CHAPTER 39………………………………………………………………………
Even Barak Hill Rise could see that I had always acted like April, doing whatever I could to avoid being abandoned.
I would never have done anything to weaken my position, like pushing April down the stairs.
Even if I had threatened someone to push her, there was no guarantee that April wouldn’t tell the duke and duchess.
“It didn’t really matter whether I actually pushed April or not, did it?”
“…You.”
“That was just an excuse to get rid of me. Whether it was true or not didn’t matter at all.”
For a moment, guilt flickered across Barak’s face. But perhaps not wanting to show it, he lowered his head, drew a deep breath, and asked,
“So what’s that supposed to mean?”
“…”
“You’re not even of the Rise bloodline. I’m just taking care of my sister—what’s wrong with that?”
Right. I didn’t expect him to apologize politely. Humans didn’t change.
I swallowed the smile threatening to escape.
“I told you not to irritate me—but I guess I need to say it the other way.”
“…”
“Don’t irritate me.”
I looked down at him, slightly bending my knees to meet his gaze.
“I told you before, right? I have to stay here for a year.”
“…”
“You’re provoking me, knowing exactly how I’ll behave over this year.”
“If you act recklessly, I’ll kill you. Got it?”
I grabbed his wrist as he reached for me and slammed it to the floor. Lifting my foot, I stomped on the back of his hand.
“Ugh!”
“Don’t ever try putting your hands on me like that again, Barak Hill Rise.”
“Should I move my foot?”
“Today, I spared you by just hitting your head once.”
Instead of moving it, he ground it harder with his heel in response.
“Next time, I’ll deal with the hand that tried to threaten me—just like you said.”
I had bitten my lips so hard that a drop of blood had formed on them.
Tsk tsk. I clicked my tongue and echoed the exact words he had once said.
“Losing one hand doesn’t stop you from living your life, does it?”
He paused, trying to withdraw his hand, and lifted his head.
He looked dazed, as if he hadn’t expected to hear that. I ignored it and lightly tapped his shoulder, straightening my bent knees and spine.
“Miss.”
The door of the library, firmly shut until now, opened, and Amber’s voice came from the entrance.
Calling out several times, as if searching for me, her light footsteps drew closer.
“Miss April!”
Hearing that, Barak’s face contorted viciously. I could vividly imagine him later grabbing Amber like a mouse. This was exactly why I had said not to call me Miss April.
Amber, slightly taken aback by the sight of Barak slumped in front of me, entered the library.
Seeing Barak like this must have seemed strange—he was usually so imposing.
“What’s the matter?”
Amber glanced at me briefly, then slightly lowered her head in a perfect maid-like gesture.
“A guest has arrived.”
A guest? There shouldn’t be anyone looking for me. I blinked slowly, and Amber continued,
“It’s the priest, Tamitarte, from the temple.”
An unexpected visitor.
Why would that priest come looking for me?
I blinked again, glancing at Barak from the corner of my eye.
“I’ve shown him to the reception room.”
“Good.”
I had found the books I needed, had no reason to stay in the library, and didn’t want to remain with Barak any longer. Ignoring the obvious gaze from behind, I handed the two books I had been holding to Amber.
“Leave them in my room.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Amber continued to address me as “Your Highness.” I met her slow gaze. Calling me that would definitely cause Barak to be irritated later.
Though she was a maid of the ducal house, and I shouldn’t care if she got harassed, the fact that she treated me from the beginning as the lady of the house, even though I wasn’t April, made me feel protective and a bit indulgent toward her.
Sensing my gaze, Amber tilted her head with an awkward smile.
“Your Highness?”
I let out a thin sigh and said,
“If Barak says anything to you, just tell him I told you to do it. If he asks, say I said he would be punished if he didn’t obey. That’ll stop him from arguing.”
Still confused, Amber nodded.
“Go now.”
I gestured for her to leave. Amber hugged the books to her chest, bowed, and quickly exited my sight.
Amber didn’t seem bad, but what she had just witnessed in the library—Barak and me—was exactly the kind of story that would quickly spread through the ducal house.
If it spread, only Barak would be embarrassed. Even if I tried to match him, no one here could stop me.
From Barak’s perspective, he would think he could ignore me after a year. But as long as I didn’t fix April, he wouldn’t dare treat me recklessly.
With thoughts of quickly returning April to the ducal residence and revealing news that would flip her world upside down, I gently pushed open the door to the reception room.
Through the open window, the scent of wisteria drifted in.
And the soft lavender hair, like pale wisteria blooms, swayed in the breeze, meeting my gaze.
This wasn’t the look of surprise and flustered confusion he had shown when I wore my mother’s face.
His expression was slightly tense, and I hid my nervousness and heartbeat with a small smile.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“No, it’s I who should apologize for coming without notice.”
After exchanging light pleasantries, I sat opposite him.
“What brings you here?”
He wouldn’t recognize me as the woman he had seen that day, so I guessed he had come for some other purpose—likely related to Rozian rather than Tamitarte himself. Tamitarte was probably just a pawn of Rozian.
“I’ve been concerned since that day, so I came to see you personally.”
“Thank you for your concern, but I’m perfectly fine.”
“…”
“My leg is fine too.”
I lifted the hem of my skirt slightly and tapped my foot a few times. I could walk, live, and even run with no problem—not that it was my leg that was injured, so of course it was fine. His soft blue eyes glanced briefly at my feet, smiling with worry—the same smile as the goddess statue at the temple.
“There’s no need to worry.”
“I came because I’ve been uneasy about what was said at the temple that day.”
I flinched slightly at the tension in our conversation.
“You mentioned that perhaps the priest who treated Your Highness was that same person.”
“Yes. Priest Tamitarte said that the priest had left the temple.”
Normally, they’d say he had gone elsewhere to serve or on a mission.
I stayed tense, uncertain how the conversation would flow. Even a minor slip could be used against me.
Moreover, he was an associate of Rozian.
“I came to ask about that priest.”
Sure enough, I licked my dry lips.
If Tamitarte didn’t know about my mother, I could have laughed it off. I could have lightly said it was my father, the duke, who found someone to treat my leg. But I didn’t—because this person knew about my mother.
I reached for the teacup in front of me as my mouth went dry.
“Did Lord Rozian instruct you to find out about this?”
At my mention of Rozian, he gave a look, and I continued,
“Is there anyone in the capital who doesn’t know Lord Rozian is a major benefactor of the temple?”
Rozian had been a favorite concubine from the temple orphanage, so naturally…
Taking a sip of tea, I felt my tension ease slightly.
At the mention of Rozian, the priest’s face hardened.
“This has nothing to do with Lord Rozian.”
“Even so, it’s hard to believe.”
Thieves never admit to stealing; would they confess if they had? It wasn’t credible.
