I’m The Real Daughter, But I Don’t Want To Go Back To The Duke’s Estate - Chapter 21

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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‘When did we become so close?’

Didn’t she insult me in various ways from the very first day we met?

Calling me ill-mannered and stupid, among other things.

That was probably why.

The reason my voice was so sarcastic when I asked the question.

“Why are you here?”

“Pardon?”

“Shouldn’t you be going to the Princess?”

For a moment, Mrs. Howard’s face stiffened slightly.

But only briefly.

“I am a governess.”

Mrs. Howard replied nonchalantly.

“It’s my duty to serve all the children of the Duke’s family fairly. Above all, isn’t this Milena’s first time coming to the Duke’s estate?”

“…”

“Don’t worry. I’ve already asked the Princess for permission.”

At that confident answer, my mood sank completely.

There was no real reason for Mrs. Howard to come looking for me in the first place.

In this vast townhouse, there wouldn’t be a single servant to guide me?

Rather, she was trying to curry favor with me, who might be the ‘real Princess.’

Even abandoning Cecilia, the Princess she had been serving!

‘And she asked Cecilia for permission?’

I clenched my teeth tightly.

I couldn’t help but know what kind of feelings Cecilia must have felt then.

She must have felt miserable.

And she would have hated me even more… Ah, how annoying!!

“Thank you for coming to see me like this.”

I composed my expression and soon smiled brightly.

“You must be very busy serving the Princess and the Young Duke, yet you’re taking care of me too. You’re really thoughtful.”

“Oh my, you’re too kind…”

“But are you really okay with coming to attend to me?”

Mrs. Howard looked at me with a puzzled expression.

“Pardon?”

“What if I’m not the Duke’s daughter?”

At that moment.

Cracks appeared across the lady’s gentle face.

My voice became even more secretive.

“If that happens, you would have practically abandoned the Princess for a girl who isn’t even your real daughter, wouldn’t you?”

That was right.

Since I knew the original story, I was fairly confident that I was the real daughter.

But the Magic Tower hadn’t yet produced definitive results confirming paternity.

I asked again with a beaming smile.

“Ah, is that why you call me ‘Milena’ instead of ‘Miss’?”

“That’s…”

“Excellent judgment. It hasn’t been definitively proven that I’m Count of Lusert’s real daughter yet.”

I shrugged my shoulders and continued gently.

“It wouldn’t have been easy to call someone who was merely a servant maid ‘Miss.’ Right?”

Mrs. Howard, hit right on target, bit her lips tightly.

Isn’t that right?

If the lady really thought of me as the ‘real daughter,’ she should have called me ‘Miss’ or ‘Princess.’

But the lady didn’t do that.

‘It’s probably because of her pride.’

Having lived grandly as the governess of the Lusert siblings until now, it wouldn’t be easy to suddenly bow and scrape to a girl who popped up claiming to possibly be the real daughter.

Especially since our first meeting wasn’t very pleasant.

“Then please guide me to my room. I can wash myself, so just prepare clothes for me to change into.”

I drove the point home like that.

Mrs. Howard’s lips seemed to harden stiffly.

“…Yes, I understand.”

She forced a smile and bowed her head.

‘Really, so transparent.’

I snorted inwardly.

* * *

After suppressing her anger and escorting Milena to the bedroom.

Mrs. Howard’s stomach boiled with rising fury.

‘That arrogant little brat might really be the Princess?!’

She was just a girl who had been doing maid work until now!

To think she had to bow and scrape to such a lowly thing, calling her Miss!

It was right then that Mrs. Howard was inwardly exploding with rage.

“Governess?”

Suddenly, a voice calling her was heard.

Mrs. Howard, startled, turned around.

“Young Duke?”

Elias was looking at Mrs. Howard with a puzzled expression.

“Why are you here? Shouldn’t you be by Cecilia’s side right now?”

Father had definitely emphasized it again.

Cecilia must have been very shocked this time too, so stay close by her side.

But why was she wandering the corridor alone?

“Ah, Miss Milena came this time.”

Mrs. Howard quickly put on a good-natured smile.

“So I came to see her in case she might have trouble adjusting. I wanted to take care of her if there were any inconveniences.”

“…”

For a moment, Elias’s eyes narrowed.

In the past, he would have accepted it.

He might have even thought it was kind of her to take such good care of Milena.

But now, the governess’s attitude was strangely irritating.

‘Why does the governess have to be the one to take care of Milena?’

That’s because it wasn’t necessarily the governess who had to stay by Milena’s side.

It meant Milena could be left to other servants.

Above all, didn’t Cecilia also need the governess’s care just the same?

But setting aside the Miss she was supposed to care for and only worrying about Milena…

“But Father gave specific orders.”

The sense of unease that shot up like a sharp awl was extremely unpleasant.

Elias continued in a somewhat sharp voice.

“Take care of Cecilia too.”

“Of course, Young Duke.”

Mrs. Howard answered sweetly.

Elias, who had been staring at the lady with unreadable eyes for a moment, left abruptly.

Mrs. Howard watched Elias’s retreating figure with a hardened expression.

‘What’s this?’

The usual Elias wouldn’t have acted like that.

At her answer about taking care of his dear sister, he would have smiled warmly and said ‘you’re working hard.’

Right now, something….

‘It seems like she was annoyed with me.’

Mrs. Howard suddenly furrowed her brow.

But that was only for a moment.

‘No, I must be being oversensitive.’

The lady denied it inwardly.

How tirelessly she had worked to gain the trust of the Lusert Family until now.

“I wonder what the real ‘Chesha’ young lady is doing right now….”

“Still, she will surely return someday. Please cheer up.”

She had used the ‘real daughter’ as leverage to stimulate the family’s guilt and appeal to their loyalty.

Moreover, those efforts had yielded excellent results until now.

As proof of this, the Lusert Family all trusted her greatly.

…The only problem was that the ‘real daughter’ turned out to be in such a state.

‘Right, I can’t just leave things as they are.’

Mrs. Howard ground her teeth.

No matter how much that little brat was the Duke’s real daughter, she needed to correct her manners in advance.

If left alone, there was no telling what kind of trouble she might cause.

Moreover.

‘…These days, lowly creatures are far too lucky.’

Mrs. Howard’s expression turned cold.

Even Cecilia was living a life of being treated as a young lady after being lucky enough to be adopted.

When she was nothing but a fake.

And now some girl who came from who knows where might actually be the real daughter of the Rusert Ducal Family.

Wasn’t this far too unfair?

‘Right, I need to teach her that she can’t act so childishly and wildly.’

Mrs. Howard’s eyes gleamed sharply.

Her expression was quite sinister.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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