Surviving as a Terminally Ill Heiress - Chapter 29

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 29

Ten years.
For a full decade, Ambrose had searched desperately for some trace of him, yet nothing had ever been found.
What could that possibly mean?
‘He died a noble death without even leaving a body behind—that’s what everyone says.’
I exhaled softly.
How convenient. At least let there be a body for a proper funeral.
The bitter laugh that followed my unguarded thought came unbidden.
People are truly fickle creatures.
When did I pray that my own father had died an accidental death?
And yet I’d dismissed the tiresome stories of the missing young noble as nothing to do with me.
So terribly fickle was I that I even found comfort in his tragedy.
‘My mother and I weren’t abandoned.’
That festering wound I’d long since buried beneath a facade of premature wisdom was slowly beginning to heal.
I reached out and traced the sharp contours of his eyes in the portrait, drawing them in the empty air.
Eyes different from mine, yet the same gaze.
Mother loved his eyes most of all.
Then what part of her did he love most?
I would never know now.
I smiled and turned to address Tru behind me.
“Now you’ve seen him too.”
“Ah, y-yes…?”
Tru snapped to attention, eyes clearing.
I asked, holding aloft the legacy of the man my mother had loved most.
“Do I look like the young noble?”
Tru’s eyes met mine, and he nodded as if entranced.
I lifted the corners of my mouth in satisfaction.
It seemed this legacy would prove quite useful.
Before leaving the room with a now far more deferential Tru, I turned back one last time to the portrait.
‘I’ll choose to believe you truly loved her with all your heart.’
That’s enough.
Not a lover who abandoned, but a first love who could never return due to unavoidable circumstances.
That will suffice.
I left my father’s chamber with a smile.

* * *

And at last, they arrived.
The ones I’d resolved to bring with me as soon as I’d properly made a home here.
“Morgan! Genie!”
“Bebe…! Ah, l-lady….”
Morgan descended from the carriage I’d sent, his daughter Genie at his side, and immediately shrank into himself.
He’d been calling me by name as usual, only to draw reproachful looks from the staff.
Of course, Maya had scolded me too—what kind of title was that for a teacher?
Morgan was Morgan; I was a young lady.
Only after we’d straightened out the proprieties could we finally enter the Mansion.
“Ohhh…!”
Genie, clutching both Morgan’s hand and mine, let out a steady stream of exclamations.
Then she looked between us and giggled.
“Sister, you’re a princess now!”
“Am I?”
“You are! You always looked like a princess, but now you really are one!”
How endearing.
Genie was Morgan’s five-year-old daughter.
She was the same age as Hui, and since Morgan was a widower, our households had always been close.
Fortunately—or perhaps notably—Morgan had never been Mother’s type, so it remained a purely familial friendship.
I only had two brothers, so I’d come to think of Genie as a younger sister.
As I looked down at Genie with amusement, I felt a gaze upon me.
Morgan’s eyes had grown misty again.
“What is it, Morgan?”
“Nothing… just thinking how glad I am.”
I’d heard those exact words countless times in the letters we’d exchanged.
I shook my head dismissively, but Morgan’s voice wavered as he spoke.
“I know what struggles you’ve endured, young lady. While Sena was ill, caring for your younger brothers at such a tender age… truly, I cannot imagine….”
Sena.
It had been so long since I’d heard Mother’s name.
I laughed despite myself.
Well, what Morgan was describing hardly counted as hardship by my measure.
Looking back on it, those days had been among the happiest of my life.
Mother’s illness grieved me, yes, but those brief moments when our family of four was together—those were precious.
Morgan and Genie headed toward the West Wing where the Medical Facility was located.
After entrusting them firmly to Maya’s care, I turned to leave, but there was something odd about Hui’s expression as he and Dido followed after me.
“Hui? What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
Should I have them stop by the Medical Facility while we’re here?
I knelt down in concern and reached to smooth his face, but Hui muttered quietly.
“…want to.”
“Hmm?”
“Want to see Mama.”
My hand froze.
We’d passed through winter here and were now greeting spring.
The children had adapted well and seemed content enough, yet every so often they would say things like this.
I reached up and stroked his cheek as casually as I could manage.
“Is that so? Shall we get ice cream while we wait?”
“Don’t want to.”
“You don’t like ice cream? Then what about….”
“Don’t want! Don’t want! Mama still won’t come!”
Hui suddenly burst out crying.
Dido, who’d been calm until then, puckered his lips and began to pout as well.
I sat quietly, watching Hui.
It seemed that hearing Mother’s name, seeing the familiar Morgan, and especially watching his friend Genie holding Morgan’s hand had triggered this.
Understanding what lay beneath his tantrum, I gently took hold of his hand.
“Settle down. If you keep shouting like that….”
“Don’t want!”
Hui Flang. Enough.
When I lowered my voice to that stern register, Hui flinched.
I continued with gravity.
“Mama won’t come just because Hui whines.”
“Then… if Hui is good… will she come?”
No. She can’t. She won’t.
But I smiled and said, “Then yes.”
A lie.
I pretended not to hear his quiet murmur.

* * *

“…What on earth is all this?”
“Letters, my lady!”
As if I didn’t already know.
I stared in dismay at the mountain of correspondence piling up before me.
“No, I mean, why are they suddenly flooding in like this?”
“It’s spring, my lady! Now that all the young nobles from the Territory are arriving in the Capital for the season, the parties are beginning!”
Ah, that does make sense when you put it that way.
I’d done domestic service before, so I understood the basic rhythms well enough.
But the young lady I’d served had never received quite so many invitations in such a grotesque flood.
I regarded the invitation cards with some distaste.
So many party invitations.
‘Do I need to go to any of these?’
I hadn’t engaged in any public activities yet.
Not for any particular reason—I’d simply been too busy raising the children, quarreling with the old man, and adjusting to life in the Mansion.
“Hmm.”
If I’ve adapted now, then perhaps I should begin to venture out into society.
The prospect of laughing merrily at some grand party was not without appeal.
But there was a problem.
“Tru, do you honestly think I can enter High Society in my current state?”
“Oh dear. That would be a disaster.”
Tru grinned, teeth bared.
When I didn’t laugh along, he quickly stopped.
“B-but my lady already has excellent conduct! And you know so much!”
“My knowledge is somewhat spotty, though.”
I tapped my chin thoughtfully.
My foundational knowledge was strongest when it came to Ritz.
Mother had grown up in Ritz and was rather weak on things like Ateran history, naturally.
I had no particular desire to learn how to read High Society’s moods or master their affected speech patterns….
‘But if I’m going to live as an Ateran noble, shouldn’t I at least master the basic historical facts?’
When I mentioned this thought aloud, Fin and Maya were immensely pleased.
They even brought in a special tutor for me.

And so, days later.
I recalled something Mother had told me.
‘Bebe, not everyone in the world will like you.’
‘I know.’
‘But in the end, most people will like you.’
At the time, I’d thought Mother was being silly and dismissed it carelessly.
But living taught me she was right.
Not everyone could like me, but most did.
More precisely, there were simply few people willing to expend time and effort to torment and dislike someone else.
And yet, Mother.
It’s always that minority that causes the problems.
“I am Rolla, of the Earldom of Madison, assigned to oversee your education. I look forward to working with you, my lady.”
Polite, yet with a guardedness glinting in her eyes.
In truth, this was the normal reaction—which made it oddly refreshing.
The reason I’d been welcomed by House Ambrose, the Imperial House, and other noble families was due to the peculiar circumstances of the moment.
‘They’re grateful for my existence because Ambrose’s young noble has disappeared.’
The Legitimate Bloodline of House Ambrose, on the verge of extinction, had miraculously been preserved.

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