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Chapter 18
“…….”
For a moment, I didn’t know how to respond to the name I was hearing for the first time. I turned my head stiffly, my body creaking like a broken robot.
“Huh? Uh, yeah.”
“Looking at you like this, you’re still the stupid Letitia…”
As she said that, Lilliana’s dark green eyes, which had been scrutinizing me thoroughly, traveled up my body and met my gaze.
“Are you really an Esper?”
“Huh? Uh. They say so.”
“What kind of power is it?”
“Dunno.”
“Ha, you idiot.”
Lilliana clicked her tongue.
“The teachers, the retainers… just what did they see in this idiot to make their eyes shine like she’s smart?”
Lilliana shook her head as if in dismay and got into the carriage that had just arrived.
“You, sit next to me tomorrow.”
“Huh?”
“Sit next to me and explain the lesson in detail.”
Then she promptly sat down in her seat, and no sooner had the door closed than the carriage clattered away, disappearing from in front of me.
“…….”
Left alone in front of it—no, left alone with Hail—I looked at Hail as if trying to understand what had just happened.
“Hail, did she just ask for my help?”
“Yes.”
Right, it seemed like she asked me to help her with her studies.
Her attitude was so assertive that it didn’t feel like a request at all.
But it was so typical of Lilliana that I found it somehow amusing.
“Heh.”
Shaking my head, I turned around. Hail stuck close behind me as if it were nothing, then took the books I was holding and stepped back slightly, following me.
Her skill in looking after me so seamlessly, as if she were there and yet not, making it completely comfortable, seemed like it came from more than just a year or two of experience as a maid.
‘Ariana said she was a Housekeeper.’
Being a Housekeeper was one of the first jobs children who entered the mansion learned.
But Hail was so good at maid duties, as if she had been trained for them.
As if someone had prepared her just for me.
It fit too perfectly.
Maybe that’s why I was suspicious of Hail instead.
It was certain that Hail was a good and smart person.
But because of my bad memories from my previous life, I found it hard to trust people easily.
“But why did you come to the annex, Hail? If you served someone else, not a neglected direct descendant like me, it would be much more comfortable.”
“Serving you now is plenty comfortable and good enough for me.”
“But the annex has so much work to do.”
“Having a lot of work to do actually keeps me from having idle thoughts, so it’s good, isn’t it? Besides, you are very nice too, Young Lady.”
Her answer was perfect.
It was as if she knew exactly what answer I wanted to hear. She was even blushing slightly.
It clearly wasn’t a lie, but…
‘What is it? This feeling.’
The question didn’t leave my head the entire way back to the annex—
‘I don’t know.’
I soon shook my head as if to brush it off.
For now, I couldn’t figure out her intentions.
Moreover, right now, having Hail by my side was better than having Ariana and Linzy around.
Because with them, I had to show only what I needed to show.
‘Only the parts my aunt needs to see.’
I just hoped that Hail wasn’t another pair of eyes for my aunt.
‘Sigh.’
There was definitely a big difference between knowing the content and actually living in this world.
In theory, I knew perfectly what to do, but applying it to reality felt… disjointed, so to speak.
Overcoming that gap was what I had to do once I went to the Oné Academy.
I wouldn’t let anything interfere with my plan to save my grandfather and father, live well, and eat well for a long time.
To do that—
‘I need to get close to Rian.’
Since there was a separate female lead, he probably wouldn’t see me as a woman, but I hoped he’d at least consider me a benefactor.
‘And as my father’s precious daughter.’
In that state, if my father were alive, even if I weren’t an Essier, I would be able to live a life sufficiently respected.
Starting a new family line didn’t seem bad either.
“Things are getting bigger.”
“Pardon?”
A frustrated sigh escaped me unintentionally, and Hail tilted her head.
“Nothing, it’s nothing.”
But as I shook my head and turned towards Hail, a golden carriage parked in front of the main mansion caught my eye.
“!”
It clearly looked like it belonged to the Emperor’s attendant.
‘They came to check.’
To see if the retirement was real, if Grandfather was truly too ill to move.
The Emperor’s personal physician probably came along too.
‘Well, that’s even better, then.’
The more skilled the doctor, the more they would know about Ictus.
It would be great if they could spot something Paul missed, but Paul was an excellent doctor, no less than the Emperor’s physician.
Since I told him about the willow bark, he’d probably soon bring the cure.
We just need to prevent it from worsening in the meantime.
‘I see. Let me try changing the habit.’
Grandfather promised, after all. He should be able to hold on until the cure is made. And since his condition critically worsened after attending the noble assembly…
‘He should be fine for the time being.’
I reassured myself, over and over, that he would be fine, and turned my steps, which had halted, back towards the annex.
“Hey.”
But in front of me stood the 7 and 8-year-olds again, blocking my way. I flinched and stepped back, then let out a long sigh.
“Ugh.”
* * *
“Filthy.”
“Fraud.”
“You’re lying, aren’t you?”
“Did Bennett tell you everything?”
How charming.
To think I was struggling to try and befriend these kinds of people.
Shame washed over me again, and I shook my head vigorously.
“Hey. I heard you don’t know your place and said you’re going to Oné?”
Chandler sneered.
“Ah, are you going there to practice?”
“Well, I guess you’ll have to live there someday anyway. Just don’t come at all.”
“That’s a good idea too.”
“You worthless piece of-”
“…….”
Judging by the level of their insults, it seemed they had been holding back for a few days now.
I looked at the 7 and 8-year-olds, who were giggling amongst themselves, with pity and let out a very loud, “Pfft.”
“Say something that actually makes sense, please.”
“……What?”
“I said, say something that makes sense, pleease.”
I shook my head side to side as if they were pathetic, and Chandler and Jason seemed at a loss for words, their mouths agape.
Just like last time, they looked taken aback that I had talked back to them.
Well, of course. Including my past life and before the regression, when they hit me, I took it; when they insulted me, I listened; when they ordered me to kneel, I knelt; when they told me to do something, I did it.
Back then, I thought that by pleasing them and getting close to them, I could survive in this household.
A child’s survival instinct, living under a grandfather who got angry if we even made eye contact, like a tiger, and a indifferent father who was absent and might die at any moment, was that desperate.
But this was Letitia’s third life.
“What did you just say!”
I now knew that such efforts were utterly useless and that I would be kicked out of this household the moment my grandfather passed away.
In that situation, there was no reason to put up with these scumbags.
And I’ve changed sides.
‘To Grandfather’s side.’
Margo Taylor was always angry, like a tiger, but he was still the family head.
My father was, after all, Grandfather’s son, and I am his bloodline, aren’t I?
If I befriend the Crown Prince while I’m at Oné and help the family, even if I don’t inherit the family, he would surely give me something.
‘Yes, that’s how I’ll proceed, step by step.’
It’s the same with matters concerning my father.
Time was on my side.
‘Hehe, perfect.’
Whether Chandler and Jason were there or not, as soon as the two idiots appeared, a rosy future unfolded in my mind, and the corners of my mouth curled up brightly.
“You’re laughing?”
As if they’d completely forgotten they were the ones giggling just moments before, Chandler glared at me, seemingly offended.
‘Yeah, you’re not scary at all, you 8-year-old.’
“Should I cry then? Are you guys idiots?”
“Y-You guys?”
“Duh!”
My sky-blue eyes sparkled as I lifted my chin. Chandler’s chubby lower jaw, which had been sneering, began to turn red.
And the same went for Jason’s scrawny earlobes.
Idiots.
I shook my head at their pathetic faces. As if snapping back to reality, Chandler’s puffy face twisted fiercely.
“Eek!”
“If you hit me this time, I’ll tell Grandfather.”
“Ha, how many times have you even seen Grandfather to say that? You, of all people? A mere illegitimate daughter?”
“…….”
“You think Grandfather will take your side over me, a direct descendant?”
Chandler sneered.
If this were before the regression, I would have been deeply shaken by Chandler’s words.
But not now.
“Of course! Because Grandfather is a fair and just person!”
