Chapter 14
Something felt incredibly off.
Adonis was not only Lian’s junior but also an academy peer of Barack. While they rarely clashed due to being in different departments, they still crossed paths often, primarily because Adonis was directly under Lian's command. However, despite their connection, their relationship could be described as distant or even strained, and the root cause of this tension was April Hill Rise.
April and Adonis had never gotten along well, which naturally led to Barack distancing himself from her as well.
“Barack’s leave ends today.”
Adonis sipped her water, her eyes narrowing slightly as she considered the situation. She wondered if Barack was aware of the high expectations from the Royal Alchemy Division. What had gotten into him, she mused.
“People do seem to change.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Lian’s confusion was evident, which struck Adonis as odd. If she, as an outsider, could sense the difference, surely Lian, as his brother, could as well. Her green eyes locked onto Lian, and he flinched slightly, realizing she was questioning his obliviousness.
“I’m talking about Barack. During our academy days, he was rather distant from Princess April, wasn’t he?”
Distant was a polite way of putting it—they were practically strangers. In fact, it often seemed as though Barack outright disliked April, while she, in turn, was constantly uneasy around him.
Lian pressed his lips together tightly, like someone who had been struck mute. Back then, it wasn’t April— it was Irina.
“And then, all of a sudden, he started tiptoeing around her as if he’d finally grown up.”
Adonis didn’t know what caused the shift, but it was clear that somewhere along the line, Barack had started treating April with an almost reverential care. It was around this time that the relationship between Adonis and Barack began to cool as well.
It wasn’t hard to guess why April disliked Adonis—she was the only woman in the Crown Prince’s circle besides April herself. The reason was obvious enough that Adonis dismissed it with a brief shake of her head.
“Anyway.”
Seeing that Lian wasn’t responding, Adonis rose from her seat.
“The Alchemy Division is eagerly awaiting Barack’s return.”
“What are they expecting?”
“They’re hoping that now that the princess is back in the capital, maybe his temper will improve.”
As someone who had firsthand experience with Barack’s temper during their academy days, Adonis answered with a mixture of resignation and disdain.
“Haha.”
Lian laughed weakly at that.
If anything, Barack’s temper was bound to worsen. The person currently residing in the mansion wasn’t April but Irina. It was easy to predict that the Alchemy Division’s hopes would soon be thoroughly dashed.
“Regardless, I’m glad the princess has returned safely.”
Adonis smiled warmly as she said her farewells.
Everyone was offering congratulations, but Lian found it impossible to accept them in good faith.
* * *
‘You can never truly become the real daughter. In the end, you were just a substitute for me.’
April’s laughter rang out, cold and triumphant, as if she had won some great victory. I swallowed dryly as I watched her walk away. I wanted to grab her, to argue that she was wrong, but I couldn’t. Because deep down, I believed it too.
When April returned to the ducal estate, my position had completely shifted. She was the real daughter, and I was just the replacement.
As I stood in the long, empty corridor, my head hung low, a cold droplet suddenly fell on my shoulder. I looked up, realizing that I was no longer inside the mansion but standing just outside its doors.
My heart pounded as I recalled the rough hands of Sir Cliff, the captain of the knights, forcing me to my knees, and the cold, merciless gaze of the duke as he ordered my expulsion.
‘Throw her out.’
‘F-Father, why are you doing this?’
I tried to crawl toward him, but the knights held me back, preventing me from moving.
‘Sir Cliff, please let me go! Father…! You said you considered me your daughter!’
‘You are no longer the daughter of the ducal house. You will no longer use the name Rise.’
I desperately called out to the duchess, “Mother!” but she didn’t even turn to look at me. The servants’ gazes were cold, and even my two brothers refused to meet my eyes.
‘Brother Lian, please listen to me!’
Lian, the brother I had always hoped would see me as his sister, turned his head sharply, pretending not to hear me. As I sobbed uncontrollably, someone roughly grabbed my arm and dragged me to my feet.
‘Brother…’
But the murderous look in Barack’s eyes made my blood run cold.
As he stared me down, a sharp flash of light struck the ground next to my hand with a loud crack. It took me only a moment to realize that it was magic, and that Barack had just cast a spell at me. The neatly tiled floor now had a deep crater, and it didn’t take much imagination to know that if that magic had hit me, I would have lost a limb.
‘If I believed for a moment that you pushed April with those hands, I wouldn’t be satisfied even if I cut off your wrists.’
‘No, I didn’t—’
‘I’m letting you off this once because of the time we’ve spent together. But don’t ever show yourself in front of me again, or I won’t hold back.’
Rather than helping me up, he dragged me by my arm and threw me out of the mansion gates.
‘Get lost.’
His eyes were as cold as a blade as the heavy doors of the mansion slammed shut with a deafening crash.
“Irina!”
I gasped, suddenly sucking in a huge breath. When I opened my eyes, it wasn’t the mansion gates I saw, but Lian’s worried face.
No longer ignoring me, his blue eyes were filled with concern.
“Are you alright? Did you have a nightmare?”
So, it was just a dream. A nightmare, reliving that moment three years ago when they had cast me out.
As I sat up, Lian gently wiped the sweat from my brow, his touch soft and caring—completely different from the cold gaze he had given me three years ago.
When I pushed his hand away, he flinched.
“Why are you in my room?”
“Well… I came to wake you, but it seemed like you were having a nightmare.”
His cautious tone and the furrow in his brow irritated me.
“You should at least eat dinner.”
Dinner? I frowned slightly and glanced toward the window.
“Don’t come into my room without permission. Now leave.”
The very idea that he had touched me under the pretense of concern disgusted me.
Seeing April must have triggered the dream. I didn’t expect to be thrown back into that memory so vividly.
Lian, still watching me cautiously, finally left the room without another word.
“Daniel was buried next to Bernice.”
“Daniel... would be pleased.”
Recalling the past, when I cried over being abandoned by the ducal house, made me despise myself. If I had known then that my father had died at their hands, I would have left that place immediately.
“Lady, you’re awake?”
The gentle knock on the door was followed by my personal maid, Amber, quietly entering the room.
“I brought water for you to freshen up.”
“Your name is Amber, right?”
“Yes, my lady.”
I stood up unsteadily, still shaken by the dream.
“When did I say Lian could come into my room?”
“Ah... He said he would personally come to wake you, so...”
Amber bowed her head low, clearly nervous. I stared at her for a moment, understanding her predicament.
Of course, it would have been difficult for her to stop the young master of the ducal house from entering his sister’s room. In a normal sibling relationship, it wouldn’t have been an issue.
“From now on, don’t let any of the duke’s sons into my room.”
“...Pardon?”
“I’m telling you to make sure neither Lian nor Barack ever set foot in here again.”
Amber nodded slightly, understanding my command.
“Yes, my lady.”
As long as she was serving me in this house, her priority had to be me.
The house was eerily quiet, which meant Barack hadn’t returned yet. If he had, there would have been an immediate uproar, as if he intended to kill me on sight.
After freshening up and changing my clothes, I opened the door to find Lian standing there, waiting.
“I’m sorry for entering your room uninvited. I was just worried because you seemed to be having such a bad dream.”
“If you knew what nightmare I was having, you wouldn’t have come into my room so easily.”
Because the ones in my nightmare were you and the rest of your family.
Enjoying the story? Don't forget to rate 5 stars and review in NovelUpdte!