‘Your only duty is to bear the Emperor’s child.’

‘You stupid thing, is your dullness why you can’t even win a man’s heart!’

‘You’re a disgrace to our family, Sienna.’

He found it pathetic that I couldn’t win the Emperor’s heart, and I couldn’t help but shrink every time I heard his verbal *buse.

‘Looking back now, there was no reason for me to feel that way.’

The terrible one wasn’t me but my father.

I thought I’d become somewhat free from those memories after a year of receiving boundless affection.

‘What is he trying to do to that young child…’

What was certain was that Soniel wasn’t my former father’s biological daughter, and he was planning to use her to win the Emperor’s favor.

‘He deliberately left her alone at the ball. He planned to let her do whatever she wanted without stopping her.’

He was waiting for the Emperor to arrive at the banquet.

So the Emperor would notice this unpredictable child and become curious.

Moreover, it seemed clear that my behavior had caused a strange butterfly effect.

My eccentric behavior meant to escape the Emperor’s attention must have appeared differently to my former father.

The Emperor likes tomboys.

The Emperor is curious about uninhibited women.

The Emperor has unique tastes.

The Emperor doesn’t like obedient, quiet women.

‘Well, normally he should have ignored me completely… but since he showed interest in me instead, it makes sense to think he has such preferences.’

But to bring an innocent child based on such thoughts…

It was nothing short of chilling behavior.

Did Soniel know about this?

‘No, she probably doesn’t know yet.’

If she knew such facts, she couldn’t have smiled so innocently.

If she knew everything, her face would have been tense and withdrawn.

Remembering her face, genuinely curious and excited about everything, made me feel troubled again.

‘Anyway, I need to find Soniel.’

I shook off my old emotions and stood up.

After wandering for a long time, I finally spotted an orange dress sitting near the path leading to the stables.

‘Phew, she came quite far.’

Seeing her small, round head and huddled figure made me feel uneasy.

I sighed deeply and approached Soniel.

She was sniffling with her face buried in her knees.

“What are you doing here?”

“……”

Only then did I realize my hands were sweaty from tension and my forehead was damp from searching for so long.

After taking off my gloves with difficulty and folding my cumbersome dress to sit down heavily, Soniel looked up at me with tear-filled eyes.

“My lady.”

“Are you alright?”

Soniel nodded and wiped her tears with the back of her hand.

“I’m sorry, my lady.”

“What do you have to be sorry to me about?”

I spoke lightly, suggesting she shouldn’t take it to heart, but Soniel bowed her head deeply with gloomy eyes.

Was I too harsh?

I scratched one cheek and spoke again.

“With so many people, bumping and making mistakes is inevitable. It happens often. Just be careful in the future.”

“……”

“So don’t be so down.”

I reached out and patted Soniel’s shoulder a couple of times.

“I acted so foolishly. Should I go back and apologize to the lady?”

“You’ve apologized enough.”

When I shook my head, Soniel bit her lip and spoke again.

“Should I ask the Duke, I mean Father, to get a new dress? I know how to remove stains well. I’m really good at laundry.”

Seeing Soniel’s suddenly brightened face made me feel sorry for her.

What kind of life had this girl lived?

“Miss Viper, where did you live before?”

When I asked abruptly, Soniel adjusted her posture and began to speak.

“In Interden. I lived there until I was seven, and after my mother went to heaven, I moved to Scott.”

Seven years old—too young to understand death and loss.

“That must have been hard.”

I was trying to guess if she went to a convent in Scott around that time, when Soniel continued.

“My mother’s cousin lived in Scott.”

“Ah, that was fortunate.”

Soniel shook her head and replied.

“It would have been nice if it were fortunate, but Mr. Willen sold the house where my mother and I lived and sent me to a boarding school.”

“So you went to school.”

I was about to think that at least she received a basic education.

“I didn’t go there to study. I went as a maid.”

“At seven years old?”

“Yes, but there was one good thing about being the youngest. The older girls working there treated me well.”

“……”

“The teachers weren’t so great though.”

I was speechless, unable to make any comments or reactions.

I could only listen to Soniel’s voice calmly revealing all these tragedies.

“Having many older girls was nice, but getting only half a piece of bread smaller than a fist each day was too much.”

“Half a piece of bread per day?”

“Yes, sometimes we got soup when illness was going around or when it got too cold.”

Soniel was speaking calmly, but I couldn’t help furrowing my brow.

That wasn’t all.

The boarding school teachers weren’t good people. Soniel said they wouldn’t let her sleep at night if she made even small mistakes and often beat her.

“What? My goodness.”

It was painful just to hear.

What made this story sound even more miserable was that all these things happened to a child who was barely seven years old.

“But the students who came to study were in a similar situation. They were all children pushed into the school as if they had been sold.”

“……”

“That’s why I can’t believe all of this now. Wearing such a pretty dress, entering a castle, being able to talk with you, my lady.”

Soniel continued speaking with sparkling eyes.

“I’ve never seen anything like this even in my dreams. I’ve entered a world I couldn’t even dream of because I’d never heard of or experienced it before.”

I finally understood why Soniel had seemed particularly excited at the ball.

It wasn’t simply because she was young or had an innocent personality.

It was because all of this looked so amazing to her.

“Were you at the boarding school for a long time?”

According to Avery, Soniel had come from a convent in Scott.

Perhaps she had worked at the boarding school and then moved to the convent.

“Until I came here.”

At Soniel’s answer, I blinked a couple of times.

Noticing my confusion, Soniel smiled awkwardly.

“Oh, you heard that too? The story about me coming from a convent is actually something the Duke made up.”

“Ah.”

“He said it would be better for my reputation. A child from a noble family with a sad story is much better than a maid, right?”

Soniel spoke nonchalantly and then giggled.

Oh my, how can you say such things so freely without any suspicion?

I gently took Soniel’s hand and said to her,

“Miss Viper, don’t tell this to anyone from now on.”

“This?”

“Yes, the story you told me today.”

“……”

“Here, it’s okay not to reveal yourself honestly. No, it’s actually better to speak less. The people here are all kind, but…”

I hesitated for a moment, not knowing how best to phrase it.

“Just because someone is kind doesn’t mean they like you.”

Soniel nodded and showed a faint smile.

“I think I understand what you mean. Everyone was kind when the school inspector came. It’s similar to that, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. But the difference from then is that you’re no longer a maid at a boarding school. Do you understand what I mean?”

Soniel nodded slowly and answered.

“Yes, my lady.”

“…How is it living in the ducal family?”

I carefully asked, trying to erase my former father’s voice from my mind.

“It’s wonderful.”

“Is the Duke treating you well?”

“He’s strict but a good person. Of course, I haven’t had many conversations with him, but he changed my world like this, so I’m grateful, truly grateful.”

I didn’t like how Soniel misunderstood my former father.

But I had no intention of speaking honestly about him.

Sometimes it’s better not to know the truth.

“My lady. You told me not to be too honest, but can I be honest one last time just for today?”

“……”

“I want to tell you my real name.”

Soniel bit her lower lip once and looked up at me.

“I’m Titi. Titi Marcelo.”

“Titi.”

“My mother always called me that. Marcelo is… my mother’s surname. I like that name, but it doesn’t really fit with the Viper family.”

“It’s a lovely and pretty name.”

“Really? Thank you, my lady.”

At that moment, the sound of rough footsteps was heard from afar, followed by the sound of a group of people approaching.

“Soniel? There you are.”

The ones who appeared were my former father, Foil Viper, and his secretaries.