In the end, the trip was over.
For some reason, everyone suddenly became anxious and told me to hurry back to the territory.
I was puzzled, but I didn’t oppose it since I was satisfied with the fact that I wouldn’t have to face the Saxon family, whom I didn’t want to see.
I thought that since the trip was over, my father and brothers would return to work, but that wasn’t the case.
It seemed that they were planning to take their vacation at home, as everyone stayed in the territory.
Even my second brother, who usually said he couldn’t move unless he ran around the palace knight training grounds every day, was the same.
I don’t understand why they’re acting like this, but anyway, I was able to rest without any bothersome matters in the territory, so I had time to think slowly.
“Disgusting.”
Lying quietly on the bed, I reflected on the events, and something strange stood out to me.
“Of course. Pedro, that stupid coward, would never do that.”
It was my mistake to firmly believe that Pedro was the one who saved me because of my lost memory.
Even in my past life, and again this time, the person who dragged me away from the attackers was not Pedro, but Ray.
‘It couldn’t be helped. The only thing that remained in my memory was the overwhelming fear and the blonde hair that flickered in front of me as I was dragged away.’
I felt very sorry.
Of course, I was sorry for Ray, not Pedro.
Ray’s blonde hair, even though it was covered in dirt, shone brilliantly, unlike Pedro’s blonde hair, which looked like a dull, poop-like color.
“Why did I mistake them? I’m so stupid.”
I was criticizing myself while also feeling very angry at Pedro.
It was really disgusting that he lied, pretending to have saved me to get his hands on our family’s wealth.
“Ugh, I’m really an idiot!”
Pedro, that good-for-nothing bastard, treated me poorly, like trash, but I couldn’t let go because of that back figure I remembered from my lost memory.
I couldn’t hold back my anger and hit the pillow repeatedly with my fist.
If it weren’t for his lies, I would never have fallen for trash like Pedro, nor would I have been engaged to him…
Although it was a life that had already disappeared, I couldn’t stop the shame from overwhelming me since I still remembered it.
“By the way, it’s a good thing I didn’t lose my memory this time.”
The attackers rushing at me were scary, but I didn’t feel the same level of terror I experienced in my previous life.
‘Maybe it was because I was young back then?’
Of course, my body is still young, but my mind is that of an adult now.
Maybe the amount of fear I could accept would be different now, even if I experienced the same thing.
As my thoughts flowed from disgust at Pedro to self-reflection, I eventually ended up thinking about Ray.
“I wonder how he’s doing.”
No one had told me how Ray was after that, so I became even more worried.
Since he was the son of a superior, I thought my second brother might know, but every time I tried to bring it up, his expression darkened. It was as if he didn’t want to talk about it with me.
Each time, my heart weakened, and I gave in to his wishes.
‘I can’t stand it anymore. I’m too curious.’
Today, I have to hear news about Ray from someone!
I quickly jumped out of bed. Finding my family wasn’t difficult—they were all gathered in the sitting room.
As I passed by, I overheard their conversation, and I was shocked to see they were talking without me.
‘Am I being excluded?’
Their serious faces seemed like they were discussing something important, so why didn’t they call me?
I couldn’t hide my disappointment and peeked my head through the door to ask,
“What are you all doing here?”
Gasp!
It felt like everyone had suddenly taken a deep breath, as if they had been caught.
What’s going on?
What are they trying to hide from me?
I squinted my eyes and observed their expressions, and strangely, the room felt warm.
Even though it was early summer, it shouldn’t have gotten this warm inside.
I thought it was strange, and as I looked around, I was surprised to see the fireplace was lit.
It was blazing brightly.
“Aren’t you all hot?”
I said with a bewildered expression and approached the stove, but everyone hurriedly tried to stop me, though I didn’t care.
Why had they lit it?
As I peered inside, I saw scraps of paper among the burning logs.
Did they light the fire to burn those papers?
What are they?
I glanced at the papers as if looking for an answer, but my family just avoided my gaze.
“Oh, I just wanted to burn some documents today.”
“That doesn’t look like documents, though. Who decorates documents with gold leaf?”
Looking at the edges of the unburnt paper, there was a line of gold leaf, which clearly indicated that they were letters.
When I questioned this, my father said something strange, claiming that he wanted to decorate some documents that day.
I ignored his words and looked back at the fireplace.
By checking the amount of ash left, I could tell that it wasn’t just one or two letters.
“What kind of letters are these?”
“It’s not worth your attention, Ruby. They’re just… um, well, what is it? Are you not resting?”
My second brother awkwardly changed the subject while speaking, and although it seemed very suspicious, seeing his tightly shut lips made me realize he wasn’t going to tell me.
The rest of the family was the same.
I sighed.
“Resting? Every time I see you, you tell me to rest… I don’t want to rest anymore.”
“I see.”
“Anyway, I came down because I was curious about something…”
“What is it?”
“Ray… is he doing okay?”
“Cough!”
As I seemed to stop asking and just let it go, my second brother’s face suddenly lit up.
However, his face turned pale with blood drained when I continued speaking.
Why is he acting like this…
I tried to seek agreement from the rest of the family, asking if my second brother wasn’t acting strange, but everyone had serious expressions.
My mother, who had been sitting quietly, asked,
“Ruby. Why are you curious about that? You only met him that day.”
“Uh? Well… we went through some rough things together.”
“I’m worried about him.”
My mother’s voice was cold, and I stammered while explaining, but everyone swallowed their words.
The atmosphere seemed quite tense, and I began to feel anxious, wondering if Ray had been attacked again or if something had gone wrong.
“…The child is safe and doing well.”
Unexpectedly, it was good news.
I felt relieved, but then my mother’s next question reached my ears.
“Is that all?”
“Huh?”
“Is that the only reason you’re concerned about him? Is that all?”
My mother’s gaze pierced through me.
Honestly, there was another reason, but it was something hard to confess.
‘Actually, he was the one who saved me in my past life, and later, when I grew up and was sad, he comforted me.’
Even though my family loved me, if I told them I was worried about Ray for this reason, they would surely doubt my sanity.
So, the only answer I could give was,
“Is there any other reason? We only met that day, didn’t we?”
Finally, the persistent gazes of my family dispersed, but I felt uneasy.
“Why is everyone being so cautious?”
There had been a time in my previous life when my family had been this serious.
It was when I stubbornly insisted on marrying Pedro, even if it meant dying.
To my family, the greed of the Saxon family must have been painfully obvious.
I tried to change their minds in any way I could, but because I insisted so strongly, I ended up getting engaged.
Back then, everyone tried to stop me with serious expressions, but it wasn’t like this.
No matter how you look at it, it was hard to see it as the level of caution one would take toward an aspiring thief that my young daughter was interested in.
“Is this strange? I can understand it from the other family members, but even my mother?”
My mother, who used to sigh and say, “Our daughter is all grown up,” when she saw me obsessing over Pedro, was now clearly cautious, which meant there was something wrong with Ray.
“What could it be? What is really going on?”
I was very curious, but there was no one here who could answer my questions.
I had a feeling that what my family was hiding was somehow connected to their wariness toward Ray.
“Anyway, I’m glad that kid is safe. Now that my curiosity is satisfied, I’ll go back.”
If no one would tell me, I had no choice but to figure it out myself.
I pretended like I had lost interest and left the sitting room where my family was gathered.
But instead of going straight back to my room, I cautiously entered the room upstairs from the sitting room and lay on the floor to listen carefully.
Through the muffled sound of the wall, I could hear faint voices of my family talking.
It was my father’s and my eldest brother’s voices.
[……It’s dangerous. Ruby’s interest…… Why is that……]
[Her face is beautiful. It doesn’t work. She’s charmed. Outside……]
No, these people!
Why are they only looking at appearances?
My face immediately turned red.
If I were only concerned about looks, would I have gotten engaged to someone like Pedro?
I was someone who cared thoroughly about a person’s inner qualities.
“Well, Ray is pretty, but…”
That was true, so I had no words to say and just pouted.
Then, I heard their conversation again.
[But the letter… Burn it. It’s fine…]
[It’s fine…]
Of course, it was about a letter.
They had insisted it was an official document, decorated with gold foil… I was dumbfounded.
But it was strange.
“If it’s a letter with gold foil, it must have been sent by a noble… Is it really a letter that was sent?”
Could it be that the Saxon family sent a letter, unable to come to their senses, and because they were frustrated, they burned it?
I thought about it, but there seemed to be no other reason that made sense.
While I was thinking, the conversation continued.
[This dilemma… How do we solve it…]
[What about studying abroad…?]
At the next words, my eyes grew wide.
Studying abroad?
Who?
Could it be me?
But no matter how I thought about it, it could only be me.
My parents, of course, my eldest brother was too old to study abroad, and my second brother was a muscle-headed fool.
If it were about going abroad for training, maybe, but studying abroad…
Naturally, the only ones left were my younger brother and me, and although I was young, my younger brother was even younger.
There was no one else who could go but me.
“Haha, no way… Could they be thinking of sending their daughter abroad just because she took an interest in a boy?”