The collapse came swiftly and unmistakably. One day, after the ‘real’ Claire had returned, Shailo discovered another woman sitting in the seat she used to occupy for breakfast every morning.
“Listen to this, Claire. I heard you like seafood, so I had the chef prepare something special for you.”
“I was thinking of preparing cheesecake for dessert. You like sweet things, don’t you?”
“Thank you so much, Mother, Brother.”
Even without her, the family was cheerfully enjoying breakfast together. As if the missing puzzle piece had returned to complete the picture, they looked like the perfect Ducal family to anyone watching.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize this seat was already taken.”
“It’s alright, Claire. No, Shailo wouldn’t get upset over something so trivial.”
The Duchess, sitting across from her biological daughter, looked at Shailo as if seeking her agreement.
Shailo wanted to scream at the top of her lungs, but she barely managed to hold it in.
“Of course, Mother.”
“By the way, Claire, we need to sort out your registration issue now.”
Still wearing her gentle smile, the Duchess turned her head back to Claire and reached out to hold her hands.
Shailo stood there blankly, watching the scene like an uninvited guest.
“Registration? Do I need to change my name? Since my sister’s name is also Claire.”
“You don’t need to call her sister. You’re the same age. Besides, your name is Claire, so we can’t change it. Dear?”
The Duchess passed the explanation to the Duke. Clearing his throat, the Duke gestured for the butler to hand a document to Shailo.
“Claire—no, Shailo. We plan to adopt you and register you into the family under your original name.”
Shailo staggered, gripping the table for support. Her brother stood up in surprise but made no move to help her.
Seeing him glance at his real sister, Claire, Shailo let out a deflated laugh. The difference between being a biological child and an adopted one was like night and day.
While she might inherit the family name, she would not inherit any of the estate. Furthermore, the moment she married, all her titles as a lady of the house would be stripped away. She would be a child in name only, essentially just a ward under the guardianship of the family.
“You can’t do this to me.”
Shailo shook her head, her eyes brimming with tears.
Normally, the moment she began to sob, her brother would have jumped up to comfort her. But now, he quietly averted his gaze, and the Duke, her father, merely sighed as if dealing with a troublesome issue.
Looking toward her last hope, her mother, Shailo saw the Duchess rise with a tender expression and approach her.
“Mother.”
Slap.
Just as Shailo looked at her with hopeful eyes, a searing pain spread across her cheek as if she had been burned.
“Mother!”
“Duchess!”
The Duke and her brother, equally shocked, stood up almost simultaneously. Though Shailo was the one struck, the Duchess clutched her wrist in pain, her expression pained.
“This is a loving discipline, Shailo.”
“Mother…?”
“Thanks to Claire, you’ve lived as a lady of the house, enjoying the finest things in a position far above your station. Don’t you feel sorry for and pity your sister, who became a lost child and wandered the country in rags with gypsies?”
“……”
Shailo couldn’t believe what was happening. Instead of answering, she blinked her eyes.
She wished this were all just a nightmare. The face of the noblewoman who had embraced her without hesitation as she lay dying now overlapped with the face of the Duchess.
They were undoubtedly the same person, yet Shailo couldn’t accept them as one and the same.
“Is an inheritance and a name so important that you can’t bear to give them up?”
“I…”
“I’m truly disappointed in you.”
Without giving her a chance to explain, the Duchess staggered past her.
“Mother!”
“Duchess!”
The two men followed her out of the dining room, leaving Shailo alone with Claire.
In the awkward silence that followed, Claire was the first to speak.
“I’m sorry.”
Surprised by the unexpected apology, Shailo turned her stiffened neck to face her.
“No, it’s fine.”
Her mouth felt dry, and her palms were sweaty.
Shailo disliked this woman. She had appeared out of nowhere, destroyed her life, taken her family, and now sought to take her name and place as well. She truly hated her. But… as she looked at Claire’s face, so similar to her mother, father, and brother, those feelings seemed to wash away like water.
“Poor thing. That must have hurt a lot, didn’t it?”
Clicking her tongue, Claire stood up and gently touched Shailo’s reddened cheek.
“I have an ointment that’s great for wounds. If you’d like, I can apply it for you.”
“Oint…ment?”
Shailo blinked at the kind gesture. Claire smiled softly in response. Her bright blue eyes, so similar to Shailo’s, sparkled as she smiled warmly.
“Yes. Didn’t you hear before that I grew up with a group of gypsies?”
“Ah.”
“I was on my way to visit my maternal family when the carriage fell off a cliff in an accident. I was swept away by the rapids and went missing. Miraculously, I survived but lost all my memories.”
Shailo had heard the rest of the story before. It was the tale Claire had tearfully shared amidst her weeping family. She had been discovered by passing gypsies, taken in by them, and had lived a meager life wandering with them.
As her mother’s earlier words echoed in her mind, Shailo’s cheeks burned with shame. She felt embarrassed for having wished Claire would disappear. This place had always been Claire’s, and Shailo had merely borrowed it for a few years.
“I’m… sorry.”
“Why are you apologizing, Shailo? You’re the one who got hit because of me.”
As Shailo hung her head low, Claire gave a faint, weary smile and gently took her hands.
“I’ll try to talk to them about the adoption issue. But first, what should we do about your swollen cheek? Shall we go to my room together?”
Their similar strawberry-blonde hair and bright blue eyes were the same in color, but Shailo and the ‘real’ Claire were so different.
Claire was like an angel. Her voice was as soft as the warm sunlight of spring and as comforting and lovely as a cat napping on a summer rooftop.
“I’m sorry. Thank you.”
Shailo burst into tears and collapsed into Claire’s arms. A kind hand patted her back.
“How about we drop the formalities now? We’re the same age. Since we’re sisters now, let’s get along.”
Instead of answering, Shailo nodded. Claire’s final words were calm, but strangely, they felt devoid of warmth. It wasn’t until later that Shailo realized the source of her unease.
*** *** *** *** ***
Despite Claire’s objections, Shailo was eventually re-registered into the Ducal family as an adopted child rather than a biological one. The staff of the mansion all reacted as if she should be grateful for even that.
“Who knows where she really came from—a beggar from some slum, probably. Isn’t it a huge stroke of luck that she wasn’t kicked out and still has a place here?”
“Exactly. No matter how fine the clothes she wears, how good the food she eats, or how refined her speech is, trash is still trash.”
“Miss Claire is truly an angel. If it were me, I would never have let someone who took my place off so easily.”
“That’s what I’m saying. At least the good thing is that the fake lady hasn’t debuted in society yet, so Miss Claire’s debut won’t be affected. Imagine if she had stolen her future husband too. Just the thought is horrifying…”
Crash!
“Oh my!”
The maids, who had been gossiping, turned their heads toward the source of the loud noise. The moment they saw who was standing there, they panicked and bowed their heads in terror.
“M-my Lady!”
The one who had dropped the glass was none other than the two young ladies they had just been gossiping about—Shailo and Claire. Though one was a biological daughter and the other an adopted one, the two stood side by side in identical dresses, looking like twins in the hallway.
Claire stepped forward with a cold expression, shielding the pale-faced Shailo.
“How dare you speak so carelessly about your masters.”
“W-we have committed an unforgivable sin, my Lady!”
“Butler!”
The butler, who had been following behind the two ladies, bowed his head.
“Fire all of these maids immediately. Throw them out with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Do not give them any letters of recommendation!”
“Claire!”
Three faces, filled with shock and fear, turned toward Claire simultaneously. Even Shailo, who had been looking at Claire, tried to stop her.
“Claire, it’s fine. Throwing them out into this harsh winter with nothing is too cruel. And without letters of recommendation, they—”
“Butler, do it now!”
“Understood.”
Interrupting Shailo, Claire urged the butler to carry out her orders. Watching the maids being dragged out, crying and begging, Shailo couldn’t sleep for days.
And not long after, strange rumors began to spread.
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