Chapter 3
* * *
After leaving the garden and entering the mansion, I headed straight into my room.
I ran into several servants on my way there.
But they all busily ran past me as if they couldn’t see me.
There was no way they couldn’t be able to see me. They just chose to ignore me.
I climbed the stairs, walked a little along the corridor, and opened the door to my room. A familiar view welcomed me.
I strode inside the room at once and walked towards the window.
My appearance was reflected in the polished window.
Unlike Ricardo’s vivid red hair, my long hair, which looked like a light-colored flower, came into view.
Its ends have turned darker at the awakening of my power in the garden a little while ago, but it wasn’t that dark yet.
The face reflected in the glass looked a bit brighter.
My age right now, which is near for one to be considered an adult, is 19.
My age when I died in my last life was twenty-four, so I returned five years earlier in this life.
Every starting point was different, but the way my lives went and ended was all the same.
“Please. Die in Gabrielle’s stead.”
Ricardo’s desperate voice, which wasn’t anything like him, came to mind.
Thereafter, I remembered the Ricardo who just sat in the garden earlier.
People always talked about me whenever they saw me outside.
‘The ugly duckling of the Inoaden family.’
‘The worthless member of the family.’
‘The useless weed growing in the rose garden.’
That is everyone’s impression of me, Hilise Inoaden.
The first two nicknames were formed because of my relationship with the family members, whereas the last one was because of the unusual nature of those with the Inoaden’s blood.
No matter how many nicknames I have, none of them are good.
I heard voices through the half-open window.
When I came closer and looked out of the window, I saw the garden where I stood earlier.
Ricardo and Gabrielle were already gone from their place.
The gathered maids and servants are diligently organizing the surroundings under the butler’s orders.
Drag the tray, clean the tea table, and collect the dead body of the beast.
However, they did not know what to do with the roses that bloomed around them.
The fact that it wasn’t Ricardo who bloomed them was probably a small part of the employees’ confusion.
None of them doubted that Ricardo, the eldest son, would be the heir.
Everyone affectionately called him ‘The Prince of Roses’.
However, unfortunately, this power is mine, and until I die, his turn would never come.
I looked at where Ricardo sat earlier, thinking about how cynical I was.
Now, I just have to continue with this act.
The servants eventually called the gardeners to clean up the roses I bloomed and turned to go back inside the mansion.
But as soon as someone touched a rose, it turned to dust, glistening like powdered glass.
I witnessed its glittering particles scatter in the air as I reached out and closed the window.
Then, I pulled the curtain next to me, completely blocking the light from my view.
* * *
“Please come this way, Mr. Madsen. The young master and young lady are waiting for you.”
The Inoaden’s family doctor, who visited the mansion because of the incident earlier, went to check on Gabrielle first.
Even though I was the one who was almost eaten by the beast, everyone prioritized Gabrielle, who was protected by Ricardo, so that not even a single strand of her hair would be lost.
It was so natural that I wasn’t even surprised.
Gabrielle must be completely fine besides being a little surprised.
But I know she’s going to fake everything.
To cut Ricardo and Father’s attention from me because they were distracted by my powers.
But even if she doesn’t do that, Father and Brother will still run to her because even at the mere sight of a crying Gabrielle, they would always become flustered.
That’s how much they love Gabrielle.
And that’s how much they hate me.
My father, Diego Inoaden, and my mother, Rowena Evelyn, had a marriage out of love, not a political marriage, which was rare for nobles.
Their love was indeed extraordinary, and I’ve heard that everyone envied and wished for their happiness forever.
When my brother, Ricardo, was born, the spring at Inoaden was as perfect as ever.
But the beautiful days came to an end like a lightning strike.
This was because Mother, who became weak after giving birth to her second child, died after struggling with death for several days.
My father and brother, who loved my mother more than their own lives, could not forgive me for killing her.
It was a common and boring story that often happened in popular novels.
Then, winter came. At that moment, it seemed as though Diego Inoaden would have no other woman for the rest of his life.
But five years later, he remarried.
The woman was a widow from the North, whose looks were very similar to our dead mother. She also has a young daughter, who looked a lot like her.
Maybe it was a fateful encounter when the longing grew deeper.
Father and Ricardo were immediately captivated by the two.
Ricardo treated our stepmother, who resembled our biological mother, like his real mother, and her daughter, like his real sister.
I was the only one outside the fence of their newly built family.
But for the second time, my father and brother’s spring days were over. It lasted for only ten years.
It was because our stepmother suddenly died of an unknown disease.
The people outside gossiped, whispering, ‘Maybe it was their destiny to die early.’
In any case, with our stepmother’s death, Father and Ricardo became more affectionate toward Gabrielle, who was left alone.
Whereas I, on the other hand, became even more neglected in the Inoaden family.
“Are you comforting me?”
A rose that bloomed from under my bed wrapped itself around my arm and gently rubbed its petals on my cheek.
It seemed as if it was touching my heart.
“Thank you.”
But I’m fine.
I don’t have any sorrow left in me.
Still, I leaned my head to the rose as a token of gratitude.
Whoosh-
Long hair flowed down to my chest.
It was a little strange to see my hair in a long length as it was still short enough to show my neck just before I opened my eyes in the garden.
But I only felt such an emotion for a short time.
In my past lives, they betrayed me after I exhausted everything I had.
So now, I won’t give them anything of mine anymore.
Knock, Knock-
“Milady, Mr. Madsen is here.”
I heard the maid’s voice calling me outside.
After examining Gabrielle, the doctor came to visit me.
It was only natural, but no one really did come to my room until that evening.
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