Chapter 4: 4

I was a little surprised by what my self-proclaimed father said. It was quite unexpected that the stinky old man opposed them because he wanted my mother to become a general, not because of the difference in status or the common conservative ideas. But when I think about my mother’s skills, it all made sense.

Only men could be knighted in the empire for a long time. Even though the world has changed and women were finally able to bear a Knight’s title, there is still a lot of discrimination

It’s okay for an unmarried woman to hold a title. However, if she were married and still had that title, her social activities would be heavily restricted.

A married woman could not hold a Knight’s title unless she became the head of a family or paid a dowry. But still, even if she had it, she wouldn’t be able to fully utilize her talents. The same would have been true for my mother. People would have seen her as the Marchioness Bright, not Viscountess Sabrina.

“Wendy was free-spirited by nature. She was unable to adapt into the stifling aristocratic society. The social life was a struggle for her. Then suddenly you and Archie were born, and Wendy went into severe postpartum depression.”

“Postpartum depression…?”

“Yes.”

‘Postpartum depression.’ 

I hadn’t thought of that. After all, every time I think about my mother… She seemed far from being depressed.

“Then one day, Wendy left our divorce papers behind, and disappeared with you. I found Wendy after a long time of searching. At that time, you were already in the Sabrina Territory, and Wendy was wandering around doing mercenary work like before.”

‘I see… That was indeed like my mother.’ 

She wasn’t a bad person, but she wasn’t up to scratch as a mother. She was the type of person who couldn’t settle down in one place, as my self-proclaimed father had said.

‘Lady, you must understand your mother, she has the gypsy blood in her.’

‘What is a gypsy blood?’ 

‘Gypsies have a wandering nature, they have friendly spirits, but they are the type who likes to wander for a lifetime, and your mother… She had the gypsy blood in her.’

The butler would often ask me to understand my mother’s wanderlust, but I could not understand her. It was true that, for whatever reason, my mother had failed to fulfill her responsibilities as a parent. Yes, she was never a good mother to me, and yes, she was also never around. It was the nanny and the butler who raised me, not my mother.

“I’ll be back,”

She would often say this, after returning to the estate every few months and then scurrying off again. She was such a wanderer that I never knew where she was until I received a message from her from afar. Even now, she probably doesn’t even know that I’m already in the capital.

“I tried to persuade her, but she was stubborn, and when I told her I’d take you back, she pulled out the marriage vows.”

“Ah.”

“In the end, I had to turn back, leaving Wendy and you behind, but I didn’t give up. I visited the Sabrina estate several times, and I went to visit Wendy as she traveled around the empire as a mercenary, but I couldn’t change her mind. I’m ashamed to say that for so many years after you and Wendy left, I was out of my mind, living almost like a lost person.”

The self-proclaimed father smiled bitterly.

“The Duke of Bright was also furious with me, I meant, Father was. He was so angry with me and Wendy. That he took this marriage to the King on my behalf, and asked for an injunction to prevent Wendy from coming to the capital, and that’s how we got divorced.”

The more I listened, the more my chest tightened. This self-proclaimed father didn’t seem to be lying. The timing and details were all right…

“Was it because of the marriage vows you just mentioned that my mother took me away?”

“Yes. We were both only children, and the vows were written to ensure that we would carry on the Bright family name, first, and the Sabrina family name, second.”

“I see.”

It is customary for noble marriages to have vows because they are a union of family and lineages. A noble’s will and marriage vows were untouchable, even by the emperor. If my mother had designated me as the heir to the family name, and asserted her rights, the Bright family would have no choice but to adhere to it.

I looked at my self-proclaimed father with a troubled expression. I’d like to say that he wasn’t really my father, but the circumstances seemed to indicate that he was.

Then where is the real young lady Bright? From what the stinky old man said earlier, it looks like she had caused a disturbance and ran away.

Just as I was about to ask about Young Lady Bright, the butler entered the parlor with an apologetic look on his face.

“My lord, there is a visitor from the Imperial Palace.”

“Oh, no.”

The self-proclaimed father looked at me with an apologetic expression after hearing the butler’s words.

“I’m sorry. When I heard that you had been captured by the guards and put into jail earlier… I just left my work and ran out… So I guess that’s why we have a visitor.”

“Don’t mind me, go do your work.”

As he got up to leave, my self-proclaimed father said hesitantly,

“Well, honey, if you don’t have a place to stay, and if you don’t mind, you can stay at my house…”

I nodded obediently, and said,

“Yes, I will.”

My self-proclaimed father’s face instantly flushed. Oh, wait… I guess he’s my father now.

I’m fine with it. After all, my curiosity hasn’t been quenched yet, and I still have a lot of questions I wanted to ask. I don’t have much money left anyway, so it’s either this or a cheap inn.

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“Do you mind if I get some rest? My head hurts and I’m a little tired.”

“Of course, Ethan, please show Iris to a room for her to rest,”

My self-proclaimed father said, while smiling broadly. He seemed pleased with my decision.

“Lady Iris, please come this way,” Ethan said. So I followed him while pressing my sticky temples together.

I was exhausted after traveling from the manor to the capital, and before I could rest I had to experience all sorts of unfortunate events just because I look like Young Lady Bright. Perhaps that’s why, as I lay on my fluffy bed, trying to organize my thoughts, I was unable to overcome the drowsiness and fell asleep.

“Ugh, Did I sleep too well?”

I slept too well. I hadn’t felt so light as a feather in a long time. I woke up after a good night’s sleep. I was wriggling my body inside the fluffy blanket like a caterpillar, when a girl with impressive freckles came in with a tray.

“Hello, I’m Sophie, and I’m going to be Lady Iris’s maid from now on.”

Sophie looked at me and didn’t call me Young lady Bright. Apparently, while I was asleep, the word had finally gotten out to the servants that I was Iris, not their former young lady.

“The butler had instructed me to serve you during your stay, and I will do so with the utmost care.” Sophie was very enthusiastic.

She carefully bathed my half-asleep body and brushed my hair. As she gathered my hair together and tied it into a blue satin bun, she suddenly asked gently, “Do you feel any discomfort?”

“I’m fine, thank you.”

At my words, Sophie’s eyes widened, then she smiled sheepishly. Not to be mean, but Sophie seemed to be more skillful compared to the nanny at the manor.

“Lady Iris has a very different personality from Lady Archie, it’s really fascinating!”

“What, really?”

“Yes. Now that I think about it, I was really surprised to see your face at first.”

When I saw her she didn’t look surprised at all. She must be good at managing her facial expressions. Sophie seemed to have relaxed a bit, and spoke more easily than she had earlier.

“If I hadn’t heard the butler say Miss Iris, I would have thought it was Miss Archie.”

“So Archie and I… Do we really look alike?” I asked, my voice cracking at the awkwardness of saying young lady Bright’s name. She’s my twin after all… 

Luckily, Sophie didn’t mind.

“Yes, you do look exactly alike, I swear to god I thought it was Miss Archie acting.”

After nodding enthusiastically, Sophie suddenly looked worried and anxious, “Are you sure you’re not Miss Archie?” She asked hesitantly.

“Y-you’re not. Right?”

“No.”

I answered firmly, and Sophie breathed a sigh of relief.

What the hell is it with me and this Young Lady Bright?

Was it because of our resemblance? I’ll have to ask her to show me a portrait later.

“Phew, I’m sorry to ask such a strange question, but you two really look alike–”

Come to think of it, my self-proclaimed father, cough I meant my father, the Marquis of Bright, also asked me yesterday if I was pretending to have amnesia… Sophie’s reaction was equally strange as well.

“Does Archie like to pretend before?”

“What? Oh, yeah. A few times. She was pretending to have amnesia, or pretending to be Lady Iris…”

My voice rose at the unexpected comment.

“She impersonated me? Did she know I existed?”

“Uh. Yeah.”

Sophie replied, her eyes rolling back in her head. I didn’t even know that I had a twin sister until yesterday, but Young Lady Bright had known of my existence ever since before. My mood suddenly turned sour.

“That’s because— Everyone who had worked at the Marquis’ residence for a long time knows of Miss Iris’s existence, either because His Highness the Duke used to scold Miss Archie and mention you or because His Excellency the Marquis often mentioned you when he was drunk.”

‘Ah, mother. What on earth kept you from telling me anything?’ 

The more I listened to Sophie’s words, the more I felt my nostrils flare, and I couldn’t help but resent my mother.

“Hah.”

It must be because I slept so well. Now that my head was clear, I remembered things I hadn’t thought of in my panic yesterday. Somehow, I felt like I’d heard about the Bright Family before.

The Brights are a famous family that I’ve forgotten about. In particular, the ill-tempered Duke of Bright, who was ranting at me yesterday, was the hero who ended the Thirty Years’ War along with the Marquis of Axion. This is probably the same war my mother fought in as a mercenary. Combining the new information with what I’ve forgotten, the questions I had as a child were naturally answered.

(T/N:  Feel bad for Iris.)

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