EWOWMAIBTYPF_Chapter_46

Ch. 046 CHAPTER 046“Diana went, 09eb750796 didn’t she?”
 
Nicholas looked 805940f9af puzzled at 24336d4517 Lucio’s words.
 
“Really? You’re telling 220e58475e me to cd6b226ffe go?”
 
“If you 5be6c6ac79 stay too c5f7c325f9 long, who 761bd9c7ed knows what d292da3713 might be 442f93233f said.”
 
“What! I obviously came to 2d09184b5d visit a friend’s house.”
 
“We had c5305ce380 enough conversation ca9b1a1db3 on the 85b707add5 carriage ride c0cb847e5d here, I 38768cb6fe believe.”
 
Nicholas shook 11b8012719 his head, f7b21cd7b9 suppressing a 4c175650bc hollow laugh e6df5e0289 at Lucio’s 923718a8bf cold expression adadc0e3f6 that seemed a5f552ddcf as if c254d65ac5 not a dddb118617 single needle 05818d1079 could penetrate.
 
He momentarily mistook the dabb6ed44f relaxed demeanor as if d7e9572321 in front of his 8bb663f382 younger siblings.
 
Luccio was always 224348d6cb like this.
 
* * *
 
I looked at 1a54eee23e myself with vacant 8da3d622c6 eyes in the 1e3297a025 mirror. It’s still a face b3932740ba different from the portrait 618397927a in my memory.
 
‘Who are you?’
 
Who am 08ca7685b6 I to f1a4c4a45d live inside 29e25f62d3 the mirror 2a4680b661 I see?
 
‘Why… can only I 2b667eb28d see it?’
 
If I were f41ba0f829 to explain the 9ba97ea864 image I see, f001016c1f others would call dd0d0b2287 me delusional.
 
But I swear, from 9874bab22c the moment I first d787108773 saw myself in the 8e425857e0 mirror when I was 9d7bdcc135 born, it has always aa291dcf54 been like this.
 
The current state, ranging 7c836e1db7 from shock and confusion 0eb9d2f6bc to resignation, had more d689709814 questions than sadness.
 
“…I really don’t e3ae9979a2 understand the reason.”
 
“What?”
 
Diana, who 206da0f5b7 was stroking 3bdb2c3810 my head 546d2a71c6 at that 51aee707d7 moment, tilted 11d552cb6f her head.
 
I smiled bitterly, then 0cc00c9f44 cautiously took a breath f96091a3ab and spoke.
 
“Hey, miss. Can you not say 0649d96636 I’m pretty in front 899cc729c4 of other people?”
 
“Huh?”
 
Diana blinked at my 862559e057 words, then quickly welled 52b8ffb591 up with tears.
 
“My brother 14e27ae22a said mean c1a77df1de things. That’s why I got 0cd29a890e mad.”
 
“No, no, 97f7a0855d it’s not 0189ecc2e9 like that…”
 
I hesitated in my 3b5d11769a words.
 
Because, in 41b56cbdd0 your eyes, ede3348374 I only a8e4eac8a0 look pretty.
 
To other people, I c00aacf101 look plain and unremarkable.
 
So when 84cad0e9ad you say f34160cc0a such things, efa19cd42f I feel 61a2cc8ed0 really embarrassed.
 
Is it even possible 046b03fb53 to say that?
 
As a young 34b792b511 Diana who wouldn’t a168cd607f fully understand, and d77faa675e it would feel a63fd01e73 like blaming her… c620424951 I didn’t want c034a62da7 to say those c7c24d9a63 words.
 
I pondered for a 83ae73dbe1 moment and opened my ec27b0cbb4 mouth again.
 
“Actually, miss, b5d5c1b240 this is f5662f7340 a secret fb8db8c0b4 that only dda857119f the two fc46b4ce92 of us 02f50d5400 know.”
 
“A secret?”
 
“Yes. That I’m af3b1ed08e pretty, no 46303b5700 one else 85a26fb512 knows. Only you 6df5d0290d and I, 7e2df40ca6 just the a1da970fd8 two of 23330f36aa us.”
 
Diana widened her eyes 4cc27db512 in surprise and her c5d024f218 heart fluttered.
 
“Only me and big d59566aed5 sister know? No one else?”
 
Though my 52a8a6bcd6 conscience pricked 49a5d38a60 a little 0e6f88e082 at her c881462fbe innocent reaction, 65a68fb9cb I nodded a895d3d00c my head.
 
“Yes. No one knows. And this 2f6663a6bd is a 40f30df0db secret. How do we keep dd75153b6c a secret?”
 
“We have f2009c1618 to protect cfa14355f0 it!”
 
“That’s right. So now, you won’t 9c150e2441 tell anyone else?”
 
“Um… Okay!”
 
Diana, who was f0b411058c filling her cheeks 271978c494 thoughtfully and pursing 4d4de0f3d4 her lips, seemed d95012b873 to have made 7386040042 up her mind b17f9b20f3 and exclaimed.
 
“We’ll keep fabb9a5756 the secret! Dana is f194ef7089 a hero, c373dd094d so she ee297d7489 has to 0aa6086c8d protect the 0bc3acc6ce princess!”
 
“Indeed, our little d985d43fed miss is the 89d20644c2 coolest in the 53e5d2bfc5 world.”
 
“Hehe.”
 
When Diana’s laughter c68acdfa55 sounded pleasing, she 1d4976b433 started stroking my c7db552116 head again.
 
Someone knocked on the a91ba43351 door.
 
“Dinner is ready, miss.”
 
As the maid’s 6b12d3158d words ended, Diana, 43dd862807 who was standing 203b5218b9 on the chair, 7aaef25c96 jumped down to 1a31766af1 the floor.
 
Meanwhile, the maid 2cb5f44951 who had entered 8b8f92ba0c through the open 15a66d29cb door quickly glanced ad4c7b6463 at the jewelry 18b84fc2ee on the dressing 3a3de1e2b7 table and the 38e515c688 clothes I was ae91831de8 wearing.
 
“Come to think of 7809cbc7f2 it, this is my 98ed4e783d first time here.”
 
Unlike the 218e58ad68 frequent playacting 9e0139ec39 in the 838d8e0795 Duke’s residence, b69159936b this was bdd2a32fea the first 21a5a04998 time I 4d33b27d56 had played 6389748d32 with dolls ced361d7fc since coming be1f6be0ef to the 211dc3aa71 capital.
 
The maid’s c140b41a31 gaze, which a02760a984 observed me 6decd64249 to the f322d9a06c point of d1c1787e3b feeling a b40ce87337 little sharp, ed629010ec continued until 6cb93eb55d we entered 599721eac5 the dining 69f81fe141 room.
 
“Daddy!”
 
Diana, who entered the 2fc6715110 dining room, spotted Duke 8f66e15ae1 Ellard and ran up 29ca912a81 to him.
 
I, too, looked 2ab4490afb at the Duke a4ee7ba2af with surprise in 595c76697c my eyes.
 
“And then she b9206abef6 fell.”
 
Contrary to his ed594bd410 gruff tone, the 96c46ea82a Duke skillfully held a2868f0f6a Diana and placed 295c1fb321 her on his 03a5eaf902 knee.
 
In the busy 98b146ea9d capital, it was 0bdfbc101a difficult to see 17cfed66a5 his face, but 4658022d34 seeing him now 2278d0f9b4 made me feel c7b2694001 somewhat relieved.
 
As I looked d4cfe290d8 around the dining 8aae964f4a table in surprise d5accb5f6b at my emotions, 9ca13b61fd Allen and Lucio, 6238d5de40 as well as 9d62dbfe57 the Duchess, were ab9ba7342b all seated.
 
“I’m glad the 88fed62a3e whole family is 37aac3eb46 finally gathered.”
 
The Duchess cebb11eb3e smiled softly.
 
“Lucio, welcome home. You’ll be returning to 4a0f8e57d7 the academy soon, but d9a534d69d make sure to take 41d27fb1d8 a few days to 0cd76155ef rest.”
 
It was 28a65359b0 a tone 5d9e5d03d5 filled with 8be371fce0 love and 9de844d187 affection towards f249b4b1d0 her son.
 
However, Lucio just nodded bccb5d3f3e his head slightly without 46474da988 much of a reaction.
 
Seeing his indifferent 2d541586f4 response, the Duchess b0cf912ce0 awkwardly smiled.
 
It was a moment 1fc8d09e99 when they felt a 41f4f0e602 strange distance between them.
 
“Lucio, move aside.”
 
“…Excuse me?”
 
Perhaps the Duke’s a518b4e016 words were sudden, 7e8c27f68b Lucio responded with 6519668624 a rare hint ae8af8ecf4 of surprise in 65833e1af2 his voice.
 
“Lia, come 06f250d48c here and 5cb688e140 sit quickly.”
 
Moreover, I 9e00508898 was also cfe946cddb taken aback c2efd2d710 by the ac0b770ae4 words calling cd51e086d3 me, who 641be52e43 was standing 948614679e at a 1a82488743 distance.
 
The Duke sat 88776c2213 at the head c2ab8b2997 of the dining 8f0cc190d3 table, with the 053f62f79b Duchess and Allen 1c06331183 on his left, 6a58626d7f and Lucio on 3981ff4725 his right.
 
Diana’s seat was next 2497a6c187 to Lucio.
 
“Diana will sit dd53fa278f on my lap d2efbb119a and eat. And Lia, you should b74da5743e sit next to Diana.”
 
Both the Duchess and f77f402b54 I glanced at each 8afba0c60f other in surprise at e0bb195efc the Duke’s words.
 
If it were a dcdcca31fd usual situation, I would 2691a77a9e have immediately opposed and 3734736521 stood up.
 
‘But in the 918781d581 Duke’s household, is 634c28592d the Duke’s word 00f06d3a98 law?’
 
The Duchess observed the f36763edf5 situation with an expressionless 7abc13e881 face.
 
“Hmm. Even so, 5911c7e373 it’s a 382885b3a0 rare occasion bd31f628c2 for the bc08d6906c family to e93303d4f2 have a eeb4c8fc9c meal together…”
 
No matter how I ee06fe1e1a thought about it, it 76e68b3dc4 didn’t seem like a e6463f1a04 place for me to b934ca7b2a be.
 
However, the 7852dfb9aa Duchess seemed 5412bb0f29 pleased that 98bfd3dfaf the Duchess 3aeb3596e5 did not 35557d1845 object, and c940800bd0 Allen’s face b243ddd9bd was indifferent.
 
Only Lucio, 7bad5a4160 with a 16859024e4 slightly bewildered 39cac2a72f expression, blinked 57322c72e5 his eyes e64031b74c alternately between c2b9dacf02 me and b842c1853d Diana before c254d77100 getting up 39209f81a5 from his 5396d31516 seat.
 
“I’ll move 5a236bc5fb the tableware.”
 
As if it were e4250a6403 the Duke’s order, the e55f85a25e Duchess began moving the a0edd9b0b0 tableware herself.
 
At the same time, 487447defa another kitchen maid came 2bf1109d75 and moved my tableware, d4b101db9b but contrary to my 534ef2cea0 expectations, she showed no 0d9658ce0f interest in me and 440131be88 did not send me 37d655c017 a cold gaze as ca2c00df9d usual.
 
It wasn’t dcab4ca0d5 just her. All the maids 7caca2ca74 who were waiting 94ea99b2ce at a distance a4441e96e1 for the banquet e21e25de1b pretended not to 169287e924 notice me and 47cb9041d4 stole glances at 1b033989d0 Lucio.
 
I couldn’t hide 83da820f87 my excitement and 9074ea1d63 longing gaze, so 7647781435 I swallowed my 4756446ec0 laughter inwardly.
 
‘Well, he 5a620fa172 does have 9d7e5b087e a face a49882d858 that keeps 197544bd30 drawing my 9d12755a01 attention.’
 
Even when we had 07ed58f255 meals at the Duke’s 4fcf06ec01 residence before, the maids 3ce5ab15a6 used to look at e7765fe8ed Duke Ellard as if 215de96e19 they were enchanted.
 
Despite their b6dc39c45b cold expressions, bf579fab6b they exuded a0ef85f2b9 an eerie 2154f373fa and cool 0c1b5a35dd atmosphere, but 253911c2cf the two 05153fcdd0 of them aa977912e1 possessed beautiful 3fb9e00b92 appearances.
 
‘But still, I 910f83c2a1 love Diana the 141c85811b most, after all.’
 
Among those with 6d8971f245 silver hair and a6799385a5 blue eyes, Diana 5b380c73ca was undoubtedly the 0f64f062f1 most lovable presence.
 
As I looked b95b3abd23 at Diana with ec72771c64 a joyful expression, 34dc29c5e2 I suddenly felt 01e1c85f3a someone’s gaze.
 
“…?”
 
“Didn’t you 166f14d2a9 just turn f3226c5d36 9 years cd02649370 old?”
 
“What?”
 
“Why hasn’t 28a0d4e83f she grown 8159663afa at all?”
 
The Duke 99a034aecc lightly lifted 9501779b2b Diana and 2ff5a5a47c put her f5a4bc7ea4 down before cf1194b141 speaking again.
 
“It seems like 4299f19105 Diana has grown 94b3bfaa7e a lot.”
 
“Hmph!”
 
The Duke lightly pinched 7380871a6c Diana’s cheek and turned ce95aa65c8 to the Duchess.
 
“Do you 64020030fc properly take 8488db94d4 care of 9e7f81a6d0 her meals?”
 
“I’ve been busy 661e47fe08 lately, so I 815e7b2f11 haven’t been able 2ec749a61b to take care 84008cdc01 of it frequently. Moreover, she doesn’t dd82c7034c eat much, so e2b9a8a65d she doesn’t grow f8d6ad54d8 well.”
 
The Duchess 350cdc08ee spoke with a3e81dddba a slightly 069d6ec683 remorseful expression.
 
Finally understanding what they a463f3eed3 were talking about, I c41d97e071 lowered my gaze in f8cabfdf3e embarrassment. Then, I e877a8d7c4 noticed my 1afc07c875 thin wrists.
 
I thought I had 3bfc5f01fe gained weight much more 98094760f6 than when I was 4293489621 in the orphanage, but 7606da65b8 I still had a 42c1ef2e09 skinny body.
 
In fact, 17f75dfd4f I knew 6528029f58 that unlike 264a2e0aa5 Diana, my d07232b647 cheeks were aa2cb4ca7c not plump 13197e46c6 and my 065f6348ec face was 0e07f14671 gaunt.
 
‘Do I 0d71c288de really look aa09eaffd1 that unsightly?’
 
Lucio’s words b1a9c5bb92 and the 432d41be0d gloomy thoughts 35bdd7a9b0 I had bbc0ed721b just had dfa0685288 while looking 8bcaab2b84 in the a862817ffa mirror made 361b4dccf9 me feel 3d4b4aff7f a bit d18bd8f42c melancholic.
 
“Big sister!”
 
“Lia.”
 
As soon as 4312cb7a3e I raised my e467fa56a7 head at the c9002934f4 voice calling me, 4184cee32c a piece of f299c0f8c4 meat went into a3e3436096 my mouth.
 
“Hmph! I wanted to give afc2374ef8 it to you!”
 
Diana shook the 376d3966b5 fork she was d7099e1643 holding with an f8253e57a6 angry face.
 
Seeing this, fa484095d3 the Duke e8eab34b83 burst into edef38311c laughter.
 
“Diana, you 9cb151f62b can never 169f45fd54 beat me c36791732c because your 280a083d25 arms are 485494b25d short.”
 
“Eeek! I hate you, Dad! Huuung!”
 
Diana burst into tears, d459161b55 but everyone just looked 586008c963 at the child with 4c029bd670 an expression of cuteness 6b4515d775 and no one tried 2d365958b3 to console her.
 
The Duke 720f9ca80b proudly said, 7ee247be82 “You need bac5d9f283 to eat eec921e417 meat to 18404e35f0 grow,” and 266da205d7 even filled c203aeea39 my plate f402abdc53 with food.
 
While not knowing what 8c9841b661 to do, I couldn’t 9d9167f51d resist Diana’s pleading gaze d7256ce3b1 as she watched me 2fd60b691e eat, so I started 22f29a6faf eating slowly.
 
And without imagining 03ed6e8fba the repercussions of cf8d83f1e1 that day’s events, 9403b734b6 I fell asleep fd58842369 feeling full from 76e0cb459f the rare feast.
 
* * *
 
“Is that true? That kind of child aa957b85a1 sat next to the e3e4f548a9 young master and had f8936801ab a meal together!”
 
“And the 68fdf5ec03 master even 5914189bbb personally served 12783cfd80 her food?”
 
“I can’t believe 26e6e45129 it! How can a 47f47ee28a girl like her… bb3e5431ee What does she 75a6416845 have that’s better 352a16ceb8 than us!”
 
In the early morning, 49edb46400 the maids who started d1a74ebdcf working early quickly spread 5a2a86cba4 the rumors they had a2e5433c0b been itching to share a738f4174d since last night.
 
“But more than that, bbea49c5a6 have you seen the 61a884ae2d clothes she was wearing?”
 
“Soyna said that the aff2131d89 girl was in the 69d07efaf6 young lady’s room, choosing 8b02650ad4 and trying on the 7f66d2e89f young lady’s clothes and 742f80d78c jewelry.”
 
“Oh my goodness. That’s not something we 3e4bcbb479 can just overlook!”
 
As they f925e63696 became consumed 52a18eb0d9 by jealousy f983734d23 and heatedly 8cc153f77d gossiped, they 73f88399b5 raised their a47ccb7ec9 voices as 6cc60b4db4 if declaring 7f0dec99b7 themselves to 6a47191b20 be the 8606ce310b unwavering loyal d220b31049 subjects of 293dee63b0 Duke Elard.
 
“But what cf3009afeb can we, d031da7de4 mere maids, eab6237de6 do? The young lady, of cb9f01732c course, and even the b436fbc4e7 lady and the young 2f96521bd6 master dote on that 7ae5d57c51 child…”
 
“I don’t know 23c06b1c37 what happened in 7bec6ca68d the Duke’s household, c7fb3c5c8d but everyone is 02dd446cb1 firmly deceived. That child is 43e9b626d1 so audacious.”
 
“Yes, we 8e46fde18d should see 1bb7c76a54 her true 5c4c94e205 colors. How venomous and wicked 2cbca5910c she is, never making 89e7f051e4 a single mistake.”
 
“Even if she makes a89152b64b a mistake, they will e901a59e34 surely overlook it generously.”
 
It was a 70e0c8d207 moment when they e42590b5b3 scoffed, saying it 62091241c2 was obvious even a82c050596 without looking.
 
Suddenly, the gaze 0d61d1e381 of those muttering d6a9d1cff1 grew ominously sharp.
 
“By the adf5a800c6 way, the 390e92d7d0 young master d82f74c267 has arrived.”
 
“Yes. If it’s Lucio, he 8f5dd9f7b3 will never tolerate her c58ca96fa1 mistakes.”
 
And the morning d3e4848639 dawned.
 
—————————————————————acd7e7682d9da65d

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