Chapter 8
The growling voice made my body freeze instinctively. My heart thudded violently from anxiety. But it wasn’t my reaction—it was Alicia’s body reacting on its own.
Pierre Gardner. The head of the Gardner family, and father to Alicia and Cecilia.
No, it was hard to even call him Alicia’s father. He was the kind of man who had used illness as an excuse to ignore his newborn daughter and remarried before his deceased wife’s funeral had even ended.
Father? How could that expression belong to a father facing his child? There wasn’t a shred of affection in his eyes—only hatred as he stared at me. It would be an insult to say even stepping on trash on the street would provoke less disgust than that look.
My frozen lips moved on their own.
“I—I’m sorry…”
“Silence.”
His sharp voice cut me off mid-sentence.
“Thanks to you, I was thoroughly humiliated. ‘Mr. Gardner, is it true your eldest daughter collapsed after sneaking out? Mr. Pierre, isn’t your daughter a Hioni patient? Oh my, it must be difficult managing her.’ Who knew I’d become the target of that chatterbox, Lady Regal?”
His sneering lips curled into a sly smile. His diction was so crisp that every single word pierced my eardrums. He’d make a great news anchor—why was he wasting that talent tearing down his daughter?
Was the public’s opinion really more important than a daughter who almost died? Even a stranger wouldn’t speak such humiliating words upon first meeting. And yet, they came from Alicia’s father.
While my mind stayed calm, my body panicked—trembling and stiffening every time our eyes met.
“So? Are you satisfied now, after bringing this disgrace upon your father?”
His fierce gaze swept over me, from my toes upward. It halted at my nearly white hair, and his eyes filled with contempt. My racing heart dropped and then pounded even harder. I lowered my gaze, terrified my heart would truly stop, and he let out a frustrated sigh.
“You can’t even answer a simple question?”
“N-no, I…”
“Tch. Now you talk back?”
You told me to answer, now I’m being scolded for that too?
“And that white hair—disgusting. What’s so admirable about being sick with an incurable illness? Why all the fuss, calling doctors and causing a scene? What a disgrace to this noble family. If it weren’t for society’s prying eyes, I would’ve thrown you out long ago.”
In this world, where the World Tree and sunlight are revered, being a Hioni patient—someone who collapses when exposed to sunlight—was treated with disdain. Yeah, I know that now, because I experienced it firsthand.
In the original story, Cecilia occasionally mentioned her ostracized older sister. After possessing this body, I also heard her refer to the father and stepmother who ignored her.
When I only saw it written in words, it didn’t feel real.
After all, neither Cecilia, the nanny, nor even the doctors who examined me ever showed outright disdain. They all tiptoed around me, as if I’d shatter from a breath of wind.
But the people who ignored me like I was a virus after I collapsed in the street… This man in front of me was different. Just because I had a disease I didn’t choose, because I had white hair, I was an intruder in their lives.
My teeth clenched involuntarily, but a sliver of reason pulled me back.
Stay calm. Think about what Alicia would’ve done. Look at how your body reacts—trembling just from eye contact.
Would Alicia ever have talked back? No. She probably just trembled in silence even when insulted.
My nails dug into my palms.
Just hold it in. I need to act like Alicia. I’ve already strayed from her character too many times. I can’t make things worse. You avoid trash not because you fear it, but because it’s dirty. I’ve dealt with worse in office life. Just let it go in one ear and out the other. I can do that, right?
“It’s shameful that someone like you is my daughter. You should never have been born.”
If he hadn’t said that last sentence, I might’ve been able to let it go as planned.
My mind spun. Maybe I’d pierced my palm too hard—my fingertips were damp and stung. The pain was sharp.
Looks like my resolve melts under heat. As my head grew hotter, all thoughts of acting like Alicia vanished like a tide.
‘Outwardly I’m Alicia, but I’ve completely changed inside, you bastard!’
I lifted the corners of my mouth in a radiant smile—the same smile I used when dealing with awful clients. My battle mode.
“Did I ask to be born?”
“What?”
“S-sis…”
Cecilia whispered my name, her voice trembling as if she couldn’t breathe. But even that wasn’t enough to bring my reason back. In fact, it only fueled me more.
“Anyone listening would think I begged at your feet to be born.”
Did Alicia want to get sick? Did she ask to be born with white hair? You passed on those genes and forced her into this life, so why are you blaming her?
Turns out I was right—Alicia had never once rebelled. Her father stood there, mouth agape, unable to respond. When I glanced at Cecilia, her face was ghost-pale, like she might faint.
I thought I’d spoken respectfully and chosen my words carefully. Was it really that shocking?
Well, one thing was clear:
I’ve definitely caused a huge incident.
Trying to do some damage control, I added quickly:
“S-sorry for sneaking out, but what you just said was too cruel.”
I could hear my friend’s yelling echoing in my head—”Please learn to control your temper!” I never imagined my impulsive nature would be such a problem here. Then again, he did say it first. My real dad cherished me like a treasure. He acted like he was the only man on earth with a daughter!
As my dazed father began to recover, a dangerous glint entered his eyes. Just as he opened his mouth with a grim expression, Cecilia—who had been quietly watching—quickly stepped in.
“Sister just collapsed and barely recovered. She even collapsed from sunlight! Please stop, Father.”
“You heard her, Cecilia! That disrespectful girl—!”
“Your words were cruel too! It’s late. Let’s just go home.”
“Cecilia Gardner!”
“Sister returning alive is more important than the family’s reputation.”
“She’d have been better off dead!”
That made me snap.
I’m going to fight him today, I swear. What?! Better off dead?! Is he casting some death curse on his own sick daughter?!
But I wasn’t the only one who snapped.
Cecilia, who had carefully chosen her words until now, had her expression wiped blank. Her once gentle eyes now burned with cold fury. The look she gave her father was so intense that even I flinched.
The always-sweet Cecilia now looked like a stranger. Her expression resembled how the original novel described her when she was about to expel someone. Wow. A villainess really is a villainess—the energy is different.
“What did you just say?”
“……”
The father, who had barked back at me, said nothing to Cecilia’s challenge. He simply stared at her, now deflated. Then suddenly, he shot a glare at me again. Cecilia was the one who talked back, so why glare at me?
“…Get some rest.”
Not long after, he left—without scolding Cecilia or me.
If it had been me who talked back like that, he’d have exploded. The favoritism was real—but expected.
As he left, I cursed him in every way I knew, internally. I’d heard he never treated his sick daughter like a person, but to say she should’ve never been born? Is that really what a father says to a daughter who almost died and he hasn’t seen in a month? Shouldn’t people be more careful with their words around someone who just brushed past death?
“Sister.”
My mental tirade was cut short by Cecilia’s weary voice. Her tone was so exhausted that my shoulders jerked in surprise.
“Please… don’t take what just happened to heart. I…”
Unable to finish, she slumped into a chair and rubbed her face repeatedly before continuing in a dry voice.
“I can’t live without you, Sister.”
“Uh, r-right. Thanks for the comfort.”
“You’re the most important person to me. More than anyone.”
Why does that give me chills? Was it because I just saw her villainess side? Or was it because this was the first time I saw such a raw, unfamiliar face on her?
I stared blankly at her face. It now showed traces of fear, unlike before.
Fear? Of what?
Tears welled in her eyes and trickled down her cheeks.
“If I ever become the Saint, I’ll definitely cure you, Sister. So please… just hold on until then. Can you promise me that?”
“…Huh?”
“These days, you don’t feel like the sister I used to know. It feels like you’ll just… leave me at any moment.”
That hit harder than expected.
Having spent the past month glued to me, Cecilia must’ve noticed something strange about my behavior, even if she didn’t know exactly why. But now it was clear—she knew something was different.
Still, she couldn’t know the full reason. Who would ever think a person’s soul could change overnight?
“It’s like your soul… has been swapped.”
That hit me right in the gut, and my shoulders flinched again.
What the heck?! That’s terrifying! Does Cecilia have psychic powers?! Sure, I’ve been a bit too un-Alicia lately, but how could she figure this out?
Luckily, it seemed to be just a metaphor. She shook her head while wiping her tears.
“You’re the only one I love, Sister. So why do you keep hiding things and pushing me away?”
