BCD 9

chapter 9

He tried to say something, but in the end, he lowered his head without a word.

‘How cruel.’

I thought back to Irene, clinging to me like a baby bird seeing its mother for the first time, and Erhi, awkwardly but secretly snuggling into my arms.

Now, their behavior, which I had previously dismissed, finally made sense.

“Why were only these children born as beasts?”

I asked, staring at the stairs leading up to the second floor where the children had run.

“Is it some curse flowing through the family bloodline, or something like that?”

In the novels, northern dukes often have at least one tragic secret about their birth.

“Did you just say ‘curse’?”
“Huh? No, I was just…”

The captain seemed startled, as if I had hit the nerve with that offhand remark.

“No, I really just… said it on a whim. I know nothing at all.”

I quickly denied his words.

‘Even if it is a curse, what could I do about it? I shouldn’t get my hopes up.’

I didn’t know why, by some coincidence, the children didn’t appear as beasts to me, but I didn’t want that to escalate into a bigger problem.

“Sir Winter, please move that lady to the bedroom. I’ll check on the children upstairs. We should start heading back soon; everyone must be waiting.”

I changed the subject and gave him instructions.

‘There’s nothing I can do immediately about the children’s situation, so I’ll just observe for now.’

He nodded, somewhat regretful, as if he couldn’t let go of hope.

“The Duke is extremely worried.”

Ah, Killian. I had briefly forgotten the most awkward person in this world.

‘Now that he knows… there’s no way I can just act like nothing happened, right?’

Even thinking about facing him gave me a throbbing headache.

When I returned, four days had passed.

Four days?

Even in darkness, where the sense of time fades, there’s no way I could have spent 3 nights and 4 days playing with the children without eating anything.

“Has it really been four days since I disappeared?”

I asked for the third time.

“Sobb….”

Lily, who had been helping me remove my torn stockings, suddenly collapsed onto the floor.

“L-Lily? What’s wrong?”

She pushed my hand away and began crying uncontrollably.

“Waaah! It snowed so much… and even after three days, I couldn’t find you… and people were whispering that you’d died… Waaah…”

Flustered, I awkwardly hugged her.

“Why are you crying…?”

Her eyes widened in disbelief at being held by me, and she hugged my waist with all her strength.

“Ugh… I didn’t even realize you disappeared while I dozed off that day… if anything happened to you, what would I say to His Highness the Grand Duke… sob…”

Her lament seemed endless.

‘She really was worried.’

After all, Lily had been a close childhood friend of Cielina’s.

I, having possessed this body for barely a month, wouldn’t know that kind of friendship.

‘Was I a bit neglectful?’

Come to think of it, it was thanks to Lily’s presence that I managed to get through everything unnoticed, even without Cielina’s past memories.

After a day full of strange events, my sensitivity seemed heightened.

“I’m sorry, Lily.”

I apologized sincerely and gently stroked her head until her tears subsided.

I would do better from now on.

“Milady, it’s the head maid.”
“Come in.”

The head maid returned from preparing my bath and meals.

Seeing Lily clinging to me, she repeatedly cleared her throat.

I finally managed to free Lily and sank into the bathtub.

The head maid asked, concerned:

“Are you sure we don’t need to summon the physician?”
“It’s just scratches, nothing serious.”

She placed a towel within my reach.

“I’ll bring your breakfast to the bedroom once you finish your bath.”
“Thanks.”

As my tension eased, my hungry stomach protested loudly.

‘The children won’t go hungry, right?’

According to the captain, the nanny would wake soon, so it should be fine. I checked carefully when greeting her, and there was no sign of neglect or starvation.

I turned to the head maid and made a request.

“Anna, bake some pastries tomorrow morning.”
“What kind would you like, milady?”
“Anything… no, everything you can make tomorrow.”
“Understood.”

Though silent, she didn’t question my reasoning.

‘By tomorrow, everyone who needs to know that I met the children will know, so today we can quietly let it pass.’

As I watched Anna leave, a sudden question struck me.

“But what about Killian?”

After being away from home for four days, it was strange that he hadn’t shown up.

“The Duke formed a search party and left for the snowy fields three days ago. The steward sent a messenger to inform him of your return, so he will come back once the message reaches him.”

I widened my eyes in surprise.

“You mean… he went looking for me?”

For a brief moment, the head maid looked slightly hurt, as if I shouldn’t have asked such an obvious question.

But she quickly replied politely:

“Of course. Milady, you are the precious mistress of the Seifried estate.”

I responded awkwardly, resting my chin in the bathtub.

“Yes.”

Her words echoed hollowly in my ears.

‘The precious mistress of the Seifried estate… that’s not my story.’

Killian still didn’t return the next morning.

I had a late breakfast and called together the steward, head maid, and captain.

“What about Lily?”

The head maid, Anna, answered:

“She left by carriage a little while ago. As you requested, Toby from the kitchen went with her.”
“Well done.”

I had sent Lily to fetch the doll I loved as a child.

I even gave her some pocket money without Anna noticing, so knowing Lily, she would enjoy a little outing with Toby and return slowly.

‘I feel guilty leaving Lily behind, but I can’t risk letting more people in on this secret.’

The fate of the Duke’s house isn’t my concern, but the children’s safety is a matter for careful consideration.

“Hans and Anna must have heard what happened yesterday from Sir Winter?”

I asked directly.

‘It’s fortunate Killian isn’t home at this timing.’

There were two reasons I called this meeting:

One, to properly understand hidden details not in the original story.

Two, to gauge how these three, close to Killian, would react to my unknown abilities.

Both were crucial for my survival.

“Yes, milady.”

Perhaps hesitant to speak of the family’s secret in Killian’s absence, Anna and Hans looked tense.

‘No amount of pitiful glances will work on me.’

Feeling like an interrogator, I began questioning.

“Who else knows about the children?”

As expected, the steward Hans answered.

“The family elders are aware. Currently, the council consists of Count Adler Seifried of Argen Castle, Count Heinz Seifried of Kadin Castle, and Marquis Raymond Seifried of Axen Castle.”

He continued:

“Among them, only Count Adler, the Duke’s uncle, knows that the prince and princess are alive.”

So, of the three external elders, only the uncle knows the children are still alive.

I would remember this in case it’s useful later.

“What about the nanny in the annex?”

I smoothly moved to the next question.

“She is a woman of the Gillot clan.”

Hans answered matter-of-factly.

“….”
“….”
“….”

An awkward silence lingered.

Instead of continuing the expected explanation, the three cautiously watched my reaction.

‘Ah, that’s it. The customs and common sense of this world.’

Someone like Cielina would naturally know what the Gillot clan implies.

Their careful observation likely suggested they expected my reaction to be less than positive.

“The Gillot clan, huh? My goodness…”

I gave a subtle, complicated expression and trailed off.

“Your surprise is natural.”

Hans bowed apologetically.

Correct.

‘I’ll ask Lily about this later.’

I had tried to hide my ignorance, but it was impossible to hide it from her, always being nearby.

At first, she was startled, but seemed to accept that my occasional memory lapses were due to struggling to adapt to the unfamiliar Seifried estate.

Thanks to that, I could now ask freely without worrying about her perception.

“But… milady,”

Hans began seriously.

“Is everything Sir Winter said true? Can you really… extract the prince and princess’s souls?”

Extract their souls…? Me…?

They were way off in their assumptions. I can’t even extract my own soul from someone else’s body, which is how this mess happened…

“I don’t really know. It’s true that the children appear human to me, but I can’t honestly believe it affects others.”

I answered honestly, watching the three of them carefully.