/
Meanwhile, Oscar arrived. Lucian felt his presence, but as he asked again, he only looked at Damian.
“Tell me. Why were you glaring at the prince? And why didn’t Rachel stop you?”
“Tsk, how persistent. If you wanna know, just ask Master.”
Oscar responded to Lucian as he stood beside Damian.
Unlike yesterday, he was now calling Rachel the proper way, and Lucian shifted his eyes towards him.
Whether he understood the meaning in that gaze, Oscar raised his chin and said proudly.
“From now on, my name is Oscar. It’s a precious name that Master gave me.”
Lucian’s eyebrows twitched as he listened to Oscar.
“…You’re still insolent.” ¹
He didn’t like the name ‘Oscar’. Even when this shapeshifter didn’t have a name yet continued to spend time with him, Lucian felt that this was unpleasant.
Why was there always someone around Rachel?
She should only look at him, only think about him… Couldn’t it be that way?
Damian watched how the atmosphere around Lucian grew cold, even to the point that the surrounding temperature seemed to have dropped. Then, he swallowed a sigh and spoke.
“You must have heard what Master said earlier.”
Lucian had been here even before they arrived. It was only natural that he heard what she said.
—My other half, my bright future. Isn’t she a child who’s already been corrupted.
Hearing Enzo’s voice, Lucian’s eyebrows furrowed.
He often said words like these, but Lucian didn’t like how Enzo dared to use the word ‘corrupted’ to describe Rachel.
“He’s not a prince. I don’t know how he became a prince…”
Watching the turbulent mana within Lucian, Damian quickly said this.
“Hey, is it okay to say that? What if Master gets angry?”
And Oscar stopped him. Even so, Damian continued speaking, judging that it would be better to speak here.
“There might be some danger later, so it’s better to just say it. It’s about Master, but she never told us to keep it a secret.”
“But…”
Between the two of them, Oscar was always the one who caused trouble, but right now, Oscar felt restless because Damian was acting against their master’s orders right now.
“When it comes to Ray’s safety, it’s even more of a reason to let me know.”
At Lucian’s firm declaration, Damian continued explaining.
“The first place we saw him was in the maze forest. He was chasing Master.”
Despite the roundabout way of saying it, Lucian understood immediately.
“Seven years ago.”
“Yes, that’s right. He used the power of darkness.”
Lucian’s hands clenched into fists.
He didn’t know how a kidnapper managed to get his hands on the mask of a prince, but such a person proposed to Rachel.
His father didn’t know what a ridiculous situation this was.
Even if Lucian told his father, he wouldn’t believe it.
If Rachel would say what this servant was telling him, would his father believe it?
Lucian was skeptical. His father had a narrow view of the world.
Pedro was starting to get on Lucian’s nerves. Not only was he interfering between Lucian and Rachel, but he was also placing Rachel in danger like this. It was making Lucian feel frustrated.
Even so, he hid this frustration in front of the two shapeshifters.
“I’ll take care of this. Never take your eyes off Ray.”
“I’ll protect Master even if you don’t tell me.”
“I agree with Oscar this time.”
“Oh? You just called me Oscar, right? Would’ja look at that. It sounds so much better than Doggy! Ah, I think I’m going to fall in love with my new name. I love it. I love Master.”
Before he could leave, Lucian grabbed the fox shapeshifter’s collar and lifted him up.
“What the—!”
And proceeded to hit the rebellious Oscar right in the abdomen.
“Kegh!”
Blood sputtered through his lips. The fist that wielded so much strength had a lot more power than what it had at dawn.
Holding back a groan, Oscar grinned.
“Do you think that to Master, her brother is everything?”
Lucian threw Oscar to the ground like he was a limp doll. Even so, he had quick reflexes, so he landed on his feet and quickly turned around.
The lifeless golden eyes and blazing red eyes faced each other.
“…Don’t you dare act carelessly in front of my Ray again. This is your only warning.”
Then, Lucian turned around and headed towards the office where Pedro was, vowing that he’d receive authority over the Duchy today.
Oscar clicked his tongue in anger. Next to him, Damian could only worry about his master.
Why was it that those who surrounded his master had such ominous mana?
Lucian, the prince… and both Damian and Oscar, too.
Damian pictured the pure, clear mana of his owner. It was dazzlingly bright and warm.
✦
“Amber, where are the things I used when I was young?”
As soon as I came into my room, I asked Amber.
“Goodness, Milady. You came back in an even bigger mess today!”
“Yeah, sorry. Anyway, the things I owned when I was young?”
“Ah, I stored them in a box in the corner of Milady’s closet. Would you like me to show you?”
“Yes.”
I hurried into the walk-in closet and found the box. When I opened the box, which was made of luxurious wood, the items I used when I was young were there in perfect condition.
I looked for the diary I wrote to record the plot of the webtoon.
“Milady, I’ll draw your bath. You should wash up first.”
“Okay! I’ll be there in a sec!”
“Oh, and Her Grace said she wants to drink tea with you!”
“Ah, found it.”
I took out the diary and closed the box.
“The Duchess asked me to have tea with her?”
“Yes, but I told her that you went out for a while, but she told me to call you as soon as I can. What should I tell her?”
I placed the diary on the desk drawer and mulled over it as I headed towards the bathroom.
I was a bit short on time, but even if I was in a rush, shouldn’t I drink tea with her first? It’s been a while since I met the Duchess.
“I can bathe by myself, so you should go to the Duchess, Amber. Tell her I’ll meet her for tea in a while.”
“Alright. I’ll be back soon.”
Amber left the room, and I went into the bathtub.
“Oh, how refreshing.”
It’s been a while since I washed up alone. Amber was always attending to me.
“When I think about the past, I can only vaguely remember.”
The diary reminded me of my past life before I transmigrated, when I had to do everything alone. It’s only a blurry memory now, but the feelings I had at that time didn’t disappear and instead settled deep into my heart.
While feeling my mood dampen rapidly, Amber came into the bathroom.
“Milady, what’s wrong?”
It was only then that I came to my senses. I would often feel heartbroken whenever I would remember my life before coming to this world.
“It’s nothing. It’s just a bit difficult to wash up alone.”
“You can’t live without me, right?”
Amber smiled brightly as she pulled her sleeves up.
After she came in, she helped me wash quickly, then I changed into a simple dress.
Being led by Amber, I headed to the place where the Duchess waited. As we reached the middle of the season, the weather became much better.
So of course, I thought we were going to have tea in the garden, but we weren’t after all.
Amber led me to the drawing room that only the Duchess could use, and I greeted her inside.
“Good afternoon, Madam.”
“Come in, Rachel.”
The Duchess greeted back, her complexion much better than before. I was reminded of when she used to talk to me without making eye contact.
Compared to back then, the difference was significant. Of course, it was a change for the better.
“Without your help, I don’t know what I would do.”
As soon as Amber and the other maid inside the room left out the door, the Duchess said this. It was before I could even lift my teacup.
This was never something that the Duchess would do. She was someone who valued etiquette very much.
Just what was going on?
“What’s the matter?”
With her hands clenched tightly in her lap, the Duchess answered me.
“Rachel, are you hiding something?”
No. Rather than answering me, she just asked another question.
“Pardon?”
“A secret that you want to hide from your precious person.”
“……”
“Something that you’ve kept for a long time, and you couldn’t even talk about things related to it because you’re afraid it would be revealed.”
“What are you…”
“I think that’s what that child needs to know… But I don’t know what to do…”
If the Duchess was speaking this way, then it could only be about Lucian.
Lucian was still someone that the Duchess found difficult.
She thought that this was punishment for neglecting her son for a long time, but all the while, she was afraid that their mother-son relationship would get worse in the future.
If she was asking me for help regarding Lucian…
Did something happen to him that I don’t know?
Or perhaps it’s been going on? The Duke always kept me in the dark about these things, and Lucian was no different.
At some point, Lucian never talked about the Duke in front of me.
Goodness.
This family was still struggling with the exact same problem. Well, I do know how difficult of a problem it is.
“First, take a deep breath, Your Grace. Now, please follow my lead.”
I breathed in through my nose in an exaggerated manner, then exhaled through my mouth.
As she watched me, the Duchess followed suit.
“Have you calmed down now? Then, please tell me one thing at a time. I’m the only one here, and there’s no one rushing Your Grace.”
“Right… You’ve always been like this.”
“Hehe, you can speak comfortably.”
The Duchess stared at me for a moment, looking at me with a sorrowful expression. Then slowly, she spoke.
“I have in my possession something that the previous Duke left behind. To be exact, it’s his will.”
“…What?”
No, wait, Duchess.
Am I allowed to hear something this important?
——
t/n:
¹ Again, it can’t be translated well in English, but even towards Lucian, Oscar speaks informally, that’s why Lucian said he was being insolent.