Wha…… What is this?

Aeli trembled her fingertips as she rolled her eyes around the room.

Well, it made sense since this wasn’t the originally assigned guest room but the room I used to use.

“Do, doctor! Doc……!”

“……Dear. Does it hurt anywhere?”

“……”

And this reaction too.

I didn’t expect to open my eyes and be at the Ratliffe mansion in the capital, since I had an accident before even leaving the Mason estate, but still.

No matter what, I couldn’t keep up with this flow at all.

My parents, whose eyes and noses had already turned reddish, were busily moving as soon as Aeli opened her eyes.

Amidst that, especially my father had lost even the whites of his eyes and turned red like a rabbit, no?

‘No matter how I look at this, that’s……’

……It seems like they found out?

Aeli couldn’t do anything but lie still and gulp down her saliva.

It was partly because I was so surprised that I couldn’t think to move, but− it was more because my parents would lay me back down if I tried to move even a little.

Flinch.

“A-are you feeling unwell? Is there any discomfort anywhere?”

“Ah, ahem! ……No, that’s not it−”

“What on earth is the doctor doing to be this late!”

“……Rey. Sit down, you’re being loud.”

“But……!”

“……”

So, no matter how you interpret this situation, it seems like they found out.

‘……Isn’t it too nonchalant for that?’

If someone saw, they would think you already knew but pretended not to.

But my parents’ reactions before getting on the carriage were not fake for that.

In the first place, there’s no way they would pretend not to know that their child they thought was dead had returned alive, and hadn’t Noel earnestly advised to be careful with words?

“……”

But looking at the reaction now, there’s no trace of being startled or shocked− or even suspicious……

I was curious because I couldn’t find any of the actions that would commonly come out.

Aeli, lying on the bed, wriggled her toes and turned her head.

‘Come to think of it, I don’t see Noel, Lutis, or Adi either.’

Maybe Lutis is with the child.

‘They couldn’t have gotten hurt somewhere……’

It was strange for the child not to be by my side even if they weren’t allowed to come in.

Recalling his usual behavior, he would have thrown a fit to stay by my side, so it was even more so.

Then what I could guess was that he hadn’t woken up yet.

Or−

“−Perhaps,”

Aeli, who suddenly became anxious, raised her upper body halfway and opened her mouth.

As expected, hands trying to lay me back down followed, but I didn’t care.

How many seconds had passed like that?

Creak.

“If you’re going to give a diagnosis, you’ll have to sit up anyway, so don’t do that too much. If your condition isn’t bad enough that you can’t get up, there won’t be a big problem.”

“……”

“Well, when you live long enough, all sorts of things happen.”

When someone opened the door and came in and spoke, Aeli turned her head in that direction.

“……Oh,”

“It’s an honor to see you again like this.”

Young lady.

The aged doctor with white hair said with a smile.

“……I was lying down for five days, you say.”

“Yes. I heard the circumstances from the duke and the count, so you don’t have to be so polite. The same goes for the previous count and his wife.”

“……”

“Other than that, only the nanny knows, so don’t worry. We’re telling the servants that the young duke is staying in the residence he used to stay in on the relevant floor.”

Aeli’s mouth gaped open at the doctor who tried to reassure her, saying that he told the servants that the child came back to stay by her side because he didn’t want to leave.

No wonder the reaction seemed off.

I didn’t expect to lie down for that long.

It’s a miracle to be alive after falling from that height, but he said there were no injuries other than light bruises.

In the meantime, since I wouldn’t wake up at all, I heard they changed my dirty clothes.

‘The brooch and accessories were all taken off and put aside then.’

It was natural to be found out since the additional magic Noel had cast just in case would lose effect after a certain amount of time.

Aeli blinked her eyes at the words that it happened when Noel was briefly away, so it was an unavoidable situation.

“I thought you deliberately hid it because you couldn’t just bring someone who looks so similar, but it seems the previous count and his wife didn’t.”

“……”

As soon as they saw my appearance, they seemed to have sensed something was off and immediately questioned Noel and Lutis, so I was quickly exposed.

Even though I was happy rather than perplexed that they readily believed it after questioning Noel and Lutis and hearing the story……

‘That’s common sense.’

Who would believe it if you said a dead person came back to life?

No matter how much they are my parents, it would only be surprising. Aeli thought if our positions were reversed, she wouldn’t have acted much differently from Noel.

It’s a feeling I often felt when I was with a child who had grown up beyond recognition, but……

“……I gave birth to you in pain, how could I not recognize you? I knew something had been done to the brooch, but I never imagined you were hiding something like this−”

“……”

“……”

The title of ‘parent’ doesn’t seem to be taken lightly.

When my father, who had such a surprised face when I first opened my eyes, quickly shut his mouth and just looked down at me, Aeli had no choice but to be mindful.

He looked like he had a lot to say.

But not a single word came out of his tightly closed lips.

“Hmm, other than having low muscle mass or being a bit skinny, there doesn’t seem to be any major problems. The bruises aren’t that severe either, so it seems to have healed completely at this point.”

“Is that so? Then for meals……”

“Since you haven’t eaten for five days anyway, let’s just have thin soup without solids for about a day and see how it goes. If there are no issues, you can gradually add solids and transition to a regular diet.”

Being skinny was because I was originally a picky eater and had a constitution that didn’t easily gain weight.

As for muscles, I had been lying down like a corpse for several years, no, I was actually a corpse, but anyway, it had improved a lot now.

‘Seeing that there were only bruises, I guess most of the wounds healed while I was in the hut……?’

If even fractured bones mended to that extent, the effect must have been better than what most priests heal.

On top of coming back from the dead and surviving life-threatening situations, now the secret of my birth was revealed too – was this really my life?

I was still dumbfounded, but the situation kept changing so there was no way to adapt.

After finishing a simple examination and saying he would see me later, the doctor left the room.

Only after hearing that Noel had gone to the capital for a while on business and Lutis had gone to the dining hall for the child’s meal did Aeli feel relieved and sit back against the bed headboard.

Once again, only the three of us, including my parents, were left in the spacious room. Aeli firmly shut her mouth.

“−Aeli.”

“……”

“The young master didn’t eat for days, saying he would stay by your side, so we barely managed to coax him down not long ago. We haven’t told him the news of your awakening yet.”

“……”

“If you wish, shall I have a servant tell him now?”

Aeli shook her head slightly at her mother, who had been reading the mood like her and opened her mouth.

It was because I could roughly picture in my head how the child had been acting, judging from my parents’ reactions to this extent.

‘He probably cried face down without even eating his favorite snacks.’

It wasn’t unreasonable since he was particularly sensitive to me.

Then it seemed better to just let him eat.

After expressing her refusal, some silence passed.

“……I heard the story from Noel and the duke for five days. That you wandered around as a ghost and woke up a few months ago.”

“……”

“You should have contacted us first if something like that happened. Why did you hide it……”

My father, who had been quietly keeping his mouth shut, suddenly snapped.

He said that when I was carried in covered in dirt, there were bloodstains on my clothes but no wounds could be found, so there was a huge fuss.

Furthermore, when the doctor removed all restraints for treatment, the room became chaotic, and when they went in to see what was strange, they were met with their daughter’s face.

Did I know what kind of feelings they had for the past few days after belatedly hearing explanations from Noel and Lutis?

I couldn’t possibly know that. Aeli muttered softly.

“……I thought you wouldn’t believe me.”

“−What?”

Although an angry voice was still heard above my head, I couldn’t see what expression my father had because I had my head bowed.

I didn’t have the courage to face him− and even though I kind of knew why he was angry, I just couldn’t bring myself to look.

“How am I supposed to say that I died and woke up after 4 years?”

Look what happened when I said that.

I hadn’t already experienced enough how it turned out when I told Noel to stay put for now because I indirectly saw how my parents had been doing……

In reality, I was too scared to open my mouth.

If my parents showed the same reaction Noel had, then.

‘I don’t want that……’

I had no confidence to endure it any longer.

When my father told me to leave, I could have endured more if I tried, but the reason I obediently left was because of that.

Aeli continued to reply.

“……”

“Am I…… am I some undead?”

“……”

“I’m not even a demon, so if it was a story that made sense, I could at least try to say something. Even Noel− even Noel tried to kill me as soon as he saw me, so how can I say that……”

“Honestly, if it wasn’t for this situation, you wouldn’t have believed me……”

I opened my mouth half convinced.

Even though it wasn’t intentionally revealed, I still couldn’t understand why my parents weren’t suspicious even now.

Even if they questioned Lutis and Noel and heard their answers, do they believe that?

‘……No matter how much your child has returned, they are clearly a dead person.’

Nothing good would come out of hearing such a questioning.

Anger made my stomach churn, but I couldn’t even tell where the source of my rage was coming from myself.

When I put strength into my whole body, I felt my shoulders and legs trembling.

I bit my lip, and it tasted metallic as if it was wounded.

“……”

“……”

As silence continued after I finished talking, I immediately regretted it.

I finally had a chance to talk, but didn’t I kick it away myself by venting my anger in the wrong place?

Aeli thought, ignoring her rapidly beating heart in the quiet room.

‘If I get kicked out like this.’

Then will I never see them again?

I should have just stayed still. Just as Aeli was tightly closing her eyes.

Hug!

“It’s okay.”

“……”

“Dad is sorry to you. Don’t cry.”

“……”

“He said he went to your room in the middle of the night and saw everything? I found out because Noel told me.”

“……”

“−But to not even recognize his daughter and chase her away like that, Mom is……”

It seemed like a faint vibration was felt on the skin that was touching, and soon after, the voice stopped.

The shoulder seemed slightly damp.

……I said seemed, but I knew it wasn’t a misconception. My heart gradually found its pace, feeling as damp as my wet shoulder.

Only then did Aeli raise her head that she had been lowering.

“……”

I saw my father with his head bowed, shedding tears silently.

So.

So, I.