The Return of Lilietta - Chapter 32

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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 32

From that conversation, Rita gathered that the Raskail family had been in seclusion since her disappearance and hadn’t shown themselves at all during the social season.

At the same time, she thought about ‘Lillieta’s dresses’ that the Countess had made and collected every year, which she hadn’t been able to examine properly due to the patchouli scent.

“Lili’s debut, my goodness, I thought I’d never see it happen, what should I do, I’m so excited thinking about fitting you for a debutante dress… Oh.”

The Countess, who had been clutching both cheeks in excitement, suddenly looked surprised and turned to Rita with concern.

“Lili, will you be alright? I’m just suggesting it, so if it seems too difficult, we don’t have to do this. Mother is more than happy just having you back, so don’t worry about it, okay?”

“That’s right, hey, there’s no problem if you don’t participate in the social season anyway. Announcing your return doesn’t have to be through a social debut.”

Following the Countess, Richard quickly added his words. The family members who had gone to the fashion atelier together.

‘Because I showed weakness…’

Rita wore a bitter smile, feeling grateful yet sorry for their consideration, and a little embarrassed too.

“No, I’d really like to do it too, the debutante ball.”

Just as she wouldn’t deny having lived as Rita Pascal, she had no intention of denying that she was Lillieta del Nisa Raskail, the one and only daughter of Raskail.

‘I don’t remember well, but… the social season must have been an extremely important time among nobles. If they haven’t participated at all since I disappeared…’

There must have been all sorts of talk going around. To show the family’s strength, it would be good to participate. It was time for Raskail to break their seclusion.

‘I hope everything recovers like before I disappeared. The family, the house, and me too.’

This wasn’t the ashen world. To live here, she too needed to become more accustomed to life in this place.

In that world, it was right to be wary of everyone and treat anyone who wasn’t an ally as an enemy, but not here. She had to abandon battlefield thinking and blend into peaceful society.

‘I do plan to return there someday, but… until I find a way back, no, even if I find one, I’ll stay here until everyone recovers.’

Maybe she wouldn’t find a way back. Even tracking the clues Pascal left behind, there might be no way to cross to another world. She might never meet her comrades again.

‘Crossing between worlds can’t be simple, so I might not be able to return. Yes, that’s possible.’

Facing that possibility she had been deliberately avoiding made her feel terribly lonely and empty.

‘If I can never see Oli again, Sera, Senior Is, Luca, Ethan, and… Gid…’

Even if that happened, she’d have to accept it. She had shot the star prepared to die anyway. Just surviving and reuniting with her family was tremendous luck. Besides, wasn’t she already used to farewells?

Telling herself this, she deliberately turned her gaze away from the hole in her heart that threatened to deepen infinitely.

‘…Anyway, I need to readjust to this world first. For my family’s sake too.’

It would be good to make the debutante ball a symbol of such adaptation and proof of recovery.

For her, accustomed to carrying out missions, having such clear and concrete goals was better. Rita nodded enthusiastically.

“If it starts in April, there’s still a whole month left, right? I can do it. I really want to do the debutante ball.”

How could anything be harder than fighting demons while breaking through ruins or engaging in psychological warfare with Command while defending the Last Line of Defense?

She was confident.

It was confidence she could have because she didn’t really understand what preparing for a social debut in one month meant. The less you know, the braver you tend to be.

* * *

“So preparing for the social season and debutante ball has everyone incredibly busy, not just the young lady. They hired new footmen because of that too.”

“Mm-hmm, I see.”

“Are you listening? You were hired because they’re short-staffed. But is it okay to be loafing around like this?”

Maid Hanna glared at the man standing beside her. Regardless, the man leaning against the well just smiled with his eyes crinkled.

“Hmm, it’s taking longer than expected.”

“What is?”

“Your return.”

“What on earth are you talking about?”

“Haha.”

Hanna looked at the man who just laughed and deflected her question like he was crazy. Then she blushed slightly.

‘He’s weird, but honestly, he is handsome.’

The man was a footman who had joined a few days ago.

Originally, footmen served as the face of the manor, so the principle was to hire handsome, tall people. But this new footman was exceptional even among them. When he first introduced himself, all the maids squealed.

Tall stature, marble-white skin with a straight nose bridge, disheveled golden-brown curly hair and blue-gray eyes in deep-set features.

‘A fairy tale prince… though there’s something slightly decadent about him?’

But this handsome new footman strangely lingered around Hanna. Whenever there was nothing particular to do, he would follow her around.

Why?

“Doesn’t he have a thing for you?”

“Wow, he must like you!”

The words other maids had chattered echoed in her mind. She had denied it, saying that couldn’t be the case, but…

Hanna was secretly stealing glances at him reflected in the well water when she startled. His reflection in the water surface suddenly came close.

She instinctively squeezed her eyes shut. Low laughter echoed around.

“This was stuck on you.”

The approaching man plucked a leaf from her hair and showed it to her, then chuckled.

“Even being absent-minded is cute when I think of it as you.”

“Wh-what? Cute…”

Hanna couldn’t finish her words and just gaped. The man pressed the leaf he’d removed from her hair to his lips and smiled with his eyes.

“But still, I wish you’d return quickly.”

She couldn’t properly hear what the man said. She was too flustered to listen. Her face turned bright red at the feeling that his lips had touched her hair.

The man, Birch Tree Castle’s new footman ‘Ethan’, looked down at the reddened Hanna thoughtfully.

‘The face is similar, but somehow, everything except the face is…’

It must be because she was in the middle of returning, right? When the return was completely finished, she would become the person he knew. He wanted to stay right by her side until then and greet her before anyone else.

Ethan smiled broadly and easily lifted the water bucket Hanna had filled with one hand.

“I’ll help you.”

“Huh, what?”

Hanna followed behind, stealing glances at Ethan’s back as he strode away.

Does this man really have an interest in me?

Her heart pounded.

* * *

“Hanna, are you sick? Your face is red.”

“Oh, no! I’m not sick! I just, well, suddenly had to run for something…”

Lillieta looked puzzled at Hanna frantically waving her hands, then just let it go. If she wasn’t sick, it should be fine. More pressing matters were spread out before her.

“Hmm, seeing you get distracted, I suppose you’ve memorized everything up to here, my lady?”

A woman with black hair tied tightly in a single strand crossed her arms and spoke. She had an ordinary appearance, but a mole under her thin black eyes was noticeable.

Her name was Lindsey Dyce. She belonged to Amethyst Jewelers and, as discussed with Leonhardt before, had become Lillieta’s ‘amethyst.’

“Oh, no, not yet. Let me look once more.”

Rita hurriedly looked back at the complex family tree spread before her.

It was the imperial family tree of the Kairam Empire, to which the Raskail family belonged. Since it would be a disaster if the duke’s daughter didn’t know the royals or major nobles when debuting in society, she was studying with help from the amethyst who had become her aide.

‘What kind of family tree is this complicated? Is it because it’s the imperial family? It’s damn complicated, really.’

Hanna set down a teacup on her desk and carefully left the room. Lindsey glanced at the door Hanna had exited, then lowered her voice.

“My lady.”

“Hm? I’ve almost finished, just a moment…”

“The investigation you requested is complete. May I report now?”

Rita looked away from the family tree, confirmed that Hanna had completely left, then gave Lindsey her attention.

“The investigation about Hanna?”

“Yes.”

The investigation into Hanna’s family and personal relationships that she had originally asked Leonhardt about. That was actually the reason an amethyst had been assigned to her in the first place.

Lindsey Dyce added in a low, quick voice.

“Actually, I received the investigation results from the jewelers this morning, but you needed background knowledge to understand these results, so I prioritized the studying.”

“I need background knowledge?”

Come to think of it, her parents had said something like that too. That Hanna had a story, but it was too complicated to explain right away, so she should hear it from her amethyst later.

Rita’s gaze naturally returned to the family tree she had been studying just moments before. Until yesterday, she had been studying with the noble directory, but suddenly today he brought the imperial family tree, could it be.

“Does Hanna… have a connection to the imperial family?”

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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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