Chapter 7
“Does it even make sense for an orphan to know their birth month?!”
“It’s actually the opposite. I entered the orphanage in March, so that just means I was born before that. Ah, sorry. You probably wouldn’t know things like that. From now on, this big sister will kindly teach you, okay? Go on, say it—Lucel. Call me Noona. And Andasia, you try calling me Unni too.”
“Why would you be my older sister?!”
“I’m telling you, she’s completely insane. Father, she’s seriously not in her right mind!”
But Count Collin had no intention of finding fault with my behavior.
“You two. If you keep treating Rubie like this, I’ll ban shopping for a month, so stop it.”
“What kind of punishment is that?!”
The one who caused the biggest uproar was Andasia.
‘Now’s my chance.’
I lightly tapped Count Collin’s arm, making a show of it. This was the perfect timing to provoke Andasia’s temper.
“Ah, my feet hurt. I’ve been moving since morning, so I’m quite tired. Then, my lord, instead of standing here, could you show me to my room?”
“Of course. You must be exhausted, Rubi…e.”
“Yes! You promised to give me the best room, right?”
“That’s right. You said you wanted the best room—and a teddy bear as big as yourself.”
Like a benevolent father, Count Collin stroked my head before turning his gaze toward his daughter.
The moment the words best room were mentioned, wrinkles spread across Andasia’s forehead. Then she slowly tilted her head.
“What do you mean, the best room?”
“Andasia, you’ll be giving your room to Rubie.”
“What are you talking about?! Why should I give my room to some orphan?!”
“It’s a promise, so it can’t be helped. As my child, you wouldn’t want to make your father a liar, would you? So yield.”
“This is ridiculous!”
“Some orphan? You should call me Unni, Andasia. And as the eldest, it’s only right that I take the best room.”
Each time I tilted my head and shamelessly toed the line without quite crossing it, their faces turned bright red. The way it matched their hair color was almost amusing—like perfectly ripened tomatoes. I almost wanted to poke their cheeks and make them burst.
“Father, you’re just going to let her act like that?!”
“She’s not wrong. In fact, it’s rather nice to see siblings already getting lively with each other. Come, Rubie.”
Count Collin extended his hand to me. I took it naturally and glanced back at Andasia and Lucel, shrugging exaggeratedly as if to show off. The two followed behind as though they wanted to devour me alive.
“L-look at that! She acts like a sweet child in front of Father, and now she’s smirking at us!”
“Perhaps you’re just shocked by how cute my smile is, little sister.”
“Little sister?!”
Lucel shouted from behind, making a fuss, while Andasia simply glared at me in silence.
‘If she gets this worked up so easily, things ahead will be easier than expected.’
I had anticipated everything long before entering this household. And just as expected, everything was unfolding perfectly.
“Wow. Am I really allowed to use this room?”
“Of course. Go ahead.”
The room was located in the center of the second floor of the manor—the one with the best sunlight. As if to prove it had once belonged to Andasia, it was filled with expensive-looking toys and dresses. As soon as we entered, a servant brought a large box to me.
“This is a gift for you.”
Before he even finished speaking, I tore the box open. Inside was a teddy bear as large as my body.
“You really kept your promise.”
“Of course. Unlike some people, I’m very good at keeping promises.”
It was obvious who he was taking a jab at. For some reason, he seemed intent on keeping Duke Anekrokša in check, subtly trying to show that he was the better choice. Unfortunately for him, his remark was completely drowned out by Andasia’s scream.
“Father!!”
Andasia, who usually tried to act mature by calling him Father, finally snapped and shouted loud enough to echo through the hallway.
“What is it, Andasia?”
“You’ve got quite the voice. Might be the loudest in the Empire, little sister.”
“Shut up.”
She glared at me for butting in, while I hugged the teddy bear tightly to my chest.
“Andasia! You’re crossing the line.”
“You’re the one crossing the line, Father! That teddy bear is the one I asked for! A size no one else in the Empire has! They said it would take a long time, so I waited half a year for it!”
So the room was originally Andasia’s, and the teddy bear was meant for her as well. How unfortunate.
“What can I do? I made a promise.”
“My promise came first!”
Without hesitation, Andasia stormed toward me, clearly intending to snatch the teddy bear.
“Give it to me!”
“My lord, it’s okay. Since my little sister wants it… I’ll just give it to her. Please consider your promise kept. At the orphanage, things were often taken from me anyway, so I’m used to it.”
When I smiled brightly, the Count instead looked at Andasia with clear disappointment.
“How can two children of the same age be so different, Andasia?”
“Unfortunately, I’m nothing like that orphan trash. She was born with nothing, so she’s good at giving things up. I’m not.”
Andasia. Even in my memories, she had always been a problematic daughter who didn’t hesitate to act viciously.
Within ten years, once she debuted in high society, she would become quite infamous—tearing dresses off noble ladies who wore something similar to hers, or throwing hot water in someone’s face for mimicking her way of speaking. A budding menace destined to bloom into madness.
In the end, once I handed over the teddy bear, Andasia immediately began tearing it apart with all her strength. The bear that had supposedly taken half a year to make was reduced to a miserable state the moment it saw the world—its head ripped off, stuffing spilling out as it collapsed to the floor.
“A-Andasia!!”
“There. Satisfied now. Hey, orphan trash—take it if you want. I don’t care anymore.”
As expected of Andasia.
“Let’s go, Father. You’d better take responsibility for this.”
“Haah… this… how could you…?”
At this moment, the only thing truly pitiful was the teddy bear that had been sentenced to death the moment it was born.
“I’m sorry, Rubie.”
“It’s alright.”
“I’ll buy you another one.”
“No, it’s okay. You already bought one for me. This is enough.”
I picked up the bear’s severed head from where it rolled on the floor and hugged it tightly.
“She’s such a kind child, yet my children are still shy. Please understand. Instead, I’ll quickly prepare a teddy bear just for you.”
“Thank you. You’re truly a kind person, my lord. I’m glad I chose you.”
“Thank you for saying that. Now, get some rest.”
“Yes!”
Soon after, a servant brought my luggage into the room. Once the door closed, I placed the “deceased” teddy bear in a corner.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Bear. I knew she was crazy, but I didn’t expect this on the first day. Don’t worry—I’ll fix you.”
At the orphanage, dolls weren’t given to children. The excuse was that young kids might fight over them, but in truth, it was simply because they didn’t want the temple-managed children to look shabby with worn-out toys.
Because of that, many children learned sewing at a young age to make their own dolls. I was no exception. Now eight years old, I had always wanted a doll of my own. Though I wasn’t particularly skilled, stitching up a torn teddy bear wasn’t too difficult.
Perhaps because some stuffing had fallen out—or maybe it had been made a bit soft to begin with—the bear wasn’t very firm. That made it easier to restore its shape.
During that time, the servant brought meals to my room a couple of times, and I ate alone. And just like that, my first day in the Collin household came to an end.
The next day, Count Collin still seemed to tread carefully around me. Rather than worrying about his own children, he seemed determined to win my favor.
“I was thinking… how about we have dinner together?”
“I’d love to!”
I readily accepted his invitation when he came to my room.
“Let’s have dinner together every day. I’m inviting you to family meals. I’ve decided to consider you part of the family now.”
“I’m so touched.”
With sparkling eyes, I trotted over to his side.
“You understand how much I care about you, don’t you?”
“Of course!”
“But that… what happened there…?”
“It’s the first gift I’ve ever received from family, so I couldn’t just leave it as it was! My skills aren’t great, but I did my best to sew it back together.”
Because of its size, the teddy bear couldn’t be hidden. So when he came to invite me to dinner, Count Collin had no choice but to face the bear, now partially restored to its original form.
Smiling brightly like a cheerful and kind child, I stretched out my hands toward him—hands pricked full of tiny holes from sewing.
“You did this yourself? If you wanted it fixed, you could’ve asked someone else.”
“It’s my first gift from family… It’s very, very special to me. Thank you again.”
“I told you I’d buy you a new one…”
“This is enough for me.”
Was he feeling pity for me? He stared at the teddy bear for quite some time.
So the Count was capable of ordinary human emotions—sympathy, perhaps even compassion.
But in the end, he was still the father of those twins.
“As expected, the gift I gave is the best, after all.”
