The Return of Lilietta - Chapter 10

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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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Chapter 10

“Just your very existence is so precious to us!”

The image of Hanna sobbing overlapped with the smiling butler’s consoling words. The matchbox Leonhardt had offered came to mind.

‘Lillieta’s disappearance was… much more devastating and serious than I thought. For these people.’

Rita bit her lip with complicated feelings.

If only she really were Lillieta.

If she truly were that child they missed so desperately that they were grateful for her mere existence, she wouldn’t have to feel this strange emotion.

She could purely rejoice and feel relieved.

‘But I can’t remember anything. If I believe it carelessly and the real one appears, then I…’

The oath made in Lillieta’s name felt unsettling to say she wasn’t Lillieta.

Everything felt unfamiliar and no memories surfaced to say she was Lillieta, making her anxious.

It was frustrating and frightening. She wanted to have certainty either way.

As she chewed her lip, Alfred spoke to her.

“I don’t know myself, but there are a few servants who remember you from childhood. Shall I call them for you?”

“…Yes, please.”

She rubbed her face dry and added.

“And… could I tour the manor with those people? To places that Lillieta… that I might remember from childhood.”

“Of course.”

Alfred answered with a brightened face. As if hoping she would regain her memories.

Afterward, Rita met with a gardener and maid who had worked at the manor since Lillieta was young, and wandered around Raskail Manor with them until late at night.

She couldn’t wear Lillieta’s dress because of the faint patchouli scent that had soaked into it, so she wore a plain dress the butler had hastily procured for her.

The manor rising alongside the birch forest was several times larger than she had imagined. She could understand why it was called Birch Tree Castle rather than just a manor.

So even just examining the places Lillieta had liked or frequently stayed took a long time. It was also because she lingered long in each place, hoping to find a familiar feeling or recover memories.

Leonhardt, having finished his work, heard that Rita was touring the manor and didn’t seek her out. He too desperately hoped she would remember something.

Since she couldn’t check everything in one day, Rita wandered around various places with the same people the next day and the day after.

She spent almost half a day in Lillieta’s room especially. Since nothing had been touched and everything was preserved as it was after the princess disappeared 10 years ago, she couldn’t bring herself to enter and only surveyed it with her eyes from outside.

Hanna, who had been Lillieta’s personal maid, hadn’t been seen for three days, but that was understandable. If she had come acting like nothing happened after doing such a thing, that would have been more surprising.

‘It wouldn’t be strange if she continues avoiding me forever.’

Rita didn’t bother looking for Hanna and only conveyed an apology through Leonhardt.

There had been no news of Richard since then either. She only heard speculation from the butler that he had likely snuck out of the castle again to go to a tavern.

On the third night after thoroughly exploring Birch Tree Castle like this, she returned to her guest room exhausted.

‘This body… has terrible stamina.’

She was tired enough to want to sleep immediately, but her mind was too complicated to fall asleep. Rita staggered toward the window.

Through the clean glass window, she could see the starry night sky. A sight she couldn’t see in the world where she grew up.

As if entranced, she looked up at that sky and reflected on the stories she had heard over the past three days.

“Lady Lillieta had a weak constitution and was often ill, but she was always smiling. And how beautifully she spoke – she was truly kind even to an old gardener like me.”

“She called the scars I got from gardening ‘medals of flowers and trees’ and held my dirt-covered hands. She even gave me the nickname ‘Knight of the Flower Trees’…”

“When the young master would hole up in a corner of the garden after fighting with the eldest master, Lady Lillieta would find him amazingly quickly. When she mediated, both of them would back down and reconcile immediately.”

“That’s right, Lady Lillieta was lovely like an angel and bright like sunshine. The entire manor became brighter thanks to her.”

“Honestly, before Lady Lillieta was born, Birch Tree Castle was just a solemn and quiet place. Even young Master Richard would grumble that it was stuffy.”

“After she was born, everyone smiled much more. Especially His Grace.”

“Her Grace once scolded His Grace. She said that since Lili was born, he had lost all his dignity and everything else, becoming a fool who just smiled. But Her Grace herself was beaming at the young lady toddling toward her…”

She heard not only stories about Lillieta but also many stories about the Raskail family members.

“His Grace isn’t at Birch Tree Castle. He left for the capital early this morning. Hm? I don’t think he’s avoiding you, that can’t be… Something urgent must have come up.”

“His Grace usually doesn’t stay at the manor much. He mainly stays at Creme Dome, that is, the Raskail townhouse in the capital… Yes, for the same reason Her Grace only stays in the annex.”

“So in practice, the young duke manages Birch Tree Castle.”

“The eldest master’s marriage has been quite delayed. He should hurry, but the family atmosphere… Come to think of it, he might finally get married now. Since the princess has returned safely like this!”

“The younger master was originally someone who maintained proper boundaries. He was ascetic too, being a holy knight after all. The fact that he hasn’t lost his divine power despite drinking so much is probably because he’s still faithful deep down.”

“He was originally a promising talent in the Order of the Holy Knights… Honestly, it’s a miracle he hasn’t been excommunicated now. The young duke has had a hard time cleaning up after him in various ways.”

“Her Grace rarely shows herself. She’s lost much of her… vitality. There was even an incident where a new maid saw Her Grace and fainted, calling her a ghost. But she’s still consistently gentle, which makes it more heartbreaking… that she can’t smile anymore.”

Contrary to the manor that was more magnificent and splendid than she expected, Lillieta’s family was more precarious and melancholy than she had anticipated.

‘Leonhardt seemed fine though. Ah, is that why only he is meeting with me?’

And even after hearing all those stories and wandering around various parts of Birch Tree Castle, Rita couldn’t remember anything.

She had finished surveying all the remaining places today, so there were no more places to explore. She had checked everything except the lakeside in the birch forest where she had first arrived in this world.

‘Even if I lost my memories, shouldn’t I remember something by now? I should at least feel something familiar.’

Everything was just unfamiliar. The places, the stories, the people.

Moreover, the Lillieta who remained in everyone’s memories was bright and lovely like a fairy. She didn’t seem like her at all.

Was she really Lillieta?

‘Leonhardt might have made some mistake. The oath being in Lillieta’s name might be based on the physical body.’

If Oli were here, she could accurately judge why the oath worked that way. Rita, who wasn’t a mage, only knew how to make oaths but didn’t know the specific laws and structures.

She stared intently at the matchbox Leonhardt hadn’t taken back, then irritably swept her hair up.

‘I’ve done my best at this point. I’ve thoroughly examined the possibilities and simply reached the conclusion that I’m not her.’

Now, rather than clinging to the delusion that she might be Lillieta, it seemed better to find a way to return this body to the real Lillieta and go back to her homeland as Rita Pascal.

‘Everyone misses Lillieta so much… I hope I can help them get the real her back.’

Rita, who had grown up in an environment where lingering or hesitating meant not surviving, skillfully organized her feelings. She closed her eyes tightly and gathered her thoughts.

‘I don’t belong in a place like this anyway. The princess of Birch Tree Castle? Rita Pascal? If the other squad members heard this, they’d die laughing.’

She chuckled and opened her eyes.

‘From tomorrow, let’s look into black magic. I’ll discuss with Leonhardt and see if there are cases of possession.’

As Rita turned around to rest for tomorrow’s goals, something caught her eye.

Outside the window, she glimpsed something white in the midnight garden.

‘Hm?’

Narrowing her eyes, she soon realized what it was.

A white, flowing negligee. Disheveled red hair. Pale feet stumbling across the grass.

Having seen portraits and photographs while wandering the castle for three days, she could recognize her.

The woman wandering the dark garden like a ghost was the Duchess of Raskail.

‘Why is the Duchess barefoot in the middle of the night…?’

Rita was startled and started to open the window but hesitated.

“Father and my brother know that you’re ‘Rita Pascal.’ But we haven’t told Mother anything. Do you understand what that means?”

“When you can properly play Lillieta’s role, we plan to tell Mother that you’ve returned. So until then, be careful not to encounter Mother.”

She thought while gripping the window frame. Shouldn’t she avoid appearing before the Duchess looking like Lillieta right now?

‘Let me wake the butler or Leonhardt.’

Just as she decided and was about to turn around, Rita saw it.

The Duchess was grabbing and shaking the iron gate toward the birch forest.

The chain the Duke had put up after Lillieta’s disappearance had been loosened the day Leonhardt carried Rita back and hadn’t been properly locked since.

She could understand why the Duke had locked that gate.

The loose chain fell down. The iron gate creaked open. The Duchess swayed away down the forest path.

Following the path where young Lillieta had disappeared.

“…!”

It was dangerous.

If left like this, something terrible would happen, and she had an intuition that she would lose track of her while waking and calling someone. Rita urgently opened the window.

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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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