Chapter 8
“Good grief… the will is really… long.”
Ezekiel seemed to feel the same way. But unlike me, he only looked slightly bewildered.
Meanwhile, my heart felt so tight I could barely speak.
And for good reason.
‘My mom… she wasn’t stupid, but she was never this meticulous either.’
She was free-spirited and easygoing by nature. Clumsy at times. Not incapable—once she sat at her desk she worked at a possessed speed—but she always complained that it was boring and tiresome. Those memories were still vivid.
“Asha, Mom is going to make Caledro the freest place in the Empire.”
“Mom, that doesn’t mean the lord can freely skip work, you know…”
“Teaching my successor is also part of a lord’s duty!”
“Going out to play together doesn’t count as education!”
“Hahaha! Good, Asha! Since you agree, let’s go!”
“Wait, I didn’t agree—Mommmmm!!”
Whenever she got bored and decided to skip out, she would jump straight out the window, insisting that windows were technically doors too whenever I protested.
That kind of person leaving behind such a complex, elaborate will.
‘It’s because of me.’
I didn’t even need to read it to know. This was a shield my mother had forged over many long years—for the sake of the child she would leave behind alone.
“…….”
My lips puckered like a bird’s beak. My eyes burned.
If I could, I would run straight to her and hug her with all my strength. But I couldn’t, and that made me unbearably sad.
Fortunately, Ezekiel’s cold voice dragged me back to reality.
“Could you explain the main point first?”
“Yes. Thankfully, what Her Highness requests of the second executor is quite simple.”
…Hold on a second.
‘If rejecting imperial protection and summoning that man here as the second executor was all part of Mom’s intention…’
Then this will must be—
The realization hit me belatedly, and I felt the blood drain from my face. I tried to speak to stop them, but my mouth only opened and closed soundlessly.
‘What is this?!’
This was Mom’s doing. No doubt about it. She had made sure no one could interfere while the will was being delivered!
‘Her intentions were good, but Mom, this is too much…!’
I waved my hands frantically, trying to express my protest, but unlike me, Marquis Mafilda’s voice wasn’t sealed.
“Her Highness the Duchess wishes that her only blood relative—her daughter, the Princess of Caledro and sole heir, Sha—Leche Angelica Caledro—be raised under the protection of her biological father and second executor, Duke Ezekiel Ispahan Ricard, rather than under the Imperial Family, until she comes of age.”
‘Nooooooo!!’
I could practically see my mother above the scroll, winking and giving a triumphant thumbs-up. I wanted to cry. I wanted to scream until my throat tore.
‘This isn’t it, Mommmmm!!’
But I couldn’t. And even if I did, it wouldn’t change anything.
‘I said this isn’t it!!’
Because she was already a distant star in the sky—far beyond my reach.
After the bombshell exploded and the two adults casually agreed to “discuss the details on the way to the capital,” I could only sit there in a daze, completely wrecked.
‘How did this even happen?’
Ricard? I have to go back to the Ricard family now?
‘Absolutely not. No way. Over my dead body.’
I wanted to throw a tantrum, cry, scream—but…
“Why are you suddenly slumped over like that?”
…I couldn’t, because Ezekiel still hadn’t left.
Swallowing my raw frustration, I hugged my doll and muttered, “Don’t know,” turning away pointedly so I wouldn’t have to see his face.
“Such poor manners.”
“You sure expect a lot from a three-year-old.”
“What?”
Ezekiel blinked in disbelief. Well, to be fair, it wasn’t exactly something a real three-year-old would say.
‘Yeah, I know.’
Normally, kids insist they’re grown up no matter how young they are. No child ever admits to being little. Before I regained my memories, I was the same. So logically, I should pretend to be clueless so I don’t seem strange…
‘But I don’t want to.’
I’d rather die than act like an innocent baby in a situation like this.
Of course, I wasn’t planning to reveal that I used to be Beatrice and had reincarnated.
There were many reasons.
First: Beatrice Ricard had died as a traitor.
Given that, I had successfully “laundered” my identity in this new life—why would I voluntarily declare myself that criminal?
Besides, if possible, I wanted to sever all ties with my previous life. I never, ever wanted to become part of the Ricard family again.
I wanted to live only as the daughter of the mother who died for me—not the mother who killed me.
‘And even if I said I was reincarnated, no one would believe me anyway.’
Belief in reincarnation or resurrection was strictly taboo in the Empire. People obsessed with such things were generally considered idiots.
In short, I had no choice but to continue living as a three-year-old.
Restricted because of my age. Controlled. Waiting to grow up.
That was the only way I could remain Asha instead of becoming Beatrice again.
‘And I’m already furious enough about that.’
Do I really have to act childish on top of it?
‘Nope. Not happening.’
Some kids are just mature, okay?
And even if someone ever said, “Wow, are you reincarnated?” they’d be the crazy one, not me.
Besides, even before I regained my memories, I spoke early and used an unusually wide vocabulary.
So the chance of being suspected? Less than 0.0000001%.
Conclusion: I’ll do whatever I want.
Unaware of my internal resolution, Ezekiel scoffed.
“You say I expect too much?”
“Yeah. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t expect anything from me. I don’t feel like meeting your expectations anyway. It’s annoying.”
I tried to avoid sounding childish, but a few slurred syllables still slipped through.
“The way you talk—”
Apparently it was enough to impress Ezekiel regardless.
“You sound less like a three-year-old and more like a thirty-year-old claiming to be three.”
Hmph. And?
“I’m sleepy now. I don’t want to talk anymore.”
“Not only strange, but terribly rude as well.”
…Seriously, I was trying my best to let tonight pass peacefully…
‘This guy, honestly.’
Unable to hold back, I shot him a glare. Ezekiel stood there like a statue, looking down at me.
That hardened face, colder and more severe than I remembered. The same oppressive gaze.
But for some reason…
When I had been his younger sister, even that expression would have made me shrink. Now, though, I felt oddly calm.
‘Why? Did I get braver?’
In fact, part of me even thought, ‘I already punched him once—maybe I should kick him next.’
Of course, there was no way Ezekiel Ricard would leave himself open again.
So instead, I decided to use the only weapon available to me.
“Maybe it’s because I grew up without a dad. Anyway, that’s not my fault, so don’t complain about it. You can at least manage that much, right?”
