Chapter 68: 68

I looked at the clock and saw it was already three o’clock. 

‘I danced too much yesterday, really.’

I scratched my messy hair shyly and got out of bed.

I could have called the larks by ringing the bell, but before that, I wanted to awaken my dazed mind.

When I washed my face with the wash water, my senses returned to some extent.

And what I couldn’t finish yesterday came to my mind spontaneously.

‘I have to tell Benny the truth. I’m not the real Lily.’

Yesterday, Michael suddenly broke in, hence I was unable to say it. But today, I had to say it. 

If I postponed it, time would pass again.

‘How will Benny react?’

From what I had seen so far, it seemed like he would pass it on casually, but we never know people’s hearts.

My stomach tightened with tension. It was my first time revealing my identity to others.

“Huuu…”

I lightly slapped myself on the cheeks with my wet hands.

“Let’s start with the little things, step by step.”

Before going to see Benny, there was something I had to check first.

*** 

“What else?”

Michael was still in bed today. I sat on the bed and looked at his left hand.

The splinted wrist smelled of bitter herbs.

“My dear brother, I came to see if you are very sick.”

I looked into the splint and tilted my head.

The knot that tied the arm was somehow clumsy. The end of the fabric was even a little tattered, as if it had been eaten by a mouse.

“…Who tied this up?”

It was too clumsy to be a professional’s skill.

I was just asking, but Michael sharply pointed out like he had misunderstood the intent of my question.

“Don’t worry, no one knows that that monster bastard made me like this.”

‘No one knows… Does that mean that even the doctor doesn’t know?’

“Did you tie it up by yourself?” 

As I opened my mouth, stunned, Michael nervously hid his arms.

“I don’t like monsters, but if other people know that someone has been hurt because of that bastard, Father will be in trouble.”

It was a splint that was tied up by applying the medicine himself and biting the cloth with his teeth.

I was at a loss for words for a moment as it seemed to reveal Michael’s stubbornness in itself.

“Hey, so what’s your purpose?”

Michael shot sharply. 

It was a time when he looked a little pitiful, but the rude attitude completely absorbed my sympathy.

I thought to myself, ‘Damn kid,’ so I chose the following words.

“Michael.”

“Hm.”

“You said this. That the Duke thinks of me as a substitute for his daughter.”

“Right.”

Michael agreed without a single doubt.

I looked around and quieted my voice.

“Why do you think so?”

I had always believed in the story that Michael had told me so far.

Alan used me as Lily’s substitute, even though he already knew I was a fake.

But there was one thing I overlooked. 

The truth that I believed was ironically just Michael’s opinion.

Michael was willing to commit atrocities to get accepted into the Bauner family, but at the same time, he was only an 11-year-old boy.

So, Michael’s thoughts could have been an illusion created by a child’s false beliefs.

Before revealing the truth to Benny, I wanted to confirm the grounds of Michael’s opinions one more time.

And the result was…..

“Why are you talking nonsense all of a sudden? If Father thought you were the real Lily, would he have let me poison you?”

That was a hundred times right. The idea that I had been thinking about for a long time proved to be in vain, so my body’s strength seeped away.

I leaned over and buried my face in the bedspread.

“Are you really sure? But the Duke is very kind to me.”

“Father is always kind to his family. Just look at how he treats Brothers.”

When Pedro was running out of control, he hit him so hard that his head bled… Was that kind?

‘Well, it’s kind compared to his attitude towards Michael. Because he’s so harsh to him like the cold wind…’

I shook my head. The decision was made.

‘I’m not Lily, and I need Benny’s help to escape.’

After confirming that the answer did not change, my head cleared. Now I had to go talk to Benny.

“Did you come all the way here just to ask that?”

Michael grumbled as he re-tied the loose knot of the splint.

I looked at him silently, then grabbed his left hand and untied the knot.

Michael frowned as if it was the beginning of another harassment.

I unwrapped all the tattered pieces of cloth without even paying attention to his displeased eyes. Then I folded the fabric properly and tied the splint back.

You are reading story How to Live as the Mad Duke’s Fake Daughter at novel35.com

“…What are you doing?”

Michael was strangely bewildered as he raised his arm.

I firmly held the position of the splint and said calmly.

“Hey, you speak like I’m doing something wrong.”

Although Michael might be rude, he faithfully answered my questions, so I could do this much for him.

As a 9-year-old, it was difficult to tie the knot tightly, so a whining sound came out naturally.

I tied the splint with care, dripping with sweat. There, it looked a lot better than before.

Michael gently shook his left hand, then laid down on the other side of the bed. And he dug into the blanket like a person who didn’t want to show his face.

“…Go.”

“What, are you sleeping again? What the hell were you doing last night?”

“Having trivial thoughts.”

Michael shuddered like he was talking to himself.

“That’s why I can’t sleep well.”

Knock knock. 

Then a knock was heard from the door.

I was startled and looked back. Alan was staring at me from the door that suddenly opened.

“Lily, here you are.”

Alan smiled softly at me, as always.

No wonder it was strange.

He acted like Michael didn’t exist in the room at all.

“Aren’t you hungry? Let’s eat outside today. The weather is very nice.”

As I went down the bed, I glanced back at Michael.

Michael did not come out, hiding under the blanket like a dead man.

‘What is this situation? It’s a bit awkward.’

I glanced at Alan and crept closer to him.

At that moment, behind Alan’s back, Nike was hurriedly approaching.

“D-Duke! We have a problem!”

Alan frowned and hugged me.

“What is it, Nike? Making a fuss in front of Lily.”

Nike took a breath and held something in front of Alan’s eyes.

“Look at this!”

What he had in his hand was today’s newspaper.

***

“It’s not something to be fussed about.”

Alan threw the newspaper he was reading on a table where the sunlight was shining on.

On the front page of the newspaper, provocative words overflowed.

「The Duke of Bauner collects the monster that has slaughtered hundreds of people!」

Although Alan yesterday clearly nailed the stadium as an unintentional accident, no such explanation was revealed in the article.

Hugo stopped reading the article and clicked his tongue.

“He’s indeed a monster, but isn’t it going to damage the reputation of House Bauner?”

“So what? The press is being held tightly by the Imperial House.”

Unlike Hugo, who sharpened his teeth, Pedro lightly shrugged his shoulders and shoved a single green grape into my mouth.

Alan glanced over at his children and grabbed my hand.

“There will be useless rumors floating around for the time being, so don’t bother responding. These words will disappear if we succeed in retaking the Western Continent anyway.”

“But Father, do you really think it’s possible?”

Pedro, who was eating several layers of salami, turned his fork in the air.

“To bring back the Western Continent that was stolen by evil spirits… If we succeed, newspaper articles like this will be degraded to scraps of paper, but if we fail, we will be cursed more than we are now.”

“The problem is not to reclaim the Western Continent.”

Alan shrugged and said softly.

“The question is to whom to distribute the reclaimed land.”

Was getting it back already a foregone fact? 

Pedro and Hugo no longer showed any signs of doubt at Alan’s firm words.

“When do you plan to go reclaim it?”

Hugo asked as he kept flipping through the newspaper.

“It is not unreasonable to secure supplies and military services right away. But to train Benimus enough to put him in a military operation… It would take about four or five years.”

Hugo raised his glasses as if he didn’t understand Alan’s answer.

“Do you really need to train that monster for that long? He’s already a monster.”

“I’m not trying to train him to be strong. He doesn’t need anything like that anymore.”

In an instant, Alan’s jade-colored eyes shone as sharply as an animal.

“It’s just that it takes time to tame his mind. As soon as we go out of the barrier together, he may aim the sword at us instead of the evil spirits.”

Silence passed for a moment.

Hugo pondered for a moment, then clasped his hands and said bitterly.

“I will also help you train the monster. It’ll be helpful because I’ve been studying evil spirits.”

“Good gracious! Hugo, you… didn’t you hate him very much?”

“I hate him. But the water is already spilled, isn’t it?”

Even though Pedro teased him, Hugo looked back at me without giving in.

“Since it has come to this, I have no choice but to use him properly. For Lily’s future.”

You can find story with these keywords: How to Live as the Mad Duke’s Fake Daughter, Read How to Live as the Mad Duke’s Fake Daughter, How to Live as the Mad Duke’s Fake Daughter novel, How to Live as the Mad Duke’s Fake Daughter book, How to Live as the Mad Duke’s Fake Daughter story, How to Live as the Mad Duke’s Fake Daughter full, How to Live as the Mad Duke’s Fake Daughter Latest Chapter