Chapter 1

It was a time of war and chaos. My sister, ignoring every warning from our family, dragged a man bleeding from an arrow wound back to our estate. That was the moment I woke up.

I realized my sister was the saintly female lead in one of those redemption novels. To save her beloved, she would steal a royal treasure, bringing ruin to our entire family in the process.

The first thing that man would do after his recovery was open the city gates for the enemy. He would lead an army to slaughter everyone in the General's mansion, ensuring we were all shredded to death piece by piece.

Throughout the massacre, my sister would just cling to that man, weeping into his chest. She would say, "Don't blame my Xavion. Blame yourselves for being so cold back then. He is a prince from the rival kingdom, and I have to secure a future for the child in my womb..."

1

Thinking about the miserable fate of our family in that story, I looked at my saintly sister. She was shielding the man, her face set in stubborn determination. "If you don't let me bring him back for treatment, I won't go back either!" she declared.

Before our parents could speak, I raised my whip and lashed the horse hard. "Then stay here and die," I snapped.

What a joke. Without our parents' protection, I wanted to see how she planned to play the savior.

"Rowan, why are you always so wicked? If I don't save him, he will die here. How is that any different from us killing him with our own hands?" she screamed.

"If you don't take him back, I won't go back!" She repeated her ultimatum.

I thinned my lips, looking coldly at my sister as she knelt by the man. She was shrieking at us, her tear-stained face filled with a self-righteous resolve.

In the past, I would have reflected on her words and felt guilty. Compared to her, someone who claimed to want to save everyone and move the world with love, I was indeed cold.

But I had just awakened. In the near future, my entire family would be torn apart because of this rival prince she was saving.

The man before me was at death's door, but he was a viper who remembered everyone who hesitated to help him. Even after my parents treated him like their own son, he would still lead the rebels to wash our home in blood without blinking.

He and my sister were nothing but two ungrateful wolves that could never be tamed.

My mother looked hesitant, ready to give in. I didn't give her the chance and lashed the horse again.

The horse let out a sharp neigh and bolted forward. "Then stay here. We aren't going to die with you," I shouted back.

Inside the carriage, my mother pulled back the curtain, watching as my sister's shocked figure turned into a tiny black dot. "Rowan! Stop this instant! It's one thing to be playful, but how can you leave your sister in the middle of these desolate mountains?"

I threw the whip back to the driver and sat down inside. My mother was full of complaints, while my father kept his eyes closed, remaining silent.

I began to analyze the situation for them. "The country is at war. Our family is already under a lot of scrutiny. If we save an unidentified man and something goes wrong, none of us can bear that responsibility."

"But we can't just leave your sister! When will you ever be as kind-hearted as she is?" My mother was anxious, her words becoming sharp.

Because of my sister's 'kindness,' my mother was constantly praised by high-society ladies for having such a wonderful daughter. My mother was incredibly proud of her.

With a saintly sister as a foil, I, the ordinary second daughter, was always seen as the villain.

When Wrenna wanted to eat vegan for her 'morals,' the whole family was forbidden from touching meat. When she wanted to practice charity, she released my pet parrot that I had raised for years into the wild.

When she wanted to help refugees, she pawned my gold and silver jewelry to buy porridge. Everything had to revolve around Wrenna's whims.

"Enough. It's time Wrenna learned what hardship feels like," my father finally spoke. My mother and I fell silent.

I knew Wrenna had a secret guard assigned by my father. That guard was a master whose skills were nearly unmatched in the Capital.

Not long after we returned to the General's estate, Wrenna arrived with the man in tow.

As soon as she settled him in, she stormed into my courtyard. Tears streamed down her face as she barked, "Rowan, I knew you were cold, but I didn't know you were this heartless! You disregarded a human life and tried to leave your own sister in the wilderness!"

"The Sterling family has always been righteous. How did we end up with an outlier like you?"

"Rowan, you are truly a disappointment!"

Wrenna's pale face was flushed with anger. The servants, not knowing the truth, began to whisper. "What did the second miss do this time to make the eldest miss so angry?"

"Sounds like she refused to save a dying man and abandoned her sister. Heavens... the second miss is way too cold-blooded. How could she?"

How could I? If I didn't act like this, we would all be in graves soon.

I thought abandoning Wrenna would change the plot and keep the male lead out of our house. But it seemed that to truly change our fate, I had to sever our ties with this saintly sister.

And Wrenna's biggest leverage was the unconditional love of our parents.

I looked at her and asked, "That man was in the middle of nowhere. He was clearly being hunted. If the people chasing him find out he's here, do you have any idea what kind of trouble that will bring us?"

Wrenna froze for a second, but her face remained stubborn. "I don't care about trouble! All I know is that a life was at stake!"

The male lead's life was a life, but the lives of everyone else were just disposable?

I stared at her for a moment, suddenly wanting to confirm something. Did Wrenna know her role from the start? Was that why she felt nothing for us, the family who had cared for her for over a decade?

"If trouble comes, how many people in this house will lose their lives? Have you ever thought about that, sister? Or do you just do whatever you want because you know someone will always clean up your mess?"