Chapter 1
๐๐๐ ๐ฝ๐๐๐ฃ๐ช ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฝ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ค๐ช
โLavender's blue, dilly dilly, lavender's green,
When I am king, dilly dilly, you shall be queen:
Who told you so, dilly dilly, who told you so?
'Twas mine own heart, dilly dilly, that told me so...โ
When I hummed the lullaby that my mother, who worked as a nanny, used to sing, it sounded dull and awkward. I would have practiced it in advance if I had known it would be like this.
Luckily, Estelle, who was drowsy with her eyes closed, finally had the giant stuffed rabbit in her arms.
It was a rough doll made from feathers plucked from the cushions and sewn together with my old nightgown.
It was a clumsy imitation of 'Ms. Wendy,' who had passed away, and whom Estelle couldn't live without, but my dear sister seemed to like it.
I stopped singing and let out a sigh as I heard her soft breathing. Phew, I sang and talked for so long that my throat was starting to hurt.
The stories I told Estelle, along with the lies I had heard it from my mother in my past life, were all oral fairy tales that I was familiar with.
Rapunzel, Cinderella, Snow White, and the like. Estelle particularly enjoyed the story of Rapunzel, which was quite fitting given our current situation.
Estelle was twelve years old, well beyond the age of carrying around a stuffed rabbit or listening to fairy tales.
The longer we stayed here, the more it felt like we were regressing mentally, but there was nothing we could do about it.
After making sure Estelle was sleeping soundly, I headed to the library. Every time I descended the cramped stairs to the lower floor, the sight of the tray cart that greeted me felt unpleasant.
It may sound strange, but there were times when I wondered if I was just moving on autopilot.
I had stayed up countless nights, hoping for an opportunity to open the mirror door, but to no avail.
Could it be that they were spying on us through some kind of hole?
Mr. Harris never entered when I kept a watchful eye, and the cart was always replaced when we were asleep or occupied with other things.
However, I couldn't spend my entire day watching the mirror door. It was physically possible, but... It seemed like everyone had the same unspoken thought.
So, what would capturing the source of our daily food accomplish? If we were intentionally imprisoned from the beginning, it wouldn't just involve our blood relatives.
Surely, even the employees must have been part of the plan if someone deliberately decided to confine us here...
Fear consumed me. Fear of what lay ahead.
What if our food supply was cut off? What if we were left to starve slowly? Who knew what kind of misfortune awaited us?
At this point, I had come to the realization that we would never leave this place and go to Fzeia. The bleak reality of being trapped by our own family was all too apparent.
It was indeed a grim reality. Knowing the original storyline seemed pointless in the face of the situation we were in. In fact, it might have been better if I hadn't regained the memories of my past life.
It was not uncommon for ill-tempered uncles to conspire against their young heirs, especially during times of great turmoil like the plague.
They could easily find bodies of children with similar appearances to fake our deaths.
However, even if death was prevalent if only the collaborators survived and the Serpente family suddenly perished, it would undoubtedly raise suspicions from both the imperial family and the Python Bank.
Considering the content of the original story, there was no point in announcing our deaths. Instead, they would use the excuse that we had gone to study abroad in Fzeia.
The problem was that it wouldn't take long to discover where we had stayed and which school we attended. How did they manage to fabricate such a story?
Furthermore, why were we still alive? Were they keeping us alive in case their scheme was uncovered?
...Was the excuse they gave us, the supposed quarantine to prevent us from succumbing to the illness, just a cover-up?
The more I thought about it, the more bewildered I became. Regardless, the fact remained that I had to spend the next two years in this place, surrounded by restless adolescents.
Wasn't this a situation that would darken the spirits of anyone who wasn't a villainous aristocrat? Argh! I was on the brink of losing my mind, but what about the others?
My karmic journey from my past life started in that cursed elevator. Being confined and dying wasn't enough; now I was locked up once again. Was it my fault to be trapped like this?
"Is Estelle asleep?"
Despite feeling hopeless and desolate, to the point of dizziness, I couldn't dwell on it. What I needed to do next was clear... No, it hadn't changed from before.
My mission and goal were to ensure Estelle didn't perish here and prevent Lethias and Benya from being consumed by darkness in any way.
It was for the sake of the departed, whom I dearly missed, and who had filled the void in my previous life, where I had no knowledge of others' affection. I had to remain vigilant.
With that promise in mind, I responded cheerfully to Lethias's dry question.
"Yeah, I'll have to sing her a lullaby every night from now on. Lavender lullaby, as expected, has a soothing effect."
Both Estelle and Lethias would remember the lullabies
my mother used to sing. However, Lethias remained indifferent, making me
self-conscious as he sullenly rummaged through the bookshelves.
Meanwhile, Benya, who was engrossed in playing chess alone, chimed in. His words were delivered with a hint of sarcasm or jest, as was often the case these days.
"Will you sing me a lullaby soon? The bed is quite uncomfortable."
"...Aren't you too old to listen to lullabies?"
"Age is just a number. In that case, let's play chess. If you win, I'll call you 'Noona' from now on."
I'm sure you'll do just fine. Well, if I may add, my birthday is a few months earlier.
Our shadows cast large figures on the library wall illuminated by candlesticks. It was fortunate that we had stocked up on candles, as they were essential on this floor where day and night blended together except for sleep.
"Why are you just standing there? Afraid of losing again?"
"...I was thinking about what would happen if the candles ran out. Even with plenty of kerosene, we would still need it for the stove."
Winter was approaching, and in the cold season, the small stove would be invaluable. When I honestly expressed my thoughts, Benya smiled mischievously.
"Oh, right. When the time comes, you can make feather duvets for us. Just like how you made Estelle a stuffed deer."
"It's not a deer, it's a rabbit! And where will we get all those feathers?"
"Really? Then you won't be able to make anything. But even if the candles run out, we'll have enough firewood."
"Firewood?"
"The books."
That's right. We could use the countless old books as firewood. The ancestors in the afterlife would surely be appalled...
It was at that moment that Lethias, who had been silently scanning a book, spoke harshly.
"Stop talking nonsense. Sasha, especially, stop whining annoyingly."
... It seems like the roles of the brothers have been reversed for some reason. Benya used to be the one who would irritate me, but now it's Lethias who's acting this way.
Lately, Lethias has been displaying a lot of nervousness. I can understand it to some extent, but whenever I express concern about our situation or discuss our plans for the future, he becomes irritated.
That's why Benya is the only one I can turn to for advice.
It's such a shame to see Lethias, who was always friendly and kind, suddenly become so harsh. He's not like this normally, and while it may sound strange, I miss our sweet little duke who was always so amiable. What happened to the way we used to communicate?
I held back my tears of sorrow and carefully spoke up.
"I was just wondering if..."
"Then stop worrying about unnecessary things."
"... Oppa, do you think it's pointless? I mean, we've been here for..."
"I am not your brother, and you are not my sister. Stop presuming things and leave!"
Wow. Needless to say, my eyes widened in shock at the verbal abuse coming from Lethias. It was quite harsh, especially considering it was coming from him.
I felt a tremor of disbelief in my head. Of course, I'm well aware of our differences in status, and I haven't forgotten where we are, but still...
Was I the only one who had deluded myself into thinking we could be equals? Childhood memories are just that, memories of our youth. Was I being presumptuous without even realizing it?
I simply hoped that somehow, we could navigate through this dark reality together. I was doing my best to create a comfortable environment for everyone...
"Hyung, please don't do that. Don't isolate yourself. Because I canโt stand seeing you sulking all by yourself anymore."
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