Episode 65
Lillian clenched and unclenched her fist. She could feel the bandage that Theo had wrapped around her fingertips.
‘Just hold steady through this.’
With this much progress made, if she could just figure out how they changed their faces, she could expose the impostor. Swan’s position wouldn’t be taken away.
‘Nothing of Swan’s…’
At that moment,
Splash!
Lillian snapped back to reality at the sound of splashing water.
As she looked up, she saw Odile, drenched in tea, wearing soaked clothes. Odile had splashed herself with tea. Lillian furrowed her brow.
“What are you doing?”
“What else could it be but something Lady Lillian did?”
“What?”
Just as Lillian sensed something strange in the changed tone, Odile smirked and then smashed the tea cup onto the ground, shattering it.
Crash!
As soon as the loud noise rang out, Odile screamed.
“Aaaah! H-Help! Lady Lillian!”
“What’s going on!”
“Miss Odile!”
Hearing the commotion, the servants rushed into the greenhouse. They saw Odile, covered in tea, with broken pieces of a tea cup scattered on the floor, and Lillian standing in front of her.
Odile sobbed loudly, as if greatly surprised.
“I-I was just drinking tea, and Lady Lillian got angry and told me to leave after splashing tea on me…”
“It’s okay, Miss Odile. Hey! Take Miss Odile inside and bring her a change of clothes.”
“Who sent Miss Lillian into the greenhouse? You should have told us that Miss Odile was here!”
“Oh… She, she said she wanted to read. I didn’t know Miss Odile was here.”
On one side, there was a commotion about who sent Lillian here while some servants cleaned up the mess and helped Odile inside, and on the other side, there were servants blocking Lillian’s path, preventing her from approaching Odile.
“Miss, this incident just happened yesterday, and it’s already troublesome if you cause such an incident.”
“Even if you’re angry, please consider the reputation of the Maynerds. You’re the face of Maynerds, aren’t you? Right?”
“…Sigh.”
Seeing the servants assuming that Lillian would react this way, Lillian lost even the will to respond. She stared blankly at the shards of the broken teacup scattered on the floor.
She could only resent the fact that her body wasn’t as fragile as the teacup.
“If only…”
At this height, just closing her eyes could have shattered her into pieces.
* * *
Eventually, Lillian was summoned by Cedric. Since causing harm to a guest officially staying at Maynerd was a serious issue, it couldn’t be resolved as simply as yesterday’s incident.
Of course, Lillian’s words were limited.
“I didn’t do it.”
“Stop lying.”
Cedric looked at the child who kept repeating the same words with a stern expression.
She was a child who had grown up quietly and properly without going through the usual adolescence, obediently acknowledging her mistakes and nodding when told she was wrong.
However, Lillian couldn’t understand why she was so sharp only towards Odile.
Yesterday, she tried to destroy the room, and today, she directly splashed hot tea on Odile, breaking the teacup, and venting her anger.
Was she trying to take her place? Lillian was already seventeen and too mature to come up with such childish ideas. Acting in a way that even Lillian couldn’t understand, it seemed Cedric wasn’t fooling around either.
“It’s fortunate the tea was cold; if it had been hot, Odile could have been burned.”
“Too bad.”
“Lillian. I want you to understand how dangerous your actions were.”
Lillian didn’t respond. For some reason, she just hung her head, hiding her hands behind her back. It was an attitude that showed no sign of remorse whatsoever.
When Cedric sighed again, only then did Lillian speak up.
“…I’ll confess. But wouldn’t you be curious why I did it?”
“Of course I’m curious, my dear. Don’t you know? I always ask you for reasons. You must have had your reasons, and you’re a very smart child.”
Lillian’s expression twisted slightly, as if she were holding back tears.
“But why—”
“But, Lillian, such behavior is not acceptable under any circumstances. I’m deeply disappointed in your actions yesterday and today. Your behavior was completely unbecoming of a Maynerd lady.”
“Odile called you Dad.”
Cedric’s face stiffened. He had never allowed Odile to use that title.
“There must have been a misunderstanding. Odile doesn’t call me Dad.”
“But I heard her.”
Cedric closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Odile calling him Dad was within Cedric’s realm of possibilities. Considering the clear evidence and the fact that she had lived without parents her whole life, it was understandable that she might feel that way.
“Okay, was that the reason? Because she called me Dad?”
“Lillian.”
Fatigue seeped into Cedric’s voice as he called out to the child.
Lillian could feel it too. Cedric didn’t trust her words at all, firmly believing that Odile was undoubtedly his daughter. Knowing it was only natural, Lillian felt a little sad.
Perhaps Cedric might believe her a little bit.
Lillian pushed the lump of anxiety lodged in her throat back down.
“I have something I want as a birthday present.”
“Not about Odile.”
“Don’t worry, it’s not.”
Lillian tried to smile, but failed.
“I’ll stay at the orphanage from now on.”
“What?”
“Is it okay if it’s not about Odile Kenis?”
Cedric remained silent, his expression stiffened. Although he wanted to detain Lillian, he couldn’t find a reason to do so, so he remained silent. Lillian glanced at his expression before quietly turning away.
“If by any chance I have to continue staying at the orphanage, please just let me know.”
She had one last thing to say.
* * *
This is really pushing it.
‘I’m such a bad kid.’
If she considered the favor Cedric had done for her, she should have just stayed quiet no matter what Cedric did. Leaving like this, with such defiance…
Lillian thought this might be her last time with Cedric. So, she had to take everything she could with her.
‘What can I take?’
Lillian returned to her room and packed her belongings.
The money she had saved was placed on the desk first. It was a small repayment for everything Lillian had received from Cedric over the years. She had withdrawn the money she had saved to go to the gambling den, but thanks to Theo winning back the principal at blackjack, she was able to replenish it. It was quite a sum. Perhaps enough to start a fruit stand in the city center, but Lillian didn’t take a single penny.
‘And leave all these things here because Dad bought them.’
Starting from stationery like fountain pens and notebooks to the swan doll she received when she first entered the mansion at the age of ten.
Since they were all things Cedric had bought, there was nothing Lillian could take with her.
‘Maybe I can take one set of clothes.’
Since she was leaving so much money behind.
Thinking so, Lillian took out the most modest clothes she had. It was a linen dress without any embellishments. After taking everything out, Lillian realized that all she could take with her were two notebooks.
The diary left by Swan and the diary she was going to give to Swan.
Even at seventeen, even as a Maynerd lady, Lillian still had nothing.
Lillian wiped her eyes with her dry hands and took the two notebooks, then descended the stairs.
‘When I leave, I have to prove that Odile is fake.’
But how?
