Chapter 12: 12

My mother’s necklace was gone. 

I had calmed down a bit now, but when I first realized I had lost the necklace, I almost jumped out of the window.

‘It would be better if I dropped it somewhere… but what if someone stole it?’

It felt like my blood was getting cold. I definitely had it when my father threw me away last night.

Then, the only suspects were Alan and the three brothers.

And if the noble duke family was interested in a cheap handmade necklace, there was only one reason.

It was supposed to be to dig up and find out if I’m real or fake.

‘Who is it? Smart Hugo? Or maybe it’s Alan. Was he just pretending to be happy and looking into me from behind? Or, Michael, who overturned my expectations? Was he not interested in me because he was preoccupied with stealing the necklace?

I jumped up from the desk.

‘I need information. Anything is fine. If it could be a clue.’

As a result of the analysis from dawn until now, the memories of my previous life came to mind only when there was a rather extreme opportunity. 

“Lily, I’m going in.”

Bang!

As I slammed my forehead hard against the desk, Alan opened the door.

“…Lily?”

“…… ” 

I paused and looked up at Alan.

“That’s… the morning exercise I developed.”

The narrative from the original novel came to mind in a headache. It felt like my head was splitting.

「There is a mysterious teapot in the greenhouse of the Bauner’s castle.」

Just this one line?!

And what’s with the teapot, is it even a magic lamp?

As I lamented, Alan came to the side and looked at my forehead anxiously.

“I think that exercise is not very good for your health.”

I agree. I felt like I was going to die of a concussion before I even remembered the original story. 

‘Let’s take a break. It hasn’t been confirmed who stole it yet. Maybe the line is wrong. It was so tattered that I never knew if it gave me the wrong line.’ 

I comforted myself and greeted him by pretending to be a gentle princess.

“Dad, did you sleep well? I got up early and was painting.”

“Really? Can you show me, too?”

“No! I’m too bad at drawing. I’ll definitely draw Dad later!”

Before Alan could come any closer, I crumpled up the paper and threw it into the fireplace.

At dawn, the fire that Bernet had ignited still burned well.

As I hugged him as a good morning greeting, Alan smiled affectionately without further questioning.

Come on, let’s calm down. 

The day as Princess Lilietta began.

***

It was a peaceful morning. Passers-by said, ‘There’s a new head stuck next to the drawbridge. They said he had his face crushed to the point where you couldn’t even recognize who it was…’, but it was of no particular interest to me.

After the terrible news, there was the good news.

I heard the smashed-faced servant, who came to me last night, had returned to his hometown.

‘Did he get that much money from my father?’

I was able to sit down at the breakfast table with a slightly lighter mind than yesterday, though it was suspicious, there was still less to worry about anyway.

“Let’s pray.”

“You’re kidding, aren’t you?

Pedro laughed lightly at Hugo’s suggestion and poked the steak.

Hugo glanced at his rude older brother and put his hands together.

Coincidentally, even his father raised the fork without prayer.

“Almighty Goddess, Flora, thank you for giving us our daily bread today…”

“Come on, Lily. This is the thigh meat of a calf that dad ordered specially for you.”

“Ah.”

A friendly voice echoed from the side, but Hugo persevered and continued praying.

“Please bless my angel’s future path…”

“Father, aren’t you being cheap? I want to feed Lily, too!”

Eventually, Hugo exploded.

“Am I the only person in this family who has faith?”

“I can’t help it, Pedro, Lily likes me the most.”

They both ignored Hugo so neatly that he felt like a ghost that only my eyes could see.

Alan sat me down on his lap just like last night and fed me a lot of food.

Like a good daughter, I took and ate everything.

Then the servants came to the table and retrieved the forks and knives from the empty spot at the end.

‘It seemed to be the seat of the third brother, Michael, who had not yet come. I need Michael to find the necklace.’

I might have dropped the necklace on the shortcut that Michael had guided me through.

The problem was that it was so dark I couldn’t even remember where it was.

“Are you worried about Michael?”

Perhaps I had stared at Michael’s empty seat for too long, Alan wiped my lips with a napkin and held out a piece of grilled salmon.

I drooled because the scent of smoked fire was so stimulating.

‘I ate too much yesterday, so I need to restrain myself today… what crap.’

I grabbed the pale pink flesh that had been pushed out.

It’s a taste I can’t get enough of. Alan looked very satisfied.

“Don’t worry about that kid. Let him be, he’ll take care of himself.” 

He talked like he’s a stranger. He’s always openly favoring Lily. However, he was more heartless to him even when compared to his treatment of his first and second sons.

‘Is it because Michael is an illegitimate child?’

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“Leave him alone, Lily. He hasn’t come out for breakfast since he came to our mansion.”

Pedro moved the chair next to me.

“Seeing that he isn’t even in his room, he’s probably somewhere making poison.” 

When I asked, ‘Poison?’ Alan looked sternly at his eldest son.

“Aaah, um, I mean… a strong drug. Michael has a hobby of making unusual drugs.”

“Ah…” 

Seeing him in trouble, I’d better let it slide.

In fact, it wouldn’t be strange to make poison.

Everyone was kind only to the youngest daughter, but the Bauer family was originally a villainous family.

“Lily, what are you going to do today? Do you want to ride a swing in the garden with me? Or are you going to visit my men? All the knights want to see you.”

Pedro shoved a chunk of meat that was too big to fit in my mouth and smiled softly.

It was like a flying beast that handed out hunted prey.

The moment I opened my mouth wide to eat quietly, Alan wrapped his arms around my waist.

My body was pulled back, and my teeth bit the air.

“Pedro, unfortunately, Lily is busy today. Her important schedule is full.”

Alan shoved another slice of salmon into my mouth and said firmly.

“Huh, what schedule?”

Yeah, I’ve never heard of it either.

“Quality time between father and daughter.”

“Father, aren’t you busy today? You should meet with the Carnival Committee later.” 

Alan raised an eyebrow without saying a word.

Anyone could tell it was a face expressing, ‘Is that so?’.

…He forgot.

“I can cancel it.”

“I pray with all my heart, Flora… and Father. Today’s schedule is not the kind that can be canceled.”

After praying, Hugo straightened up his fork and knife, flawlessly.

It was a very elegant gesture.

“You know how important the gladiator match that marks the beginning of spring is to the citizens. You must choose the gladiators that the House Bauner will support. You must pick a good-quality gladiator, but if you don’t make it today, your schedule will be disrupted.” 

His way of articulation was cooler than most adults.

Everything was good except for the fact that he used the expression ‘good quality’ to refer to people, but Alan crumpled his expression harshly. 

“If you have an ulterior motive, be honest, Hugo.”

“What are you talking about?”

Hugo swallowed the asparagus without even chewing it once and spoke gracefully.

“But today, I think it would be good if you let Lily take a tour of the place. I also prepared a very useful gift in my lab.”

Now that I see it, it was full of intentions.

“Father has an important schedule, and if you leave her to brother Pedro, you will lose Lily in a matter of seconds, so it’s not a very good plan.”

“Hey, what are you talking about!” 

Hugo continued to talk leisurely with his brother, who was immediately furious.

“Look. You lost your ribbon in the short moment you came to eat, so hair is spilling around. It will go into Lily’s nose at some point.

“Nonsense…”

Pedro, who was about to argue, looked around me and shut his mouth.

It didn’t fall into the food, but a bunch of curly black hair was flying over the edge of the table.

It was closer to dog hair than human hair. 

Is it the shedding season?

“It is absolutely unhygienic. Wouldn’t it be better for brother to eat at the barn?” 

“Oh, are you picking a fight now? Do you want to fight? The winner will play with Lily.”

“There is nothing that cannot be done.”

Whoosh!

…Huh? I needed some time to think about what had just happened in the last few seconds.

Pedro, that man, did he just… throw a knife at his little brother?

‘Argh!’

Unlike me, who screamed inwardly, the targeted Hugo didn’t even blink.

The flashing knife stopped in mid-air. A white light, scented with lilies, climbed up Hugo’s legs like a stem and wrapped around the silver handle.

Hugo turned his sapphire eyes to the side and stared at the sharp edge of the blade.

The steak knife got stuck, and compressed into a circle like a coin…

“How barbarous.”

It was shattered and crushed like a broken glass.

Hugo spilled the remains of the knife into the empty sauce bin and carefully closed the lid.

“Aren’t you planning on using your fists fairly?”

As if this was just a provocation, Pedro stood up.

Hugo sat with his legs crossed. Even in that state, it was as if he could easily beat his older brother.

“Do you still think that lifting a fist is fair these days? As far as I know, there is a better expression. ‘Ignorant’, for example.”

“Isn’t there a better expression than ‘Bluffing’ while sitting with your head in a mess?”

“Brother wouldn’t know even if I told you. Brother’s head is so easy to take care of.”

“What?”

“It means empty and light. I shouldn’t have used a metaphor. It’s my fault.”

The friendly atmosphere was broken in an instant, and sparks flew out.

Confused, I looked at the two of them alternately.

It wasn’t a joke, it really looked like it was going to be a problem.

Let’s just decide who’s going to play with the youngest!

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