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Chapter 11
“They say she had a hidden lover. She wanted to live happily with that person, so she gave up the title of Countess of Hound. She left a letter asking me to take care of you and ran away.”
Wait—suddenly a love escape ending?
I was so shocked that my mouth fell open. If what he said was true, Riela’s mother had abandoned her daughter to start a new life with the person she loved.
“So that’s why she never contacted us until now.”
Aside from the strangely bitter feeling that lingered, all my lingering questions were suddenly resolved.
She must have loved someone enough to abandon a daughter she gave birth to with her own body.
I didn’t know how to respond, so I stayed silent. The Duke of Maynard approached me. Kneeling and meeting my gaze, he gently unclenched my fists and spoke.
“If you want, you can become a member of the Maynard household immediately. I’ll give you time to think, so let me know once you’ve decided.”
It seemed no one in the extended family had stepped forward to take me in. Understandable—taking in a child who suffers from a potentially life-threatening illness isn’t exactly easy.
Just as I was about to ask for some time to think, the parlor door suddenly flung open. Both the Duke and I turned our gaze toward it.
“Daniel?”
He must have run in a rush; the careful hairstyle the maid had arranged in the morning was completely messy.
“No!”
“Dani.”
“Absolutely not! I don’t want to become family with Riela!”
Daniel squeezed his eyes shut and shouted so loud it could shatter eardrums.
Neither the Duke nor I had ever seen him like this, so we stared at him in shock.
“Daniel, do you even know what you’re saying?”
The Duke’s voice dropped at the sight of his son barging in and shouting without restraint.
But Daniel did not back down; he glared intensely.
“Wow, what’s happening? I could hear your voice from all the way over here.”
At that moment, the Duchess of Maynard appeared, smiling faintly—but the smile didn’t reach her eyes.
Behind her, the maids peeked out with anxious expressions. She had to lower her head out of respect, but…
“It’s nothing. I was just having a brief conversation with Riela.”
“You said you were going to adopt Riela! I don’t like that! I’m against it!”
“Dani.”
“…I don’t want it. I won’t look at Father’s face. I won’t study. I won’t go to classes.”
Only then did the Duchess realize the situation. She touched her temple with a look of headache.
“You should see me later. This seems like a situation that requires a very serious conversation.”
“Honey…”
“Be quiet. Surely you misspoke. Didn’t I tell you not to embarrass yourself in front of the children?”
I hadn’t done anything intentionally.
The Duke muttered to himself. Being nearby, I overheard everything.
To protect his social honor, I pretended not to hear him and opened my mouth.
Well… I tried to.
“You’re an idiot!”
If only Aria hadn’t suddenly jumped in!
“If you don’t want Riela to become our family, then you can leave! I like Riri!”
Daniel flinched at the sheer force of determination coming from the small girl.
But it lasted only a moment. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and stepped forward.
“It’s all your fault.”
Wait a minute. This doesn’t feel good.
Siblings fight all the time, but what Daniel was about to say crossed the line.
I ran toward them, intending to stop the escalating situation, but Daniel spoke first.
“Riela is hurt because of you!”
Hey! You told me not to hate Aria!
Humans aren’t perfect. We’re contradictory and inconsistent—but this is ridiculous!
I forced myself to reach them, ready to say something, but I couldn’t.
“…Really?”
Aria’s eyes glistened with tears as if she could start crying any moment.
Technically, yes, it was partly your fault, but thanks to that, I could get healthier, so it’s not really your fault… yet if I complain, it is… ah, never mind.
Seeing that I wasn’t responding, Aria bowed her head deeply and let out a sorrowful cry.
She buried her face in the Duchess’s skirt, so I could only hear muffled sounds—but it was probably her way of saying sorry.
“…Haa.”
The Duchess sighed, and Daniel flinched.
“What a mess.”
Indeed.
The maids’ eyes went to her at the unusual choice of words from a noblewoman.
“Aria, go back to your room. We’ll talk with your mother later.”
The maids struggled to calm Aria, who was crying as if she might collapse, and guided her back to her room.
As the Duchess said, the situation had become a complete mess, leaving me dazed.
“I’m sorry, Riela. It’s not your fault, so you don’t need to worry. Everyone has their own circumstances.”
Kneeling and meeting my gaze, she kissed my forehead gently and stroked my cheek.
“It’s time to take your medicine, so you should go back now.”
It’s not time yet…
Despite my complex feelings, her kindness toward the children made my heart flutter.
I let the maid carry me. I wasn’t too weak to walk, but I felt drained. The Duchess left Daniel with the maid and entered the parlor.
Thud.
The door closed, leaving a heavy silence. Daniel lingered outside, sighed, and slowly walked away.
“Did he really dislike becoming family with me that much?”
Feeling a twinge of hurt, I rested my forehead on the maid’s shoulder. Tears that had been welling up soaked into her uniform.
I stared at the dark stain, and the deep sigh that came from a child felt almost impossible to believe.
What a complete disaster…
A few days passed after the storm that swept through the Maynard mansion.
Since that day, the two had been under disciplinary restrictions. Although they could move around the mansion, I hadn’t seen them in days.
“What are Aria and Daniel doing?”
While I lacked energy and couldn’t get out of bed, Daniel stayed in his room, presumably having a serious conversation with the Duke and Duchess.
Aria was the same. Perhaps expecting a fight if the siblings met, they remained completely separated.
“Miss, it’s time for your medicine.”
As usual, I hid under the blankets to avoid it.
“Oh my! Where could the Miss have gone?”
Hailey was teasing me even though she knew. But I’d been bored, so I decided to play along.
The maid’s voice calling for me again pierced the blanket. I finally couldn’t bear it and peeked out.
“There you are! I didn’t know at all!”
Hailey fixed my messy hair naturally and guided me outside.
I didn’t want to take it. I absolutely did not want to.
…Not that I wanted to die.
I closed my eyes and swallowed the medicine, then shoved a bite-sized chocolate into my mouth. Chewing, its sweetness quickly spread.
“Hailey.”
“Yes, Miss.”
“Do you think Aria and Daniel are avoiding me?”
Hailey, organizing the tray, paused. Then she answered casually.
“No. They’re just busy. The Duke told them to transcribe theological texts.”
“Really?”
“Yes. They write a set amount each day and are inspected. So don’t worry too much.”
“In that case, I’ll go see them.”
“Huh?”
“You said they’re busy. Well then, the one who isn’t busy has to go—what else can I do?”
As I opened my mouth after finishing the chocolate, Hailey was momentarily speechless.
“T-That can’t be!”
“Why not?”
“W-Well… it’s….”
Her eyes shook frantically as she looked at me.
I narrowed my eyes and glared, prompting her to close hers.
“Anyway, no! You can glare all you want, but it won’t change anything!”
“Fine. I understand. I shouldn’t make Hailey uncomfortable just because I want to be comfortable.”
“…Really?”
“Yes. If I leave now, Hailey will get scolded by the Duke because of me. I don’t want that. She already has so much to do for me; if she gets scolded, her workload doubles.”
“I-I didn’t mean it that way…!”
Blaming myself, Hailey held my hand and reassured me it wasn’t true. Relief was clear in her voice.
“I don’t want anyone to get scolded because of me, so I’ll just stay here.”
Lying back and saying this, Hailey’s tension completely vanished. After promising to bring lunch later, she left and closed the door.
Watching her leave, I jumped to my feet.
“Who says I can’t leave just because you said so?”
I didn’t know why I wasn’t supposed to, but breaking rules always feels thrilling.
Clenching my fists, I silently vowed:
Even though I only had three prior escape-room experiences in my past life, I’ll get out of this properly!
…Well, I thought that, but I had no idea where to start.
“I guess I’ll just have to try a bit of everything.”
That’s life in a nutshell.
