FWTR Chapter 25

Chapter 25: A Good Child

Estelle wanted to clean the rabbit doll as soon as possible.

As she was about to step into the bathroom, she paused. A cool breeze flowed in through the open window, which had been left ajar for ventilation.

“I should go to the lake in the forest to wash it. Hardly anyone goes there, so I won’t be disturbed.”

She happened to want some quiet, so she headed toward the forest behind the mansion.

A large, crystal-clear lake came into view. It was a place she often visited in secret as a child whenever she felt upset and needed to cry alone.

Estelle sat nearby and began washing the rabbit doll with the soap she had brought. The dusty fur gradually regained its luster.

“It’s already been so long since I last saw Grandfather.”

Naturally, she thought of Count Madel, her maternal grandfather, who had gifted her the rabbit doll. When he learned that his second wife was mistreating Estelle, he immediately sent her to the Winchester Ducal Estate.

She had never resented him for it. In fact, she felt sorry for him, knowing that he missed his daughter and spent every day in the room her mother had used.

Burdened by his own grief, he had failed to rein in his second wife. Even after sending Estelle away, he felt too ashamed to see her again.

No matter how many letters Estelle sent, he never replied. His silence made it clear that he wished to cut ties, so eventually, she stopped reaching out.

Then, the very same Count Madel, who had refused to see her, left behind a will stating that Lucas should inherit his title before passing away.

She regretted not visiting him while he was still alive.

“Wait a minute. Since I’ve returned to the past, Grandfather should still be alive…! How did I not realize this before?”

The realization hit her like a blow to the back of her head.

“Of course… Even if I request a visit, he might not allow it, but this time, I want to see him at least once before he passes.”

She gazed at the now pristine rabbit doll, recalling the day she had parted ways with her grandfather.

“Grandfather, I was wrong. I’ll be a good child, so please… don’t send me away.”

“Estelle, you need to go to your father now and live with your brothers. There’s no reason for you to cry so sadly over this old man who’s done nothing for you. Here, this is a gift from me. Whenever you miss me, hold it tight and sleep with it.”

In the reflection of the lake, Estelle saw that she was crying.

She tried to hold back her tears several times, but her heart was too fragile.

Even the slightest touch could unravel her emotions.

—

“…What’s that?”

Suppressing the surge of emotions, Estelle suddenly noticed something glimmering beneath the water’s surface.

She wiped away her tears, removed her shoes, and stepped into the lake.

What she retrieved was a delicate necklace adorned with a bright, vivid sapphire.

“Whose could this be? I don’t remember dropping anything like this.”

As she examined the necklace, her eyes widened in shock at the name engraved on the back of the sapphire.

“To my Estie.
—Michael.”

The necklace belonged to Michael. Or rather, it seemed to have been made specifically for her.

“Why is this here…?”

Hoping to recall something related to him, she clenched the necklace in her hand.

But no matter how long she waited, his voice did not reach her.

“I wish I knew what had happened.”

Instead of answers, dark clouds suddenly gathered in the sky. The once-blue heavens turned gray, and raindrops began to fall.

At first, the rain was light, but soon, it lashed against her skin with stinging intensity.

“…I should head back. There’s nothing more I can remember right now anyway.”

The thought of requesting a visit to Count Madel’s estate made her anxious, momentarily pushing thoughts of the necklace aside.

Even though the rabbit doll was now soaked from the rain and she was drenched head to toe, she had still gained something from this trip.

“I don’t know who dropped this necklace here, but at least I found something that was lost.”

As time passed, she began to shiver from the cold. Grabbing her abandoned shoes, she left the forest and returned to the mansion.

—

“So that’s where you were. And in the rain, too? What kind of fool just stands there getting soaked? You should’ve come inside immediately!”

The moment she stepped into the foyer, she ran into Lucas, who was descending the stairs, dressed for work.

“…Shut up. Weren’t you leaving for work? Stop meddling and just go.”

She was already freezing, but Lucas’s raised voice made her head pound even more.

Unable to withstand the overwhelming noise, she finally collapsed.

“Estelle! Get a hold of yourself! Damn it, why is your forehead burning up?”

She tried to resist leaning on him, unwilling to rely on him. She struggled to stay conscious.

“Why… do I feel… so dizzy…?”

But the more she tried, the more strength drained from her body.

“What are you all standing around for?! Get a doctor, now! Estelle! Hey!”

Estelle wanted to shut Lucas’s mouth as he yelled at the passing servants.

‘I don’t even have the strength to tell him to shut up.’

That was her last thought before her blurry vision faded to complete darkness.

—

Estelle was kneeling on the cold marble floor.

“I was in Lucas’s arms when I collapsed… so how did I end up here?”

She lifted her head at the sound of heavy footsteps. Two figures came into view.

The young Duke of Winchester was approaching, holding a small child—Melody.

“Estelle Winchester. I told you to go to your room, yet here you are defying me again.”

The situation felt eerily familiar.

‘This… This was when Melody had just been adopted. I hated that she was being loved when I wasn’t, so I acted as if she didn’t exist.’

Melody had tattled to the Duke, and Estelle had been punished. She was confined to her room for a week—an absolute prohibition from leaving.

That punishment had terrified her. The attic she had been locked in was suffocating. Out of fear, she had apologized to Melody and pleaded for forgiveness from the Duke.

Before the door closed, she had knelt in the hallway where he passed, begging him.

“Please hold me too, Father. I’m your daughter. Just once, even if only a little, please look at me. Please… love me.”

But instead of mercy, he had deemed her words disgraceful and extended her confinement by another week.

Estelle looked down at her hands.

They were small.

She touched her body—her frame was that of a child.

Everything was so vivid. It didn’t feel like a mere dream or memory.

Had she actually returned to the past? Or was she simply reliving these moments as if she were truly there?

—

“Melody, stop crying. Why don’t we go have some delicious snacks with Daddy?”

“I… I wanted to get along with Sister.”

The Duke of Winchester, who always looked at Estelle with cold indifference, now spoke with boundless warmth as he soothed the sniffing Melody.

“As an older sister, not only did you fail to set an example, but you also ignored and mistreated a child who wanted to befriend you?”

His face twisted in disapproval.

“Daddy, don’t be mad. I am scared.”

Even as she pleaded, Melody smiled silently.

That gaze—filled with the unspoken message, “Unlike you, I can be in Father’s arms.”

Estelle wished this was nothing more than an illusion created by her lingering pain.

‘If I really have returned to the past…’

She wasn’t sure if she had the strength to endure this all over again.

She didn’t want to relive these wounds, these glances, this pain.

But why did everything feel so real? Why did the freezing air bite at her skin?

If this were an illusion, the cold marble beneath her knees wouldn’t feel this icy.

Thinking she might wake up from the dream, she pinched her cheek hard.

Then, she slapped herself.

It stung.

But nothing changed.

—

“How dare you cover your ears and lay hands on yourself while I’m speaking?! Have you grown insolent?!”

“…….”

“Do you think I’ll stop just because of that?!”

The Duke’s sharp gaze pierced her.

“Melody, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. It was my fault.”

Her breath caught in her throat. She wanted to escape this situation, so she started reciting apologies.

If she resisted, she’d only end up locked away longer.

It was better to give the answer he wanted.

“I was wrong. I won’t do it again.”

The scene before her shifted rapidly, as if being swept away in a current.

—

“Thank goodness… It was a dream.”

She was no longer kneeling on the cold marble floor.

Now, her body burned with fever, and even breathing felt exhausting.

The thick blanket covering her up to her shoulders felt suffocating.

—

“Estelle.”

A voice reached deep into her ears—her father’s.

The Duke of Winchester was sitting beside her, carefully placing his hand on her forehead.

This couldn’t be real.

“I must be delirious. I keep having dreams, one after another…”

After all, he had never once visited her room or shown concern when she was sick.

He was never this kind of person.

As he hesitated and began to withdraw his hand, Estelle instinctively grabbed the sleeve of his coat.

It didn’t matter if this was just a dream.

Just once—just this once—it wouldn’t hurt.

“Don’t go. Please, stay with me… just a little longer.”

“…….”

“Don’t abandon me. I’ll be a good child.”

For the first time, she allowed herself to be vulnerable.

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