I Start with a Bad Hand!

“…I don’t understand why you’re telling me all this.”

I tore my gaze away from the untouched apple pie and looked at Godwin.

“If I truly am your niece… doesn’t that mean I belong to Elexion? Why haven’t you spoken to the ducal house first?”

Before I could finish, her firm voice cut through my words.

“Because I had no intention of sending you back to Elexion.”

Godwin dropped the formalities. There was a force in her voice, something long suppressed was now seeping out.

“Do you think they deserve you?”

For the first time, an edge of sarcasm crept into Godwin’s tone.

“Those people, who cast you aside without proper confirmation, believing that a duke’s child must look like the duke?”

Her expression was suffused with cold anger. While her reasons for anger made sense, I sensed a deeper, underlying resentment.

“The duke claimed to ‘love’ Rosamund, but a man who loves his wife doesn’t remarry and have another child so quickly. And while the ducal house claimed to ‘respect’ me as Rosamund’s sister, they treated me like a thief, never showing me a single memento of hers.”

As your only aunt, I could not in good conscience send you to such a place. Calming down, Godwin spoke in a measured tone again.

“Now that you know, if you wish, I will pass this letter on to Elexion. So you can reclaim your original place.”

Another sound of something breaking came from behind. Was there a brawl going on back there? How many times has something broken now? However, when I turned to look at the two robed figures, they were sitting perfectly still.

Godwin seemed unfazed by the commotion, meeting my eyes with her own, which were the same color as Dietrich’s.

“But above all, I wanted to tell you this story first to hear your opinion.”

For the first time, the unwaveringly resolute Godwin hesitated slightly.

“Would you come with me to the Kingdom of Lucero?”

A rough cough erupted from behind again. Turning, I saw the larger of the two robed figures trying to stifle a cough, his body shaking.

“When you graduate from the academy—or even now—I plan to support you so you can live a life of no regrets. As long as I am the governor there, no one will dare mistreat you. I will help you achieve whatever you want.”

Godwin, who had been speaking with conviction, softened her tone as she added gently.

“Of course, your wishes are the most important.”

This was a choice I had never imagined making in my life. It was like deciding whether to return to a wealthy family that had rejected me or to follow a rich aunt I didn’t even know existed overseas.

‘My goodness. To think I’d have to make such a decision.’

And it wasn’t even my life but someone else’s. Even a simulator game wouldn’t feel more real than this.

“…I’ll have to think about it.”

Godwin nodded, as if she had expected that response.

“This is the address of the hotel where I’m staying. Contact me there.”

As she tidied her parasol, I started organizing my lingering questions. Despite Godwin’s certainty, I couldn’t take her shocking story at face value after all I had endured since arriving in this world.

First, is Godwin’s identity reliable? Could it be a fabricated identity?

Second, could the letter be a forgery? Even if Godwin’s identity is real, could she have been deceived?

Third, the letter mentioned black hair and gray-blue eyes like her sister. How can we be sure this child is Dietrich?

These were questions I might be able to resolve on my own. But there was one question that only Godwin could answer.

“…If I hadn’t won the hunting festival, would you still have sought me out?”

Godwin paused her tidying and looked at me, as if surprised by the question.

“You said you came to find me after hearing about the festival. If I hadn’t shown such promise, if you hadn’t known I existed…”

“…I would have eventually opened Rosamund’s letter. Maybe not as soon, but eventually.”

Godwin interrupted me, speaking as if it was obvious.

“So sooner or later, I would have found you.”

If I had read that letter.

“No matter what kind of child you were. You are Rosamund’s last trace.”

That alone is reason enough for me to find you.

For the first time, my heart pounded fiercely. The intense emotion welled up from deep inside, almost overwhelming me.

After a brief farewell, Godwin left first, and I remained alone, mulling over this uncertain situation. Amid all the confusion, two things stood out with clarity.

‘If Dietrich really is the duke’s biological daughter, it would explain the malice directed at her.’

It was possible that the malice wasn’t directed at Dietrich personally but at the Elexion Ducal House. Of course, that would also mean figuring out why the portrait ended up with Roxanne….

I poked at the apple pie in front of me with my fork, contemplating.

If I keep breaking down and analyzing the unknowns, maybe someday the big picture will emerge. Now, I watched the silhouettes of two people passing by stiffly at my side. One other thing I could be sure of. I grabbed the wrist of the person passing by hesitantly.

“Hey, you said you wouldn’t follow.”

The smaller of the two robed figures. And curly hair sticking out from under the robe. A startled Agnes looked back at the taller robed figure. Beside her… oh, great. The unmistakable red eyes peeked out from under the robe’s shadow.

“I didn’t say that.”

***

“What’s there to think about? You should definitely go to the ducal house!”

When they were following me, they had stammered excuses, but now Agnes was jumping up and down, clearly upset. Surprisingly, Icarus remained silent, seemingly lost in thought.

It wasn’t strange that Agnes was more excited than usual. If my friend turned out to be the lost child of a powerful family, and they were hesitant, I’d probably react similarly.

‘But really… it’s unappealing….’

A brother like Cedric, a fiancé like Elius. A father, the duke, who remarried within a year of his wife’s death, with a step-sibling who was born so soon after Dietrich. The idea of returning to such a family was unappealing.

Could I feel any more conflicted? My emotions shouldn’t matter when deciding to join a house that holds power second only to the emperor.

‘If Dietrich’s lingering attachment is to return to the ducal house, then that’s what I should do….’

Elexion might be my biological family. If it were me, I wouldn’t return after everything. But Dietrich wasn’t me. For me, the Elexion people were strangers, but for her, they were her real family.

‘She might want to return to receive the love and recognition she never got….’

Or she might want to stay in the empire and enjoy the power and wealth of the ducal house. Thinking that far made me silently scream, pulling at my hair.

Even Agnes, who had been shaking me and demanding an answer, took a step back at my demeanor.

‘Dietrich, what should I do?’

I wished Dietrich would appear in my dreams just once. Give me a hint, anything. If I could, I would even perform a ritual to ask her. I wanted to know her intentions, even if I had to resort to every superstitious and spiritual method available.

My chaotic life felt like a bomb had exploded. It was like juggling my life, and every time I threw something into the air, the chaos multiplied. The difference now was that with each throw, the confusion seemed to grow exponentially.

‘But in times like this… first, reduce the variables and break down the plan.’

I looked at the two people in front of me. One was the daughter of a merchant guild leader, and the other was a prince. I could gather the information I lacked from them. They weren’t the most reliable sources, but they were all I had.

I began explaining to them why I was hesitant about Godwin’s proposal.

“First, I can’t be sure if the person I met is really the governor of the Kingdom of Lucero….”

Icarus clarified this doubt. His aide’s investigation matched Godwin’s history and the information she had provided. Moreover, Godwin had willingly shown several documents proving her identity. The aide mentioned that Godwin had asked, ‘Did Dietrich ask you to verify this?’

“Also, how can we be sure that the letter isn’t forged and that it’s truly from the former Duchess of Elexion?”

Godwin had sent the sealed letter to the aide along with her documents. Inside the envelope was the letter Godwin had shown me, with instructions to handle it with care to prevent any leaks.

‘To send something so important so readily… She really does believe Dietrich is her niece. Is this what unconditional trust between blood relatives looks like?’

I fiddled with the now tattered letter. The handwriting had a unique slant, somewhat rounded and cute, which seemed uncharacteristic for a duchess.

“They said the former duchess was also an academy graduate, so let’s cross-check the handwriting with the archives when we investigate with Elius. There might be some records left.”

However, one last question remained.

“The girl mentioned in the letter might not be me. Even if gray-blue eyes are rare, how can they be sure it’s me?”

This question sparked an argument with Agnes.