Chapter 48

After their mother’s death, Grace had almost killed Florence several times.

The repulsive creature that lingered in front of her eyes was something she couldn’t just leave alone. She would scratch it with her nails after ripping it from the nanny’s arms or try to choke the sleeping baby.

“Give her to me! I need to end this monster’s life now!”
“Miss, please don’t do this! Miss, please!”
“Let go! Let go!”
“This is your sister, Miss! This baby is your sister!”
“Don’t be ridiculous! It’s a monster that killed our mother! It’s the monster born from tearing apart our mother’s corpse! Get it out of here, remove it from my sight!”

Blake and the Duke of Seymour understood Grace’s disgust, but they also feared the rumors that would spread about Grace. Despite their feelings of disgust, the baby was still their blood relative. This made it even more horrifying.

Since Grace became agitated whenever she saw Florence and tried to kill her, they isolated the baby for safety. Blake came to see the baby as the root of Grace’s breakdown.

“If it weren’t for this, mother would still be alive. If it weren’t for this, Grace wouldn’t have fallen apart like this. If this hadn’t been born, father wouldn’t be crying and suffering…”

The disgust for the baby grew as it thrived, despite doing nothing at all.

The baby grew rapidly, with brown hair and pale blue eyes, and her features became more and more like their deceased mother’s. It was as if the child was wearing the skin of the mother she had devoured…

The more she resembled their mother, the more terrifying it became.

When Florence began to speak and walk, Grace slowly calmed down. She no longer rushed at Florence in a fit of rage. Around this time, both the Duke and Blake also began to regain their composure.

“The child, just learning to walk, was a helpless infant. The child had no fault in any of this. It wasn’t a monstrous creature. It was just a poor child who had lost her mother at birth.”

But as they realized this, they couldn’t forget the hatred they had directed at her.

“If this baby wasn’t the monster that killed our mother and was born from tearing her apart, what were we, who abandoned and hated her for years?”

Instead of facing the truth, they chose to ignore it.

It was easier to justify their feelings of hatred by using external excuses. They could live their lives without confronting the pain of losing their beloved mother.

Grace still fiercely rejected and hated Florence, while Blake and the Duke of Seymour didn’t stop her but instead created an environment where she wouldn’t be criticized.

“If the environment justifies hatred, the reality of facing it disappears. They could live without anyone being at fault.”

Occasionally, Blake wondered:

“What if Florence had been an easy-to-cry baby? What if, instead of demanding why people hated her, she had been a poor child crying in sorrow?”

But Florence wasn’t that kind of child. She was strong-willed and didn’t back down even when insulted. Blake found himself losing patience as she kept coming back to him. He began to speak harsher words, justifying it to himself:

“It’s okay, it’s okay with her. She’s the one who killed our mother and was born from that. She deserves our resentment. We have the right to blame her.”

“You’re the sinner who stole our mother from us the moment you were born.”

“You deserve to be blamed.”

“Only then can I feel clean.”

Blake couldn’t stand Florence’s face, which reflected his guilt. Whenever he turned away, a bit of regret surfaced, but seeing her face only made his anger surge. He felt like he would die if he didn’t get rid of her right then and there.

“The snowball of anger had grown beyond his control.”

Then one day, Florence lost all her memories.

The fragile, anxious Florence had no resentment or anger. With her memory loss, the hatred they had once felt toward her also disappeared.

“This child knows nothing.”

Her innocent face resembled their mother’s.

She had forgotten all the hatred, insults, and neglect they had poured onto her.

Blake realized:

“The nausea he had felt when looking at Florence’s face wasn’t directed at her, but at his own wrongdoing.”

He had deceived himself into ignoring his guilt, pretending to be unaware of his own mistakes.

Though no one spoke of it aloud, Blake thought that his father and Grace were likely the same. To rid themselves of their guilt, they loved and cherished Florence, the one who had taken away their guilt with her memory loss.

“They had loved Florence because it wiped away their guilt, because it made them forget everything they had done.”

Everything had been perfect.

“Grace told me, she said Florence remembered everything.”

“What… What are you saying, Father? Florence is…”

The Duke of Seymour raised his eyes and looked at his son.

“She’s not the Florence we loved. I had a feeling.”

“Florence is still Florence. She just lost her memory… why do you act like she’s someone else?”

“…”

“Father!!”

Blake shouted. The Duke of Seymour, irritated by his son’s outburst, frowned and responded:

“But we can’t lose Florence, no matter what. Your mother left a legacy for her. Your mother was a 7-class user, and until the moment she passed, she used her wand. She left it for Florence, even though she can’t use magic.”

“Father, what are you talking about?”

“That wand is also a family heirloom. It will be a great help. We can’t let it be lost, so I was planning to pass it down to your child when they are born. But now, with this…”

The Duke clicked his tongue.

“Understand, Blake. Don’t act rashly. Whether Florence is dead or alive, she can’t be the ‘old’ Florence. If she harbors ill will, she’ll lose that heirloom.”

“… ”

“Pretend to cooperate with the search, act like you’re sad. Understand?”

“… ”

“And when she returns, tell her to inherit the legacy. Your mother made sure of it. Only her blood can prove it.”

“But… the inheritance isn’t the issue right now…”

“It would have been nice if things had stayed the same. What a shame.”

“…”

“Our Florence is gone, Blake. You have to accept it. I loved her too, but once she’s gone, there’s nothing that can be done.”

The Duke patted Blake’s shoulder and turned away.

“Dreams are only happy when you’re sleeping.”

“Father!”

Blake gasped, his breath heavy.

“Was my father always like this? Was he really… this heartless?”

He didn’t know this version of his father. His father had been a kind, exceptional magician with a gentle voice, a loving man who would go to any lengths for his family, the man who still loved his late wife.

Blake had once believed that their happiness was perfect, but now, with Florence’s disappearance, that happiness had vanished without a trace. He had always believed that happiness would last forever, not realizing it was as fragile as a sandcastle.

“Florence is just Florence. Even if she remembers everything, yes, I could accept her as my sister perfectly. So, if I apologize…”

“If I apologize, she will accept me.”

She had always longed for family love. No matter how much he insulted her, she would keep coming back, never giving up. Now that she had regained her memory, it seemed like a good thing. Even if she had forgotten everything, this was his chance to erase the guilt that he couldn’t shake off.

Blake quickly started walking, then broke into a run.