Chapter 6
Liersha climbed onto the soft, springy bed and rubbed her cheek against it, unable to stop the smile spreading across her face.
It felt like a dream.
It wasn’t just the things around her that had changed.
Every servant and knight passing through the mansion stopped and ran over to bow politely the moment they saw her.
It didn’t matter which division they belonged to—everyone treated her with respect.
For reference, servants and knights in the ducal estate had very different roles.
Those who personally attended to and guarded the direct members of the Aracrene family were called knights, while those who did menial labor were classified as servants.
The knights were usually from the Aracrene branch families and were all chosen for their ability to handle magic to some degree.
“Please enjoy yourself as much as you wish, Lady Liersha. Everything here belongs to you.”
Seeing Liersha’s delighted expression, Sona smiled warmly.
But then her face darkened.
She had glimpsed, however faintly, the treatment Liersha had endured within the family before this.
To think she looks so overwhelmed by such simple kindness…
She could still picture Liersha hiding behind her whenever a servant of lower rank approached to greet her, as if she were frightened. It made her chest ache.
“Lady Liersha, shall I bring you a snack? Is there something you’d like to eat?”
“Snack?”
Liersha, who had been looking curiously around the room, perked her ears and turned sharply.
Her bright red eyes sparkled.
“Pudding!”
Throwing her arms up in joy, Liersha shouted gleefully.
It was her latest favorite treat.
The sweetness that melted instantly in her mouth was pure bliss.
Since the maids had always stolen the expensive snacks before, tasting it for the first time had been like discovering a whole new world.
“Of course, I’ll have pudding prepared right away.”
A short while later, Sona brought in a generous bowl of pudding.
Liersha quickly climbed onto a chair and sat down.
Her small feet dangled in the air, swinging lightly.
Thanks to Sona’s devoted care, her once-thin cheeks had grown round and soft.
“Now, open wide, my lady.”
“Ah—”
A spoonful of pudding slipped into Liersha’s mouth.
Her lips kept moving, cheeks puffing up and down as she chewed.
Sona unconsciously tensed her face and gripped the spoon tightly, fighting the impulse to poke those irresistibly plump cheeks.
“It’s dewishous!”
Liersha opened her mouth again, asking for another bite.
Sona, as if under a spell, continued to feed her until the plate was empty.
When she finally cleared it away, she carefully shifted the mood.
“Lady Liersha, do you happen to remember what it was like when you awakened?”
“Awakened? …No, I don’t remember well.”
Liersha furrowed her brow and shook her head, looking dejected.
Her memories were hazy—it had been a life-or-death situation.
She didn’t even know how she had awakened her magic or manifested her power.
She wasn’t confident she could recreate those floating bubbles again.
Liersha’s shoulders drooped.
She had secretly tried a few times, but no miracle like before had occurred.
“That’s understandable, my lady. Awakening is always accompanied by great shock.”
Sona quickly reassured her.
“Really?”
“…Still, when you meet the Duke, you must try to describe as much as you can remember.”
“Gwampa?”
Sona nodded gravely, worry clouding her face.
In truth, this was the greatest obstacle waiting for Liersha—
a private audience with the Duke of Aracrene.
It wasn’t something every heir went through, but Liersha’s situation was too unusual to avoid it.
“…Did I really awaken?”
“Of course. The Duke has been waiting for you to recover your strength.”
“…He’s waiting for me? Grandpa?”
“Yes.”
Liersha looked doubtful, as if that were impossible.
Even as Sona nodded earnestly, her reassurance didn’t reach Liersha’s heart.
The little girl sighed heavily, far too maturely for a four-year-old.
“Gwampa hates me.”
And she was sure of it.
After all, because of her, her father had been forced to leave the family estate.
And not only that—the family’s stability had been threatened because of her birth.
There was no way her grandfather could still have any affection left for her.
Whenever he saw her, he would frown, displeasure clear in his eyes.
That was why her body always stiffened in his presence. Even now, the thought of meeting him again filled her with dread.
“The Duke absolutely does not hate you, Lady Liersha. He’s just a bit… fiery-tempered, that’s all…”
Sona trailed off mid-sentence.
Liersha’s calm, knowing gaze made it impossible to keep lying with sugarcoated words.
“…There are just complicated matters that adults have to deal with. It’s not that the Duke dislikes you, truly.”
“Mm.”
At that, Liersha finally nodded.
Early the next morning, Liersha was being dressed up to meet her grandfather.
A cute yellow dress trimmed with lace, round-toed bright yellow shoes,
and her hair neatly tied into two tidy buns—no stray strands, perfectly suited to the Duke’s taste for neatness.
“My, I’ve never seen someone your age sit so still before!”
“Indeed. Most children this age get bored and squirm away. How very well-behaved she is!”
The maids’ compliments came one after another.
Liersha felt ticklish at the unfamiliar praise.
When her eyes met the maid’s who was fixing her hair, she smiled brightly—
—and the maid gasped softly, covering her mouth.
“Lady Liersha is truly an angel.”
“She really is.”
The other maids nodded fervently in agreement.
In this family, all the other children they’d seen—both direct and branch—had been proud and arrogant, so their amazement was understandable.
Their eyes shone with genuine affection and disbelief, as if thinking, ‘A pure soul like this was actually born into the Aracrene family!’
Watching them fondly, Sona soon came to her senses and spoke sharply.
“You forget yourselves before the young lady. Have you all forgotten your manners as maids?”
“We—we’re sorry, Lady Liersha. Please forgive our rudeness.”
Only the Duke himself and his direct descendants were permitted to call Liersha “cute.”
For lower-ranked servants, such words were forbidden.
Realizing their mistake, the maids turned pale and bowed their heads.
If any higher noble had witnessed it, they might have lost their heads.
“It’s okay, Sona.”
When Liersha defended them gently, Sona shook her head firmly after some hesitation.
“You mustn’t forgive such things so easily, Lady Liersha.”
“But they like me. So I like them too.”
“Lady Liersha…”
At those innocent words, Sona’s heart softened again.
“You’re so kind and gentle—it worries me sometimes.”
Truthfully, she was anxious about how Liersha would manage to adapt in the main estate.
The ducal household was not a kind place.
There were people everywhere ready to exploit the smallest sign of weakness.
Kindness and innocence were dangerous traits in the Aracrene family.
Those who bore the Aracrene name had to gather allies, build power, and rise above all others.
But Liersha was too pure-hearted.
Sigh… Once the young lord returns, he’s going to have a hard time because of her, Sona thought, seeing a glimpse of the future ahead.
