YWTO 07

Chapter 7

The warmth of Rosalyn’s magic flowing through her body seemed to whisper that it wasn’t her fault, and Yurein’s vision blurred again.
Yes. It wasn’t her fault.
Now she knew that clearly—her mother had told her so. Her mother would never have left behind her magical jewel, granting her such a power, for the very person who caused her death.

An emotion swelled up inside her chest.
Yurein stopped her hands, which had been hurriedly gathering the jewels, and pressed down hard on the tears threatening to spill. She forced herself to keep her eyes open.

“First, I need to do what I must.”

With the house in chaos, this was her chance to slip away unnoticed. She didn’t have much time left.

Yurein looked quietly at the bracelet, narrowed her eyes, and let out a small sigh before putting it around her wrist. Rosalyn’s magic pulsed even stronger through it.

Feeling that warmth, Yurein took out a small pouch and swept all the jewelry from the drawer into it.
Even if the Tarbargen Ducal House treated her with disdain, the jewels she possessed were all of the highest quality.

“I’m getting out of this wretched place.”

She knew now—this was no longer a place she belonged.

“I’ll remove the jewels from the seams and sell them separately. I’ll take the gems from my dresses too and sell them all. Then I’ll put on my riding clothes, buy new ones in a nearby town, and disappear.”

Yurein laid out the plan in her mind.
After removing every jewel from her clothes and dividing them between her pouch and pocket, the weight became considerable. She worked for quite a while, gathered her things roughly, and finally finished preparing.

It was time to leave this house for good.

Leaving the dressing room with her belongings, Yurein passed through the parlor and entered her bedroom. She approached the bed—

Knock, knock.

“My lady, it’s Rebecca. May I come in?”

The sound of knuckles against the door froze her. Yurein hurriedly shoved her luggage under the bed, pulled the bedsheet over it, and sat down in a chair, feigning calm.

“Yes, come in, Rebecca.”

At her permission, Rebecca cautiously opened the door and stepped inside.
Something about her expression made Yurein frown slightly—she looked hesitant, as if there was something she wanted to say but couldn’t.

“Do you have something to tell me?”

“…My lady,” Rebecca murmured, flinching.
She clenched her fists, bit her lip, then spoke as if she’d finally gathered her courage.

“There’s something I must tell you. Last night, about the keepsa—”

Keepsake?

Yurein’s eyes widened. And then—

Bang!

The door burst open.

Unlike Rebecca, the people entering didn’t bother to ask permission.

“Lady Yurein, forgive us for the intrusion,” said one of the knights as several of them strode into the room.

Two knights stepped forward immediately and seized Rebecca by both arms.

“Kyaa—!”

Rebecca screamed in shock, but one of the knights struck the back of her neck swiftly. Her body went limp as she fainted.

“What is the meaning of this?!” Yurein shouted, rising to her feet.

Rebecca was her chief maid—her closest attendant since childhood. And yet these men dared to drag her away without explanation or consent?

Yurein glared at them coldly, fury burning in her eyes. But the knights only gave her a bored glance, as if she were a nuisance.

Just as Yurein was about to scold them for their insolence—

“This is under the Duke’s orders,” one knight said.

“What?”

“Now, if you’ll excuse us.”

With that, the knights swiftly carried Rebecca out of the room.

Yurein watched them leave until the last shadow vanished, then bit her lip hard.

Rebecca.

The only person in this mansion who had ever been on her side.
The maid who had helped her since childhood.

Yurein had grown up with her; she felt a deep affection for the woman.
Yet, in her previous life, when Rebecca was accused of stealing the Duchess’s keepsake, Yurein hadn’t been able to save her.

Afraid of making noise, afraid of giving the family another reason to despise her, she had kept silent.
She’d tried her best to prove Rebecca’s innocence, but no one had listened.

And when she later discovered that the keepsake Rebecca supposedly stole had been a fake, her heart had broken.

And now—

“There’s something I must tell you. Last night, about the keepsa—”

Rebecca’s interrupted words echoed in her mind.

The Duke of Tarbargen.

Her father. The man who had never once shown her kindness.
He could be warm to others, but toward her—only cold mockery.

She wouldn’t let him take Rebecca away too. Not again.
Not like the helpless girl she’d once been.

But now—now she could change things.

“First, I have to find out what happened.”

Yurein clenched her fists, straightened her shoulders, and stood. She needed to know why Rebecca had been taken.

Without hesitation, she went straight to the Duke’s office.

When she finally arrived, she knocked firmly on the door.

“Your Grace, it’s Yurein.”

In her previous life, she had never once come to the Duke’s office of her own accord. Her heart pounded in her chest.

She had no lingering attachment to this family anymore—
But Rebecca was different.

“Come in.”

At the sound of his voice, Yurein immediately opened the door.
Click, click.

Her soft steps echoed as she approached his desk. The Duke raised an eyebrow—Yurein’s demeanor was unlike her usual self.

She had always been quiet, unassuming, someone who knew her place. That had been her only virtue: knowing she was useless and staying out of the way.

But now? Those bold eyes, that defiant expression—
It irritated him.

“What is it?” he asked curtly, his tone sharp with annoyance.
Her recent disturbances in the household had already grated on him, and now she dared to barge into his office uninvited? Outrageous.

“I’ll get straight to the point since you must be busy,” Yurein said steadily. “Your Grace, why did you have Rebecca taken away?”

Her words were clear and unwavering.

The Duke looked at her with that same cold gaze as always—
the look that said, How dare someone like you stand before me?
Yurein ignored it and pressed on.

“Rebecca has been proven innocent. So—”

“No. Nothing has been proven,” he cut her off sharply.

Yurein faltered for a moment, then spoke again.
“Why not? It’s been shown that the necklace Rebecca had was a fake—”

“Even if it’s fake, it looks identical to Rosalyn’s keepsake. She may not have stolen it herself, but she could be connected to those who did.”

Yurein frowned.

“She’s merely a witness, then. Was there any need to drag her away like that?”

Her anger boiled over.
Moments ago, the knights had knocked Rebecca unconscious right before her eyes—and now he called her just a witness?

The Duke looked unimpressed.
“That’s something we could have handled quietly. You, however, made a scene in front of the servants when you announced the keepsake was fake. You know that, don’t you?”

His tone was scolding, his eyes accusing.

Yurein stared back coldly, disbelief written across her face.
The sight of that defiance made him bristle.

He narrowed his eyes and lowered his voice.
“Is that why you’ve come here? To question me like this?”

Yurein’s expression hardened. It wasn’t disrespectful, but to the Duke, it was the most offensive thing she could have shown him.

How can she look at me like that?

He gazed at her intently.

No matter how many times he saw her, he couldn’t deny—
Yurein resembled his late wife, Rosalyn, far too much.

Rosalyn’s silvery hair had shone brighter than sunlight itself. On days when the light was soft and golden, it would dance over her hair like rippling water.

Under that same sunlight, she would turn to him with a radiant smile—those beautiful green eyes sparkling with warmth.

He remembered that image vividly.

Yurein looked just like her.
Except for having his eye color, every other feature—her luminous silver hair, her delicate face—was the spitting image of Rosalyn.

He despised her for it.
And yet, the only reason he had ever treated her as a noble’s daughter at all…
was because of that resemblance.

Yes—
That was the only reason she was allowed to exist.