~Chapter 45~
“If your dress gets dirty like this, the Duchess… ah.”
Milena laughed awkwardly and quickly corrected herself.
“If Mother gets angry, we’ll just get scolded together. If Brother Elias nags you, I’ll argue with him for you. And don’t worry about Father either. I’ll somehow handle it…”
Milena kept talking nonstop, but suddenly stopped.
Whoosh—
A breeze blew.
Milena’s bright golden hair, which Cecilia had always admired, fluttered softly.
The green eyes looking at her were so warm it almost made her cry.
For some reason, Cecilia suddenly felt her nose sting.
“Like I said before, I’ll probably only stay in this house for three years. So I want to treasure that time even more.”
Milena carefully asked,
“So… did you not enjoy spending time with me, Sister?”
“……”
Cecilia stayed silent for a moment, then turned her head slightly.
She stared at the distant trees in the garden and muttered quietly, almost to herself.
“No. I enjoyed it.”
She didn’t even remember the last time she had let go of everything and played so freely.
It felt strange.
Until now, she had always been careful, constantly worrying about what other people thought.
But when she was with Milena…
all of that suddenly felt unimportant.
“I have a question.”
“What is it?”
“Why do you keep approaching me? I’ve only said uncomfortable things to you.”
Cecilia clenched the edge of her dress tightly.
It was a question that had been stuck deep in her throat like a thorn.
“…Don’t I make you uncomfortable?”
Milena answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“Well, the one who likes the other person more is the one who tries harder.”
“What?”
“Anyway, I like you, Sister. So I want to do my best.”
At that simple answer, Cecilia’s gaze trembled slightly.
All her life, it had been normal for people to point fingers at her.
The fake daughter.
Just lucky enough to be adopted by the Duke’s family.
But that girl was different.
Whether she was real or fake didn’t matter to her.
That girl who called her “Sister” so brightly…
“I’ll try harder. So please don’t keep pushing me away, okay?”
Milena spoke sweetly and smiled shyly.
Maybe that was why—
Cecilia finally found the courage to say the apology she had kept buried in her heart for so long.
“I’m sorry.”
Milena’s eyes widened in surprise.
Avoiding her gaze, Cecilia spoke quickly.
“Actually… I’ve wanted to apologize for a long time. I kept acting sharp toward you.”
“…Sister?”
“You know, I told you I’m from an orphanage, right?”
Her teal eyes sank deeply.
Cecilia moved her lips for a moment, then smiled bitterly.
“So when the Duke of Lucert said he would adopt me… I was really happy.”
The orphanage had always been cold.
The teachers, who had to take care of so many children, gradually became distant and mechanical.
Children starved for even the smallest bit of affection.
In Cecilia’s gray world—
the day “Father” appeared felt like a miracle.
“Yes. Will you come with me?”
The Duke of Lucert was the first adult who ever reached out a hand to Cecilia.
The moment she held that hand, her world finally became full of color.
Yes.
What Cecilia had desperately wanted since she was very young was—
“I always wanted a family.”
Milena understood that feeling.
Not just because she had read the original story.
But because—
they had lived similar lives.
Both of them had lost their families when they were young.
But Milena had been luckier. She met a kind mother and grew up surrounded by love.
Cecilia, on the other hand, must have lived with constant fear.
The fundamental fear of having no home to return to.
“That’s why I was afraid of you at first. When you returned, I thought the family wouldn’t need me anymore… that I would be thrown out.”
“Sister, that’s…”
“But that was my mistake.”
Bitterness filled Cecilia’s voice.
A lonely smile appeared on her beautiful face.
“No matter how I feel, you still have the right to live happily with your family.”
“……Then.”
Milena swallowed nervously and looked straight into Cecilia’s eyes.
“That means you have to live happily with me too, Sister.”
Cecilia’s teal eyes trembled like a lake struck by a pebble.
Milena continued clearly.
“Because you’re my family.”
“……”
Milena called her family as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
She had always been like that.
No matter how many times Cecilia pushed her away or said she didn’t like her, she kept coming back and staying by her side.
Without realizing it, Cecilia had become used to that warmth.
…Then.
Cecilia took a short breath.
She had already been disappointed and hurt many times before.
But maybe this time…
it would be okay to believe again.
After a long silence, Cecilia stood up.
Then she reached out her hand toward Milena.
“Let’s go home now.”
Milena stared blankly at Cecilia’s outstretched hand.
She had never imagined that Cecilia would reach out to her first.
But slowly, her face brightened.
“Yes, Sister!”
She grabbed Cecilia’s hand tightly.
The two girls returned to the carriage while holding hands.
To anyone watching, they looked exactly like close sisters.
Later that evening
As the sun slowly set,
Milena and Cecilia returned to the townhouse looking completely messy.
Seeing them, the Duchess shouted in shock.
“Y-you two… what on earth happened to you?!”
What had they been doing?
Their hair was completely messy.
Their dresses were covered in dirt and ice cream stains.
In truth, the Duchess was even more shocked by Cecilia than by Milena.
Milena hadn’t yet received proper noble lady training, so that was understandable.
But Cecilia—who was always so proper—looking like this?!
The two girls glanced at each other and began nudging each other with their elbows.
“Mother is shocked because of you!”
“Seriously, Sister? You said you were having fun earlier!”
Watching them bicker like that, the Duchess couldn’t help but smile despite her shock.
But only for a moment.
Soon she narrowed her eyes and declared firmly—
“This won’t do. Milena needs a tutor immediately!”
