Chapter 11
“Then why is the second son... What are your plans from here on?”
Allen redirected the conversation, his eyes full of curiosity, and I let out a short, contemplative sigh.
Though I had spoken as if I intended to heal April’s leg, I had no such intention. In fact, I planned to ensure that April would never stand before others again. She would remain the true heir, yet confined, shrouded in despair and betrayal by the duke's household.
It would be amusing to watch her live in hiding behind the false pretense of a substitute. But for that to happen, April needed to be at the duke’s estate, and they needed to know that I was currently there.
I still vividly remember when my father decided to send me to the duke’s residence. We were not ordinary citizens of the empire—my parents, especially my father, were not like others.
We lived in a secluded cabin in the mountains rather than in a village. My father was overly fragile, and I used to wonder if he was a noble who had abandoned his title and fled, like the hero of some serialized novel.
“Irina, you’re no longer a child, so I’ll tell you something you might have already suspected.”
At that time, the duchess had tried to drag me away from my father’s side. She was nothing like the beautiful and elegant figure depicted in the portraits that hung in the hall; she was a madwoman.
“Your mother and I are fugitives.”
I remember the guilt-ridden tears in those blue-gray eyes that were identical to those of Duke Alexis.
“That’s why, Irina, we can’t let people know that you’re our child.”
My father had never shown tears after my mother passed away—except for that one time. It was the first and last time I saw him cry after her death.
“Go to the duke’s residence.”
“Father.”
“They’ve promised to cover my medical expenses if I send you there.”
“...”
“So please, go to the duke’s estate. For my sake.”
But my father’s words were a lie. He sent me to the duke’s estate not for himself, but for me.
If parents were fugitives, then their child would be too. I couldn’t even use the name Irina Devin with pride. But I didn’t care about being a fugitive; I just wanted to stay with my father and family. Living in a secluded cabin in the mountains was fine by me.
Yet, I still had to go to the duke’s estate. The bond of blood couldn’t be severed, and I believed that if they paid for my father’s medical expenses, we could still live under the same sky. I thought that if I sacrificed myself, things would get better. They even told me I could send letters to my father, so I believed our bond wouldn’t be broken.
The letters I sent were always answered, after all.
“Irina.”
I vividly recall Alicia’s voice and the tears that fell from her olive-colored eyes.
“…The duke’s household has never kept their promises.”
I was able to pull myself together quickly after being cast out because I had somewhere to return to. During my time at the duke’s estate, I received regular updates on my father’s condition through the duchess, and I never heard any news of his death.
But when I returned home, the words Alicia spoke while sobbing were the embodiment of despair.
“Daniel died just a few months after you left for the duke’s estate.”
“They never sent the promised medication.”
“The duchess came and told Daniel that her daughter didn’t need a father, that he was just a burden.”
It was then that I truly understood what it meant for the sky to fall.
When I slowly opened my eyes, it was not Alicia’s face I saw, but Allen’s.
“What am I going to do?”
“...Pardon?”
“I’m going to give it back.”
Everything the duke’s household gave me—they gave too much.
I forced a smile, one that barely lifted the corners of my lips.
“And if the princess doesn’t recover, they’ll keep wanting me.”
“The duke’s household? Or the princess?”
It was a perceptive question.
I didn’t answer directly, but I was sure Allen understood. The answer was ‘both.’
Allen might not know, but I had been waiting for this moment for a long time.
I thought he might feel uncomfortable or wary of getting involved due to the power of the duke’s household, but I didn’t see any such reluctance in him. When our eyes met, he smiled and stepped closer, gently taking my hand.
“Is there anything I can do to help, my lady?”
His voice was soft as his lips brushed briefly against the back of my hand.
“Do you want to help?”
“You saved my life, Irina. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”
I chuckled at his lighthearted smile. The kindness I had once shown him on a whim was now coming back to me.
Though we knew almost nothing about each other, he was willing to help just because I had saved his life. It was quite remarkable.
Allen asked many questions, sometimes annoyingly so, but he never pried into what had happened between me and the duke’s household. I liked that about him, which was why I kept him by my side for so long.
“If you want to help, first, you need to get closer.”
“Closer?”
He blinked slowly, looking up at me from his kneeling position, clearly puzzled.
I leaned in closer to him, even though we were alone and there was no one around to overhear.
I wanted the anticipation at the duke’s household to build, like a balloon rising higher and higher into the sky, unaware of when it might burst.
“With whom?”
“The princess you just met.”
Even though I healed her with divine power, Allen would be the one to take care of her for a while.
I gently ran my fingers through his hair, brushing his cheek as I whispered.
“Get close to her. Form a bond, become someone she can lean on, someone she could even call a friend.”
“...”
“She’s likely in a fragile state, so it shouldn’t be too difficult.”
“Will that really help you, Irina?”
“Of course.”
He lightly kissed the hand that rested against his cheek.
“It’s something only you can do.”
“Then I’ll do it.”
Allen, who had never refused anything I asked, agreed without hesitation this time as well.
He nodded and rose to his feet.
“We’ll be seeing each other more often now. And there’s no need to send letters anymore.”
“...Pardon?”
Now that he’d be living in the capital, there was no need for him to desperately seek me out like before, but I didn’t explain further. I simply stood up.
As I walked toward the door, I turned and smiled lightly at him, who was still gazing at me in bewilderment.
“Oh, right.”
I almost forgot the most important thing.
I turned back to Allen, who looked at me with wide eyes, like a startled cat.
“Though your body has recovered thanks to divine power…”
I recalled the state he was in when I first saw him.
His body had been in such a poor condition that calling it trash would have been an understatement. Bruises from countless beatings, a body so damaged that none of his physical abilities functioned properly, and hands and feet that trembled as if addicted to something.
It was a miracle he had managed to run all the way to the mountains in such a state.
While I healed his broken bones and restored his body to its original state with divine power,
“Mental issues like addiction, I can’t heal those.”
At the mention of “addiction,” Allen froze.
“So don’t mess with drugs again.”
With those final words, I quietly left the shop, leaving Allen behind.
* * *
By the time I returned to the duke’s mansion, the sun had fully risen.
I was slightly tired, having moved around without getting any proper sleep.
Covering my mouth, I let out a small sigh as I entered the mansion.
I had left through a small side entrance, but since all the servants were already awake, I walked in boldly through the main gate. They all looked shocked to see me.
“Irina?”
As I was heading to my room, I turned around at the sound of a voice behind me.
It was Lian, descending the stairs, and I frowned slightly at the sight of him.
“You should call me April, brother.”
“Oh…”
The reason I was here was to act as her double, so what was he thinking, calling me by my real name?
At my pointed correction, he swallowed his words, looking somewhat flustered.
Lian was dressed in his formal uniform. Just my luck to run into him like this. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye and began walking toward my room again, but he stopped me once more.
“You’ve been out since dawn. Where were you?”
“I had some business to attend to.”
“What kind of business…?”
He was clearly worried about upsetting me, but his curiosity got the better of him.
“I went to explore the city, brother.”
“...”
“Is that answer satisfactory?”
My tone clearly conveyed that I didn’t want to be questioned any further, and Lian bit his lower lip.
“Oh, by the way…”
I turned back to him as I headed toward my room.
“While exploring the city, I heard that the princess was seriously injured?”
“Irina…”
“No one told me, so I had to find out on my own. I apologize for any rudeness, brother.”
I curtsied slightly, lifting the hem of my robe as if it were the skirt of a dress.
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