~Chapter 25~
Penelope von Blumhardt was born as the youngest child in the Blumhardt family.
Unlike her older brother Johann, who looked exactly like the duke, Penelope took after their mother, Duchess Isabella.
She had beautiful, soft reddish-brown hair and greenish-red eyes that looked like a forest in autumn—she was the precious daughter of the Blumhardt family.
She was cheerful and lively, and her presence brought life to the mansion.
Even when Johann went missing on his way back from a monster hunt…
Even when the Duke returned badly injured from the north after fighting monsters…
The family endured those sad times thanks to their bright and loving daughter.
Eventually, the Duke passed away, but not before he got to see his long-lost son again.
Penelope was heartbroken when her father died, but she thought she could bear it because she still had her beloved mother by her side.
But it didn’t seem to be the same for Isabella.
She couldn’t easily move on from the grief of losing her husband.
Penelope’s heart ached seeing her mother’s smiles grow so sad after her father’s death.
‘Someday, when her sadness fades, she’ll smile at me like before… right?’
She had never been super close to her father since he was always busy, and even less with Johann—That made sense since Johann left for the Royal Academy the year she was born and stayed in the dorms.
After graduation, he became the youngest Swordmaster and traveled all over the empire, so they barely saw each other.
To Penelope, her mother was her only close and precious family.
The one who always stayed near her, smiling warmly.
The summer after her father died, Penelope went with her mother to their summer villa by the northern lake.
The north was harsh in the winter with blizzards and monsters from the Black Mountains, but in summer, it was the opposite.
Lake Plisensee, which sat at the edge of the north and the Blumhardt estate, had cool breezes and beautiful scenery.
It was a popular vacation spot for nobles.
Some people sailed small boats, others swam, and some had picnics.
Penelope hoped her mom would regain her strength at Plisensee after grieving for a year.
But instead, her mother barely stepped outside.
‘If she won’t come out, I’ll bring something fun to her!’
She remembered how her mom used to smile whenever she brought fish she caught at the lake.
So instead of hanging out with friends who invited her to swim, she grabbed a bucket and went fishing alone.
While catching fish, she suddenly felt a sharp sting on her finger.
When she looked closely, she saw a weird, unfamiliar fish biting her finger.
‘Ew, this thing looks so gross! What kind of fish is this?’
She stared at the fish for a bit but then got back to fishing, thinking:‘It stings a little, but I can handle it.’
By sunset, she had caught quite a few fish and proudly went back to show her mom.
But her mom just smiled a little when she saw the fish—not the joyful reaction Penelope was hoping for.
She felt like crying, but she held it in.
‘If I cry, she’ll feel even worse.’
The next day, the bitten finger became badly swollen and infected.
No medicine worked.
Eventually, she collapsed with a high fever.
Isabella panicked and rushed them back to the mansion, calling the family’s healing mage.
The mage could lower the fever, but the infected wound wouldn’t heal.
Even a healer from the royal palace couldn’t help—Penelope only got worse.
It was like something was slowly draining the moisture from her body.
Isabella completely lost her smile.
Penelope was devastated.
‘All I wanted was to make her smile…’
She stopped her mother from forcing a fake smile just for her.
She didn’t want to see that sad, shaky kind of smile.
For over a year, they brought in every kind of healer—even secret underground doctors—but nothing worked.
They started to suspect it had something to do with mutated monsters that had recently appeared near the Black Mountains.
Maybe the fish that bit her wasn’t just a fish, but a kind of monster.
After that incident, Lake Plisensee was closed off to everyone.
As time passed, Penelope felt her body getting drier and weaker.
‘…I don’t think I have much time left.’
She worried about how sad her mother would be when she died, but she was running out of energy.
So she wanted to spend her remaining time smiling with her mom.
But that was only her wish—Isabella refused to let go.
Having already lost her husband, she couldn’t bear to lose her daughter too.
She moved Penelope to a room on the fourth floor, saying it was to protect her weak body.
She banned anyone except herself and a few trusted servants from entering—and didn’t allow Penelope out either.
That decision came after a maid with a cold passed the illness to Penelope, making her dangerously sick.
Penelope understood her mother’s reasons… but she didn’t want to be trapped in that room until the day she died.
‘I can’t tell her how I really feel.
She’d be more upset than me.
I don’t want her to be sad anymore.
I’m so sick of sadness.’
But loneliness wasn’t something she could just endure forever.
Even though her mom visited regularly and Johann dropped by sometimes—it wasn’t enough.
‘I want to go outside.
I want to see friends and eat yummy food.’
That day, she was lying in bed crying into her pillow, feeling suffocated by it all.
Then suddenly, the door opened without a knock.
She quickly wiped her tears, surprised.
‘No one’s supposed to come at this time. Who is it?’
She heard small footsteps—and then saw a little girl who looked like a younger version of Johann walk in.
Penelope recognized her instantly.
It was the niece she’d been so curious about after hearing about her from Johann.
‘Oh my gosh, she’s adorable! And she really does look just like my brother!’
The girl had black hair tied in two neat braids and cat-like green eyes—just like Johann.
She looked around curiously with her sparkling emerald eyes and then spotted Penelope in bed.
“Oh! I’m so sorry!”
Raphaella was startled and backed up, about to leave the room.
“…Don’t go!”
Penelope called out, forcing her dry voice to speak.
Raphaella stopped in her tracks.
“…But Mom said I’m not allowed to come to the fourth floor.”
The little girl fidgeted with her fingers and mumbled.
“Raphaella.
That’s your name, right?”
“Huh? How do you know that?”
Her big eyes widened even more.
Penelope let out a small laugh—it was just too cute.
“Well, you look exactly like your dad.
I’m your aunt.”
“Aunt?”
“Yeah, you’ve met your dad, right?
The serious-looking guy who looks like you.”
“Mm-hmm! Yeah!”
“I’m that serious guy’s little sister.”
Penelope introduced herself and invited Raphaella over, telling her not to worry—no one would come in at that time.
Raphaella hesitated at first but then relaxed and came closer.
“Come on up.”
Penelope helped her get onto the bed and started asking her all kinds of questions.
Where she used to live, how she felt meeting her dad, and so on.
“So how did you end up in my room?
My mom told everyone not to come up to the fourth floor.”
“Oh, well… Marco kept chasing me, so I ran away and ended up here.”
“Marco?
Ohh, that Marco.”
Penelope remembered her youngest aunt’s spoiled son—the one her dad used to go easy on.
That cousin had been rude and bratty ever since he arrived at the mansion.
Even tried to act up with her at first—until she taught him a proper lesson.
“Wait… Is that kid bullying you?”
“Yeah… Mommy said Great-Aunt is the most powerful one here, and Marco thinks that means he is too.”
“What?
That little brat thinks he runs the place?
Did he hurt you?”
She quickly checked Raphaella for injuries.
“I’m fine! I’m fast because I grew up in the mountains!”
“Fast?”
“Yep! So Marco couldn’t even lay a finger on me.”
“Phew.
That’s a relief.”
“I’ll never get hurt! If I do, Mommy will be really sad.”
Penelope’s heart ached hearing those quiet words.
She saw her younger self in her little niece.
‘Poor thing… You don’t want your mom to be sad either, huh?’
She gently patted Raphaella’s head.
Her soft hair slid between Penelope’s fingers.
“Raphaella, can I call you Rafi?”
“Sure! I like it.”
“Then, if it’s okay with you, you can call me Peppi too.”
Penelope smiled brightly at her little niece.
