Chapter 123………………………………………
The moment Rieanna saw Leandro’s expression, she sensed that something was terribly wrong.
“I wasn’t aware that such stories were circulating among the staff.”
Leandro let out a heavy, irritated sigh and brushed his bangs back.
“Where did you hear such nonsense… Who fed you this rumor?”
“R-Rumor…?”
“Of course it’s a rumor. How could it possibly be true? How could you even be my sister in the first place?”
Rieanna stepped back hesitantly as Leandro’s tone grew increasingly heated.
“You lost your daughter? Do you think our family is that careless in your eyes?”
It was unlike Cassius, the cold and disciplined minor duke, who always maintained proper manners toward his staff.
“Or do you mean… that my mother secretly gave birth to a child without the family knowing? Why would she do such a thing? Was it… an illegitimate child?”
“No!”
Startled, Rieanna explained the basis for her own suspicion that the rumor might be true.
“I heard that the Duchess spent a long time in the southern regions about ten years ago. I was also found in the south as a newborn, and the timing roughly matches…”
“Just because of that? Even if it’s the south, it’s much larger than the neighboring Kingdom of Leoc.”
“And, and… I also heard that the Duke’s household was desperately searching for something back then…”
“Searching? Ah, you must mean the story about the time capsule my mother left behind.”
“…Time capsule?”
“Yes. It seems you only heard fragments of the story as a rumor. You apparently didn’t have a close colleague who could tell you the family’s intimate matters.”
Rieanna flushed red at Leandro’s sarcasm.
It was true. From the beginning, the head maid of the Duke’s household had never looked kindly on her.
Sometimes, other staff approached Rieanna when the head maid wasn’t watching, but there were limits to becoming close in that way.
A wave of humiliation washed over Rieanna.
Why had she considered such a ridiculous rumor plausible?
Looking back now, the “evidence” she had clung to was incredibly flimsy.
Yet just moments ago, Rieanna had seriously believed that a rosy future awaited her.
Perhaps she had to believe it, simply to survive.
Believing she was Cassius’s true daughter was the only way to free herself from the inferiority she felt toward Idel.
“Anyway, tell me the source of this rumor. Even if you’re Idel’s friend, speaking such nonsense means you cannot escape responsibility…”
Facing Leandro’s contempt, Rieanna felt she could no longer remain there.
“Hey! Where do you think you’re going!”
With that shout ringing behind her, Rieanna left the Duke’s mansion.
She ran aimlessly until she reached the place where she had planned to meet Idel.
“Idel…”
In the distance, she saw Idel waiting for her.
The man by Idel’s side seemed to be someone she had recently been meeting, but Rieanna had no mind to pay attention to him.
She wanted to go straight to Idel and seek comfort, but she couldn’t.
If Idel found out what had happened today, how disappointed would she be?
Even though she had secured a good job thanks to her friend and was only tasked with easy work, she had still managed to ruin it.
She refused to let Idel know, no matter what.
“Hello.”
Rieanna turned away from the meeting spot and left the capital.
After that, Rieanna took any work she could find to survive.
She had done almost everything: maid, nanny, kitchen help, seamstress, cleaner.
Sometimes, there were even temptations to become a governess for an elderly noble, but she resolutely refused.
Her pride would not allow it, more than her morals.
Time passed indifferently, and several years had gone by since Rieanna left the capital.
By now, the emperor had changed.
Emperor Dominic had abdicated in favor of Crown Prince Mihail, who had flawlessly acted as heir, and left to enjoy his old age.
Emperor Mihail seemed to be a popular and capable ruler, with his recently published autobiography selling out quickly.
Rieanna had read it, but for someone like her, it felt like a dream story.
In truth, there was something far more important to Rieanna than the changing world.
After scrimping and saving relentlessly, she finally had a house of her own.
Carrying the deposit toward the property felt light and hopeful. But then…
“Give me the money!”
Once again, fate was not on her side.
Struck by a robber’s knife and collapsing on the cold ground, Rieanna felt overwhelming injustice.
Why must she die? Why must misfortune always drag her down?
Abandoned by her birth parents at birth, rejected or mistreated by her adoptive parents, and now, she was to end her life so miserably.
As memories flashed before her eyes, the happiest moments of her life were in the orphanage.
Avoiding the principal’s scolding, climbing the hills behind the orphanage, and barely filling her stomach with wild berries while envying the children with parents who got chocolates as snacks.
If only she could go back and start over… If there were a god, please…
“Poor child, your earnest voice has reached me.”
It was then.
“You lucky child, I shall grant you another chance and bless you. Make your wish come true.”
Rieanna experienced a miracle.
“Rieanna, Rieanna!”
“…Huh?”
“Why are you staring off like that?”
Opening her eyes, she saw young Idel looking at her worriedly. They were on the hills behind the orphanage.
Her wish had come true—she had returned to the past.
There was no time to revel in joy; Rieanna had to act quickly.
She had imagined countless times—tens, hundreds of times—how she would act before Cassius came to the orphanage, so it was not difficult.
A few days later, with the director’s cooperation, Rieanna successfully entered the Duke’s household.
For a veteran who had scraped by in her previous life, appeasing all sorts of people, acting cute and innocent like a child to win over the household’s members was easy.
Moreover, she even had the goddess’s blessing.
“Goddess, please don’t let the people here send me back to the orphanage.”
At first, it was just a prayer to gain sympathy from the maids who checked on her nightly.
But soon, she realized that the more she prayed, the more favorably people treated her.
Even Leandro and Rehaim, who initially ignored her, began showing interest.
Rieanna, thrilled, poured more devotion into her prayers. She prayed and prayed, again and again.
Not for mere kindness, but for a love deeper than any in the world.
“I don’t really recommend it.”
It was the first response from the goddess since her return.
“Anything in excess brings misfortune. When a blessing is a blessing, recall what you wished for before your death. Haven’t your desires already been fulfilled?”
Indeed, in her past life, Rieanna would have been grateful for the current situation alone.
But once she had tasted familial love, it was too sweet. She could not bear to lose it.
Rieanna wanted a strong assurance that these people would never abandon her like her adoptive parents had.
“I can handle it! And nothing as beautiful and good as love could ever bring misfortune.”
The next response came after a long while.
“If that is truly your will, then proceed. Weaving the threads of infinite possibilities is your responsibility.”
The goddess spoke enigmatically, yet her voice remained warm as ever.
Earlier, it had seemed cold, but that had been a misunderstanding.
Feeling reassured, Rieanna continued praying, and the results exceeded her expectations.
Maids who previously trimmed her nails with a smile now argued over who would do it.
“I’ll do the young lady’s nails, so stay out of it!”
“What are you talking about! You did it last time! It’s my turn now!”
“Young lady, you said Yuri’s work was the best last time, right? So I’ll do it for you.”
“You sly fox! You won’t leave her alone!”
“Ah! I won’t let go! Just let me try!”
Watching them grab each other’s hair in a fight, Rieanna was bewildered.
This is love. As the goddess said, it might be a little excessive, but that excess felt wonderful.
If they loved her this much, they would never turn their backs on her overnight.
Realizing she no longer needed to pray to the goddess, Rieanna began using her blessings freely to make more people love her.
Yet there were still those who disliked her, so blessings weren’t omnipotent.
For example, the head maid of Cassius’s household.
“The Duke is absurd… to take in an orphan like this into his house.”
The head maid, who had isolated Rieanna in her past life, still disliked her this time.
But unlike before, Rieanna, now loved, was far above such a trivial obstacle.
She dealt with all those who had been rude to her, led by the head maid, using every possible means.
Strangely, they were all the same people who had whispered behind her back in her previous life.
From this, one thing became clear:
Rieanna could not elicit affection from anyone she herself could not feel even a trace of fondness toward.
Perhaps it was because she had no genuine desire to be loved by them.
Yet the blessings were so powerful that this flaw barely mattered.
In practice, Rieanna held Cassius’s household entirely in her hand.
As her worry about being cast out faded, her attention began to shift elsewhere.
Rieanna sent people to find out about Idel.
“What? She was adopted?”
“Yes, by a noble couple.”
“Nobles…”
“They wanted to raise her like their own daughter, even erasing the adoption records. The orphanage staff were reluctant to speak, so it was difficult.”
“Which family?”
“Sorry… I can’t say yet. But if you give the order, we’ll get the information, even by offering money or using threats.”
Rieanna had initially planned to secretly care for Idel once she secured her position in the household.
But was it really necessary?
If Idel had gone to a noble family, she would be well-fed and living comfortably. They were raising her as their own daughter, after all.
“Above all, if Father notices my actions and learns of Idel’s existence…”
Recalling how they had lived together like a family in her past life, Rieanna felt dizzy.
The current Duke Cassius clearly loved Rieanna deeply, and she even had the goddess’s blessing, yet she felt strangely afraid.
When Idel returned, it seemed like everything would be taken away again.
Idel’s presence had that much weight in Rieanna’s heart.
“No, it’s fine. I don’t need to find out anymore.”
In the end, Rieanna decided to leave her old friend in the past, rationalizing that Idel would be fine.
