CHAPTER 72………………………….
To my dearest cousin,
Do you know how shocked I was when I heard you had left without a word?
Because of the rumors spreading these days, people chatter endlessly that you’ve left the capital under the pretense of convalescence.
But rumors are always exaggerated.
In a few days they’ll move on to other idle talk and forget all about you.
Regardless of whether the rumors are true, I think leaving the capital was a wise choice.
But Linaria—
What saddens me deeply is that you left without saying anything to me.
I thought we were at least close enough to share such words.
I can already imagine what you’re thinking as you read this:
Why is he being so clingy?
…something like that.
I can picture the look of disgust on your face.
But if I don’t act this way, you won’t even hint at when you’ll return.
Noah too keeps giving me looks as if he wants to ask when you’re coming back.
(There’s a smudge where the ink has run.)
Sorry—Noah, looking pale, tried to snatch my pen. He wants me to write that he never said such a thing.
And also, he insists I write that he never told me to write that.
(Another blot of smeared ink appears.)
By the time you read this letter, you’ll already be in Obel territory, won’t you? How is it there?
I’ve never been anywhere near, so I can’t imagine it.
Ah, that’s right. Please give Ricardo my regards.
Even if he doesn’t think of me as a friend, I’ve always wanted to be close with him.
At the very least, I thought we could be the kind of acquaintances who greet each other when we meet.
If that was only my delusion, I suppose it’s a sad thing.
In any case, if nothing else, you must tell me in your reply when you’re coming back!
– From the cousin who always waits for you.
Traveling to Obel territory by carriage alone would have taken far too long.
To shorten the journey, Linaria used portals.
But a distance of that scale couldn’t be covered in a single jump. She had to take several in succession.
Thanks to that, she reached the vicinity of Obel territory in just one day—
But at the cost of severe motion sickness.
“My lady, are you all right?”
Linaria was suffering terribly.
“Have some water.”
“No, it’s fine. Whatever I take makes me queasy. Better to keep my stomach empty.”
“What about medicine? I’ve got stronger remedies for nausea than the one you took earlier.”
Anna pulled a bundle from under the carriage seat—an assortment of medicines, packed in overwhelming quantity.
It was as if she had prepared for every possible injury or ailment.
Linaria was briefly at a loss for words.
“We’re almost there, but you don’t look well at all, my lady. This one works instantly. Please, just one pill.”
“…All right. Thank you.”
She swallowed the pill and closed her eyes.
Something cool pressed against her forehead.
Peeking through half-lidded eyes, she realized it was Kaas’s hand.
Whether from the medicine or that cool touch, the nausea began to fade.
Leaning against his broad shoulder, she closed her eyes fully.
She had meant only to rest them for a moment, but ended up dozing off.
And before she knew it, she was dreaming—
“I have a brother now?”
She had been about seven.
That was when Meril told her she was getting an “older brother.”
The thought of gaining a new family member filled her with excitement.
Though her father ignored her for not yet being the “good child” he wanted, she believed things would be different with a brother.
“Older brothers are meant to protect their sisters.”
Closer than parents, surely he would accept her as family even if she wasn’t acknowledged.
And if not, at least they could share the common goal of “becoming a child their parents could be proud of.”
In her childish heart, hope swelled.
But Meril burst that hope like a needle popping a balloon.
“My lady, you shouldn’t be so happy about this.”
“Why not?”
“Because he’s only being adopted due to your natural shortcomings. He already had a family of his own, and they’ve been forced to give him up.”
“F-forced?”
“You were supposed to inherit the crest. But when you were born, the divine beast Obel chose Ricardo instead.”
In a gentle tone, Meril spoke cruel truths.
“Of course, becoming the next duke sounds fine. But when the current head is powerless and the house’s name is tainted by scandal—would that really feel like an honor?”
“……”
“It must feel like being forced to carry a burden too heavy. And even though he bears the crest, his adoption was delayed. His training as heir too.”
“Why was it delayed?”
“Because the duke wished it so.”
“…Father did?”
“Hoping your crest might manifest belatedly, he kept putting it off.”
“……”
“From Ricardo’s perspective, how insulting—treated as a spare to be swapped out at any time.”
“……”
“And even when he was finally adopted, his heir’s education began late, all because of you.”
Meril’s words stabbed without mercy, pointing an accusing finger at Linaria. She felt like a criminal.
Head bowed, she shrank in shame.
“You’ve shoved all your duties onto him, my lady. Isn’t it only natural Ricardo should hate you?”
As a child, Meril’s words seemed like unquestionable truth.
And before long, an event occurred that carved those words into reality.
“That’s mine! I want it!”
Mia suddenly barged in, throwing a tantrum.
Linaria, playing with her doll alone, froze in surprise.
Normally she would have yielded to Mia.
But this doll—she didn’t want to give it up.
She clutched it tightly with all her strength.
“Give it! It’s mine, mine!”
“N-no!”
For Linaria, it was the firmest refusal she’d ever voiced.
But Mia, relentless, grabbed the doll’s leg and tugged.
Linaria held fast.
They pulled and pulled—until the fragile jointed doll’s leg popped right off.
“I-it broke! Waaah!”
Mia, holding the severed leg, wailed uncontrollably.
And that was when Ricardo appeared—
Drawn, it seemed, by her cries.
Before he could even assess the situation, Mia dashed straight to him.
“Brother, brother! Linaria—!”
Linaria froze in dismay.
She herself, though family now, had never once called him so affectionately.
She couldn’t imagine when Mia had grown so close to Ricardo.
“It’s Linaria’s fault! Because of her, my doll is ruined! Say something to her!”
“N-no, that’s not…”
It wasn’t Mia’s doll—it was mine.
That was what she had wanted to say.
But—
“Come.”
Ricardo gathered only Mia and left.
Linaria was left behind, clutching her broken doll alone.
“Look! Ricardo bought me this one!”
Days later, Mia proudly flaunted a much prettier doll Ricardo had given her.
Watching, Linaria realized for the first time that Ricardo truly disliked her.
Since then, their encounters had been rare.
“He doesn’t like you, my lady. Meeting him won’t do you any good.”
Even while under the same roof, Ricardo was too busy with his heir’s training.
And whenever it looked like they might cross paths, Meril intervened swiftly to separate them.
Once he grew older, Ricardo moved permanently to the main estate, and chances to meet vanished entirely.
Back then, I truly believed Meril was only protecting me.
Now, Linaria no longer trusted Meril’s words completely.
But in the future she had lived, Ricardo betrayed the family.
Brutally.
“…My lady!”
Her body jolted as a voice called her back.
Linaria’s eyelids fluttered open.
“My lady, are you all right?”
Anna looked down at her in concern.
Linaria, dazed, nodded automatically.
“You kept moaning in your sleep, so I had to wake you. If it was just shallow dreaming, would you like a sleeping pill?”
“…No, it’s fine. I was just remembering the past.”
