After the maids, who were diligently patting her face with a powder puff to cover the purple lump, left, three women in extravagant clothes entered a few minutes later.
Their attire and hairstyles were so lavish that you could tell they were nobles even if they fell backward.
“Oh my, Solea! What happened?”
“The maid told us you hurt your leg, but we didn’t know it was this bad!”
“We were so worried when we heard you couldn’t even get out of bed for weeks.”
Considering Gray’s comment that Solea didn’t seem to like her friends and the maids who later came in to dress her up said with a grim face, ‘Don’t worry too much, you shouldn’t get more sick,’ she was worried, but their reaction was more normal than expected.
I thought she might be getting bullied.
Solea spoke calmly.
“As you can see, my body is in pain, but I don’t have a fever. Thank you for worrying.”
No matter how crazy I am about money, I can’t ruin the personal relationships of the person whose body I’ve entered.
She tried to speak as kindly as possible, but the friends exchanged glances as if surprised and whispered to each other.
They spoke so quietly that she couldn’t hear what they were saying, but it didn’t look good to whisper in front of someone.
“Why are you whispering in front of me?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
The woman standing in the middle smiled and said.
“So the rumor that you lost your memory was true. Your way of speaking has completely changed.”
“What was it like before?”
The woman with her blonde hair tied up smiled softly and sat at the edge of the bed.
“You were kind. You always spoke formally to us.”
“Me?”
“Yes. Every time we came to visit you, you kept your distance and didn’t speak comfortably, so we always felt uneasy. Since you don’t remember us, we should introduce ourselves.”
The blonde glanced at the women standing beside her, and they each smiled and greeted.
“I’m Cheryl from Viscount Horvian family. We own vast farmlands, so feel free to visit anytime. Once you can get out of bed, that is.”
“I’m Julia from Viscount Cain family. We deal in the slave trade, so let me know if you ever need anything.”
Look at this girl.
…Of course, judging by how confidently she said it, the slave trade doesn’t seem illegal, but that wasn’t the issue. It was scratching the morals of someone who had lived in Korea all their life.
The blonde on the bed continued the introduction, seemingly not noticing my scrunched-up face.
“I’m Remilian Liandry, and you know our Count family is the largest textile business around here, right? Oh, you wouldn’t know since you lost your memory. How unfortunate.”
Remilian finished speaking, lowered her eyebrows, and gently took my hand, but it felt unpleasant.
Annoyed by her thorny words, Solea tightened her grip on the hand she was holding and adjusted her grip.
“Hey.”
When she pulled the hand she was holding, Remilian blinked rapidly in surprise but soon smiled like a picture.
“Yes, Solea.”
“Then why do you look more uncomfortable now? Should I go back to speaking formally?”
Remilian’s eyes widened in surprise at Solea’s tone, and she looked at the other two ladies standing beside her before turning back to Solea with a gentle smile.
“Of course not. It’s much better now. We’re friends. Even if you couldn’t come out of the house, we always came to see you.”
It was strange.
According to Anne, she had never been to a party and was always lying in bed because of her weak body. How did she make friends with these three women who looked so wealthy?
Moreover, recalling what Gray said before she collapsed, it seems she often fainted before. How did she meet these seemingly rude girls?
As Solea’s expression soured, the light brown-haired woman standing next to Remilian spoke up.
“How did you hurt your leg like that?”
“Gray came and crashed into me.”
She just told the truth.
But the emotion that appeared on the listeners’ faces was closer to disgust than surprise. The dark brown-haired woman standing by the bed said with wide eyes:
“Gray, as in the one right above you?”
“Yes.”
“Oh my! Did you tell the Duke?”
“Well… Someone must have. It wasn’t on purpose, just an accident.”
Just as she felt strange about unconsciously defending Gray, Remilian firmly held Solea’s hand with both of hers and said strongly:
“You shouldn’t take such a lax attitude. You’re the young lady of this house!”
“…With three above me, why am I the young lady?”
“Oh my.”
The two brown-haired women who let out a short exclamation immediately started whispering to each other again. Solea turned to them with an annoyed face and said:
“Hey. If you two keep whispering…”
“Lea.”
The blonde who cut off her words smiled warmly as if bestowing a great kindness and gently patted the back of Solea’s hand.
“Poor thing. No one told you, did they?”
“Told me what?”
Solea asked, but the blonde didn’t speak herself and instead glanced at the other woman standing beside her.
Then, as if mimicking the blonde’s expression, the dark brown-haired woman looked down at Solea with sympathetic eyes and spoke:
“You’re the only legitimate child in this house.”
As Solea’s brow furrowed, the woman standing next to the brown-haired one quickly added, perhaps misinterpreting the signal.
“The three above you were brought in as street urchins because the Duchess couldn’t have children for a long time. How could they inherit the Duke’s family with such different origins?”
“That’s right. And that Gray, he’s a street beggar who doesn’t even know his parents’ faces. The Duchess, really. Even if she’s kind-hearted, how could she think of bringing in a dirty back-alley child who was probably begging? Such a guy is abundant in my slave trade, and they’re not even worth much if sold.”
As Solea’s hand grew cold and the color drained from her face, the blonde reached out her other hand to tidy Solea’s hair.
“Oh dear, Solea. You’re very surprised. But Cheryl and Julia speak harshly because they care for you and want you to live properly in this house. And it’s not a lie, is it? By the way, have you thought about what I told you before?”
“What?”
Not noticing the cold gaze, the blonde elegantly brushed her sideburns with her fingers and slowly began.
“I told you we should join hands with our family since the Duke has idle land. With Liandry’s business acumen, it would quickly become profitable, and it would be a good opportunity for you to establish yourself as the legitimate child in this house. But every time I come to this mansion, you just say you’ll think about it, so I’m very worried that you might be too weak-hearted.”
“…Really?”
“Tion, who used to tan leather all day in the factory, is now distinguishing himself on the battlefield. And the second son, who was like a lab rat under a magician, is now making a living as a magician himself, sticking close to your father thanks to that meager talent. And to top it off, that ignorant beggar who crashed into you is going to be your knight. I understand why you’re scared and can’t muster up the courage.”
Cheryl, standing by the bed, quickly added.
“The Duke is too much! He knows you’re called the Young Lady of Bergo, yet he leaves you so sick like this.”
“Could it be that that washed-out lab rat did something to your body with magic? I told you to check if there were any curses on your room or body. You didn’t do that either, did you?”
After hearing Julia’s accusatory words in succession, she finally understood.
This is why Solea would be depressed and sick for days after these girls visited.
With that timid personality, she probably just quietly listened without properly retorting and then sent them away.
I haven’t met the first son yet, and while I’m unsure about the second son Heyman, that’s for me to judge directly. As for Gray… well, whether he’s this bastard or that bastard, for now, he’s the only one I’ll curse.
Besides, whether Solea is the legitimate child of this house or not, what does it matter? I’m not from this world anyway.
Solea’s eyes narrowed elegantly as she looked at Remilian. As her dry lips stretched horizontally and the corners of her mouth turned up, a drop of blood seeped from her cracked, pale lips.
The faint blue bruise on her white face, the deep violet eyes, the red hair hanging down gently, and the blood droplet of the same color created a tense atmosphere.
Solea, with a smile, asked Remilian monotonously.
“Are you a blockhead?”
“W-what? Wait. What did you say?”
As soon as the blonde let go of her hand and moved back, Solea sat up in bed.
Although her whole body still ached, she couldn’t lie still feeling like she had eaten a bundle of toffee.
“You’re talking about business when I’ve lost my memory. Does it make sense to ask if I’ve thought about business in this situation? I just woke up, you idiot. Do I need to tell you every 10 seconds because you have a bird brain? Lady Liandry. I’ve lost my memory, so I don’t know anything. So if you want to scam someone with business or whatever, go do it to the cockroaches in your house.”
Displeasure was clearly visible on the faces of the three.
Just as Julia was about to snap back with an angry face, Solea spoke first.
“Whether they picked up beggar kids or birdbrained people like you, that’s a decision made by this Duke’s family. And while your parents just happened to raise you after giving birth to you, have you ever thought that the three above me were chosen? I guess not. Not with those brains.”
As Julia took a step towards the bed, Solea quickly continued.
“You said you do slave trade, right? Then tell me. Slaves with slow minds probably can’t be sold at full price, so where would you be chosen? Would you even be sold?”
“You, insolent…!”
Julia raised her hand and slapped Solea’s cheek hard.
With the sound of the slap, Solea’s face turned, and at the same time, Remilian stood up from the bed.
“A girl who can’t even get out of bed, we talked to her a few times out of pity, and she doesn’t even know how to be grateful, acting so vulgar.”
At Remilian’s words, Solea looked at her with eyes wide open.
Faced with Solea’s composed gaze, Remilian narrowed her eyes and glared at Solea as if to kill her.
“Ha, seems you’ve lost not just your memory but your manners too. You stupid…”
“That’s about you all. Have you forgotten who this bedridden girl is?”
Cheryl’s eyes widened, and the color began to drain from Remilian’s face. Julia had been trembling with her reddened palm for some time.
“As you said, I’m the Young Lady of Bergo, aren’t I?”
Remilian bit her lower lip and clenched her fists, her whole body trembling like an aspen leaf.
Even as her left cheek began to swell, the venom in Solea’s face intensified.
“Isn’t that why you kept coming here? Like beggars looking for scraps?”
Just as Remilian couldn’t hold back and raised her hand, Solea shouted loudly.
“Gray!”
Startled by the booming voice she had never heard from Solea before, Remilian looked towards the door and then back at Solea.
With a sneer, Solea shrugged her shoulders up and down.
“What? Too ashamed to show your face?”
Soon after, the sound of heavy footsteps was heard, and then the door burst open as Gray entered. His flushed face indicated he had run quickly.
Solea poked her face between the ladies and raised her hand towards Gray.
“Hey. Beggar brother.”
“…What?”
“Brother, you should have some manners too. When your sister calls, is it proper to burst into a lady’s room?”
As if not caring about the three frozen figures surrounding the bed, Gray approached with large strides.
“What happened to your face? What’s this? Who did this?”
“They said you used to beg when you were young. So I asked if they came here to do the same thing, and oh my, they slapped me without any manners.”
Gray’s face, which had always been full of life since she first saw him, turned cold. Those watching Gray’s back must have felt the killing intent too, as they stood still without saying a word.
“…Uh, Gray. It’s not like that.”
As soon as Remilian tried to speak to Gray, he, as if not wanting to hear it, picked up Solea and quickly crossed the room.
Once outside the door, Gray instructed the butler and maids standing in the hallway.
“See the guests out. And I’ll personally inform the Duke about today’s events.”
“Wait! Solea! That’s not what we meant! Please listen to us! Solea!”
Despite the shouting from behind, Solea calmly spoke while being held in Gray’s arms.
“Brother, you must have been good at begging? Considering how strong the rumors still are.”
“Sister, you’re doing well. Your cheek is puffed up like a pufferfish.”
“I’m a bit better than a pufferfish.”
Gray felt a subtle emotion somewhere in his upset heart. The people he had met so far fell into two categories: those who constantly watched their step and tried to please him, or those who pretended to please him in front and mocked him behind his back.
It felt like living on a thin sheet of ice set up by others all his life.
But here was his memory-lost sister, sledding on that thin ice.
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