Eren sat in his room and thought.

He sat by the open window and watched the garden full of roses, tended by an army of gardeners. Roses were everywhere; after all, they were his mother's favorite flowers. They came in all colors, from red to yellow to blue. As he watched the gardeners, his mind wandered. He tried to find an explanation for his behavior.

He remembered the last time he had met his friends and Selene.

Selene was standing next to Gray with tears in her eyes, wiping them away with an embroidered handkerchief. At that moment, he thought of how much he wished he could have been the handkerchief she held in her delicate hand.

"Elizabeth is going too far!" Gray slammed his hand down on the table angrily.

Donovan pushed his glasses up his nose. "What did she do this time?" He asked calmly.

Gray glanced at Selene, his gaze softening slightly before turning back. "She sent someone to sneak into her room and destroy her entire wardrobe so she could not attend the ball at the beginning of the season. And that's tomorrow."

Red-haired Chad shook his head. "Seriously, that's pretty pathetic, but that's how she gets what she wants."

Eren sighed. "The sister is getting wilder and wilder. Did she not try to push Selene down the stairs recently? She does not seem to have any intention of stopping bothering Selene."

Donovan frowned. "Well, I am not so sure she pushed her. I saw it, and it looked like...."

"She pushed me. Then she pretended she was trying to catch me." Selene's soft voice immediately caught everyone's attention.

The men looked at Selene, who shed another sad tear and lowered her gaze to the floor as if she was uncomfortable with so much attention.

Donovan clenched his hand into a fist. "That's right. I must have seen it wrong. Elizabeth pushed her."

Eren hesitated only a moment before nodding in agreement. "Fortunately, Gray managed to catch Selene. Otherwise, the unthinkable might have happened."

Chad growled. "There's nothing we can do about the ruined clothes, but can not we charge her with attempted assault? Or murder?"

Eren winced at that sentence, sensing doubt. For murder? Is not that a bit of an exaggeration? Elizabeth was not someone capable of murder.

Before he could say anything, Selene spoke up.

"No, no... even though Elizabeth treats me terribly... no... I do not think she would try to kill me." To their surprise, Selene defended Elizabeth.

'She's an angel,' echoed in the minds of all the men present.

Gray cleared his throat and turned his attention away from the beauty beside him.

"Frankly, I'm sick of it all. I am no longer in the mood for Elizabeth's behavior anymore. I have decided to break off our engagement."

Eren glared at Gray and was about to say something against it, but someone beat him to it.

"Do it at the ball! You can go ahead and give your reasons! Then no one will blame you, and Elizabeth will learn her lesson. It might help her come to her senses." Said Chad fervently.

Eren's eyes flickered around, and he felt somehow uncomfortable. But why, when he was okay with everything?

"Ah... Elizabeth is going to be very hurt. Is that really right?" Sweet Selene objected again.

Eren's thoughts calmed, and he looked at her firmly. "She will not hesitate to hurt you. It would be best if you did not hesitate either. You do not have to be afraid. We will take care of everything." With that, they began to plan the whole thing.

Eren raised his head, unable clearly to remember what had happened that day. As he reviewed it, something seemed off.

Several times he felt uneasy about the whole conversation. But within a few moments, he had forgotten it, as if... as if... no, he did not want to think about it!

He grabbed his head and closed his eyes.

Then he winced in fright as someone kicked open the door to his room. He turned around jerkily to see what was going on.

His beautiful and elegant sister Elizabeth put her foot back on the floor and walked in as if the room belonged to her.

"Well, you little traitor?" She asked.

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Eliz stood outside the door to her brother's room. Well, Elizabeth's brother.

She was preparing for the best acting performance of her life. A task? To get a follower! The target? The traitor Eren! Eliz certainly had no intention of giving this idiot to Selene. She can forget about that. What once belonged to her stays with her! Maybe, except for that idiot Gray. She can keep him.

As for talking to her father, of course, she naturally got her way. The Duke set some conditions, but in the end, he agreed. So in two weeks, she would be off to the Blue Rose Estate. In the meantime, Eliz needed to gain as many followers as possible. Human resources were precious.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Eliz pressed her ear to the door, but she heard nothing. According to Duke, Eren was under house arrest, so he should be there.

She very carefully and slowly pressed the door handle to open it before stepping back. She straightened up and raised her head gracefully before lifting her foot and kicking the door in. It quickly flew wide open and hit the wall with a loud bang.

Eliz stepped inside and looked at the shocked Eren. "Well, you little traitor?" she asked.

Eren rose from his chair, his shock turning to confusion.

"What? What are you talking about?"

Eliz cackled directly at him before raising a finger and poking him in the chest. Pretty hard.

"What do you think, huh? We have talked about this before." She poked him in the chest with her finger with every word she spoke.

Eren grinned, took a step back, and began rubbing his chest. "You mean about Selene? The... Derox?"

"Detox." Eliz corrected him, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Yes, that. What exactly does that mean?" He asked.

"It means that we will flush Selene out of your system. We rid you of her influence. You'll get away from her. You will not respond to her letters or if she even dares to come here. And in two weeks I am moving to the Blue Rose Estate, and you are coming with me. The farther away, the better." Explained Eliz patiently.

Eren was silent and thought. Eliz was prepared for his rebellion, but what he said was something she did not expect.

"Do you know something?" he asked quietly and hesitantly.

Eliz did not answer right away, mostly because she had no idea what he was talking about.

"Maybe." So Eliz answered evasively.

Eren was silent again for a moment before his gaze lifted, and his violet eyes locked on her. Just a shade brighter than her own.

"Is that why you have been attacking Selene all this time? Was it not just because of Gray?" He wondered.

Eliz could not help but make a contemptuous sound. "Him? Nothing can save him."

Eren's eyes widened in surprise. He had not expected his sister, who was deeply in love with Gray, to speak of him with such contempt and disinterest.

He had to see Elizabeth in a different light. He felt that he had been thoroughly mistaken about her. If she was not trying to win Gray over, then... perhaps... for him? His sister cared about him so much that she was trying to get him away from... whatever Selene was doing? And he could not deny that she was doing something. Even though his heart was bleeding with pain over doubting his love, his head was still working. And his mind told him that something was wrong with Selene.

Now he looked at his sister, who had been trying to save him all this time and who had to bear more than his contempt and hatred.

Eliz watched Eren and did not know what to think. She could not judge people as well as she would like to. So she could not even read anything from his facial expression.

"Sister! I am so sorry!" exclaimed Eren suddenly, dropping to one knee in front of her.

Eliz did not move to stay in character, but inside, she was shaken. What was he up to?

"What are you apologizing for?" She asked calmly, but she wanted to know!

Eren lowered his eyes to avoid looking into his sister's cold gaze.

"Because I did not recognize your true intentions! I am a terrible brother. I am so sorry, Elizabeth!" He apologized.

Eliz's mind howled with despair. 'Can't you speak more clearly!? What intentions? I want to use you, dammit!'

She quickly thought of what to say. "At least you know better now. So will you listen to me?"

Eren nodded and looked up at her. "Yes, sister. I will never doubt you again!"

At these words, Eliz's expression was now patently doubtful. "Just do not say it too soon, you little traitor."

Eren winced as she continued to call him a traitor. But he could understand. He hurt his sister a lot. He would have to do more to make things right and get rid of that shameful nickname that reminded him of his failure as a brother.

"I will fight back... but... I know I need help to think clearly when it comes to Selene. I have no right to ask this of you, but please, sister, continue to protect me from her curse."

Eliz stared at him, not understanding. The curse? Selene? Didn't the boys just have their thighs set on fire? Eliz became serious and thought of one of the tasks she had received.

She was to find out the truth behind the story of Everybody Loves Selene. She had not thought much about it before, but now Eren's behavior began to make more sense. Had he noticed something? Could it be that Selene was not just simply charming but... had some kind of power?

Eliz decided to take advantage of this. How could she pass up such an opportunity?!

She reached out towards her brother and put both of her hands on Eren's shoulders.

"As your dutiful sister, how could I do anything but promise to continue to protect you, dear brother? But you must follow and obey me. Otherwise, I cannot promise anything. Do you understand?" she said with as much gentleness in her voice as possible.

Tears of emotion glistened in Eren's eyes; he lowered his head and just nodded in agreement.

A system window popped up in front of Eliz, and a mischievous smile appeared on her face.

"Thank you, Eren." Eliz thanked him, mentally congratulating herself on how easily she had captured Eren.

The second Side Task completed

Description: Get a follower Number of followers gained: 1 Reward: Roseblood Estate in the Eastern Province (Gained before completing the quest. Reward change)

New Reward: Choose - Unlock mana or Basic combat.

Achievements Gained: For gaining one of the main characters as your first follower, you gain Achievements - Big Sister.

Description: Achievements Big Sister - Your influence on your relatives has a stronger impact; children have more trust in you, and people with a younger sibling complex will look more favorably upon you.

Eliz was thrilled with her new reward. She had expected it to simply acknowledge her ownership. In truth, she had not expected the system to change her reward.

Instead, she got a different reward. She got to pick between unlocking mana or learning the basics of combat.

Eliz knew this was a magical world, even if the story was more about court matters. Magic existed here, as did monsters or other races, such as elves and dwarves, even if they were rarer and demons. Who else should the protagonist and male lead fight if not the demon king? If anyone followed Eliz's thoughts, they had to nod in agreement. Demon king. What a cliché!

Eliz did not immediately choose a reward and instead looked at the Achievements she had obtained. The next thing that surprised her was that it had given her several bonuses thanks to it.

But... did they have to be such creepy bonuses?

The kids would be fine, but what if some pervert who liked to play younger siblings and older sister was going to hang on to her!?