Chapter 4
While Lanze was heading to the vault in the main building, the Count was not in his bedroom, but in his study. He couldn’t sleep due to the many worries on his mind.
‘Who could it be?’
Even when he realized the underground vault had been opened, the Count wasn’t surprised.
He thought perhaps his eldest grandson had dipped in for entertainment money, or the youngest had bought something useless. If not that, maybe his eldest granddaughter had finally reached even the vault in order to fund her studies abroad.
He silently thanked his ancestors for passing down the ring that signaled when the vault entrance was opened.
With only cold fury in his heart, the Count descended.
“To open the vault without my permission… Who dares?”
But the situation didn’t unfold as expected.
Inside the vault, he was met not by a familiar face, but by a strange girl in worn clothes.
There was no way an unfamiliar face should be seen here. Only blood acknowledged by the family head could open the vault.
“My mother is Ludia Baer.”
The moment the Count heard that name, a long-standing doubt was shattered.
There was no family history of such a disease, so why had Erna fallen so gravely ill? His daughter-in-law’s death had been close to an unexpected accident, and Erna had been miraculously healthy right after birth.
Sixteen years ago, the Count had brought the baby’s blood and performed a ritual here.
Erna’s illness had been discovered only days later.
‘What if, during that time…’
The Count allowed himself a dangerously hopeful thought.
Of course, he hadn’t entirely abandoned more rational possibilities. Perhaps one of his grandsons had quickly fled and Lanze had taken the fall for it.
“Open it again.”
But Lanze opened the vault right in front of him.
The Count, overwhelmed, pulled Lanze into an embrace as she moved to support him.
“Yes! That’s what happened!”
That lowly woman Ludia Baer, the one his eldest son had loved, had swapped the children!
He was too overcome to put it into words. Naturally, he didn’t point out anything either.
“This explains everything…”
Lanze being able to open the vault, Erna’s mysterious illness—it all made sense now.
“What explains everything?!”
Lanze shouted, but the Count ignored her, choosing to keep his thoughts to himself.
The excited Count took Lanze to his study.
‘Should I run away now?’
Lanze hesitated briefly, but since the Count was acting kindly, she decided to wait and see.
“Your clothes are too thin. Aren’t you cold?”
“…”
He seated her by the fireplace, ordered the butler to bring a warm drink—suddenly behaving in an unusually affectionate manner.
‘Did he eat something weird? Or is he drunk?’
Her question was soon answered when her uncle, summoned in the middle of the night, appeared.
“Father, what’s going on…?”
“Just sit.”
Though he was puzzled to see what looked like a maid sitting next to the Count, he obeyed his father’s command. His face clearly said he had no idea why a maid would be there.
‘Right? I want to know too.’
Lanze felt the same way.
While uncle and niece exchanged wary glances, the Count began to speak in an excited tone.
“Listen carefully.”
“Yes, yes.”
“The daughter of your elder brother is actually this girl sitting next to you.”
“Excuse me…? What?”
Halfheartedly responding, Eirik suddenly jolted awake.
After listening to the Count’s great discovery—or realization, or maybe just a theory—Eirik was speechless for a long time.
So was Lanze.
‘Is he senile?’
Fortunately, Eirik knew how to express shock with polite words.
“Father, I don’t understand what you’re saying… I’m a bit confused.”
“I’ve explained. That child opened the vault. The authority to open it comes from me.”
But the Count was now utterly convinced.
“Your brother’s daughter underwent the ritual at birth. If this girl can open the vault, then the child must have been swapped at some point after that.”
Eirik went quiet again.
He also remembered the day his sister-in-law died. Even amid his grief, the Count had pricked the newborn granddaughter’s finger and collected her blood.
“…Still, we should be cautious. It’s an old mechanism. There could be errors or flaws.”
“We’ll have Erna try. That should confirm it.”
Lanze wanted to object, but held herself back.
‘Confirm it?’
As Eirik pointed out, if there was something wrong with the vault itself, even Erna’s result wouldn’t be trustworthy.
‘He really might be senile.’
Remembering her partner’s advice to keep calm when needed, Lanze managed not to lash out.
Of course, the Count believed he had a solid reason.
If there really was an issue with the vault, he would’ve known. And given his dissatisfaction with Erna, it made more sense to suspect her.
Truthfully, Eirik didn’t completely doubt his father’s judgment either. He was just shocked and had grown stubborn in response.
“If we compare with her mother’s family, we’ll know for sure. It’s a sensitive matter, so I’ll go to Morigen myself.”
At present, maternal lineage was the most accurate evidence. The Count nodded.
Eirik left, saying he’d depart at dawn.
‘Why…’
As he exited, he cast a resentful and bitter glance at Lanze.
But she didn’t have time to dwell on it. The Count immediately grabbed her hands tightly.
“I’m sorry.”
“Excuse me?”
Her mind blanked out. Tonight had been beyond overwhelming.
Too many things were happening at once.
By some miracle, she had returned to the past. She’d just been trying to rob a vault before heading to the capital—and had gotten caught by the Count.
‘No. Still manageable up to this point.’
Had her life gone to plan, she would never have ended up nearly dead and waking up in an attic. Lanze was used to surprises and disappointments.
But now, facing a teary-eyed Count holding both her hands—that was beyond her limits.
‘Senior! What should I do?!’
She tried an imaginary Q&A session with her partner, but it didn’t help. Even the imagined Lenart just looked confused and shook his head.
Meanwhile, the Count spoke, still holding her hands tightly.
“From now on… I’ll return to you everything you should’ve had.”
Lanze wanted to say she didn’t need any of it.
She didn’t know what he meant by “should’ve had,” and in her confusion, she didn’t even want to stay here.
So many complicated things were about to unfold, and even her trusted partner was far away. All she wanted was to see Lenart again.
But Lanze wasn’t given a chance to refuse.
With actual tears, the Count sent her to a guest room.
“Your room will be ready by morning. Forgive me, but please stay here for tonight.”
The fact that he apologized again completely drained Lanze of motivation.
Only after lying on the soft bed could she finally begin to process everything.
“They’re saying I was switched with Erna?”
Just saying it out loud left her breathless.
Even sitting upright didn’t change anything. She couldn’t calm down and began pacing around the room.
“So Ludia really did that…?”
By now, the Count’s reaction didn’t matter. All that echoed in her head was the truth he’d declared.
After circling so much she could barely tell if it was her body or thoughts spinning, Lanze threw herself back onto the bed.
‘I’ll just sleep and think again later.’
She hadn’t even managed to rob the vault. Her plan was in shambles, and more than anything, she was horribly tired.
‘Wait, isn’t this…’
As she finally forced her eyes shut, her racing heart began to calm.
‘…the same room I used before?’
Naturally, she didn’t get much sleep.
At dawn, Lanze immediately checked every corner of the room.
‘It really is.’
It was the same room she’d stayed in for a few months before entering the academy. Whether it was coincidence or a decision made by the Count or the butler based on some criteria, it left her with a strange feeling.
‘No, now’s not the time for this. I need to figure out what to do next.’
She had leapt into action and failed—so now her next steps had to be more careful.
Pushing the Count’s story to the back of her mind, Lanze reassessed her goal.
‘I still don’t want to be here.’
If so, she needed to find money.
Lanze nodded to herself. All she had on her was a single sword, and leaving with only that wouldn’t be wise.
‘And I can’t even sell this.’
She liked it enough to take it from the vault first, but more than that, it wasn’t worth much—it only worked well for her and didn’t have flashy functions.
‘I need travel funds. There must be another vault.’
The prime candidates were the family head’s study or bedroom.
But Lanze didn’t have time to think long.
“My lady, your room is ready.”
Later that morning, the head maid arrived.
Both the maid—still flustered from the dramatic night—and Lanze, whose focus had been shattered, wore awkward expressions.
Lanze was startled at the maid’s form of address.
Even after being legally adopted as her uncle’s daughter, the head maid used to omit honorifics. She had always drawn a strict line between kitchen maids and noble daughters, though she’d acknowledged Lanze had gained some protection.
‘But now she changed her tone immediately.’
While Lanze had been busy plotting theft, something must have happened.
“My room?”
Noticing the silence dragging, Lanze belatedly responded.
“Yes. This is a guest room, after all. Your actual room has been prepared, so I’ve come to escort you.”
Now that she thought about it, the Count had said something like that. Lanze decided to follow her.
And soon, she saw a space she’d never been allowed to enter before—a place reserved for the “real” family.
She was briefly amazed by the ornate hallway. But once the door opened, she couldn’t help but gape.
The sunlit room was twice the size of the guest room, with a personal study and wardrobe attached.
“What’s in those boxes?”
“Gifts from the Count. Would you like to open them?”
Lanze cautiously opened one. The ribbon bore the logo of a familiar boutique from a nearby city.
“These are ready-to-wear for now, but a tailor will be summoned to make custom clothes soon.”
‘How unnecessary…’
She’d worn clothes from that shop before without issue. Scoffing, she opened another box.
Hats, shoes, parasols, gloves, combs, mirrors, makeup… all beautiful and high-quality.
Yet as the recipient, Lanze felt nothing but discomfort. All she could think was how many people had been made to scramble overnight.
The Count probably said one thing and then went to sleep.
‘What is this?’
She scowled at the sight of a soft plush toy.
‘Even if I’m sixteen, I’m too old to play with stuff like this.’
The head maid offered a half-hearted excuse on the Count’s behalf.
“He ordered everything you missed out on in life to be prepared for you…”
“Yes, yes.”
Maybe she wanted Lanze to be moved, but her face just stiffened awkwardly.
‘As if this makes up for the past.’
She didn’t feel a shred of bitterness. Her response was entirely rational and emotionless.
She still couldn’t quite believe what had supposedly happened. Even the Count’s idea of the things she had “missed out on” left her unimpressed.
It would be a lie to say she’d never wanted any of it—but those days had long since passed.
More than anything, what she had once wished for were warm, sweet meals. If she longed for anything heavier, it was for the value and meaning of her life.
‘And now, I have to find that again.’
For Lanze, what came next was far more important.
‘Everyone’s so noisy about all this that I can’t even think straight.’
Just the fact she had traveled back to the past could’ve left her reeling for days—and yet only one day had passed.
“Please leave me alone for a bit.”
Feeling just as awkward around Lanze, the head maid left without delay.
Lanze sank into the chair in the study.
She scanned the bookshelf.
‘…For something arranged in a rush, this is impressive.’
Even Lanze, who only read newspapers and light novels occasionally, could tell the collection was of high quality. The books weren’t propped with wooden blocks or padded with filler—they looked like someone had curated them with care.
Though it wasn’t exactly comparable, she was reminded of how Lenart used to travel with five or six carefully selected books.
‘But still…’
As she checked the titles one by one, an eerie chill ran down her spine.
‘Could someone really have set all this up in just a few hours?
Or is it stuff from Erna’s belongings?