Chapter 4

Is this heaven?

That was the thought that crossed my hazy mind.

It was warm, soft, and fragrant, exactly like the heaven I had always imagined.

That’s right. I died.

I had worked hard all my life and never really done anything wrong, so surely I deserved to go to heaven.

Would I be able to see Mom now?

What about my siblings, whom I hadn’t even had the chance to say goodbye to?

Filled with both anticipation and worry, I slowly opened my eyes.

The first thing I saw was a gold ceiling decorated with raised carvings and a magnificent crimson canopy.

Hmm.

Was heaven supposed to be this colorful?

I had imagined something a little more…

At that moment, an angel shouted from beside me.

“Wake up!”

I shot upright.

And found myself kicking off a bed, not ascending in heaven.

The luxurious room, the busy maids, and Hui and Dido sleeping beside me gradually brought me back to reality.

Right.

I had died and come back to life.

And I had returned after discovering that I was an heiress of the Ambrose family.

…When I think about it, this feels even more unreal than a dream.

Blinking, I rubbed my face with my small, soft hands that I still wasn’t used to.

The elderly woman who had woken me urged me again.

“Oh my, hurry and get up. The sun is already high in the sky. You need to wash up and have breakfast.”

“Uh…”

Before I could protest, she lifted me right off the bed.

I had already noticed it last night when she showed me to my room, but despite her age, both her words and actions were incredibly quick.

Right. She’s the head maid, isn’t she?

Someone responsible for managing the Ambrose household wouldn’t be ordinary.

The energetic head maid had already started shaking my siblings awake.

Eventually, Hui and Dido opened their eyes, whined a little, then immediately glued themselves to my sides.

At least she had the appearance of a kind grandmother, so they weren’t very wary of her.

Unlike when they saw Duke Ambrose.

They had cried loud enough to shake the heavens.

“Come on, eyes open. Stretch like this.”

“Streeetch…!”

As I helped Hui and Dido, I felt the gazes of the surrounding maids.

Half of them looked at us fondly.

The other half clearly didn’t.

Though even those who disliked us were making an effort not to show it openly.

Well, it’s better than I expected.

I had prepared myself for this.

Realistically speaking, Hui and Dido weren’t related to this family by blood.

What surprised me more was how friendly the head maid was.

Especially considering how much someone in her position should care about the family’s prestige.

And that’s despite how filthy we look…

The full-length mirror standing in one corner still reflected three little beggars who looked ready to start asking for spare change.

Clicking my tongue inwardly, I felt the head maid gently push me forward.

“Now then, shall the three of you head to the bathroom?”

She’s sharp, too.

Pretending I had no choice, I allowed myself to be herded into the bathroom with my siblings.

Although this was supposedly a guest room that had been hastily prepared last night…

The bathroom attached to this room is bigger than our entire house.

There was only so much relative deprivation a person could take.

At this point, it simply felt like another world.

And did the bathtub really need to be made of gold?

If water wouldn’t damage it, was it pure gold?

I stared seriously at the gleaming bathtub before obediently allowing the maids to take over.

And shortly afterward, I really did travel to another world.

“How is the water temperature?”

Yes.

This must be paradise.

I briefly lost consciousness from bliss.

When I came to, I was already outside the bath, having my hair dried.

“…Huh?”

Wait.

When did that happen?

Looking around, I saw Hui and Dido sitting nearby, equally fluffy and clean, wearing expressions of pure bliss.

Normally, they would have cried and thrown tantrums about taking a bath.

The servants of Ambrose really were something else.

As I sat there admiring their skills, the head maid suddenly chuckled.

My siblings and I looked up at her simultaneously with questioning expressions.

Her smile deepened.

“The shape of all three of your eyes is exactly the same. How can they all be so beautifully drawn, as if painted with a brush?”

“We inherited our eyes from Mom.”

It was something I had heard many times.

And a response I had given many times.

Mom herself had always proudly declared that she’d passed her prettiest feature on to all three of her children.

Long eyelashes.

Eyes that curved gently downward at the corners.

It was the feature that made the neighborhood adults adore us.

They called them gentle cow eyes.

Though I’ve also heard that people with eyes like these tend to be unexpectedly stubborn.

Considering the personalities of our family, that was probably true.

As I lowered my eyes and smiled out of habit, the head maid spoke softly.

“…But your atmosphere resembles him very much.”

“Hm?”

“You resemble the young master. You truly are his daughter.”

Ah.

Now I understood.

The maids who were especially kind to us all seemed to have worked here for many years.

They had probably served the Ambrose heir before he disappeared.

Which meant that if they saw me as their young master’s daughter, they naturally felt affection toward me.

Meanwhile, those who simply saw me as a new addition to the household probably thought:

She even brought extra baggage with her.

To confirm my suspicion, I asked the maids who seemed more distant.

“Do I really resemble him that much?”

“Ah, well… we’ve never actually met the young master.”

“I see.”

Just as I thought.

The younger maids awkwardly bowed their heads and resumed cleaning the bathroom and tidying the room.

As lower-ranking servants, they seemed responsible for chores and errands.

Most of them looked young and nervous.

Attached to their maid uniforms were small yellow badges.

The more experienced senior maids wore blue badges.

And the head maid… wears a red badge.

The butler I had seen yesterday wore a red badge too.

Red for the highest-ranking servants?

I wondered what exactly it meant.

As the thought crossed my mind, my eyes met the head maid’s.

“The noble crimson eyes of Ambrose.”

“…”

“You truly do look just like him. Don’t you agree, girls?”

Noble.

No one had ever described me that way before.

And I had certainly never expected to hear it.

The moment the head maid spoke, the blue-badged maids rushed over and eagerly added their own comments.

“It’s true! You’re the image of the master and the young master!”

“You’re unmistakably an Ambrose, starting with your beauty!”

“And your hair color is so unique.”

“Exactly. Such a pale shade of purple!”

“It looks like lavender.”

“Or lilac…”

“Did you inherit your hair from your mother as well?”

“Yes. Though hers was a little darker.”

How chaotic.

Surrounded by maids, I failed to notice another disturbance approaching.

Then—

Bang!

The door burst open as if it were about to break.

Four people stormed inside.

“No way…!”

Each of them shouted something different.

Depending on how one interpreted it, it sounded either like excitement or despair.

Before I could understand what was happening, the head maid stepped in front of me, shielding me while I was still wearing my bathrobe.

“What kind of behavior is this?”

“What do you mean? Maya, you’re the one overstepping.”

“That’s right! We’re family! Outsiders should stay out of it!”

“To think we’ve finally found Lord Ansley’s daughter… what wonderful news!”

“So where is my adorable niece?”

“Um… if you’re looking for me, I’m right here.”

Seriously.

This was exhausting.

I peeked out from behind the head maid.

Immediately, the group of unexpected visitors, young and old alike, turned to look at me.

Prickle.

…Huh?

I frowned.

A strange sensation had just brushed against me.

I quickly looked around, but whatever had caused it was already gone.

How troublesome.

The maids’ reactions had been much easier to understand.

These people were impossible to read.

“Are you truly Ansley’s daughter? Good heavens. It feels like only yesterday that boy was learning how to walk.”

“Hm. You’re quite cute. I’ll allow you to call me older sister.”

“Waaah… As Lord Ansley’s one and only aide, my regrets have finally been eased!”

“Stop crying! Even I, who am practically his real sister, am holding it together!”

The four visitors, each wearing their own social mask, enthusiastically spoke to me.

On the surface, they seemed happy to see me.

But were they really?

At that moment, the oldest man among them staggered toward me.

Now that I looked closely, he resembled Duke Ambrose quite a bit.

But their atmospheres couldn’t have been more different.

His carefree attitude.

The strong smell of alcohol.

The drunkard casually asked,

“By the way, where is your mother?”

“She passed away.”

“Oh… and when did she…?”

“Yesterday.”

Everyone froze.

Even some of the maids suddenly looked teary-eyed.

But I simply smiled brightly as if it didn’t bother me.

“It’s okay, though.”

“Because now…”

“I’m an Ambrose.”

Prickle.

Once again, I felt it.

Many emotions were directed at me in that moment.

Interest.

Jealousy.

Calculation.

And…

Murderous intent.

Now then.

Among these people…

Which one wants me dead?