Chapter 2
The person standing there with eyebrows raised to the sky was my mother.
“Goodness, the sun is right over your head and you’re still under the covers? Get up this instant!”
Her voice thundered through the room.
“I honestly can’t deal with you.”
Mom grumbled as she approached, looking like she was about to snatch the blanket away. Normally, I would have spent a long time fighting her for the covers. But today was different. I hugged her as hard as I could.
“Mommyyyyy.”
My mother, who was about to scold me, was suddenly flustered.
“My, what’s wrong with you this morning? Did you have a bad dream last night?”
I just nodded with a tearful face. In the end, Milena receives her karma in the original story. After Cecilia is kicked out of the Duke’s house, she re-enters social circles through blood-sweating effort. From that point on, Milena suffers miserably. She gets publicly humiliated in society and faces counterattacks whenever she tries to bully Cecilia.
It means she falls into a trap set by Cecilia’s meticulous revenge and slowly heads toward ruin. And to think that is what I will face in the future—goodness! Plus, there was one more thing weighing on my mind.
‘In the original story… my mother is never mentioned at all.’
Though she seems blunt on the outside, my mother is actually very warm-hearted. She said she lost her husband a long time ago. She had gone up the mountain with a heavy heart, and that’s where she found a crying child. Mom gave the child the name “Milena,” and that is how we became family.
‘How did the original Milena end up leaving Mom’s side?’
Since it was never mentioned in the original work, I have no way of knowing. But one thing is for sure.
‘I can’t imagine living without my mom.’
I buried my face in her arms and asked in a mumble.
“Hey, just imagine if… what if I was the daughter of a really amazing, powerful family?”
“Of course you’d have to go to that family.”
It was a firm answer without a second of hesitation. Startled, I lifted my messy head.
“…Mom?”
“You’re my daughter, but you’re too pretty and talented to rot away in this tiny village.”
Mom cupped my cheeks and gave me a big grin.
“But if you go back to that great family, you must never forget the struggles of the mother who raised you. You have to get a very generous amount of child support from them.”
“Ugh, Mom!”
When I got annoyed, she burst out laughing.
“Stop talking nonsense and get up. You only started working at the Baron’s castle recently; you can’t be late already.”
Suddenly, my face went pale.
“…Mom, what time is it?”
“It’s time for our daughter to start running!”
I-I’m doomed!
Regardless of past lives or anything else, as a resident of this world, I had to earn money. And so, currently, while busily sweeping the floor at my workplace, the Trangsie Baron’s castle, I was deep in thought.
‘In the original story, Milena went to the Duke’s house herself, right?’
That means as long as I don’t take the lead in contacting the Lucert Dukedom, everything will be peaceful.
‘Yeah, let’s just forget the original story and everything.’
No matter how much I thought about it, I didn’t think I could be happy without my mom. Of course, since I’m only human, I’m tempted by the Duke’s wealth and fame. But it’s not enough to trade for the happiness I have now with Mom.
Of course, she might have lived perfectly fine and was simply not mentioned in the book. But…
‘How could I take a risk while leaving my mom behind?’
If I went back out of greed for the position of the Duke’s daughter, I don’t know what kind of butterfly effect might happen. If something were to happen to my mom because of that…
‘That can never happen.’
Even if her words are rough, my mom always looks at me with eyes full of affection. She notices exactly how I’m feeling just by looking at my face. Whenever we eat together, she picks out the best parts and puts them in my mouth. I can never be happy without her.
Also, living as her adopted daughter, there’s one thing I feel.
‘I honestly can’t feel any affection for that Duke’s family. They were too much for Cecilia!’
I remember how pitiful Cecilia was when I read the book. People around Cecilia used “Milena” as an excuse to inflict all sorts of abuse on her.
“Can’t you even endure that? If you were the real Young Lady, you would have laughed off that much pain without even blinking.”
They made her practice dancing in high heels all day until her heels were bloody. Skipping meals or not letting her sleep properly was a common occurrence. Oh, you’re wondering why the family didn’t stop the bullying?
‘Because they didn’t know!’
And I hated the way the Duke’s family treated Cecilia. Just because she was adopted, was she supposed to be grateful just for being fed and housed? Even though I’m an adopted daughter too, we are a real family who sincerely cherishes each other. Looking at the Lucert family reminds me of people who pointed fingers at Mom and me, saying, “They aren’t real family anyway!”
‘It makes me feel gross.’
Even though they acted so indifferent to Cecilia, once Milena appeared, they treated her like a precious treasure.
‘I can somewhat understand why Cecilia loses her mind whenever she sees Milena.’
Of course, later on, the people of the Duke’s house notice the abuse Cecilia suffered and regret it deeply, but…
‘Why go to that house just to be hated by Cecilia?’
Of course, I feel very sorry that Cecilia will have a hard time emotionally. But my mom is much more important. I want to protect my life as it is now. I have no interest in being lumped in with that family and meeting a ruinous ending.
‘Yeah, I’m not going back.’
But that afternoon, I had to pay a steep price for underestimating the force of the original story.
“H-Head Maid… what did you just say…?”
I looked up at the Head Maid, feeling stiff. She pushed up the glasses perched on the tip of her nose and declared in a strict voice:
“The VIPs visiting today are the Lucert Duke’s family. So everyone, mind your behavior.”
At that moment, the events of the past week flashed through my mind like a panorama. The Trangie Barony is famous for its high-quality hot spring water. And the Head Maid, who had us scrubbing and polishing the entire castle until it shone.
“Clean thoroughly. If even a speck of dust is found, there will be trouble.”
She hadn’t even told us who was visiting, saying it was top secret. I had wondered what kind of great lords were coming to cause such a fuss…
‘Why! Of all the people, why does it have to be the Lucert family!!’
But before I could even hide, they arrived.
“Head Maid, the Duke’s family has arrived.”
“Understood.”
The Head Maid nodded and left the room. I frantically ran to the window and poked my head out. In the distance, I saw a luxurious carriage slowly coming to a halt. The moment I confirmed the large hawk emblem engraved in gold on the carriage, my eyes shook violently.
‘Lucert… Dukedom.’
And then, the carriage door opened.
Do you want to see what happens when Milena finally meets her biological family face-to-face?
