I cried for a long time. My parched throat was stuffy, and my eyes felt sore every time I closed them, likely due to the bloodshot state they were in. Perhaps it was from agonizing over matters since late last evening, but as soon as I released some of my emotions, my head started aching intensely.

My heart was in pain as I wept, and now that my body was also hurting, I felt even more miserable.

Amidst all this, the corridor was quiet. Considerable time had passed, so the meal must have ended as well. I wondered if Father, who had been shouting furiously, had cast that woman out of the estate. I hoped he had.

If he did, how would Isabel, who already held a grudge against Father, be feeling now? Would she feel relieved? She probably would…

Even as I strained my ears to listen, I was afraid that if I went outside, the woman would grab my wrist and run away with me.

While reason and instinct were in conflict, someone ascended the stairs. The footsteps approached my room. With my instincts gone and overcome by irrational fear again, I tightly grasped the edge of the blanket.

“It’s me, Lize.”

I had been worrying about it being the woman, but it was Isabel. She was better than the woman, but Isabel was the one who had schemed to send me into that woman’s arms. Naturally, I detested her and hated the sight of her.

“…Don’t come in.”

“After saying that, you didn’t even lock the door.”

Isabel forcibly opened the door.

“I told you not to come in.”

Even as I complained resentfully, Isabel had already entered the room. She closed the door so our conversation wouldn’t leak out.

I tried not to look at her face. However, before long, my head naturally turned towards Isabel’s face. Despite turning the household upside down, Isabel had a serene expression.

I definitely disliked that face. I disliked it so much that my eyes, accustomed to pain, started stinging again.

After closing the door, Isabel’s gaze met mine as she belatedly looked at my face. Her eyes slightly widened.

I couldn’t see myself in a mirror, but my condition must have been a sight. My swollen face probably had no unscathed spot, and my lips, bitten raw, would have scabs on them.

But was Isabel the type of person to be so surprised by that? Gently touching my face, the tears that had been flowing wet my fingers.

“Ah.”

I had started bawling again not long after stopping. What a disgraceful appearance. And in front of Isabel, no less.

As I wiped my tears, they strangely continued to flow.

“…Why are you crying?”

She posed that as a question. Did she really think I’d be crying out of joy and happiness? I was crying out of misery and heartbreak. I wanted to say that sarcastically, but the words wouldn’t come out. To be precise, words did come out, but not the sounds I wanted.

Earlier, I had been biting my lips tightly and crying quietly, but now I was wailing.

This had never happened before. Even as I cried, I was bewildered. Feeling exposed and embarrassed, my heart ached every time I sensed Isabel’s gaze on me. Why was this happening? I asked myself several times even as I wept.

No clear answer emerged. I just cried.

“Why are you crying?”

Isabel asked once more. As her face gradually contorted, I felt a growing sense of unfairness, further muddling my thoughts. When I didn’t give a proper answer and only continued crying, Isabel, unable to endure it, turned her back. As she turned the doorknob, my heart unexpectedly grew anxious.

“D-Don’t go…!”

“…”

Isabel’s action came to a halt. Why did I stop her when I couldn’t even stand the sight of her? I regretted it the moment I spoke.

“Don’t… Don’t abandon me. I don’t want to go…”

“…”

“I want to stay here…! Next to Mother. Not with that unknown woman, but next to Mother!”

The words instinctively came out without going through my mind. The sentences that had been so difficult to utter now, strangely enough, flowed out of my mouth smoothly.

While speaking clearly, I couldn’t muster the courage to face Isabel, so I lowered my head. The falling tears wet the back of my hand.

“Please, please… I’ll do anything. I won’t read books anymore as Mother said, and I won’t cause trouble! I won’t go outside without permission! So please…”

I pleaded and pleaded. I spoke so desperately that my voice lost strength.

“I…”

“…”

“I want to continue living as Lize Marsen.”

The last words came out distinctly. That was all I had to say. Even if I wanted to say more, the dissipating tension left me devoid of energy.

Then, Isabel’s body, which had been motionless, moved.

The sound of the doorknob being fully turned was heard. I abruptly raised my head, but I couldn’t see the face of Isabel, who had already turned her back. She was so heartless that even though she noticed my gaze, she didn’t show her face even once.

“…Let’s talk again once you’ve calmed down a bit.”

Those were her final words. In the spot Isabel left, only cold air lingered.

She didn’t hold my hand until the end.

* * *

Time passed, and the door opened again.

“Lize…”

Thinking it was Isabel, I looked up in surprise, but the person who opened the door was none other than Swel, one of the twins. However, it seemed he wasn’t the only one at the doorway, as several more heads were visible through the gap.

The siblings hesitated at the doorway. Judging by their appearance, they didn’t seem to have come to mock me but to offer sympathy.

When I remained silent, the heads behind Swel moved busily.

“Hey, what are you doing? Hurry up and go in.”

“…Don’t rush me, Silke. Lize’s eyes are red, so how can I go in?”

“What does that have to do with anything? You’re always so timid around people with red eyes, aren’t you?”

“Ah, then sister or brother should go in first! Since brother is right behind me, he should enter first.”

“What? I didn’t say anything…!”

Swel pushed Bernard, who had actually been quiet, to the front. Finding himself standing tall before me, Bernard was flustered and couldn’t do anything.

“Uh, well…”

Where did that timid personality go? Having reached the end of my patience, I waited to see when he would cross this threshold.

“Ugh, this is frustrating!”

“W-Wait a moment!”

Unable to endure the frustration, Felicia pushed his back hard. Bernard lost his balance and tumbled forward. As the slightly open door swung wide, Bernard’s body fell in front of the room.

“Oh, sorry.”

Felicia spoke in a tone that didn’t sound apologetic at all as she looked at Bernard, who had fallen forward.

“…What on earth are you doing?”

Were they filming a farce? As I glared at them and asked, Felicia, among the siblings who had been gauging each other’s reactions, climbed onto the bed where I was. She snatched the pillow in my arms, threw it on the floor, and handed me a glass of water.

“What are you doing?”

“Is your bottom glued to the bed? Do you think crouching here like a ghost will solve anything? At least drink some water first. It was in front of my room.”

“What did you say?”

“Twins, guard the door. That strange woman might suddenly come to take Lize away.”

At Felicia’s words, the twins, who usually caused trouble, stood like knights in front of my door. Bernard, who seemed to have hit his nose while falling, crawled onto the bed while touching the bridge of his nose.

“We came to devise a plan, Lize.”

“A plan, you say.”

“Do you want to go with that woman?”

Felicia abruptly asked me. Frowning, I shook my head firmly.

“No.”

“I thought so. The household has been in chaos ever since that woman came. Father only drinks alcohol and occasionally takes out his anger on passing maids. Mother’s face is also gloomy. The two of them don’t even try to have a conversation.”

“…”

“We, who had been discreetly staying out of the way, also tried to do something about it since the situation was bad. But it was all to no avail.”

It seemed the household had been in turmoil while I had been covering my ears in the room. The complexions of my siblings didn’t look good at all. In particular, they were anxious and worried that the relationship between Father and Mother would completely fall apart.

But why were they coming to me, the root cause of this whole matter, to confide their worries?

“So, we thought of a way to resolve this situation. It’s to kick out that strange woman.”

“…Only the woman?”

“Huh? Who else do we need to kick out? Who?”

Felicia and Bernard looked at me with curious eyes. Their genuine, innocent gaze made me feel strangely empty.

“Never mind. And the woman will leave on her own anyway. Once she achieves her goal, that is.”

“What’s that goal?”

“Taking me away. It seems I’m that woman’s biological daughter, after all.”

“No, Lize.”

As I spoke in a self-deprecating manner, Felicia grabbed my shoulders. She gripped my shoulders tightly as if telling me to come to my senses and opened her mouth.

“You’re usually the smartest among us, but at times like this, you fail to use your head. Don’t you find that woman suspicious?”

“That she’s my biological mother?”

“That too! And think about it. Does it make sense to suddenly lose your memory? I’ve only seen people lose their memories in comedies. And a witch hunt… Who believes in such things these days? Of course, in ancient times, they say witches and dragons existed, but now they’re all extinct.”

“…”

“It’s strange for her to come see Father under the pretext of regaining her memories. If Father’s words are true, his connection with that woman was just a one-night affair. There was no deep relationship or memories between them.”

As Felicia spoke in detail, a realization hit me. I hadn’t been able to assess the situation objectively due to that woman’s appearance, but upon reflection, there were indeed many suspicious points. No matter how much one loses their memory, it was odd for her, who had abandoned me, to suddenly want me back.

“Felicia, you’re smart! Then let’s go tell Father about this right away.”

When Bernard exclaimed in admiration, Felicia pinched his thigh.

“You lack awareness. Do you think Father is unaware of this? That’s why he’s so angry. The strange one is Mother. Even though Mother must know the truth, she’s just watching and not doing anything.”

Could the woman’s motive for targeting me be financial?

She was someone who had already obtained a large sum of money through me, so it was more than plausible. And since ten years had passed, it was about time for the money to run out.

The greed of someone who has tasted money once tends to grow larger than before. Unsatisfied with the amount from ten years ago, this time she might use me as a shield to exploit not just money but the entire Marsen family.

In other words, it would be dangerous if I fell into that woman’s hands. But even so, why was Isabel…

“Lize, have you come to your senses now? Since you’re smart, try to think of a plan.”

At Felicia’s words, I pondered deeply about the current situation.

“Felicia, Lize must be going through a lot too, so don’t rush her…!”

“I’d like to, but the situation is like this!”

Bernard and Felicia bickered. In the meantime, I opened my mouth.

“…The only person who can kick out that woman is Mother. But even though Mother knows everything, she’s not casting that woman out.”

“Hmm. Could it be because of Father?”

Felicia answered.

“That’s right.”

Isabel loved the Marsen family and her own flesh and blood, but conversely, she resented Father. She wanted to use that woman to receive the apology from Father that she had never been able to hear before.

‘But Father is someone who absolutely cannot do that.’

“So, what should we do?”

As Bernard sniffled, I shook my head. I gazed at the glass of water I hadn’t drunk yet.

“No, don’t do anything. For now, let’s observe the situation.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m saying let’s observe since nothing is certain yet.”

At my words, Bernard and Felicia repeatedly asked if it would be alright. Instead of answering, I just smiled bitterly. I wanted to trust Isabel one more time.