It was her first time being alone in an unfamiliar room.
Ethella clasped her hands together, suppressing her anxious heart.
Her pink diamond necklace felt cold today as she clutched it.
Her throat was dry.
I want to drink some warm tea.
The tea brought by the gruff-looking butler had already cooled down a long time ago.
It had been quite a while since she'd arrived, but the door didn't seem like it would open.
As Ethella looked at the doorway with unconscious anticipation, a cold voice suddenly appeared in her mind.
"If you say you're confident you won't have any expectations, I'll let you in."
That makes sense.
Ethella continued to stare at the door.
Then she bowed her head again.
Don't expect anything. Just coming here was too much. Don't expect to see my sister.
Ethella replayed the Grand Duke's words in her mind.
Ethella looked at the door several times.
The tightly closed door remained as if it had never been opened in the first place.
Disappointment gradually piled up, but Ethella muttered to herself every time.
I came in not expecting anything. My sister might not come. The assumption that hit my heart so hard is becoming increasingly true.
Ethella gently cupped her cooled teacup in her palm.
The cold feeling actually comforted her heart.
Okay. Even if I had said I was meeting my sister now, I wouldn't have been able to speak properly.
All she could say was that she was sorry.
Sorry for saying things she shouldn't have said to her sister. Sorry for blaming her for their mother's death. Sorry for not being able to stop their father and brothers from treating her sister so poorly.
Every day, Ethella had played with her older sister—even though she'd known Olivia would get scolded.
She'd waited for her sister to come from the attic on the fourth floor.
Suddenly, Ethella's eyes widened.
Her grip on her teacup loosened.
My older sister was only eight years old at the time. Old enough to be scared of ghosts. Even I feel uneasy about this unfamiliar room right now. Why did I never think that my sister would be afraid of ghosts?
Her sister's face appeared in her mind.
Olivia's face had always been smiling from a step back.
I wondered how my sister always had a smiling face. It must have been difficult—because she was used to receiving nothing. Among the things I passed over carelessly, how many hurt my sister?
The inside of her throat felt like it had been scratched by something sharp.
The tip of her nose tingled.
I can't be a fool and cry like this—alone in the Grand Duke's residence.
Ethella hurriedly got up from her seat.
I don't have the courage to see my sister today. Later—I'll come back later. I need to write and send a letter that really expresses my thoughts about my sister, rather than the superficial apology I'd planned.
That was the moment Ethella approached the door.
As soon as it opened, a familiar face appeared.
"Sister—"
"Ethella."
The person who opened her pretty green eyes wide in disbelief was Olivia.
Ethella's mouth fell open as the thought crossed her mind that this might be her last chance.