***
It all began with the disappearance of Charlotte. The only child of the Duke and Duchess of Tiodurop, and the daughter whom they all loved. Charlotte Blanc Tiodurop. Having lost his beloved daughter, the Duke did everything in his power to find her, but eventually he could not find her, and his wife, unable to bear the grief of losing her daughter, went completely mad. The tragedy came suddenly and uprooted a family and threw them into hell. How many years have passed since then? One day, after many hellish days, the Duke finally found his lost daughter. She was a young girl with silver hair, who, despite her shabby appearance, he was very fond of.
When she came back, Charlotte had no memory of the time she went missing, but the Duke did not care. He was always afraid of losing his daughter, and would do anything for her. And Charlotte gradually opened her heart to her father’s devotion. Because she loved her father, she did her best to be the perfect daughter for him. They seemed to be the perfect father and daughter and their story seemed to be eternally happy, like the ending of a certain fairy tale. Until a woman with the same name as the Duke’s daughter appeared… Another Charlotte, of similar appearance and age, and with the same name. Facing her, Charlotte realised that she had been a substitute. And she soon realised.
There was no need for a substitute when the real one appeared. People didn’t love the substitute, they loved the Young Lady herself. No matter how the substitute fell or was broken, no one cared about her. No one listened to her pleas for help as she was condemned. She was just a nuisance to deal with.
Everyone turned their backs on her and erased her from their memories as it was natural. She was the only one who remembered her. She gazed blankly at the dim light beyond the iron cage. At that moment, the door creaked open and she twisted her lips at the sight of Charlotte entering the prison. She had not forgotten that she had been her substitute. And that was my story.
It was just unforgettable.
“Hello, Charlotte.”
She was none other than another me.
“How have you been, sweet sister?”
The real Charlotte, who looked just like me and smiled. Dressed from head to toe to the nines, she looked as if she was a ceramic doll made with great care. Even the smile on her lips looked as warm and lovely as the spring sunshine.
“My father is going to carry out your death sentence tomorrow. It’s just that his two daughters have been mentioned and he’s told me that he prefers a poisoned sentence because of the way people would look at him.”
“…..”
“Of course, don’t let the fact that the poison will put you at ease. I have prepared a special poison for you. You will never die cleanly.”
I would die a miserable death in the agony of my blood drying up all over my body and my organs burning all day.
The corners of Charlotte’s mouth rose upwards.
“Yes, I’m finally going to be a real Charlotte.”
Her cheeks flushed, as if she were happy just to say. “I’m going to be the heir to the Tiodurop family, and I’m going to inherit everything. And I shall be happier than any of the people who love me. Because I am, no matter what anyone says, Charlotte Blanc Tiodurop.”
With her hands on her chest, Charlotte smiled in the most beautiful way.
“Unlike the glamorous me, you will disappear forever, and if anyone remembers you, they will only speak of you as a swindler impersonating the Duke’s daughter.”
Charlotte lifted my chin with the tip of her fan and made me look at her. Her two eyes, twinkling between her lush lashes, shone beautifully in the dirty prison.
“It’s dirty,” she said, “but you look much better dressed like this. When I see you crawling on the floor like a dog, will I feel that everything is finally back in its place? It’s the perfect look for a lowly blood.”
The taunting words could have put me to shame, but I didn’t even feel it. Shame was a luxury for a condemned criminal who was not only got hands and feet bounded, but also gagged like a dog, awaiting death.
“This is usually the case, but you don’t even rebel like that, do you?”
I who knew no shame was no better than an animal.
“Or is it that you are of vulgar blood and do not know shame?”
Knowing that I couldn’t answer anything because of the gag, Charlotte pretended not to know and looked away. It was not the appearance of a Young Miss whom everyone said was like an angel, but I was more used to it. It had been a long time since she hadn’t worn a mask in front of me.
“Don’t be too vexed. It wasn’t yours from the start. You should be grateful for what you have enjoyed so far.”
Charlotte burst into laughter and patted me lightly on the cheek with her fan. I could not look at her and averted my eyes. I knew that it was because of Charlotte’s pitfalls that I was in this state. But I could not stand proudly in front of her.
It didn’t matter if I really did something wrong. I was just a substitute to fill her vacancy. Now that the real Charlotte came back, there was no place for the fake one. Once, I was a Young Miss that everyone loved, I am now a sinner in my existence itself.
“It’s no fun when there’s no response.”
“Oh, yes! Should I tell you something good before dying? Actually, I’m a fake too.”
Charlotte’s face brightened for a moment, as if she didn’t like my consistent silence. She smiled like a child who has just discovered a prank.
“In fact, I’m a fake, too,” she confessed.
I looked up at her in disbelief, but she laughed and tapped me on the cheek with her fan, as if nothing had happened. I wanted to ask her what she meant, but all I could do was making funny noises because of the gag.
“Finally you’re responding.”
A smile spread across Charlotte’s lips as she watched my struggles.
“Why? Because I’m a fake, and do you think there’s any hope for you now?”
***
“Oh, no, no, no! Don’t be mistaken,” said Charlotte, smiling broadly, and looking at me coldly. “The only reason I have said this to you is because there is not the slightest hope for you. I thought it would be more ridiculous for you to die knowing the truth and not being able to say a word about it.”
Charlotte put on the mask of a Young Miss, with a smile on her face again. Unlike my miserable, beastly form, Charlotte, smiling at me, was an elegant Lady herself. That fact was the cruellest of all for me.
“Goodbye, Charlotte,” she said, “the name is mine now.”
I felt the tip of Charlotte’s fan gently brush my cheek, and her smile made my heart skip a beat. I knew that it was not hope but despair that she had given me. Even if her words had been true from the beginning, it would not have made any difference. She may or may not have been a fake, but that doesn’t change the fact that I was a substitute. Even if I survived, I had nowhere to go. Only then did I burst into tears that I had endured as I curled up on the floor.
****
“Ahhhhhhhh!”
I screamed in agony and bounced up, frozen in place by the sight that met my eyes. My body was constantly shaking with fear while I was trying to figure out the situation.
I hugged myself reflexively and took a deep breath, but it didn’t help. The burning sensation in my veins was still raw and driving me crazy.
“What’s wrong with you, My Lady?”
The maid rushed into my room while I was breathing hard, unable to hold my body properly. I saw the maid’s face and reflexively stepped back, my brows furrowed at the slow sensation. It was a bed I was sleeping in. My bed, which I had used since I was a child, but had been taken from me when Charlotte came along. What is the matter with me? I couldn’t understand what was going on, so I just blinked. I was sure I was dead.
My life ended while I was struggling in pain, my blood vessels burning. Many times I cried out for help, but neither the clasp in my mouth nor the chains that bound my body allowed me freedom to the end. The only mercy I had was to be greeted with loneliness in the merciless prison I had been given.
“My Lady, are you all right? Shall I call a doctor?”
“Velvet?”
“Yes, My Lady. You wanted to see me?”
I swallowed my dry spit as I smiled at her. Velvet had been my personal maid since I was a child, and she was like a sister to me. Or, more accurately, I mistakenly thought she was. I was the only one who thought we were close enough to share our feelings regardless of our status.
Since the return of the real Charlotte, Velvet has changed. She made a fuss with her fellow servants and spoke ill of me, and when that wasn’t enough, she gave a malicious testimony before the judge who judged my guilt. She was not on my side. I could still vividly see Velvet accusing me without hesitation. But I couldn’t let it show.
“What day is it today?”
I tried to hold back my anger. I did not know what the situation was, so I had to wait and see. The fact that Velvet, who had been ignoring me since Charlotte had first appeared, was now paying attention to me was suspicious.
“Of course, today is the last day when the Young Lady is nineteen.”
Velvet tilted her head curiously.
“You say I’m nineteen?”
“Tomorrow is your twentieth birthday, so you’re still only nineteen.”
As soon as I heard Velvet’s words, I felt as if I’d been hit with a hammer. Charlotte had not yet appeared. I was the only Charlotte in the house at the moment. The moment I realised this, my whole body relaxed.
“Young Lady! Are you all right?”
I staggered, and Velvet grabbed me hurriedly. With her help, I finally leaned back on the bed. The mere fact that Charlotte was not here was like a huge stone that had been holding me back had disappeared.
“Shouldn’t we call a doctor?”
“No, I’m fine. I’ll be better after resting.”
I smiled awkwardly and buried my face between my legs. I wanted to think that I just had a bad dream, because it would be much more real than having a nightmare about a dead person coming back to life. But everything was too vivid to be a dream. Besides, it will be my twentieth birthday tomorrow.
I put my arms around my knees tightly, but I couldn’t stop myself from shaking. Because tomorrow will be the day that Charlotte returns.
***