The Extra Decided to be Fake

Episode 40

After the conversation with Theo, Lillian came to a conclusion.

Now was the time to trust her own judgment.

So, if she was confused about what Cedric was thinking, she decided to ask.

“I’m curious why you decided to accept me, Your Grace.”

The answer needed to be straightforward.

‘Of course, there’s no guarantee that His Grace will answer.’

But Lillian believed in the time she had spent with Cedric. The qualities he had shown her.

The Cedric she knew was someone who blocked the morning sun with his hand, waited by her side until she woke up from sleep, and always spoke to her at eye level.

“I thought His Grace didn’t trust me enough to accept me as his daughter.”

“…I see.”

“Is there a reason why you’ve changed your mind?”

Lillian expected Cedric to get angry, but instead of getting angry, he wore a slightly perplexed expression. He hesitated for a moment, as if he had a difficult problem in front of him, before speaking.

“Well, strictly speaking, it’s about my thoughts. I thought you’d be curious about my thoughts, so isn’t that right?”

Lillian swallowed her dry saliva and nodded. Cedric continued, his face still showing signs of being puzzled.

“I couldn’t trust you because I thought the pendant you brought wasn’t enough to prove your birth.”

“…I understand.”

“That’s because my daughter wasn’t simply missing; she was kidnapped.”

“…!”

Cedric clenched his hand and took a breath, then exhaled slowly.

“She was kidnapped shortly after she was born, and most of the people who knew about the situation at the time are dead. Naturally, it was also unclear who had kidnapped the child.”

“…Then how did you know she was kidnapped?”

“My wife left a letter telling me not to provoke the people who took the child.”

“But still…”

Even though she wanted to say that he should have released people to find the child, Lillian closed her mouth. The person who would have wanted to find the child more than anyone else at the time was right in front of her.

“If I couldn’t personally get involved in the situation in the capital, there was no point in recklessly looking for her. Search operations have been ongoing under the surface, but… it hasn’t been enough.”

Even though Cedric couldn’t directly lead the search, he had used Maeinard’s information network to the fullest, but he still couldn’t find any clues. It was clear that the mastermind behind the kidnapping was not an ordinary person.

“Nevertheless, you came back with the pendant, so I couldn’t rule out the possibility that those who had kidnapped the child might be trying to deceive me.”

“If you think about it…”

Before she could finish her sentence, Lillian shut her mouth. She knew more than anyone else how much Cedric would have wanted to find the child.

However, such things do not happen in reality.

How could someone inexperienced in dealing with children instantly love a child they saw for the first time?

“I had to confirm your innocence. If you couldn’t prove your birth, I needed something, anything, to believe in you. So, I went to the place where you grew up, Merryfield Orphanage.”

The moment Lillian heard those words, her heart sank like a stone. She couldn’t even begin to imagine how Cedric’s confession would end.

“And so… What?”

“It wasn’t anything remarkable. I just found this there.”

Cedric said as he took something out of a drawer.

It was a diary with a worn cover, and Lillian found it familiar.

“…Swan.”

Because it was Swan’s diary that had been hidden away without ever being shown, even when she asked what he wrote in it.

“How did you…?”

“The child was close to you, right? She asked me to give this to you. For your sake.”

For your sake.

With those words, Lillian received the notebook from Cedric.

Her hand shook as she accepted it. Up close, it was even more certain. This was Swan’s diary.

Since Lillian had destroyed all of Swan’s belongings, this was the only remaining memento of Swan.

“But why did she ask me to give this to you, not me?”

Since Lillian had ruined all of Swan’s belongings, it was the only memento of Swan left.

“But why did she ask me to give this to you, not me?”

“Swan wanted you to have it. That’s all I know.”

Swan had requested it herself, but why? Lillian wondered.

However, she couldn’t find the courage to ask. Instead, she hesitated for a moment and then opened the first page.

There were traces of several pages being torn out at the beginning, as well as marks where flour had been smeared.

And at the very top of the page, there was a date written a long time ago.

[Today, the headmaster talked to me about my parents.

She said we were separated because of unfortunate circumstances, but someday we might be able to meet our parents.

When that time comes, will I be able to recognize my parents?]

It was Swan’s record.

* * *

[xx.xx. The Day I Saw Clouds Shaped Like Ducks!

I tried bringing up the topic of our parents to Lily today.

But Lily doesn’t like our parents. She doesn’t want to meet them. She doesn’t even want to think about it.

Whenever I bring up our parents, Lily always says that she doesn’t need a family because she has me.

But both Lily and I know. We can’t be together forever.

Living in an orphanage means that. Just yesterday, Aiden went for adoption already.

What will Lily do when I’m not here anymore?]

[xx.xx. I Didn’t See the Sun Today.

When will we be able to meet our parents?]

Will my parents accept me?

Today, Amelia came back to the orphanage. It’s only been three days since she found her parents.

She came back, holding her mom’s hand, and cried a lot.

Just having shared blood doesn’t mean the family ties will be restored.

Here, even though there are people with shared blood, it’s a place where children without families gather.

I may not share blood with Lily, but I consider Lily and me as family.

Do adults need criteria to become a family?]

 

[Blank]

 

[Blank]

 

[Blank]

 

I won’t make it through the winter.

Even without the doctor’s words, I can feel the state of my body.

I got mad at Lily openly and spent the whole day hiding and crying.

I hope Lily won’t be too sad.]

 

[Sorry.]

 

* * *

After that, there were only records about Lillian.

It was as if someone was introducing Lillian, diligently writing about her preferences and habits.

No, it was more like a letter than anything else.

[Lily doesn’t like raisins in her bread.

She has a habit of checking on me when she wakes up, and she always sleeps with me, unable to sleep alone.

She doesn’t like people very much, but not all the bad things they say about her are true.

Lily is a really kind and pretty girl.

She always fed me instead of herself, and she gave me her soul.

Even when we fought, if I cried, she would always stay by my side, and if she found a flower, she would always give it to me first.

The most beautiful and precious things Lily had were all mine.

She would give everything beautiful and good to me and say she didn’t need anything herself. She must have wanted something, too…]

 

As Lillian read down the letter, her eyes welled up with tears.

[I’m greedy and a bad person, so I didn’t refuse anything Lily gave me. So, Lily has nothing left now. Nothing except me. But there’s one thing I have to take from her.]

Tears welled up, and her vision blurred, making it impossible to read further.

[So, if you see this, please, please become Lily’s family.]

Desperately.