Chapter 13
Chapter 13
“T-This can’t be happening…!”
Catherine glanced sideways at the window of her room, cold sweat trickling down her face.
Alicia was just as shocked. She abruptly turned to look at the window, where Icel was supposed to be.
Her gaze burned with fury. There was no way something that had worked earlier would suddenly fail now.
Icel—how dare that insolent girl embarrass Catherine on purpose. She must have done it intentionally.
Thank goodness she couldn’t see. If her eyes were normal, she might have noticed the flustered expressions on Catherine and Alicia’s faces and suspected something.
Unaware that Diana was watching them blatantly, Alicia cast a quick glance at her.
“What’s going on?”
Although she had seen everything, Diana tilted her head as if she hadn’t seen anything at all.
“Huh?”
Rueri chuckled as though he had expected all this.
“Ah, she failed.”
“She failed?” Diana asked in disbelief. Catherine’s brow furrowed deeply at her tone.
“Isn’t it easy for children to manifest mana when they’re young?”
She emphasized that part on purpose. At her words, Catherine’s face turned as red as a balloon, and her fists trembled with wounded pride.
“That’s true. But…”
Rueri slowly turned to look at the trembling Catherine. His sharp blue eyes locked onto her.
“The thing is… I can’t feel any magic power from her.”
“You can’t feel it?”
Though she already knew, Diana responded in a surprised tone as if she hadn’t expected it at all.
Rueri nodded, still watching Catherine with a skeptical look.
Though he was smiling, his gaze was sharp—like a hawk eyeing its prey.
“Not even a little, dear.”
“I’ll try again! I can do it!”
“…Perhaps we could give her one more chance? I believe Her Ladyship is just a bit nervous. Your Grace,” Alicia pleaded, swallowing hard.
But Rueri shook his head firmly.
“No, there’s no need. Sister.”
“Yes?”
“No matter how many times she tries, it’ll be the same. She has virtually no mana.”
Rueri explained nonchalantly, whistling as he spoke.
Diana remained silent for a while. As she held her tongue, a suffocating tension filled the garden.
Of course, it was only Alicia and Catherine who were nervous.
After a long silence, Diana finally opened her lips again.
“Is that even possible?”
“Huh?”
“I mean, I have magic power. Is it possible that Catherine has absolutely none?”
Catherine and Alicia both flinched at her question. Their faces stiffened as they waited for Rueri to respond.
He shrugged and replied, “It’s almost unheard of. Even those who can’t use magic usually have at least a tiny bit of mana flowing through them.”
“How strange. Catherine is… my daughter, after all.”
Diana deliberately let her words linger. Alicia’s brow furrowed noticeably behind her blindfold.
She seemed to be deeply offended by the idea that her daughter was incapable of something Diana and Diana’s daughter could do.
A scoff slipped out. It was laughable—being so consumed by jealousy over what someone else could do instead of embracing one’s own strengths.
They seemed like people with incredibly low self-esteem. Truly pitiful.
“There’s no helping it. I’ll just have to take the magic lessons alone.”
“B-But…”
“A true lady must know how to accept what she cannot do, Catherine.”
“…Yes, Mother.”
Catherine pouted and slumped her shoulders in defeat.
She was burning with anger and resentment at the thought that Icel had succeeded while she hadn’t. On top of that, she was growing increasingly frustrated that Alicia was her mother.
At first, she had admired her mother’s profession as a doctor. But in the end, it had brought her nothing of value.
She wished she had never found out the truth. Even if it was a lie, she would have been happier believing she was the real one.
She had once been so happy. Her father was a Grand Duke, her mother the most noblewoman in the capital, and she herself—Diana’s daughter—was second only to the royal family.
But the moment she found out she wasn’t the real one, Catherine became more miserable than ever.
And when Alicia brought Icel, who resembled Diana so closely, before her, that misery was joined by a crushing fear that the girl would take everything from her.
So she bullied Icel more. She couldn’t stop—she believed the fear would never go away unless she did.
And now, Icel had publicly made her look like a failure in front of Diana. She couldn’t stand it. She wanted to run to the girl and slap her right then and there.
Diana stared silently at the devastated Catherine, then said calmly:
“Go inside for now. I’ll continue the lesson.”
“…Yes, Mother.”
Catherine responded with a voice tinged with sorrow and trudged away.
She turned back briefly, but Diana paid no attention to her retreating figure, too focused on continuing the lesson with Rueri.
Catherine whipped her head back around and gritted her teeth as she stormed toward her room.
Alicia, worried about Catherine, stepped closer to Diana and spoke deliberately.
“Her Ladyship seemed quite disappointed, Your Highness.”
“Disappointed?”
If anything, it was Diana who was disappointed. She had expected something more impressive—but it was nothing but an empty shell, all bark and no bite.
Diana suppressed the urge to click her tongue and smiled sweetly.
“There’s no need. It’s just a bit disappointing. It would have been nice if she had taken after me.”
“…What?”
Alicia couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Up until now, Diana had shown blind devotion to Catherine.
Even when she was stubborn or rude to the maids, Diana had never scolded her—treating her like a delicate treasure.
But now… she was disappointed? That Catherine had no magic power?
Alicia stared at Diana in shock. And Diana didn’t stop there.
“Come to think of it… isn’t it strange?”
“…What is?”
“She doesn’t resemble me at all.”
Rueri, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, jumped in without hesitation.
“Sister.”
“Yes?”
“She really doesn’t look like you. Your daughter, I mean.”
“Right? I suppose she takes after her father.”
Diana replied calmly, but Alicia didn’t share her composure.
She frowned at Rueri. What a useless man! Her crimson eyes flashed with irritation.
But Rueri, oblivious to her mood, kept talking cheerfully.
“If anything, the one she looks like…”
He pointed his finger at Alicia.
“…is that lady over there.”
“A—A lady?!”
My heart dropped with a thud. It was as if that man knew something—how else could he say such a thing?
What made it even more infuriating was that he called Diana ‘noona’ (older sister), yet referred to me as ‘ajumma’ (auntie). Such rudeness was beyond belief.
“Ajumma? Pfft, Rueri. Ally and I are the same age,” Diana said with a smirk.
Who would’ve thought Rueri would land such a blow for her? Diana glanced at the trembling Alicia and burst out laughing.
After laughing heartily for a while, Diana’s voice sharpened slightly as she spoke.
“Catherine must’ve taken after Ally so well—she even looks like her, doesn’t she?”
“…Yes. I guess she does.”
Alicia could no longer stand being there. It couldn’t possibly be, but it felt as if those two had conspired against her.
“I’ll go check on the young lady now. I’m terribly worried about her.”
“Alright. Of course, only you worry about Catherine and me. Go on, I’ll come after class.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Alicia gave a curt bow to Diana, then shot Rueri a glare before turning on her heel.
The moment she left, Diana let out a soft laugh. It was probably the first time Alicia had suffered such humiliation.
Even when she was merely the daughter of a viscount, she’d never been ignored thanks to standing in the shadow of a marquiss’s daughter like Diana.
“Pfft.”
“What’s so funny?” Rueri asked.
“It’s just… you’re hilarious. It’s been so long since I’ve heard someone use the word ‘ajumma’.”
“Well, she does look like an auntie, so that’s what I called her.”
Rueri pouted a little but smirked mischievously.
Diana opened her palm and conjured a small ice crystal. “Then what about me?”
“Hm?”
“Why do you call me ‘noona’?”
Rueri blinked slowly, then smiled softly.
For some reason, that smile seemed as bright as the sun. Her heart skipped a beat against her will.
But his next words made her heart thump even harder.
“Because you’re beautiful.”
“…What?”
“Maybe even…”
He hesitated, then continued.
“…the most beautiful in the world.”
His expression was so serious, it almost seemed like a confession.
Rueri, who always seemed like a mischievous boy, suddenly looked like a man in that moment.
Diana’s heart, which had long stopped racing for anyone, now pounded wildly in her chest.
—
“Your Highness! Your Highness!”
Alicia rushed after Catherine. She seemed truly distraught, walking briskly toward her room without looking back.
“Your Highness!”
At last, Alicia caught up and grabbed the hem of her dress. Catherine’s eyes were brimming with tears.
“Don’t cry, my dear.”
The hallway was empty. Alicia gently patted her shoulder, speaking soft words of comfort.
Catherine had inherited her pride from Alicia. She would never accept this kind of humiliation.
Moreover, today’s incident was something she had never experienced before.
“…I’m going to kill her.”
Her voice, laced with hatred, sounded far too dangerous for someone only fifteen years old.
Her rage had reached its limit. Unless she rid herself of that girl in her room, this fury would never subside.
Still breathing heavily in Alicia’s arms, Catherine suddenly shoved her away and stormed into her room.
“Catherine!”
“Aicel!!”
She screamed like a wild animal, shouting at the top of her lungs. But Aicel was nowhere to be seen.
Had she hidden behind the bookshelf or something? Catherine’s violet eyes, just like her father’s, flashed as she flung the bookshelf open.
But the moment she did, all the rage that had consumed her began to fade into emptiness.
Inside, it was completely empty.
As if no one had been there from the start.
