Chapter 8
As soon as I realized my fiancé was handsome, rich, and—most importantly—not actually a monster, I also confirmed something else:
He had no connection to me at all.
I had always believed that all the good things went to my sister and all the bad things came to me.
And now, even in the case of my fiancé, it seemed that the same rule applied.
Maybe that was why I couldn’t bring myself to tell anyone the truth that my sister was alive. I kept my mouth shut.
A maid who knew nothing of the truth—perhaps because she was still kind to me—smiled brightly and said,
“Before you change your clothes, let me help you bathe first. If you soak in warm water, your tension will loosen.”
* * *
I really should tell them my sister is alive.
After finishing her bath and lying on the bed, Ivnia came to that conclusion after much tossing and turning.
Of course, she wasn’t deciding this for the sake of the family that had abandoned her.
The real reason she hadn’t spoken the truth earlier was because she couldn’t bring herself to deliver such joyful news to the Hassen family.
It felt too unfair.
That the only reward for their betrayal and abandonment of her would be happiness.
Ivnia couldn’t bring herself to give them that.
She didn’t wish for them to be as miserable as she was, but she also didn’t want to force herself to wish them happiness.
That was her honest feeling.
But…
Her silence would harm more than just the Hassen family.
Ivnia didn’t want to make the only man who had been kind to her any sadder than he already was.
Just as he had wished a stranger he met that day well, she wanted to help his love be able to live peacefully.
Ivnia slowly closed her eyes and imagined the scene:
He would finally find the wife he had longed for all his life and be happy again.
It was a beautiful sight.
That memory would remain deeply inside her, comforting her throughout her life.
Having helped complete this beautiful story, she could at least comfort herself by thinking that her life was worth something, even if only for the last chapter.
“How long would it take to plan a ten-year life?”
It wouldn’t be finished in a day or two.
Maybe a week, or two or three months.
Ivnia decided she would quickly make a future plan like Agram suggested, then leave this place and tell them her sister was alive.
She would give him a little time to calm his heart, and then repay him by delivering the news he would be happiest to hear.
A perfect plan.
“Emilia should also rest for a few months in the arms of the family she missed.”
Thinking that, Ivnia turned her head and looked at the bedside table.
On it lay the handkerchief she had received from Agram earlier. She had taken it out secretly before entering the bath so that Hanna wouldn’t know.
Ivnia reached out and picked it up.
When she unfolded the handkerchief, a stick candy fell onto her palm.
It wasn’t a whole piece—only half of it broken into fragments—but the sweet scent of orange still filled the air.
Ivnia stared at it for a moment, then popped it into her mouth.
“I’m not trying to take everything. I can be greedy about this one thing, can’t I?”
As the Grand Duke had said, it wouldn’t be a huge problem if she ate a few candies in this enormous castle.
If anyone became uncomfortable because of her, she could leave before it became an issue.
But she wanted to avoid that as much as possible.
She wanted to live like a dead person, without harming anyone, and then disappear quietly as if she had never stayed here at all.
Thinking that, Ivnia slowly dissolved the candy in her mouth.
At least in that way, she could briefly taste happiness that didn’t belong to her.
* * *
When Ivnia opened her eyes, the sun was already high in the sky.
She had maintained a strict routine of waking early and sleeping early since she was eight, but that record had collapsed overnight.
Still, the sky was perfectly normal, without splitting in two or anything.
Ivnia looked out the window at the green forest and ate the breakfast Hanna had brought to her room.
The menu was a damp porridge that looked like goat stew, dried white bread, and a sour fruit purée whose ingredients she couldn’t even guess.
The bread seemed to be leftovers from the previous night.
If someone else had served her that, she would have thought they were trying to torment her…
But the meal didn’t hurt her feelings.
Hanna, who looked like she was close to being a servant, didn’t seem to know proper cooking, and she had lived in the castle since infancy, so she probably never learned real cooking.
Still, it was enough to be grateful for.
At least the food wouldn’t make her sick.
After finishing the meal, Ivnia wiped her mouth with a calm expression and asked,
“Thank you. It was good.”
“Did the food suit your taste?”
Ivnia, behaving like a noble lady, replied gracefully.
“Who usually cooks here?”
“Lord Guillermo does. I don’t know much about noble meals.”
There was nothing noble about the meal Guillermo had prepared, but Ivnia simply nodded and said, “You worked hard from morning.”
She wasn’t exactly a proper noble anyway.
She was grateful just to be fed and sheltered, and she had no intention of complaining.
Hanna relaxed, relieved by Ivnia’s gentle response.
She hurriedly cleared the plates and asked,
“If you’re not too tired, would you like to meet the others living in this castle? Lord Guillermo has been waiting since morning to formally introduce them.”
“You should have said so earlier. I don’t usually eat breakfast, so I made you wait for no reason.”
“Oh, don’t say that. Ivnia, you need to eat properly. I thought all nobles were well-fed and plump, but you’re even thinner than me, so I was really surprised. Is fasting considered a virtue in Hassen?”
“No, it’s not. I just have a small appetite.”
Ivnia quickly changed the subject to avoid an awkward topic.
“Anyway, could you tell Lord Guillermo he can come in now?”
Hanna didn’t make a big deal out of it, thankfully, and ran out.
Hanna’s speech was straightforward, even for a noble’s personal maid, but Ivnia didn’t feel uncomfortable with it.
She had already met two people here who worried about her thin body.
That alone didn’t make her feel bad.
“Miss Ivnia, may we come in? I’ve brought the people to introduce.”
Not long after, Hanna returned and knocked on the door from outside.
Ivnia gave permission and stood up to prepare for her guests.
Soon, Hanna, Guillermo, a young boy, an adult man, and a huge crow entered the room.
‘…A crow?’
Ivnia was inwardly startled by the unexpected creature.
The crow perched on the sofa’s backrest, turned to face her, and suddenly opened its beak wide, shouting,
“What are you looking at!”
Ivnia, startled, looked around as if asking for an explanation, but she was the only one who seemed shocked that a bird was speaking.
Guillermo, who only gave the crow a glance, stepped forward and bowed respectfully.
“Father, did you sleep well last night?”
“Yes… thanks to your care. But just now…”
Ivnia couldn’t finish her sentence and kept staring at the crow.
Guillermo, misunderstanding her silence, offered another careless explanation.
“I’m sorry we didn’t introduce you earlier. We had no choice but to be late. It’s all because these idiots didn’t know you would arrive, so please direct your scolding toward them instead.”
“Why is that woman still here? I thought she would be chased away. Caw! Why is she still here? I thought she would run away. Caw!”
“I was chopping wood all day in the forest yesterday… I really didn’t know.”
“I didn’t come out because I didn’t know. I just thought there was no need to meet and greet.”
Guillermo introduced each of them one by one, and each of them explained their situation.
The explanations weren’t exactly apologies.
Ivnia, trying to regain her composure, looked at the people standing behind Guillermo.
