TYHL 73

~Chapter 73~

I slowly opened my eyes.

The first thing I saw… was soft, fluffy pink hair, like cotton candy.

“Hello?”

Rosetta greeted me with a smile.

I only managed to move my eyelids before burying my face in the blanket.

“Hello…”

Wow. This is real.

It felt like I had wandered in a dream for a very long time.
But it turned out to be nothing but a dirty nightmare.

“Ugh… dreaming of my past life is rare.”

Maybe it was because I’d been so weak. The worst memories came back first, bad enough to make me swear never to get sick again.

“But at the end of it…”

Strangely enough, thanks to dreaming of my past life, I also recalled parts of the original story I had forgotten.

I quietly bit the inside of my lip. The memory was still vivid.

“Let’s see…”

While I was lost in thought, a cool hand touched my forehead.

“Hmm, the fever’s gone.”

Her gentle voice and softly curved eyes made the nightmare vanish in an instant.

That smile spread warmly like spring blossoms. I stared, entranced.

“Anywhere still hurt?”

“No, no…”

“Good. I’m glad.”

I rolled my eyes around, checking my surroundings.

My bedroom in Ipsun, at the Jebert duke’s mansion.
A small brazier nearby, wet cloths, and medicines scattered about.

Then it hit me.

“I… my secret was found out.”

“…”

“…”

Our eyes met in the air.

Rosetta Jebert, no longer the playful trickster or gravekeeper, but the duchess herself, radiated grace and dignity.

After a moment of hesitation, I spoke.

“Um.”

“Yes?”

Our voices overlapped like fate.

“You first?” she said with a little smile.

I nodded.

“Where’s Dad?”

“Cleaning up. The Emperor has arrived.”

What—The Emperor?!

“Then why is Dad the one cleaning up?”

“Because he threatened to punish the criminals himself.”

I almost asked why… but closed my mouth. Of course. Because of me.

Rosetta seemed to read my hesitation. She brushed my damp bangs aside with a cool hand.

“Blood for blood.”

“Huh?”

“It’s an old Jebert family motto.”

…What kind of villain motto is that?

“Not great, right?”

Rosetta, for once, sounded normal.

“They should’ve been more specific. Arterial blood? Venous blood? Enough to cause anemia? Enough to kill? Or maybe…”

“Uh… sounds about right.”

“What does?”

“Jebert people…”

I muttered. Rosetta looked puzzled, but oddly satisfied.

Maybe she was the scariest person of all. Skilled at disguises, probably good with a bow too…

I swallowed my real thoughts and ducked back under the blanket.

“Ow.”

When I moved, a sting shot through my wrist. Pulling back my sleeve, I saw white bandages wrapped around both wrists.

Ah… from being tied too tightly with ropes.

Rosetta smiled sweetly.

“Mm, I should’ve told them to cut the wrists off and send them back.”

“…”

The duchess is terrifying.

I tried to sit up, and she helped me, gently stroking my wrist.

“Rubian, I’m sorry.”

“Huh? Why?”

“For not telling you my identity at the mausoleum. I must have shocked you too much.”

Her soft voice brushed my ears. I quickly shook my head.

“I… I’m fine. I ate good food then… my voice came back… and I was hiding secrets too.”

(Though at the hot spring, I really was shocked out of my wits.)

Rosetta stroked my hair. After a pause, she asked carefully,

“Rubian, may I ask why you didn’t say you were a girl?”

Her clear sky-blue eyes looked right at me. In their reflection, my face looked frightened and uneasy.

She smiled gently to reassure me.

“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

“…Be…”

“Hm?”

Grinding my lip, I finally squeezed my eyes shut and shouted:

“Because I thought if I said I was a girl, I’d be abandoned!”

Creak—thud.

My head jerked up.

“Hah.”

A man filled the doorway, letting out a long sigh. The Duke, holding a tray, closed the door himself and strode over.

“Why would you even think that…”

His pained mutter spilled out. I stared blankly at his dripping black hair. He must have run here right after washing.

Rosetta quickly scanned him from head to toe, whispering,

“…Blood.”

“I washed it off.”

A quiet exchange only for them.

“Ruby.”

Dad set the soup on the table and touched my forehead. He and Rosetta pulled up chairs beside me.

“You hid your gender… because of me?”

His tone carried a hint of anger.

“Not just because of you…”

“My past—you thought I wouldn’t accept you?”

I fiddled with my fingers. He let out another heavy sigh.

“…That’s right.”

The bed dipped under his weight. His violet eyes looked straight into mine.

“Rubian, let me make this clear—you will never be abandoned. Whether you’re a boy or girl, whatever past you carry, none of it matters.”

My fingers stopped fidgeting.

“You are already enough, just as you are.”

“….”

“…And I’m a fool for only saying this now.”

Even in the cave, he had said it didn’t matter who I was. I was still his precious little one.

“Sniff…”

My eyes burned. Dad carefully pulled me into his arms.

“I’m sorry, Ruby. Sorry I didn’t realize sooner.”

All this time, I had thought I’d need to beg for forgiveness when my secret was revealed.

Instead, I was the one being apologized to.

Sorry I didn’t know. Sorry for leaving you anxious. Sorry I couldn’t reassure you earlier.

From those words, I felt deep affection and solid comfort—something I had never even dreamed of in my past life.

Rosetta chuckled lightly.

“When did my husband get so good with words?”

I sat on Dad’s lap, sniffing, as she dabbed my face with a soft handkerchief.

“Wasn’t he always like this?”

“No. A wind-up doll was better. Squeak, creak, break.”

“…Rose.”

Dad frowned, embarrassed.

“Not that bad.”

But he didn’t sound too confident.

“Hnn… I want a wind-up doll…”

Suddenly tears burst out again. I cried like a little kid, babbling nonsense.

Dad panicked, Rosetta flustered, telling him to give me water.

Maybe… maybe I had always wanted to cry like this.

To throw silly tantrums, to sob, and still have people gently wipe my face with care.

“Such a crybaby daughter now.”

But Dad didn’t leave me. He didn’t look disgusted or fed up.

“…Daughter.”

I hiccupped, drinking warm water, then asked:

“Will you make me your daughter?”

“Ha. What else would I do?”

He laughed in disbelief, pinching my cheek.

“Really, how didn’t I realize? There were so many signs…”

His stiff shoulders slumped, heavy with regret.

“I’m the biggest fool.”

This time, his muttered words hit me clearly.

I smacked his shoulder in protest.

“Don’t call my dad an idiot!”

Rosetta laughed, joining me.

“Yeah! Don’t insult my husband!”

Caught between the two of us, Dad could only sigh and laugh helplessly.

“You’re right. I’m the guilty one.”

Dangling tears still in my eyes, I laughed too.

The laughter melted away the tight knot inside my chest.

And in its place, something new sprouted—

A fragile little sprout of love, ready to grow stronger.

After finishing my soup and medicine, sleep tugged at me again.

Dad and Rosetta kissed my forehead in turn before leaving.

“They really feel like mom and dad.”

I pressed my hand to my warm forehead.

Staring at the ceiling, the dream’s contents came back.

The sweetness faded, sinking like a stone.

“…It was a magician.”

Not a beast.

In the original story, Leviathan Jebert was killed by a magician.

On a dark night, under the faint light of the moon.