Everything changed.
The cruel nanny never returned. Now I ate bread, meat, fresh vegetables, and fruit every day. My closet filled with gorgeous dresses.
But what changed most of all?
"Sister?"
The sweetest, youngest member of the family was by my side.
I had never seen such a lovely being in the world. Ethella was a pretty silver-haired girl with neatly combed hair. The Duchess patted her apple-red cheek affectionately.
"That's right. This is your sister, Olivia. And this is Ethella."
Three-year-old Ethella was so beautiful she looked like an angel who might disappear if touched.
"She's like an angel."
"Ethella, Olivia thinks you're an angel."
Ethella smiled brightly. I stared at her in wonder, then murmured blankly:
"Lady Ethella..."
"Hmm?"
The Duchess frowned slightly.
"Call her Ethella. After all, you two are sisters."
"But the nanny told me to call her 'Lady'..."
"The nanny was wrong."
Could I really dare to call such a pretty child by her name?
But the Duchess was nodding sincerely. I called her name very softly.
"E-Ethella."
Ethella smiled brightly, as if she understood and liked her name being called. My mood felt strange—wonderful and warm.
Just a few days ago, I thought I shouldn't be here. But now... I'm so happy.
The Duchess also showed me a portrait. It depicted two angelic boys standing together.
"The eldest is eleven-year-old Conrad. The second is Jade—he's eight. Just like Ethella, you can call them your older brothers. Conrad is at the academy, and Jade will be back soon."
As soon as the Duchess finished speaking, a boy's voice rang out from downstairs.
"Mom!"
"Jade?"
The Duchess stood quickly and left the room with Ethella in her arms. I hesitated for a moment, then followed.
A boy ran up the stairs and buried himself in the hem of the Duchess's dress.
"Jade! My baby! Did you have a good time?"
"Of course! But why did you suddenly send me to Grandmother's house? I hate you, Mom."
"Sorry, sweetheart. Did you miss your mother?"
"...Yeah."
The silver-haired boy smiled brightly. I felt my heart skip a beat.
The sight of the Duchess and the boy together looked exactly like my mother and me just a few months ago.
"But... who is she?"
The boy looked at me curiously. The Duchess hesitated for a moment, then smiled warmly.
"Jade, this is Olivia. She's your sister."
"Sister? Not Ethella? But she's taller than Ethella!"
"I'm six years old."
Jade smiled at me without any doubt or suspicion. He accepted me as if I was exactly what I was supposed to be—his sister.
But Conrad was different.
---
"She is not my sister."
The eleven-year-old boy—taller than his peers and with eyes far too cold for his age—spoke as if the words scraped his throat.
That cold declaration pushed me out of the family line once again.
"Conrad."
"She's not my sister. She's dirty!"
"Conrad!"
I flinched at the Duchess's sharp voice. But Conrad glared at me with eyes far too mature and hateful for a child.
"...Olivia, would you step outside for a moment?"
"Yes, ma'am."
When I closed the door behind me, Jade asked curiously:
"What did you do wrong?"
"Nothing?"
"Then why does Brother say you're dirty?"
I couldn't answer.
---
Conrad glared at me, but I was still happy.
"I wrote a fairy tale for everyone! It took me about a week."
It was the first day the Duchess was away from the mansion. Jade held up his sketchbook proudly. I desperately wanted to be included.
"This is Ethella—she's the Amethyst Princess. And look, this is Olivia."
Jade smiled brightly and pointed at my drawing.
"Olivia is the Emerald Princess."
At those words, I wept freely.
Jade panicked, but I couldn't stop crying. Ethella started crying too, without even knowing why.
"Sister, don't cry!"
"Hey, don't cry!"
When Jade and Ethella both hugged me while crying themselves, the warmth made me realize I wasn't alone anymore.
I lost the prettiest woman in the world—my mother. But as long as I have Ethella, Jade, and the Duchess, everything will be fine.
I truly thought so.
But my happiness was painfully short-lived.
---
"It's all because of you!"
I was playing with paints alongside Ethella when Conrad suddenly ran up and pushed me hard.
I froze, then fell.
Ethella burst into tears, but Conrad didn't soothe her. He couldn't comfort anyone—because Conrad was crying too.
Conrad, who always tried to act like a grown-up, cried and shouted like the child he was:
"If only you hadn't come! We didn't need you! My mother—!"
---
It wasn't long after the Duchess's funeral.
Ethella, who had smiled brightly throughout the rain-soaked ceremony, finally began to notice something was wrong. She went looking for her mother.
No matter how much her nurse and maids tried to comfort her, it was no use.
"Where is Mom?"
Ethella blinked her wide, anxious eyes, then began to cry.
I watched through the crack of my slightly open door, then slipped inside her room.
"Sister!"
Tears welled up in Ethella's big purple eyes when she saw me.
"Mom isn't coming! I want to see her!"
Seeing Ethella crying uncontrollably, I suddenly remembered myself from just a few weeks ago.
Even when I looked for my mother, she didn't come. I know that feeling. But I still miss her every night.
I held Ethella's hand tightly without saying anything. Only then did she stop searching desperately for her mother.
The nurse and maids—who had been about to drag me out—said nothing.
After that, Ethella fell ill often.
"Mom... Mom..."
Her pretty angel-like face flushed with fever as she searched for her mother. But no matter how many times she called, the Duchess wouldn't say, "Ethella, my sweetheart." She never appeared.
Ethella continued searching for her mother until finally, she closed her mouth and wept silently instead.
She looked so pitiful that even six-year-old me could understand the devastating weight of losing a mother.
But I couldn't ask anyone for help.
Jade had been sent to the Duchess's parents' house. Conrad locked himself in his room and wouldn't talk to anyone. And the Duke was nowhere to be seen.
On the large bed, Ethella breathed heavily with fever. She smelled sweetly of milk and the salt of tears.
Feeling my gaze, she slowly met my eyes. Her beautiful purple eyes were full of tears.
"Sister... Mother isn't coming."
Her young voice died away. I bit my lip hard.
What should I say to make this child smile again?
Looking at her tearful face, the words I'd heard most often from my cruel nanny echoed in my mind:
"Your very existence is troubling the Madeleine family."
"I'm... sorry."
"Huh?"
Ethella asked back, as if she hadn't heard my tiny voice.
Seeing her helplessly twinkling eyes, I kept apologizing through my tears.
"Sister..."
It was then—
BANG!
The door burst open violently.
Startled, I looked toward it. The Duke strode forward with terrifying momentum. I had never seen such a frightening expression.
Terrified, I inadvertently gripped Ethella's hand tighter.
The Duke looked at me with eyes that seemed ready to devour me, then roughly grabbed and dragged me away.
"Ah!"
Ethella, pulled along for an instant, let out a pained cry. I quickly released her hand and looked back.
Surprised and frightened, Ethella began crying loudly.
My wrist hurt so badly it felt like it might break. I looked at the maids and butler as if pleading for help, but no one stopped the Duke.
"Miss, please don't cry!"
"Dad! Sister! Sister!"
The flustered nurse tried to comfort Ethella, but she wouldn't stop crying.
I reached out toward Ethella, who looked at me and cried so sadly.
I have to go to Ethella. I have to go back—
But I was dragged out of her room. I struggled against the Duke's grip.
"Let go! I want to see Ethella!"
BANG!
The big door slammed shut. Ethella, who had been crying and reaching out to me, disappeared behind it.
I have to go back. I have to—
I tried to look up at the Duke, my young eyes full of resentment.
"You dare."
The voice coming through the Duke's gritted teeth was terrifying. In an instant, I froze like ice.
"How dare you call my daughter by her first name?"
Sparks seemed to fly from the Duke's eyes. It felt like standing before a terrifying mountain beast.
I trembled, forgetting even the pain in my gripped arm. My legs felt like they might give out at any second.
It was the first time I'd ever felt this way.
This is strange. This is my father. Why does he look at me like I'm the person he hates most in the world?
"F-Father..."
"Who? Who is your father?"
It was a voice cold enough to freeze everything. The Duke's words were as sharp as his tone.
I blinked at the line he'd drawn so clearly between us, then bowed my head.
The Duke spoke softly, as if suppressing overwhelming emotion.
"Listen carefully."
"..."
"Until I give you permission..."
"..."
"Never speak to Ethella again."
"B-but..."
The Duchess had called me Ethella's sister. I was her older sister.
Thinking of that word—sister—my fear of the Duke subsided slightly. I raised my head and looked at him.
I didn't do anything wrong.
I was about to say those words when—
The Duke, who had been gripping my arm, slowly released his hand. Then he gave me one last careless glance and entered Ethella's room.
When the door opened briefly, I heard Ethella's cries.
"Dad, why did you kick Sister out?"
"Ethella, don't cry."
Before the door closed, I heard the Duke's voice soothing Ethella.
That voice was completely different from the one he'd used with me.
With the sound of the door closing, I collapsed where I stood.
It was partly because I'd finally relaxed—and partly because my arm hurt so badly.
Only then did the cool air from the hallway touch my cheek. It was a completely different feeling from inside that warm room.
Maids and servants passing by glanced at me. But no one comforted me or helped me up.
I looked down at my arm with my head bowed. The sleeves of the dress the Duchess had bought for me were terribly wrinkled.
When I'd received this dress, I'd been so happy. When I'd asked if I could really accept something so precious, the Duchess had even smiled a little.
"...Ngh..."
A sad cry broke from my throat.
My arm ached. Ethella's cries hurt me. And the Duke's words hurt most of all.
"...I didn't do anything..."
The words that had disappeared earlier finally came out through my tears.
I didn't do anything. The Duchess said I didn't do anything wrong.
"If it weren't for you..."
The Duke's distorted face was vivid in my mind.
The Duke is mistaken. I didn't do anything—I just came to this mansion.
But his words kept haunting me.
What if it's true? What should I do then?
Fear crept over me. I wept bitterly because I missed my mother. I missed the Duchess.
I cried until my eyes were puffy and swollen, until my throat was dry and raw.
Even then, I had absolutely no one to comfort me.
---
"...My lady?"
I blinked slowly at the voice calling me back to the present.
The imperial palace was visible beyond the carriage window.
Sally let out a small laugh.
"We've arrived. What were you thinking about?"
"Nothing."
I murmured softly.
I seemed to have been dreaming—remembering when the Duchess was still at the mansion. Imagining what it must have been like when everyone was harmonious and peaceful.
"If it weren't for you..."
Until the very end, the Duke clung to that assumption.
If I hadn't entered House Madeleine, would the Duchess really still be alive?
That impossible question. My family had left permanent scars on my heart.
But no matter what anyone said now, I was Madeleine's eldest daughter. I was also the fiancée of Crown Prince Leopold Franz.
Even though neither my family nor Leopold had ever truly treated me wholeheartedly, I had loved them with everything I had.
It couldn't be wrong—what my mother said. That if I did my best, it would all come true someday.
It couldn't be wrong.