“She’s really fine. In fact, her strength seems to have improved a lot more than what it was before.”
“Has it really?” Mrs. Meryl asked again and again as if she could not be relieved even after the doctor’s assurance.
“Yes, just give her very nutritious meals and plenty of rest.” Mrs. Meryl and Yella were relieved only after the doctor’s visit was over. Audria however was very curious about what was happening from the time that she regained her consciousness.
“Thank God that you are alright my Lady.” Mrs. Meryl smiled reassuringly at Audria. As if her well-being was the most important thing for her. It was this thing that Audria was most curious about- people who she was seeing for the first time calling her as a ‘Lady’.
She was just a normal girl; she wanted to ask why they were calling her a lady. But the moment she opened her mouth, nothing came out.
Like a person who has never talked before, her voice when it came out caused a lot of discomfort as if someone was scrapping the inside of her throat. The voice that did come out did not seem to be hers at all.
“Who…you…please?”
“My lady….. Don’t you remember me?” the woman named Meryl looked increasingly worried “I am Meryl, your nanny.”
“Nanny…..?
“Yes. My God! You can’t remember?”
Of course she could not remember a woman named Meryl. Because there has never been a nanny in her life. What was happening? She must have been mistaken for someone else. But the eyes of the woman named Meryl was looking at her without any deceit. It was a gentle, kind and warm gaze, as if looking at a child she has cared for, from the time that she was a child.
“Then…. Perhaps….” After a moment’s hesitation Audria opened her mouth “My name is…. What is it?”
“Yes? My lady’s name..?” Meryl’s face instantly darkened with anxiety over the fact that she couldn’t even remember her name. Meryl looked at her with a smile even though her face looked complicated, as if her mind was filled with many thoughts. The smile seemed to remind her of something. The more things happened, the more questions that Audria had. ‘Who was this person and what was she doing to her?’
“My lady is Audria Trudy.” Meryl replied in a friendly voice
Audria’s eyes widened. “…Audria?”
“Yes, the youngest daughter of the Duke Trudy. It has been your name since you were born, so don’t forget it.” The warm and unaffected smile and the voice which gave the answer, was comforting. But Audria didn’t know what to say when she heard her name and surname. She almost lost it on hearing it, ‘Audria Trudy’
She couldn’t believe it. Audria is her name. It was also the name of the youngest daughter of the Duke of Trudy, whose name was famous for belonging to the empire’s greatest family and one that was wealthy enough to be compared to the Imperial family. And now the ‘Audria Trudy’ which Meryl called her as is the name of the only daughter of the Duke of Trudy.
“I’m…Audria…Trudy….”
“Of course, my lady’s name is Audria Trudy.”
She still couldn’t believe it, but the answer that came back was the same as before. She seemed pretty sure that she was Audria Trudy…. That didn’t make sense in the first place. But the woman named Meryl who referred to herself as a nanny did not seem mistaken or as if she was lying.
Her head felt jumbled and her body trembled strangely.
“My Lady…. You really don’t remember anything? If you want, shall I bring the doctor back again?” Meryl, who noticed the whitening of Audria’s face, asked with a worried face. Yella who was standing just by the door, opened it and was ready to go and call the doctor back.
Audria huffed a breath and shook her head.
“Oh, my lady. Fine, I’ll just stand here then….”
“Are you really okay, Miss? If you feel even a little bit uncomfortable, tell me right away.”
“Uh… Okay… I will”
Fortunately the doctor was not called back. However, Meryl and Yella were still concerned and anxious and kept fussing over her again and again.
“My lady, please lie down a little longer. You need to rest your body.” On seeing that she was still trembling, Meryl thought that she was feeling cold, pulled up the quilt and covered Audria till her neck.
“I’ll bring you some hot soup miss.”
Meryl left the room after covering her well with the quilt. Left alone, Audria lifted the quilt that Meryl used to cover her and looked inside it. It was strange to see her body, looking like someone else’s. Her heart gave a violent jump. She couldn’t sit still.
She got off the bed and set foot on the floor. Since she had been lying down for a long time, her legs started shaking as soon as she stood up and she stumbled, but that wasn’t what mattered now.
‘The mirror…’ she thought ‘I need to check it with my own eyes.’
Fortunately, there was a full-body mirror in the room. Audria stood before it. In fact, a part of her had expected what happened next even before she looked in the mirror. The moment she had stepped down from the bed, the floor was quite far. She took a step backwards and saw that she had small feet like that of a child, when she looked down.
When she looked up, she saw her reflection and thought ‘I have really…. Become Audria Trudy!’ Short limbs that still had a long way to grow and a body with pale and white skin. None of which belonged to Audria. ‘It was a child’s body…’
The twenty-six year old Madame of the Ophelia shop was now the youngest daughter of the Duke of Trudy.