ɪ'ʟʟ ᴋᴇᴇᴘ ᴍʏ ᴅɪsᴛᴀɴᴄᴇ, ғᴀʀ ᴀᴡᴀʏ ᴀs ɪ ᴄᴀɴ [ʀᴇᴍᴀᴋᴇ]

3 | Disgusting

[Aliciel Blacker Point of View]

Inside the dining room, it was dinner time. As the cold atmosphere enveloped the room, the Duke, Duchess, and Allen started eating in silence.

It happened everyday, every meal. Their mere presence are enough to eat away my reasonable thoughts and make me uncomfortable.

(I'm hoping this dinner will be over quickly... It's suffocating.)

"Allen, I heard from the teacher that you're a fast learner. They complimented you and started to recognize you as the rightful heir."

As he turned his head toward Allen, my father, the Duke, smiled a little. Despite the fact that he was smiling, his gaze was cold.

"Yes, Allen. I'm proud of you. They even said you're a genius."

When my father began the conversation, my stepmother, the Duchess, followed by complimenting him with a pleasant smile.

(They even acted as if I was invisible. Well, it's better being invisible than being harassed. I don't see why not.)

"I just wanted to make father, mother, and... sister proud."

I was quite taken aback by Allen's response when he mentioned me.

"That is why I put in a lot of effort. I've also been able to get this far thanks to sister's assistance."

He smiled, his gaze falling on me as I eat quietly in this suffocating atmosphere that had intensified because of him.

(... Allen, don't drag me into this.)

As I neatly cut the steak, my eyes narrowed.

(This is going to end ugly...)

"No, no. It is only because of yourself that you have progressed this far."

As he spoke, my father's faint smile disappeared from his lips, and he looked at me with his usual piercing, ruby eyes.

"Your sister did nothing, so don't bother about it."

(Thought so...)

(Allen, you fool. You're putting me in the worst mood I've ever had.)

(Will it really hurt you if you just ignore me, Allen? Is it so difficult for you to simply agree or compliment me, father?)

"Aliciel, please don't act rashly and embarrass your brother."

My father spoke, his eyes glaring down at me, and I set down my fork, lifting my head to look at him with a vacant gaze.

"Don't worry father, I won't. So don't be concerned about it."

I spoke to him with a calm voice that ended on a bitter note, causing his eyes to widen somewhat.

(Each and every one of you...)

(Just die already.)

As I returned his gaze, I had a spark of malice burning in my eyes. Those ugly emotions that had been buried deep within me were crawling to the surface.

I was reminded of my pitiful mother who gave birth to me the more I looked at his face.

Aliciel's mother was a gentle, loving woman. She poured all of her affection on Aliciel, however things took a turn for the worst when she fell ill when Aliciel was only 5 years old.

Aliciel lacked parental love since her mother had been bedridden for 7 years. During those times, the Duke paid no attention to her mother and eventually left her to death.

(I did remember seeing a glimpse of the Duke beating mother... though I couldn't recall the details.)

(... since I experienced it myself and not just a mere memory, it was really infuriating to the point I almost acted like the original Aliciel.)