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"But since it has been revealed that that child is not our biological daughter, shouldn't Rosia take that seat now?"
Rosia, upon hearing those words, was startled and widened her eyes.
"I-I'm sorry. I spoke without thinking. I didn't mean to take Ayla's place..."
Rosia's shoulders trembled.
She seemed greatly surprised that she had put Ayla in a difficult position.
Calios spoke kindly to Rosia.
"This seat isn't Ayla's. It's yours. Aren't you the true daughter of the Blanche Noble house?"
Despite his comfort, Rosia looked at Ayla with an anxious face.
Ayla thought as she watched her.
'Acting like it was a mistake. She knew all along and pointed out the seat anyway. If it were the old me, I would have been caught off guard without knowing anything. Not knowing what kind of person Rosia is.'
In the original story, Ayla is greatly shocked by Calios's heartless attitude.
"Move, Ayla."
Ayla's eyes widened at Calios's words.
"F-Father..."
"Father? I am no longer your father."
Ayla's face turned pale at Calios's cold words.
"But, this has been my seat for a long time! It's absurd to give it to her..."
"Are you still not grasping the situation? Rosia is the only daughter of the Blanche Noble house now."
"..."
"Soon, your name will be removed from the Noble house's family register. Then you will become a commoner. It's time you knew your place."
Ayla knew very well what kind of person her father was.
He was an aristocrat to the bone, someone who could abandon even his beloved daughter if necessary.
'Now that he knows I'm not his blood, Father must have already made up his mind.'
The Ayla of the original story couldn't accept that fact and initially insisted.
She thought that protecting this seat would prevent her from being kicked out of the Blanche Noble house.
'So she ends up hearing harsh words and incurring Father's displeasure. And my brothers turn more towards Rosia's side.'
It was the moment Calios was about to say something stern to Ayla.
She stood up from her seat without hesitation.
With an expression as if she was barely holding back tears.
"Sit here, Rosia."
"A-Ayla..."
"This is your seat. I almost made a mistake without realizing it. Thanks to you, I remembered. That I'm no longer a member of the Blanche Noble house."
Rosia's expression slightly stiffened, as if she hadn't expected Ayla to react this way.
'She must have thought I would resist more.'
If so, it would have been easier for her to gain sympathy from the family.
But Rosia was no amateur either.
She quickly changed her attitude and said apologetically.
"I'm sorry."
"What do you have to be sorry for? I'm fine. Really."
Ayla kindly helped Rosia sit in her seat. Then she sat in the lowest seat.
Giving up the seat was much easier than she thought.
It wasn't as miserable or sad as she had expected.
What she said to Rosia was true. She really didn't care.
'The stunned expressions of my family are also amusing.'
The meal began in a gloomy atmosphere.
Rosia was listlessly picking at her food with a sullen face.
Unable to bear watching, the second brother, Cedric, cut the veal steak in front of him and placed it on Rosia's plate.
"Rosia, try some of this too."
"Thank you, Cedric."
"I told you to call me Brother."
"Yes, Brother. I'll call you that from now on."
Cedric muttered as if he felt sorry for her.
"How much must you have suffered to be so thin?"
"It's okay. I'm rather glad that I was the one who went through the hardship."
Rosia said with a small smile. As if she really meant it.
"Rosia..."
"Because thanks to that, Ayla was able to grow up in the warmth of her family."
"How can you think of such kind things? You're really..."
"I'd rather have it hard. I can endure such situations well. But if it were Ayla, she wouldn't have been able to endure it."
Even in that situation, Ayla diligently cut and ate her steak.
To stand against Rosia, who was constantly driving a wedge between her and her family, she had to conserve as much energy as possible.
Perhaps feeling even more sorry for Rosia because of that, Gerard, following Cedric, also took care of his new sister.
"Rosia, eat slowly while drinking something."
"Thank you for taking care of me, Brother."
"You don't need to thank me for every little thing, these are things you'll experience from now on."
Rosia widened her eyes as if she couldn't believe it and said.
"R-Really?"
"Yes, I'm going to give you back everything you were supposed to have."
The family had already opened their hearts to Rosia quite a bit, perhaps because of the Emotion Manipulation Magic.
Ayla couldn't possibly be unaware of that atmosphere.
'Even if it's not as much as Father, my brothers are subtly resenting me.'
They thought that Ayla had taken everything Rosia should have enjoyed.
That's why they were being cold to her in front of Rosia on purpose.
'The reason they're not talking to me now must be because of that.'
Her brothers, who had been so kind, hadn't said a word to Ayla throughout the meal.
Instead, their attention was solely focused on Rosia.
Only one person, Irene, was looking at Ayla with an anxious face.
"Are you alright, Ayla?"
Ayla gave her a small smile.
"I'm fine, so don't worry about me, Mother."
"But Ayla..."
"Mother, after the meal, shall we go look at dresses together?"
Perhaps displeased with the attention Irene was giving Ayla, Rosia suddenly spoke to her.
However, the Duchess immediately closed her mouth.
Unlike the other family members, she hadn't fully accepted Rosia yet, even though she was under the influence of Magic.
It was because her heart didn't move even after knowing she was her biological daughter.
Ayla felt a surge of emotion as she watched that.
What her foolish father and brothers didn't know, her mother knew instinctively.
That the real daughter was Ayla.
'Mother couldn't treat Rosia as her own daughter until the later part of the original story.'
It was because of the affection she had for raising Ayla. Thinking of her mother made Ayla's nose tingle.
Rosia gave a shy smile to her silent mother with a face full of affection.
"I-I've always dreamed of going shopping and eating cake with Mother."
"..."
"Maybe it's because I grew up in the slums, but I've never done such things before. I'm so happy now that I have a mother."
Gerard said to Irene with a pitiful face.
"Yes, Mother. I think it would be good to spend some quality time with Rosia."
Cedric also added in a playful tone.
"Can I come along too? I'm ready to be Rosia's excellent baggage carrier."
Ayla raised her head sharply.
It was because she already knew what would happen next.
'In the original story, Mother refuses Rosia's request.'
That was all to look after Ayla's feelings.
In other words, right now was the starting point of the conflict.
'Later, Mother will be deeply hurt because of my brothers, who will be completely crazy about Rosia.'
"Mother, why are you being like this to Rosia? Mother's real daughter is Rosia, not Ayla. So why do you keep hurting that child!"
"I'm really disappointed in Mother."
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