Jane, whom I havenât seen in a long time, hadnât changed at all from the painting in the portrait. She was different from her brother in appearance and colour. If Siegfried resembled his father, Jane Roam was a woman who resembled the deceased Godmother Roam.
An impressive woman with curly red hair and clear green eyes.
âIâve never seen a scarlet colour prettier than my hair colour!â
That was what she said when she looked into my eyes.
She was bright but weak, and people feared she would leave the Duchy.
The Roam vassal and the servants were particularly reluctant to let her travel long distances, as she often suffered from symptoms that resembled that of the late Mrs. Roam in her youth.
When Janeâs health improved, she occasionally went to enjoy the Isleâs social season, then she returned back to the Duchy of Roam when the season was over. And this was one of her rare visits.
Since Mrs. Roamâs death was unexpected for her.
âI came to meet Milena before seeing my brotherâs face!â
Of course, the original Milena was jealous and hated Jane. Because Siegfried was a sweet and kind brother to his sister.
I had no reason to hate her. When we first met, Jane was a sweet seventeen-year-old girl and I liked her.
Her bright smile was a rare thing in Roam and I cared a lot about it. Of course, I thought I should be nice to her in order to save myself.
At my words, she pouted her lips and said,
I corrected myself. Jane gave her nickname to people she wanted to keep close to, and I was one of them.
âOh, my God, the Eternal Life of the Deep Sea!â
She quickly scoured my neck admiringly. And when she found the hickeys that were clearer than the blue diamond, she blushed.
She sat on the sofa, hugged her knee like a tomboy, and said,
âI really wanted you two to get closerâŠ.â
There was a bashful smile on Janeâs face.
âItâs such a relief.â
After a moment of contemplation, I came back to my senses and looked at her fresh green eyes.
The sun was particularly fierce today, so I wore a wide-brimmed bonnet and went outside. Jane said my bonnet was pretty and begged me to change it, but Iâve been refusing this request all along.
As always she requested me and I gladly gave my bonnet to her.
The reason why I gave her the bonnet wasnât because I needlessly pitied her because her mother left her.
But it was because my bonnet was cheaper than what she was holding.
And Jane had always adorned her bonnet with jewels and insisted on my modest bonnet. Saying letâs change it. She wanted to put jewellery on me in an inconspicuous way.
Knowing that my husband didnât love me, she was going to give me a gift in case one day I had to be kicked out of the Duchy.
Knowing her intentions, I had been politely rejecting her request. But as of today, I yielded my bonnet to her.
It was only today that her expensive sympathy came to bear the price because I felt sorry for her smile, which was at stake.
As such, Jane Dolores Roam only knew her brother as a friendly and sweet person. She seemed to think that her kindness would somehow be a signal to him.
That he should get close to me.
But how could Jane do what even her mother couldnât do? In addition, seeing my hands tremble every time I looked at her bonnet, there seemed to be an instinctive defence mechanism left in my body.
I remembered why Milena came to hate Jane so much in the original.
As Jane left the room weeping, Siegfried lashed out horribly at his wife.
The bonnet left Milenaâs hand and rolled on the floor.
That day, Seigfried did not turn around and tears fell from Milenaâs eyes, who had never bowed her head.
Milena, who briefly opened her heart to the warm affection she had received for the first time, became a more poisonous villain.
âI donât mean to provoke my husband by doing Janeâs favour even though I know the future.â
I pulled the ribbon out of her bonnet and looked at Jane running around in a fluttering dress.
A precarious woman who seemed to disappear somewhere if left alone, just like a ribbon swaying in the wind.
âBecause sheâll be sad even if sheâs smiling like thatâs all..â
I had no idea how deep the sadness of losing her mother would be. It was just that her sullen expression reminded me of my family. My family from my previous life.
The faces I would never see in this life. I wish I had their picture.
Even if I wanted to paint, I had to put down charcoal several times helplessly. I kept crying. I felt weak when I cried.
Iâd be happy to change her bonnet for sweet Jane.
Jane grabbed my hand and dragged me, and I gladly followed her.
Now all I could think about was walking along with Jane.
Jane didnât go around very often. Even in the mansion, she stayed mostly in her room. This was because she was weak when she went out and overworked her body, and as mentioned, her health was not good.
There werenât many places for her to go. I followed her and glanced at the sun and guessed that she would go to the training arena, and I was right.
The arena where we arrived was Lancelâs private training arena.
My husband, Siegfried Roam, had a son.
Of course it wasnât the son I gave birth to. If that was the case, the child wouldnât have been able to use a sword while walking like that. I was sure the child would be crawling around.
Weâve been married for two years, and that boy was ten years old.
Of course he wasnât even Siegfriedâs biological son. He was a young beast that Siegfried suddenly brought to the duke one day. Officially he called the child his âadopted sonâ.
Of course, the young beast is also a beast, and the boy who continued to be like a wildcat hated me. He looked at me in a funny but also a bold way.
âIs that really a movement that can come from a humanâŠ.â
Underpinning his arrogance was the ability to keep him here. First of all, the boy was quick. Just a while ago, he avoided the sword of an adult man who charged at him unexpectedly and cut the ground to support himself. At the same time, Lancel swung the blade containing an aura and turned around and gracefully hit the knightâs sword head-on.
The boyâs sword was so fast that my eyes couldnât follow the movements. His black hair, resembling Siegfriedâs, fluttered. His green eyes never missed the movement of his opponentâs sword, nor did he miss a counterattack coming from behind him.
In spite of Janeâs short gasp, Lancel tore open the soldierâs stomach, who was about to attack him.
His lips curled up mischievously as if he was feeling better after seeing the blood. Everyone used a dragon trap to catch the wildcat, but the boy was not easily caught.
Did I say that this all was for practice? The lives of those fleeting people.
This scene made me guess the reason why my husband had brought that baby beast. Perhaps it had something to do with my bloody husbandâs business. And usually his business was an area I couldnât get involved in.
But even if I didnât care as I always did. The slaughter was ruthless and cruel, even if I tried not to apply the ethics of my past life.
Lancel ruthlessly cut down the man charging at him. The swords of the knights he slashed flew behind them in a beautiful arch in the air and landed on the ground. While Lancel leisurely glanced at me and displayed his skills as if to show off.
âYouâre very good at it.â
âThat means there is no need to have a successor.â
My husbandâs polite voice resounded in my head. Anyways, after adopting such a child, he wonât need another anymore. That little killer would take over his place later.
Anyway, I didnât want to have my husbandâs child either, so I thought it was a good thing. My goal was to survive in this mansion, not to build a good family with a strange husband.
I had a bad thought that I wanted Lancel to get hurt and ask me for treatment, but the shrewd boy never lost.
In front of the bloody body, he threw his sword with an expressionless face. When the servants held out towels to him, he wiped his forehead and looked at me with his usual chilly eyes.
Normally, I would have approached him and talked to him, but I no longer felt the need to try.
From today on, all I had to do was try to keep out of his sight as much as possible, as Lancel had hoped. The deal with my husband was based on my abilities, so I didnât have to be a good adoptive mother anymore.
It was a good ending for both of us.
âOh, his forehead is bleedingâŠ!â
Jane looked at me, biting her lower lip.
Even his cool eyes glanced at me. As if he was waiting for something.
Originally, I would have healed him even by his dissuasion of hitting my hand. Even though I knew there were limits to what my body could withstand.
But now, I thought I didnât know. At least he knew I wouldnât hurt him. I would make a good impression on him if I just disappeared from his sight.
âLend me your handkerchief, Dolores.â
I said that to Jane and turned around.
I didnât want to get close to Lancel for personal reasons either.
I wanted to hide the traces Siegfried had carved on me, this necklace, and the bonnet full of jewels.
âAnnoying because you are going to be thrown anywayâŠ.â
He had been telling me from the beginning that I could be replaced at any time, and these traces on my body were nothing but ridicule. He was more mature than he appeared to be.
Although, he seemed clueless as to what the red marks engraved on my white skin could imply. I didnât want to look like I was bragging because I knew my place. How funny it must have been.
The sky was really bright, but I felt really lonely. It was said one would be happy when they married but I didnât know. Someone grabbed my skirt when I tried to move.
Lancel was in the place where I turned my gaze full of doubts. He looked like a baby wildcat hiding his claws.
âMy forehead is bleeding.â
âCanât you hear me?â
He looked up at me when he couldnât hear my answer. The angelic boyâs black hair was dripping with red blood.
Anyway, I took his hand off my dress because it was a little disgusting when my adopted son and my husband sought for me only when I was useful. Then he looked at me, furrowing his dark eyebrows.
The boy, who was showing off his swordsmanship with pride earlier, was agitated.
I instinctively took a step back from him like that.
Not because I was afraid of him, or because I feared the consequences of my actions against him.
âAre youâŠâŠ scared of me?â
It was only at the moment when I decided to turn away from him and gathered up the courage to read the boyâs eyes.