It wasn’t that I wasn’t flustered, but there was no time to be leisurely surprised.

I pulled Eciel behind me.

“Don’t come any closer.”

At least I sounded calmer than I felt. It was fortunate enough that I wasn’t agitated or trembling.

The man was already too close that it was uncomfortable.

His gaze shifted between Eciel and me as if debating whether to listen or not. Cold sweat dripped from our clasped hands.

He glanced at our intertwined hands and halted in his tracks.

But he didn’t even bother to look down.

The man who didn’t seem like he would easily submit … casually bent one knee, lowering himself to our level and stared at us directly. Not with analysis or greed, but with something else.

He seemed curious, somewhat wavering, but above all, sincere.

“Twins?”

His first words were direct and firm.

With refined pronunciation, composed tone, and disciplined demeanor. It felt similar to what I remembered from my mother’s tone.

I cut off that thought with my reply.

“Yes.”

“Your names are Claire and Eciel?”

Somewhere along the line, Eciel had partially emerged from behind me, unable to hide her curiosity and wariness.

Even though she didn’t boldly  write ‘Who are you?’ on her innocent face, it wouldn’t be any clearer than that.

Seeing her sunny expression, the man faintly smiled.

Soon enough, my sister couldn’t hold back from speaking, still helding the bouquet tightly in her arms.

“My name is Eciel. What’s yours, sir?”

“Ashel. Ashel Constantin Disandos.”

… Ashel.

I had to make an effort not to immediately squeeze my sister’s hand upon hearing it. Eciel may be weak in spelling, but I was not.

As soon as I heard it, I knew what that name meant. And surely, that man knew as well.

‘Eciel is a variation of ‘Ashel’.’

The mother gave the name of the father to a daughter who didn’t resemble him at all, and a name she had thought of herself to a daughter who resembled the father.

We were delicately probing the thin and brittle surface of an obvious truth.

And when we shattered it, we didn’t know what lay within, both Eciel and I.

‘…This man is overwhelmingly advantageous.’

It felt a bit distant.

Was it wrong to grumble about this several times a day? But this felt too sudden. Why did Mother get pregnant with us and then ran away from our father?

What was the exact relationship between Mother and our father?

Completely different questions from before continued to arise and fade away as futile bubbles.

I couldn’t bear it any longer and was about to ask why he had come to find us when the man turned his head quickly.

“Claire! Eciel! Are you there?”

The man’s eyes sparkled. That ecstatic gleam stopped me in my tracks.

It was Mother’s voice.

Neither Eciel nor I could muster a response. But it didn’t matter anyway. Mother knew where we play.

Mother, like Eciel, emerged from behind me, halfway up the hill.

“You’re here. Why didn’t you answer? You said you’d come home early ….”

When Mother’s voice trailed off, the man rose gently.

“Charlotte.”

I examined the man’s expression carefully.

His face was no longer polite. Nor was it elegant.

He was still handsome, but far removed from the winter-like composure.

His face simply struggled to maintain a polished calmness. Concealing all the boiling heat underneath.

Did it feel hurt when expectations, joy, and desire became overwhelming?

His face was more akin to pain.

To the woman standing still on the hill, the man offered seemingly indifferent words.

“We meet again.”

“… I didn’t expect to see you again.”

Mother’s voice was hostile. The man’s serene mask cracked a bit.

“I didn’t know you bore my daughters.”

“Did you think they need to know about their father?”

One thing was for sure.

Mother didn’t get along well with this man.

As my mother came down the hill, she passed by Eciel and me. As if she couldn’t even see us.

“Why did you come looking for us? It was more convenient not being able to see your face.”

“If you’ve been comfortable all this time, isn’t it time for you to be uncomfortable, Your Highness?” The man retorted.

… It feels strange for me to think like this, but how on earth did they end up having children?

They argued as if they had spent half a century together in just five minutes of meeting each other.

Mom didn’t back down; she sneered.

“Coming to see me just because you suddenly feel uncomfortable, Your Excellency Duke Chelsiers?”

“Is it so strange for a husband to look for his wife?”

“Were we still in that kind of relationship? I never realized that. Let’s get a divorce.”

Whoa, talking about divorce within just 10 minutes of meeting each other?

What kind of couple were they? It was so obvious they were on the brink of collapse; how did their relationship even survive?

I rolled my eyes irritably. The man, after exchanging a glance with us siblings, softened his voice forcibly.

“That won’t do. Your Highness, do you know that you… avoided execution?”

… Execution? What did Mom do to receive a death sentence?

No, more importantly, this man was ridiculous.

He showed consideration by changing the subject after briefly looking at us siblings … After arguing so vehemently, why changed now?

I made a slightly perplexed expression, gently patting my younger sister, who looked like she was about to cry at any moment because the adults were fighting, even though she didn’t understand a single thing.

Even though it was not the time to discuss it, Mother quickly silenced Eciel’s trembling voice.

As the argument momentarily subsided, the man looked down at us. A dense regret darkened his complexion.

“What was he regretting?”

Was it because his pregnant wife escaped due to their strained relationship? Or was it because he couldn’t find the twins his wife gave birth to? Or was it because of the disputes they had over their relationship?

There were too many corners in my thoughts that resonated with unknown truths.

Mom, who had somewhat calmed Eciel down, raised her head. Her anger seemed to have dissipated as she spoke with a weary voice.

“If you kept me as Duchess Chelsiers all this time just to save me, it wasn’t that simple, was it?”

“….”

“Just go back and say I died. That I ruined my status outside as a woman who lived her whole life in the palace. Then people would believe it.”

It was a painful tone, like an elderly person recalling the most bitter and painful memories. The man’s complexion, which had already dimmed, turned even paler.

Mom chuckled bitterly.

“And these children, I’ll take care of them. You won’t see us in front of you for the rest of your life.”

“….”

“We’ve been living well until now.”

Could we continue living like that?

Towards the end, Mom’s voice even softened. Her additional words had a seemingly soothing tone.

Following that voice, I looked quietly at my biological father. I now knew his name and status.

Ashel Constantine Disandos. Duke Chelsiers.

Even though I had traveled around with Mother until now, I’d only heard about the exploits of Duke Chelsiers in passing.

He was the close friend of the current emperor, the Astariol of Judgment. He married the daughter of the former emperor but eventually restored the throne in order to protect the rightful heir, becoming the top loyalist.

‘So, Mom was the daughter of the deposed emperor.’

A clear inference formed in my mind, but it wasn’t exactly pleasing.

… The emperor killed his own sister and usurped the throne.

He was a tyrant who ruled the empire with blood and tears. Duke Chelsiers was one of the key figures who overthrew that tyrant.

If Mother was the daughter of the former emperor, we were in danger if we fell into his hands.

‘I don’t think now is the time to talk like this.’

Would we be able to run away? I glanced at the man’s gaze and was startled.

Deep depression and fatigue flowed from a face so beautiful that it was hard to guess its age. He now looked tired and exhausted.

It was a complexion that clearly reflected the weight of life accumulated beyond his age.

He asked quietly.

“Do you really think I’ve had a good life?”

Mom hesitated for the first time.

Many stories I didn’t know passed through those eyes, and terrible emotions, stories, and pain rolled out of my mother’s mouth.

A sad silence between people whose emotions cannot flow out and were stored deep in their hearts.

The words they couldn’t say and the confessions they needed to make were tangled up in a silence that made it impossible to reveal anything easily.

It was a hesitation that clearly showed that the hell between the two of them, where nothing had been resolved, was still alive and well.

“Your Highness knows, and I know. I just wanted to stay alive.”

The man swept his face once, as if wiping away fatigue. The man, who forced himself to straighten his complexion, spoke quietly.

“It’s already late, and you’ve left the kids standing too long. I will take you to a comfortable place.”

Mom nodded as if she had given up trying to say she was going back to our house.

Judging by my mother’s reaction, it seemed that Duke Chelsiers would not catch and kill us.

‘It’s good …’

I felt somewhat relieved.

But at that moment, Eciel exclaimed with excitement. I turned my gaze to where Eciel was looking.

Since Duke Chelsiers had said he would ‘take us,’ people and carriages had appeared from somewhere, approaching us.

A carriage cleaner than any I had ever seen before, pulled by horses more beautiful and slenderer than any I had ever seen as well.

Eciel grabbed Mother’s sleeve and whispered softly.

“Are we riding that carriage?”

Mother mumbled something like, well, what could I do … in an embarrassed tone. Despite her awkward tone, Eciel seemed pleased.

‘ … She’s really a remarkable girl.’

Among my sister’s many qualities, I knew that she had a rich sensitivity that preferred anything that stood out.

Still, even though it seemed comfortable, would she really want to ride in a carriage with someone who was just arguing with Mother?

I was contemplating this when Eciel grabbed my hand excitedly.

“Why?”

“Let’s ride together, Claire!”

Where could we go by riding that?

But there was no time to say such things.

Before I could stop her, Eciel grabbed my hand and ran off happily. Mom murmured in disappointment from behind me.

“Who does she really resemble with?”

As Eciel dragged me away, I glanced back at Mother. She looked disappointed.

‘… Uh.’

Then, I saw was a completely unexpected sight.