Chapter 55
Jerat quietly followed behind Rosia.
He watched as she quickly walked towards the garden, and then suddenly stopped. She sank down onto the grass in the corner of the garden.
‘She doesn’t realize I’m following her.’
Her lonely back made his heart ache.
He felt utterly foolish for having been so caught up in celebrating Eila’s top spot, without understanding how Rosia must be feeling.
As he struggled with how to approach her, he saw her tiny shoulders trembling in the distance.
Soon, a faint sound of sobbing reached his ears.
Jerat stood frozen, helpless, watching Rosia cry.
Her back seemed to resemble Eila’s in a strange way.
Now that he thought about it, Eila had always cried like this after every exam too, just like Rosia.
“Why am I not good enough, even though I’m the daughter of House Blanche?”
Every time he saw her self-punishing face, Jerat felt a surge of sympathy and a strong urge to do something for her.
But all he could offer were the same empty words of comfort.
“Don’t say that. You’re doing well enough.”
And Eila would always smile, bloodshot eyes lighting up with joy.
Right now, Rosia probably needed that same kind of warm reassurance that Eila had gotten.
Taking a deep breath, Jerat gathered his courage and stepped forward.
“Rosia, are you okay?”
Her sobbing stopped, and Rosia slowly lifted her head.
“Brother…”
“Don’t cry.”
Jerat cautiously sat beside her and held her small hand tightly.
“Second place is still an amazing achievement. You’ve done really well.”
But Rosia weakly shook her head.
“It’s not about the score.”
“Then why are you crying?”
Thin streams of tears ran down Rosia’s cheeks.
Her pitiful expression tore at Jerat’s heart.
“People keep whispering. They say the paternity test might have been wrong. I’m the real noblewoman, and I only got second place, while Eila took first.”
“What…?”
“It’s easy to misunderstand, right? After I was accepted into the family, this was the first test result.”
Jerat furrowed his brow.
“Who said that? Just tell me. I won’t let them get away with it.”
But Rosia shuddered, lowering her head.
“No, it’s not their fault. It’s because I’m not enough.”
“Rosia…”
“Honestly, I don’t care what they say.”
She lifted her head, her red, bloodshot eyes meeting Jerat’s gaze directly.
“But I can’t help but think that Father, Mother, and even you might think the same way…”
“…”
“That’s the hardest part to bear.”
“That’s not true, Rosia.”
Jerat shook his head firmly.
“Our family believes in you.”
“Liar.”
Tears flowed from Rosia’s eyes again.
Jerat, uneasy and unsure of what to do, felt helpless.
“Everyone may not say it, but they’re upset that they had to send Eila away because of me.”
“That’s…”
Jerat hesitated for a moment, but then continued in a determined voice.
“It’s not your fault that Eila left the family. So, there’s no reason for you to blame yourself.”
Hearing that, Rosia gave a weak smile.
“I don’t know about you, but Mother probably doesn’t think that way. She spent more time with Eila than with me, so it’s only natural that she’d feel more affection for her.”
“Rosia.”
“And… it seems like Kadin still hasn’t forgotten Eila.”
Jerat’s eyes narrowed.
“What do you mean by that, Rosia?”
“I mean it literally. Kadin seems to still like Eila. That’s why he’s been delaying the engagement with me.”
Rosia smiled bitterly and looked off into the distance.
“Sometimes I wonder. If I had grown up as the true daughter of House Blanche from a young age, if I had been engaged to him first… would he have loved me then?”
Rosia wiped her tears and wrapped her arms around herself.
“I know I shouldn’t think like this…”
Jerat’s throat tightened, unable to say a word.
In that long stretch of time, he hadn’t even recognized his true sister. He hadn’t done anything to make up for the time they’d lost.
“That’s why I hate Eila so much. It feels like I’ve lost both my family and my fiancé. I know I shouldn’t feel this way, but… I’m grateful that I’m not starving or freezing, at least…”
Jerat bit his lower lip.
He couldn’t bear to see his sister suffer.
Poor Rosia.
My poor sister, who has lived her whole life in a slum, suffering under a cruel governess.
She shouldn’t be burdened with expectations anymore.
She is Rosia Blanche, and that alone should be enough to make her worthy of love.
Jerat decided to say the words his sister needed to hear most.
He held her hand tightly.
“Rosia, no matter what others say, you are my one and only sister.”
“Brother…”
“So don’t worry about what others are saying. No matter what, you are the one true daughter of House Blanche.”
Rosia looked deeply touched by his heartfelt words.
Jerat reached out and gently wiped her tears, smiling softly.
“Now, tell me if there’s anything you want. What can I do to make you feel better?”
Her bright smile made Jerat lose track of everything else. He couldn’t see how her expression had frozen into coldness.
“Then… can you do one thing for me?”
Jerat smiled softly in response.
“Anything.”
After the end of the semester exams, the academy students were finally given a brief respite.
However, their free time was limited to just a week.
The upcoming fall cultural festival preparations were already on the horizon.
Fioni sighed deeply and looked at Eila.
“Even though the exams are over, there’s so much to do! This feels like forced labor.”
Despite it being the academy life she had longed for, the endless studying followed by event preparations seemed to have worn her down.
“Still, isn’t it kind of fun?” Eila playfully asked, and Fioni hesitated for a moment before nodding.
“Well, it’s better than lying in bed sick. It’s fun to take classes with you.”
Eila chuckled softly at Fioni’s playful tone.
Fioni smiled back but suddenly looked around and clicked her tongue.
“Everyone’s just staring at you. It looks like they’re all so amazed that you’re the top scorer this time.”
Instead of responding, Eila shrugged nonchalantly.
It was understandable. She had always been at the bottom in the magic department, but now she had taken the top spot.
And she had surpassed Rosia, the real daughter of House Blanche.
Because of this, Eila was being showered with curious looks every time she passed by.
But since Fioni was always by her side, no one dared approach her directly.
Eila didn’t seem to care and gently patted Fioni’s shoulder, greeting her.
“I’ll see you later, Fioni.”
The two of them generally had similar schedules, but today Eila was attending Professor J.C.’s special class, which meant they would be parting ways for a while.
Today was one of those days.
After parting ways with Fioni, Eila hurried her steps.
Without Fioni, the chance of encountering troublesome people and being approached increased significantly.
And sure enough…
Before long, Eila heard a familiar yet utterly unwelcome voice.
“Eila.”
thanks for the chapter