ã€ŠA Fairy Tales for the Villainsã€‹


 Chapter 0

    The tale of a princess trapped in a tall tower sounds so clich¨¦. But it doesn''t have to be a princess. I''m sure you might have heard of a young nobledy trapped up there as well. It''s a surprisinglymon story.

    "¡­Maybe they all nned this together to surprise us?"

    Benya, the boy with the smaller build, immediately went against his brother Lettice''s opinion. In a sharp, sarcastic tone, he snapped back at him. "You''re the only one who would think of something like this. This isn''t funny! You deserve to be punched for this."

    Puffing out his chest, Lettice looked unwilling to put up with his little brother''s attitude. "What? You ought to be more respectful towards me. I''m your older brother!"

    "You never gave me a reason to."

    Shaking his head in annoyance, Lettice ignored Benya and his somber eyes turned to me.

    "Hey, Sasha, do you know anything about this? Such a carefully nned prank¡­ I highly suspect that you''re behind all of this."

    "Oh, yes. That does seem likely!" The two brothers mumbled in unison.

    Ah, these boys¡­ Perhaps their mischievous behavior is their coping mechanism. I could imagine how anxious they must be at this moment¡ªsuddenly waking up in a ce which seems to have a no way out.

    The feeling of being trapped¡­ it''s suffocating.

    I dropped my face in my hands as the boys continued to argue in their usual carefree manner. They seemed so innocent,pletely unaffected by the evils of the world.

    As for I¡­ I couldn''t believe it. How would such harmless little boys grow up to be viins that would bring ruin to the entire empire in the future?

    "Sasha?"

    Having transmigrated into this novel world, an ominous feeling slowly crept up on me. My heart raced as anxiety swirled inside, probably stemming from the fact that all of us were beginning to panic slowly.

    Behind the bickering brothers'' faces, I could see the fear they so tried hard to conceal. They had to act tough and I soon realized why¡ªit was for someone dear in their hearts.

    Unlike her loud brothers, Estelle bit her lips and stayed silent. With small, hesitant steps, she approached me and clung to my arm.

    Estelle was born with a weak constitution and was extremely sensitive towards her surroundings. Even the smallest of disturbances was enough to trouble her. Fortunately, my mother and I could calm her down. But after my mother passed away¡­ I was the only one who could take care of her.

    "Sasha, do you really not know anything?"

    I couldn''t give her an answer. I had no idea what was going on. Would it have been better if I did?

    And so, in an abandoned corner of the majestic manor, three noble children and their nanny''s daughter were locked up, not by some bored demon king or evil dragon, but by the very rtives of the siblings.

    The only problem was that we knew nothing about what was going on. I racked my brains for any exnation about our situation, but every answer evaded me. I knew nothing.

 Chapter 1 - When Will We Get Out?

    Just like every other story, this one''s beginning was normal as well.

    Of course, the standards of normalcy differ from every individual, but I was a pretty ordinary child. Yet, I couldn''t deny the fact thatpared to other children belonging to my status, I was unbelievably lucky. And it was thanks to my mother.

    My mother gave birth to me and raised me all on her own. After I was born, she travelled all the way to the capital with only a letter of rmendation from a southern count, who she used to work for before, and settled there. Soon, she began to work for the Serpente, who''d just weed a baby daughter of their own.

    The duke and the duchess were excellent people. I knew nothing about how the other nobles behaved, but the duke and his family were extremely kind to my mother and me. They treated us like family! It was only because of them that I, a mere servant''s daughter, could y around with their children instead of working like I should have. In fact, the duke would even go as far as to admonish his second son for teasing me to the point of making me cry.

    My childhood was full of happy memories, filling me with warmth whenever I thought about them. Back when my mother, the duke and the duchess were alive, every day we spent were jovial.

    But everything fell apart the day my mother passed away. A gue rampaged through the empire, leaving behind seven thousand corpses in its wake, regardless of their status. And within a day of my mother''s death, Empress Alicia died as well.

    Because of the duke and duchess'' kindness, my sick mother could rest in peace after getting a proper burial instead of being burnt to ashes. The next few days were absolute hell. I was only fourteen and was facing the crisis of my life. I was young and didn''t have anywhere to go. Where would I go now? Fortunately, the Serpente allowed me to stay at their manor.

    During that traumatic period, memories flooded my mind. It was almost like a film reel, every detail vivid in my mind. Suddenly, it was all clear to me¡ªthe truth about the life I was living right now. I¡­could recall the memories of mypastlife.

    At first, I thought it to be a fantasy that my mind made up to ease me of my grief¡­ But those memories told me I was living in a fictional world from a novel. And that I was an orphan in my previous life, who met her horrible end¡ªdying alone in a broken elevator, freezing until herst breath.

    Who would want to believe such a story?

    Furthermore, to think that the people I''d been with since my birth would suffer from an awful tragedy¡­ There was no way I would''ve believed in such a wild story.

    But then, just like my memories had predicted, the duke and duchess passed a weekter. As soon as I realized the terrible implications of this incident, anxiety began to gnaw at my soul.

    If this world truly was the one that I''d read about in a novel in my past life, then that would mean our future was filled with tragedy. Letis, Benya, Estelle and I¡ªall of us would meet an awful end.

    ording to the novel''s plot, which was told from the protagonist''s perspective, the Serpente siblings would spend the two years after their parents'' funeral in another country. The decision was made by their rtives because they deemed Letis to be too young to inherit the dukedom at that time. Considering the empire''s situation, they thought it best to take care of the Serpente household in Letis stead.

    I had also followed them and faithfully took care of Estelle there, but I remember that nothing was written of how the siblings spent this period.

    In the book, I''d followed them for Estelle, but I had no memories of reading about the time siblings spent there. All I knew was that due to her weak constitution and sensitivity, Estelle passed away there, after which the two brothers and I returned to the country and reduced the empire to ruins.

    Yes, I was the final viin of the book¡ªthe Queen of Serpentes; the demoness in human flesh! The plot of the book ended with justice. I was fated to die an extremely painful death.

    Ah, and here I thought my life was simple! How did I gain such an awful second life? Did I not do enough virtuous deeds in my past life? Maybe not¡­ After all, I didn''t even have time to be virtuous. To think that I was born again only to be a viiness¡­

    Well, I guess it should be fine if I don''t do anything viinous in the future. Then I won''t have to worry about any consequences, right?

    But, the problem was that my knowledge about the plot was iplete. The story was told through the protagonist''s perspective, so I wasn''t aware of anything else other than what she knew.

    Besides, whatever was told to the public might not be the truth either. After all, as far as I remembered, there were no descriptions about Letis, Benya, Estelle and I being locked up in some secret room in the manor. All the book said was that we went to another country.

    No matter how old I''ll grow, I''ll never forget that night.

    As soon as their parents'' funeral ended, Estelle and I headed to the garden to watch the sky in silence as Letis and Benya dealt with their rtives. The two of us embraced each other tightly as choked up emotions welled inside us, but neither of us cried nor spoke. Tiny hearts beating madly against each other.

    The countless stars scattered across the sky seemed like they were trying to talk to us. Somehow, themon sight of the stars twinkling felt like the heavens themselves were crying¡ªdesperately trying to warn us of our future.

 Chapter 2 - The Serpente Siblings

    I knew what woulde next, but I still felt like I was on edge. Warning bells rang in my head, signalling that something was off. But I didn''t get enough time to ponder over the signs.

    "Estelle."

    I turned around to find Letis, dressed in mourning clothes. The once bright blue eyes of the fifteen-year-old now nkly stared at us. It was almost like the light in his eyes had been extinguished.

    "Uncle has something to discuss with all of us."

    The poor boy¡­ He had numerous servants he could order to summon Estelle, but he still came on his own. He must''ve been desperate for some time alone. Despite needing to keep up a stoic appearance, Letiswas shy and found it hard to control and hide his emotion. For an heir to a noble family, it was considered to be a fatal w.

    Estelle stared back at her brother, her eyes mirrored the same nkness. She turned around and looked at me, almost begging me to not let her go. Even back when her parents were alive, she''d feel nervous and anxious if I or my mother weren''t beside her. And now that she''d lost them¡­ I couldn''t imagine what she must be feeling.

    Still, no matter how badly I wanted to, I couldn''t join the family meeting. Despite practically growing up with the siblings, I wasn''t officially their family. It was impossible for me to be present there.

    I smiled at her, trying to reassure by gently tapping her hand. Still reluctant, Estelle slowly let go of my hand and walked up to Letis.

    Under the bright moonlight, the siblings'' pale blue hair sparkled as they constantly looked back at me during their walk towards the manor. Were they¡­worried about me? I wanted to hug them and tell them that as long as we were together, everything would be fine.

    But at that time, I didn''t know that their worry was not for naught.

    If only I''d known that that night would be ourst time in the gardens for the next two years¡­ I would''ve picked up a wild blossom to take along.

    ***

    When I opened my eyes, a strange ceiling greeted me. That was the first surprise of the day. I didn''t know what others might have done in the same situation, but panic suddenly began to creep up on me.

    The second surprise sprung up on me soon after. When I turned my head, I found Estelle'' long pale blue hair resting on top of mine. I''d clearly gone to sleep in my room in the annexst night, where I used to live with my mother. Unless either of us suffered from sleepwalking, there was no way we should have been sleeping on the same bed. What was even more weird was that the room itself was unfamiliar to me. It wasn''t mine or Estelle''s. How did we end up here?

    I stared at Estelle''s sleeping figure in stunned silence. She must''ve felt my gaze burning into her because she soon stirred awake. Her sleepy blue eyes blinked vacantly and looked at me. She looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings and spoke in a groggy voice.

    "Did you bring me here?"

    Why would she think that? Perhaps she was still half-asleep. I wish I had someone I could ask the same question.

    "Sasha? Estelle?"

    "Are you guys upstairs?"

    Suddenly, I heard Letis and Benya calling out to us. I panicked for a moment, I couldn''t figure out where they were. But soon the two boys came running up, their footsteps thudding against the steps.

    The moment our eyes met, we all fell silent. Thest time we''d seen each other in pajamas was about 8 years ago. It was embarrassing to see each other in such a state, but this wasn''t the time to linger over something like that.

    "Sasha, do you have something to do with this?" Letis raised a query against me.

    Ah, he didn''t know anything either? And here I thought I could rely on Letis. He is the most reliable out of all the siblings. I couldn''t help but stare at him in disappointment.

    Benya ran a hand through his dishevelled hair. He turned around to re at Letis upon hearing his question. Letis expression, in return, turned sour seeing Benya''s suspicious face.

    "What? I just wanted to clear it up, okay?"

    "The fact that you said that shows that your intellect is suffering from a major problem."

    "Won''t you think someone''s ying a prank on us after waking up together in a strange room too?"

    We exchanged puzzled nces, all of us ignorant about the current situation. An ominous feeling began to creep up on me. It was as if my heart was plunged to ice cold water.

    "Does our house even have a room like this?"

    "Are you an idiot? You''re the eldest son and you don''t even know this?"

    "Did you know?" Retorted Letis.

    With balled fists, Benya couldn''t help but say, "It''s not like you know anything about it either."

    We used to run around all over this manor during our childhood, so we found it hard to believe that there was a ce that even we didn''t know about. The bedroom was fairlyrge, but it looked cramped because of all the furniture stuffed in the room.

    A short-legged bedy in the center of the room, surrounded by different kinds of chairs and a marble table with amp on top of it. Several chests and closets were lined up against the wall, right next to the dressing table and the thick rugs covered the cold floor. But none of the furniture matched each other, as if chosen without any care for beauty.

    The sunlight trickled in from therge witch window ced up on the wall. It was the only source of air and sunlight in the room. It was quite disturbing. It was as if¡ª

    "Were you guys in a room downstairs when you woke up?"

    "Yes, imagine having to wake up next to him!"

    "Hey, how do you think I felt?"

    I left the bantering pair behind, choosing to explore the ce instead. I spotted a small door right across from us. I walked towards it and held the rusty brass doorknob. The door creaked open as I turned it.

 Chapter 3 - Quarantine

    "There''s a bathroom here¡­" Benyamented as he sneaked up behind me.

    The bathroom was big enough for a servant like me, but for these nobles¡­ It was quite small.

    "Does the room downstairs have a bathroom too?" I asked, dropping all sense of formality. Whenever there were no adults around, I tended to talk to them casually. This is how it''s always been since we were little. We grew up together and felt no need to be formal with each other.

    "Yes, at first I thought it was a different room, but it turned out to be just a bathroom."

    Ah, as I''d expected¡­ An indescribable feeling began to gnaw at me and my heart began to race as I grew anxious. My eyes fell on the door next to the closet. I closed the bathroom door and approached the other door.

    Letis stepped behind me and yelled out in warning, "Be careful. Who knows what''s in there!"

    In any other situation, the rest of us would''veughed at him and his paranoia. But considering our current predicament, no one was in the mood to do so. Even Benya, whose sole purpose of breathing was to tease others, chose not toment on it. In fact, his reaction was probably warranted. The situation was so strange that even if we found a slumbering dragon behind the door, we wouldn''t be surprised.

    Of course, there weren''t any dragons inside the room. But in hindsight, a dragon might''ve a better option.

    Lettuce stepped up as the oldest and bravely opened the door. We held our breaths, preparing ourselves for whatever surprise would be revealed. In the end, it just turned out to be another ordinary room.

    The siblings were unfamiliar with it. They''d never seen this room before.

    "What is this ce? A restaurant?"

    The room wasn''t a bedroom or a bathroom, but a kitchen lined with cupboards that were filled with utensils. The dishes looked old and dirty and the wood on the cupboard was chipping away. Just like the bathroom and the shoddy room, it wasn''t a ce befitting of a noble''s status.

    Benya was the first one to enter. He walked around the kitchen without a care in the world, as if the situation we were currently in didn''t bother him at all. He turned around and smirked at us.

    "Estelle, doesn''t it look just like your dollhouse? You and Sasha can y here all day."

    Letis chuckled at hisme joke, finding it easy tough at our expense. I glowered at them, causing them to immediately try and change the subject. Letis put on a serious expression.

    "Alright. Let''s stop joking around."

    "What are you talking about?"

    "Sasha, did you n this prank with the other servants? I wouldn''t put it past you to do something like this."

    What¡­ Did he think the other servants went and hid themselves under a boulder to pull off this prank? Why did he think I nned all this? I was about to say something to him, but I guess it was a good thing when Estelle, who up until now had been clinging to my arm, interrupted me.

    "Sasha¡­ It''s too stuffy in here."

    "I feel the same way."

    "I don''t like it here." She muttered softly.

    I knew what she wanted to say. It didn''t matter what this ce was and why we were there. She just wanted to get out of there. I wanted the same, but¡­

    "I think the way out is downstairs."

    Letis spoke up as soon as I was done, as if he was expecting me to say that.

    "There''s no door leading outside down there."

    "We were probably brought here to prevent us from being infected. What did they call it¡­ quarantine? Maybe they moved us while we were asleep because they thought we would get scared."

    I thought he was joking around again, but his calm demeanor surprised me. I hesitated for a bit, wondering whether I should ask him a question. In the end, I decided to give it a go.

    "Yesterday¡­ At the family meeting, what did your rtives say?"

    The mischievous look in his eyes died the moment I mentioned his rtives as a gloomy feeling took over him.

    "Because of the current situation, they considered it best if we moved to Fjeya for a while. They said that after what happened to our parents¡­ They couldn''t bear to lose us too."

    Ah, that''s exactly what the book said. The heir to the Cervantes family was only fifteen year old right now. His circumstances were quite bad, so no one would me him for temporarily entrusting everything to the adults and going abroad, just like the other children of nobility. It was a natural thing to do.

    Then this ce really was¡ª

    "You didn''t talk about anything else?" I asked.

    "What else would I say? Ah, I told them that we couldn''t leave without you, so don''t worry. Who''ll take care of that crybaby if not you?"

    I appreciated his sentiment, but that wasn''t what I was worrying about. Something seemed off about the situation.

    More memories popped up in my mind. I don''t why I remembered it at this very moment, but I realized that all of the sibling''s rtives passed away suddenly after a few years.

    One died from a chronic illness, the other died after being poisoned, another died in a fight fuelled from rage, and then another¡­

    All of the deaths were suspicious in one way or another. There was a rumour that the vipers were behind all of it¡­ At least, that''s what I remembered.

    "What are you two talking about?"

    "Sasha was worried that we were going to leave her behind."

    "Really? I thought she''d like that."

    ¡­What in the world does Letis think of me?!

 Chapter 4 - Black Death

    I couldn''t believe my senses¡­

    "I can hear a strange sound."

    A piercing noise reached our ears. Estelle whimpered as she tugged at my sleeve and pulled me closer to her. She stared at the floor, her bottom lip stuck out in a pout. This childish behaviour of hers was prettymon, but this time, it was warranted.

    Soon, a mysterious sight greeted us. The mirror on the wall turned like a revolving door with a heavy creak. The device controlling the door was probably outside, so that no one could get out once inside.

    "Uncle Jerome?!"

    Viscount Ipolite was the youngest of the siblings'' uncles and was their favourite. They had many fond memories with him since he often yed with us during our childhood. But right now, instead of affection, his face was shadowed by an eerie impression.

    "Uncle, we were so anxious!"

    "We were beginning to get wrong ideas, you know? Where is this ce?!"

    "Uncle Jerome¡­ I''m hungry. I want to leave."

    I stepped back from the reunion as the siblings sighed in relief upon seeing a familiar face. No matter how well the Duke and Duchess treated my mother and I, we were still mere servants to other members of the family. Even before my memories came back, I was aware of this fact.

    But¡­ I scrutinized the young viscount from my spot. Something seemed off about him. He still had his usual warm smile, but it seemed weak to me. And his eyes¡­ They seemed as nk as a fish''s. The viscount stood rigidly as his niece and nephews chattered excitedly. It was almost as if he didn''t even want to be here.

    All the children, including me, were barely managing to cope up after the sudden funeral. So why would he show such a strange expression to us? Was he¡­ lost in his thoughts about the dead? That was probably the case.

    "Uncle?"

    Letis called out to him, sensing that something was off. The light-hearted joy onlysted a short while and an awkward, ufortable silence took over us. After a long while, Jerome finally decided to speak. Unlike his usually soft, yful voice, his tone was now hoarse and rough, almost as if it was being grated against a sandpaper.

    "Children, let''s sit down first."

    Letis seated himself on a nearby chair as Benya and Estelle perched themselves on the bed. I chose to stand by Estelle''s side, just in case she needed me.

    Even though we sat down like he''d asked us to, Jerome made no move and simply kept staring at our faces. Perhaps the siblings'' faces reminded him of his brother and sister-inw.

    "Uncle, are you alright?"

    "I''m fine, Letty, but weren''t you surprised? Waking up in an unfamiliar room must''ve been strange."

    "Well, I was surprised to an extent. But we''re still at our house, right? I never knew of such a ce."

    "Every noble mansion has a secret room."

    For a split second, the viscount was back to his original self. The others burst intoughter, but the way he''d said those words grated on my nerves for some reason. I wondered for how long they intended to keep us here.

    "Children, there''s been a change of ns."

    "What?"

    "You can''t go to Fjeya anymore. You''re well aware of the situation in the capital right now. Even travelling to the Valencia Port would be dangerous."

    He was right. Forget the peasants, even the aristocrats, who didn''t need to walk about the streets to conduct their daily business, had been infected and passed away due to the gue. It sure lived up to the nickname given by the newspapers, God''s Punishment. No one could escape from his wrath.

    But I knew the truth. This was no God''s punishment, but the author''s creation. The gue was based off of ck Death and would die off after a couple of months, just as abruptly as the outbreak had begun. Of course, its consequences would be evesting.

    They weren''t wrong in reaching such a conclusion.

    "Some of the people in the manor have been infected as well, so it''s not safe anymore. Children are more susceptible to the infection, so we moved as quickly as possible. This is the safest ce we could think of. No one''s entered this ce for a long time."

    His tone went back to being light and cheery, any and all traces of his previously gloomy atmosphere gone, as if it never happened. It seemed like he was speaking that way in order to lighten the blow of the bad news.

    My eyes met Benya''s. It seemed like he was thinking the same thing.

    "So, what now? Are we going to stay here forever?"

    Letis was startled at Benya''s sudden question. Estelle turned pale at the thought of staying in this secluded ce forever.

    In return, Jerome simply smiled and shook his head.

    "This is only for a short while. We had to do all this because we''re desperate. I don''t like the thought of keeping you here either, but please bear with it. Don''t worry, once the situation calms down, we''ll immediately send you to Fjeya."

    The four of us exchanged a nce. Discovering and exploring new ces was fun, but staying there for an indefinite amount of time was an entirely different matter. This cramped, ufortable space would be more than enough for a servant like me, but for the children of noble blood to stay here? It would be a nightmare.

    "I don''t like it here¡­"

    Estelle''s face scrunched up as she whined inint. Well, this kind of situation did deserve such a reaction. Nobody could have foreseen this sudden twist. Even Letis and Benya seemed bbergasted.

    "Then, how long are we supposed to stay cooped up in here?!"

    The answer to Letis question hit us hard.

    "About a week. I don''t think we''ll make you stay any longer. In the end, going abroad is our option."

    "What about our meals?"

    "Of course, the butler will attend to your basic needs. There''s no need to worry about that. We''ve already brought all your clothes in here. Well, Estelle has Sasha to help her, but you two will have to dress yourselves for now."

 Chapter 5 - Boys Will Be Boys

    Jerome chuckled as he noticed the sour expression on the boys'' faces. I would''ve relished the scene, but I was too agitated to do so.

    "It''s so dark and stuffy in here. Can''t we go outside for a minute?"

    "No, we wouldn''t have brought you here if that was possible. The disease can spread through air."

    We only needed to stay here for a week at the most. I couldn''t bear to say it to the others, but it wasn''t that long of a time. We would be safe on ship sailing to a foreign country after a week and yet, why did I feel that something was wrong?

    The n was reasonable and the logic behind it was sound. Our stay here was only a temporary measure. It was a relief that it would onlyst for a week. Then why was it that¡­ a chill was running down my spine at the thought of it?

    The viscount suddenly stopped smiling and looked at me. It onlysted for a moment, but his jade green eyes had a strange glint in them when his gaze met mine. Did he realize that I''m suspicious?

    "Sasha, you must''ve heard about this already, but you''ll be going to Fjeya as well. Estelle needs you. Please continue to look after my niece like you always have."

    * * *

    Let''s see, how did that novel go?

    The Cherkesha Empire, a splendid civilization for over 1700 years, had only two families that held the Duke title.

    The Parkes was a recognized founding contributor to the empire, while the Cervantes rooted themselves firmly in finance. While the Cervantes had a short historypared to the Parkes, they owned the best bank of the empire, the Paison.

    The main heroine was the daughter of the Parkes, Adrianna D''amor de Parke. She was the only daughter of the Duke, but lost her mother young. Adrianna was doted upon, but she found herself being maltreated by her stepmother and stepsister, who had appeared out of the blue. On top of that, she lost her father during the gue.

    The rumors whispering that the Duke had not died of the gue but was poisoned by his second wife did spread.

    Anyway, the empire was in chaos to the extent that thieves and gangs swarmed about everywhere. Adrianna donated a substantial amount of money to the poor and significantly helped in bringing stability to thend. In doing so, she bes close to the crown prince.

    The main hero was the crown prince. The pair, of course, unites at the end for a happily ever after ending, but the way to it was something fierce.

    For example, the second prince who had a reputation for being a rake was after his brother''s beloved. There was also Adrianna''s stepbrother, who loved his sister dearly and obstructed his sister''s rtionship as much as possible. Another was that the Duke of Cervante, who was ruling over the underworld of the empire for seven years after his return, fell in love with Adrianna.

    In other words, Letis falls in love with her. My fall, after much wrongdoing using the Cervante brothers, can be said to begin there. The three of us all meet a terrible end.

    The reason the novel gave for why a servant''s daughter like me could control them was first, my beauty. The book said it, not me.

    The novel mentions that the princes recognized my loveliness despite hating who I was.

    Hmm. The true reason I had them on the palm of my hand was definitely not beauty, but probably Estelle''s premature death in a foreign country.

    Since I was her foster sister and loyal friend, the brothers who had lost their parents and sister early deemed me theirst chance.

    However, I had not been convinced by this. Had there been an additional short story? Since I did not remember, it was no use, but the Letis and Benya I had observed up to now did not seem to be cruel viins.

    Benya was a bit wild and yful but kind in heart, and Letis was often said to be too soft to others.

    While I might know our future, I did not know what they were thinking.

    We were minor characters, and we were narrated solely by a third person. Hence, I should stop being confused whenever events I did not remember or were not mentioned urred. They will keeping on and on.

    There would be no end to my suspicions if events were not going as fast as I expected. I had to stop here.

    "Sasha, I''m hungry."

    I had other things to think about, like making sure Estelle did not die in Fjeya.

    I wanted Estelle to stay alive as much as I wanted to stop Letis and Benya frommitting evil acts.

    I pushed my tangled thoughts away and examined the tray cart. I opened the lids off the silver tters to find three meals for four people.

    The top tray held pickled olives, pancakes, omelettes, and apple juice. The middle tray held brioches and chickpeas. The bottom held smoked ham, biscuits, and a turnip sd. That was unfortunate, as Estelle did not like turnips.

    "Well, I can''tin about food now." Benya mumbled down aint. Letis showed a mature side and admonished him.

    "It can''t be helped. Stopining when it''s only for a few days." Letis red at his brother.

    "Come on, I only said it for your sake. Who do you think is the whiner?"

    Since meals should be served in the dining room, we went upstairs to the kitchen. I was wondering how to bring the heavy trays filled with cups and dishes when it quickly solved itself.

    "You hold them." Suddenly, Letis shoved the trays to Benya''s arms.

    "Why should I do so?"

    "How can Sasha hold these by herself?"

    "Why can''t she? You do it."

    "It''s a rule that younger brothers have to do these kinds of things." Letis said, though quite uncertain of his notion.

    "Who says?" With raised brows, the mischievous Benya retorted. And as always, Letis lost.

 Chapter 6 - The Strange Room

    I brought the juice jugs and followed Letis, who was carrying trays underint. The revered heir of the Cervantes carrying food trays to a shabby kitchen ¨C it was a scene to remember.

    I had opened the kitchen door wide open to let in light because there were no windows except the bedroom. The table with the flowery tablecloth was for four like it was prepared just for us.

    I stopped myself from imagining things. I set the table, trying to keep away all these negative thoughts. I was cing the tableware and the food when Benya, who seemed to have multiple personalities, came and spoke to me.

    "Don''t be angry. I''ll bring the trays downstairs once we finish."

    Boys were so simple. No matter how evil they will be, boys will be boys. Benya was not so bad at times like this. His little face showed his guilt as he had assumed I was angered.

    "Which? The juice jugs or the trays?"

    "The trays." Benya then pulled back his sleeves to pour juice into cups. It did not go so well, of course.

    Estelle sighed deeply. "You spilled all the juice."

    "I did not spill all of them. Don''t nag at me when I just poured it for you."

    Life is a strange thing when youe to hear a fussy young nobleman saying stuff like that. You also can say he brought it onto himself.

    On the other hand, our heir seemed to be his usual self. Letis nose scrunched up as he noticed something missing on the table, "There is no pancake syrup? How can that be?"

    "Here it is."

    "I''m sorry." Letis scratched his head, and solemnly poured the syrup over our pancakes.

    But the start of the meal also did not go well. The brothers seemed to be chasing each other''s necks all the time!

    "What are you doing? Give it to me!"

    "I''m doing it right now! Be grateful!"

    "Be grateful? I should thank the fact you''re pouring the syrup on the table?"

    "Uh¡­"

    We managed to start our first meal here after all that fuss. Since everyone was hungry, there was noint, although no one was serving them.

    "Why was this ce built? I''m more curious since Uncle said that it had not been used for a long time. To think our manor had this kind of space."

    "Don''t you know anything? Being the heir, you should know what goes on around this house."

    "No one had told me yet! Father would have¡­"

    A heavy silence followed Letis outburst. He frowned and lowered his eyes while Benya''s face darkened. Estelle quietly whispered, "I want to see father, mother and Sylbian too."

    I also missed all of them. The Duke and Duchess had been kind beyond words, and my mother''s love was unparalled. The memories I had of her came rushing back more forcefully after I remembered my past life.

    Estelle sniffled and hugged my shoulders tightly. I buried my face in her pale blue curly hair and pressed down the urge to cry with her.

    The first meal we had at the shelter ended in this gloomy atmosphere. I led Estelle to the bedroom right next to the kitchen andid her on the bed, and Letis stayed to talk soothingly to her.

    When I came back to clean the dishes and ce them on the tray, Benya, who was trying to help me for a change, opened his mouth.

    "That strange room downstairs we don''t know whether it is a study or a warehouse. Do you want to explore it? Don''t you want to know what''s in there?"

    "We will be leaving in a few days. Why explore?"

    "We should do it because we''re leaving in a few days. We will note back here for a while."

    Boys. Why would he want to explore that dark, musty, and smelly ce? However, he had already raised my curiosity about what this ce was for in the first ce.

    Disregarding the furniture, since there was a bathroom and a kitchen, it was evident the rooms were designed for someone to live in them. However, the rooms were too small for nobles and too grand for servants.

    Would there be a hint in that warehouse that would let me know the secrets hidden in this ce made to be used as a shelter?

    Benya led the way with the stacked tray, and I followed him with the empty juice jugs. The tray cart stood like a guard in front of the mirror door.

    After talking with his sister, Letis came running down the stairs.

    "What are you nning to do?"

    "We''re going to explore that room. It looks inviting."

    "It is, but it''s so dark in here."

    The upper floor had a window on the ceiling that kept it bright during the daytime. We lighted the candlesticks on the table because this floor remained dark even during midday. Thanks to the light, we could see that one side of the bathroom had a huge crack shaped like a thunderbolt.

    Benya confidently shouted, "All right, let''s explore" and led the way with themp in hand. We opened the door of the room we did not know yet whether it was a study or a warehouse. The musky odor engulfed us as soon as we opened the door.

    "The room''s huge."

    Benya was excited as if he discovered a new world rather than being turned off by the hideous smell. He was an extraordinary boy in many ounts.

    Also, it was true. We finally saw the room as it was when we held themp against it.

    The mysterious room was several timesrger than the bedroom. The ceiling was also much higher, and tall bookshelves were lined up along the walls.

    There were long-legged rectangr tables lined one against the other, and as we walked inside, the floors creaked. Something faint and white seemed to be floating faraway.

    "Are they ghosts?" Benya did not reply to Letis mumbles. He found no reason to.

    What was that? Are dust bunnies floating there? Or can they be cobwebs?

    Benya spoke in a disheartened voice after sprinting forward and looking around. "This ce seems to be only a library. Although it''s funny that a library is here."

    The ce was not a study or a warehouse. It could be said the room was a warehouse for books.

    Bookshelves were everywhere! There was a banquet of old books and documents. Is this a ce where secret documents of the family were stored?

    I almost screamed because Letis shouted something as he approached the ''ghost.'' What was that sloppy boy doing?!

    "It''s a window!"

 Chapter 7 - Unfathomable Heights

    That was a discovery. Our bedrooms and bathroom had no windows, and yet one existed in this mysterious library.

    Upon a closer look, I mused that it really was a window. Where the lines made by bookshelves stopped, in the space formed by the opposite wall and the bookshelf, a small window was letting in a faint light. So that was why it seemed so murky.

    "Let''s see how outside looks like here."

    "How will you do that? It''s so high?"

    "There''s adder over there."

    Benya triumphantly pointed to a woodendder next to the library. Since the bookshelves were so tall, adder would be necessary to shelve and take out books.

    I stared at the two boys hauling thedder. The scene looked so out of ce to me.

    To me, Letis and Benya had been the model examples of young noblemen for the fourteen years I have lived here.

    While we did y freely in our childhood and none of the siblings ever preached ss to me, I always knew that there was an insurmountable wall between them and me.

    Those very boys were now struggling like workers who havee to rece the chandelier in the living room. I did not know whether tough or cry.

    Letis stared at me with his eyes suspiciously narrowed while Benya frowned as he lined thedder to the window. "I think thedder is too old and weak. What do you think, Sasha?"

    It also looked too dangerous for me. I went close and touched thedder, and the wood felt soft and breakable under my fingers.

    "Should we search for anotherdder?"

    "Everything will be the same." Letis voiced his disapproval.

    "What should we do, then?" His brother asked, disgruntled.

    "I have a good idea." Said Letis, perking up. "Sasha, since you''re the lightest, how about you go up there?" He suggested, confidencecing ever word. I didn''t say a word about his opinion, but Benya wasn''t as polite as me and openlyughed at his brother''s idea.

    "Wow, and you were pretending so well to be nice before when you carried the trays."

    "It''s not like that! What I mean is, if Sasha falls, you and I can catch her, but if I fall, you guys will all step aside!" Letis tried to exin.

    "Does that mean you won''t catch me either?" Benya asked.

    "Of course not. Do you think I''m crazy?" Letis scoffed at his brother.

    "Pfff. And you''re supposed to be the eldest." Benya retorted disdainfully, but Letis easily sneered back at him.

    "Since when have you treated me like the eldest?"

    After much bickering, we decided that I would go up thedder. Honestly, at this point I still had no idea when or why opening the window became our goal for the day.

    With butterflies fluttering in my stomach, I hastily tried to object to the task. "Hey, do we really have to check that out?" To my despair, everyone just nodded in agreement as if the window discovery was something they''d been waiting for a long time.

    "Of course!" One sibling eximed.

    "The window upstairs shows only the sky. We need to see what''s around this ce, then we''ll know our location." The other exined, but I still wasn''t convinced.

    "Wouldn''t this be much easier if we just asked the Viscount where we are?" I argued back weakly, but somehow it was enough to make Letis swallow the retort he had readied. Benya lowered his gaze, brows furrowed in contemtion¡­ Or perhaps something else.

    Hmm. Something was going on. I didn''t know what it was, so I didn''tment on it.

    And so, we stood in silence for a moment in front if the stairs, until I couldn''t bear the chilling atmosphere any longer and asked the question that was bouncing around my mind. "¡­ You didn''t forget to ask, did you?"

    Both boys stayed silent, only exchanging awkward nces and mumbling some iprehensible sentences. Watching them fidgeting around made the anxiety I had worked so hard to suppress during our stay rise again.

    Why hadn''t they asked the Viscount about our location? They had every right to ask where this ce was located within the manor, especially with the authority granted to them as the heirs of the ducal couple.

    It wasn''t that they had forgotten to ask. They simply hadn''t asked, but I didn''t know if it was an unconscious maneuver or an intentional one. Either way, I couldn''t figure out why. Were they afraid of hearing the answer? Or were they afraid of not being able to hear the answer? Did they somehow unconsciously know that they wouldn''t get an answer?

    It seemed like I wasn''t the only one feeling a strange disharmony ever since we were confined in this ce.

    I turned around and started climbing thedder without any morements. There was no need to make them more anxious than they already were.

    With each step, the entiredder seemed to shake, but I managed to reach the storm window without it copsing beneath me. I carefully ced both my feet on the top step and reached out, stretching my arm to open the old wooden panels.

    Unfortunately, the moment I started pulling on them, it fell off the windowsill. The old panels slipped from my hand and banged loudly on the floor, making a thunderous noise. Benya instinctively shouted out as he hastily stepped back, avoiding the falling wooden boards.

    "Wah! Hey, did you do that on purpose?!" He screamed at me, a bit frazzled. Of course, I didn''t drop it intentionally, but I didn''t bother correcting the brat. I hummed gently, not responding, and turned back toward the uncovered window.

    The fall of the panels revealed a small hole, barely evenrge enough for a child to crawl through. Through it I saw a small cloudzily drifting by. Could it be that we''d only see the sky from this window as well?

    I opened the ss panels and stuck my head outside, trying to see where we were. What greeted me was a fresh breeze on the tip of my nose. It was such a refreshing feeling after being confined in a musty room that I felt my energy being recharged.

    However, that refreshing feeling didn''tst long, because the two boys standing down below were beginning to get restless.

    "What can you see? Tell us!" One shouted from below, while the other asked, "Do you know where we are?"

    I actually had no idea.

    I turned my head around, trying to find any identifiablendmarks. I thought I''d be able to at least locate the fresh gardens or the ss greenhouse in backyard, but all I could see was the boundless blue sky and the wide roofs beneath the windowsill. I couldn''t see the ground at all.

 Chapter 8 - Prison

    Where was a ce with a roof like this in the Duke''s manor?

    I leaned my body further beyond the window, standing on my tiptoes, and tried to check our surroundings a bit more.

    "Hey, watch out!" One of the boys shouted a warning from below, but I didn''t pay it any attention. I focused my gaze on something above us that I had never seen before. It was a structure that I couldn''t tell if it was a roof or a decoration, shaped like a huge iron cover, like the one used on trays. It hung on the blue sky above me, blocking my sight from whatever existed beyond it.

    What was that?

    It took me a few moments of intensely staring at the ''strange iron driver''s until my brain finally processed what I was seeing. It wasn''t a roof or a decoration.

    It was a giant bell.

    I had never seen one from so close before, so I hadn''t recognized it.

    Then, right at that moment, the top bar that I was standing on chose to crumble away and I fell to the floor abruptly.

    The boys were startled as one of them was about to ask for information.

    "What is- wha!"

    "Sasha!"

    Inded on the floor with a muted thump. I was lucky that thedder didn''t fall over me as Iid on the floor. My bones protested fiercely, and it felt like another adventure like this one would be the death of me.

    "Are you okay?!" Letis asked me, worry visible in his pale blue eyes. But I only red at him in response. Didn''t he say he would catch me if I fell?! Instead of him, apparently someone else had taken up the saviour role, if the strange texture of the floor beneath me was any indication.

    "Benya, are you dead?"

    "No. You''re heavy. Move." He snarled, as prickly as usual.

    I quickly stood up, hoping he hadn''t broken anything. Then again, to think I''d fall on Benya of all people¡ªhe deserved it, as aeback for all the times he teased me in the past!

    He stood up silently and rubbed his arms, probably trying to offset the impact of me falling on him. I thought he''d go all snarky on me the moment he got up, but he didn''t mention his brief stint as my cushion, so I kept anyments to myself as well. Still, I felt sorry, so I meekly asked, "Are you hurt?"

    "At least you know you''re heavy, so I guess that means you have a conscience." Benya snapped at me, moody, and the guilty feeling washed away from my heart. Suddenly, I wished I hadnded a bit more soundly over him.

    Our brief adventure ended with using out of the library on a messy state. As the adrenaline of the fall wore off, all three of us realized how parched we felt, thanks to being in a dusty ce for so long.

    "I''m thirsty. Where can I get water?" One of the siblings asked.

    "There''s a faucet in the bathroom, you can get water from there." I answered.

    "Uh, are you telling me to drink the water we use to wash things with?" They sent me a disgusted look, as if I had told them to shovel poop.

    Right. Being the pampered heirs of a noble house, of course they had no way of knowing that the water from the faucet and the water they drank from sses were the same. However, instinct tended to crumble rationality. Driven by thirst, they put away their disgust and we all grabbed the cups on the tray cart, taking them to the bathroom and drinking until we were sated.

    Afterwards, we sat together to discuss about what I saw while hanging from the window.

    Letis was the first to open his mouth once I finished exining, with a facial expression that was the same as when I told him to drink water from the bathroom''s faucet: like I was attempting to grab his private parts. "Bell tower?! This is the bell tower? What in the-"

    "Do you remember the bell tower in the manor''s chapel? I think it''s the same bell." I exined.

    The Cervantes manor had a chapel constructed on its grounds for thefort of the family. It was built on the northern side of the manor, with a huge golden bell on top of its tower. The bell would toll every day during noon and during praying time in the evening. It was estimated that the chapel tower stood higher than the main chapel in town.

    "¡­ This is inside the bell tower? Wait, the bell tower had a ce like this hidden inside?" Benya mumbled, confused. He didn''t look like he believed me. Then he exchanged a meaningful nce with his brother. It was just for a moment, but both pairs of pale blue eyes held a strange question on them before the brothers blinked and it disappeared.

    Their actions were very suspicious. "You two didn''t know about this ce?" I asked them.

    "Of course, I didn''t. Did you, Letis?" Benya said, looking at his brother.

    "No. I never heard anything about the tower having this kind of hidden space inside." Letis spoke in a pensive tone.

    I had never heard of it either. Sure, I had imagined many times that the manor held some secret hidden room somewhere, but I never thought it''d be in the chapel''s bell tower of all ces.

    This was our hiding spot. No one would discover us here because no one would be able to hear any noise that we made. However, at the same time, it was very much a prison, since we had no way of leaving here aside from going through the mirror door. If any of us tried to escape via the window, we''d only be sending ourselves straight into the arms of Death.

    But there was something else to be concerned about, something more immediate. "The bell will ring loudly at noon. Could the crack in the wall be because of the bell?" I pondered out loud, concerned.

    How loud would that sound be? I hoped it wasn''t loud enough to scare Estelle. With how scared she was of heights, if she knew that we were in the bell tower, I was sure she''d do anything to try and escape from here.

 Chapter 9 - Brothers In A Brawl (1)

    Despite all that, this seemed to be the safest ce in the manor. No one woulde here, and most people wouldn''t even conceive the idea of a hidden room existing at the top if the bell tower. In other words, it was the perfect hideout. I wondered at who made this spot, this secluded cluster of rooms where people could hide in absolute secrecy. Even though this was more simr of a ce to imprison people, I had trouble thinking of it as such due to the library.

    My thoughts strayed even further since I knew exactly where we were. The anxiety made the spit below my ears start itching, and goosebumps covered my arms. If someone wanted to confine us in here forever¡­

    I am suddenly pulled from my thoughts by an inquisitive voice.

    "What''s with the long face?"

    I slowly raised my face and stare at the mirror mounted on the wall across from me instead of staring at the two boys beside me. Reflected on the mirror was the image of three children in a bedroom bathed in candlelight. Our reflection looked like a scene straight out of a thriller film, and it have me the chills, even though I didn''t know why.

    "¡­ I''m gonna check if Estelle is sleeping well." I coughed up an excuse and got up, heading for the stairs. I felt their gazes on my back as I walked up the steps.

    Thankfully, when I got to the bedroom, I found Estelle sleeping peacefully like a baby.

    I wondered what time it was. I wanted a clock so I could prepare for when the bell rang. I made a mental note to ask Mr. Harris to bring me one next time I spoke to him.

    Approaching the bed, I perched on it and stared up at the ceiling where sunlight was shining through, letting my thoughts drift.

    Suddenly, an idea struck me, and I got up, heading toward the huge marble closet. It looked big enough that I could probably use it as a bed if Iid some nkets on it as bedding.

    Inside the closet there were a multitude of dresses for a small girl. Those were Estelle''s clothes that were brought beforehand, ording to the Viscount. The drawers of the closet were full of extra pairs of underwear, pajamas, silk socks, and some shawls.

    I checked every closet and drawer, but I couldn''t find any clothes for myself. Perhaps they forgot that Estelle and I couldn''t wear the same clothes. I would have to make do with wearing her pajamas for now.

    I would''ve never imagined myself wearing her clothes like this, but this was an emergency.

    Unfortunately, I missed my chance to ask Mr. Harris for the necessary items. While I had been asleep, someone came and changed the tray cart, as a new one stood in silent vigil beside the mirror door when I woke up.

    * * *

    Our confinement continued, and I found myself thinking of fried dumplings quite often these days. While we weren''t exactly locked in, we couldn''t leave, so it was practically the same thing.

    "Ugh, it''s so musty and smelly in here. I hope it doesn''t rub off on me." Estelleined, pouting.

    "It''s because we cannot circte the air. You don''t smell musty at all, don''t worry." I reassured her calmly, used to it by now. At first, Estelle had been stubborn, refusing to wash unless provided with warm water. That didn''tst for more than a day, though; she seemed to prefer cold water over staying dirty now.

    For some reason, I found itughable that these days, Estelle and I smelled of the same soap and wash. The wash stored in the shelves inside the bathroom was the type used by servants, so it was unsuitable for Estelle. Under the current circumstances, however, she had no other choice but to use it.

    And if that wasn''t enough, we didn''t have enough towels either, so each time we bathed, the towels were hung up to dry. We had to use the same towels all week, but of course I didn''t point out that fact out loud. There was a chance that if Estelle learned that she was using the same towel every day, she might choose to dry herself naturally.

    Speaking of drying naturally, we were lucky that our bedroom was in a good enough position that we could dry our hairs when the weather was good. We woke up everyday with strong sunlight streaming through the, and luckily enough, it hadn''t rained once during the time we stayed here.

    ***

    Estelle waited for me while sitting on a chair in the middle of the room, pouting in indignation while I searched for ab in the drawers. I needed to brush her hair until it dried. Her curly pale blue hair looked straight, weighed down by water as it was.

    We couldn''t stay here for much longer. Washing in cold water continuously was harmful to Estelle''s body, who had been sickly since birth. I sincerely felt pity for her.

    "Let meb your hair. Are you feeling dizzy?" I asked her.

    "No, but I feel stuffed. I wish we could open a window." Estelle sighed softly. I wished we could get a breeze in the room too, but the only window we had was the one on the ceiling, and that was too high to open.

    Once I finishedbing her hair and helping her dress, it was my turn. The only clothes I had to wear were Estelle''s, but since we were of simr size despite having a two-year gap in age, I managed to get by.

    Wearing the dresses of a Cervantes was a dream I often had when I was younger, but I never imagined it woulde true, much less like this.

    Since I felt a bit anxious that Estelle would feel disturbed when seeing me wearing her clothes, I chose the simplest dress in the closet. Thankfully, she did not even blink at my attire. Apparently, neither her not her brother Letis cared that I wore her clothes, as they didn''t show much of a response. Only Benya teased me about the clothes, but he quickly shut up when Letis admonished him.

    With barely any reaction from the siblings to my clothes, I rxed, and my mind focused on the questions that had been floating inside my head for a while.

    Why was Mr. Harris changing the food on the tray cart when we were asleep? There was no way to contact him. What if we needed something or became sick? How would we ask for help, then? I knew they were trying to avoid contamination, but their no-contact stance seemed excessive.

 Chapter 10 - Brothers In A Brawl (2)

    My musings are interrupted when I hear Benya screaming from below, impatience clear in his voice. "Isn''t it ready yet? I could eat a horse!"

    "Since you''re in such a hurry, you can eat first!" I heard Estelle retaliate viciously. She had already been in a foul mood and all the screaming certainly didn''t help improve it.

    "I don''t want to eat alone in the bedroom. Father said meals were to be shared with family." Benya said, and I silently scoffed at his words. That brat had never voluntarily obeyed his father once while the Duke was alive, so it was ludicrous how he used his father''s words at his convenience now.

    And apparently Letis shared the sentiment, because he immediately scolded his brother. "Father would have been very proud of how vulgarly you''re acting."

    "Stop being hypocritical. You also said you were hungry." Benya sneered back.

    The tensions were high as we got closer to lunch hour. The boys woke up early every day, to my surprise, even without the sunlight acting as their rm. Without some snacks to eat during the morning, by the time lunch arrived, they were famished and prone to bickering.

    But that would end soon. We only had to endure one more day, then this farce would end. Yes, today marked an entire week of us being confined in the bell tower. I hadn''t noticed, but the days were long since we had nothing to do while locked in here.

    "I''m so fed up with this food." Estelle sighed, putting down her cutlery, and I turned to look at her. She sat in front of a spread of pancakes, olives, omelettes, and sses of apple juice. It all looked very good, but no matter how delicious a dish was, anyone would be sick of it after eating it every day for a week.

    Even I was tired of the food, so the Duke''s children, who used to eat a different feast every day, were probably much more so. And in addition to that, the food was always cold, since the cart was loaded with food for the entire day and we had no way to heat it up. They had to know that eating cold food by itself was already a torment, so why were they bringing the same dishes every day?

    "Hey, what do you want to eat first when we get out of here?" I asked Estelle, trying to lift the dreary mood, and she hesitated only briefly before answering.

    "Hmmm¡­ Cheese. I want to eat every kind of cheese avable."

    "I want to eat bass, calf stew, and mushroom soup. Darn, why am I getting hungrier when I''m already eating?" Benya, who as usual was of no help, grumbled while he ate pancakes doused in syrup.

    Letis also added his two cents. "I only want a cold sherbet. I feel like ayer of dust has settled in my throat after being stuck here for a few days. What about you, Sasha? What do you want to eat when were out of here?" He asked, curious.

    "Um, probably a cream cake?" I said.

    "I though so. I gave you one every time I bought one for myself in the past." Letis smiled at me, amused.

    Cream cakes were a luxury food servants only dreamed of eating, but I had tasted it before. I met Letis'' eyes and smiled at the memory that surfaced. "Yeah, remember when my mother found out? She was so angry¡­"

    "That was quite the sight. Your mother was very fierce when she was angry. I did tell her I gave it to you for free, but it didn''t appease her." He reminisced, a small smile curving his mouth upwards.

    "Oh, that only made her scold me more, because she knew you would have never given me the cake if I hadn''t asked for it." I pouted.

    "You were so sullen afterwards that you hid in the greenhouse all day. You fell asleep in there, didn''t you? Imagine what would have happened if father hadn''t found you!" Letis smile grew.

    It was a memory of those we couldn''t see anymore. And yet, perhaps because we were sharing the same memory, my heart grew warmer rather than sad and I smiled back at Letis.

    "Oh? So that''s why she seemed to be made of iron? I thought my ribs would break when she fell on me." Trust Benya to ruin a perfectly touching moment. I had to suppress the urge to hit his smirking face with the fork I was holding. I knew I should havended more soundly when I fell from that brokendder.

    Letis grimaced at his brother''s poor manners. "Stop acting below you."

    "Why are you always picking a fight with me?" Benya shot back, confused.

    "You''re the one who started this! Look at the mood now!" Letis stood up and stared at Benya, an angry expression distorting his face.

    "I''m not even looking at you. Stop being so rash." Benya sneered, getting up as well.

    "What?" The older brother snarled.

    ¡­ Why are they standing up? Are they going to fight?

    Everyone seemed to be at their wit''s end after spending a few days locked up in here. I worried that they would fight for real. Before, Letis had always let Benya win, but his expression now was stony, while Benya had none of his usual yfulness.

    "Stop acting so impudently. I have my limits." Letis spat out, getting very close to Benya''s face. But his younger brother wasn''t so easily intimidated.

    "Or what? What are you going to do? Are you trying to act like father?" Benya mocked him. His tone was taunting, but there was no smile on his face.

    Both pairs of pale blue eyes were locked onto one another, burning fiercely as if trying to swallow the other.

    Letis and Benya were born with only a year between them. They were almost the same size and height, so I didn''t know who would win if they started a fistfight. I had never seen them fight each other seriously before. I hoped this wouldn''t be the first time.

    I abruptly get up and try to diffuse the tension. "You two, stop! What will Estelle think, seeing her brothers fight like this?!"

    Thankfully, reason hadn''t left thempletely, as both of them back away immediately at my words. Letis nced at Estelle, who was hiding behind me while staring at her brothers withrge eyes wide open, and silently sat back down on his chair. Benya, on the other hand, clicked his tongue at his sister and walked away instead of sitting.

    "Tsk, that kid¡­!" Letis got up, ready to chase down his brother, but I held him back.

    How did things go bad so quickly? And why was Benya acting like that? I already knew he was a viin in the making, but that was too abrupt.

    "Big brother, please calm down. A fight will do us no good in this situation." Like a balloon losing air, our seething heir slowly controlled his temper for his little sister''s sake.

 Chapter 11 - Mischievous Angel

    The sh between the brothers cast a shadow on all of us, and the day passed slowly. Once noon arrived, the bell rang to announce the lunch hour. The noise level inside the tower was bearable, but the entire ce seemed to vibrate every time it rang.

    During our first day here, Estelle cried, saying she was going to get out of here. But now, a weekter, she realized how powerless she was and just wrapped herself in nkets.

    "What if the tower falls? Sasha, have you ever seen a bell tower fall?" She asked, worried about the vibrations.

    "I''ve never seen one fall, and even if I had, this one won''t. Don''t worry, we''re not that high up." I reassured her with a smile.

    "How high up are we?" She asked, frowning.

    Did she believe me? "Um, around the 5th floor, I think?"

    That was a tant lie, since we were high enough on the tower that we could see the bell over our heads. But as long as I could lessen Estelle''s fears with those words, I didn''t mind lying at all.

    After so many days of confinement, a routine had been established. We woke up early in the morning and ate after washing up. Then, once the bell rang at noon, we had our lunch. The afternoon was spent with no snacks until we ate dinner at six o''clock, when the bell rang again for prayer time.

    Today Benya didn''t show up during lunch or dinner. ording to Letis, he holed himself up in the library and didn''t respond when spoken to.

    I couldn''t understand why Benya was acting like this. What triggered him? He wasn''t the type to sulk for so long for something so trivial. Honestly, I should be the one sulking, not him. I couldn''t even fathom why he was acting like that. No one told him to ruin the atmosphere.

    We didn''t see Benya again until nighttime.

    * * *

    I woke up early on the next morning and took a quick nce at the ceiling window. Since the sky above us was still dark, it had to be sometime before dawn. Lowering my gaze to the spot beside me, I watch the deeply asleep Estelle for a while.

    Why did I wake up so early? Was I excited that today was thest day that we had to stay in this tower?

    Going back to sleep was no longer a possibility, since I was already wide awake, so I got up. My first thought was to tiptoe toward the bathroom and try to not wake up Estelle, but a stray thought suddenly popped into my mind and I turned around.

    I had no idea what made me check downstairs at that precise moment. Maybe I had been under some sort of spell.

    With a lit candle I took from a drawer, I carefully made my way down the narrow and dark stairs. The entire floor was dark, the only source of light being the faint glow if the candle I held in my hand. I walked forward, but and the first thing that came to view was¡­

    ¡­ The tray cart standing in silent vigil in front of the mirror door.

    I frowned, confused. Did we cover the trays yesterday? I couldn''t remember if we did.

    Still frowning, I approached the cart and opened the silver cover on the top. Unsurprisingly, it was the same breakfast, lunch, and dinner that the siblings and I ate all week. But we were going to leave this ce today, weren''t we? Why did they bring us our meals, then? Were we going to leave during the night, perhaps?

    And most importantly, when did that Harris or Parris guye and go with this cart?

    A cold hand suddenly touched my shoulder and a whisper tickled my ear, almost making me jump in fright. "What are you doing?"

    I turned around, half-surprised, and discover a boy standing wide-eyed behind me, his silver-gray hair dripping water all over the floor.

    "Geez!" I hissed at him, heart racing.

    "Why are you so surprised? Did you do something bad?" Benya gave me a once over, no doubt trying to find some evidence that he could taunt me for.

    Maybe I did something bad. That is, if reincarnating into someone else''s body could be considered a crime.

    I tried to call my rushing heart and cough awkwardly. Benya just stared at me silently with those pale blue eyes that looked especially chilly today. I averted my eyes to the cart and he followed suit.

    "¡­ We''re leaving today, so why is that here?" He asked in an offhand manner.

    "Look, there''s even a day''s worth of food on it." I half heartedly point at our silent sentinel.

    We spent a moment in silence, both gazes focused on the tray cart, until Benya gave up on ring at the cart and just shrugged. "It''s probably because we might get hungry while we wait."

    I stare at him. "Then someone should have exined the situation to us, no? I mean, you and your siblings."

    "¡­ What are you getting at?" He suddenly stared at me, tone sharp and distant. It surprised me, since I had never seen him like this before. While he teased people a lot, Benya was not the type to be seriously angry or to use sarcastic words. Not to mention, he had been notably edgy since yesterday, when he almost fought with Letis.

    I squirmed under his inquisitive stare. How should I exin the suspicions and diforts I had umted all week long? I couldn''t confirm it, but what would happen if I told Benya that his rtives might have malicious intentions toward him and his siblings?

    The most likely oue was everyone getting offended. After all, no one liked when someone they trusted was suspected of something. Even worse when their blood rtions were the ones being used.

    I had no idea how I became important to those brothers in the novel, as the plot never exined it, but right now we weren''t that close. Also, I wasn''t the Sasha of the novel anymore. I still had the same body, but if I did something wrong, our rtionship could sour.

    There had to be something I could do to prevent that.

    I once thought of escaping by myself, back when I had just recovered my memories, but I couldn''t do it. My mother was still my mother, and so was everyone else. They weren''t just characters in a novel.

    I had to protect these siblings for my mother and the ducal couple, who had been so good to me. To prevent our future tragedy, Estelle''s death, and Letis and Benya''s eventual transformation into viins, I had to stay close to them.

    And to achieve all that, I had to learn how to influence them as much as I could.

    While I thought about our future, Benyaughed as he stared into my surprised eyes. It was that yful smile that made him look like a mischievous angel, creating dimples on his cheeks.

    "I know you don''t like the new butler either, but don''t worry. When we get out of here, I''ll scold him for you."

 Chapter 12 - Perched On Gargoyle Wings (1)

    That wasn''t the reason, but I did want to see Benya chew out that dang butler. How hard was it to change the meal menus?!

    Still, I felt relieved that Benya was back to his usual teasing self, so I quickly thought of something else to talk about to lift the mood. "Aren''t you hungry? You barely ate yesterday."

    "Yeah, I''m starving. I feel like I might faint any minute now." Benya whined, and I had to stifle augh. He shouldn''t have staged a hunger strike, then.

    "By the way, what were you doing in the library all day?" I asked, curious.

    "Eh, a bit of this and that. Sasha,e with me for a minute. I want to show you something." Benya answered dismissively, clearly not wanting to tell me anything. Even though the topic change was quite abrupt, I decided not to call him out on it.

    He grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the library so suddenly that I didn''t even have time to voice ain. Was this child really of noble blood? How could he just casually enter such a dusty ce right after bathing?!

    The tables inside the library had candlesticks all over them, no doubt left by Benya during his stay here yesterday. I used the lit candle in my hand to light all of them up and noticed that Benya was cing adder beneath the only window in this ce, the one from where the wooden panels fell off.

    But where did he find thatdder?

    "What are you doing? Don''t climb that, that''s old. It''ll break soon, so it''s dangerous to you to use." I warned him, slightly anxious. What if he got injured? We had no way to contact the people outside.

    "It won''t, I checked all of the yesterday." Benya reassured me, a slightly satisfied expression on his face.

    "¡­ You checked them?" I asked, feeling my back be cold all of a sudden.

    "Yes." He nodded.

    "All of them?"

    "Yes. This one was the most stable of them all." He sounded a bit smug at his discovery, but all I could think was of how risky it must have been to find that out.

    "So, uh¡­ How did you check them?" I asked nonchntly, and Benya looked at me like I said something stupid.

    "The only way there is. I moved them one by one."

    Dropping my gaze from his triumphant smirk, I sawdder fragments all over the floor, surrounding us.

    This stupid kid. I thought he had been perusing old books all day, so I didn''te check on him. But instead, he was climbingdders all day? What if he had been gravely injured?!

    But of course, Benya didn''t care one whit about my concerns. Hepletely ignored how I was staring at him with an astonished face and started climbing thedder with gusto. He was so perky that he looked like a yful child instead of a young nobleman for once.

    I had already seen what was outside the window, so I didn''t need to look again. Still, I was uneasy with him being on top of thatdder.

    "Benya, what are you doing?" I half-screamed as Benya reached the window ledge. To make matters worse, the brat suddenly grabbed the ledge and lifted his leg out the window, and I felt like my heart was going to stop.

    "Benya! You''re going to fall! Come back inside!" I shouted at him. Just thinking of him falling from such a high ce was making me anxious enough that my hands shook.

    "I''m not going to fall, it''s fine! Come up here too!" Benya shouted back, sounding very excited.

    "Are you nuts?! Come back right now!" I could feel cold sweat running down my back.

    What if he fell? What should I do?

    "I''m not going down until youe up here with me." He spoke, resolute.

    Did this dumb kid have a death wish?! I had to control my expressions because I had the feeling that the more fear I showed, the more dangerous stunts he would pull just to get a rise out of me.

    If the benevolent Duchess were still alive, she surely would have given a good smacking on this child''s back.

    "Benya, please, juste down before you hurt yourself!" I continue to plead with him, worried.

    "I''m not going to get hurt. Hurry up and climb here."

    This viin sprout! I should just do the world a favor and let him fall to his death, creating a future of stability and peace. But despite how much I wanted to wring his neck with my bare hands, I found myself climbing thedder after him.

    Protect the legacy of the ducal couple of saving the world from a possible viin. I was trapped in an existential dilemma and cursed my past life''s karma for influencing this life.

    I swallowed my indignation and climbed until I got to the window ledge. However, to my consternation, the little viin had disappeared from where he had been perched. I felt my vision darken for a second, imagining the worst. Did he¡­?!

    "Here." A hand suddenly appeared from below the window, scaring me halfway into a heart attack. I got so scared, I almost slipped and fell like thest time, when thedder broke.

    I draped half my body out of the window, looked below, and there he was. "How did you¡­?"

    "The view''s terrific from here." Hemented.

    Benya stood on top of the stone gargoyle statue that was mounted on the roof. The position of the gargoyle in rtion to the window made itpletely cover the view of the ground below.

    But, more importantly, Benya''s position was incredibly perilous. Although the distance between the window and the gargoyle wasn''t that big, if he lost his grip and slid down the roof, there would be noing back.

    "Are you asking me to go down there?" I questioned incredulously.

    "Just grab my hand and jump!" He offered me one hand.

    "What if I fall?!" There was noing back if I fell from so high up!

    "You won''t. I won''t let you fall. Stop worrying." He scoffed lightly.

 Chapter 13 - Perched On Gargoyle Wings (2)

    His words failed tofort me, but I scraped whatever courage I had left and copied his movements, grabbing the window ledge and lifting myself out. I was d I was wearing a chemise instead of the usual dresses I wore, or this would''ve been an incredibly ufortable experience.

    We were leaving this ce today. Why go through all this trouble?!

    "It''s alright, here. Grab my hand andnd on the wings here." Benya extended his hand further to help mee down from the window. At least he had a conscience.

    His voice was calm, and he seemed unfazed by where we stood, but my entire body was shaking in fear. The sky was so close¡­ I swore that if I fell and died because of this mini viin, I''d be a ghost and haunt him everywhere!

    Okay, here went nothing. One, two..!

    With a shout, I grabbed his hand and jumped out of the window. I instinctively shut my eyes when I jumped and slowly opened them again when I felt cold hard stone beneath me. The poor gargoyle seemed to have be a seesaw for children, with Benya and I each standing on one wing. Thankfully, it was quiterge.

    "You may be a natural at this," Benya said, smirking at me, and I red back. We stood there in silence for a moment, then we burst intoughed at the same time.

    "See? Not that hard, was it?"

    I wanted to wipe that smirk off his face so badly. Why didn''t I fall harder from thatdder?!

    "I''m never doing this again!" I frowned at him. What if I fell next time? Who would take care of poor Estelle if I died?

    I shook my head to shake away those thoughts and sat down on the back of the gargoyle, covering my legs with my arms. Benya sat next to me, and we enjoyed the fresh morning breeze together in silence as we watched the sunrise.

    I whispered to him, not wanting to break the mood. "Was this what you wanted me to see?"

    Benya cleared his throat, sounding a bit ufortable. "It looked better yesterday when the sun went down."

    I couldn''t imagine how grand that must have been, but the scene in front of us was already very majestic. As the sun rays illuminated the dark sky, the clouds were painted with the orange hues of daybreak. Seeing this phenomenon from so high up had a different feeling from seeing it from the ground.

    "Were you out here all day yesterday?" I asked him quietly.

    "Not all day. I was browsing the books, but I kept getting distracted by the window, and I couldn''t stop wondering about what it looked like outside. So, I sat down here to think things over." Benya spoke calmly. Perhaps he was also affected by the scenery like I was.

    Curiosity tickled my insides, and I just had to ask him about it. "¡­ What were you thinking about?"

    He was quiet for a moment before saying softly, "My parents."

    Benya lowered his head, and the water droplets still clinging to his hair reflected the light, making his silver-gray hair sparkle against the sun rays. He had the exact same shade of hair as his mother, thete Duchess.

    My heart ached for this child who had lost his parents too early. I hesitated for a bit before raising my hand and carefully cing it on his shoulder. Instead of shrugging it off, Benya turned toward me with pale blue eyes filled with sadness and otherplicated emotions I couldn''t decipher.

    Suddenly, he murmured. "At least you''re alright."

    "What?" I asked back, thinking that I had heard it wrong.

    Were my ears malfunctioning?

    "You know how important you are to Estelle. And honestly, if you weren''t here, I don''t think I would have endured this confinement so well." He exined.

    Was that so? I knew that if the three siblings had been left in here by themselves, a lot of drama would have unfolded, but I didn''t realize how much of a difference my presence made.

    While they had run around and yed together often since young, those three weren''t really that close to one another. Letis and Estelle were rtively close to one another, but Benya was something of a ck sheep. He didn''t know how to be gentle and kind like his older brother, so it was inevitable.

    If I were to borrow one of thete Duke''s expressions, I''d have said that Letis fault was him being too affectionate, while Benya''s fault was for being the opposite of his brother. Therefore, I was bbergasted at what I had just heard. I didn''t know how to act around a Benya capable of such deep thoughts!

    I started to view this mini viin in a new light.

    Until he suddenly called out to me. "Sasha."

    "¡­ Yes?"

    "I think you''re about to drool."

    Benya giggled as I hastily closed my gaping mouth. I wanted to take back the brief moment I spent admiring him.

    "You know, in Fjeya, the trend for styling a girl''s hair is to roll them like bread. You''d be a sight if you followed it." He chuckled, amused at my reaction.

    "Well, young master, how could a lowly nanny like me have my hair styled like that? It would fit Estelle more than me." I mused, already thinking of how it could be done.

    "Is that so? It would be a shame if you were teased because of your hair. Then I''d like to see Estelle with that hairstyle." Benya smiled softly at me.

    Indeed, Estelle would look so cute with her hair tied up like rolls. Should I try to learn how to do that hairstyle?

    Benya mentioned me styling my hair like that, but I was satisfied with it. I reserved my thoughts on my blood-red eyes, but I very much liked my curly reddish-blonde hair because it was just like my mother''s.

    The sky that stretched above us endlessly was now fully brightened by sunlight. We stayed hunkered together on top of the gargoyle for quite a while as we watched the sunrise. It was a view filled with freshness and hope.

    The suspicions I had felt when I saw the tray cart seemed to have disappeared. It was impossible for someone to confine us indefinitely. How would they exin our disappearance? Even if they used the gue as an excuse, they''d have to show our bodies for our deaths to be confirmed. If they said the Serpente siblings had left for the vacation house or a foreign country and they weren''t located, the ruse would be discovered immediately.

    So, instead of wasting my energy with baseless suspicions, it was better to think about how to live in Fjeya.

    I had to do everything within my power to prevent Estelle from dying.

 Chapter 14 - Tantrums

    It had been difficult to reach the gargoyle, and it was just as difficult to climb back inside the window. Benya had jumped over the frame skilfully like an escape artist, while I barely managed to climb back up, even with his help.

    Benya climbed down first, and I prepared to follow, but then a stray thought grabbed my attention as I held tightly onto the narrow window.

    Where is the bell ringer? How do they ring the bell?

    I couldn''t ponder about it for long since I still had to get down from thedder. Once I reached the floor, I left the library with Benya. Then moment we stepped outside, we were greeted by Letis. He stared at us, yawning and scratching at his tousled hair. "What were you two doing in there?"

    "I was checking for thest time, since important information about our family might be in there. You know, something the named heir should be doing." Benya, as usual, was quick to shoot barbs at his brother.

    Letis lowered his head, feeling ashamed. "I thought of doing that too."

    Benya scoffed. "Yeah, right. How about handing over the title of an heir?" He suggested.

    "Are you crazy? I won''t be able to endure the guilt of seeing our family be ruined with you as the heir." Letis frowned.

    "Who said anything about me? I was talking about Sasha." Benya pointed at me, and both brothers turned to look at me in an inquisitive way.

    After a dramatic pause, Letis opened his mouth. "She would drive us out without even the clothes on our backs."

    "You have a point." Benya chuckled.

    Wait, how did they reach that conclusion? I was d that they were somewhat reconciling, but theirments made me seriously question how they usually saw me.

    I shook my head and walked past them, heading upstairs to wake up Estelle. We needed to prepare to leave, and I knew no one wanted to touch that disgusting meal.

    However, we ended up having to eat that disgusting meal after all, because no one came to pick us up even after the bell rang for prayer time. There were no news, and we kept waiting until the sliver of sky we could see from the ceiling window turned dark.

    It was the same for the next day and the day after that.

    * * *

    No one was surprised when Estelle finally flipped. In fact, I thought it wasmendable that she hadsted this long.

    "I want to get out of here! They told us we had to endure this for only a week! Why are we still here?!" She shrieked.

    Letis spoke up, trying to rein in his incensed sister. "Eat the rest of your meal. The situation probably became worse, or maybe aplication appeared. Perhaps one of our rtives got infected, and that''s why no one came for us." His voice was strangely sunk, with none of its usual strength. He had been dispirited ying with his cold omelette for a while, and the odor was tiring me out.

    Two weeks had already passed since we were brought here, and that meant being confined a full extra week past the promised seven days.

    Viscount Jerome and butler Harris hadn''t shown their faces around here at all, and there was a chance that they too had been infected with the virus. Because our living conditions were like torture for these young nobles, the atmosphere these days was gloomy and sensitive due to their stacked anxieties.

    Even if it weren''t Estelle, one of the brothers would have flipped out by now too.

    "No! I don''t want to! The food is disgusting, and I''m tired of it!" Estelle threw down her cutlery, angry.

    Poor Estelle. I knew how much of a picky pte she had. These repeated meals must have been unbearable for her.

    I gently pat her back, trying to calm her down. "Try drinking some juice. You need to eat to stay healthy."

    "I said I don''t want to!"

    "Just for today, alright? You should not skip meals." I try to coax her into eating even a little.

    "That''s what you said yesterday!" She eximed, and I had nothing to say to that.

    Indeed, we had already reached our limits of waiting around and believing that someone woulde for us if we just waited another day.

    The only person who could exin to us what was going on outside and why we were still being kept in here was the person secretly delivering our meals. We never knew when they were around since, by the time we woke up in the morning, the food in the cart had already been renewed.

    But tonight, they won''t be able to sneak away. I nned to stay awake all night long to meet them.

    We ate breakfast slowly, in a somber mood. Estelle barely touched her juice and pancakes doused in syrup. Benya was the only one of us apparently unaffected by the atmosphere and willingly ate his sister''s leftover food.

    "Damn, I don''t know who the idiot who nned this menu was, but when we get out of here, that fool will eat only pancakes for a month."

    I sympathized with those thoughts. Wasn''t it a humane duty to provide decent meals to children under these circumstances? Aristocrats paid no attention to how this ascetic world condemned luxurious meals as a crime. And I couldn''t argue against their stance. What would life be worth without good food?

    Because the current situation was so deplorable, people were forgoing their luxuries, hoping to avoid divine punishment. It was indeed wrenching to see these children, who had just lost their parents, suffer and have nothing to do about it.

 Chapter 15 - Life In Confinement

    A day spent in confinement was long and slow, with nothing to do except to eat. Aside from reading a few books from the dusty library, the only other entertainment I had was braiding or rolling Estelle''s hair. The library wasn''t receptive to teenagers, having only books about economics, politics, or liberal art fields.

    "This ends today," Letis announced, breaking my train of thought. I stopped hanging the towel I had just washed on the back of a chair and stared at him. His voice had regained some of its usual strength.

    I suddenly realized that we were all in the same bedroom ying together, something I would never have imagined us doing peacefully before. The bedroom had a window, but the floor below had no sunlighting in, except for inside the library.

    If we didn''t light a candle there, it would be pitch dark regardless if it was night or day. I figured no one wouldin if weid limp around there while Estelle took her nap in bed.

    "What are you going to do?" I asked Letis, curious as to what idea had brought strength back to him.

    "We need an exnation. We already know that someone ising around while we sleep to rece the food in the cart, so how about staying awake all night to wait for them?" He suggested, alternating between looking at Benya and at me.

    His n was simr enough to mine that I saw no reason to refuse it.

    "You''ll probably fall asleep in the middle," Benya smirked, and he tilted his head back to stare at the ceiling.

    "That''s why I''m asking you two to join me! If the three of us stay together, we can wake each other up to keep watch." Letis exined, tired of Benya''s taunts.

    Basically, what he wanted was for us to help him keep watch over the cart.

    However, even after we managed to get Benya to agree to this n, we found that it was unnecessary. Just before the bell rang for prayer time, the mirror door opened, and someone came through.

    Viscount Jerome Ipolite showed up himself after two weeks of absence.

    *

    There was no need to mention exactly how weed Jerome was by his niece and nephews. Estelle begged to be let out of this hellhole with tears in her eyes, while Letis and Benya looked absolutely relieved.

    During that touching reunion, Jerome stared at the children with a vague look in his eyes, and a strange smile that seemed like it had been glued to his face.

    Their tion at the Viscount''s arrivalsted until Jerome opened his mouth.

    "I apologize. I should havee sooner. You all probably noticed, but there were some setbacks to the n." Jerome''s eyes wandered as he spoke.

    We stayed silent for a moment until our eyes met his, and Letis questioned the Viscount. "Some problems?"

    "Erm¡­ Well¡­ How should I say this¡­" Jerome evaded the question, shifting from one foot to the other.

    "What happened? Did someone else die?"

    I had no idea how many people had died from this gue while we were stuck inside the bell tower. However, I remembered that one of the siblings'' rtives was supposed to die from an infection. Of course, everyone took extra precautions after the empress, and the ducal couple died from it.

    "¡­ You''re not here to take us out, right?"

    Benya''s retort, shaped more like a confirmation than a question, poured oil over the fires of anxiety and suspicion that were quietly burning inside our hearts. Estelle, who hadn''t been able to stay still up too now, froze in ce, pale as a sheet.

    Letis immediately got to his feet.

    "Uncle, I admit that I have no idea how bad the situation is outside, but we cannot stay here any longer! You know Estelle has a weak constitution! She needs warm baths and regr walks, not to mention regr examinations. She can''t continue to live like this! Moreover¡ª"

    "Did you think we kept you all in here because we wanted to?" Letis blinked in surprise at his uncle''s sudden stern voice interrupting him.

    In fact, that had never crossed Letis mind. Or at least, not yet.

    "There is a rumor going around that those who go to funerals for gue patients, bishops who perform death rites, and those who carry the bodies have something inmon. None of them wake up in the next morning. People are also saying that you might meet friends for lunch and your ancestors for dinner. How can you children y outside and meet other people in this situation?" Jerome stared at each child impressively for a moment before sighing and returning to his usual warm smile.

    No one answered him. Estelle grabbed my arm tightly while her brothers exchanged looks, expressions filled with shock and fear. Pale blue eyes filled with tears stared at me in frustration and despair.

    I could understand why Estelle felt like that. No servants or maids to wait on her, and no privacy. Her meals went beyond bothersome to the realm of inedible, and all her baths were cold. She had no toys or books to pass the time, nor could she visit the greenhouse to peruse the various flowers and nts. There was no space to walk or run.

    And what about that majestic bell that rang every day at noon and again at prayer time? It''s what shook the entire structure with its ringing.

    At that moment, after checking the children''s reactions, the Viscount turned his gaze toward me. The jade green eyes that seemed vacant looked surprised for a moment. "That dress¡­"

    "My clothes aren''t here."

    Our assumed watch guard stared at me, a maid d in his niece''s clothes, in a nk manner as if he couldn''tprehend my exnation, so I tried again. "I wanted to ask Mr. Harris for some essentials, but I couldn''t speak to him except for that first day. Therefore, I had no choice but to ask for permission to use these clothes."

    "What? Ah, yes, of course. I hadn''t thought of that. My apologies." Of course, that apology wasn''t for me, it was for Estelle, even though she couldn''t process what he was saying at the moment.

 Chapter 16 - Nobles On All Fours (1)

    "Uncle, then when can we go out? I hate it here! I''m tired of eating the same meal every day, bathing with cold water, and that stupid bell! I also don''t want to continue using an already used towel!" Estelle pleaded with him.

    Huh. She had noticed that it was the same towel? I thought I had been stealthy enough by secretly folding and returning the towels to the pile while she napped. When she asked about them, I lied and said I had out the used towels in the library to dry.

    "Why is the new butlering and going so furtively? What would he do if something happened to us while he''s absent?" One of the brothers spoke up.

    The other sibling chimed it as well. "And what happened to the cook? There is a limit to how many times we can eat the same meal. We feel like kept beasts! I almost stayed up all night waiting for that butler to show up because no one exined anything to us!"

    Jerome, who had been vaguely blinking his eyes without reacting to his niece''s and nephews''ints, dropped his head and rested it against his folded hands. He kept that posture for quite a while. Seeing him looking so tired and tormented made the siblings stopining and fall silent.

    When he finally spoke again, the only phrase we heard was a weak, "I don''t know."

    "What?"

    We stood together to one side, me beside Estelle and both boys nking us. We watched as Jerome raised his head, and a strange light filled his eyes that fixedly stared at us.

    "I mean¡­ I don''t know when the outside world will be safe enough for you to leave. As I''ve told you, we cannot lose you. I won''t speak of what is happening to most of the young nobles right now. I just need to protect you until this gue is over. At least you three¡­" He trailed off.

    His tone was almost a sob, and none of us could utter a word in response after that. It finally dawned on us that some of our friends might have died. To beining from safety was a vile thing to do.

    However, it was also true that we couldn''t endure staying here any longer. If rational adults couldn''t handle this situation, how did they expect us teenagers to cope?

    The first person to open his mouth was Letis, and he spoke in a much more gentle and careful tone.

    "Uncle, then at least give us an estimate of when we can get out of here. However long we have to wait, we''ll do it patiently as long as you tell us how long that will take. Staying here for an indefinite period is torture." Letis said gently.

    With how frail Jerome looked, I expected him to take a while thinking, but his answer came back surprisingly quickly. "A month."

    "¡­ That long?"

    "That''s only for a month. I know you kids can''t endure longer than that. Such a life is difficult for fully grown adults. For you kids, it must be insufferable. If you can hold out for a month, we will send you to Fjeya no matter what the situation outside is. Understood?" Jerome promised us with a kind smile, and the siblings'' expression fell.

    First it was one week, then one became two, and now we had to stay in this dusty, dark hideout for a month. Judging by the expressions on the three children''s faces, they seemed to think that it was too long a period, and I felt the same.

    If this scenario had been described in the book I read in my past life, I might have other ways of handling this. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do, and my status as a maid forbade me from questioning the Viscount. All I could do was make the best I could from this deplorable situation we were stuck in.

    * * *

    After extending the confinement period to another month, Viscount Ipolite made us some promises. He would make sure I had clothes befitting my station and said that if we wrote a list of what we needed and left it on the tray cart, Mr. Harris would make sure we got whatever we needed. Also, he promised that he would change the meal menus every day as soon as they found a new cook; however, sophisticated dishes wouldn''t be avable since assistant chefs had died from the gue as well.

    Inside the library, there was paper and a pen that we could use to write the lists. We also needed a stove and pots to heat water, extra towels, and detergent. At least we had enough candles andmp oil. The chest we found in the library held enough stock to fill several carriages.

    Thankfully, the things we needed arrived with the tray cart the next morning. Frail Estelle no longer had to wash with cold water now that we had this small but brand-new red stove.

    But Estelle wasn''t very excited about our improved living conditions. When I mentioned those to her, she despondently responded with, "So what if they gave us some things? I feel so suffocated in here."

    Clearly, we couldn''t live for another month the same way we had been living thest two weeks. We desperately needed something to pass the time.

    There was the library, where we could wander around or find something to read. It wasrge enough for us to y hide and seek in it, there were more books in it that we could read, and it was the only room to have a window aside from the upstairs bedroom.

    Unfortunately, it was too dusty and messy, so no one wanted to go in there to y. The only one to frequent the library was Benya, risking his life from time to time to meet the gargoyle through the window.

    "Sasha, what are you thinking about? You''re standing there and staring at nothing." Letis stared at me, curious.

    "I was just thinking of how to make this library livelier. Maybe if it was a bit cleaner, Estelle could y here, and we''d feel less stifled." I exined my idea to him.

    He seemed interested at first, but then he opened his mouth and said, "Okay, it''s a good idea, but how are we going to do that?"

 Chapter 17 - Nobles On All Fours (2)

    I hadpletely forgotten that he was a young nobleman, not to mention the next Duke. He probably hadn''t seen a rag in his life, let alone knew what to do with one. Of course, I hadn''t done much hardbor in this life, but my past life''s memories counted as experience.

    "What are you two talking about?" Benya asked his brother,ing closer to where we stood.

    "Sasha was talking about cleaning up the library," Lettice exined.

    Benya frowned in confusion. "How? We can''t call in servants to clean it."

    Apparently, cleaning was some sort of servant magic for these two. I felt a sudden urge to destroy such naivety.

    I pointed to myself. "You already have a servant here¡ªme. I think I can do it if you two help me clean. We''ll be staying here for a while. Don''t you want to spend less time being bored?" I smiled as I suggested it to them and confidently patted my chest.

    They were clearly surprised at my suggestion, but the innocent boys agreed in the end. Before I went to bed that night, I left a memo on the tray cart, asking for cleaning supplies.

    It took us a few days to clean the spacious library, and we didn''t even clean it thoroughly. We only swept the dusty floors and desks and cleaned the walls and shelves up to where we could reach. The sturdydders Benya had tested out beforehand were a great help when scrubbing the high areas.

    The boys'' teamwork was so good it was hard to imagine that they had almost fought a few days ago. Lettice learned how to wipe and dust while Benya went back and forth with buckets, bringing in clean water and pouring out the dirty bucketfuls. I was surprised at how fast they learned.

    Also, since both brothers were stronger than me, the cleaning results were better than I expected.

    "Do you see my superb cleaning skills? This is the majestic aura of the Cervantes heir." Lettice boasted, puffing up his chest.

    "Your dignity seems to have been tainted. How our name has fallen¡­" Benya taunted, clicking his tongue at his brother''s proud attitude.

    "What does that say about you, then?!" Lettice shot back.

    Ourst burst of energy came when wepeted against one another on who could clean better. I gave it my all, but I couldn''t win against two boys who seemed to have a natural talent for cleaning. I had experience, but it failed to win over theirs.

    "ACHOO!! Ugh, why is my nose so itchy? I''m not ill, am I?" Benyained, scratching the tip of his nose.

    "It''s not an illness, it''s just the dust in your nose." His brother patiently exined.

    "The dust is making me sneeze? Huh, never heard of that. How strange."

    It was stranger to see Lettice and Benya crawling around with their sleeves rolled up, wiping the floor like servants. It was amusing, but also saddened me a bit, but most of all, I was proud of them.

    "I want to wipe the top of the bookshelves too." Benya suddenly spoke up.

    "But there''s no way to clean up there." I frowned.

    "I can use thedder to get up there and crawl over the shelves." He replied, already looking for adder.

    "What? No, it''s too dangerous." I tried to stop him, but he ignored my plea and went up thedder.

    I secretly suspected Benya was a circus member in a past life.

    "Whew! This would be a great ce to sleep!"

    ¡­ Or maybe a cat.

    "Sasha, why don''t youe up here? Lettice is a coward, so I won''t even ask him." Benya''s voice came from above us, the taunt as sharp as if he was standing right in front of us and smirking.

    Lettice did not disappoint his brother.

    "Who are you calling a coward!" He yelled and immediately started climbing the steps.

    I hurried to grab him, worried. "Stop arguing! Lettice! Stop!"

    Just as Lettice was about to follow Benya''s risky antics, Estelle came in. She nced around the half-cleaned library, probably wondering what we were doing in here for so long. Then, to my consternation, her eyes focused on Benya, who was staring at us from the top of the bookshelf.

    I fervently hoped she didn''t say¡­

    "Can I go up?"

    "Estelle!" I half-screamed, shocked. This was Estelle, who was afraid of heights!

    To think that this boring life in confinement could change a person to this extent! This was dangerous!

    * * *

    The efforts spent on cleaning the library paid off after a few days of hard work, sweat, dust, and fatigue. The library was tidied to a level iparable to its original state, and the sight made us proud and satisfied with our hard work.

    The cleaned window allowed some sunlight in, and while the floor squeaked here and there, this hiding ce was now a yground. We finally had a ce to kill some time aside from mealtimes.

    We spent a while running around, just like we used to when we were younger. Even Estelle was in high spirits, wandering around the bookshelves curiously.

    But after half a day passed¡­

    "I feel suffocated." She mumbled tiredly.

    However clean the library was now, it didn''t change the fact that we were confined in a tower. It was an immense change to when we could roam around the enormous Cervantes manor freely.

    "It can''t be helped. Let''s focus on the knowledge we can umte from here. After all, where else would we have the chance to read so many books?" Lettice sighed, the yfulness of a few moments ago had disappeared from his face.

 Chapter 18 - Just A Playmate

    His mature statement was exactly what one expected of the heir of the Serpente. So this was what people meant when they said the younger brother was not a match for the eldest.

    "Wow! It would be amazing if we could hang a hammock here." Benya spoke, already climbing the bookshelf again to show off. I decided to ignore him. No matter what I said, he wouldn''t pay attention to any of it.

    I would no longer waste my time caring, whether he fell and broke a bone anymore.

    Moving on, Letis mature suggestion appealed to all of us. We each grabbed a few books and gathered around a desk to read them. Since the library was fun of difficult-to-read old books, the only ones we were able to read were history books or old gossip magazines.

    We endured for a while after cleaning the library and spending most of the day there except for mealtimes. Whenever we got fed up with reading, the four of us would y hide and seek, running around the library together. It was unsuitable for us to be ying such games, but we had very little entertainment options during the long confinement.

    Anyway, didn''t people say that mental age regression helped protect a person''s sanity during times of stress? No matter what, I had to support these siblings as much as I could. Call it whatever, we tried our best to have fun during our stay in the bell tower where every day felt like a week.

    These games also served as a distraction from the warnings that were stuck in our subconscious. We took turns ying chess with an old, cracked chessboard that we found in the corner of the library. We scribbled on faded papers with some ink pens,peted on who could read for the longest period, and used lines drawn with a candle to y hopscotch.

    Of the things the Viscount promised us, I got only two sets of maid clothes, and a few articles and underwear suitable for a maid. The food was exactly the same as before, and no exnation was given, even though we left memos asking for other snacks.

    Those memos only brought us the things we needed for the first few days. After that¡­ Well, at least we had secured basic necessities such as stoves, cleaning supplies, and sewing kits on those first days.

    ***

    A month had passed since Viscount Ipolite''sst visit. We had tracked the passage of time by scratching a mark for each day on a wall of the library.

    When I confirmed that Estelle was asleep beside me, I stared up at the night sky and its stars that gave off a sad light. I didn''t know why I felt that they looked so pitiful and sad, but maybe I was already beginning to understand.

    Or maybe I already knew from the beginning.

    If the season were summer, it would have been worse. The sheets and nkets we had been using were starting to smell rank, and wearing the same clothes for a few days had its limits. I tried washing them myself on the day wepleted one month and two weeks of confinement.

    This was the first time I performed such a chore since I started working, as I was still young and received special treatment. Only the lowest level of servants did things such as washing in the Serpente manor. I managed to douse pillowcases, sheets, and nkets in soapy water by using the bathtub and stepping on them to remove the stains.

    The most challenging part was washing Estelle''s clothes. Her dresses were extremelyplicated to clean, with their expensive fabrics, delicatecework, and jewel decorations. I had to be very careful not to damage them. The same was true for Benya''s and Letis clothes, but at least they were washing their own underwear.

    I realized that Rapunzel probably went through just as much hardship as Cindere while trapped in that tower. At least Rapunzel only had to care for herself, but I¡­

    My eyes filled with tears. I was tired, sweaty, and I was having difficulty breathing. I should have been reborn again as a young pampereddy who knew no hardship. Why did I be a maid?

    Did I die in that cold elevator¡­ For this?

    "What are you doing?" The sudden voice made me blink back the tears, and I raised my head.

    Yikes. Benya was staring at me from the doorway with a crooked expression. I had left that door half-open because everyone had been at the library thest time I checked. When did hee up here?

    I smile awkwardly. "Removing stains and making clothes white again?"

    Perhaps that wasn''t what he expected to hear, as he frowned. I wiped the sweat from my brow with the back of my hand.

    "Why are you doing that?" He asked, still frowning.

    "Well, the clothes are dirty, so¡ª" I tried exining to him, but he interrupted me.

    "Since when did you do such things?"

    I couldn''t help but give him an odd look. Since when did he keep track of what I did? And why was he so obnoxious about it? "It''s no big deal. Besides, you also don''t like wearing dirty clothes. At least while we''re staying here¡ª"

    "Why are you doing this when we''re about to get out of here? Do you want to receive a prize for being a good nanny? Is that it? Huh! You''re just our ymate anyway!" Benya interrupted me again and went on an unexpected tirade.

    Midway through his words, my chin dropped weakly. I stood there and gaped at him, speechless, even after he was done. His shadowed pale blue eyes ignored my reaction and Benya whipped around, leaving me alone with the wet nkets.

 Chapter 19

    For a while, I couldn''t say anything and just stood there, silent. Eventually, strength left my legs, and I dropped to the floor without any fight left in me.

    Water flowed down my cheeks, but at that moment, I couldn''t distinguish whether it was sweat or tears. All I could think of were Benya''s words. That rotten project of a viin really didn''t know how to treat people well. Did he have to say things like that?

    Did I mean that little to him? To them?

    In a rush of anger and disappointment, I vowed to myself on that moment that I wouldn''t care about them anymore. I would ignore whether they became viins or not. From that moment on, I would stray from the path I had been trying so carefully to tread on.

    I sent a silent prayer to my mother, the Duke, and the Duchess, asking them to please forgive me¡­ For I couldn''t do this anymore¡­ I¡­

    "Sasha."

    Tsk. Did hee to give me the carrot after giving me the stick? Or did he juste to check if I was hurt by what he said? Either way, I still had to acknowledge him. I stopped crying like a baby and raised my head. His expression seemed so different from the ferocious look he had a few moments ago.

    "I''m sorry. Stop crying." Benya said, looking repentant. His voice held none of the strength of a while ago. Wait, what did he just say?

    Sorry?

    Did he really say he was sorry?

    My eyes widened in disbelief. This was the first time I ever saw him looking so mellow, and it was such a shock that I almost forgot that he was the one who made me cry.

    Benya continued to stare at me as I tried to recover from the shock of his apology, and he smiled bitterly. "I''m sorry for venting my anger out on you. Here, let me help you."

    I couldn''t believe he was disying this sort of attitude toward me. Benya offering help in any capacity was a miracle in itself.

    We focused on washing the clothes in silence. After stepping on theundry soaking in the bathtub, we used toothbrushes to scrub the clothing and helped each other squeeze the water out of the cleaned pieces. Only after we finished all of the dirtyundries did we stop to rest.

    Both of us stumbled out of the bathroom and slid against the wall, slumping down to sit on the floor.

    "Damn, that was tiring. So¡­ How do we dry them?" Benya turned to me, exhausted.

    "The only ce where we can do that is the library," I told him quietly.

    It was the only roomrge enough to hang all these clothes on and where air could easily circte. What would we have done with all thisundry if we hadn''t cleaned the library?

    Benya took off his wet shirt, breathing roughly as he leaned his head on the wall. This was not the behavior expected of a member of the aristocracy, but it was better than getting heat rash. He was sweating so much that his silver-gray hair was soaked and a bit tousled around his temples.

    "We seem to be doing everything that we never needed to do before aftering here." Hemented.

    "Yes. No one would believe us if we told them about this." I smiled half-heartedly.

    "We''d be lucky even to be able to tell anyone about this," Benya muttered.

    ¡­ Those sentences were full of implications. I hesitated for a moment, pondering about the choices avable to me, before carefully asking a question.

    "You know, about what you said before¡­ You said you were venting your anger. What did you mean by that?" I looked at him from the corner of my eyes, gauging his response.

    "You already know that." His response was curt.

    Of course, I could make an educated guess, but I wanted him to confirm my suspicions. I stared at him and fanned myself with my hand. Benya slowly blinked as he stared back, his expression an iprehensible mix of weariness and detachment.

    I gave him a gentle nudge. "Someone mighte through the mirror door right now."

    "Yes." He nodded.

    "They mighte tonight, or maybe tomorrow."

    "That''s right." Benya nodded again without a change in his expression.

    "¡­ Or maybe a month from now."

    I was staring at him as I spoke, and our eyes met. Surprisingly, I didn''t feel despair or exhaustion, just indifference at this unfair situation.

    "Do you think maybe your rtives¡­" I trailed off. I intended to ask Benya if he thought his rtives had malicious intentions toward him and his siblings, but I stopped myself. Benya probably caught onto what I was going to ask, but he didn''t scold me, and we just stared at each other in silence.

    ***

    The bell rang, signalling prayer time. From where we sat, we could hear therge and small bells in the tower all ringing together, the sound so close that we could feel the rooms vibrating everywhere.

    Today Estelle didn''t run upstairs to hide on her bed, nor did she get under the table. Instead, she sat next to me calmly, her eyes fixed on an old book titledTeacups and Conversation.

    There were no sounds in the room except for our breathing, the sound of pages being turned, and the tolling of the bells. We were all focused on our books as if we were under a spell.

    Everyone must be having the same thoughts by now, but we were all trying to think up excuses to ignore reality while wallowing in our suspicions.

 Chapter 20

    "Abel, please taste the cake!"

    "Neen goblets, no, not wine sses!"

    "Can someone bring this for me?"

    Chefs and maids in aprons were busily moving in all directions, and the servants were also busying and going from the outside, carrying heavy trays or receiving orders.

    ''What is this fuss in the middle of the night!'' I couldn''t believe the kitchen was so busy at this hour¨Cit was probably a banquet. Most of the people were unfamiliar. There seemed to be familiar faces as well, but no one paid any attention to me because it was a very frenzied atmosphere. I walked over to the die, full of trays of juice and liquor bottles, and swapped out empty juice bottles. Then I followed a servant carrying a tray of food.

    This was the real start. I knew the inside of the mansion like the palm of my hand, and I knew where to hide in case of a problem with the least risk of being found out. Nevertheless, secretly finding Jerome in here would not be an easy task. I thought he would definitely be in the banquet hall¡­

    Phew, I don''t know if the kids are sleeping well by now. If they wake up while I''m here I''ll be definitely scolded.

    The Serpente Hall, which I had not seen in a long time, was very weing, but there was no time to be immersed in vague memories of the past. I had to go to a ce where I could check the banquet hall. With a bottle of juice in one arm, I went to the stairs used only by servants and climbed upstairs. A ce where I used to hide often to watch banquets when I was a kid. Heading to the northern stairs on the second floor and passing through the hallway, there was a secluded balcony with a panoramic view of the ss greenhouse and the garden, and a statue on the side of the railing with its back on the balcony. It was a statue of two snakes wrapped around each other, and if you hid behind it, you could view the scenery of the banquet hall just below.

    On a night of a banquet, all eyes and attention inside the mansion were focused on the banquet hall and guests, so there was little risk of a young maid being caught in the guards'' radar. In most cases, they turned a blind eye even if they saw it, but anyway, just in case, I tried to look as natural as possible and finally reached my destination. What was the celebration? Whose birthday was it? Or was it a meaningless banquet? Perhaps because the weather was hot in midsummer, banquets seemed to be particrly frequent.

    The scene in the banquet hall where the party was held was simr to the ones I remembered. The only difference was that all the real owners of this ce had disappeared. Yet, the number of guests was equally huge. Beautiful people of noble status, women as bright as summer roses and the men were like gentlemen in famous paintings. It was strangely unreal to look at the elegant melodic apaniment, the sumptuous dinner, the joyfulughter and the sound of apuse, the toasts at a nce, and the people dancing brightly. It felt like I was watching some unfamiliar movie or y, and rather than feeling envious or appetizing, it just felt like I was seeing apletely different world. At the same time, anger-like emotions arose.

    Estelle, who was locked up at the top of the bell tower at this moment was dying, and Venya and Lettis, who were choking in fear and anxiety, these were things for them to enjoy. No, all of this was originally theirs.

    Viscount Ipolit was also there. I could recognize him at a nce because he was in the midst of a throng of shouts and toasts of exultation. He looked as if he was having fun. I wanted to pour the juice over his head. And then shout as loudly as I could about where the rightful heirs of this family were now. Then I would be treated like a crazy girl and taken away, and I might be ughtered without even a rat knowing¡­ Oh my, the risk is too high. Sob~

    Once I found Jerome, it was urgent to inform him of Estelle''s situation. I would have to approach him as if I came to pour him a drink. While getting out from behind the statue as I continued imitating 007, which was impossible, I suddenly heard footsteps. They seemed to be approaching my direction. My blood, which had cooled for a moment, quickly circted again, and my heart beat wildly. Who was it? One of the guests? Or security? Whoever it was, there was nothing good about being caught.

    I froze for a moment, then hurriedly ran toward the balcony. The sound of footsteps continued, rapidly approaching.OMG! What should I do?! Do I have to jump off the railing in a pinch?!

    Whooo~ Calm down, calm down. Let''s find a way. Ehem, I''m currently 007.

    [tl/n: 007 is a secret agent created by Ian Fleming. Most known as James Bond]

    In one corner of the spacious balcony, there were pots nted with bamboo and cypress Wilma. As soon as I hid behind the flowerpots, the source of the footsteps entered the space. I crouched behind the finely stretched bamboo, holding my breath. Fortunately, he didn''t seem to have discovered ande after me. No, if he was a guest, he would enjoy the banquet. Whye all the way here to find solitude?

    "Uh-huh¡­"

    As I slowly opened my tightly closed eyes, I saw a man approaching the railing with a ss of wine in one hand. ¡­No, not a man, but a boy. Looking at his face reflected in the bright moonlight, he seemed tall, but he looked like he was in histe teens at most. A nobleman whoes out to the balcony alone in a mansion where a banquet is held and badmouths in loneliness seems like a setting I''ve seen a lot.

    No, by the way, kiddo, where the hell did youe from to be so pretty?

    Despite the fact I was in a position to escape and hide at the risk of my life, I forgot about the whole situation and stared at an unidentified boy trembling in the moonlight. A night breeze blew and scattered his soft, golden hair. The eyshes that stretched out like an awning were also golden, and the dark blue tailcoat that wrapped around the well-groomed body was of the finest quality. In addition, thebination of deep eyes, a sharp raised nose bridge, and a smooth chin line that was not yet ripe were enough to bring out admiration.

    Whew, I don''t know from which household you are, but you seem to have made a lot of youngdies cry. Our Lettis and Venya may look like they look right now but if we decorate them well¡­ Naughty, naughty! It''s sphemous topare those bad snake-like boys with this beautiful flower!

    It was then that other steps sounded from outside. Who else wasing? As I crouched down again and covered my mouth with my hand, the flower boy, who had been looking lonely in the night breeze, turned around after hearing the footsteps.

 Chapter 21

    Then he halted. To be precise, he fixed his gaze towards the flowerpots. While the deep purple eyes were staring at this side, I wondered if my heart might burst out because it kept beating like crazy.

    Did I get caught? Did I? Aigoo, Duke, Madam, Mom! Please protect this girl!

    "Your Highness?"

    Your wha¡­? More than that¨C it was a voice that sounded quite familiar.

    In my frightened sight, I saw the Viscount Ipolit walking slowly into the balcony. The unexpected gaze that had been piercing toward this side finally moved.

    "Ah, Viscount."

    "I was wondering where you were. Why are you here alone?"

    "¡­I was just admiring the scenery."

    So, that flower boy I had never seen before was not just a noble Young Master, but a prince. No, more than that, why did Jeromee all the way here again? Should I say it''s a relief, or not?

    [tl/n: did I already exin what a flower boy is? Just in case- is a word used to describe meek good looking men. Usually, flower boys have a ''feminine'' attractiveness rather than looking sharp or strong]

    "The ss greenhouse in the Serpente residence is famous for its romantic origins. Would you like to take a look around?"

    "Next time. This much is fine."

    Perhaps my earnest prayer had been fulfilled, the flower prince turned around and left the balcony as if he had not seen me before. Viscount Ipolit also followed suit. No, it looked like it.

    "Wheew¡­"

    For some reason, everyone seemed to have a hobby of sighing alone. As Jerome, who seemed to let out a sigh of exhaustion, took out a cigarette and lit it, I moved my body behind the flowerpot. If not now, there was no other chance.

    "What¡­"

    I won''t mention how Jerome''s expression changed as soon as he saw me popping out of one corner of the balcony. The jade-colored eyes seemed to be almost the size of a te, and the next moment, I found myself shaking to the point where my teeth shed with my shoulders sped in Jerome''s rough hands.

    "Have you ever seen such a crazy girl! You¨C how the hell are you¡­ How dare you get out ande here¡­ What if someone even saw you?! If His Highness had seen you¡­"

    "Miss is ill!"

    At the same time as I spoke half-screaming, the shaking stopped. Jerome sped my shoulder with his hand, looking into my eyes with the eeriest look. It''s not that I had not considered the possibility that Harris delivered the contents of the note I had written, and Jerome had deliberately ignored it. Nevertheless, Jerome was the only one I could cling to right now. At leastst winter, he seemed sincere as he promised to get his niece and nephews out somehow.

    "What did you¡­?"

    "Miss Estelle is sick. It''s already been four days since her fever started, and if you don''t call a doctor right away, she''ll die!"

    *  *  *

    Just like when I had left, I was dragged back by our lunch service.

    Thud! The mirror door was mmed shut behind my back, almost as if I was thrown in. As I staggered and fell to the floor, the two brothers literally ran up to me with shocked expressions on their faces.

    "Sasha!"

    "Where the hell have you been?!"

    Apparently, they woke up in the middle of the night and found out that I was gone, so they were making a fuss. I barely opened my mouth, grabbing the hands they were holding toward me, and getting up.

    "Well, I went out and talked to your uncle."

    "What? How the hell did you¡­"

    "In the cart. I hid inside it."

    Lettis'' mouth went agape. Lights of impression and astonishment intersected in his wide azure eyes. His expression inquired about how I was able to do such a crazy thing. Venya was equally astonished, staring at me nkly with a quite formidable expression on his face.

    "So what happened? How things¡­ Uncle?"

    Lettis'' question was cut off as the mirror door, which had been tightly closed, opened once again. Soon afterward, Viscount Ipolit, with a seriously hardened face, and Harris, holding a booklet and amp in both hands, entered. The two went straight upstairs without looking at us. The three of us exchanged nces for a moment, then followed them. Inside the terribly hot hideout, an even more excruciating heat hit me.

    "Estelle, dear."

    "¡­Sa¨C Sasha?"

    In the brightly lit bedroom with candlesticks andmps, Estelle looked like a young ghost and blinked her wide eyes helplessly. She didn''t even seem to recognize her uncle. I walked over to the bedside and covered Estelle''s sweaty face with my hand. As it had been for a while now, it was like a fireball.

    "Viscount, Miss needs a doctor. As you can see, it''s not a symptom that can be solved with just regr medicine. You have to bring a doctor here somehow!"

    Jerome looked down at his niece''s body with a nk expression, then slowly lifted his gaze and looked at me. It was as if he couldn''t hear me, with his jade-colored eyes looking at me half-dazed as if he was out of his mind. So I cried desperately again.

    "Certainly, there must be a way. You have to hurry. If she keeps going like this, she''s going to die!"

    "¡­"

    "Viscount!"

    Jerome still remained silent. The one who responded was none other than Harris, who was standing upright like a stone statue next to him.

    p¨C!

    For a moment I almost thought it was the sound of my skull being magnificently cracking. The shock came first, pain came second.I think I now know exactly what the expression ''lightning strikes in front of your eyes'' means.Tears welled up and at the same time, the strength drained from my knees.

    Waaaaahhhh! My brain!

    As I sat down, whining, clutching my head, Harris, who mercilessly pped my head with the booklet he was holding, turned to look at Jerome. Then, he opened his mouth as if he was displeased.

    "This is why I told you to just leave it to me. The banquet was at its peak, and at such a time you stepped back and¡­"

    "Hey! Who are you to hit her?!"

    Harris, who had been speaking calmly, and Jerome, who had only rolled his eyes as if he was absentminded, flinched and turned their heads at the same time. I also raised my head, rubbing my throbbing head. Then I saw Lettis, deadly pale and stiff as if overwhelmed, and Venya, who was advancing with his deep blue eyes burning.

    "Who do you think you are to touch her!"

    Oh my gosh, my eardrums. Still, the painful head rings more painfully¡­ emotionally. Humans, we are in front of a patient now remember?!

    Harris, who willinglymitted violence in front of the patient, whether he was startled for a moment or something, he just looked at Venya in a way that was no way to look at your superiors. And Venya didn''t seem to like that reaction.

    Crash! Themp fell to the floor and shattered. It happened so quickly that I didn''t even have a chance to stop him. Even if I tried to stop it, it would have been useless.

    It''s true. Venya was just about to have his fifteenth birthday. But no matter how much he grew, he still had the body of just a boy. And the opponent he was attacking was an adult twice as big as him.

    "I asked who you are toy a hand on Sasha!"

    At this sudden attack, Harris seemed very startled at first and staggered trying to avoid him, but then, as if he couldn''t stand it any longer, he grabbed the arm of the boy who was throwing fists at his body and pushed him with all his might.

    Crash¨C! A scream erupted from my mouth.

    "Venya!"

    Venya, who flew to the table and collided with it, jumped up immediately. But Lettis was faster than that. In the blink of an eye, he snatched the candlestick from the table and ran, swinging it mercilessly.

    Pack! If Harris had not raised one arm and blocked it by a narrow margin, his brain, smashed by a rusty five-tier candlestick, would have stained the carpets. At the same time, the whole ce was dyed ck. It was a natural result as both themps and the candlesticks had lost their life.

    While all themotion unfolded in an instant, Jerome continued staring nkly at the scene. It seemed that he had no intention of stopping or protecting his nephews. And no matter how much we sank, our spirit fled along with the arrival of darkness.

    I thought there was a bustling movement in the dark, and then I heard the sound of footsteps rushing down the stairs. And finally, pang! The majestic sound of the mirror door mming shut with a bang made the grand finale.

    There was silence for a moment. Only the low moans and heavy breaths that Estelle made while ill were floating in the quietness.

    I crawled and opened the shelf drawer near the bed. Then I took out a match and candles and barely lit it. Only then I could see the bedroom transformed into a shipwreck. Fragments of the shatteredmp were scattered everywhere, and in the middle of it was Lettis, standing with a candlestick in one hand, gasping for breath. Behind him, Venya staggered toward me.

    "Are you okay?"

    Okay? Am I okay?I tried to show a smile. But, as if the muscles around my mouth had been paralyzed, it didn''t move.

    "Are you okay¡­?"

    It was a voice that didn''t sound like my own at all, it felt as if I was about to cry.

    We said nothing more. Instead, I turned on some more lights and started cleaning the floor. The two boys mopped diligently while I swept up the debris with a broom. Our slippers were on the verge of falling apart because they had be ragged, so it would be a big deal if there were shards left.

    After cleaning, I drank some water and returned to Estelle''s side. While I was wiping Estelle''s hot face and back of her neck with a towel soaked in cold water, the two boys dragged chairs, sat down, and whispered something among themselves.

    "¡­Do you still like your birthday presents so much?"

    "¡­It''s because of my father''s keepsake, you idiot."

    Then they started begging me to tell them what I saw when I went outside and what happened. I confessed how I hid on the balcony and everything else except that I almost got caught by some prince.

    That''s how my reckless night of adventure ended. Even though it was a gamble with my own life, all that remained were questions. Will Viscount Ipolit bring a physician? Did he really know nothing for the past four days? How will Harrise from now on? What should I do if they shamelessly y with food in revenge for being beaten by children? No, if it doesn''te at all¡­ if you decide to kill us all¡­

    But even if that really happened, even if my risky adventures had been futile, I couldn''t me Venya or Lettis. Even if one day I would die again, or even if I had to be reincarnated in another world and live a new life, what happened that night would never be forgotten and would be imprinted on my soul forever.

    I will never forget and treasure that memory for a long time.

 Chapter 22

    4. Bloody Luby

    Of course, to no one''s surprise, the physician did note. But fortunately, our meals weren''t cut out. A first aid kit arrived with a new food cart the very next day after the wholemotion. Inside the box were a thermometer, ointment, a bottle of painkillers, and some bandages.

    ''Do you think that these few things can cure your niece''s terrible fever? Do you really think so?''Estelle''s body temperature fluctuated around 40 degrees. As she was having a hard time breathing, my heart felt like burning whenever I fed her with liquid food boiled after the leftovers mixed with some painkillers.

    ''What if she goes like this? I''ve already lost too many precious people, what would I do if even Estelle goes away forever?''Such fear seemed to devour my soul little by little. I clung to the bedside all day, humming the luby my mother used to sing while she was alive and whispering all of Estelle''s favorite stories. Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, Cindere and Rapunzel. Rapunzel, in particr, was the most repeated story. They were all stories with happy endings. Although in reality, no prince woulde to our rescue after defeating the greedy devil king.

    The fever did not spread, but as time passed, we all looked equally sick and miserable. Me, Lettis, and Venya, we all endured day by day with dark circles under our eyes and paleplexions. We couldn''t take our eyes off Estelle for even a moment, so we ate together in the bedroom, and even fanned each other to endure the hellish heat of the summer. It was only after a fortnight that Estelle''s fever began to drop after all the efforts. The problem was that it kept going up and down. I started to wonder if the thermometer was broken or if it was purely a whim of fate, but her body temperature would return to normal but the next morning it would soar again without fail.

    It was a brutal summer indeed. It wasn''t until thest days of summer, when Venya''s birthday was close, and fall was just around the corner, that Estelle was able to get out of bed. With the worst aftereffects. My little sister, my breast sister, who was always small and delicate as a ss doll, had lost her former fragile and lovely appearance. She now looked like a dry stick that could be broken at any time, and her movements were awkward and close to a broken marite. All the baby fat was gone, and the big, sky-blue eyes that were hollowed out on a face that was as dry as a skull no longer shed the same light as before.

    Those eyes that seemed to dance in the air, full of hopes and dreams for a future¨C

    Those eyes that used to twinkle daydreaming for a brighter life even in the most terrible of situations never returned.

    *   *   *

    ¨CLavender is green,vender is blue. If you love me I will love you¡­~

    I heard a luby.''Who is singing? Oh, it''s my mother''s voice. It''s mom. Mom¡­''

    ¨CI like to dance. I like to sing. When I be queen, you will be my king~

    ''It smells like soot. Did I forget to turn off the stove and fall asleep again?''

    ¨CIt''s okay, Sasha.

    A soft, sweet voice.''I think it smells too¡­''I tried to wake up to the thought of taking off the stove, but my mother''s scent covered me whole.

    ¨CIt''s really okay. If you want to sleep, sleep more¡­

    ''Really? My mom always said that I shouldn''t beying around all day. She used to say ''the better people treat you, the more diligent you have to be.'' But you know¡­ I''m exhausted¡­ So like this¡­''

    "Sasha."

    The hand that grabbed my shoulder and shook me so suddenly returned my half-sleeping soul. I let out a short groan and raised my upper body.

    "What¨C"

    "Shh."

    In the dark bedroom without a single ray of moonlight, sky-blue eyes shone eerily. It looked quite unusual, so I reflexively turned to my side. Our Estelle was deeply asleep with her head buried in the pillow and breathing evenly.

    Venya took his finger from my lips and motioned quietly to follow him. I cautiously got out of bed and followed him. All the way down the narrow stairs, his hand was holding mine tightly. My heart started to pound rapidly at the slight tremor that came from that warm hand leading me into the darkness.

    ''What the hell is going on? What''s wrong with Venya?''

    "¨Csound. You must not make any sound."

    Venya led me in front of the bathroom door downstairs. I nodded my head recklessly at his soft whisper as he grabbed the doorknob with his other hand.

    I would never be able to say I was ready for what awaited me.

    I wasn''t really mentally prepared, so, despite my strong resolve, as soon as the door opened, I almost screamed my lungs out. It was terrifying to imagine what Estelle would have done if she had woken up upon hearing my scream. It wasn''t even in my worst nightmares seeing her witnessing such a scene.

    A low-pitched groan escaped between the two hands which quickly covered my mouth.

    "Oppa¨C!!"

    Inside the bathtub, Lettis was lying, still in his pajamas. One arm protruding from the edge was a mess as if he had tried to cut his wrist, and scissors dropped on the bathroom floor, dripping with blood.

    *   *   *

    The scissors'' des we had were so dull that it was difficult to cut our hair. It was thanks to this that Lettis'' suicide attempt failed. Although the wound was quite severe and would leave a scar, fortunately, it did not appear to be life-threatening as he didn''t reach the artery.

    While Venya pulled Lettis out of the bathtub andid him on the bed, I went for the first-aid box. I couldn''t really think anything as I wiped the bloody cut from the scissors with sterilizer and wrapped bandages on his wrist. My brain had literally left my head.

    Lettis woke up after a while. When he finally regained consciousness, both Venya and I were just sitting at the bedside, staring nkly at his face.

    It was Venya who moved first. He immediately jumped up from his seat, then raised his hand and- SLAP! Without hesitation, he pped his older brother with all his might! The sound was so loud that I was worried that Estelle might wake up because of it.

    "Venya¡­!"

    In contrast to my half-scream, Lettis, who was beaten violently by his younger brother as soon as he regained consciousness, was simply dazed with a bewildered expression on his face. Venya gripped him from his cor roughly.

    "I''m truly fed up, bro. I think I''m going insane."

    "¡­"

    "Do you want me to treat you like a baby? And all that while keeping an eye on you so you don''t die?"

    Lettis said nothing. He gradually grasped the situation, understanding how things turned out, and his dazed eyes slowly regained focus, having a disastrous light on them. Then he immediately lowered his head.

    "¡­Sorry."

    "If you really want to die, just jump out of the window next time. Got it? Because I don''t want to add a rotting corpse''s stench inside this rat hole."

    Lettis just shrugged at Venya''s cold words suppressing all his ring wrath.

    Of course, he wouldn''t follow his brother''s advice and try a second suicide attempt. Another evidence of the time still passing by aside from the end of each season felt with our sixth senses, was the growth of our bodies. Lettis and Venya could no longer go through the small window to see Mr. Gargoyle. They were just too big for the poor window now.

    I took out the painkillers left in the emergency box and handed them to Lettis along with a ss of water. I wanted to say something, but no words came out. There was no other way to express my feelings than feeling miserable, angry, and sad.

    ''Oh my gosh! Why did you do that?'' There were many reasons. Too many. None of us ever said it out loud, but we always had in mind the possibility that we would die here one way or another. The traitors had already taken control of the manor, and they could starve us to death at any time they wished. Or they could simply poison our meals.

    Nevertheless, we continued to live, and the items that allowed us to keep living with a minimum of human dignity were sent, albeit poorly. That fact created a sense of hope that stayed in our unconscious without us realizing it. Although it shattered with the summer.

    With that cruel summer, it became absolutely clear. It was a fact: no one cared whether the siblings died here or not. Even Viscount Ipolit.

    That''s right. Even Viscount Ipolit has

    changed. Well, he might be a bit sorry. But the gain in doing such a thing is greater and sweeter than the guilt of forsaking his own nephews and niece¡­ Sending meals every day without stopping is probably just a way tofort yourself that you did your best. If we were to die in this ce, you would be so relieved but then even shed a few tears of pity¡­

 Chapter 23

    Lettis has been a friendly child since childhood. He was so sweet that even the duke was worried about him. It took him a long time to fully ept theplete betrayal of his blood rtives, and in the process, he nearly lost his sister. It wasn''t unreasonable for his mental breakdown. The problem was that, sadly, there was nothing I could do about it. The sense of betrayal and deprivation that the siblings felt was not something that I could judge arbitrarily. And in a situation where clumsyfort could be poisonous, greater consequences could be created if I did anything.

    I greeted the morning with a feeling of frustration and devastation. Lettis came to the table wearing a gown that covered his wrists well, and in front of Estelle, who knew nothing, the three of us worked hard to pretend to be our usual selves and finished our meal. After breakfast, Estelle suddenly grabbed her older brother and asked him to y ''hair salon.'' Since Estelle, who had no motivation to do anything these days, made an offer full of enthusiasm for the first time in a long time, Lettis was dragged to the library without being able to refuse. I shouted to him to take the stove. Although it was still a bit cold, the snow had stopped and the clear sunlight was pouring in through the window. I hadn''t done anyundry since winter came, so I thought I should wash some pajamas on such a nice day.

    The problem started there. When I went into the bathroom with the pajamas packed and stooped down to get water in the bathtub, I could see the remains of something scattered around the drain. That was none other than today''s breakfast. To be precise, it was the traces of vomit after eating breakfast and clumsily flushing it with water. Estelle seemed to have vomited again. It seemed like she secretly threw up here and cleaned it up in case I would see it. The vomits seemed to have stopped for a while, so I was relieved. But now it seems to have started again. Or it never stopped to begin with? Did she secretly do this every day because she was afraid I''d be worried?

    I knelt and sat on the floor. I was about to clean up the messy drain, but my vision was blurred. There was no way of knowing whether Estelle''s rejection of food was due to a problem with the digestive system or a psychological cause. Either way, it was a freaking damn situation. It was a really f*cking absurd situation¡­

    "Sasha? Why are you sitting like that?"

    Venya came in through the half-opened door. I guess he expected me to be doing theundry. I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand and stuttered.

    "She vomited again."

    "¡­"

    "I guess she can''t digest it. Because she was so sick¡­ I should have started with a diet based on liquid¡­ because she can''t¡­"

    Venya came over without a word, sat down next to me, raised his hand, and gently patted my back. We stood silent for a long time.

    I''ve thought about it hundreds of times. What would the original Sasha do? What would she think and what would she do in this situation? I don''t think it would be any more different from what I am now. She was supposed to be the sprouts of a viiness, and I was a reincarnation with memories from another world, but it didn''t seem like there was much difference between us.

    After a heavy silence, Venya slowly opened his mouth. An indifferent, dry voice came out.

    "It wasn''t his first time doing that."

    What?I stopped rubbing my eyes with my sleeve and looked at him nkly. A bitter and harsh smile passed through the sky-blue eyes that stared at my expression.

    "Last time, when I said I threw all the books while trying to climb the bookshelves. Well, actually, it wasn''t because I was ying¡­ It was because Hyung tried to hang himself there. With a belt."

    "¡­"

    "I mean, I know, right? It was bound to fail and so stupid. Did you have a hard time cleaning up all the books?"

    [tl/n: If you can''t grasp the sarcasm yeah, he''s been quite sarcastic]

    No words came out. Last night''s incident alone was shocking, but I could understand Venya''s harsh reaction now¡­ it wasn''t the first time for him. My hand moved on its own and grabbed him tightly. Venya spoke again, slowly, his gaze to the floor.

    "Hyung isn''t that kind of person. You know it too¡­ the older brother I know isn''t that weak and pathetic. No matter what¡­ he isn''t the kind of person who would try to escape alone¡­"

    It''s true.The little master I knew, even though he was a bit nd in character, wasn''t the kind of guy who would make an extreme choice over his younger siblings in a difficult situation¡­ However, he was still only a child, and no one could predict what kind of changes would happen if a person was driven to the edge of their sanity.

    At first, I vaguely thought I could somehow survive for two years here. Then, many things happened and Estelle fell sick, I was no different. I was drained and frustrated. I desperately dreamed of escaping, but there was no way. Hiding in the cart and escaping was already used once and was found out. If we tried to climb down the tower through the small window, we would fall and die as soon as we started.

    ''And let''s say a miracle happens and we get out of this tower, where can we go? Estelle is too weak to escape, and above all, when we get out of the tower, we will be in the hands of the enemies. Would there be at least one trustworthy person left in the duke''s mansion?''

    "Hyung is hyung, but Estelle is no longer the same as she used to be. When I look back these days, it seems like some kind of ghost is roaming around¡­ Sometimes when I wake up, I''m afraid that the two will be dead. That''s why I can''t fall asleep."

    Hesitantly, I raised my hand and touched Venya''s eyes. The expression that flickered in his eyes wasplicated. Sadness, anger, and fear, a whirlwind of mixed emotions filled with dampness.

    "I can''t stand it. Seeing how the two have changed¡­ I can''t f*cking stand it¡­"

    As his dry voice cracked, he began to tremble trying to suppress the tears. It was a difficult scene to watch. It felt like my heart was going to break into pieces.

    Who made such a cocky and noble boy this way? Who made us like this? There are so many bad people in the world, why do we, who are still children, have to suffer like this? If it''s the suffering caused solely because we aren''t the main characters or because it''s our fate as viins, it''s truly unfair and absurd.

    I moved and wrapped my arms around the boy''s dropped head. Venya didn''t refuse it. He just buried his face in my chest and let out a sob.

    "I''d rather¡­ I really think it would be better if we all died together¡­ I don''t know what to do¡­ Sasha, do you still think we can make it?"

    Tears were flowing from my eyes too. I swallowed a few sniffles and buried my face in Venya''s messy hair.

    "Venya, you said you trust me, right? If I say I had seen a future where in half a year we will all be out of here, will you still believe me?"

    A scheduled story that only I know. In the past, I was afraid of being misunderstood or taken as a crazy person if I had said something like that so I didn''t dare to say it. But at this moment, the words came out on their own as if I was possessed by something.

    Venyaughed. He cried andughed.

    "How¡­? Are you going to wait for the butler toe in and kill him?"

    I also chuckled.

    "That''s a good idea. We pick the day when the banquet will be held, you and Oppa work together to kill Mr. Harris, I carry Estelle on the back, and go out together. And then we go into the mansion and show up in front of all the guests, vo!"

    Venya asked again.

    "And then? Then what do we do¡­? What do we do with the people who did this to us¡­?"

    I gave strength to my arms and held him tightly.

    Soon after, I -Sasha- whispered,

    "We kill them all."

 Chapter 24

    The first time it happened was on a nice afternoon when the freezing weather wasn''t as bad as previous days. Estelle and Lettis were in the library, and Venya and I were changing the sheets in the bedroom downstairs. The mirror door opened silently and someone came in so unexpectedly unannounced that we froze without tucking the edge of the sheet under the mattress. It was Harris. Behind him, another man dressed as an attendant, who had always brought our meals sneakily like a spy without even the rats knowing, was pulling a new cart.

    As if we weren''t staring nkly like fools, the two of them didn''t even look around, they changed carts and closed the door before leaving. It happened so suddenly and in the blink of an eye that I thought I might have had a hallucination. But it wasn''t an illusion. For whatever the reasons, from that day on, Harris showed up at any time to leave the meals without even caring about his role as a spy. Regardless of whether we are watching or not. In addition to that utmost bizarre phenomenon, our meals were beginning to deteriorate.

    In the past, even though it was tasteless and you could get sick of it, food that could be called a meal came, but as if we had stayed for longer and had given us more than they thought, hard bread, white stews with unknown ingredients floating around, cheap brick-like biscuits and sour smelly sausages took ce. In addition to the quality, the quantity decreased considerably to feed four growing children. Even the tableware didn''te properly. In the end, it got to the point of tearing down the bookshelf and using it as a substitute for a te.

    Estelle, whose food refusal symptoms were getting worse day by day, often locked herself up somewhere at mealtimes and yed hide-and-seek. Lettis and Venya were disgusted at first but eventually forced themselves to eat due to the unavoidable hunger and to set an example to their younger sister. Even so, they couldn''t eat enough.

    If they had finally decided to kill us, it would be much quicker and simpler to cut off the supplements altogether or just use poison. But no matter how much I thought about it, there was only one reason why they kepting to the point they brought garbage-like food we could barely eat without dying.

    Whatever the reason, they kept us alive but they didn''t kill us, and now it was clear that even Viscount Ipolit didn''t care about his nephews and niece. Harris, who noticed the atmosphere, along with the servants who knew we were living in this ce, did whatever they wanted, being fully aware no one would care. It must be quite cumbersome to bring four meals every day and to make excuses for it. Perhaps it was some kind of revenge for being beaten by Venya and Lettis the other day.

    I thought that maybe that was why they went back and forth as they pleased, regardless of whether we were awake or not. I mean, even if we tried to nitpick about the situation, there was nothing else for us to notice anymore, so they started toe just recklessly.

    When I shared my thoughts, Venya agreed. These days, the two of us entrusted each other with any doubts or opinions. The bottom line was always one,let''s find a way to escape from this ce somehow.

    The problem was Lettis and Estelle. For the four of us to escape, we must all work together, but the condition of the two was absolutely the worst. Especially Lettis. He did notmit any more reckless attempts sincest time, but he chatted significantly less and moved with no energy. No matter what I said or asked him, there was no response. His eyes, drained of all energy and life were the same as Estelle''s. She was the only person who provoked a reaction from him. It was sad and eerie at the same time to see the ghost-like siblings sitting together all day whispering iprehensible words and folding the paper.

    Naturally, Venya couldn''t stand the sight of his elder brother. If I hadn''t begged him not to provoke him, just in case, Venya would have probably beaten Lettis until awakening his survival instincts and rekindled his feelings of anger.

    As we approached the end of winter, the days began to warm up, but it felt colder because of hunger. To make matters worse, the kerosene for the stove was also running low. There were only a few candles left and no matter how much I tried to save them, they wouldn''tst for two winters.

    Sometimes, I stand in front of the mirror door and stare at it, wondering who the hell it is. Who the hell is that girl in the mirror¨C that sack of bones, that ghost-like girl with hollow eyes and long, brittle hair? No matter where I look, it''s not the me I knew.

    After the New Year''s bell rang, I started marking the date every day. It was to keep a sense of time again.

    And on the day we had been here for 500 days, Estelle started coughing.

    *   *   *

    My head pounded because of theck of sleep. Fortunately, Estelle was sleeping soundly upstairs after the dry cough that had been rising all night long had cooled down. The fever didn''t rise like thest time, but I was still worried and couldn''t stand it. Even a simple sore throat could be God knows what in this poor environment.

    Lettis sat on the edge of the bed, and Venya sat on a chair by the wall. Neither of them asked any questions when they saw me descending silently and crouching at the end of the stairs. It seemed that we all had the same thoughts. When the mirror door finally opened and Harris came in, we had been silently waiting for hours.

    I sprang up from the stairs right away and approached. I opened my mouth calmly towards Harris, who wasying the tray down on the floor.

    "Mister, Miss Estelle is very sick."

    Harris didn''t even look at me and spat out.

    "Give her painkillers."

    "We ran out of painkillers. She keeps coughing and needs soft food that she can swallow. I also need kerosene to warm our bodies."

    As Harris finally turned towards me, Venya came up behind me and grabbed my shoulder. Meanwhile, Lettis cut in between us and Harris. It all happened in the blink of an eye.

    Lettis'' zing sharp eyes stared at Harris defiantly. The ghost-like figure of the past had vanished in thin air. Even for a moment, he was the same as the little duke from the past, and even stone-wall-like Harris flinched for an instant.

    ''My sister is sick. Aren''t you supposed to bring something other than this garbage for food to eat, butler?"

 Chapter 25

    Harris didn''t reply. He ignored him, turning around as if he was about to leave, and then Lettis rushed towards him.

    "I said my sister is sick!"

    Bam¨C! THUD!

    The tray was kicked hard to the floor and knocked over. As Lettis pulled away from Harris, who had fallen on the floor outside the open door, another servant standing on one side of the hallway pulled the boy on top of the butler and violently threw him inside. At that, Venya left my side and stepped in. However, the opponent was a scary-looking stout adult, and Harris, who was as strong as his partner, was already standing. Venya was tossed away as well, right next to his brother.

    Everything was far from ending. Harris, whose judgment twisted the next second, attacked by the boys again, quickly went inside and picked up the tray that was lying on the floor. The next thing I saw was that adult mercilessly struck Lettis, who was trying to get up, with that thing!!

    Not just once, but again and again and again!!

    To anyone''s surprise, Venya''s judgment ckened as he saw his older brother being hit with a tray. He immediately got up and rushed to Harris shouting, but right then, the gori-like servant kicked him fiercely in the stomach and rolled to the other side.

    "Venya!"

    I, literally, felt like blood was rushing out of my body. I tried to get closer to Venya but, as if my legs had frozen on the spot, I couldn''t even move my pinky toe. That''s why instead, I clung to the arm that was right in front of me, Harris'' tray-wielding arm, as hard as he could.

    "Don''t do it! Stop! I''m telling you to stop hitting him, you lunatic!!"

    Harris jerked his arm as if trying to shake me off and then grabbed me by my head with his other arm. A scream broke out.

    Aaaaaaahhh! You damn psychopath, do you have any grudge against my head?!

    Lettis, who was crouching on the floor with his arms wrapped around his head, moved and grabbed Harris'' legs. No, he tried to cling to him.

    Thud!Along with a loud noise, strength drained from the hand that grabbed my head. Then I heard Harris swearing in a small voice. Venya had thrown a chair down and thrown himself at him again. But as before, he was stopped by the servant, who kicked him not once but several times. The agonizing, dull, and fricative sound that rang in my ears was dreadful.

    "Stop it, you psychopaths!"

    "¡­Aagghh! This crazy wench!"

    Fortunately, the gori-like attendant stopped kicking Venya. Instead, he grabbed my head, which was biting his arm with all my might, and threw me away mercilessly.

    Bam!!A loud sound of crashing like an explosion rang, and my whole body tingled.

    "Sasha¨C!"

    Venya''s face, nk as a piece of paper, came into my tearful sight. Maybe it was because of all the kicking, blood was running down his cheeks and lips.

    "Ve- Venya¡­!"

    Everything happened almost at the same time. As I screamed, Venya tried to turn around, and right then, the servant''s leg flew towards us with all his might. Our arms went up automatically and covered each other.

    Bang¡ªIt sounded like my eardrums were about to burst. Surprisingly, I didn''t feel any pain. It took me a while to realize precisely what had happened.

    "Nnn¡­ uuh¡­ aaaaaaaaaaaah!!"

    We looked up right away. Then I saw Lettis lying down in front of us, screaming horribly. Dark crimson blood was gushing down his face, which he was covering with his hand. A thrill of panic ran down my spine.

    "Lettis!"

    "Brother!"

    Venya held Lettis'' body, twisting and struggling painfully, and pressed him down. I grabbed the hand that covered his face and tried to move it away. Behind us, Harris threw the tray and spat out,

    "You''re all scum that will rot in this ce. Tsk, people who don''t even know their ce still think they''re noble young masters. Even if you die here, no one will know, nor be sad."

    Malicious words pierced our bones with every word. My hand grabbed Venya''s trembling arm with all my might.

    No more. If you jump in more than this, it might end with actual death.

    The two psychopaths went out leisurely as if it had been their lifelong wish to beat a nobleman. There was some kind of sense of superiority in them. That was the first time in both lives I had the intention to kill someone.

    "Oppa, Letty oppa. Take your hand so I can see. Mh?"

    "¡­Eyes¨Cmy eye, Sasha, my¡­ eye¡­ hurt."

    Barely removing his hand, a tearful azure eye looked up at me anxiously. The other eye was still desperately sped; blood was gushing out. I felt my heart sinking.

    We carried Lettis to the bed and managed to remove the hand that covered his injured eye. The blood-stained eyelids were swollen, I couldn''t confirm what was underneath, but I knew.

    Something was seriously wrong.

    *   *   *

    A long and terrible day passed. For all of us, it was a day we wouldn''t want to remember ever again. Lettis struggled in pain all day, and to make matters worse, his temperature began to rise to 40 degrees. Venya and I took turns applying ointment to Lettis'' eye, changing bandages, and cooling his hot face with a towel soaked in cold water. One had to look after Lettis while the other took care of Estelle.

    "Cough-cough¡­! Sasha, is Letty feeling sick? Does he have a cold like me?"

    "¡­Mn. That''s right. He caught a cold and has a fever. You can''t move, so you can''t go down, got it?"

    "I, cough-cough-! I don''t have a fever anymore."

    I gave her water, fed her yesterday''s mashed potatoes, wrapped a gown around her, and told her all the stories she liked. It was terrifying to imagine the shock Estelle would have if she saw Lettis'' appearance right now.

    Estelle coughed untilte at night and fell asleep. The rest of us couldn''t sleep. As Venya and I stayed alert, Lettis struggled with a high fever and lost consciousness several times throughout the night. If I could ease the pain even a little, I thought I could do anything.

    "¡­ther¡­ mother¡­ father¡­"

    In the original I remember, Lettis'' both eyes were good. That fact alone was my only glimmer of hope. I prayed earnestly in my heart, holding onto the hand of the boy who was looking for his parents even with a high fever.

    Please, I beg you. Please spare our Lettis. Let his eyes heal. Why does he have to go through this kind of pain just because he rushed toward a servant for the sake of his little sister? Should he lose his eye because of his sister and the nanny''s daughter he prevented from being kicked like a dog? If he has to pay with his eye for such righteous behavior, just because he''s a viin¨C isn''t that utterly ridiculous?

    As if God had heard my prayers, around dawn, the fever started to drop. When I came from washing my face, Lettis was still half-conscious, holding onto Venya and having some sort of conversation.

    "¡­Hey¡­ hey, stupither."

    "¡­Why do you keep calling me?"

    "What if I be one-eyed like this¡­?"

 Chapter 26

    "Make it a trend then. ''The one-eyed Duke of the Serpente family.'' Woaaah, it will be a legend for generations toe."

    "But then¨Cnot everyone in the continent will follow suit."

    "Brother can just beat them up."

    "Indeed. I can''t be the only one suffering."

    ¡­I''m worried about whether I should justugh or cry¡­ Should I do both?

    As I approached, Lettis opened one eye and looked at me. A clear and pure sky-like eye¡­ The weing smile that filled it was so delightful that tears welled up at the same time.

    ''Oh gosh, you jerk¡­! You rotten bastard!''

    "Sorry. You''re in pain because of me, aren''t you?"

    "It isn''t the first time Hyung suffers because of you though?"

    "Hey, stupither, don''t talk about the past¡­"

    Lettis then ate some biscuits, drank water, and fell asleep. We took his temperature and, finally, exhausted, headed to the library. I was thinking of taking the remaining candles out.

    "Sasha, you too, go upstairs and get some sleep. I''ll check on Hyung. The fever has gone down now. It seems that he''s back to his senses."

    Pfft¨C Laughter came out. Even though it wasn''t the right moment,ughter and tears welled up at the same time. As I sat down in front of the candle cab and sobbed whileughing, Venya carefully grabbed my arm.

    "What''s the matter¡­?"

    "¡­You know. Letty oppa''s eyesight may never heal. If we''re trapped inside and he doesn''t get any treatment, the other eye could go very wrong."

    Even if only one eye was ruptured, the other eye can be damaged too. To prevent that, I had to prepare myself to remove the injured eyeball. Perhaps because I had been up for two full days trying to recall all the medical knowledge I remembered, my body lost its strength. I gasped for breath and stretched out on the floor. Venya looked down at me with nk eyes for a moment but immediatelyy down next to me. His arm moved down my neck. Wey there for a while without saying a word. A thin ray of sunlight came in through the small window above me. The sky-blue eyes right in front of me blinked, drowsy. I was death-sleepy too.

    "Let''s get out of here. Since Hyung hase to his senses, we''ll find a way somehow. It''ll be fine with the n you mentionedst time."

    It was anguid voice. A soft, mellow voice as if suggesting ying a fun game rather than plotting our escape. I answered in a simr voice, moving my head to fit his pillow-like arm morefortably.

    "How¡­? Those two are as strong as monsters. Second to King Kong."

    "What''s King Kong?"

    "Like a huge gori."

    "That''s one amazing analogy."

    "They might cut out food from now on and we''ll be less energetic."

    "They might bring something worse than garbage, but won''t cut off food."

    "How can you be so sure, Venya?"

    "It''s obvious that they enjoy feeding us those things. If we die, their fun would cease, so they can''t."

    "True. It seemed like they fulfilled some lifelong wish of hitting a nobleman. I mean, it felt like they were relieving some umted sense of inferiority there."

    "And we, nobles, will lose energy eating such crap. We''ll act like we''re half-dead, and then they''ll be off guard. Until then, we''ll have toe up with a n to raid them. If we collect the brokendders and sharpen the end it will be a pretty good weapon, don''t you think?"

    "Will it work? How about making a trap with a belt? If we attack from behind it might work."

    "That''s fine, too. Let''s n things out."

    "Will we be able to seed?"

    "We will. Didn''t you say it yourself? We will get out of here alive."

    ''I did. Although I don''t know how to get out. I don''t know if our escape would be sessful, or if we got out in some other way¡­''

    "It will be the household anniversary at the beginning of spring. Then, a banquet will be held. Let''s escape that day."

    "Mn. Let''s do that."

    "After getting out of here, Estelle will get healthy, and Hyung will be able to receive treatment for both eyes."

    "Mn, all of you will be supported and cherished as before."

    "You too."

    "If anything goes well, I''ll be a maid. Will you make me your maid?"

    "Is there anything else you want aside from being a maid? Is there something you want to be?"

    ''What do I want to be? Who knows¡­ without a proper background or family, what can I dream of bing?There was a thought I had but never said aloud. I always carried a dream with me in my previous life when I was raised as an orphan.''

    "¡­Anything?"

    "Anything you want."

    "There is. I''ve always wanted to go to school. I heard that in the Republic of Vibrato there''s a school wheremoners like me can attend."

    "It''s like a ce sponsored by our family¡­"

    "What? Really?"

    "You know the Python Bank Foundation? I think they sponsor that ce."

    ''I see. Hopefully, if things go well, my longtime wish mighte true. First of all, survival is my priority. Phew, those who have passed away already, please watch over us.''

    "If we get out of here¡­"

    Venya moved a little and put his forehead against mine. As the warm sensation spread, the eyelids became heavier. His eyes peering into mine were different from those of Lettis I had seen a while ago. Although the color was the same, the emotions swirling in them were of an extremely strange and unfamiliar nature. Something a little more intense, unconditional, dark, and dangerous. The pure and mischievous eyes of the past days would never be seen again. The change might be the same for me. Maybe we both had the same sad expression in our eyes.

    We looked at each other as if we had only one another tofort each other,

    And then we fell asleep.

 Chapter 27

    5 ¨C An April Fool''s Typhoon

    "¡­Do the math. It''s April Fool''s Day."

    "No, I mean, the calcted date may be different from the actual calendar."

    "Ah¡­ how many times do I have to tell you, Hyung? In any case, it''ll be held for two whole days, so it won''t matter if I miss a day!"

    "But what if you miss a few days instead of just one?"

    "Really, you''re driving me crazy!! We''ve been marking it since the first day of the new year, what''s wrong with you?! Do you want to make a n or not?!"

    "¡­Oh, don''t say~ It''s because I''m trying to be careful, you stupither!! Why don''t you try to respect your older brother''s meticulousness!! Gosh!"

    "If you show off your meticulousness just one more time, I''m going to explode and die before I even try to escape!!"

    ''Eiiish~ so noisy. I can''t tell if I should be happy to see you guys bickering like this.Still, I should be happy that Lettis, that punk, has finally got his act together?''

    Once we all put our heads together and calcted the date, the conclusion we reached was roughly as follows: The banquet held at the Serpente''s Manor every early spring was a two-day celebrationmemorating the first Duke''s victory. It''s a bit ironic that April Fool''s Day happened to be the anniversary, but anyway, as it was an important event held to a n level, it would not be skipped even if the head of the family was deceased and the sessor was absent. In other words, that day was the right day to proceed with the insurrection¡­

    "The thing is up to when they''lle that day."

    While Lettis rubbed his chin and muttered cautiously, I glimpsed at his left eye, which was still wrapped in a bandage. He said the wound had healed quite a lot, but he still couldn''t open his eyes. To Estelle, we just told her it was just a fall that hurt his eye area. Whether it was fortunate or not, she seemed to have epted our lie straight away. If I had been her, I would have held some doubts, but my youngdy had changed into a state of not showing any suspicions or motivations, no matter what was happening around her. At least the coughing had decreased. For Estelle''s sake, we had to seed in escaping. Even if I couldn''t predict what would happen after that¡­

    "It''s going to be hectic from the morning, so they probably will note at all, or, if they do, they''llete at night. So I think it''s better to set the date for the second day of the banquet."

    "Wait, Hyung, if theyete at night, and we escape, where would we hide until dawn then?"

    "¡­Well. Your rtives may change their minds and bring something delicious in the middle of the banquet?" At the deliberate, yfulment I made, Venya frowned and Lettis blushed. But then they were bickering once more.

    "Damn, if someonees in with a damn cake, I''ll shove it whole in their snout and choke them to death! I don''t care if Hyung cries because of the cake or not!"

    "Hey, hey! I told you to stop bringing up the past!"

    "Why? Are you feeling embarrassed now?"

    "Hey!!!"

    It was quite a sight to see his face, half wrapped in bandages, dyed bright red. Looking at it, it seemed like it was some agonizing memories. Although it was the same for all of us, we all umted a dark past we wouldn''t like to remember. I have seen things I didn''t want to see in a lifetime!

    ording to the original story I remember, Serpente''s Young Masters'' return was said to be around thete summer of this year. Of course, there was no way of knowing what had happened behind the scenes until they came back, returning home as if nothing had really happened. Above all, there was no way of knowing how the enormous fact that Serpente''s sessors had been imprisoned for two years didn''t leak out at all. What made us keep quiet? Whatever the unknown background, this time it was going to be different. We will not appear inte summer but at the beginning of spring just a month from now, and in the middle of a banquet where all the guests of the imperial capital would be gathered, and we will reveal the truth.

    After setting an escape date, the next thing to do was n a raid. A n to attack and neutralize our ''food bearers.'' Once they open the mirror door ande in, we will be able to get out.

    As Venya had guessed, after thestmotion that seriously injured Lettis, Harris didn''t stop delivering food. He showed up every day as if dying to know what we were doing. And each time, we behaved like docile sheep, terrified like never before. In any case, whatever his intentions, we acted like scaredy-cats withering like grass. And so, Harris and his gori-like servant looked very pleased. Of course, regardless of their joy, our meals were still less than garbage. Still, we ate it without leaving any leftovers. Because to seed in our escape, we had to squeeze any droplet of energy possible.

    "Then, once more. I''m hiding on the stairs and Hyung is standing by the door. So when theye in¡­"

    "No, it isn''t like that. I''ll be hiding, so you go ahead and attack first. Then I''ll pop out of the darkness and¡­"

    "What the hell did you just read in the library? You have an eye injury, why are you trying to act cool?"

    "It''s not that. What do you mean by acting cool? Are you making fun of your elder brother''s misfortune now?"

    ¡­Haaa. Worried. I''m just worried.

    It was also a task to decide which weapon to use for the big event. The only things that could be used were rusty and dull scissors and needles, silver candlesticks, and belts. No matter how much they let their guard down, it wasn''t enough to deal with two strong adults. We had to squeeze out our talents as much as we could. While Venya used blunt scissors and sharpen the ends of the gathered fragments of the brokendder, Lettis practiced selecting the most suitable belt to use as a snare. They did that all day except when we were eating, so Estelle wondered what the hell they were up to.

    "What the hell are brothers doing? Are they going to do another y?"

    "¡­Kind of. You know, we''ll be out of here soon. We''re just getting ready."

    "Are you saying we''ll be going out of here¡­?"

    "Mn. We''ll go out in a few more days. Then you won''t have to eat the food you don''t want to anymore. And you won''t have to vomit."

    Estelle stared at my face with her wide, empty, sky-blue eyes, then turned without saying a word and buried herself on the bed. After a moment, she mumbled,

    "Either way, no one will recognize us now."

    Bewildered and worried, I approached and sat down. Then I whispered, hugging her bare shoulders that were only bones now.

    "I can''t say. We''ve only been living here for about a year and a half. Wouldn''t all your friends still remember you and wait for you?"

    "¡­Are you sure about that?"

    "Well, of course. You will go out here, eat a lot of delicious food, study again, wear pretty clothes as much as you want, and you''ll go to a ball. Then everyone will be happy to see you, they won''t know what to do."

    Therge ss marble-like eyes rolled for a moment as if they were trying to grasp what I was saying. I brushed her curly hair with my hands and kissed her thin face.

    ''My poor breast sister. My pitiful, saddy¡­ The pain suffered here would not bepensated by anything, but I''m determined to give my all to make her happy, no matter what happens in the future. Until the magical light of the past returns to these empty eyes, until she blooms again as the precious princess she is, I will do anything.''

    "Sasha wille too?"

    "Mh¡­?"

    "If I go to a ball, will Sasha go with me?"

    ''I- I don''t know? Will it be possible if I go as a chaperone?''As I stuttered for a moment, Estelle abruptly sprung from the bed and slid straight to the closet. It had been a long time since I had seen her move so quickly and determined, so I just stared nkly.

    "Let''s y the ball, Sasha. Practice with me."

    ''My- mydy?''I was a bit flustered.''After all, we have a servant-master rtionship. Ehem¡­ no, it can''t be. There''s no reason to stop Estelle, who has shown vitality after a long time.''

    Estelle''s dress that she brought a year and a few months ago reached her calf, but it didn''t matter. It had been a long time since we dressed up and yed ball. To be honest, despite the circumstances, it was quite fun. To the extent that the kiddos that came after working in the library all day were perplexed.

    "Brother! Brotherse here, too. Dance with us."

    "E, Estelle?"

    They both looked suspicious at me as if I had done some kind of magic, but naturally, couldn''t refuse. That''s how thest days at the tower bell passed. Perhaps it was thanks to the expectation of leaving this ce soon, or maybe it was to forget the anxiety, as if everyone had regained their same old joyfulness, we allughed and babbled incessantly, preparing to escape.

    And finally, the long-awaited April Fool''s Day arrived.

 Chapter 28

    Yesterday evening, Estelle started coughing again, and I was worried. When I checked in the morning, it seemed that she had a little fever too. I warmed her up, and I ced wet towels here and there so that she could get as much sleep as possible. I was nervous. Although we would be getting out of here in a day, I couldn''t be sure how things would turn out.

    While Estelle was sleeping, wrapped in a wool nket, the three of us shared a cold sausage and hard bread, leftovers from yesterday''s meal, and started the operation in earnest. After lighting a single candlestick on the lower floor where you couldn''t tell whether it was day or night, we all dispersed to our respective positions. I sat down on a chair right next to the table with the candlestick and started sewing, and Lettis leaned against the wall next to the mirror door, pretending to skip through a book. On the back cover of the strangely titled [How To Count Gold Coins In a Way Of Preserving Traditional Values], there was a slender belt wrapped around the back of a worn-out leather binding. Venya picked up the piece of wood that had been cut nicely for several days using a blunt de of scissors and settled down in the middle of the stairs. The stairway connecting the upper and lower floors was impossible to climb without a candle, so it was impossible to see if someone was there.

    And then it was just about waiting. A fric battle of patience and anxiety. We didn''t know when our meal woulde today, or if it woulde at all, so we couldn''t leave our positions. Because there was a strong possibility that even if one of us fails, the whole plot would crumble.

    In that endless waiting, not knowing whether the time had passed or not, I tried to concentrate by poking the needle. What I was making was like the fifth Mr. Wendy. Unlike the first attempt, which was sloppy, I was quite proud that it had a decent shape as it went on.

    ''Although it cannot bepared to the original real-fur and jeweled-eyed rabbit¡­''

    When I finally caught a glimpse of the mirror door opening, I had just sewed the sixth Mr. Wendy''s ear. Even though I had vowed to stay calm, the needle slipped and fell to the floor as I unconsciously shivered.Oh, Gosh!

    It seemed that the guess I made as a joke was right. As a matter of fact, after a long time, Harris was pushing a cart exuding a delicious scent rather than the sour smelly tray. He, finding Lettis sitting right next to him, halted for a moment. For a brief moment, as Lettis tried to put on a face that imed to be frightened, I jumped up. Then, holding the sewing thread in both hands, I approached and mumbled,

    "Um¡­ Sir¨C mister Butler, Miss Estelle has a very bad fever. Can you bring some painkillers¨C?"

    I was pretending to be timid as much as I could, but because I was so nervous, my voice came out trembling like an aspen tree. Right then, Harris turned his gaze away from Lettis and looked down at me. ck eyes gleamed with a mean hue.

    "Speak again. What did you say?"

    ''This son of a¡­? Looks like you''re aiming at my head again. If only I had a way to know what kind of resentment was built up in his head.''

    "I mean¡­ thedy is so sick, so, can you bring some painkillers¡­ gasp!"

    A shriek nearly came out. It was an instant until Lettis, who was slowly getting up from behind, jumped up like a spring and hung on Harris'' back. To be exact, the belt was hung around Harris'' neck and Lettis clung onto it as hard as he could! Exactly as we practiced dozens of times.

    "Y¡ª!"

    I couldn''t exactly tell what Harris was trying to shout after the sudden attack. It was probably an insult. In any case, at the same time, the gangster-like attendant, who was waiting in the hallway outside the door, jumped in with a terrifying appearance like an angry King Kong.

    "Again these¨C!!"

    Whatever he was going to say next, he was knocked off by a boy that abruptly jumped from the right side of the stairs. As I took a deep breath, I heard a dull, sticky sound, and then a thick fishy smell pricked my nose.

    I opened my eyes wide.

    The servant, who was still standing stiff as a rod, and Venya, who was almost clinging to him, came into view. The object in Venya''s hand was not the wooden spear he had worked so hard to make. It wasn''t even the scissors he used to make the wooden spear. It was none other than a fountain pen. The fountain pen Lettis received on his 16th birthdayst year. A keepsake from thete Duke. Narrowly missing King Kong''s eyes, about half of it was deeply embedded near his temple.

    As a few eternally short seconds passed, King Kong moved his lips as if he was about to say something, raised a hand that looked like a pot lid, and grabbed Venya''s shoulder. It seemed like he was trying to shake him off, but Venya was clinging on to him with all his might.

    THUD-soon after, King Kong fell to the floor with a huge noise.

    "¡­Haak!"

    There was another thud, and at the same time, Lettis let out a scream. With him hanging from his back, Harris rushed towards the wall with all his might, stretched his hand, and grabbed the boy''s face. As if possessed by something, I threw away the needlework on my arms and moved to pick up the candlestick on the table. Then I closed my eyes tightly and swung it as hard as I could.

    Puck¨C!!!

    ''Gosh, I was supposed to use the needle. What can I do if I dropped it earlier?''

    As the candle went out, the room suddenly became dark. A faint light from themp wasing in from outside the open door. A moment of silence passed. We were all gasping for breath and staring at the two men stretched out on the floor with nk, astonished eyes. Then, all at once, we looked at each other alternately.

    "Did they die¡­?"

    It was a question whispered by all to one another and ourselves at the same time. Of course, there was no answer. Whether two died or were unconscious, It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We immediately came to our senses and moved quickly. While Venya picked up the wooden spear he had left on the stairs and watched the two unconscious adults, Lettis and I ran upstairs to wake Estelle.

    "Estelle, Estelle, wake up. Let''s go."

    "Mmh¡­ What''s the matter? Where are we going?"

    "We''re leaving here."

    "Today¡­? Can''t we go tomorrow?"

    It may be because of the heat, Estelle couldn''te to her senses. While Lettis was carrying Estelle, I pulled out my gown and wrapped it around her shoulder. As we went down the stairs again, Venya was half poking out the door, holding amp in one hand and a fountain pen soaked in blood in the other. The blood-stained snake decoration engraved in the center of the pen was particrly conspicuous.

    "Let''s go."

    My heart leaped as if it was going to explode. We clung to each other and walked fast through the long hallway to the front of the lift. After getting on the lift side by side, there was a moment''s hesitation. Our agitated gazes moved silently. The same fear and suspicions filled our still young eyes. What if there were guards out there? Or other servants? It was as if truly loud noises wereing from out there. Maybe it was just an auditory hallucination caused by our anxiety. Whatever it was, it would be better than dying and dposing inside. With that determination, I grabbed the handle above my head and pulled it down.

    nk-!Something was strange. It wasn''t like that when I hid in the cart alone, but now, as we all went down on the lift in anxious silence, strangely, thest moments of my past life keeping to mind.

    ''What kind of prognosis is this? Do I think we''ll never get out of this lift? Or is it the fate of my soul to be locked up in some ce, whether it''s an elevator or in a well-decorated bell tower, and eventually die? Why does it feel like the loud noises from before are getting closer and closer?''

    nk-The floor shook lightly as the nking sound resounded again. A narrow and dim passage could be seen outside the wireted lift door.

    I took the lead and moved forward. Venya was next to me, and Lettis followed behind with Estelle on his back. We were all barefoot, so there was no sound as we walked across the hard stone floor. Only when we reached the small wooden door at the end of the passage, did we stop and look at each other again.

    No sound seemed to being from outside. As expected, what I heard earlier was just a hallucination. If not¡­ All sorts of thoughts came to mind throughout the brief moment I raised my hand and grabbed the doorknob.

    What if there''s someone out there? What if there are traps set?

    Nevertheless, I opened the door. No, It''s better to say it opened. As I grabbed the doorknob and tried to pull it, the person on the other side pushed.

    "Uuk¨C"

    The sound of someone breathing heavily rang out. It might be me, it might be Venya, Lettis, or Estelle. Maybe it was all of us. In any case, we all stared nkly at each other on the spot. Me, the three siblings, and the people we encountered.

    A giggling sound seemed to ring in my ears. It was as if the god of April Fool''s Day wasughing into my ears. Beyond the door was the dazzling spring glow. Under the golden sunlight, golden epaulets, bronze buttons, scabbards, and gunstock gleamed dazzlingly. But the most dazzling of all was the badge on their berets.

    A pair of snakes wrapped around in a gold coin. All of a sudden, the hands that were holding each other became even tenser. The next moment, a voice rang out. It was an unbelievable, polite, and upright voice.

    "I found you, Young Duke."

 Chapter 29

    6 ¨C Dark Rainbow

    The knights who found us that day secretly led us to no other ce than the Imperial Pce. The chapel with the bell tower and the main mansion were far away, and since it was April Fool''s Day, the guests at the banquet would not even be able to guess what exactly had happened while they were ying around.

    It was muchter than I heard things from Lettis and Venya, but the circumstances that led to this oue were roughly like this: As I remember from the original story, it was known that the Serpente siblings were studying abroad, at the Royal Academy of Pzeya. The Serpente''s children were unknown in the imperial capital. In addition, the mystery as to why some noble children went to study in the same ce as if they were escaping during the great gue was also solved quickly. Assad di Romena de Avalonia, the emperor''s eldest son and Crown Prince of the Empire, was the first to question the circumstances of the Serpente Duchy. Although he was still young, the crown prince was known for his political sense and insight, and his good eye for people. The male lead of the original novel.

    I wouldn''t know why he had such a hunch in the first ce, but it was said that the crown prince suddenly ordered a tax investigation on most Serpente-rted businesses, including Python Bank, which caused a stir. The imperial finances, which had been nearly ruined by the shoveling of the two generations of thete and current Emperors, owed a considerable debt to the Python Bank; and to make matters worse, the imperial power had fallen to the bottom during the period of the great gue. Regardless, it was a direct order from the crown prince, they couldn''t obey it.

    In the end, it was not possible to conduct arge-scale tax investigation, but it was able to capture the most recent suspicious circumstances surrounding the Python Bank. For example, the young duke studying abroad in Pzeya suddenly redistributed his shares to his rtives; or the Viscount Ipolit, who had the least presence among thete duke''s siblings, moved his residence to the imperial capital and started to engage in all kinds of business¡­

    Whatever happened, the crown prince secretly cooperated with the Python knights and sent an auditor to Pzeya. As a result, they found the Serpente siblings requested a homeschooled system in the academy due to the princess'' worsening health within a few days after crossing to Pzeya. In fact, the siblings were living in a vi owned by the Serpente family in the capital of Pzeya. To be exact, siblings that looked simr to the Serpente siblings. This means, while we were locked up in the tower, there were doubles in Pzeya. I really couldn''t have imagined that they would have done something like that.

    If we had died in the middle, they would have stayed there for about a decade and thene back as if they were the real ones and lived ording to the taste of their supporters. After all, your childhood appearance can change as you grow up¡­

    There were still unanswered questions, though. If things happened in this way in the original story, and we were freed, what was the reason for moving several months earlier this time? And how did the knights''mander and the crown princee up with the idea that we were imprisoned in the bell tower?

    "How long has it been since she started coughing like this?"

    "About a month and a half."

    "Did she have other symptoms? Fever, frequent vomiting, or stomachache?"

    Upon arriving at the Imperial Pce, Lettis and Venya were quasi-dragged to the main pce, and I was left under the guidance of the Imperial Courtiers along with Estelle, whose consciousness went back and forth. Facing a real physician, one that worked exclusively for the royal family, I didn''t have a sense of reality. The imperial courtier, who had a serious but subtle appearance, asked me a few more simr questions, then called an assistant and sent me out. For some reason, it felt like something was going on, so I kept feeling nervous.

    "Miss, I have prepared a meal. Are you hungry?"

    "Ah¡­ Um¡­ I''m just the princess'' nanny. So¡­"

    "It''s alright. Don''t be nervous ande."

    I couldn''t figure out how things were going, so I felt anxious and confused, but everyone in the pce was surprisingly kind and polite. If it was the past me, I would have just been embarrassed by their behavior, but now I started to feel suspicious about what their intentions were.

    Separated from the siblings, I was led to a small and luxurious room by myself and ate alone. It was truly a fascinatingly appetizing meal, which I had not experienced in a long time, but I couldn''t feel taste it at all because I was utterly puzzled. Everything just felt like an April Fool''s joke. As the sun went down and night fell, we were finally able to reunite again.

    When Lettis and Venya entered, I sat next to Estelle, who was sleeping soundly, and waited impatiently. I didn''t know exactly who or what I was waiting for.

    "Sasha."

    As I raised my head nkly, I saw two boys with exhausted and grim expressions. For some reason, no words came out. They both came and sat down next to me. A moment of silence passed. While we all looked at each other and seemed not to be able to speak our minds easily, Lettis, who silently nced at Estelle''s sleeping face, spoke first.

    "What did the physician say?"

    "¡­I haven''t heard anything yet. I did ask, but he didn''t give me a detailed answer."

    "Did you eat?"

    "Mn. What about you and Venya?"

    "We ate too."

    And only then did they tell me about everything. As the two of them took turns talking, I was just listening absent-mindedly. When they reached the part where our doubles were living in Pzeya, I felt goosebumps running down my spine.

    "Stand-in?! Did they really use substitutes?!"

    "We were just as surprised as you are. They had a simr appearance and dyed their hair, they didn''t get along with homeschooling and the students from Cherkesha, so it wasn''t revealed."

    I wanted to ask how much the person impersonating me resembled me, but I stopped because it seemed like a stupid question. They could have never met our doubles. Oh gosh, a double. I couldn''t even imagine how meticulously prepared they were to even make them look simr in all angles, not just the appearance. It must have been nned long before we were actually imprisoned.

    "By the way, how¡­ did they find out? That we were trapped there."

    "That¡­"

    "His Highness the crown prince?"

    Right then, an unexpected person appeared. At Lettis'' words, who suddenly got up, I followed his gaze to the door and got up as well. The next thing I felt was panic.

    ''Gods, no, why the hell are you out there?! ¡­Ah, this is your house, right.''

    Under the chandelier light, soft golden hair gleamed ashenly. I hurriedly bowed my head in front of the handsome young man who was staring at me with deep purple eyes, wishing I would pass away right on the spot.

    ''Gosh! Why didn''t I think of that? I didn''t know we''d meet again like this! ¡­No, we''re not meeting ''again.'' That''s right. I''m sure that time he didn''t see me¡­''

    "I- I greet Your Highness the Cr¨C"

    As I hurriedly opened my mouth, trying to get my act together, he opened his mouth too. To be precise, he seemed to tilt his head slightly to the side, and said,

    "You are just as before."

    I could see the blood draining from my face.

    What? What do you mean, good-looking Crown Prince? Wh- what do you mean by ''before''? Does that mean you saw me then¡­?

    "Have you ever met with Sasha?"

    The crown prince frowned slightly at Lettis'' inquiry. Then he answered.

    "What? Did you forget? You were quite annoying, showing off your cute little like-sister back then. It''s already been five years."

    "Wh- when did I act like that?"

    "The guy who coldly rejected me when I say to introduce her to me is acting so shamelessly now?"

    ¡­Aha. You''re saying something like that happened? As I stared, Lettis turned away from my interrogating gaze, looking like a ripe tomato As for Venya, he was just looking at us alternately with strange, subdued eyes.

    ''Phew, anyway, I''m d you didn''t see me them. Well, honestly, it''s not a big deal, but these guys will be upset asking why I forgot to tell them I saw the Crown Prince then¡­''

    Anyway, the Crown Prince, whom I saw again after a long time(?) seemed to have be even more handsome. He felt more mature than thest time.

    If I''m not wrong, he''s two years older than Lettis, so he''s about neen now? This young prince is our savior¡­

    "Right, I''ve talked with the royal physician for a while and¡­"

    "What?"

    "¡­the princess seems to have pneumonia."

    It was as if cold water had been sshed on top of my head. The purple gaze began to scan our blood-drained faces, one by one, until he stopped in Lettis'' wide-open eye.

    "I told them to take all the best measures they can, so we will have to wait a little longer and see, but I advise you to prepare your hearts in case something happens."

    ''What the hell is this crap-like noise all of a sudden? Hey, male lead, what are you talking about?! Prepare our hearts?! Our Estelle has pneumonia??!''Still, I knew it was a natural oue. Estelle had always been weak. In addition, considering the confined life in a cramped space with no venttion, the duration of an illness in a poor environment, and a dietcking in nutrients, it was a situation that was likely to ur. I didn''t know that, maybe, I was guessing it subconsciously in my heart. That I was trying to deny it andforting myself that it was just a symptom of a cold. Still, still¡­

    ''¡­It can''t be. Our Estelle will live. She didn''t die in there, she came out alive. She came out a few months earlier than before. This time again, variables are bound to happen. Everything will be different from the original¡­''

    "And Lettis, you should get treatment right away. If metastasis has already started, it would be a big deal."

    ''And Lettis''s eyes. There are already so many different things from the original, there''s no saying that Estelle wouldn''t live. Right, Estelle will get through this. My milk sister will surely ovee it.''

    After Lettis and the crown prince left, the two remaining just sat next to Estelle in silence. Neither Venya nor I were able to speak out, but in my head, I was drawing the worst situation possible. Venya''s hand held mine tight as I struggled to swallow my tears that didn''t seem to stop.

    At that time, Estelle, who had been sleeping as if dead, turned our side with an irritable cough. Her beautiful sky-blue eyes filled with a hazy light as if she was wandering in a dream looked back at her older brother and immature nanny.

    "¡­Where are we?"

    "The Imperial Pce."

    Venya replied instead of me, unable to open my mouth. His voice sounded dry as if trying hard to remainposed.

    "Imperial Pce¡­?"

    "Yes."

    "Did the princee to rescue us?"

    It was Rapunzel''s story. And they lived happily ever after together, it ended something like that, the story I repeated dozens of times in the tower.

    Estelle turned her gaze away from the silent Venya and looked at me. As if something magical had happened, a wide smile spread across her innocent face.

    "Sing me a luby, Sasha. If I sleep soon, I''ll get well soon."

    There is a saying that sleep is medicine. It is. Sleep was our only prescription while we were trapped in the bell tower. Because while sleeping, there was no pain, no struggle, and one minute didn''t feel like a day.

    I grabbed Estelle''s hand, trying to shake off the ominous thoughts that persistently clung to me, and sang the luby she loved so much. It was more like a prayer than a luby.

    ''Mom¡­ I miss you mom, and Duke, Madam¡­ Please save Estelle. She has barely escaped from that terrible life, so please help her to live happily ever after, only seeing good things. Please help her live a long and happy life like the main character in a fairy tale.''

    Is it that fate, once set, cannot be avoided? Unfortunately, we weren''t the main characters in a fairy tale, and the variables I tried to consider as one of the possibilities burned warmly and turned into a ck afterimage like a stove that left only nasty soot.

    Estelle died suddenly, exactly two days after we escaped from the bell tower. Fifteen days before her 14th birthday, she left as if sleeping, so unbelievably calm that it was unimaginable that she was coughing so painfully before.

    Lettis lost one eye forever. Even the best medical staff could not restore the already damaged eyeball. He would live his whole life with the most fatal handicap as a nobleman¨Ca physical disability¨C

 Chapter 30

    A colorful rainbow hangs over the clear sky where the spring rain has stopped. On such an ordinary spring day, Estelle was buried next to her parents'' grave. The official cause of death was pneumonia, but in reality, it was murder.

    After leaving Estelle, I was half out of my mind for a while. Perhaps it was because I wanted to deny reality; I was losing my mind, suffering from visions and hallucinations.

    There was a time when Venya found me wandering around in the middle of the night humming a luby. It was onlyter that I found out, but it is said that at that time, Venya and Lettis were scared to death, thinking that I might have gone insane trying to follow Estelle. No matter how hard I tried to deny it, I had to ept it.

    The fact that Estelle was no longer physically present; the fact that I would never see my breast sister, my lovely Miss, again. The fact is that those who contributed to her death will pay no price.

    It was the emperor''s royalmand. If it became known to the public that the Serpente family''s siblings and their young nanny had been imprisoned together for nearly two years, there would have been a huge uproar. And such a choice was made in light of potential crimes to ur and spread. As well as the harm to the Serpente family''s standing. In the long run, it was undeniable that if the truth were known, it would not be good for us either. Since the imperial family was the one who brought us back to our original position, we owed quite a lot of debt to them.

    Whatever the case, Lettis and Venya obediently agreed and agreed to make it look as if they had just returned from studying abroad. Those who had aided in what happened to their nephews and niece simply had to back down and return to the countryside as if nothing had urred.

    The only ones who knew the truth, aside from us, would be the Emperor, the Crown Prince, and the Serpente rtives¡ªthe main actors in such an incident¡ªand themander of the Python Knights, who came to find us that day.

    It goes without saying that the standbys who were impersonating us in Pzeya were already executed. They were people who were supposed to die, but it was ridiculous.

    Near the end of spring, when the warm, blue sky was ripening and the season of enthusiasm and celebrations was gradually approaching, I boarded a ship leaving the Empire.

    I was going to Vibratto. Just as I confessed one day while lying side by side on a dirty and scruffy library floor, I was going to school for the first time in my life. An international academy that anyone with money can go to regardless of their status, sponsored by the Python Foundation.

    "In the end, one of us is going to study abroad. It''s ironic that you''re the only one going."

    Lettis became Duke without any countermeasures at the age of seventeen, and he was so crazy with work that only Venya came to see me off.

    His silver-gray hair, which had grown haphazardly, was now neatly organized, and his overgrown body was wrapped in new, well-sized clothes. The memories of the bell tower were now unbelievable, and his current appearance was that of a perfect, noble young man.

    "How do you feel?"

    "¡­Honestly, I don''t know. Just shaky. I wonder if I should do this."

    "You said it was your wish, remember? Just enjoy to your heart''s content the fact that your wish came true. Don''t think about bad things."

    He had a low, soft voice. Light blue eyes like the cold winter sky, scanned my hair and face, as well as my newly tailored velvet dress and satin shoes. It felt as if he was trying to capture my current appearance in his mind.

    "The same goes for you. Don''t think of bad thoughts. Eat a lot of delicious food and study hard. I have no intention of serving a Young Master who isn''t smarter than me."

    He smiled at my mischievous reply. It was a naughty, bright smile, just like when he was a kid.

    "Ah, yes. I''ll have to work hard to not be an ugly nobleman who asks the intelligent-abroad-graduated-elite to deal with this and that. Although I think Hyung will be like that."

    "Letty oppa didn''t seem to have any time to sleep. What if he does from overwork while I''m away?"

    "If he does, it''ll be fine by me. I''ll take over the title."

    The sea breeze blew over our hair while facing each other. It was time to get on the boat, but my feet didn''t part easily. Passengers passing by threw at us, who were just staring at each other endlessly, the strangest nces.

    "Venya."

    I gave strength to both hands holding the suitcase and opened my mouth hesitantly. I thought the tears had already dried up, but somehow my voice came out trembling as if I was just one step away from bursting into tears.

    "Can we meet again, right¡­?"

    It was a stupid question, even to my ears. To such a silly question, Venya responded with just a smile. A rough gloved hand caressed my disheveled bangs lightly.

    "This is for the best. It''s too dangerous for you here, and neither Hyung nor I have the ability to protect anyone yet¡­ We''re just breaking up for a while until then. To grant your wish."

    Amoner girl who guards a deadly Serpente family secret. Whether it was the imperial family''s side or the side of the coteral family, the reasons to get rid of me were plentiful. And Lettis and Venya were still young. They were young and had lost almost two years of precious time in vain. Much less, there were no reliable adults to trust or depend on. Now, we were simr in not being able to trust anyone, and it wouldn''t be easy for us topletely settle down in an aristocratic society overflowing with all kinds of evil disguised as goodwill.

    Nevertheless, I was able to leave because I knew that they would survive, that they would grow meticulous and stronger than anyone else, and that they would be adults as cunning and skillful as vipers.

    The powerful sound of a boat horn rang through the quacking songs of seagulls. I really had to go now.

    "I''ll write to you. Take care."

    "Watch out for seasickness."

    With that, it was over.

    After hesitating, I turned, gripping my luggage, and rushed up the stairs leading to the top of the boat. As it was a veryrge passenger ship, the crowd was huge. It reminded me of a movie I''ve seen in my previous life.

    ''It was that Titanic that¡­''

    My room was first ss. A zone reserved strictly for the nobility. Previously, when we all went to Vibratto together thanks to Estelle, I stayed in a third-ss room with my mother. Should I say I have leveled up?

    "Wee aboard to Lake Viento, my Lady. I''ll carry your luggage."

    "Thank you."

    After passing my luggage to a crewman with an amiable appearance, I looked around the port for thest time before heading to the first-ss room. Venya was still standing there, looking up my way.

    Finally, I smiled broadly and waved my hand. He also waved his hand.

    That was thest appearance we saw of each other until seven yearster.

 Chapter 31

    7 ¡ª Feast of Snakes

    [Dear Duke Serpente,

    Let me begin by apologizing for the dy in getting back to you. I was caught up in preparing my graduation speech and organizing the farewell party.

    Oppa''s handwriting hasn''t improved at all, although I can understand why. For the sake of the recipient''s convenience, I suggest you leave it to your assistant.

    I just have to go back soon. I think I''ll make it before Oppa''s birthday if the weather stays this way.

    Have you already decided on a name for the new hotel you''re building? We''ve been talking about it here, too. I can''t wait to see how great it''s going to be. and how much you and Venya have changed.

    Are you still drinking? You need to get rid of those bad habits, and for God''s sake, get rid of your temper.

    You seem to take a lot of pride in your nickname, but you should know that it''s taking a serious toll on my stable emotions and a healthy sense of humor. Still no sign of Venya. He must be very busy. Aren''t you overworking your employees, right? I guess I''ll have to go back and see for myself just how well our cold-hearted master is doing.

    I have to finish packing, so that''s all I''m going to write for today. By the time you read this, I''ll be on a ship.

    It''s still hard to believe that I''m going back to Cherkesha after seven years, but I''ll be counting down the days until we meet again.

    P.S. I have picked presents for Oops and Venya, but I can''t guarantee that you''ll like them.

    With love, Sasha]

    At six o''clock in the morning on a hectic, early-summer day in June 1729, the butler of the Serpente Duchy hurriedly moved as he noticed the sender''s name on the letter. At a brisk pace, he did as he was told: he went up to his master''s bedroom and knocked vigorously.

    "Your Excellency, a letter has arrived from Vibrato."

    ". . ."

    "Your Excellency."

    ". . ."

    "Your Excellency? I don''t suppose you''re still asleep? It''s a letter! From Vibrato!"

    No sound came through the heavy door. Apparently, the aftermath of the previous night''s exuberant drinking hadn''t gone down too well. At this point, it was enough to warrant a three-hour nagging appointment. With such a strong determination, the butler carefully held the letter and hurried back. This time, he went to the east wing garden. As he approached the garden, which was in full bloom with colorful flowers, he saw a man enjoying a leisurely morning stroll in the middle of it.

    "Aide, sir."

    "Ah, good morning, Butler. Why are you pursing your lips like that? Are you perhaps unwell?"

    "It''s Your Grace, not me, who seems to be unwell."

    At the butler''s in answer, the aide kicked his tongue in an equal tone.

    "He seems to have lost it again."

    "It seems like it. By the way, sir, where is the young master now?"

    "He''s at the hotel, I believe; he has some business to attend to..."

    "Very well, then could you please deliver this letter to him? it''s a very serious message."

    "No, butler, are you trying to hand me another bombshell? Am I some kind of errand boy?"

    "It''s nothing of the sort; it''s a letter from Vibrato. Have you forgotten what happenedst time? I can only trust you, sir!"

    At this solemn cry, the aide''s expression loosened slightly, but he still looked doubtful.

    "If... if the young master asks if I checked with His Excellency first, what do you want me to say?"

    "You have to say that you couldn''t and there was nothing to do. I''m sure it''ll be better."

    "Sure it will. But I would also have to tell him that His Grace hadn''t opened his eyes until now, even if the sun is already high in the sky."

    In fact, the sun had just risen, but both men ignored that fact.

    "It''s not like it''s the first time, so why are you afraid?"

    "Who says I''m afraid? Rather, I think it''s better for you to go outside for a while and get some fresh air, butler."

    "I beg your pardon, but it''s impossible. You know very well that this poor old butler is very busy with the new residence. Now please hurry!"

    Thus, Duke Serpente''s chief aide, carrying the mail in question that had arrived from across the sea, made his way to the new hotel that was nearingpletion. When he arrived, the young master in question was long gone. The architectural director weed the aide, who was at a loss for words.

    "Then, you came here looking for the young master?"

    "¡­What other reason could I have for being here at this hour?"

    "He left a while ago, pal. If you had been ten minutes earlier¡­"

    ''I can''t get used to the way these lowlifes talk,''the aide thought to himself. It was bad enough that the foundation of this supposedly aristocratic hotel was beingid by a bunch of gangsters.

    "Well, I''m sure he''ll be back, but if you don''t wanna wait then I can¡­"

    "I''d like that too, but it''s a letter from Vibrato."

    "Aha, it''s from the youngss, I heard she''ll be returning home soon, I''m sure you''re buzzing, ain''t ''ya?"

    "I''m sure you must be the same."

    "But who the hell is she that everyone''s makin'' a fuss about her?"

    ''You really don''know?''The assistant nced suspiciously at the construction director for a moment. There was no way such a big incident¡ªwhen some underlings months ago took a letter from Vibrato, opened it, and shared it around¡ªwent unnoticed by these guys. Still, the chief aide decided to be nice. To maintain an amiable humanity while living in a den full of poisonous vipers, a kind heart that transcends ss is a priority.

    "She''s the daughter of His Grace''s nanny."

    The director''s expression turned sour as if that wasn''t what he expected.

    "But I already know that! I have a hunch there''s more to it, like the secret of her birth..."

    "She''s also a highly educated person studying abroad."

    "What da'' ya'' mean? That''s why I say there must be something..."

    "She''s also someone who receives a monthly allowance for the sum of my and yourbined annual sry."

    "The world is unfair after all, ain''t it?"

    "The only unfair thing right now is your noisy snout."

    *   *   *

    "Cheers!"

    "Cream-bread dorm forever!"

    "Who didn''t get their picture?"

    "Who lost their badge?"

    "Make sure to write!"

    It was noisy everywhere: people performing book-tearing rituals, people exchanging addresses btedly, people toasting for the umpteenth time, people checking on friends who didn''t get their pictures, peopleughing, people crying, and so on. Our once-cid dorm had devolved into this shambles.

    "What will I do? I can''t believe it''s over!"

    My roommate, who I''ve lived with for the past seven years, walked up to me with brown eyes twinkling and grabbed my shoulder.

    Phew-I can''t believe it, either¡ªthat my time here is over and that tomorrow I''ll be on a ship back to the Empire.

    "Sasha, don''t just sip ginger ale, try this cocktail. I made it."

    "I have to start early tomorrow."

    "It''s just one drink, who cares! Besides, you''re a strong drinker anyway."

    "That''s true."

    I couldn''t tell what the hell she mixed in, but the blue drink looked pretty tasty.

    The rumor that I''m a strong drinker is clearly a misconception, but I don''t need to exin when we''re about to part ways.

    "So what are you doing as soon as you get back to the Empire? Working for Serpente again?"

    "I suppose."

    "Oh, right. Peanut told me earlier to tell you to stop by the dean''s office if I saw you. Do you want me toe with you?"

    Peanut was our dorm supervisor''s nickname. He had a peanut-sized mole on the side of his nose. I shook my head as I sipped my Daldidan cocktail, which didn''t taste as good as it looked. It was pretty obvious what he wanted to say to me; go home well; please talk good of me to the Duke...

    "Either way, you''re lucky. I wish my family had such a connection."

    Marianne, my roommate, and I were both from the Cherkesha Empire. The majority of our academy''s students came from mercantile bourgeois families like hers, whose families had made it a lifelong goal to enter aristocratic society. No matter how much money you have, the desire for higher status is timeless. The sses taught here were mostly rted to that. Compared to these students, who entered the school at the age of 11 and were graduating at the age of 18~19, I was much older.

    Ugh¡ª I can''t believe I''m already twenty-three! I''ve lived longer than I have in my previous life, so I guess I should call it a sessful life. Fufufufu- I even got a diploma. I don''t feel sorry for myself. Maybe it''s because I haven''t been able to socialize much because I''ve been studying, but I also don''t think it''s possible for someone like me to make friends with whom I can be open in the first ce, so I''m just happy and a little nervous because tomorrow I''m finally going back. I can''t wait to see how much Lettis and Venya have changed. What if I don''t recognize them? I think it would be funny if they were still the same. So much has happened in the Empire in the seven years I''ve been here. The War of Honor alone, which began five years ago and ended in two¡­

    A war between the Cherkesha Empire and the Kingdom of Pzeya. At that time, most of my ssmates from both countries would growl at each other on a daily basis, waiting for news of their conscripted family members, and there were no repercussions. For a while, I, too, was dying of nervousness. Venya had gone to war.

    I can still remember the feeling of panic when we lost contact. In the end, Venya survived, and our country was victorious, so it was a happy ending. In the meantime, our Duke became engaged to Count Orsini''s youngdy. Hmm, now that I think about it, Lettis, didn''t he leave his fiance and fall in love with the heroine in the novel?

    Even if it was an arranged marriage, you still took the devastation route? Tsk tsk.

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