Chapter 4

She was able to become the Duchess because she was pregnant with me.

But ever since I was younger, Julia hated me.

She treated me as if I were a child picked up from somewhere.

“I spent so much money to make a good impression on the Duke. How stupid of you!”

Draenei also expressed his anger.

To the siblings, I was just a ‘means.’

Roel, who had been watching them, spoke up.

“Please don’t mistreat Miss Cyrilla. I showed the Duke a different report card.”

“A different report card…?”

“I switched the scores of Miss Alexis and Miss Cyrilla and reported it.”

“Ahh, how grateful I am!”

“It was just a measure to prevent the Duchess from getting upset.”

Roel gracefully turned the conversation around, mentioning that he had manipulated the report card.

I was speechless with disbelief.

‘I deliberately messed up the exam, and you manipulated the scores?’

Of course, the Duke had no interest in my or Alexis’ scores.

‘He was never really a caring father figure.’

Sometimes, he would pat my cheek and say, ‘You’re strange. So soft and squishy.’ But he never showed any affection.

Being busy with his own affairs, he let Julia and Draenei freely manipulate the family.

In retrospect, the Duke’s indifference was the beginning of all tragedies.

“Thank you for your hard work, Roel. This is a token of appreciation. It’s modest, but please accept it.”

Julia took out a purse from her bosom and handed it to Roel.

Roel received the hefty purse and furrowed his brow slightly.

“I apologize for saying this, but it’s really quite modest.”

“W-What do you mean?”

“It seems a little insufficient to handle the Duke’s affairs.”

“Isn’t this enough?”

“As you know, a few days later, I will represent the Duke and accompany the Emperor to the capital for his enthronement. It will cost a lot.”

Julia and Draenei were taken aback.

They thought Roel was just a puppet, but they were mistaken.

‘Roel is the real villain.’

If Julia and Draenei were D-rank villains, then Roel was an S-rank villain.

He, too, had his sights set on the House of Duke Parchision.

And he was much more cunning.

‘There’s only one family, but there are multiple people trying to devour it.’

I let out a deep sigh with just a tiny breath.

“But even this was arranged by embezzling from the kitchen budget…”

“Julia! It’s not ’embezzling,’ it’s just borrowing for a while.”

Draenei hurriedly covered his sister’s mouth.

Roel scoffed, the corners of his mouth twitching upward.

“Oh, dear. Were you so short on funds that you had to borrow from the kitchen budget? In that case, my father can lend you some money.”

Roel’s father.

In other words, the younger brother of Duke Parchision was the Archbishop of the Parchision Diocese.

‘Of course, that’s his superficial occupation, but in reality, he’s a loan shark.’

The Duke’s younger brother is a loan shark.

To avoid embarrassment in the eyes of others, the Duke bought the position of Archbishop with money.

“If you need money, please contact me anytime. I’ll only accept this for today.”

Roel politely said goodbye and then left the room.

As he left, Julia glared at me.

“What mess is this because of you? Being humiliated by an administrator! I guess you’ll go hungry for dinner tonight!”

Julia roughly pushed me.

As a result, I stumbled and fell to the floor again.

The door that had been closed opened once more at that moment.

“Roel, what is it again…?”

“Oh, you’re here.”

A calm voice, sinking deep like the ocean.

I looked up.

There stood a girl with icy blue eyes, shining like a burning sapphire.

“S-Sither¹I forgot to mention this. The MC can’t speak properly since she’s still a child. Hence the ‘sither’. Alexis…”

Alexis, who had been cynically observing Julia and Draenei with a piercing gaze, turned her attention to me.

Her eyes narrowed.

“What’s going on?”

Julia stood in front of me, blocking my way, and spoke.

Alexis stared at her stepmother with an expressionless face.

Just nine years old.

She was much smaller than Julia and Draenei in stature.

However, in front of them, Alexis exuded a strong presence, like the head of the household.

Julia and Draenei also tensed up, swallowing their dry saliva.

“… I asked for some chocolate chip cookies in the kitchen, but they said there were no extra cookies.”

However, at the following words, both of them breathed a sigh of relief, as if surprised and relieved at the same time.

“That’s right. She’s just a child.”

That was their reaction.

“Maybe she already ate them all.”

“How strange. A place like the duchy of Parchision should have extra desserts prepared.”

“It’s because the servants are lazy.”

“No. It’s probably because there’s a shortage of ingredients.”

Alexis spoke sharply.

“Isn’t the kitchen budget managed by Mother?”

Julia and Draenei felt guilty for embezzling the kitchen budget.

“S-So, what are you trying to say!”

“Please keep a close eye on the servants. Just in case, make sure they are not embezzling the budget behind the Duchess’ back.”

Julia stiffened at Alexis’ words.

Instead, it was Draenei who spoke up.

“Alexis, it’s not your concern. We’ll handle it ourselves. So if you happen to mention it to the Duke…”

“I’ve already informed Father, and I’m on my way back from speaking with him.”

Draenei, who was attempting to threaten the young girl, turned pale like his younger sister and stopped talking.

“That’s why Father is coming to see Mother about this issue. It seems he should pay a visit.”

“W-What did you say!”

Julia and Draenei hastily left the room.

“……”

Thanks to that, only Alexis and I remained in the room.

Alexis stared at me intently as I sat there alone.

I stood up with a wobbly motion and rubbed my sore bottom.

“S-Sither…”

“I didn’t show up just now to rescue you.”

Without even asking, Alexis quickly spoke.

‘You don’t have to deny it like that, I know…’

I sulked and pouted my lips.

Alexis’s eyes narrowed as she saw my expression.

“I only went to the kitchen because you said something weird.”

“Said something weird? Did Cyrilla shay something shtrange?”

“You did. You said the head chef mentioned that there were only a few cookies left.”

“Oh, right.”

“If the head chef would say such a thing to the youngest miss, it must mean that they really are short on ingredients. Someone must be embezzling money meant for purchasing ingredients.”

“Uung, I see…”

I pretended not to understand what she meant and tilted my head.

“But in reality, I deliberately let those words slip.”

I thought that clever Alexis would read ‘Julia’s embezzlement’ from my words.

Then Alexis would have caught one of Julia’s weaknesses.

‘There’s still one more gift I have for Alexis.’

I grabbed onto the edge of Alexis’s clothes as she turned to leave.

“Sither! I know where Mom’s secret diary is!”

Julia’s secret diary.

It was none other than her embezzlement ledger.

But Alexis dismissed me with an indifferent expression and shrugged off my hand.

“Unng?”

“Isn’t it too early for a kid to be interested in that kind of thing?”

Then she whispered sternly to me.

Her voice was as chilling as the winter wind.

“B-But…”

“Don’t go around saying such things. Got it?”

“…..”

A cold warning.

A chill ran down my spine.

‘It’s definitely information that could help Alexis, so why…’

Feeling intimidated, I looked up at Alexis.

Alexis sighed and handed me a pouch.

I opened it and saw that it was filled with chocolate chip cookies.

“I found them on my way here.”

“Y-You found them?”

“These are the last cookies left in the kitchen. I picked them up because it would be a waste to throw them away.”

“T-Then, are you giving them to Cyrilla?”

I couldn’t hide my touched expression.

Avoiding eye contact, Alexis replied.

“You can eat them or do whatever you want with them.”

Then she briskly left the room.

“S-Sither…”

It was the first gift Alexis ever gave me!

I treasured the cookies so much that I carefully kept them in my room.

Unfortunately, they ended up becoming too stale to eat.

‘That was the last gift I received from Alexis.’

After that, Alexis didn’t show any interest in me again.

So receiving the cookies felt like it was just a dream.

* * *

After the incident of that day, Julia became unable to embezzle funds any longer.

As a result, she borrowed money from Roel’s father, Geneen, instead.

With that money, she indulged in luxury and bribed influential individuals.

Her plan was to win them over and make me the successor.

Julia’s dream seemed like it would soon come true.

That is, until the events unfolded.

* * *

The sky was cloudy.

It wasn’t exactly a pleasant weather to bid someone’s final farewell.

“Canaan Parchision and Julia Parchision, who obeyed God, now return to your embrace.”

In front of the Parchision family tomb.

The prayer of Archbishop Geneen Parchision echoed through the air.

When the two coffins were placed inside the family tomb, he firmly closed the door.

The people in mourning lowered their heads.

“I heard the Duke and Duchess died while boating?”

“I heard their boat suddenly capsized. In that calm lake.”

“Was it really an accident?”

The gazes of the surrounding people turned toward the deceased’s only blood relatives.

Alexis, with eyes as deep as the abyss, stood still with an expressionless face.

At the age of seventeen this year, Alexis was already taller than most boys her age.

With a naturally mature atmosphere, there was an undeniable presence that couldn’t be approached casually.

On the other hand, as a chubby-cheeked child, my mind was wandering.

I knew.

That Canaan and Julia were facing an untimely death.

But-

‘It’s too early compared to the original.’

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  I forgot to mention this. The MC can’t speak properly since she’s still a child. Hence the ‘sither’.