Chapter 155
When Selina stepped out of the tent, Mie, Theodore, and Chris—who had been waiting—jumped to their feet.
“Is it finally over?”
“Selina, let’s hurry! If we don’t, all the good spots will be taken!”
They approached her familiarly, but Selina passed right by them with a face so stiff it was almost frightening.
Everything had happened so suddenly that they were left stunned.
“……She looks angry,” Chris muttered.
Mie nodded.
“But why? The last ones to get their fortunes read were Sylvia and the marchioness.”
Unless she had dealt with an especially troublesome customer, there was no reason for Selina to be upset. Besides, hadn’t she been excited about the fireworks before Sylvia arrived?
“Let’s just follow her. At this rate, we’ll lose her,” Theodore said.
Chris and Mie nodded and hurried after Selina—but she disappeared into the crowd before they could catch up.
Ignoring her friends calling after her, Selina searched around, looking for Anais.
Turning into an alley, she spotted her standing between the stalls.
Anais was with the three Hailers siblings and a man who appeared to be their father.
The moment Selina saw Anais, she let out a trembling breath and moved to a place with fewer people, removing the earrings she was wearing.
Lowering her head, she watched as her red hair gradually changed into a pale lavender color.
They had separated when she was very young, so Anais might not recognize her face—but surely she would recognize this hair.
This was the first time Selina had revealed her true appearance in front of so many people.
She was the type whose impression changed drastically with just her hair color.
Even if someone nearby knew her, Selina believed they wouldn’t recognize her at a glance. With that thought, she slowly began walking toward where Anais stood.
Meanwhile, Arnold, who had been watching his children cheerfully walk ahead between the lively stalls, spoke to Anais.
“I’m sorry. I really wanted to give you that painting.”
Earlier, after finishing the auction, Arnold had apologized for failing to obtain what he wanted.
“It’s fine. Was it very popular?” Anais asked.
“Most people dropped out early, but one person followed all the way to the end. I eventually gave up.”
“How much did it sell for?”
“Two hundred eleven gold.”
Anais gasped.
“211 gold? I don’t think anything has ever sold for that much at the academy auction.”
“Exactly. There were still plenty of other items left, so I quit midway. But judging by the other bidder, they seemed to be pushing themselves too. If I’d known, I might have followed through to the end.”
“So who bought the painting?”
“I’m not sure who they were… but they looked very familiar.”
The face was unmistakably familiar, yet he couldn’t recall where he’d seen them.
“They didn’t seem like a noble.”
If they weren’t a noble, where had they gotten such a huge sum of money? The mysterious person who bought The Lady of the Veil went on to win two more pieces in the subsequent auctions.
“At least I managed to get everything else you were interested in, so let that be enough.”
“Someone might think I’m angry if they heard that. I’m not upset, so don’t worry about me so much. I’m actually happy—I got a lot of wonderful paintings.”
As Anais’s delicate hand brushed down Arnold’s arm, he smiled faintly and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
“Ah! That was the one I picked!”
“First come, first served.”
“Silvester, at times like this, you should just give in to Sylvia.”
“Brother’s right! You should give it to your kind little sister!”
The children ahead suddenly began bickering amongst themselves. It seemed Silvester and Sylvia were fighting over something.
“Honestly, even though they’re grown…”
“With so many people around… I should go stop them.”
Arnold walked over and scolded them, prompting Silvester and Sylvia to protest loudly.
It was a little noisy, but such a warm family scene made Anais smile.
Covering her mouth as she chuckled softly, her smile soon turned bittersweet as she looked at the four people she loved dearly.
…If only that child had been there too.
She knew it was a dream that could never come true, yet she couldn’t help thinking of her child.
Feeling melancholy, Anais looked at Sylvia laughing brightly among the three men.
At least I have Sylvia.
The child she adopted in place of the one she never found was Sylvia.
She had met her while searching everywhere for her own child with Arnold’s help.
“Dear… they say they’ve found a child with pale lavender hair.”
Upon hearing news of a five-year-old girl with pale lavender hair, Anais rushed to the orphanage.
But the child she met was not her own.
…No.
“She’s not your child?”
“No… I was sure she would be.”
She was startled at first by the hair so astonishingly similar to her own, but the moment she saw the girl’s face, her hope plummeted into despair.
Unable to bear it, Anais burst into tears, and Arnold held her shoulders, comforting her. At that moment, a small hand tugged at Anais’s skirt.
“Please don’t cry…”
Though the child didn’t resemble her, the scent of her hair reminded Anais of her own child. With tear-filled eyes, Anais looked down at her.
“Are you my mom? Did you come to take me?”
Unlike her own child’s violet eyes, this girl had deep blue ones—eyes filled with both hope and anxiety.
When the child clung to Anais, the orphanage staff hurriedly pulled her away.
“I’m sorry, ma’am. The child was rude.”
“She isn’t the child you were looking for, correct?”
Behind the staff member bowing repeatedly, Anais saw the child being dragged away.
“Let go! I’m going with Mom!”
“Tsk, can’t you stay still?”
“Mom! Mom!”
The crying child reminded her of the daughter who must have been searching for her somewhere.
Stopping her tears, Anais asked the staff member,
“She kept calling me ‘Mom’… why is that?”
“Ah, please don’t worry. That child hasn’t been here long. She was abandoned at birth. Children who were abandoned as babies often cling to visitors, hoping they might be their parents.”
………
Unable to bear the harsh reality, Anais turned toward the door—but the child was already gone.
“Shall we go now?”
“Yes…”
After returning to the estate with Arnold, still unable to find her child, Anais couldn’t forget the voice that had called out to her.
Unable to shake the image of the girl, she returned to the orphanage.
“Mom!”
The moment the child saw her, she ran straight into Anais’s arms, refusing to let go even as people tried to pull her away—afraid Anais would leave again.
Anais couldn’t abandon a child who reminded her so painfully of her own.
In the end, she adopted her.
She named her Sylvia and devoted herself wholeheartedly to raising her.
Through Sylvia, Anais comforted herself by giving her everything she couldn’t give her biological child.
That little child had grown into such a mature young woman. Time truly passed quickly.
If my child had grown up… she would have looked like that too, wouldn’t she?
With a faint smile, Anais looked away—and then, something caught her eye.
Among the countless people, she saw what looked like the very image of the child she had just imagined.
Thinking she might be mistaken, she rubbed her eyes—but it was unmistakable.
“Ah…!”
A girl with the same pale lavender hair as hers stood among the crowd, violet eyes shining as she stared back at Anais with an unreadable expression.
Anais knew instinctively—this was the child she had been searching for all these years.
“My baby…”
As if entranced, Anais reached out—but the girl turned and began to disappear into the crowd.
Afraid of losing her, Anais hurried after her, but with the fireworks about to begin, the crowd was too thick to move through easily.
“Please, wait!”
“Please, let me through!”
Her desperate cries were swallowed by the crowd.
Soon, the pale lavender hair vanished from sight.
Having lost her child right before her eyes, Anais staggered. As her pale blue eyes wavered helplessly, someone grabbed her arm.
“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
It was Arnold, who had rushed over when she moved away.
Seeing his wife’s face drained of color, he grew alarmed.
“…I found her.”
“What? What did you say?”
“I found my child.”
Arnold sucked in a sharp breath.
Still dazed, Anais clutched him desperately, tears streaming down her face.
“She’s here, my love! But she disappeared right in front of me…”
“Wait—calm down. Are you sure you saw her clearly?”
Biting his lower lip, Arnold nodded.
“She was exactly the right age, her hair was just like mine—her eyes were violet too! She’s definitely my child!”
“………”
“Please… please help me find her.”
Unable to endure the overwhelming sorrow, Anais collapsed. Arnold hurriedly supported her, shielding her as she sobbed uncontrollably.
The three Hailers siblings, following behind, froze in shock at the sight of Anais crying—but their parents had no room to notice them.
“Haah… haah… haah…”
Selina panted heavily in a secluded corner where no one passed.
After running with all her strength, her breath was ragged. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.
She definitely recognized me.
She had never intended to speak to her—she only wanted to know if Anais would recognize her when their eyes met.
But the way her expression changed in an instant made it clear.
And the voice calling after her as she ran had been painfully desperate.
Selina twisted her face and buried it in her hands.
She had gotten the answer she wanted—so why did her chest feel so tight?
Why was the woman who lived happily with her family searching for her so desperately?
“You abandoned me like that…”
Selina couldn’t understand her—or forgive her—acting as if she regretted it now.
Was it really true, as Runios said, that Nox’s manipulation had made her abandon her?
“If that’s true… then what have I been living my life believing in all this time?”
It felt as if her entire life had been denied.
And now, she didn’t even know whom to direct this burning anger toward anymore.
