Chapter 7
Even though I knew that once Mom fell asleep, she wouldn’t wake up for several days, I still felt sad.
I wanted her to wake up soon and tell us what had happened.
That we were going to live here now. That we had become part of this family.
But Mom didn’t wake up. I forced my way into her embrace and lay down next to her.
“Mom… you know what? I love you. As long as I have you, that’s enough.”
If Mom loves me, that’s all I need.
Even if people hit me, abuse me, mistreat me. As long as Mom is with me, that’s enough.
‘The only person who truly loves me is Mom.’
The soft, steady beating of her heart reassured me like a lullaby.
But that peaceful moment didn’t last long.
Just a few minutes after Allen and Lexitt—who looked exactly the same—had left, I heard the doorknob turn several times, as if someone was trying to open the locked door.
The timing was almost suspiciously perfect, as if they’d been waiting for the two to leave.
When the locked door wouldn’t budge, it was immediately followed by knocking.
Bang, bang.
“Please open the door.”
“…”
“This is Cecelia. I brought your meal.”
“Leave it and go.”
Worried that Mom might wake up, I went closer to the door.
“Please open the door.”
“No.”
“If you keep this up, I’ll bring His Grace.”
As if that was supposed to be a major threat, Cecelia’s voice had stiffened.
But in contrast, a smile spread across my face.
“Great. Go ahead and bring him!”
I actually had things to say to him—this worked out perfectly.
I was curious. Did he like the gift I gave him?
If I could, I would’ve opened the door right then and told Cecelia to hurry and fetch the duke.
“…So bold, aren’t you. You’ll regret this.”
“I won’t. So go get him!”
Even through the thick door, I could hear Cecelia’s deep sigh.
Then her voice disappeared. It seemed she really had gone to get him.
“I was wondering how I could meet the duke again, and this worked out great.”
I even felt a tinge of excitement.
I pressed myself right up against the door, waiting for the duke to arrive.
‘The duke must be busy… he probably won’t come for half a day, right?’
I was debating whether to grab a chair and wait when—
“Open the door.”
It was the duke.
Huh? He came way earlier than I expected. So fast that I wondered if he had been waiting nearby all along.
But hey, the sooner the better. I swung open the door and greeted him.
“Nice to see you, Dad!”
His expression froze for a moment—as if he hadn’t expected that.
But I read somewhere that you have to be shameless in life. So I walked out even more confidently.
“Dad?”
I showed a completely different side than what others like Cecelia had seen. After all, unlike the others, the duke was someone I needed.
To be honest, I was scared. His blue eyes were terrifying. Cecelia, Allen, and Lexitt didn’t scare me as much. The duke was a grown man—that made him even scarier.
Still, I gave him the brightest smile I could manage.
‘Because I have to survive.’
“Dad, huh…”
He trailed off, and I nodded even more firmly.
“By leaving me here, haven’t you already made that decision?”
“…I suppose so.”
Only then did he fully step inside the room.
Cecelia tried to follow him in, but the duke firmly shut the door in her face.
“Y-Your Grace!”
Her voice came faintly through the door, but the duke showed no mercy, cutting her off completely.
A loud thud followed, and the room fell into silence.
“If your sons came looking for me, that must mean you’ve made a decision. Right?”
“…”
“And didn’t you feel I was useful?”
Worried something might happen, I moved past him and sat on the bed where Mom lay.
Only his heavy footsteps echoed through the room.
Before I knew it, he stood in front of me, quietly looking down.
“You’re very bold. Aren’t you afraid of me? If you’ve even once heard the rumors about me, you wouldn’t act like this.”
“I know. I’ve heard all about the crazy duke. Rumors say you went mad and killed your wife, and that you’ll kill anyone you don’t like!”
I smiled brightly, as if I didn’t understand the gravity of the rumors—like a child my age should.
His face stiffened for a brief moment.
“You say things like that so casually. What if I got angry and killed you right now?”
“I’m not afraid of dying.”
And I will never lower myself in front of you.
I won’t let myself appear weak.
Even if I want to cry, I won’t. No matter how hard it gets, I won’t show a hint of sadness.
Because the moment I look weak, I’ll be devoured.
I have to be strong.
The duke silently stared at me for a long while, his expression sharp.
“Let me ask one thing. Did you lock the door and stop anyone from entering just so you could see me?”
“I didn’t want to talk to someone with no authority. I passed out yesterday, so I didn’t get to finish talking to you.”
“What else is there to say?”
His face was blank.
As if he had no interest in my words at all. That lack of emotion hit me hard.
‘I’m scared… I’m terrified.’
That’s why I pretended to be even stronger.
“I’m a useful person. I even restored the barrier in this place. Don’t you think I’m strong enough?”
“So, what do you want?”
“…”
“If you don’t say it, I won’t know. As you wanted, the members of the house will treat you as my daughter. Do you want something else?”
In my life, I’ve never really made a request.
Or rather, I had, countless times. But those who abused me and Mom never once granted even a single one.
When I begged them not to hit her anymore, when I said she was going to die.
When I asked them to at least let me build a grave for her after she died.
Even when I asked for spoiled bread because I was starving.
I had to survive by going outside during the 10 minutes of daily walk time and eating grass.
‘I hate asking for things…’
So I came to despise it.
Whenever we asked for something, they looked down on me and Mom even more.
“If you don’t speak, I won’t know anything. You were acting so bold—why can’t you speak now?”
“…You’re just going to ignore me.”
“What?”
“…It’s not a request! It’s nothing. I just wanted to say thank you. You’re really letting Mom and me stay here, right?”
“That’s right.”
“You’ll… protect Mom too, right?”
This time, he didn’t answer. He just nodded while looking at me.
What I really wanted was to be officially registered into the family. But I didn’t want to ask.
Never. I absolutely won’t ask.
I won’t let myself appear weak.
‘I’ll earn my place in this family with my own power—fair and square.’
I couldn’t bring myself to say what I truly wanted, even while facing him.
“That’s all you wanted to say?”
“Did you like the gift?”
“Gift?”
“Yeah! It’s not perfect, but I restored the barrier here. I hope that could be a small gift.”
“A gift, huh…”
He trailed off, and I quickly added,
“Anyway, since I gave you a gift, I’d like to get one from you too, Dad.”
I smiled brightly, but the duke waved his long hand dismissively.
“But that was just fixing what you broke.”
His voice turned cold again.
“That doesn’t qualify as a gift.”
What a jerk.
I didn’t want to beg, so I thought I could imply that being entered into the family was a gift. But he rejected me outright.
“…Is that so?”
“Yes. So if you want to receive a gift, do something worthy of it.”
I felt a pang of resentment. That was just petty.
“Okay.”
I bit my lip to keep the emotion from showing and nodded.
“Then we’re done talking?”
“…Uh, probably?”
“Did you call me just to check if I accepted your gift?”
“Yup! And to see your face too! You’re my dad now. I should see you at least once a day.”
The corners of the duke’s mouth twitched ever so slightly.
Was that good? Or bad?
“Alright. We’ve seen each other today, so that’s enough.”
“Okay!”
“Then I’ll get going. I have a lot to do.”
I thought he’d scold me with something like ‘Don’t call me again for such nonsense’, but surprisingly, he didn’t.
“Make sure you eat well.”
Instead, he caught me off guard with something unexpected.
“Huh?”
“With such a weak body, you won’t last more than a few days.”
My chest tingled for a moment.
‘Was he worried about me?’
He probably said it without any real feeling, but it still gave me strange emotions.
But that was it.
He left the room before I could even respond.
‘No way he’s worried about me. I’m just a useful tool to him.’
Thinking that, the fluttering in my chest quickly subsided.
“Mom, I think something’s wrong with me. My heart was racing.”
Mom, who knew none of this, still slept peacefully as I gently stroked her hair.
Then Cecelia entered the room.
She walked in briskly and stood before me, her voice sharp.
“Are you satisfied?”
“With what?”
“Bringing His Grace all the way here. Are you satisfied now?”
“Yup!”
“Ha…”
“And you—aren’t you supposed to be a maid here?”
