CHAPTER 40………………………………………
Clatter, clatter.
I was sitting in a moving carriage, facing a young woman.
Curly brown hair, brown eyes, and a face full of freckles. The girl looked nervous and kept rolling her eyes anxiously.
“Um… I don’t think this is right…”
“It’s fine, really.”
Even with my reassurance, she pouted.
“No, it’s ridiculous! Me… being the lost daughter of Ambassador Leoc…!”
The girl’s name was Anna. Yes—she was the daughter of the Leoc Kingdom’s ambassador, lost long ago, and the same person I had asked Sharon to find.
Yesterday, after parting ways with the butler and returning to the office, Sharon had brought me good news.
“I think I found her! One of my acquaintances knew someone who matches your description.”
Immediately, I went to the address Sharon gave me, and I was certain this woman was the one I had been looking for. Not only her name and situation but her appearance matched the novel perfectly.
Apparently, the woman had been found by someone Sharon had helped in the past, and they told Sharon that the person being sought looked like a neighbor’s woman. Normally, people would keep it quiet if debt collectors came looking, but because it was a benefactor, they gave the information.
“Asking Sharon was the right choice.”
Thanks to her, I discovered Anna, whom even Riena had failed to locate!
And so today, as soon as morning came, I was taking Anna to the ambassador’s residence—to reunite this long-separated family as quickly as possible.
“Normally, this would be Riena’s task.”
But whatever. Whoever does it, as long as it’s a good thing.
Anna muttered anxiously.
“Didn’t anyone imagine it could be me? Who wouldn’t dream they might be the lost daughter of the famous Ambassador Leoc? Anyone orphaned in the Empire would’ve.”
The ambassador had reportedly lost his daughter years ago during a visit to the Empire. Since then, he had stayed in the Empire searching for her.
“Seeing missing-child ads in the papers constantly, he wished tens of times over that the child might be me.”
His desperation in looking for his daughter was so well-known that almost everyone knew. The Empire also cooperated actively due to its relations with Leoc.
The Leoc Kingdom was small in territory but rich in resources and national power.
Moreover, the ambassador was the current Leoc king’s aunt—the sister of the late queen.
“No wonder the Empire took an interest.”
In Riena’s first life, when Anna died at her husband’s hands, the ambassador strongly protested to the royal family. He argued that it was society’s lack of awareness of domestic violence that had caused his daughter’s death.
The novel briefly described that this strained relations with Leoc for a while, causing some difficulty.
“But in the second life, things are different.”
In the second life, thanks to Riena’s actions, the tragedy doesn’t happen, and she gains a powerful ally in Ambassador Leoc.
I reassured the pale-faced Anna.
“Just trust me. I saw the ambassador from a distance before, and he looks very much like you.”
It was a lie. I had never seen the ambassador in real life. I could only vaguely reference what I had read in the novel.
But the fact that she resembled the ambassador was true. The novel had explicitly mentioned it.
Anna waved her hand.
“Th-That can’t be! For starters, my hair is brown. According to the missing-person description in the papers, the child had blonde hair.”
“It’s actually quite common for hair that’s blonde as a child to darken to brown over time.”
Anna’s expression faltered briefly. She seemed to be recalling her early childhood memories.
From my verification yesterday, her memories of early childhood were vague. Likely due to the abrupt separation from her parents and drastic change in environment.
“…That’s not all! I was found in the eastern part of the Empire, but the ambassador lost his daughter in the south, at a famous resort.”
“Perhaps that…”
Before I could explain, the carriage stopped. We had arrived at the ambassador’s residence.
Sometimes showing is faster than telling. Seeing it herself would make Anna understand.
I gently coaxed Anna down and led her toward the entrance of the residence.
But someone blocked our way.
“Stop. This is Ambassador Leoc’s residence. Not just anyone may enter.”
A guard at the main gate. His gaze was cautious.
“State your identity and purpose of visit.”
Probably because we had arrived in a carriage with no family crest.
“This woman beside me is presumed to be the ambassador’s lost daughter, and we’ve come to meet him.”
The guard let out a small laugh, his tone changing.
“Hey, don’t get any ideas. Why don’t you just go back?”
“Excuse me?”
“You think you’re the only ones coming here? Every day, there are swindlers claiming to be the ambassador’s lost daughter.”
“Sir, I understand your suspicion, but…”
“At least match the hair color if you’re going to try! Show some effort!”
He scrutinized Anna from head to toe, openly judging her.
“Do you think you can fool anyone just by dressing a lowborn girl in fine clothes? Where’s the ambassador’s daughter in her?”
Anna’s face turned bright red. Her hands, calloused from years of work, trembled.
I had lent her my dress because her own clothing was too worn, but it couldn’t cover the hardships she had endured.
“Oh no.”
I hadn’t expected this. My eagerness to reunite her with her parents had led to this.
Anna clutched my arm.
“…I guess this isn’t the place I should have come. Let’s go back.”
“Anna.”
“N-No, I didn’t mean to give you orders, Lady Idel! I’m sorry.”
The girl flinched at even the sound of her name. I had revealed my identity to her yesterday, thinking it was proper courtesy—but it seemed to have backfired.
Anna was intimidated by my noble status. Telling her to relax did nothing.
I felt guilty. If I had thought more carefully before bringing her, this wouldn’t have happened.
I gently patted her slumped shoulders and met her gaze.
“I’m sorry for making you hear those words.”
Her brown eyes widened. A noble apologizing seemed to surprise her.
“But will you give me just one more chance? I promise I’ll get you to meet your parents.”
“Y-Yes…”
Once Anna’s trembling subsided, I glared at the guard. For whatever reason, treating someone who came to see their possible parents this way was unacceptable.
I suspected bribery might work, but I didn’t want to give this type a single coin.
“W-Who do you think you’re staring at?”
“You sure about that?”
“Huh?”
“What if this woman really is the ambassador’s daughter?”
“I… you’ve got to be kidding me.”
The guard sneered.
“If that’s true, I’ll bow three times, beg for forgiveness, and hand over my entire fortune! I’ll be in the same position as that lowborn girl.”
“Hmph. You don’t seem to have much to give.”
“What?!”
“Fine, fine. Keep your word then.”
The red-and-blue face of the guard shouted.
“You’re not getting in! Scram! If you don’t, I’ll throw you out by force!”
“That won’t be necessary.”
I smiled and pulled something from my pocket—a finely carved cameo brooch.
“Bribery won’t work…!”
The guard gasped, staring at the brooch with wide eyes.
“Is… is that… Cassius’…?”
His tone suddenly became respectful.
The brooch bore the emblem of Cassius’ black mountain goat. So infamous that even toddlers in the Empire recognized it.
It was well-known that anyone with a decoration bearing this emblem had been granted it by Cassius’ castle. I was glad I had brought it.
The brooch had been in the jewelry box from Cassius’ castle, a wedding gift I had stored and forgotten.
“Never thought it would be useful…”
And yet, here it was.
Some might question my pride—relying on Cassius’ power when I had left him voluntarily.
“Not at all. I feel amazing.”
Before the divorce, I was still Cassius’… so what? It wasn’t a lie. If he didn’t like it, he could just sign the divorce papers.
Now, the one trembling was the guard. Cassius’ reputation had to precede him.
“Is it… fake…?”
“If it were fake, I’d report it to the ambassador immediately. After all, someone is impersonating Cassius.”
Not just any family, but someone impersonating Cassius himself.
The guard groaned.
“Why so scared?”
“Nonsense!”
I provoked him further, and he shouted.
“Wait just a moment, you imposter! I’ll fetch the ambassador myself! And you, make sure these women don’t escape!”
He disappeared into the residence, and we were left surrounded by guards, enduring tense moments.
“Don’t worry. Soon we’ll be able to go inside.”
“…Yes!”
I held Anna’s hand to calm her, and she seemed surprisingly composed. Moreover…
“Has her gaze toward me become more trusting than before, or am I imagining it?”
Not long after, a guard emerged from the residence. But he wasn’t alone.
“Someone is impersonating Cassius?”
“Yes, ambassador. This woman right here!”
The ambassador himself had come. Judging by his attire, he must have been taking a stroll in the garden.
His gaze met mine first. He had the same hair color as Anna, with a dignified, mature aura—experienced and commanding.
But he didn’t introduce himself to me. His eyes naturally shifted to Anna, and in that moment…
“…!”
Her expression completely changed. Shock colored her wide eyes as he carefully and thoroughly examined her face.
It was the moment of reunion.
