Chapter 1 Part 2. The Two Charlotte

“Oh, no, no, no! Don’t be mistaken,” said Charlotte, smiling broadly, and looking at me coldly. “The only reason I have said this to you is because there is not the slightest hope for you. I thought it would be more ridiculous for you to die knowing the truth and not being able to say a word about it.”

Charlotte put on the mask of a Young Miss, with a smile on her face again. Unlike my miserable, beastly form, Charlotte, smiling at me, was an elegant Lady herself. That fact was the cruellest of all for me.

“Goodbye, Charlotte,” she said, “the name is mine now.”

I felt the tip of Charlotte’s fan gently brush my cheek, and her smile made my heart skip a beat. I knew that it was not hope but despair that she had given me. Even if her words had been true from the beginning, it would not have made any difference. She may or may not have been a fake, but that doesn’t change the fact that I was a substitute. Even if I survived, I had nowhere to go. Only then did I burst into tears that I had endured as I curled up on the floor.

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“Ahhhhhhhh!”

I screamed in agony and bounced up, frozen in place by the sight that met my eyes. My body was constantly shaking with fear while I was trying to figure out the situation.

I hugged myself reflexively and took a deep breath, but it didn’t help. The burning sensation in my veins was still raw and driving me crazy.

“What’s wrong with you, My Lady?”

The maid rushed into my room while I was breathing hard, unable to hold my body properly. I saw the maid’s face and reflexively stepped back, my brows furrowed at the slow sensation. It was a bed I was sleeping in. My bed, which I had used since I was a child, but had been taken from me when Charlotte came along. What is the matter with me? I couldn’t understand what was going on, so I just blinked. I was sure I was dead.

My life ended while I was struggling in pain, my blood vessels burning. Many times I cried out for help, but neither the clasp in my mouth nor the chains that bound my body allowed me freedom to the end. The only mercy I had was to be greeted with loneliness in the merciless prison I had been given.

“My Lady, are you all right? Shall I call a doctor?”

“Velvet?”

“Yes, My Lady. You wanted to see me?”

I swallowed my dry spit as I smiled at her. Velvet had been my personal maid since I was a child, and she was like a sister to me. Or, more accurately, I mistakenly thought she was. I was the only one who thought we were close enough to share our feelings regardless of our status.

Since the return of the real Charlotte, Velvet has changed. She made a fuss with her fellow servants and spoke ill of me, and when that wasn’t enough, she gave a malicious testimony before the judge who judged my guilt. She was not on my side. I could still vividly see Velvet accusing me without hesitation. But I couldn’t let it show.

“What day is it today?”

I tried to hold back my anger. I did not know what the situation was, so I had to wait and see. The fact that Velvet, who had been ignoring me since Charlotte had first appeared, was now paying attention to me was suspicious.

“Of course, today is the last day when the Young Lady is nineteen.”

Velvet tilted her head curiously.

“You say I’m nineteen?”

“Tomorrow is your twentieth birthday, so you’re still only nineteen.”

As soon as I heard Velvet’s words, I felt as if I’d been hit with a hammer. Charlotte had not yet appeared. I was the only Charlotte in the house at the moment. The moment I realised this, my whole body relaxed.

“Young Lady! Are you all right?”

I staggered, and Velvet grabbed me hurriedly. With her help, I finally leaned back on the bed. The mere fact that Charlotte was not here was like a huge stone that had been holding me back had disappeared.

“Shouldn’t we call a doctor?”

“No, I’m fine. I’ll be better after resting.”

I smiled awkwardly and buried my face between my legs. I wanted to think that I just had a bad dream, because it would be much more real than having a nightmare about a dead person coming back to life. But everything was too vivid to be a dream. Besides, it will be my twentieth birthday tomorrow.

I put my arms around my knees tightly, but I couldn’t stop myself from shaking. Because tomorrow will be the day that Charlotte returns.

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