I Am the Real One

Chapter 5

Ludwig’s gaze fell on the maids. Under his menacing gaze, the two trembling maids prostrated themselves.

“Repeat everything you heard.”

“B-beg your pardon, m’lord. Mina said...that she felt uncomfortable around Princess Keira because she's so cold… that it was difficult to serve her. That is all she said.”

What?

Keira froze. She raised her voice in spite of herself.

“What are you talking about? That is not all she said, that wench! How dare you lie to His Lordship? You will not get away with this...”

“Is the princess telling the truth?”

Ludwig interrupted. The maids pressed themselves even closer to the ground and cried, “We would not dare lie to Your Lordship. That is all we heard.”

“...What?!”

Silence fell. If that was truly all Mina had said, it was certainly rude, but not enough for one hundred lashings. All of the servants present complained about their masters to a certain degree.

“She ordered a hundred lashings for saying that?”

“But Princess Keira really is difficult to please. I don’t see what was so rude about the comment…”

“Don’t be naïve. She was looking for an excuse to get rid of the girl Lady Cosette brought in.”

“But one hundred lashings?”

The servants’ expressions betrayed these thoughts.

Keira stood frozen and silent for a while, the back of her head throbbing. She could not imagine that Cosette could have rounded up the laundry maids and forced them to lie for her, threatening to make life miserable for them after Keira, the fake princess, was banished.

Keira began to see what must have transpired with the maids. No wonder Cosette brought so many servants with her to the back garden. She must have plotted to turn the servants against Keira by showing Mina received an undeserved beating.

But Keira’s hindsight could not help her now, caught as she was in the trap.

“Keira Parvis,” called the quiet voice, rage rumbling in its depths.

“How low you’ve sunk. Couldn’t stand the sight of a mere maid Cosette brought in?”

“Father, this is a misunderstanding! There was more! Father!”

“Do not call me ‘Father.’ I loathe to hear it.”

“……!”

That day, a corner of the foundation holding up Keira’s world collapsed. But that was not the end of it.

“I order you to confine yourself for one month in the annex. I want you out of my sight for the time being.”

“F-father... This is a plot against me!”

“How much further do you plan to disappoint me?”

His rage echoed in the hall. Keira realized then that nothing she said would get through to him.

Ludwig turned his back on his baffled daughter and left. The servants dispersed one by one, leaving Keira alone with Cosette and a few others. Cosette came to her and stroked her back as if to console her.

“How fortunate that Father stopped at a mild punishment, right?”

Mild punishment? Keira gnashed her teeth. Cosette heard and giggled to herself.

Then she said so softly that only Keira could hear, “I’d hoped to see you whipped, just as you whipped Mina. Too bad he only decided on confinement.”

Cosette got up and continued, “What? Do you think this is unfair? Why don’t you tear my hair out and see where that gets you?”

Then she turned and left.

Keira stood motionless for a long time after that. She could not move. Father’s words were daggers twisted inside her heart.

“Do not call me ‘Father.’ I loathe to hear it.”

“I order you to confine yourself for one month in the annex. I want you out of my sight for the time being.”

“How much further do you plan to disappoint me?”

“Aaah!”

A scream erupted from deep within her heart. She wailed for a long time, tearing at the rug underneath her. The father-daughter relationship was approaching a catastrophic end.

* * *

During Keira’s confinement, all the maids were replaced with girls under Cosette’s influence. Locked up in the annex, Keira did not have a say. Not much changed after the confinement ended. It goes without saying that Cosette’s girls were rude to Keira. Keira was aghast each time a maid talked back, but she could not punish them lest she be accused of being unusually cruel again.

Even Keira’s closest maids were hostile toward her, and her place in the household grew precarious. She found herself increasingly isolated in town as well as in her own household. Some remained loyal to Keira to the end, but they were few in number, too few to turn the tide.

More than that, though, the greatest source of pain was Father’s indifference. What is so lovely about her that you treat her so warmly? Why haven’t you given me so much as a friendly glance all these years? Do I mean anything to you?

Sadness and anger washed over her in turns several times a day, but no answer came. All she could hope for was to access the power of the elementalist as soon as possible and banish that woman for good.

The fateful day arrived at last, which unfortunately went in Cosette’s favor as she connected with the spirit of Beatrix first.

Keira was at a loss for words before this undeniable proof. Cosette was the silver-haired beauty who communicated with the water spirits with confidence. This was proof of kinship. Keira would never forget this moment, even in death.

A devotee of Cosette shouted, “Jail the imposter!”

Mina and the maids whispered, “Didn’t I tell you? Our Princess Cosette is communicating with Beatrix!”

“Serves Keira right for being so holier-than-thou. The nerve of that imposter to act so arrogant. Who was she trying to fool?”

The town was also abuzz.

“Did you hear? Princess Cosette connected with Beatrix.”

“Of course, I did. Everyone in the capital has heard the news.”

“As I live and breathe! So the imposter managed to act the part of the princess for twenty years? My word!”

Therefore, Keira was subsequently jailed for fear she may bring ruin to mankind, and soon after, she was sentenced to death. She lost everything she had built for twenty years to the “real daughter” who appeared out of thin air. She was finished.

But then...

The pale devil whispered to her at the last moment.

“The truth is, you are the real one.”