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Chapter 3
The duke’s stern gaze turned toward Ayla.
“But it has been revealed that this child is not my biological daughter. That seat should belong to Rosia now, should it not?”
At those words, Rosia flinched and widened her eyes in surprise.
“I-I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking when I said that. I never meant to take Lady Ayla’s seat…”
Her shoulders trembled.
She looked genuinely shocked that she had put Ayla in such an awkward position.
Kalios spoke to Rosia gently.
“That seat was never Ayla’s seat. It is yours. You are the true daughter of House Blanche, are you not?”
Despite his reassurance, Rosia continued to glance at Ayla anxiously.
Watching her, Ayla thought:
What an act. As if that was a mistake. You pointed out the seating arrangement because you already knew exactly what it meant. The old me would have fallen for it without realizing what kind of person you really are.
In the original novel, Ayla was deeply shocked by Kalios’s heartless attitude.
“Move, Ayla.”
At Kalios’s command, Ayla’s eyes widened.
“F-Father…”
“Father? I am no longer your father.”
His cold response drained the color from her face.
“But that’s always been my seat! Asking me to give it to her is ridiculous—”
“Do you still fail to understand your situation? The only daughter of House Blanche now is Rosia.”
“…”
“Your name will soon be removed from the family registry. Once that happens, you will become a commoner. It is time you learned your place.”
Ayla knew exactly what kind of man her father was.
He was a noble through and through—a man who could discard even a beloved daughter if circumstances demanded it.
Now that he knows I’m not his blood, he’s already made up his mind.
In the original story, Ayla could not accept that reality.
She stubbornly clung to her position.
She believed that protecting her place at the table would keep her from being cast out of House Blanche.
And because of that, she was showered with cruel words and earned Father’s hatred. My brothers ended up siding with Rosia even more, too.
Just as Kalios was about to scold her further, Ayla stood up without hesitation.
She wore an expression that looked as though she were barely holding back tears.
“Sit here, Rosia.”
“L-Lady Ayla?”
“This really is your seat. I nearly made a mistake myself. Thanks to what you said, I remembered that I’m no longer a member of House Blanche.”
Rosia’s expression stiffened slightly.
She clearly hadn’t expected Ayla to react this way.
She probably expected me to put up more of a fight.
If that had happened, it would have been much easier for Rosia to earn sympathy from the family.
But Rosia was no amateur.
She quickly changed her expression and said apologetically,
“I’m sorry.”
“What are you apologizing for? I’m fine. Really.”
Ayla kindly guided Rosia into the seat.
Then she moved to the lowest seat at the table.
Giving up the seat was far easier than she had imagined.
It wasn’t nearly as humiliating or heartbreaking as she had expected.
What she had told Rosia was true.
She genuinely didn’t care.
And the stunned expressions on my family’s faces are pretty entertaining, too.
Breakfast began in a gloomy atmosphere.
Rosia poked absentmindedly at her food with a dejected expression.
Unable to bear the sight, the second son, Kedrick, cut up the veal steak on his plate and placed it onto Rosia’s.
“Rosia, try some of this too.”
“Thank you, Sir Kedrick.”
“I told you to call me Brother.”
“Yes, Brother. I’ll do that from now on.”
Kedrick muttered sadly,
“How much must you have suffered to become this thin?”
“It’s all right. In fact, I’m glad it was me who suffered.”
Rosia smiled softly.
As though she truly meant it.
“Rosia…”
“Because of that, Lady Ayla was able to grow up surrounded by a warm and loving family.”
“How can someone think such kind thoughts? You really are…”
“I’d rather be the one who suffers. I’m good at enduring hardship. But Lady Ayla… she wouldn’t have been able to endure it.”
Even while all of this was happening, Ayla continued calmly cutting and eating her steak.
If she wanted to deal with Rosia, who constantly tried to drive a wedge between her and her family, she needed to conserve as much energy as possible.
Seeing this, Rosia seemed even more pitiful in the eyes of the others.
After Kedrick, Gerat also began taking care of their new sister.
“Rosia, have something to drink as well. Eat slowly.”
“Thank you for looking after me, Brother.”
“You don’t need to thank us every time. This is something you’ll experience regularly from now on.”
Rosia widened her eyes in disbelief.
“R-Really?”
“Yes. We will return everything that was originally meant to be yours.”
Whether due to emotional manipulation magic or not, the family had already begun opening their hearts to Rosia.
Ayla could feel it clearly.
Even if not as much as Father, my brothers secretly resent me too.
They believed Ayla had stolen everything that should have belonged to Rosia.
That was why they deliberately treated her coldly in Rosia’s presence.
That’s probably why they haven’t spoken to me at all today.
The brothers who had once been so kind to her did not say a single word to Ayla throughout the meal.
All of their attention was focused solely on Rosia.
Only one person looked at Ayla with concern.
Irene.
“Are you all right, Ayla?”
Ayla gave her a small smile.
“I’m fine, so please don’t worry about me, Mother.”
“But Ayla…”
“Mother, would it be possible for us to go look at dresses together after breakfast?”
Apparently displeased by the attention Irene was giving Ayla, Rosia suddenly spoke up.
But the duchess immediately fell silent.
Unlike the rest of the family, even though she had been affected by the magic, she had not fully accepted Rosia.
Knowing Rosia was supposedly her biological daughter did not make her heart move toward her.
Seeing that, a surge of emotion rose within Ayla.
Mother knows something the foolish men of this family don’t.
She knew it instinctively.
That Ayla was the true daughter.
Even in the latter half of the original story, Mother never managed to treat Rosia as her real daughter.
Because of the years she had spent raising Ayla.
Thinking about that made Ayla’s nose sting.
Rosia turned toward the silent duchess and gave her a shy smile filled with affection.
“I’ve always dreamed of going shopping with my mother and eating cake together.”
“…”
“I grew up in the slums, so I’ve never had the chance to do things like that. I’m just so happy that I finally have a mother now.”
With a sympathetic expression, Gerat addressed Irene.
“Mother, perhaps this would be a good opportunity for you to spend some quality time alone with Rosia.”
Kedrick added playfully,
“Can I come too? I’m fully prepared to serve as Rosia’s personal porter.”
Ayla suddenly lifted her head.
She already knew what would happen next.
In the original story, Mother refuses Rosia’s request.
She did it entirely out of consideration for Ayla’s feelings.
In other words, this was the very point where the conflict truly began.
Later, Mother will end up deeply hurt because my brothers become completely obsessed with Rosia.
“Mother, why are you treating Rosia like this? Your biological daughter is Rosia, not Ayla! Why do you keep hurting her?”
“I’m truly disappointed in you, Mother.”
