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Chapter 3
“W-Why? What are you trying to say to me right now?”
Anna suddenly grabbed Orte’s arm tightly.
“Of all days, today is Duke Weekend’s birthday! Does it even make sense to say you’re not going? Go to the dining hall right now!”
At first, Orte seemed to resist, but in the end, she was forced to rise from the bed by Anna’s grip.
Orte looked at Anna’s back with a strange gaze as the maid not only shouted at her, but also handled her body roughly without hesitation.
‘What should I do?’
She had already decided not to love them anymore, but she still had not fully organized her thoughts about what to do next.
With the body of a mere thirteen-year-old, she could not overpower a maid used to hard labor, so Orte was dragged along helplessly.
She stumbled several times on the way, but Anna did not slow her pace at all.
“We’re here!”
Only after arriving in front of the dining hall did Anna finally slow down.
But at that exact moment, the door suddenly opened.
Still being dragged by Anna, Orte lost her balance and fell into the dining hall.
“Ah….”
A small groan escaped her lips as pain shot through her palms and knees.
Buzz—
The shock spread through her body, and as she lowered her head silently, a pair of luxurious men’s shoes appeared in front of her.
“Parasite?”
At the familiar nickname, Orte slowly raised her head.
The owner of the shoes was Ellen.
At the table sat the Duke of Weekend and Clef.
“M-Miss! Are you alright?”
As soon as Orte fell with a loud crash, Anna rushed toward her anxiously.
The pain had not even faded yet, but Anna forcibly pulled Orte back onto her feet.
Orte’s small, thin body was lifted roughly by Anna’s hands.
“Hey, you….”
Ellen moved his lips for a moment before continuing.
“Are you crazy? Why are you only coming now? Colin told me you said you weren’t coming.”
He stepped closer to Orte.
Orte stared at Ellen.
Unlike the version of him in her final memories, he looked young. Like a boy who had only just reached the edge of adulthood.
“Orte.”
At the low voice, Orte’s shoulders trembled on their own.
She turned toward Clef, whose face looked exactly like the Duke of Weekend’s.
Clef also still looked young.
Not the mature adult she had always seen.
It finally felt real that she had truly returned five years into the past.
“Why did you say you wouldn’t come down?”
“Brother, do you really think she had a reason? She probably just wanted attention and came up with a new trick.”
Ellen roughly shook his hair and sat down.
“Hey, parasite. If you have any sense, sit down.”
Until the moment Orte quietly sat in her seat, Clef continued watching her.
The Duke of Weekend, meanwhile, did not look at her at all.
Orte lowered her eyes to the food placed before her.
Then she slowly turned her gaze toward the Duke of Weekend.
“There’s something I want to say.”
“Are you trying to make excuses?”
Even while dessert was being served, the Duke of Weekend kept his eyes fixed on the documents in his hands as he answered.
“Parasite, go ahead and make your excuses like Father said. Don’t tell me you overslept?”
Ellen looked her over.
“Huh? You didn’t even bring Father a birthday gift? You?”
Shock mixed into Ellen’s voice.
Only then did Orte remember how every year she had poured all her effort and passion into preparing the Duke of Weekend’s birthday gift.
‘What did I prepare when I was thirteen?’
She had regressed so many times that she could no longer remember things from that long ago.
Ellen sighed and spoke.
“At least tell a maid to bring it—”
“No.”
Orte cut him off.
Ellen could not hide his disbelief that Orte had interrupted him.
But Orte did not even glance at him as she spoke to the Duke of Weekend.
“What I wanted to say is related to the gift.”
Without lifting his eyes from the papers, the Duke of Weekend slightly nodded.
It meant for her to continue.
“I won’t call you Father anymore.”
“…….”
The Duke of Weekend blinked once, then finally raised his eyes to look at Orte.
Orte calmly met his gaze.
“What do you mean by that?”
“You never liked hearing me call you Father.”
Even knowing that, she had stubbornly continued.
Because every time she called him “Father,” she felt at least a little like a member of the Duke of Weekend family.
Like she truly belonged with them.
‘I really was foolish.’
Even until the moment she died, she had called him Father.
But he had never once thought of her as his daughter.
“It may be an insignificant gift, but from now on, there won’t be anything to bother you anymore.”
Orte stood from her seat.
“That’s all I came to say. I’ll be leaving now.”
Then she lightly lifted the edge of her skirt and let it fall again.
She used to think the world would collapse if she could no longer call him Father.
“Duke Weekend.”
But it was not nearly as difficult as she had imagined.
“Miss, why did you come out so quickly?”
Anna immediately followed after Orte left the dining hall.
“Now that I think about it, you forgot the duke’s birthday present too. You’re going upstairs to get it, right?”
Only after climbing the stairs did Orte realize she was barefoot.
Anna had dragged her away so suddenly that she had not even been given time to put on slippers.
“I won’t get scolded too, right? You’re the one who forgot it, Miss.”
“Anna.”
Orte stopped in front of her room.
“Yes?”
After staring at Anna, who had chattered noisily the entire way upstairs, Orte entered the room.
Then she picked up the washbasin Anna had brought earlier.
It was fairly heavy, so Orte used all her strength to lift it and walk toward the doorway.
“Miss?”
Splash—!
“Kyaaa!”
Anna screamed as the freezing water poured over her.
It was so cold it felt as though her bones had frozen solid. Her heart felt like it would stop from the icy shock.
“W-What do you think you’re doing right now?!”
“Is it cold?”
“Of course it’s cold!”
Anna shouted angrily.
Freezing water dripped from her hair.
Even though only a moment had passed, her body was already trembling violently.
Orte looked at the pathetic sight of Anna with indifferent eyes.
“You always brought me water like this, so I thought maybe you didn’t know cold water was cold.”
“W-What? What are you….”
Anna’s face turned pale.
“I… I really didn’t know.”
“Really?”
Orte stepped closer and leaned in slightly.
The moment their eyes met, Anna unconsciously shut her mouth.
“I don’t think so.”
At Orte’s quiet murmur, Anna suddenly came back to her senses.
“I-It’s true! Really!”
“Whether it’s true or not doesn’t matter.”
Orte stepped back.
“What matters is this.”
Then she threw the washbasin onto the floor.
Bang!
Startled by the loud noise, Anna let out a small scream and shrank back.
“You’re fired now.”
Orte firmly locked the door.
“Sister.”
It was a kind and gentle voice.
“Would you like to have tea with me?”
From the very first moment she met Yvonne, Orte had always been strangely weak toward her.
Because Yvonne possessed the same dark black hair and shining golden eyes that were the exact traits of the Weekend family Orte loved so much.
That day had been no different.
Orte had been unable to refuse Yvonne’s invitation.
Ironically enough.
Even though it was the very day everyone learned that the divine mark on Yvonne was the real one.
‘This kind Yvonne… I hated and envied her. I’m truly worthless.’
Even after Orte was exposed as the fake, Yvonne had still treated her kindly.
Ashamed of herself for ever envying Yvonne, Orte eventually asked the question she had been holding back.
“Yvonne. Do you… hate me?”
“Hm? For what?”
“Strictly speaking, you’re the real one, and I’m….”
Orte could not finish her sentence properly, trailing off at the end.
Yvonne tilted her head while holding her teacup.
“Ah.”
Then she burst into laughter.
“You carefully asked me about something so trivial?”
“Trivial…?”
Caught off guard by the unexpected word, Orte stared at Yvonne.
Yvonne set down the untouched teacup.
“I don’t care about things like that, Sister. Actually, I’m thankful you took my place before I appeared.”
“Took your place?”
“Yes, the role of the youngest daughter. If even you hadn’t been there, Father and my brothers would have been heartbroken.”
“Ah….”
At Yvonne’s words, Orte nodded instinctively, but the uncomfortable feeling inside her did not disappear.
“Well, it was entertaining in its own way, but I think I’m starting to get tired of it now.”
Yvonne lifted her teacup.
“What do you mean?”
“Sister, you can stop pretending to be nice now too. You actually hate me enough to poison me, don’t you?”
“What? Yvonne, what are you talking—”
Then Yvonne took a sip of tea and suddenly covered her mouth.
“Cough!”
Blood poured from Yvonne’s mouth in an instant.
