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chapter 08…………………………………….
It was a leisurely afternoon. Alice was in the middle of preparing to go visit Edwin again today.
‘Bread and milk, check. And the study books too…’
She looked at the book meant for learning letters and smiled with satisfaction.
Edwin was an exceptionally fast learner.
She had only taught him a few simple words as a test, yet he picked them up with ease. So she moved on to teaching him letters—and astonishingly, in just one day he had already mastered basic vocabulary.
‘Then next, I’ll show him biographies of great figures.’
She had long since given up on trying to “educate” Edwin with strange fairy tales.
She had worried that biographies might contain odd content as well, but thankfully, they were filled with wholesome accounts of admirable figures whose lives could have appeared in history books.
If Edwin read biographies, wouldn’t he learn valuable lessons from them—and perhaps even feel inspired?
For the past several days, Alice had been bringing Edwin biographies she took from the library.
Even now, recalling The Secret of the Swan Prince she had read earlier made her feel dizzy.
If even she—mentally an adult—was suffering lingering aftereffects, then what if telling such a story to seven-year-old Edwin had truly driven him to darkness…?
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
Alice quickly hid the things she had prepared under the bed and told them to come in.
A woman entered, her brown hair twisted up neatly, dressed in a black maid’s uniform.
“Madam is calling for you.”
It was Isabella, the head maid and Karina’s most trusted confidante.
“My mother?”
Alice rose fully from the bed. Karina was looking for her?
Isabella nodded with a slightly annoyed expression. It was a haughty attitude, hardly befitting someone dealing with the young lady of the house—but she was already the person holding the most authority over household affairs, second only to Karina herself.
‘I can guess why she’s calling me.’
She used to turn Alice away every time, claiming it was bothersome—yet now Karina was the one summoning her first.
If this were the old Alice, she would have been jumping with joy. But she was no longer that Alice, and all she felt was unease.
As she followed the maid guiding her to Karina’s room, Alice recalled the last conversation they had shared.
‘It did pass by a little too quietly.’
“Why did you call for me?”
The moment Alice entered Karina’s room, she got straight to the point.
At Karina’s signal, Isabella left the room.
‘This is unsettling.’
Dismissing even her confidante meant Karina had something to say in secret.
Alice tensed.
Karina’s red lips curved beautifully into a smile as she looked at her.
Her appearance was as dazzling and beautiful as a rose in full bloom.
But Alice knew how many people had suffered behind that smile.
“The Duke will be returning in two months.”
In her hand was a letter bearing the seal of the Esteban family.
The Duke of Esteban would return in two months.
Only then did Alice understand why Karina had called her.
‘To silence me.’
She was trying to take precautions in advance, fearing Alice might reveal that Edwin was the Duke’s biological son.
Things were unfolding exactly as expected.
“Alice.”
Karina’s cold blue eyes fixed sharply on her.
The piercing gaze made Alice inwardly flinch, but she tilted her head, pretending to know nothing.
“Yes?”
“Threatening your mother is something only a bad child does. And then your mother might start to dislike you.”
“When did I ever threaten you?”
Alice shrugged, wearing a genuinely clueless expression.
Karina’s gaze grew even colder.
“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten what you said.”
“Ah… that Edwin is Father’s biological child?”
At Alice’s words, Karina let out a hollow laugh and muttered softly.
“Aren’t you afraid someone might hear such a disgusting thing?”
“Why should I be afraid?”
If she imagined that truth being revealed, it was a little frightening.
Karina would surely be unable to escape death, and Alice herself would be expelled from the family.
‘But I don’t have a choice.’
The lock was nothing more than a temporary measure.
This peaceful life was a fragile refuge, one that could be extinguished the moment a breeze passed through.
Destroying a child’s life and enjoying peace atop it.
If she looked to the future, she would end up unable to truly feel peace or happiness—only to be killed by him in the end.
Above all, after meeting Edwin, she didn’t want to obtain happiness in such a way.
‘Then the only option is to reveal the truth to the Duke as soon as possible and be expelled in one piece.’
Alice reminded herself once more that the situation she was facing was far from favorable.
“I’d like to hear what basis you have for saying such a thing.”
Karina asked, lifting her eyebrows arrogantly. Alice fell silent.
She knew—from the original story—that Karina had poisoned the tea the former Duchess drank.
But she couldn’t bring that up here. Doing so could put her life in danger.
Karina might even kill her own daughter to silence her.
Alice reminded herself that Karina was more than capable of such cruelty.
‘If she weren’t that kind of person, she wouldn’t have killed the lady who took her in.’
Alice offered a suitably vague excuse instead.
“His eye color is exactly the same as Father’s.”
“Just because his eyes look similar?”
The tension that had lingered on Karina’s face faded, replaced by unmistakable composure.
Karina thought to herself.
If Alice had made that guess simply because of eye color…
‘Then I can just coax her a little.’
Karina slowly began to move her venomous tongue.
“Yes, when I first saw that child, I also mistakenly thought his eyes resembled His Grace’s. And red eyes aren’t exactly common. Still, they’re not nonexistent either. Alice… as much as you may not want to believe it, the world isn’t so romantic.”
Alice listened in silence.
She knew it was all nonsense, but she needed to let it slide for now—at least until the Duke of Esteban returned.
“Then was I mistaken? I don’t think so.”
Alice put on a coy yet rebellious expression.
Like a child stubbornly refusing to admit she was wrong.
Seeing her daughter’s reaction, Karina fully relaxed. As usual, annoyance and irritation crept back onto her face.
Watching that expression made Alice’s chest ache for no reason.
These weren’t her own feelings—they belonged to Alice.
“Alice. To not understand how dangerous baseless speculation can be—what a foolish child you are.”
Karina shot her a cutting look.
“You nearly put me in danger by slandering me. A child who won’t even apologize—wouldn’t you say that goes beyond foolishness and straight into the worst?”
“I’m sorry…”
Alice replied, pretending to be sad.
“I thought… if I did this, maybe Mom would come looking for me…”
An expression of ‘just as I thought’ crossed Karina’s face.
She believed Alice had returned to being the daughter who constantly craved her affection.
Feigning gentleness in response to the honest apology, Karina spoke in a deliberately indulgent, honeyed tone.
“If you give the key to me, I’ll visit your room more often.”
“Really?”
Alice’s face instantly brightened.
As if I’d be crazy enough to hand you that key.
Hiding her true thoughts, Alice plastered on a wide, delighted smile and spoke cheerfully.
“Then I’ll go get it from my room! You’re not lying, right?”
Karina nodded absentmindedly.
“I promise. So go and bring it right away.”
Alice readily nodded and returned to her room.
This was enough to buy time so she couldn’t go see Edwin. If she provoked more suspicion or hostility from Karina and lost the freedom to move about, it would interfere with the plans she had laid out.
“…Hmm, where did I put the key?”
Noticing that a maid had followed her into the room, Alice put her plan into action.
Every time the maid looked at her, Alice deliberately tilted her head and glanced toward the bed.
“Huh? Why isn’t it here?”
And once more.
“I’m sure I left it right here…”
Alice began to sniffle, looking on the verge of tears. The maid glanced around nervously.
“If I lost the key, Mother will hate me… hngh…”
Alice burst into tears.
Even though she knew it was just acting, it was spine-chilling method acting. Flustered by her tears, the maid began searching the room.
‘You could search all day and never find it.’
The key was tucked against Alice’s body.
Pretending she had lost it, she slumped to the floor and cried for a long while.
And then she realized—crying took a surprising amount of stamina.
A child’s body was honest. After pouring out tears so earnestly, exhaustion and drowsiness washed over her.
‘Should I just fall asleep like this?’
While the maid was busy searching the room, Alice secretly slipped the key under her tongue.
They wouldn’t check the inside of a sleeping person’s mouth.
“The key is gone…?”
For some reason, an unpleasant feeling crept over Karina.
Enraged by the report she had just received, she stormed into Alice’s room—but Alice had already cried herself to sleep.
Evan examined her and said it seemed stress had temporarily taken a toll on her body.
Just in case, Karina ordered the maids to search Alice’s body.
In the end, the key was not found.
Recalling Alice’s increasingly strange behavior lately, Karina spoke.
“Search every inch around the tower. And from now on, you are to monitor Alice’s actions and report her every move to me.”
The one who answered was Ena, the maid in charge of Alice’s meals.
“Yes, Madam.”
Bowing deeply, Ena accepted the pouch of gold coins Karina handed her, her hands trembling.
She knew she shouldn’t take it—but she had no choice.
Images of several colleagues who had died at Madam’s hands flashed through Ena’s mind.
If she didn’t accept the gold, she would likely die just like them.
