"If I give blood, when will the test results come out?"
"They said it would take about a week."
A week. That was enough.
"I'll draw your blood now."
"I'll have it prepared."
Luckily, she was on an empty stomach.
After quickly drawing blood, Estelle sent Lennox to the dining hall alone.
"I'll be resting."
"At least have something simple to eat…"
"Drawing blood made me tired. I'd rather sleep more."
Lennox, seemingly burdened by the idea of facing Duren and Glesia alone, left for the bedroom with heavy steps.
Once she was completely alone, Estelle rose from her seat.
'Time to sort out the slush funds.'
Estelle organized the jewelry, the fruits of her overspending.
Just looking at them made her feel full.
This one she would wear herself,
and this one she would hide away and exchange for cash later.
As she was sorting them, a certain ring caught Estelle's eye.
"This is…"
The gemstone wasn't large. It wasn't flashy either.
"This is Mother's ring."
Why is this here?
Estelle hurriedly examined the surface of the ring.
If it was her mother's, there should be an engraving on the outside…
"There it is."
[S♡C]
Her mother's name was Selene.
She had no surname since she was a commoner.
The 'C' must have been Father's initial.
Her eyes trembled, and her hands shook.
Her mother had been cremated.
"Then this ring, which Mother must have been wearing, should have been burned along with her."
But the ring was spotless, without the slightest trace of soot.
Estelle carefully slipped it onto the ring finger of her left hand.
It fit perfectly, as though it had been made for her.
Just as her certainty grew that it was indeed her mother's ring—
She froze.
Unthinkingly, Estelle lifted her head and met her own gaze in the mirror.
Her eye color had changed.
To blue.
"No way…?"
Startled, Estelle pulled the ring off.
Immediately, her eyes returned to normal.
"A magic tool…"
Her mother's ring was a magic tool that changed the color of one's eyes.
"Mother's eyes were blue."
But if this ring had truly been her mother's, that meant she had lived her entire life disguising her eye color with it.
"Magic tools sell for an enormous price—and on average, their lifespan barely lasts a year."
It was well known that they were deliberately made fragile so that people would have to replace them often.
They were truly wicked people.
"But if I calculate it… Mother's ring functioned for over ten years."
The thought gnawed at her.
For now, Estelle decided to hang the ring on a chain and wear it like a necklace.
Then she gave an order to her maid.
"Spread word that whoever can uncover the magic placed on this ring will receive a great reward."
There wasn't a soul who didn't know Estelle was rich.
People would think she was just sponsoring some dreamer, or once again wasting her overflowing wealth on eccentric whims.
But in truth, it was a trap designed to lure only one person.
"If it's the Tower Master I know, he'll bite immediately."
She was certain. A letter would arrive within days.
"Madam, a letter has come."
"For me?"
It couldn't possibly be from the Tower Master so soon.
At best, she thought, it would be another anonymous plea for financial support.
Estelle took the letter, intending to toss the stationery into the fire after glancing at it—only to freeze when she saw the sender.
"Father?"
Count Bellonsa.
Estelle's expression shifted subtly as she read the letter he had sent.
"Ha."
The letter was quite long.
But it could be summarized in a single line:
— You've been spending too much money lately. Restrain yourself.
Ha-ha.
Estelle burst into laughter aloud.
It was a bright, cheerful laugh.
"So he must be worried that his inheritance will shrink by the time I die."
Whether she wanted to or not, she would hear it—
everyone was always chattering about where and how much she spent.
Just imagining the Count growing anxious made her mood soar.
Her refreshing laughter rang out for a long time.
Meanwhile, beyond the door, someone was watching her.
"I heard she got a letter from her family."
It was Lennox.
With Estelle absent, the dining table had been steeped in a grim mood.
Lennox barely touched his food before slipping out of the hall as if fleeing.
Then he heard that Count Bellonsa had sent Estelle a letter.
If he had wanted to, he could easily have intercepted it. But Lennox chose not to.
Instead, his steps naturally carried him toward her bedchamber.
"What reaction was I even expecting?"
Blood ties or not, family was still family.
Receiving word from the family that raised her after so long—of course she would be happy.
"She was originally a child of Bellonsa."
The reason her laughter had grated on him for the first time was because he knew how this marriage would end.
She would return to Bellonsa,
and he would destroy Bellonsa.
It felt like being reminded all over again that the woman he lived with was bound to the very house he had sworn vengeance upon.
Thud.
A stone struck the back of Estelle's head squarely.
[Hey! You said you don't have a dad.]
When she turned around, a group of boys were glaring at her with triumphant, sneering smiles.
Their features were strangely blurred, as if smudged out, and that was how she realized it was a dream.
But regardless, the young Estelle cried out as though reciting a line she had spoken many times before.
[That's not true, I have a dad!]
[Don't lie. My mom said so. She said you're from a pitiful family without a father.]
[Then your mom's the liar!]
[What?!]
Estelle had never once seen her father's face.
But because her mother had begged her over and over never to say otherwise, she told the lie.
[Daddy only left to make money for us! When he comes back, he'll ride a fine carriage, dress me in a pretty gown, and bring me lots of delicious food!]
[Liar, liar!]
When Estelle talked back without backing down, the boys yanked her hair.
It hurt, but she didn't cry.
If they hit her once, she struck back twice.
After standing her ground against them and returning home, her mother came running in shock.
That same lovely pink hair as Estelle's.
And eyes the color of the sky, bright blue.
Though she wore shabby clothes and her face was smudged with dirt, to Estelle there was no one more beautiful than her mother.
[Mom! Can't I just tell people I don't have a dad?]
[No, Tia. If you do, people will look down on you.]
[But you told me yourself, didn't you? That there are all kinds of families in the world. So why would they look down on us?]
[…Because there are far too many people in this world who refuse to accept that. For now, Tia, let's wash up and put some medicine on you.]
With sorrowful eyes, her mother drew water and gently washed Estelle's face.
On her mother's ring finger sparkled a gemstone ring.
Its band was thin, the stone small, yet her mother had never once taken it off.
That should have been the moment Estelle kept silent.
But since she had been beaten for nothing more than not having a father, the hurt clung to her, and she kept chattering on.
[Then… did I never have a dad to begin with?]
[Of course you did.]
[Did he abandon us?]
Her mother did not answer.
Estelle gazed at her reflection on the rippling water's surface.
Her beauty was so striking that it drew too much attention. Because of that, little Estelle had deliberately tangled her hair and smeared dirt on her face wherever she went.
That part was fine.
A bit messy, yes, but unless she looked in the mirror, she didn't have to constantly see how she appeared.
But to be treated with contempt for nothing more than not having a father—it felt unbearably unjust.
[If I had a dad, then they wouldn't have looked down on me.]
[Tia.]
At the moment those honest words slipped out, her mother's eyes brimmed red.
[I'm sorry, Tia… I'm so sorry.]
Her mother clutched her tightly and wept.
Restless and unsure what to do, Estelle hugged her back just as tightly.
It felt as though everything was her fault.
If only she hadn't whined, Mother wouldn't have been hurt so deeply.
But that night, after crying for a long time, her mother seemed to come to a decision.
Late at night, she left the house.
And a few days later—
A splendid noble's carriage stopped in front of their home.
Because of the man who stepped down from it, mother and daughter shed the filth that had hidden their beauty, dressed in fine gowns, and ate delicious food.
It wasn't, as Estelle had once claimed, her real father who had returned.
It was Count Bellonsa.
As if it were the natural course of things, her mother married the Count.
The new Countess was adorned with rings of large, glistening stones.
But no matter how her attire changed, the ring on her left ring finger never left its place.
[Tia, as long as we live with the Count, no matter what happens in the future, you'll be safe.]
If Estelle could return to the past, there was one thing she would desperately want to tell her mother.
That all she needed was her.
That they didn't need wealth, or honor, or even a father—just the two of them living together would have been enough.
"Papa…"
In her sleep, Estelle's lashes trembled.
For the first time in a long while, old memories resurfaced, and her lips moved faintly.
"…Bastard."
The raw truth slipped out.
She quickly wiped away the tears that welled in her eyes—
and then, good news arrived.
"Madam, the Tower Master has come to visit."
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