Chapter 20

Doha shrugged with a cold expression.

“As you said, my health isn’t befitting of a noble lady. I’ll recover quickly so you won’t have to worry about it.”

She moved to walk past Salvador.

Or at least, she tried to.

That is, until he suddenly grabbed her wrist.

“Where do you think you’re going? I’m not done talking—”

His rough grip made her stumble.

Startled, Salvador instinctively wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close.

“I-I didn’t even grab you that hard.”

“…….”

Doha inhaled sharply and glanced over her shoulder.

The stairs.

What would have happened if she had fallen?

If she were lucky, just bruises. If she weren’t, broken bones.

Or worse, she could have snapped her neck and died.

A cold sweat trickled down her back at the thought.

‘This is beyond disrespectful… are you trying to kill me now?’

Whether it was intentional or not, that didn’t matter.

The fact remained that he had acted recklessly.

And as a result, she had nearly gotten seriously injured.

“Ha…”

Her chest rose and fell with suppressed fury.

She forced down the surge of emotion before meeting Salvador’s gaze head-on.

“Second Young Master.”

Then, she rose on her tiptoes and reached for his face.

That’s when Salvador finally realized—

In his panic to catch her, he had practically embraced her.

‘Her face is…’

Way too close.

He immediately wanted to shove her away.

But if he did that now, she’d go tumbling down the stairs. So he was stuck.

“Be careful.”

Doha’s fingertip lightly brushed the scar at the corner of his eye, just near his temple.

A faint red mark, like a wound left by a sharp blade.

She pressed her nail against it, then smoothed over it gently with her fingertip, as if nothing had happened.

Then, with a quiet murmur, she whispered,

“If you meet the wrong woman, she could ruin your entire fate.”

And with that, she pushed him away.

The moment she escaped his grasp, she continued walking without a second thought, without a single trace of hesitation.

“……Hah.”

Salvador scoffed in disbelief.

A woman? As if a mere woman could affect his fate?

“Has she lost her mind? What kind of insane curse is that?”

The fact that she had dared to say such words right to his face—he should chase after her and put her in her place.

“…….”

But he didn’t.

His gaze, which had been fixated on her with anger, wavered in uncertainty.

His feet felt rooted to the ground.

Even after she had long disappeared from sight, he still couldn’t move.

* * *

Ophelia’s three supporters. The head maid, Angela. And the Grand Duchess.

Through this series of events, Doha had realized one thing.

Keeping quiet and staying out of sight wasn’t going to work.

Someone was deliberately trying to prevent Bunny from solidifying her place as the fake noble daughter, and she was now certain that person was the Grand Duchess.

‘I thought Bunny was treated this way because she brought it on herself.’

Of course, no matter what Bunny had done, leaving a child to fend for herself was entirely Kredel’s fault.

But someone had actively isolated her. And that was a completely different matter.

Even if she had remained silent, enemies would still have attacked.

Even if she had obediently played the role of the fake daughter, it still wouldn’t have been enough.

‘I can’t afford to be passive anymore.’

She had to fight and win against her enemies within the household.

This place was enemy territory. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it a battlefield.

And right now, Bunny was nothing more than an unarmed soldier thrown into enemy lines, completely defenseless.

What she needed wasn’t maids who loved Ophelia as a symbol of peace.

She needed maids who would swear loyalty and serve her alone.

‘Even if I stop being Ophelia one day, I need people who will follow me to the end.’

Doha immediately summoned Candice.

Candice.

An outcast among the maids.

Strong against the strong, kind to the weak. A woman of loyalty and righteousness who could never tolerate injustice.

And because of that, she had never been promoted—she had been cast aside by Angela, the head maid.

Doha had already suspected as much.

As long as Angela remained in power, Candice would continue to be buried like a pearl in the mud.

But she was a pearl. And if she had the will to break free, a different world awaited her.

A great opportunity was coming for her. An opportunity that would give her allies as strong as an army.

‘And my role… is to open the path for that opportunity?’

Doha wondered just how far Candice could rise.

She was never meant to remain just a maid.

“I called you here to speak privately.”

“Yes, my lady. Please speak.”

“When is your younger sibling’s birthday?”

It was a sudden question.

But not one that should have been difficult to answer.

Candice had been about to respond without thinking—when she suddenly hesitated.

“My lady… did I ever mention that I have younger siblings?”

“So you do have one.”

“…….”

“Are they sick?”

“No, they’re all healthy.”

“Did you ever get separated when you were younger? Or did your mother ever have a miscarriage?”

“Um… no.”

Doha checked Candice’s eyebrows again.

They had the appearance of something fragile, as if they could be scattered by the wind.

At best, it meant conflict and distance between siblings.

At worst, it meant complete severance—or even death.

And then, there was the birth chart she had seen on Candice’s application.

After a pause, Doha spoke again.

“Tell me your siblings’ birth dates and times.”

Candice was baffled by this unexpected focus on her family, but she still answered.

“My second sibling was born on Abyssus Year 2, August 23rd, at 3 AM. My third sibling was born in Abyssus Year 5…”

She continued, listing the birthdates and times of both younger siblings.

As she spoke, Doha frowned, as if measuring something in her mind.

“Joy… Joy can’t swim, can he?”

How do you know that?

For the first time, Candice felt the urge to rudely question Doha, but she held herself back and simply nodded.

Doha beckoned with a finger.

Then, as Candice leaned in, she whispered quietly into her ear.

“Joy should stay away from water for the next two weeks.”

“…Excuse me?”

Candice froze in place.

“Although, I don’t think just telling him will be enough. He doesn’t seem like the type to listen.”

Doha muttered as if troubled.

That only unsettled Candice further.

It was as if Doha had personally witnessed Joy’s reckless behavior.

Even though she had never seen him before.

“Make sure he always has a guardian with him. Preferably an adult, but a physically strong child would also work.”

“…….”

“The important thing is that this guardian must be an excellent swimmer. Someone who could rescue him if he fell into water.”

“…….”

“There are always traps and schemes… but he’s still a child. Accidents are a bigger risk. And considering your birth chart… if something happens to your sibling, there’s a high probability that—”

Doha suddenly shut her mouth.

Birth charts? Sibling fate? A void in destiny?

What was she talking about?

“…Anyway, just do as I say for the next two weeks.”

Candice stared at Doha in a daze.

So, to summarize—

“Are you saying Joy might fall into water and get hurt?”

“I’m saying it wouldn’t hurt to be cautious.”

“I… I don’t understand why you’re saying this, my lady…”

Candice furrowed her brows, struggling to maintain composure.

Doha simply shrugged, as if to say: I’ve given my advice. Believe it or not, it’s up to you.

After all, in a world where the concept of fortune-telling didn’t exist, there was no point in trying to explain it logically.

If anything, people would just think she was crazy.

That left Candice utterly lost.

Should she just laugh it off?

But something about it unsettled her.

Doha had spoken with absolute certainty. As if she knew something was going to happen.

‘Almost as if she’s seen the future.’

No. That was impossible.

There was no such thing as prophecy or foresight in this world.

Only frauds pretending to have those abilities.

Every year, the High Priest conveyed divine revelations, but that was completely different from fortune-telling or predicting the future.

So was the lady trying to deceive her?

‘That’s ridiculous. Why would she?’

Candice chastised herself for even considering such a disrespectful thought.

‘She must have her reasons.’

It wasn’t difficult to follow her instructions.

All she had to do was give her younger brother some money and ask him to keep an eye on Joy for the next two weeks.

And, honestly, she was already worried about what kind of trouble that reckless kid would cause next.

She just never expected Doha’s words to come true so precisely.