[CHAPTER 124]
“This is……!”
Despite our worries and concerns, the lady quickly finished one cookie and suddenly tears fell from her eyes.
“It tastes exactly like the cookies I ate when I was young……”
“Really? Is it good?”
“It’s so good. I could die right now and have no regrets. Thank you, maid.”
With a touched expression, she looked at me with watery eyes and expressed her gratitude. What a relief!
I shook my hand to tell her it was nothing, but suddenly she covered her mouth and began coughing.
“Cough, cough!”
“Mom! Are you okay? Did you take your medicine?”
“No…… cough.”
“Wait, I’ll brew some for you!”
Luna quickly supported her onto the sofa and ran toward the kitchen. Only the lady and I remained in the living room.
“I’m sorry for showing such a poor side of myself when we’ve just met.”
“No! You’re not feeling well. I also understand completely; my mother was ill when I was young.”
“You are very kind. Please continue to take care of our Luna in the future.”
The lady bowed politely with her hands together. Even to my eyes, knowing the situation, her love for raising Luna like her own daughter was strong.
I hesitated, unable to easily speak the words I had prepared, and finally spoke quietly.
“Actually, I also grew up as a commoner when I was young. After my mother passed away, I met my noble father, and this is how things turned out.”
“Oh my, I see……”
“My father wasn’t such a good person. There were many hardships growing up. Still, I think I was lucky to meet him. After losing my mother and being alone, I gained another family.”
The lady listened quietly with a sympathetic expression. I paused for a moment, then continued.
“Luna’s biological father is a much better person than my father.”
I looked at her as she froze, gasping sharply.
“When you first met Luna, wasn’t she wearing a star-shaped pendant around her neck?”
It was the decisive clue that Ariana used to find the prime minister’s daughter in the original story.
It was a pendant left by Luna’s biological mother. Even when she went missing, three-year-old Luna had it securely around her neck.
“Her father is desperately looking for his daughter.”
“I, I…… I don’t understand what you mean……”
Pale and drained, the lady hurriedly stood up.
I knew her heart, but I couldn’t let her evade the truth, so I held her hand and spoke.
“Living with her father’s family, I realized that even without blood ties, you can become family.”
Not only Ariana, but the Kreutz Viscount Family felt the same.
My real biological parents had passed in my previous life, but as Jena, I gradually gained more family.
So—
“Even if Luna meets her biological father, it doesn’t mean she’s not your daughter.”
The lady’s eyes trembled violently. Soon, clear moisture appeared at the corners of her eyes, and a resigned smile appeared on her lips.
She collapsed back onto the sofa and let out a long, deep sigh.
“……I thought a day like this would come someday. But now that it’s here, I feel like I want to run away.”
“……”
“Yes, Luna is not my biological daughter. I found a child crying at a deserted path and raised her.”
She had already been a good person, raising a child she found with love.
She feared just now because she thought I had come to take her child away.
Just as I opened my mouth to offer words of comfort—
“What are you saying? I’m not your daughter?”
Luna, holding a cup, stood behind us with a shocked face.
Neither the lady nor I had discussed how to tell Luna the truth yet, and we were both very flustered.
Luna looked at us in turn, then abruptly turned her head toward the lady.
“No, right? You’re joking?”
“……”
The lady pressed her dry lips together and slowly shook her head.
“You heard correctly. You are not really my daughter, Luna.”
“What……?”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier. I should have helped you find your real parents sooner……”
The lady reached out to Luna with tears in her eyes. But Luna hesitated, then turned and ran out.
“Hic!”
I, who had been hesitating, finally chased after Luna, leaving the crying lady behind.
“Luna, wait!”
I desperately caught her arm, but she immediately shoved me away harshly.
Facing her tear-streaked face, I lost my words for a moment.
“Did you approach me for this reason?”
I couldn’t deny the trembling question. Instead, I held her hand and calmly explained.
“Your father misses you and longs to see you, Luna. He lost you when he was attacked by bandits.”
From the original story, it was clear how much the prime minister suffered.
Once he regained his daughter, he treated Luna with utmost care and was very kind to her foster mother.
Of course, for the current Luna, explaining this wouldn’t immediately reach her heart.
“Won’t you meet him just once? After that, you can decide whether to continue your relationship.”
“……”
“Have you ever been curious about your father while growing up?”
Luna’s expression crumbled for a moment. Having grown up without her biological father and her foster mother, she naturally had curiosity.
Biting her lip and lowering her eyes, she finally whispered in a weak voice.
“I… I don’t really know. I’m too confused right now. Please give me time to think.”
“Alright, go back and talk to your mother.”
It would be unrealistic for her to accept the truth immediately. I felt concerned leaving her alone while she cried.
I wanted, like in the original, to preserve the three of our relationships as much as possible.
“Even if she’s not your biological mother, you know best that she was a good mother.”
Luna slowly nodded.
* * *
Lionel habitually visited Ariana’s room after finishing his work.
He enjoyed seeing Ariana, sitting daintily in her beautifully decorated room, greet him blankly but politely.
“Have you been well, Ariana?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“I heard you measured the wedding dress today?”
Lionel had personally chosen Ariana’s dress. Her opinion was not considered at all, but he believed his will was her will.
After all, once married, she would be devoted to him.
“I told them to make the dress slightly smaller than your measurements. You should lose some weight until then.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Ariana obediently replied. A thrill of satisfaction spread through Lionel, and his lips curved in a smile.
“Yes, you’ve always been such a good girl. If only it weren’t for Esther……”
Thinking of the ghost-like presence that disrupted his plans, Lionel’s expression hardened.
Even stubborn Jena had crawled into the capital. She had been selected as the medical maid to cure Victoria’s insomnia, but Lionel knew it was actually because of Ariana.
‘I need to strengthen the mind control.’
Persistent people like Jena could do anything at any time. It was better to prepare defenses.
He ordered the maid to bring tea. A medium was needed for the curse. In Ariana’s case, it was tea.
While she drank the tea, Lionel whispered in a serpent-like voice.
“Ariana, you hated and despised your sister. Jena Granger ruined your life.”
“I… I hate my sister……”
“Not just hate, but deep, bone-deep hatred. If you let Jena Granger close, everyone you care about will die.”
Her blue eyes became unfocused. Seeing the lifeless pupils, Lionel gently stroked her cheek as if it were endearing.
At that moment, the maid who was clearing the tea table made a mistake. Tea spilled from the cup, slightly wetting Lionel’s sleeve.
“What are you doing!”
He rose in a fury. Terrified, the maid prostrated herself on the floor, trembling.
“S-sorry, Your Highness! P-please forgive me!”
“Forgive? This outfit is worth far more than you. You useless thing, unable to even clean up a cup.”
Despite the harsh words, the maid couldn’t utter a sound. After venting his anger for a while, Lionel nudged her with his shoe.
“What is your name?”
“Lu, Luna.”
“I’ll deduct three years of your salary.”
The maid begged desperately, clasping her hands together.
“Your Highness! Please show mercy just this once! My mother is ill! I need to pay for her medicine……!”
Lionel, looking down coldly, smirked.
“Even vermin have parents, it seems.”
“……!”
The maid froze, mouth agape. Humiliation washed over her face, but Lionel ignored it and waved his hand as if to shoo her away.
After a moment, the maid staggered to her feet and left the room silently, clenching her fists tightly.
