Chapter 9
For the first time, Elizabeth honestly confessed to her father the feelings she had kept buried deep inside for so long.
“I was afraid you would think I was pathetic for being looked down upon by a maid and disown me.”
“……Good heavens.”
Marquis Lionette covered his mouth, his face stricken with shock.
“How could you ever think something like that……?”
“……I’m sorry.”
“You…… have nothing to apologize for. If anything, I’m the one who should be apologizing. I’m the one who made you think that way……”
Now he understood. He finally understood why this clever child had endured such unfair treatment without complaint, even though it was so unlike her.
For a whole ten years, no less.
She had done it because she was afraid of losing his affection.
‘I failed to give this child enough confidence in me as her father.’
The realization made him feel utterly wretched.
How had he failed to notice it sooner?
How had he foolishly believed that everything was fine simply because this child had managed to put together such a convincing façade?
You pathetic fool. With insight this poor…… You don’t even deserve to be the head of the family.
“……First of all.”
After taking a moment to calm the turmoil inside him, Marquis Lionette spoke again.
“I must teach you how not to apologize. A direct descendant of the great House Lionette must never apologize so easily to anyone. Doing so only brings shame upon the family.”
“But…… you’re my father.”
“You have even less reason to apologize to me, then.”
The marquis shook his head, his expression stern.
“I did find it strange that you apologized so frequently. But I thought it was simply because you had such a kind and considerate nature……”
Marquis Lionette clutched at his hair, his face contorted with anguish.
“I was wrong. You foolish child.”
“It isn’t entirely your fault, Father……”
“No, it’s entirely my fault. I should have paid more attention to you.”
It happened in that very moment.
Marquis Lionette knelt before Elizabeth.
“I’m sorry, Elizabeth. Don’t forgive me.”
“Father, please get up!”
Startled, Elizabeth hurried to help him to his feet, but the marquis refused to budge.
Direct descendants of House Lionette did not apologize.
And yet, seeing Marquis Lionette kneeling without hesitation before his own daughter left Elizabeth so utterly bewildered that her mind seemed to go blank.
Growing increasingly flustered, Elizabeth called out to him.
“Father!”
“It’s all my fault.”
He apologized for his mistakes in a calm, steady voice.
Elizabeth remained frozen before him, her face still dazed as she anxiously fidgeted.
“I don’t even know how I should make amends to you.”
At those words, all the strength drained from Elizabeth’s body.
She sank quietly to the floor in front of Marquis Lionette. Her lips moved hesitantly for a moment before she finally spoke.
“There’s something I’d like to ask you.”
Marquis Lionette looked at Elizabeth.
For the first time, Elizabeth voiced the question she had wanted to ask throughout the past ten years, the one she had kept buried in her heart.
“Have you ever…… thought of me as your real daughter? Even just once?”
“What? What on earth are you talking about……?”
Marquis Lionette tilted his head in confusion, looking as though he couldn’t understand her question at all.
“Are you saying I might have thought of you as a fake daughter?”
“……”
“Good heavens.”
Only then did Marquis Lionette realize the depth of Elizabeth’s long-held misunderstanding. He looked horrified as he hurried to explain.
“Eli, ever since you came to the Lionette estate, there has never been a single moment when you weren’t my daughter. I had no idea you were carrying such doubts in your heart.”
“How could a child of such lowly origins as me ever take the place of the real young lady, who was born noble……?”
“Take her place? What are you talking about? You are my daughter because I acknowledged you as such. And that child is that child, while you are you.”
Marquis Lionette pleaded with Elizabeth in a frustrated voice.
“You are my daughter too, Eli. And thinking that way is disrespectful to the Elizabeth who passed away, as well.”
“……I’m sorry.”
“There’s that apology again.”
At the marquis’s remark, Elizabeth pressed her lips tightly together.
Watching her, he let out a long sigh.
“Of course, it’s true that I brought you here because you reminded me of her when I saw you all alone. And given the circumstances, I gave you her name.”
Marquis Lionette spoke firmly.
“But I swear to you, not for a single moment have I ever thought of you as her replacement.”
She could tell from the marquis’s eyes that he wasn’t lying.
Come to think of it, she had never actually felt that he was trying to see his deceased daughter through her, despite what she had feared.
His taciturn nature had simply fueled her unnecessary misunderstandings.
“Then why did you think that?”
“……Because you never smiled at me.”
Elizabeth added in a hurt voice,
“You always had such a blank expression whenever you were around me.”
“That’s because……!”
There was a reason for that. Marquis Lionette looked as though he was about to lose his mind from sheer frustration as he began pounding his chest again.
When the late Elizabeth was little, Marquis Lionette had once seen his daughter just after she had woken up and smiled at her because she was so adorable.
‘Waaah! Waaah!’
But the moment the child saw his face, her expression crumpled, and she burst into tears.
Bailey, who had been her nanny, rushed over in alarm, picked up the baby, and tried to soothe her.
‘Oh, my poor little lady. Were you frightened? Your father came at you with such a scary face that you got quite a shock, didn’t you?’
‘I-I’m sorry, Eli…… It’s just that I was born looking like this……’
‘Please leave, Your Lordship! You’re frightening the young lady!’
The incident had become something of a trauma for him, and ever since then, he had made a point of rarely smiling.
‘Come to think of it, this is also that woman’s fault. Bailey never could keep her mouth shut.’
The thought only deepened his resentment toward Bailey.
As Marquis Lionette’s expression quickly grew more terrifying, Elizabeth flinched and nervously glanced at him.
Only belatedly realizing how she was reacting, the marquis hurried to relax his face and cleared his throat.
“Actually, I rarely smile.”
Marquis Lionette explained his own predicament as best he could.
“It’s because everyone thinks I look frightening when I smile. That’s why I simply stopped doing it. I didn’t want you to be frightened of me, you see.”
“But I’ve never once thought your smile was scary, Father.”
“You’ve seen me smile? When?”
“When I was little, I saw you smiling when you were alone.”
Elizabeth added shyly,
“I actually thought you looked handsome.”
“……That’s something I’ve never……”
Marquis Lionette murmured, looking completely bewildered.
“……heard before.”
“I’m serious!”
Elizabeth quickly continued.
“That’s why I was even sadder when you didn’t smile at me. I wondered why you wouldn’t show me that smile. I thought maybe you disliked me……”
“Of course not, Eli. Good grief……”
After letting out a long sigh, Marquis Lionette hesitantly asked a moment later,
“……You really think I look handsome?”
“Yes.”
“Ahem.”
At her firm answer, the marquis cleared his throat, looking embarrassed.
A moment later, he spoke, his face turning slightly red.
“Very well. I’ll try to smile more often from now on.”
At those words, a faint smile appeared on Elizabeth’s lips.
Marquis Lionette continued clearing his throat before bringing the conversation back to the original point.
“Anyway, it’s a misunderstanding to think I didn’t smile because I disliked you. Whenever you had your back turned to me or weren’t around, I’d think about how adorable you were and smile to myself as much as I pleased.”
I should have told her that, too.
Then she wouldn’t have spent all those years suffering in silence.
Marquis Lionette felt a bitter taste in his mouth as he reflected on the misunderstanding his daughter had carried for so long.
“So, you…….”
Elizabeth asked one final question, as though she needed to hear the answer one more time.
“You’re saying…… that you love me as your daughter?”
“Of course!”
Marquis Lionette answered with an expression so resolute it was almost solemn.
“I love you, Elizabeth. My beautiful daughter, if I didn’t love you, then who in this world could I possibly love?”
The moment she heard those words, tears spilled once more from Elizabeth’s eyes.
Seeing her cry, Marquis Lionette panicked and fidgeted anxiously.
“E-Eli? D-Did I say something wrong?”
“No, no…….”
Elizabeth wiped away her tears with a smile and confessed,
“I just think I’ve been such a fool all this time.”
She truly meant it. Why had she misunderstood his feelings for so long?
Perhaps her own insecurities had made her unwilling to see the truth.
After wiping away all her tears, Elizabeth finally smiled brightly and spoke.
“I’m glad that at least you love me, Father.”
“At least me……? What do you mean by that?”
Marquis Lionette tilted his head, unable to understand.
“Sometimes, your two older brothers can be even worse than I am.”
