Episode 51
The severity of the pain was not enough to make him cling desperately. However, since Damian had never touched Lillian without her permission, Lillian was a bit surprised. His voice was as affectionate as usual, but there was a different atmosphere, as if he were looking at someone else.
Is this the Damian I know?
The warmth in the restrained hand felt unfamiliar. Whether it was because Lillian had been clenching her fist a while ago, Damian’s body temperature was lower than hers. So, the hand wrapping around hers felt firmer and thicker than what she was used to.
Because of this, Lillian desperately locked eyes with Damian. She had to forcibly recognize that the owner of this unfamiliar warmth and the participant in this strange confrontation were both Damian.
“…Yeah, I don’t have any thoughts about marriage yet.”
“You don’t have to think that far.”
“We might not, but Dad probably does. And others too. So, just let go now. I don’t want to spread more rumors.”
As Lillian spoke nervously, Damian simply let go of her hand.
But his eyes, with an unreadable expression, remained on Lillian.
Eyes that couldn’t be determined as cold or affectionate.
Damian usually had a smiling face, but Lillian occasionally felt that he wasn’t smiling. It was the same now. The eyes and lips drawing a smile were not gentle but sharp like a blade, and his evenly shaped face was stern. It could be an illusion created by the moonlight or the essence visible only at night.
“Lillian, I’m fine with waiting for you.”
However,
“Isn’t it difficult to keep running away like this every time?”
“…What?”
Confusion rose on Lillian’s face.
“What do you mean?”
“If you need help, you can come to me anytime.”
As if asking when he looked so cold, Damian’s face returned to a gentle one.
It was not a combination of the sharp ruthlessness and the unfathomable affection seen earlier, but the usual face of Damian, the affectionate friend Lillian knew.
“I’m on your side, no matter who you are, always.”
Saying that, Damian lightly embraced Lillian and let her go.
“Happy seventeenth birthday, Lillian.”
* * *
The party quickly took a different turn under Cedric’s command.
With Lillian, the protagonist of the party, gone, and the appearance deteriorated by dragging out Count Napier, what more could be done in this situation? Quickly stopping the event was the best way to avoid further rumors.
While others were sending guests away and cleaning up the party without delay, Theo left the party to find the missing Lillian.
‘Where could she have gone?’
Maynard Mansion was large, with many hiding places. If someone didn’t know the way well, it was easy to get lost. Lillian was known to be good at finding her way around the mansion from the moment she entered it.
That’s why it was particularly challenging to find her when she deliberately disappeared. If she decided to hide, no one could find her easily.
However, Theo knew where Lillian usually went when she disappeared.
‘A bench tucked away in the corner of the wall connected to the annex.’
Of course, Lillian had more than one secret place, and if she deliberately hid, Theo would have a hard time finding her. But today, for some reason, he felt she might be here.
He could confirm it because he had seen Odile.
‘She looked just like Swan.’
To be honest, Theo had forgotten Swan’s face.
But when he saw Odile, he couldn’t help but recall Swan.
They looked so alike.
‘She was hiding something.’
What in the world is happening?
Theo gritted his teeth and ran, and soon, when the bench came into view, he shouted abruptly.
“Lillian!”
Even though she probably heard his voice, Lillian didn’t even flinch. She just sat with her legs pulled up, burying her face in her knees.
Theo scowled in frustration.
“Hey, are you okay?”
“…Go away.”
“Stop sulking and talk! What’s that? Swan is dead. Why does someone who looks exactly like Swan appear? You know, right!”
“I don’t know! I really don’t know! Why do you keep doing this to me!”
In the end, Lillian burst out in anger, loosening her posture.
She was crying.
The events of the day had been too much, and it was painful for her.
Just the appearance of Odile’s face alone felt like it would make Swan’s head explode, and the fact that Odile appeared happened to be at Lillian’s birthday and debutante ball, making it even more annoying for her.
“Did you hear too? Those who have left will now try even harder not to acknowledge me! I’ve worked so hard to be acknowledged, but instead of acknowledgment, it’s a relief if I’m just driven away!”
If Swan had lived as she should have, she would naturally have become the successor of Menard.
So, Lillian thought she should also become Menard’s successor. It was her duty to continue what Swan had to do.
Even if someday she had to let go of all this, she never thought it would be revealing the truth herself; it was something she would do willingly, not something forced by others.
However, Odile’s appearance was threatening everything Lillian had built up until now. Lillian was instantly invaded by anxiety.
It seemed like everyone would look at her with eyes full of mistrust and disappointment, or like Cedric, not look at her anymore.
In the midst of this, Damian’s confusing attitude added to Lillian’s anxiety.
There was no way to escape from the feeling of strangling her own throat.
“I just wanted to protect what Swan left behind…”
Lillian started sobbing again.
Theo realized that asking more questions wouldn’t be meaningful, seeing her like this.
Usually appearing quite solid, Lillian strangely crumbled quite easily when it came to matters related to Swan. It was the same this time too.
‘When I heard him, he looks exactly like this Odile person who used to be here.’
That meant Swan, who looked like Odile, also resembled the host of this house.
Lillian, being a child of this house, could there be two more children who looked like the host?
Who is the real child? What was the relationship between Swan and Lillian?
Theo’s mind became complicated, but he knew well that pondering over such matters with his limited understanding would only give him a headache. Whatever truth awaited, the important thing for him was the girl in front of him.
In the end, he looked down at the weeping Lillian and touched her forehead.
“Hmm… When will you calm down?”
Then, he took off his outerwear and draped it over Lillian’s shoulders before pulling her into his embrace.
Although Lillian was like a hedgehog, this time, she willingly came into his arms.
Theo sat on the bench, holding Lillian for a long time.
Whether Lillian was crying or after she stopped crying.
* * *
“Your Excellency, I heard that Theo brought Miss. She cried in the garden and got tired, so she fell asleep. Since Mary took her away, we took measures so that she can rest comfortably.”
“…Yes, well done.”
Cedric sighed as he sat down. It hadn’t been long since they hastily ended the party, but it felt like a lot had happened.
‘It’s quite draining.’
It had been a while since he felt so disturbed.
Cedric considered checking the child’s condition himself but decided against it. He couldn’t be sure whether shining a light on the child’s face would have a positive impact in the current confusing situation.
In truth, for the past seven years, Cedric had secretly believed that Lillian was his real child.
‘She resembles her father a lot.’
Even if Lillian didn’t resemble him or Agnes in appearance, Cedric felt a similarity in habits and behavior.
For example, the way she predominantly used her left hand.
“I was originally left-handed… I continue to use scissors with my left hand. It just feels more comfortable.”
Cedric’s father, the late Duke Maynard, was also left-handed.
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