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Dad?
Lennox doubted his ears for a moment.
“Is that what that kid is looking at us right now?”
“Yes.”
Then came the answer that seemed to break the rock.
“That kid looks at me and says I’m her dad.”
“No matter how much you don’t want to go home, I think you found the wrong person. Dad, that’s ridiculous.”
Bang!
A roar cut through the garden, and thin iron railings rolled across the garden floor.
At that moment, Cedric kicked the railing hard and broke it. For the first time in his 32 years of life, Lennox felt what it was like to faint.
To destroy the railings of the imperial palace, where history and tradition still permeated. Even in front of the prince.
He grabbed Cedric’s arm involuntarily.
“Cedric! What are you doing?”
“She’s asking for help.”
Having said that, Cedric brushed off Lennox’s hand as if it were dust.
“If you ask me for help, I’ll help you.”
After saying that, Cedric lightly jumped off the balcony and landed in the garden. Then, he stretched out his hand towards the two people who were frightened by the sudden uproar and opened his mouth.
“Come here, baby.”
It was a voice that was infinitely friendly, like a spring breeze.
Picture*
***
Just a while ago.
After the coachman and Cedric got out of the carriage, Lillian carefully opened the carriage door and came out.
The imperial palace, seen for the first time, boasted an enormous majesty that made the jaw drop.
Everywhere I looked, it seemed to be a work of art.
Thanks to that, Lillian forgot why she was there and lost her senses for a while.
‘The imperial palace looks like this.’
The newspaper she was reading while sitting side by side with Swan wrote about how spacious and beautiful the imperial palace was.
It’s like heaven on earth.
At the time, Lillian laughed at the reporter’s exaggeration, but now I see it. It was all true.
‘I guess there’s no exaggeration.’
It’s just that she didn’t want to believe in the world too much, so she just dismissed it as bullshit.
In just a week, Lillian realized how small the world she and Swan lived in was.
The world was wide. There were many beautiful things, and even more unbelievable things.
Some houses looked sweet just by looking at them, clothes that were warm enough not to be afraid of the cold weather, and palaces that were so beautiful that it was a waste of time to even blink. It was just that Lillian couldn’t see it.
And as long as they are alive, they will increase in the future.
‘Is that why you said that, Swan?’
Is that why you asked me to live your life for you?
When encountering a story that could not be believed with the short knowledge of children, it was Swan who always lit up her eyes and Lillian who snorted that it would be an exaggeration.
Lillian did not believe that life was beautiful, but Swann always believed that the days to be lived would be filled with shining things.
Perhaps it was because the director constantly whispered to Swann about upper-class life.
Maybe it was because Lillian realized her predicament too soon.
But one thing is for sure: Lillian too keenly understood what Swann wanted.
Just because a star is out of reach doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.
Just because you couldn’t hold it in your hand didn’t mean it was worthless.
‘Swan. I understand now.’
I can see why you entrusted your life to me.
Lillian rubbed the dry corners of her eyes lightly with the back of her hand.
In my heart, I wanted to feel this feeling a little more, but there was no time for that.
One by one, I could see other wagons coming to a stop behind me. Perhaps the director had already entered the party hall.
‘I heard from the butler that the main character of today’s banquet was the Duke.’
Although she had never attended a banquet, Lillian had a rough idea of how it worked.
They used to sit side by side and read the etiquette books that the director had brought to Swan, telling him to learn the life of an aristocrat.
To be precise, Swan would read, and Lillian would lie on Swan’s lap and listen to Swan read to her.
— It is the courtesy of the participants to arrive on time for the banquet. If you step into the banquet hall around the beginning of the first song, you may be caught in the eyes of the organizer.
―Is everyone narrow-minded about being an organizer?
— No, Lily. The party starts when the first song starts. So if he’s not the head of the party, I guess it’s polite for him to arrive early.
―What if you are the main character of the party?
— It’s here. On the debutante page. Well
 here! If it’s your debut show, you can enjoy the feeling of being the main character at the party. Step into the banquet hall right before the first song starts and grab everyone’s attention.
In other words, the main character of the party arrives late, right before the first song starts.
So it must have meant that the director, who was nothing more than an insignificant attendee, was already lurking inside the banquet hall to meet Cedric.
‘How do I pull the director out?’
The trouble didn’t last long. Lillian was well aware of the blind spots of adults.
The fact is that children who live alone in crowded places are usually thought of as children who have lost their parents.
Lillian went to the banquet hall. As if it were natural, the guards blocked it.
“Little lady, this place requires an invitation to enter. Call your parents.”
“Oh, I lost my father while I was going to the bathroom for a while. He’s probably inside, could you please let me in?”
Lillian’s polite words worked well this time too. The guard seemed to think of Lillian, who was well-dressed and well-mannered, as an aristocratic child.
I just changed my clothes, but the treatment has changed so much. It is ridiculous to think about being hit by a door when I first came to the Duke’s house.
The young guard smiled kindly at Lillian.
“Oh no. You must have lost your parents. Let me check if they are inside. What’s the name?”
“This is Winston Bernauser. He has light gray hair.”
“All right. Please wait a minute.”
The guard said so and disappeared inside. If the director is inside, he will probably come to the director without difficulty.
Of course, I had no intention of waiting for that.
Lillian stood there like a shy child, holding her hands tight until the guards were gone, then turned around and ran as soon as the door was shut.
‘I’m sure he’ll know right away that it’s me when he hears the story, right?’
The director must have been frantic to find her after she disappeared, so when he hears that a girl with short brown hair was looking for him, he will immediately know she is there.
He will come out and wander outside.
That stupid face was red with rage, and I somehow laughed at the thought of that.
‘If Swan had seen it, she would have said that my personality was bad.’
But Lillian had no intention of denying it.
Even if someone knows her story and curses her or blames her for being a bad girl.
Even though she was afraid of it, she could never be a good kid.
‘You’re the only one who’s good, Swan.’
All the bad things were my fault.
***
With the director thrown out, the next goal was to find a way to enter the banquet hall.
‘Because I have to tell them that I’m the child of Duke Maynard.’
Besides, if you just wander outside, you might get caught by the director.
Then there was no answer. But as I experienced earlier, I needed the invitation to enter the front door. Or find an adult with an invitation.
‘But I can’t call the Duke.’
Everyone already knew that Duke Maynard had no children, so she couldn’t lie about losing her father as she did earlier.
She quickly gives up breaking through the front
The next place Lillian was aiming for was the garden.
‘I just saw that the balcony is connected to the garden.’
Of course, the balcony was not so close to the ground that you could climb directly from the garden.
I thought I could climb it by putting about three stairs, but even though the height of the three stairs was not that high when I came down, it was a little difficult to climb with my bare body.
‘Still, it’s worth a try.’
If that didn’t work out, she was thinking of attacking the back door where the attendants used to go.
I came all the way, and I couldn’t just sit back and do anything because the front door was blocked.
Lillian made her way cautiously along the corridor to the garden.
‘There’s an empty balcony over there!’
There was also a moderate shrub next to it. Maybe I can climb up there.
Lillian hurried to the balcony.
It would be difficult if someone saw it and called the guards.
‘When no one is around, you have to do it quickly!’
Fortunately, the balcony was not far.
At the moment, Lillian tried to hold on to the branch of the shrub.
“Here you are. You little rat.”
As if waiting, there was a hand grabbing Lillian’s wrist.