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Chapter: 2
A carriage was waiting on the road back to the Count’s estate.
Yulia smiled kindly as she guided Julai into the carriage. The grip on Julai’s hand was rough and forceful, pulling her inside before she could resist.
Yulia sat down gracefully. Julai took the seat diagonally across from her.
Yulia, who had been smiling cheerfully while looking at the crest engraved on the back of Julai’s hand, suddenly hardened her expression. She crossed her legs and laughed as if amused.
“Poor Julai. Even your last remaining hope is gone. What will you do now? No one will care about you anymore.”
“……”
“Did you really think His Highness the Crown Prince, the greatest mage of the era, and even the Count would have cared about you if it weren’t for the power of water?”
She was right.
If Julai had not been a candidate for succession, she would never have formed any connection with them.
But she was a water successor candidate, and she had formed those connections.
That was an undeniable fact.
Still, Julai said nothing and only bit her lip hard. She was afraid of the consequences that would follow if she defied Yulia.
“Leave the estate tomorrow. Think of it as my final gift to you.”
Julai let out a hollow laugh at the order delivered like a notice.
…She had known it would end like this.
Though she had been adopted into the Count’s family, Julai had never even debuted in high society—her face had never been publicly introduced.
Officially, she was a sickly girl.
After adopting Julai, the Count’s family focused on improving their reputation and building connections with successor candidates of other elements.
Julai was a card they could discard at any time.
“Hmm… what should I wear next week…?”
Yulia hummed to herself as she flipped through a salon magazine left inside the carriage. The tune was unmistakably one played at parties.
Julai made a firm judgment.
Today was the worst day of her life.
* * *
After returning to the estate, Julai climbed up to the attic where she stayed.
The room was small, containing only a bed and a table, but it was still the only place where she could breathe freely.
“……There’s really nothing left now.”
Even if she left this place, there was no guarantee that things would go well. In fact, they would probably get worse.
At least here, she had shelter—and hope.
Now, she was afraid of having hope anymore.
Because she knew it would only be shattered again.
‘There’s no reason to live.’
She was tired of watching the hopes she held break apart.
Julai walked toward the window.
If she died here, at least she could curse the Count’s family who had brought her to this place.
…And she wouldn’t have to see Yulia step into her place—
Receiving the love Julai never had, living happily.
That was what frightened her most.
The thought that the people who could never open their hearts to Julai might easily open them to Yulia.
That it would prove all over again that the reason they never grew close was Julai herself.
She opened the window. The wind scattered her hair.
She took one more step.
Her body floated briefly in the air—then began to fall.
The wind rushing past her felt cool.
The air brushing her cheeks was sweet.
The wind.
The sky.
The stars.
Everything was dazzling.
* * *
But Julai did not die.
A stranger appeared before her eyes.
“Ah—! Miss… Miss, you’re awake!”
Julai frowned at the sharp voice. A new servant?
“I-I’ll go get the Count right away!”
The woman ran out in a panic.
‘They’re calling the Count just because I collapsed…’
It was probably because she had attempted suicide within the estate.
Julai bit her lip.
‘…This shouldn’t happen.’
She had been nothing more than a doll meant for Yulia.
The Count and Countess didn’t care.
Everyone in the estate followed Yulia—the head of the household—and the Count and Countess.
Julai had always been isolated.
With a deep sigh, Julai pulled the blanket over herself. She wanted even a moment of peace before facing Yulia again.
Inside the blanket, it was dark and quiet.
That alone made her feel safe—knowing that, at least here, there was nothing to worry about.
The bed and blanket were both soft and warm.
“Miss, your mother is here. Please wake up!”
That peace didn’t last long.
The moment she heard the maid’s voice, Julai threw off the blanket.
‘Mother…?’
The title felt strange. She assumed it was a mistake by the new maid.
‘…Huh?’
Something was wrong.
The gentle expression. The teary eyes as she looked at Julai.
Every gesture and movement—this was a completely different person.
There was no way Julai could be mistaken.
“……Sebtina.”
Sebtina?
It was a name she had never heard before.
…What was going on?
As Julai blinked in confusion, she suddenly gasped.
The woman had tightly hugged her.
“I—I always knew you would return someday. Truly… I believed you would come back….”
The tearful voice wrapped around Julai.
She blinked, trying to understand the situation.
‘So the person hugging me thinks I’m someone named Sebtina…?’
Who was Sebtina?
‘I should clear up the misunderstanding first.’
Julai opened her mouth carefully.
“Um, I’m not Sebti—”
“Sebtina!”
“Sebtina has woken up? Is that true, Mother?”
She couldn’t finish her sentence.
People flooded into the room.
The woman holding Julai nodded repeatedly.
When she finally let go, Julai saw the people standing in front of her one by one.
…Huh?
‘…Cordelia Xeros?’
She had only seen her once, but the image was burned into her memory.
Silver hair swaying around her waist.
Dark eyes, black as night, visible beneath slightly fallen bangs.
Sharp, cat-like eyes and an elegant presence.
Just looking at her, one could feel her overwhelming aura.
‘The person Yulia wanted to befriend…’
Cordelia Xeros was famous not only as the Count’s daughter, but also as the Vice-Captain of the Imperial Knights.
Yulia had tried hard to get close to her—sending gifts, inviting her to the estate.
But it never worked.
They said their personalities didn’t match.
Yulia had once complained bitterly, calling Cordelia a stiff, unapproachable woman.
Of course, Julai never had a chance—or time—to get close to her either.
Cordelia stepped forward and bit her lip, as if trying to control her emotions.
Julai was shocked.
‘What is this…?’
Despite her sharp demeanor, a single tear shimmered in her reddened eyes.
‘Excuse me… were we ever that close?’
Cordelia took a deep breath and spoke.
“Sebtina. I’m your older sister.”
What?
‘She thinks I’m Sebtina too.’
Was everyone under hypnosis? Or had they all gone mad?
“Cordelia, saying that now will only confuse Sebtina. If she’s overwhelmed, it could harm her health. Let’s stop for today.”
A man in his mid-fifties stroked his beard as he spoke.
“It would be better to explain things little by little.”
Unlike Cordelia, he was a face Julai had never seen before.
When Julai tilted her head, the man rested his chin on his hand and hummed.
“Sebtina, I am your father—Justian Xeros.”
After taking a breath, he spoke calmly.
His silver hair, similar to Cordelia’s, glimmered faintly—its faded hue giving him an old, dignified air, like an ancient book.
‘…Justian Xeros?’
He had visited the Rive family several times.
Each time, Yulia and the Count insisted he was an extraordinary man and ordered Julai to stay locked in her room.
She had heard his name, but never properly seen his face.
Still, with that silver hair so similar to Cordelia’s, he truly did look like her father.
It made no sense for all three of them to mistake her for someone else.
They all looked perfectly sane.
‘…I was trying to die.’
No one could survive a fall from that height.
Yet Julai was perfectly fine.
…Could it be?
With a trembling heart, she looked at Cordelia.
“May I see a mirror?”
“Here.”
Cordelia handed it to her immediately, as if she had been waiting.
Julai clutched the handle and took a deep breath.
The mirror slowly approached her face.
‘……’
Just as she feared.
Soft pink hair, identical to the woman who had hugged her, flowed past her waist to her hips.
Between the neatly combed strands were eyes as dark as night.
Skin pale as if it had never felt sunlight.
Large black eyes sparkled like polished gems.
Her thin yet full lips carried a rosy tint that matched her hair beautifully.
Her pale skin, slender jawline, and delicate collarbone all came together to form an elegant image.
“……Sebtina.”
At Cordelia’s voice, Julai blinked.
The sickly beauty in the mirror blinked back.
Only then did it sink in.
She had possessed the body of—
Sebtina Xeros.
The youngest daughter of the prestigious Xeros family.
Cordelia, six years older, was her only sister.
With her captivating atmosphere and beautiful pink hair, she would surely have dominated high society—had she lived normally.
But Sebtina had been unconscious since birth.
She survived only through the care of priests and physicians.
Though her body lived, no one believed she would ever open her eyes.
Until now.
