CHAPTER 007
"Did you talk today?"
"I don't know. I told you no yesterday, how can you ask again after just one day?"
Are they talking about me?
I stopped at the entrance of the restaurant, not going in.
"Do you know how embarrassed I was when you changed your mind yesterday? You said you wouldn’t ask for it, but then you did."
"Does it matter? Can't your mother change her mind a bit?"
"I don't know."
My mother was truly upset.
My father's soothing voice continued.
"Still, treat her well. If we had known Levi was going to be born, we wouldn’t have adopted her, but that child became friends with the princess, didn’t she?"
...What did I just hear?
"Soon, the benefits will come to us too. The princess will shower her with everything if we just stay put."
I guess I didn't hear it wrong.
My parents' conversation continued.
"But not all of it will come to us, right?"
"That's why you have to keep treating her well and coax her. There's no point in saying anything unpleasant to the child. She might already think it’s obvious we’re being nice all of a sudden."
Is this for real? They are telling each other to treat me well for the benefits that might come?
I thought it was odd my parents suddenly became kind to me, and it’s because of Bella...
Then, I heard my mother clicking her tongue.
"You know, you really don’t understand that girl, do you? Even after raising her for so many years? She just likes it when we treat her well because she doesn’t pick up on things."
My father sounded like he didn’t understand.
"She won’t think about why we’re being nice to her all of a sudden."
"But now she’s even made connections with the Tower Lord. Forget about the money, just keep coaxing her."
My father’s voice grew more excited.
"Later, we’ll get something even bigger than money!"
"I held back yesterday because of that. Otherwise, I would’ve said something right away."
"You did well, you did well."
After hearing up to that point, I quietly stepped back and left the mansion.
Because I left without a destination, I lost my way.
"I left, but... where should I go?"
I couldn't think of anywhere to go to eat something delicious. Shopping?
"No, I don’t feel like window shopping today either..."
Come to think of it, I never really bought things with my own money. I wasn't destitute, but I wasn't in a position to spend money lavishly either.
I usually just looked at things and passed by rather than buying them.
The shoes, bags, and expensive accessories I had were all things that came after meeting Bella.
And it was exactly since then that my parents started treating me well...
Still, I wasn’t extremely shocked, just dumbfounded and deeply upset.
I could roughly guess the reason why I was feeling so hollow after overhearing the truth.
Because I had somewhat noticed, hadn’t I?
'I do have a sense. I actually knew!'
Every time I brought home a gift, I saw them gleaming with interest, urging me to introduce Bella to them.
But I wanted to pretend I didn’t know.
What else could I do? My family in my past life was like that.
In my past life, my parents never considered me, their biological daughter, as a real daughter.
'Ah, I don’t want to eat this... Do you have the red ginseng jelly from last time?'
'This is better for your body, so eat this, my son.'
'I'm back!'
'...!'
It was something that happened often from a young age.
Returning from school, I saw my mom giving something to my brother.
My brother looked embarrassed when he saw me.
Whether it was something delicious or healthy, my mom never gave me anything she gave to my brother.
Once, I asked my brother if I could share it with him.
'Do you have to take everything your brother has?'
My mother scolded me.
She frowned so much that I thought she wouldn’t even look at someone else like that.
Even when preparing for college, all I had were memories of feeling neglected.
'Do you really have to go there?'
'What?'
When I mentioned a private university I had my sights set on, my dad made a displeased face.
'Isn’t the tuition there expensive? Look into a national university in the provinces. Your brother’s tuition is a burden too.'
'But with these grades, I can get into a good school. You didn’t say this to my brother...'
'Are you and your brother the same?'
When I timidly protested, my dad frowned as if wondering what I was talking about.
'If your parents say it’s tough, you should understand. You’re being very selfish.'
My mom's glares from beside my dad.
To my parents, it was always clear they only had one child, my brother.
It was a feeling I had constantly until I moved out.
'I wonder how great it would be if I had real parents?'
That was my wish before I recalled my past life. But after remembering, that wish disappeared.
My parents in my past life only had my brother as their child.
In comparison, my current parents were better.
At least they showed kindness.
However, even that kindness was just fake affection, possible only because I was Bella’s friend.
"How could I not have known..."
I wanted to turn a blind eye.
'Mother, these purple flowers match your dress color!'
'Oh my, how pretty. Thank you, Selina.'
Because I remembered the times before Levi was born when my parents still treated me like their own daughter.
I wanted to believe my parents had returned to those days.
No, it doesn’t matter anymore. Now that I’ve blatantly heard their true feelings.
"Hah, life..."
I laughed bitterly. Then, I felt a small vibration from the bag I brought.
It was a call from Lewis.
...Lewis’s calls really come at the worst times.
Since it only required a brief touch, I decided to let Lewis know my location this time.
"Don't tell Bella!"
A few moments later, Lewis appeared. I put a finger to my lips to signal silence.
Lewis, dressed in the same outfit as when we first met, with a hood pulled low to avoid attention, hiding his distinctive golden eyes.
"Here."
As usual, I let Lewis hold my hand.
After a few seconds, I pulled my hand away.
That should be enough, right? We’re done, so let’s part ways!
"Goodbye!"
But Lewis didn't leave. Was my goodbye too curt...?
"Why do you look like that?"
"What? Do I look weird?"
I forced a bright smile and lifted the corners of my mouth.
"Yeah. You looked weird, and now you look even weirder."
Then what am I supposed to do?
"Did someone bother you about looking weird?"
"No!"
"No matter how I look at it, you seem upset."
Lewis calmly scrutinized my face with his arms crossed.
"Tell me if someone’s bothering you. I’ll get rid of them."
"Get rid of them...?"
Even though he said it like he was doing me a favor, I knew it wasn’t a joke, so I couldn’t ignore it.
I waved my hands to show I was fine.
"Really, it's nothing! You don’t have to worry about me."
"That's not true. The Tower guys often have that face you have now."
"Often?"
"Yeah. They do that just from me calling their name?"
So, he knew people disliked him.
He said it with such a nonchalant face. You really are mentally tough.
I feel sorry for the wizards who have to see Lewis’s face every day.
Anyway, this is my issue. Lewis wouldn’t understand or sympathize with my situation.
"I’m really fine. I appreciate your concern. I didn’t realize you were such a considerate person, Lord Marquis?"
"I’m quite like that."
I was just saying it.
Seeing Lewis shrug in satisfaction, I couldn’t help but laugh. This time it was a genuine laugh, not forced.
* * *
At the same time, at the Elsner estate.
Even after Selina left, the conversation between the Count and Countess continued.
"It’s infuriating. After all we did to raise her!"
They ended up drinking more wine than usual along with their meal.
Levi had also joined them for dinner, but the Count continued to speak without hesitation.
"Exactly. After all we did for her, how could she refuse so bluntly?"
The couple found Selina annoying.
"If we had known we could have children, we wouldn’t have adopted her."
They had adopted her, thinking they were infertile, so when Levi was born, it had been quite a shock.
Naturally, they became indifferent to Selina and initially felt guilty.
But after a few years, they felt no guilt. After all, she wasn’t their real daughter.
"Mother, are you playing tennis with Levi? Can I join too?"
"No. Just go upstairs."
Their attitude towards Selina changed after she became friends with Bella.
"Selina became friends with the Croft girl? The witch of Croft?"
"I was surprised to hear it too. Who knew she could make such connections?"
After that, Selina started bringing home expensive items.
The Count and Countess's attention shifted towards Selina, who they had previously been indifferent to.
"What’s all this?"
"Oh, Bella gave me these as gifts. I felt they were too extravagant, but she insisted I keep them."
Even though Selina was a count’s daughter, the gifts Bella gave were of a different caliber.
The Count and Countess quickly said,
"Then just give them to us!"
Finally, they felt like it was worth raising Selina.
She started bringing home
high-end items they could never afford.
"Oh my, is this the perfume only supplied to the royal family?"
"It probably is. I received it as a gift too..."
"You have a new dress. Where did you get it?"
"Bella..."
As expected of the princess!
The Count and Countess smiled, speaking kindly and sweetly.
"We are so grateful. Next time, bring her over to our mansion."
It would be great to build a rapport and gain more benefits.
But for the first time, Selina refused after always sharing with them.
The unexpected refusal hurt the Count and Countess’s pride.
"How can she be so selfish...!"
At that moment, the Count, deep in thought, spoke.
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