Chapter 4 Part 1. Poor Charlotte

“Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t mean to be cold-hearted just because Charlotte’s back. You’re my daughter, too. I can swear on that.”

My father quickly added an excuse and looked at me.

“So, what do you want me to do?”

I stared silently at my father.

“Charlotte ……”

“Just be honest with me. I’m not a fool.”

I had to make my debut later than the other Young Miss because my father wanted me to appear perfect to people. That was his reason and I believed it at that time. But now I know.

It was for the sake of the real Charlotte that my father delayed my debutante. He thought it was a vain hope, but he had left the room at the end for a daughter who might possibly return.

“I don’t want you to misunderstand me because I said that.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“I want you to give Charlotte her name back.”

Why was I still sad about a situation I had already experienced? I didn’t know what to make of the sad look on my father’s face.

“It’s just a name. That’s the only thing that will change. It will not change the fact that you are my daughter, nor will the things you’ve been enjoying.”

I held my breath for a moment. I knew enough not to believe my father’s consolation. It was not only the name that would change.

“…… What if I don’t like it?”

“Charlotte.”

I glared at my father, my mouth tightly shut. If it had gone according to plan, I would have done the same. But when I saw that he was thinking only of Charlotte, my anger soared.

“Yes, I’m Charlotte too. It was you, my father, who gave me that name, and it was you who brought me up to be Charlotte. But now you’re telling me not to be her?”

“I know you are angry.”

“If my father ever thought about me, he should have at least told me about my name sooner.”

He was at a loss for words and could not say anything. I took a short, deep breath and then filled in the words.

“You shouldn’t have made me Charlotte in the first place.”

“I’m sorry, but you must understand,” my father said, taking my hand in his.

“Do you understand?”

“….”

“I feel sorry for her.”

“You feel sorry for her?”

I twisted my lips at the sight of my weeping father. Poor Charlotte. Everyone thought so, and so did I. I felt sorry for her. But Charlotte was not like that. I remembered Charlotte falling down the stairs on purpose to get me in trouble.

I remembered what Charlotte did in the past and it was not at all like a poor girl. She could get whatever she wanted. She could do whatever she liked, even if it meant trampling on the people around her.

“You have lived without lacking anything, but you’re not that child. She could not enjoy all those things.”

“Of course she did. Everything I have enjoyed belongs to her, and I am a substitute to take her place.”

“Don’t say that.”

“It’s the truth.” I laughed in vain.

“Charlotte.”

“Don’t call me by that name. That’s not my name anymore, is it?”

I lifted my head straight up and said clearly. I knew that what my father was doing was a favor. I knew that he went away for a few days to restore Charlotte’s status. I had no idea at the time, but it was only after everything had been sorted out that my father approached me. I had already been officially deprived of the name Charlotte.

“Please give my achievements to Charlotte.”

I tried to smile in the face of my father’s wavering gaze. I had been involved in the family’s major affairs as a successor of the Tiodurop, although I was not visible to the outside world. The achievements I had made were never small.

“I couldn’t even have the debutante properly that day anyway, because everyone was too busy to look at me properly. You must officially open the debutante for Charlotte and announce that she is the true heiress of the Tiodurop family.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes,” I nodded without hesitation.

I would be lying if I said I didn’t want to lose the results of my best efforts. But even if I had forced myself to hold on to them because they were a waste, I had no power to protect them now. In the future, I was going to die with all my achievements taken from me by Charlotte, and I was going to suffer the consequences of her misdeeds. It would be better to give them to her early and profit from them than to have them taken away.

“You have made a great decision,” said my father, squeezing my hand with an emotional face.

“I have no wish to rebel against my father. I’ll do whatever he wants.”

I murmured the words with a bitter smile.

“Thank you for understanding.” He said.