When Baron Lant visited her, Rashta was conversing with her parents.
âWeâre leaving now, right?â
âThey must have things to talk about, letâs go.â
The fake parents were in the middle of a laughing conversation with Rashta, but as soon as Baron Lant arrived they immediately stood up.
âThey are very attentive.â
Rashta looked at them with satisfaction, she really liked them.
They treated Rashta lovingly, as if she were their real daughter, but still polite and respectful.
She loved the way they behaved, and the more she saw them, the more she liked them.
âSee you later then, mother, father.â
Rashta provided an affectionate farewell to them in front of Baron Lant. However, Baron Lant stopped the couple who were about to leave.
âAh, you canât leave.â
The couple stopped anxiously between the sofa and the coffee table, not understanding his words.
Rashta also stared at Baron Lant, not understanding the situation.
âWhy?â
When Rashta asked, Baron Lant smirked and offered her the light yellow parchment he was holding.
Rashta accepted the parchment in bewilderment.
Opening up the rolled up paper, she slowly read what was on it.
Her fake parents became increasingly nervous and looked over at Rashta anxiously.
After a while, Rashtaâs eyes widened at Baron Lant. She then turned to her parents and exclaimed,
âHis Majesty has appointed my father as an official!â
Rashtaâs fake father asked perplexed, âAn official?â His lips fell open in surprise.
Rashtaâs fake mother covered her mouth with both hands and looked at Baron Lant. The fallen noble couple, who had barely been able to retain their title, had never held any office.
Rashta jumped up and down gleefully.
âHis Majesty is doing this to make me the Empress.â
Rashta immediately realized Sovieshuâs intentions as she shed tears of happiness.
Her fake mother followed suit, smiling as she wiped her reddened eyes with a handkerchief.
âThis is what happens when one has a good daughter.â
âYou are our treasure, Rashta.â
Baron Lant smirked as he watched Rashta embrace and rejoice with her fake parents.
It was a shame that Empress Navier was no longer around, but that aside, he liked these three together and wished all was well for them in the future.
A young girl who lost her parents as a child and lived a hard life. A couple who had searched for their daughter to the point of spending all their wealth.
A family that had been separated for more than ten years was dramatically reunited and, from now on, the road ahead of them was a path of flowers.
It was like a moving play, and Baron Lant ended up sobbing.
âWhy are you crying BaronâŠâ
When Rashta smiled and asked playfully, Baron Lant smiled awkwardly.
âYes, Iâm crying.â
âBaronâŠâ
âThere will be many good things to come, Iâm sure.â
After Baron Lant left, Rashta took her fake parentsâ hands and asked them,
âTomorrow there will be a tea party. Would you like to come and share the good news?â
Sovieshu gave his fake parents an office, probably wanting to consolidate their position in high society.
As he wished, Rashta would present their fake parents with their new status to the nobility and show everywhere her good relationship with her parents.
***
The next day.
Rashtaâs fake parents attended her tea party for the first time. Rashta felt proud, seeing how the nobles greeted her parents.
The atmosphere was overall very good.
Now, she was sitting in the same place where Duchess Tuania used to hold her tea party. Next to her were her fake parents who loved her more than anyone else in the world, or at least pretended to, and her parents were nobles with an official position.
The annoying deposed empress had gone to another country and remarried, so she would never return.
Rashta carried the emperorâs first baby in her womb. Sovieshu promised her the position of empress, and the baby in her womb would become the next emperor in the future.
All was well.
But there were still problems leftâ the promised period as empress of one year, and the family of Viscount RoteschuâŠ.
âIf I become pregnant again, the period as empress will be extended. His Majesty does not want to have illegitimate children. Besides, he loves Rashta.â
Actually, she wasnât so much worried about the period only being a year, but more about Viscount RoteschuâŠ
The higher his status, the more annoying it will be in the futureâŠ.
âIâll have to get rid of Rivettiâs loose tongue, the pitiful Alan, and the Viscountâs trash. Then the babyâŠâ
At that moment, she heard a cry suddenly. Rashta awoke from her thoughts and looked beside her with a startled face. Her fake mother was sobbing.
âMother?!â
When Rashta called out to her in astonishment, the nobleman opposite said in bewilderment,
âThis⊠Forgive me, I spoke of something I shouldnâtâŠâ
âWhat did you speak about?â
âAbout⊠about her two lost daughters, and the one she still hopes to findâŠâ
The nobleman bowed his head, embarrassed.
Rashta fidgeted and looked at her fake mother. Marsha, who had been searching for her daughters until the fall of her family, heard her own painful story. Her face turned pale and it didnât look like she would stop crying.
The eyes of the nobles were on Rashta. They believed that Rashta was Marshaâs real daughter, her first daughter, so they seemed to assume that Rashta would comfort her mother.
The fake father was already hugging his wife and crying with her. Rashta, though somewhat reluctantly, got up and hugged her fake mother as well.
The daughter they lost had nothing to do with her, but the others considered that girl to be her own sister.
âApparently, if I want these fake parents to be like my real parents, Iâll also have to act like I want to find my fake sister.â
âRashta wasnât considerate enough, mother. The first thing I have to do is find my sisterâŠâ
Rashta sobbed, hugging her fake mother and promising.
âDonât worry. Rashta will definitely find her sister.â
The fake mother asked in tears upon hearing Rashtaâs promise.
âReally? Youâre really going to look for your sister?â
âIs she really my sister, though?â
Rashta was inwardly upset, but nodded hurriedly.
âOf course.â
After barely calming the fake family, the noblesâ eyes reddened and they sobbed. They seemed to think this scene was very moving.
Seeing this, Rashta sat back down as if nothing had happened.
But after that, no matter how much she laughed and chatted, she found it hard to concentrate on the tea party.
She didnât even want to hear from her own son. The idea of looking for a fake sister whom she didnât share a drop of blood with, and whom wouldnât be useful, was very upsetting.
If it had come from her heart or Marsha had asked her privately, it would be different, but she hated it because it was a promise she was forced to make in the moment.
Even her fake mother who burst into tears in this situation was irritating to her. However, Rashta didnât blame her. It was another nobleman who first brought up the story of her lost daughters.
âShould I have made the noble couple brought by Baron Lant my parents?â
Rashta sighed inwardly, and finally rose from her seat, saying she would go wash her hands. Actually, she would take a breather for a while to calm her irritation.
But during her second walk around the vicinity, she saw Duke Elgy. Rashta quickly approached him.
He too attended the tea party, but sat far away and only talked to the other ladies.
She was going to ask him to sit a little closer, but Duke Elgy was already talking to someone else.
Rashta stopped and frowned.
The man Duke Elgy was talking to was the nobleman who had brought up the story of her fake motherâs lost daughters.