Chapter 4

"…………ha"

Lying down on the canopy bed with a thud, Ortenzia sighed deeply.

The room, perfectly prepared for the new duchess's daughter, was so spacious that it made her feel like she might faint compared to the orphanage where she had spent her time.

"Really, everything is the same..."

Since coming to the duchess's house, everything has been exactly the same as in her first life.

The only difference might be that because she had already experienced being a duchess's daughter, she didn't get scolded for strange things.

"…Really, what on earth is going on?"

Ortenzia tentatively touched her neck, but of course, there was no sign of it having been cut.

Feeling the smoothness of her skin, she couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

(I was supposed to have been executed for a false charge after being brought to the palace as a candidate for the queen. Was that... just a long, long dream?)

...No, that can't be it.

The memories of the ten or so years she spent with the duchess's family are too vivid to be just a dream.

The loneliness of being alone in an unfamiliar place, the despair of being abandoned and executed... everything is clearly etched in her heart.

"Even though I don't know why, it's better to think that time has been rewound."

If that's the case, there might be some hope.

Thanks to already knowing the manners of a duchess's daughter, she didn't receive any scolding from Annabelle this time.

In other words, depending on how she handles things, she might be able to head towards a different future this time.

Of course, Ortenzia's goal is only one.

(No way am I going to be executed for a false charge again! This time, I'm definitely going to survive!)

Jumping up, Ortenzia pondered.

If she just keeps dilly-dallying, she might end up repeating her first life.

No matter what, she needs to find a way to survive.

(Should I decline the offer to be a candidate for the queen? But it would be unnatural for a duchess's daughter of my age not to go... What if I get engaged to someone before that? But who?)

No, the more she thinks about it, the more her head starts to spin.

In her first life, Ortenzia was too clumsy at everything.

She was bewildered and frightened by suddenly becoming a duchess's daughter, and couldn't even ask for help, so she was easily caught in a conspiracy.

So this time, she needs to do everything she can to set survival flags as early as possible.

First, what she can do now is...

"…I need to get along with my brother."

Even if she ends up in the same kind of future as before and is falsely accused, if the duke, Gérard, vouches for her innocence, she shouldn't be treated as harshly as before.

If she can get a proper investigation, she believes she can prove her innocence.

(To do that, I need to somehow build a good relationship with my brother and get him on my side...)

The image of Gérard's absolutely cold gaze flashed in Ortenzia's mind.

Just being pierced by that cold stare makes her freeze and unable to move...

"Isn't the bar set way too high from the start...!?"

Faced with such a high wall, Ortenzia held her head and rolled around on the bed.