence of an older brother was unfamiliar.
Leoniel turned his attention back to his book. There was no conversation.
Ariella broke the silence.
"Big brother."
Leoniel's hand stopped. His fingers, which had been about to turn the page, froze in midair. His eyes slowly turned toward Ariella.
"...What did you call me?"
"I called you big brother. You are my big brother."
Leoniel stared at Ariella. Ariella stared back at Leoniel. The original Ariella had never called him big brother. She'd called him by his name. Coldly. But to the Ariella of now, this person was her older brother. An older brother she'd never had in her previous life.
Something flickered in Leoniel's eyes. Surprise. But there was something else beneath it. A cautious light, as if something he'd given up on long ago had begun to raise its head again.
Just as Leoniel opened his mouth, footsteps sounded in the hallway.
Pitter-patter-patter.
Fast footsteps. The sound of someone running. Before Ariella could even turn her head, the dining room door flew open.
"Big sister!"
Silver-tinged hair. It resembled Ariella's, but the silver hair was the spitting image of their father. Large eyes. A girl with an elegant air was running toward Ariella. For a girl who held the title of Saint, she'd thrown all decorum aside in this moment.
Liriela de Belfior Rosher.
Her younger sister.
Ariella's heart felt as if it stopped.
Liriela threw herself into Ariella's arms. She was warm. Her body heat spread through Ariella.
"Big sister, good morning!"
Liriela lifted her head to look up at her. It wasn't her usual mature smile. It was a bright, innocent grin with every bit of decorum cast aside.
Ariella couldn't breathe.
This girl was her younger sister. Her younger sister in this world. She was different from the girl who had come to her hospital room every day in the modern world, sitting in a cold chair and holding her hand. But the two faces overlapped in Ariella's heart.
Big sis, I'm here.
The same greeting every day. The same spot every day. The same warmth every day.
She didn't hesitate.
She hugged Liriela tightly, wrapping her in both arms. The soft silver hair brushed against her chin.
Liriela went rigid.
Her large eyes grew even wider. It was the first time her big sister had hugged her.
Leoniel set his book down, too. He was staring at Ariella.
Ariella didn't care. She didn't care if she looked strange or not. This girl was warm. This girl had called her big sister. That alone was enough.
"Liri."
It was a nickname the original Ariella had never once used.
Liriela lifted her head from Ariella's arms. Her eyes brimmed with tears. She tried to hold them back like the Saint she was, but her lips trembled.
"Big sister called me Liri."
"Yeah. I'll keep calling you that from now on."
Liriela's lips trembled again. Then she buried her face in Ariella's arms once more. Her shoulders shook. Everything she'd kept up while pretending to be mature crumbled away.
Ariella ran her fingers through Liriela's silver hair once. Slowly. Carefully. But this time, she wasn't afraid of breaking her. She simply wanted to feel this warmth for as long as possible.
"Let's eat, Liri."
"...Okay."
Liriela wiped her tears and sat down beside her. She pulled her chair close, close enough for their arms to touch.
Ariella picked up her fork. Beside her, Liriela began to talk. About the rosebuds appearing in the garden. About how they would bloom earlier this year than last year. About a cat that had gotten into the kitchen. Her tone was usually calm, but perhaps she was happy to be sitting beside her big sister, because her voice was slightly excited. Ariella listened without missing a single word.
They were similar to the stories her younger sister used to tell her in the modern world. Things that had happened at school. A puppy she'd seen on the street. Little things that didn't matter. But to Ariella, those little things were the most precious things in the world.
Leoniel was quietly watching Ariella. His book was already closed. Something flickered in his eyes. Surprise. Or perhaps confusion. But not wariness. His face looked as if the younger sister he'd given up on long ago had suddenly appeared right before him.
The meal ended.
As Liriela rose from her chair, she caught Ariella's sleeve.
"Big sister, would you like to go to the garden with me today? The buds are so pretty. I think they'll bloom soon."
Ariella looked down at Liriela's hand. It was clutching her sleeve tightly, as if telling her not to let go.
"Let's go."
She answered without hesitation. Liriela's eyes sparkled. That sparkle pierced Ariella's heart.
As they walked down the hallway toward the garden, Liriela took Ariella's hand. It was warm. Ariella squeezed it tightly.
It was the hand she'd let go of in her previous life.
This time, she wouldn't let go.
Liriela tilted her head. Then she smiled, bright and innocent.
"Big sister, you're really different today."
"...How?"
"In every way. For the better."
Ariella smiled. This time, she didn't hold it back.
"I'll keep being this way from now on."
Liriela looked up at her. The sunlight of a spring morning filled her eyes. Then she smiled like a flower blooming.
"Do you promise?"
"I promise."
The garden was visible beyond the glass doors at the end of the hallway. Early spring sunlight poured down. There were no flowers on the rose bushes yet, but every branch was crowded with green buds. They would bloom soon. She would see them with this girl.
The silver hair shone. Warmth filled Ariella's hand.
It was the first morning of her new life.