Chapter 111
“Got it!”
Diana nodded eagerly, as if urging me to ask whatever I wanted.
“What is it?”
“…You’ve always said I’m pretty and called me a princess, right?”
“Yeah!”
“And just a moment ago, you saw Grand Duchess Belus and said she looks exactly like me.”
“That’s right!”
Unlike me, who hesitated, struggling to get the words out, Diana answered without a second thought.
Her easy response left me momentarily speechless. I swallowed dryly, hesitated for a moment, and finally asked the question that had been stuck in my throat.
“Miss Diana, what color do you see my hair and eyes as?”
“Your hair and eye color?”
“…Yes.”
I bit my lip hard and clenched my fists tightly.
⟨Hey, Jack… do my hair and eyes look brown to you too?⟩
⟨Yeah. Your eyes are a deep brown, and your hair is a lighter, softer shade of brown.⟩
⟨Master, you see me as having brown hair too, right?⟩
⟨…⟩
Never again.
I had sworn to never ask this question again.
Not only did I already know the answer, but I was also too afraid.
I already felt like a drifting existence, never able to truly settle anywhere in this world.
If I acknowledged that even my reflection in the mirror was something no one else could see… I feared I’d be labeled a lunatic, trapped in a world of my own.
‘If I get the same answer again this time, I won’t be able to bear it…’
“Pink!”
At that moment, Diana shouted in a loud, matter-of-fact voice, as if wondering why I would even ask such a thing.
“Your hair is soft and fluffy like cotton candy, and your eyes are sparkly pink!”
“…”
“Just like the princess! So pretty!”
“Hhic.”
All at once, the tears I had been holding back poured out.
I collapsed to the floor and sobbed uncontrollably.
“Uh, sister?”
Diana, flustered, shuffled her feet in panic before she, too, started sniffling. But I couldn’t stop.
Tears streamed down my face as I asked again through choked sobs,
“Are you sure? In your eyes, I really…?”
I couldn’t even finish my sentence. Seeing my distress, Diana, her eyes welling up with tears, suddenly stood up.
“Wait a second!”
She ran off and returned with a drawing, the princess portrait she had once gifted me.
It had been framed and carefully placed on the bedside table.
“I drew this of you. Because you’re as pretty as a princess.”
The picture showed a princess in a dress, wearing a golden crown.
Her hair and eyes were pink.
“Haha…”
Only then did everything finally make sense.
Why she always called me pretty.
Why she always called me a princess.
Why she had clapped with delight when she put the pink diamond hairpin, Allen’s gift, in my hair, saying it suited me perfectly.
Because in Diana’s eyes, I truly looked like the reflection I had only ever seen in the mirror.
Realizing this sent a shock through me so intense that I could hardly process it.
‘Then… could I really be…?’
I had merely recognized my own reflection.
I had no concrete proof about my lineage.
But even so, I was already halfway convinced.
‘I might be the lost Grand Princess of Belus.’
The granddaughter of Marquis Diapel.
The lost younger sister of Ascart.
The thought was so overwhelming that I felt like screaming.
I hastily clamped a hand over my mouth and held my breath.
Even as I struggled to suppress my sobs, my mind raced.
‘Am I under an illusion spell? A curse?’
A thought I hadn’t entertained since childhood crept back into my mind, filling me with unease.
‘What if I’m wrong? What if this is all just my imagination or delusion?’
This time, if I was wrong… I knew I wouldn’t just walk away with a simple wound.
Not just me, but others as well…
‘I need to be sure first.’
I had to regain my composure. I couldn’t just sit here crying.
‘I’m not a child anymore.’
Fortunately, the Elard Ducal family and the Belus Grand Duchy were very close.
In fact, tomorrow, the Duke’s household was hosting a dinner banquet, inviting the Grand Duke’s family, Marquis Diapel, and Bianca.
If I observed them closely, I would surely find something to confirm my suspicions.
‘Honestly, I want to rush to the Marquisate right now and see the Grand Duchess’s face again, but…’
I decided to wait in hiding, like a predator watching for the perfect moment.
However…
That moment came much sooner than I expected.
***
Marquis Diapel exhaled, a cigar in his hand.
‘It would be nice if there were some candy or chocolate instead.’
Helpless, he found himself reaching for this, hardly a satisfying alternative. His mouth felt bitter, and his heart felt even more empty.
With the arrival of his eldest daughter and her husband in the empire yesterday, the entire family was now gathered in the capital except for his son, who remained at the marquisate.
That morning, excited, the marquis opened the dining room doors.
But what greeted him was an empty table.
He had expected that his eldest daughter wouldn’t attend, given her frail health, but…
His son-in-law, who was in perfect health, and even Ascart, who had been joining them for breakfast until just yesterday, were nowhere to be seen.
As soon as the marquis sat down with a scowl, the butler promptly served breakfast. The marquis shot him a questioning look, and the butler let out an ‘Ah’ before explaining.
⟨His Grace the Grand Duke and the Young Grand Prince are staying in the annex.⟩
The marquis was stunned. They had locked themselves away in their rooms last night and hadn’t come out all night…
Sure, their status was higher than his, but he was still the elder of the family.
They weren’t outright excluding him, but it certainly felt that way. It left a bitter taste in his mouth.
Hmph! Not that I was eager to see that handsome face that bewitched my daughter first thing in the morning!”
Grumbling, the marquis even started badmouthing the Grand Duke—something he hadn’t done since the birth of his grandson, who looked just like his father.
Now that he thought about it, his second daughter had also stopped visiting ever since he scolded her on the first day of his arrival in the capital.
Even after hearing that her sister had arrived yesterday, she hadn’t come by.
“Fine, fine! But why isn’t she coming?”
Clicking his tongue, the marquis shook his head and suddenly stood up from the sofa.
He glanced toward the reception room’s entrance, checking to see if the child was arriving.
Though he was concerned about his eldest daughter, after sending the children away yesterday, he hadn’t felt at ease.
His daughter was still sleeping, exhausted from the journey to the empire. She would likely wake up late and have breakfast in her room.
If she was feeling well, she might visit the rose greenhouse.
Since he didn’t expect the Grand Duchess to come to the reception room, he had sent a messenger to the Elard Duke’s estate first thing after breakfast to summon Lia.
“She should be arriving soon… Ah!”
Through the window, he spotted the butler walking over with the small, adorable maid in tow.
The marquis hurriedly sat back down, pretending not to have been waiting.
“Why is that tiny thing so slow!”
He didn’t forget to scold her loudly the moment the reception room doors opened.
“If you had any conscience, you’d come early to check on the poor old man you injured…wait, what’s wrong with your face?!”
Just as he was about to launch into a tirade, the marquis leaped to his feet in shock.
It had only been a day since he last saw her, yet her eyes were swollen and red.
“Did you cry? Did you?”
“Well, just a little…”
“Who made you cry! Who dared!”
The marquis, worked up, raised his voice but then stopped when he noticed the girl’s eyes welling up again.
Thinking she was frightened by his outburst, he calmed himself and asked more gently,
“Did you get scolded for making a mistake?”
“…No, that’s not it.”
“You can be honest. I can even scold the Duke of Elard if needed. And as for the butlers and maids under him, that’s even easier.”
“I didn’t get scolded. I’m good at my job.”
Lia grinned, laughing a little and the marquis pursed his lips with a dissatisfied expression.
Seeing this, Lia dropped the forced smile.
She had cried herself to sleep last night, leaving her face a mess.
She thought she had dreamed of something, but she couldn’t remember what it was.
At breakfast, everyone had been startled by her face, so she had made up an excuse about having a bad dream.
Then suddenly, the marquis had summoned her, giving her no time to compose herself before she found herself here.
And now, seeing the concern in the marquis’s expression, Lia felt her nose sting.
Even so, she didn’t want to seem weak, as if she had been scolded somewhere.
Just yesterday, she had insisted she wasn’t a child but here she was, acting so childishly, which made her feel embarrassed.
“Weren’t you supposed to be getting treatment? Why are you in the reception room…”
She trailed off as her gaze landed on the marquis’s hand.
“That… in your hand…”
“Hmm?”
Following her gaze, the marquis looked down at his hand and was startled. He hadn’t even realized he was still holding the cigar.
“Why would you smoke when it’s something so bad for you?”
“T-This is just because I needed something in my mouth…”
“Then why not have some candy or chocolate instead? I’ll go ask the butler right now. So please don’t smoke, Grandf—”
Mid-sentence, Lia gasped and clapped her hands over her mouth.
At that moment, the marquis scowled and muttered under his breath.
“What kind of training does the Elard household give its maids?”
“I-I’m sorry, Marquis!”
Startled, Lia quickly lowered her swollen eyes and apologized.
The marquis’s heart twinged again.
She had always called him ‘Marquis’ from the start. So why, out of nowhere, did she call him Grandfather and throw his emotions into turmoil?
Frowning, he let out a gruff cough and said,
“…You can call me that if you want.”
Thank you Jean for the Kofi again ❤️
