Chapter 11

To Margaret,

Happy Birthday.

I am writing this letter, praying that you will be happy now that you are sixteen years old.

I intend to entrust this letter to the fairy you spoke of, hoping that it will reach you in this year of your sixteenth birthday, the year of the "Maiden" ceremony.

There is something I absolutely must tell you.

You are not the true daughter of Duke Daniel Silver.

You are an irreplaceable treasure, born from the deep love between your true father and me.

I was born and raised in a noble family of the empire.

My parents were very proud people, and they always demanded perfection from me.

For me, an ordinary person with no particular talents, it was very difficult to be superior to others, which was something my parents took for granted.

The one who always supported me was Marcus, the dedicated butler.

I fell in love with him.

Although it was impossible for us to truly be together due to our different social statuses, I still fell in love with him.

And I conceived you.

When my parents found out, their anger was terrible. Marcus was expelled from the noble household, and I was confined to the mansion.

It was then that Daniel Silver came to our home, traveling across the country to seek help.

His mother had been a close friend of my mother during her studies in the empire, and he had apparently written a letter seeking help, but my parents, who would never help someone with no benefit to themselves, had thrown it away.

He had lost his parents in an accident at a young age and suddenly inherited the dukedom. He had been deceived by bad people and had no reliable nobles in the country.

At the brink of ruin, he came alone, hoping for a last chance.

My parents, seeing his status and his dire situation, made a very cowardly proposal.

If I would raise the child in my womb as his own, they would provide assistance.

He accepted the proposal.

From then on, everything was arranged by my parents, and I was quickly married to him.

A scenario was created that I had met him while traveling abroad, and he had met me while I was traveling abroad.

To my parents, a daughter who had committed a sin with a butler of a different social status was unnecessary.

They paid a large sum of money to discard me as a daughter who had been properly married to a duke from another country, albeit in a slightly different order.

I really struggled with whether I should tell you the truth.

But I thought it was something I had to tell you.

Duke Daniel Silver has registered you as his child, despite not being related by blood.

This is a crime, so he will never reveal it to anyone.

However, he might tell you this in a very cruel way, only to you.

That's why I wanted you to know.

Margaret, you are a precious and beloved daughter of Marcus and me.

My parents never responded when you were born, or when I told them I was ill and wouldn't live much longer.

They have probably never met you, even once, at sixteen.

But if you are announced as the "Maiden," they might contact you.

At that time, please act as you see fit.

I am so sorry that I have no power and could only give you the option to live as the daughter of a duke.

When I learned that I wouldn't live much longer, I despaired at the thought of leaving you, still a child, alone in this house.

That's why I was so happy when I learned that you were the legendary "Fairy's Beloved" in the empire.

There is very little I could do for you, but until I die, and even after, if it is possible, I will continue to pray for Margaret's happiness.

I love you, Margaret, not because you are the "Fairy's Beloved," but because you are Margaret.

Please live a happy life.

From your mother.