~Chapter 2~
Our mom had her eyebrows raised all the way up in anger.
“Hey! The sun is already high in the sky and you’re still in bed? Aren’t you getting up?!”
Her loud voice echoed through the room.
“I really can’t live like this.”
Muttering, Mom walked toward me as if she was about to pull off the blanket at any moment.
Normally, I would have fought with her over the blanket for a while.
But today was different.
I hugged Mom with all my strength.
“Mommmm.”
Mom, who was about to scold me, became flustered for a moment.
“W-what’s wrong with you this early in the morning? Did you have a bad dream?”
I made a tearful face and just nodded.
In the original story, Milena ends up paying for her actions.
After being kicked out of the ducal house, Cecilia returns to high society through great effort.
From that point on, Milena suffers badly.
She gets humiliated in society, and whenever she tries to bully Cecilia, she gets counterattacked instead.
She gets caught in Cecilia’s careful revenge and slowly falls into ruin.
And that… is what I’m supposed to go through in the future?!
And there was something else bothering me.
‘In the original story… my mom is never mentioned at all.’
Even though she looks blunt on the outside, my mom is actually very warm.
She said she lost her husband a long time ago.
After that, she climbed a mountain with dark thoughts, and there she found a crying child.
She gave that child the name “Milena,” and that’s how we became a family.
‘How did Milena leave Mom in the original story?’
That part was never mentioned, so I couldn’t know.
But one thing was certain.
‘I can’t imagine living without my mom.’
I buried my face in her arms and asked softly,
“Hey… just what if… I was the daughter of a very powerful family?”
“Of course you should go back to that family.”
Her answer came without even a moment of hesitation.
I raised my head in shock.
“…Mom?”
“You are my daughter, but you’re too pretty and talented to stay in this small town.”
Mom held my cheeks and smiled.
“But if you go back to that rich family, don’t forget all the hard work your mom did raising you. You should get a big compensation for it.”
“Ah, Mom!”
When I complained, Mom burst out laughing.
“Stop talking nonsense and get up. You just started working at the baron’s mansion—don’t be late already.”
At that moment, my face turned pale.
“…Mom, what time is it?”
“It’s the time for you to run out right now.”
I—I’m doomed!
Past life or not, as someone living in this world, I needed to earn money.
And so—
At my workplace, the Trangsie Baron’s mansion, I was busy sweeping the floor while thinking deeply.
‘In the original story, Milena went to the ducal house herself, right?’
That means—
If I don’t approach the Lucerte Ducal House on my own, everything should stay peaceful.
‘Yes, forget the original story.’
No matter how I think about it, I can’t be happy without my mom.
Of course, I’m human too, so I’m tempted by the wealth and honor of the ducal house.
But not enough to trade my current happiness with Mom.
Maybe Mom was living well in the original story too, and it just wasn’t mentioned.
But still—
‘How can I take that risk and leave Mom?’
If I get greedy and go back, I don’t know what kind of butterfly effect might happen.
And if something happens to my mom because of that—
‘That can never happen.’
Even though she speaks roughly, my mom always looks at me with loving eyes.
She can tell how I feel just by looking at my expression.
And every time we eat, she gives me the best parts of the food.
I can never be happy without my mom.
There’s also something I realized while living as her adopted daughter.
‘That ducal family… I just don’t like them. They were too cruel to Cecilia!’
When I read the original story, I felt so bad for Cecilia.
The people around her used “Milena” as an excuse to abuse her.
“Can’t you even endure that? If you were the real lady, you would smile through that much pain.”
They made her practice dancing all day in high heels until her heels bled.
They starved her.
They didn’t let her sleep properly.
And why didn’t the family stop the abuse?
‘Because they didn’t know!’
And I hated how the ducal family treated Cecilia.
Just because she was adopted, was she supposed to be grateful just for being fed and housed?
I’m also adopted, but my mom and I are a real family who truly care for each other.
But when I think about the Lucerte family—
It reminds me of people who pointed at us and said,
“You’re not a real family anyway!”
‘It makes me feel sick.’
They treated Cecilia coldly, but the moment Milena appeared, they treasured her like gold.
‘I can understand why Cecilia hates Milena so much.’
Of course, later the family regrets everything after realizing what Cecilia went through…
‘But why should I go back there and be hated by her?’
I do feel sorry for what Cecilia will go through.
But my mom is more important.
I want to protect my current life.
I didn’t want to get dragged into that family and end up in a bad ending.
‘Yeah. I’m not going back.’
But that afternoon—
I had to pay the price for underestimating the force of the original story.
“M-Maid Head… what did you just say…?”
I looked at her stiffly.
The maid head pushed up her glasses and spoke in a strict voice.
“Today’s important guests are the Lucerte Ducal family. So everyone, be careful with your behavior.”
At that moment—
Everything that happened over the past week flashed through my mind like a panorama.
The Barony of Trangsie, famous for its hot springs.
And the maid head who made us clean the entire mansion thoroughly.
“Clean carefully. If I find even a speck of dust, you’ll be in trouble.”
She didn’t even tell us who was coming, saying it was top secret.
I wondered what kind of important people would make such a fuss—
‘WHY is it the Lucerte Ducal family of all people?!’
Before I could even hide, they had already arrived.
“Maid Head, the ducal family has arrived.”
“Understood.”
The maid head nodded and left the room.
I quickly ran to the window and leaned out.
In the distance, I saw a luxurious carriage slowly coming to a stop.
The moment I saw the large golden eagle emblem on it—
My eyes shook violently.
‘The Lucerte… Ducal family.’
And then—
The carriage door opened.
