Chapter 7

I became the villain's lost daughter, Chapter 7 (7/218)

Despite the announcement that we would be leaving soon, contrary to my expectation that it would be a day or two later, we were still staying in this mansion after three days.

In fact, if I hadn't heard Father say we were going to the Duke's residence, I would have thought this mansion, with everything it needed, was our home.

"Miss, what dress would you like to wear today?"

One peculiar thing was that there were very few people working here.

"Anything is fine..."

"Oh, no, come and take a look! This yellow dress is bright and cute, and that pink dress with frills is incredibly lovely!"

Mary, who chattered beside me, was a maid Father had brought from the Duke's residence for me. She was eight years older than me, making her seventeen this year, and she was the daughter of the maid who came with Serbia when she joined the Duke's family.

And when I was young, Father had intended to assign her as my personal maid when I grew up.

That's why, when Mary first saw me, she burst into tears.

"Miss, how can you be so identical to when you were little... Sniff, if Serbia had seen you, she would have been so happy... Sob."

"Um, um..."

"Miss, from now on, I, sniff, will take care of you..."

Mary, who had grabbed my hand and sobbed, became my personal maid that very day.

Even though I was not used to being served, Mary was such an excellent maid that I didn't feel any discomfort.

Of course, she was a bit flustered when I told her not to use formal language.

"Miss?"

"Eh, eh?"

"I called you, but you didn't respond... Is there something wrong with you?"

Mary's face instantly turned worried, and I shook my head.

Although not as much as Father, Mary treated me as if I were a cotton candy that could fly away at any moment.

Come to think of it, I'm older than Mary...

"Are you really not feeling unwell?"

"Uh-huh, I'm really fine."

"That's a relief. Then, shall we go with this dress?"

Mary held out a light pastel purple dress. The small frills made it look cute, like a child's dress.

And when I asked her why I had so many clothes for a place we were only staying for a short time, she said there were even more at the Duke's residence.

'I don't think I could wear them all in a lifetime...'

As I thought this and nodded, Mary quickly changed my clothes and fixed my hair. She did it so perfectly that on the first day, I thought she had used magic.

"Thank you, Mary."

"Oh, it's nothing. Serving Miss is my pleasure!"

The spirited and brave Mary always blushed and became shy when she heard my thanks.

I smiled at her, and after Father, I liked Mary the most.

"Shall we go now? The master is waiting."

"Ah, we should hurry."

I quickly got off the chair and hurried to the dining room.

Thanks to Father, who spent all his time with me except when he had urgent business to attend to over the past three days, I was able to get over my awkwardness much faster than I expected.

"Father, I'm sorry. Did you wait long?"

I practically ran down the stairs, opened the dining room door, and went inside.

Sure enough, Father was already sitting there, perfectly composed.

"Don't run; it's dangerous."

"But I wanted to come quickly..."

"......Who do you resemble to be so beautiful? You make it impossible to scold you."

"Hehe, good morning."

I approached Father with quick steps and smiled. Father chuckled and stroked my head, as if unable to scold me.

"Yes, good morning."

Father's morning greeting, which included hugging me and kissing my forehead, made me smile.

***

Unlike the first day, breakfast was light, consisting mainly of easy-to-digest foods.

My body couldn't handle the sudden intake of meat after eating thin stews for so long.

'Well, I've been eating poorly for seven years, so it's no wonder my stomach is upset.'

Fortunately, the fever that had been raging while I slept subsided quickly after I took the potion the butler brought, but Father, who was alarmed, insisted on changing my diet to easy-to-digest foods, which I couldn't stop him from doing.

Of course, even the stews were of a different quality compared to the thin stews I had eaten at the orphanage.

After finishing breakfast, I took a short walk with Father.

Just walking around the mansion was fun, though I had to return to the living room after a while because my stamina wasn't very good.

"Father..."

I called out to Father, who had been holding me in his warm embrace, a bit hesitantly.

I felt a bit embarrassed about being so clingy, but I thought, why not?

No matter how old I was inside, I looked like a child on the outside.

Deciding to be a bit more brazen, I pushed aside my embarrassment for a moment.

"Yes. What is it?"

Hearing his deep voice, I decided to ask about something that had been on my mind since morning.

"Um, because you said we would stay here for a while before going to the Duke's residence..."

"Why? Do you want to stay here longer?"

I shook my head at Father's question.

While this mansion was nice, it was only a temporary place to stay.

"No, I was wondering when we would go..."

If the day of departure was set, there was something I wanted to ask.

I looked at Father's face earnestly, waiting for his answer.

Father, who met my gaze, smiled and stroked my head.

"Hmm, I forgot to tell you. I don't know the exact date we'll leave."

"Ah..."

"But we'll leave on the day you want to go."

I was a bit disappointed at first, but my eyes widened at his next words.

You mean, we'll go on the day I want to?

"Really?"

"Yes. The Duke's residence will have more people than here, so I thought we should go when you're ready."

You might still feel awkward.

I smiled awkwardly, saying, "No, I don't..."

While I thought of Father, it was true that I still felt a bit awkward and uncomfortable.

"Can we go today?"

Still, I wanted to go to the Duke's residence as soon as possible, to a real home, not just a temporary place.

"If you want to, Erita."

"Then I want to go."

"Are you sure?"

Father's voice was filled with gentle concern.

I looked at him and smiled brightly.

"Father will be with me, right?"

Hearing this, Father sighed softly and then burst out laughing.

"Haha, that's right. ...I'll be with you."

With his answer, I felt a step closer to Father.

***

Playing with my hair, which had been magically changed to a light brown, I glanced at Father, who had the same hair color.

I was amazed at how well it had changed and kept looking at it.

Father had suggested changing my hair color. I didn't know why, but there must have been a reason.

My cold and indifferent appearance when I had black hair seemed a bit softer now.

"Here..."

At that moment, Father's eyes, which had been looking at the familiar path, narrowed slightly.

The place Father was heading, holding me, was Uncle Philip and Aunt Megan's shop.

I glanced at Father and explained about Uncle and Aunt, who had been the only ones to treat me kindly when I was ignored and mocked for my black hair.

"So I wanted to say goodbye before we leave..."

Hearing my trailing words, Father's usual voice came from above my head.

"Yes. They seem like good people. If they're important to you, it's right to say goodbye."

To my relief, Father's face had returned to its usual relaxed expression.

'Did I just imagine it?'

I quickly dismissed the thought and looked at the street I had walked for a year.

Although there were many bad memories, it didn't bother me to think I wouldn't come back.

As I looked around, I carefully got out of Father's arms when we reached a familiar alley.

'I hope both Uncle Philip and Aunt Megan are here.'

When we arrived at the shop, my wish seemed to come true as both of them were there.

"Uncle! Aunt!"

When I called out to them, they seemed not to recognize me at first due to my changed hair color, but then they approached with surprised expressions when they saw my face.

"Oh, dear. Is that you, Rita?"

"The hair color is different, but the face is definitely Rita's."

"I changed my hair color with magic."

I told Uncle and Aunt about what had happened a few days ago, amazed.

Of course, I left out the details about Father's identity and where I was going, only saying that I had been lucky enough to be adopted.

"Oh, that's great. You'll live a comfortable life in that house. Got it?"

"Right. I'll support you too."

"Yes! You two should always be healthy too!"

While we were talking, the shop started to get busy, so I said my goodbyes with a bit of regret.

I probably wouldn't see them again.

But I wasn't sad because Father was waiting a few steps behind, ready to hear my farewell.

"Then I'll go."

"Be happy wherever you are."

"Always be healthy."

"You too!"

That was the end of my short farewell.

I turned away without any regrets, watching the two of them start to busy themselves with customers.

"Are you done with your goodbyes?"

"Yes!"

"Good. Let's go then."

Father's embrace, which had become familiar, felt warm as he picked me up again.

As the familiar streets receded, a new place was getting closer.

Excited by the anticipation, I had no idea what would happen after I left.

Nor did I know that it would be the beginning of an event that would happen not long after.