HKRH | CH 03

The Sister Who Isn’t Family

Posted by Ammy, Released on October 18, 2025

Chapter 3

The Sister Who Isn’t Family

Anatol said that the people who had taken the banned drug by royal decree would all be punished for treason.

Natalie’s eyes widened in shock.

Just a few hours earlier, she had suddenly felt uneasy and decided not to attend the party she had been so excited about. Now that same decision had saved her.

She felt a rush of excitement.

“My strange feeling was right again…!”

First, the limited-edition luxury hat that only she managed to buy.

Then, the huge pile of gold she won at the horse races.

And now—avoiding a party where a treasonous plot was uncovered.

It really did feel like incredible luck kept following her.

But then she remembered the dream she had just had—her family’s mansion engulfed in flames, attacked by monsters.

A shiver ran down her spine. She suddenly wanted to run away.

“I have to get out of here, now.”

That same gut feeling that had saved her three times before was back again.

Licking her dry lips, she spoke urgently.

“Brother, we have to leave right now—”

Anatol brushed his sweaty silver hair back, his expression cold.

“So now you’re finally scared of what you’ve done?”

Natalie frowned, confused.

“What do you mean?”

“I told you not to get involved with him, and yet you sent a reply to attend Raenfild’s masquerade ball!”

His crimson eyes, the same as their father’s, glared sharply at her.

It was true. Natalie had replied to the invitation.

But she hadn’t realized there were two Raenfilds in the capital—

Raenfild the scoundrel, who had stood trial several times for crimes, and Raenfild the Baron, a respectable man with the same name.

Natalie had seen the name “Raenfild” on the letter and assumed it was from the baron. So she had accepted the invitation, completely unaware.

“I didn’t know!” she cried. “I thought it was the other Raenfild!”

“Enough of your excuses,” Anatol snapped. “Why can’t you go one day without causing trouble?”

His red eyes burned like fire. He thought she had ignored his warnings on purpose.

“I’m telling the truth!” Natalie shouted, frustrated and on the verge of tears.

But Anatol didn’t believe her.

“Your reply was found in Raenfild’s study. Because of that, Father and I were summoned to the capital for questioning. You weren’t caught at the scene, so you escaped a charge of treason—but no one knows how this will end.”

Anatol’s voice dripped with anger. He stepped closer, grabbed her hair, and yanked hard.

Her black hair fell away—revealing shining golden hair underneath.

Natalie gasped and quickly clutched the black wig, but Anatol tore it off completely and threw it toward the door.

“And this!” he shouted. “Why do you keep copying Sharon? What do you think you’ll gain from that? How much longer will you make us suffer like this?”

Tears welled in Natalie’s pink eyes, but she forced herself to glare at him. She didn’t want to look weak in front of her brother—someone who never tried to understand her.

“I said it was a mistake!”

“Ha! A mistake? You probably stole the letter from the butler so you could go!”

“Brother!”

“Brother,” came a soft voice from the doorway.

Both turned toward it.

Standing there was a girl with long black hair and gentle green eyes—Sharon, who was about the same age as Natalie.

“Sharon?” Anatol said.

“I—I’m sorry, brother. It was my fault.”

Tears filled Sharon’s eyes as she stepped closer, trembling.

“The butler slipped on the stairs and got hurt. So I said I’d deliver the invitations for him. There were two on the table—I didn’t realize one was meant to be returned, so I accidentally gave it to Natalie instead…”

That meant the letter meant to be returned to Raenfild had mistakenly been delivered to Natalie’s room.

Sharon began to cry harder. “I’m sorry, Natalie. You could’ve been in real danger because of me!”

Natalie bit her lip and looked between Sharon and Anatol.

Anatol patted Sharon’s shoulder gently.

“…It’s fine. It was just a mistake. If the addressee had been checked properly, none of this would’ve happened.”

“Brother!” Natalie burst out.

He didn’t believe me when I said it was a mistake, but he believes Sharon right away?!

It wasn’t fair. It never was.

Natalie wanted to scream and cry like Sharon did in her brother’s arms.

It was always the same in the Ailsden mansion—everyone was kind to sweet, gentle Sharon, but cold and harsh to her.

“Why are you kind to Sharon but always angry at me? Why don’t you ever believe me?”

She clenched her fists and yelled, but Anatol’s expression only hardened.

“If you hadn’t been such a reckless, thoughtless girl all your life, I might have trusted you by now.”

“…”

“I don’t expect anything from you anymore. Stay in your room until this matter is resolved.”

He gave her one last cold look, then turned to Sharon and stroked her hair affectionately.

Kicking Natalie’s black wig aside, he left the room.

Thud.

Natalie tried to steady her breathing.

Calm down. This always happens. You already knew this.

“Here,” Sharon said softly.

Natalie looked up to see Sharon holding out the wig she’d picked up.

Her green eyes were full of worry and sadness.

“Don’t be mad at brother. He’s just worried about you.”

“…He’s my brother,” Natalie muttered.

“Huh?”

“My brother—not yours!”

“W-why are you saying that, Natalie…”

“This is my family! My home!”

Natalie screamed, her voice breaking. Sharon flinched and began to cry again.

The butler and head maid rushed in, flustered, and gently led Sharon out.

When everyone was gone, Natalie finally broke down.

She buried her face under the blanket to muffle the sound.

“Ugh… sob…!”

She loved her family. She wanted to be loved by them.

After losing her mother at a young age, Natalie had always been lonely.

Her father was a cold man, always busy with work outside. Even though they lived in the same house, she was lucky to see him once a month.

Her brother Anatol, five years older, was the heir to the family. He was strict, often scolding or yelling when she made mistakes.

But both her father and Anatol were kind—to Sharon.

Sharon wasn’t even their real family. She was the daughter of her late mother’s close friend.

Before she died, Natalie’s mother had begged her husband to take the orphaned girl in.

So Sharon, the same age as Natalie, grew up with her—sharing everything.

The Ailsden family had two young ladies.

At first, when they were little, things weren’t bad. But as they grew, everything changed.

Natalie wanted her father’s and brother’s love, so she followed them around, desperate for their attention.

“Play with me, brother! Father, let’s go out together!”

“I’m fine, brother. You go with Natalie,” Sharon would always say sweetly.

Sharon was mature and gentle. She never complained, always said she was fine.

When their father and brother came home after long trips, Sharon greeted them with warm smiles and soft laughter—while Natalie clung to them like a needy child.

Sharon even used her allowance to buy gifts for the servants.

In the end, everyone in the mansion—her father, brother, and all the staff—liked Sharon more than Natalie.

Her family was cold to her but affectionate to Sharon.

When Natalie was in her early teens, she finally realized it.

“Please… love me too.”

She tried to change. She studied hard, behaved well, and stopped being selfish, hoping they’d notice.

But every time she tried, something went wrong.

The blankets she folded neatly for the maids were found torn apart.

A ring she decided not to buy ended up hidden in her parasol—making her look like a thief.

It was all just bad luck.

“What’s wrong with you, Natalie?”

“Why can’t you be calm like Sharon?”