Despite trying to resist by tightly biting her lips, Idel couldn’t overcome the compelling force of the curse.
“…Daughter? Why is the Duchess my mom, and what about my mom? I understand that my mom regards the duchess as family, but how can I establish a familial bond with someone who isn’t even my mother?
“Ah… Idel, well, um…”
“You’re the only one who has to accept it, Idel. I won’t acknowledge any kind of relationship with Countess Lopez, nor will I keep her around. I won’t force you, but I hope you won’t deny Rowena in the future.”
The Duke swiftly intercepted Idel’s words, reading the distress and hurt in his wife’s expression.
And at the moment when the duke’s disdainful and cold gaze fell on Melisa, Idel received another command.
[Cry.]
“Waaah…!”
[Cry louder. Use the ‘my mom’ card.]
“I don’t want to… Waaaah! I want to be with my mom. I want to stay with her! Waaaah! I don’t need a new mom!”
“It’s inevitable to feel sad. But it won’t happen.”
Idel’s sobs intensified at the Duke’s firm reply.
With a voice close to a scream and eyes filled with malice, the duke’s expression twisted slightly more.
“It seems like she lacks education.”
“Vincent!”
Reacting to his unexpectedly cold attitude, Rowena hastily embraced Idel.
She was afraid that Idel might collapse if left like this.
As the Duchess chastised her husband with a pale and nauseated expression, she unconsciously closed her eyes tightly at the sight of the child clinging to her.
‘Was I too hasty…?’
The child, who had been isolated for several days, had just met her mother.
The first thing she did when she came into the parlor was run into her mother’s arms.
‘She’s only seven years old.’
Even eight-year-old Gianna finds it difficult to sleep alone in her own room.
The duchess couldn’t help but superimpose her own daughter, Gianna, who was the same age as Idel, on her image.
What if Gianna were in a situation where she was forced to be separated from her? Could she be shedding tears like this?
Just thinking about it broke her heart.
“Idel, shh, it’s okay. Hm? There, there.”
“Waaaah…!”
“You don’t have to call me mom. And I promise not to separate you from her, okay?
“Rowena!”
The duchess comforted Idel, disregarding even the touch of the duke’s hand on her shoulder.
“Sniif… Sniff… Really?”
“I promise.”
With the reassurance, Idel’s crying began to subside.
As she gently stroked the child’s back, Rowena bit her lower lip tightly.
“Sylvia, go get some water and ointment. And…,”
Although the barely healed wounds threatened to reopen and make her heart ache, Rowena ultimately made up her mind.
‘Yes, the child… isn’t at fault.’
With sunken eyes, she looked at Melisa and spoke as if vomiting out the words.
“I’ll allow my sister to stay in the mansion.”
“Rowena, could you please think twice about that?”
“Vincent, Idel is only seven years old. She’s even younger than Gianna.”
“…….”
Vincent Clementine understood his wife’s words and emotions conveyed in her trembling voice in an instant.
The man, who had been tormented in hell for the past few days, felt a terrible sense of remorse and relented. He couldn’t possibly oppose his wife’s words.
“…Rowena, I will do as you wish. However, let’s set a deadline until Idel’s debutante ball. By then, the child should understand her position.”
Rowena nodded at her husband’s agreement and received water and ointment from the maid.
“Idel, it might be tough, but shall we try to stand up a bit? Just little bit is fine. Let’s have some water and apply some ointment around your eyes.”
“Sigh…”
The duke swallowed his sigh as he watched Rowena take care of the exhausted Idel.
Meanwhile, as Idel barely caught her breath in the duchess’s arms, she secretly narrowed her eyes.
‘I feel bad.’
She despised the way she exploited her to achieve her goals without exerting any effort, and she detested the lack of consideration she showed for her emotions and her relationships with those around her.
Seeing Melisa’s slightly raised corner of her mouth, Idel twisted her body and spoke up.
“I… want to go.”
“Idel?”
“I… want to go to my room.”
“All right, you must be tired after crying. Go rest for now, and we’ll see each other again later. Take the ointment with you. Your skin might feel irritated even after some time.”
As Idel walked away from Rowena, who had been taking care of her until the moment of parting, she left the reception room.
Turning around without a proper farewell was not noble behavior for a young lady, but no one could criticize a child with swollen eyes who had cried a lot.
As Idel walked out of the parlor and down the hallway, she quietly gritted her teeth. Her thoughts had changed.
‘I have to somehow save the duke.’
Originally, she only intended to help within her means. She didn’t even know the original story accurately, so she was hardly an expert.
She had initially prioritized escaping from here…
‘Even if I have to escape, I’m going to make sure Melisa pays for this.’
She couldn’t miss out on what she had longed for right in front of her eyes.
Besides, on second thought, if he saved the Duke’s life, people might believe her if she said she’d done bad things because of Melisa.
‘Then I could leave the duchy with a little more dignity. As a bonus, I’ll be able to say he’s not my father.’
Certainly, the risk burden would increase, but there was much to gain.
‘For now, let’s start by solving this curse.’
With that resolve, Idel sighed softly with furrowed brows. She felt sore all over, as if she had been beaten. That was when it happened.
“Miss Idel, should I carry you?”
Startled by the affectionate voice coming from beside her, Idel paused for a moment.
“I’m fine.”
“But it seems like walking is straining for you.”
“I said I’m fine!”
With a cracked voice, she stomped her foot as if to assert herself.
A faint sound of exasperation emanated from somewhere in the background. Idel then wiped the sweat off her forehead in annoyance.
‘That was close.’
Clearly, the servants’ cautiousness had softened. Some still looked down on her. No matter how much she misbehaved, a child who cried to the point of puffy eyes was bound to be pitied.
‘But that’s not how it should be.’
Maybe after the brainwashing was undone, but for now, with the curse still firmly in place, she was supposed to be Melisa’s good daughter.
She is a child who should treat everyone except her biological mother as a bad person, so she has to behave badly.
“Miss Idel, please don’t do this; just let me hold you…”
When the maid approached her once again, Idel narrowed her eyes and sharply turned her head.
“I said I’m fine! Do you think my words are funny?”
“What? No, never! Absolutely not! It’s just that you look so pale…”
“So what? Even if I’m not fine, what does that have to do with you… Wait a minute.”
Idel, who had been spitting out words with a frustrated expression, paused for a moment. It was because the person she caught in her trap was someone she knew.
‘Isn’t she the maid whose palm was cut by the paper?’
The sharpness that had been directed at her softened slightly as she looked at her untreated hand. The maid, standing nervously with tense shoulders, had gathered the courage to speak up in a situation where she could have pretended not to notice.
‘Of all times…’
As Idel chewed on her inner cheek, a thought crossed her mind.
‘No, maybe I can pull off both.’
She had the ointment given to her by the duchess in her hand. Perhaps because it’s the main hallway, there are many eyes looking around.
‘So, if one hand does something, the other hand doesn’t need to know, right?’
Some servants were whispering and sneaking glances from a distance. They were undoubtedly well-informed individuals.
Idel narrowed her eyes and snorted in disbelief.
“What, so it was you again?”
“Oh, um, well…”
“You thought I would ignore what happened earlier if you did this now?”
“No! I never, ever thought of such a thing! How dare I…”
“You didn’t?”
With a hand on her hip, Idel arched her eyebrows.
She looked at the maid with as much grumpiness as she could muster, then suddenly perked up as if she’d remembered something.
“I see! You’re going to tell the adults that I’m being a pain, aren’t you? Trying to tell them that I’m causing you harm… you’re trying to use that as leverage! So that’s why you keep hanging around me instead of going to the doctor!”
“Um…”
“Wait, now that I think about it, everyone here is on your side, right? Ha! I knew it! Trying to purposely annoy me!”
“No, that’s not really…”
As the maid’s expression turned from perplexed to indignant, Idel quickly interjected with a sharp remark.
“Hmph! No way.”
One of the basic skills of a mischievous and naughty child was stubbornness—refusing to listen to others and insisting on their own way.
Idel recalled the devious child actors she had seen in dramas.
With her chin up and a sneaky smirk, she approached the maid and handed her the ointment.
“Miss Idel?”
“Come to me every day from now on and get your hands checked. If you say you hurt yourself because of me, I won’t let you off the hook!”
Idel made a fist with her skinny hands, turned, and walked away.
As the remaining servants murmured softly while watching her determined figure, one remarked,
“Ah, her temperament really… Isn’t she so different from Miss Gianna?”
“Yeah. Diane must have tried her best with a good heart… Poor thing.”
The murmuring from behind was a reward for Idel.
Having successfully shown her mischievous side and even jabbed at someone, she entered her room with a satisfied smile.
‘Ha, now I feel a bit better!’
Indeed, one must live kindly, whether others acknowledge it or not!
