# 44
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Perhaps because I heard an unexpected name, my body stiffened and my heart began to beat violently.
As I was standing, the sound of footsteps approached.
"Hmm? You don't look alike at all."
The red haired boy said.
“Lucio, take a look and make sure it is your sister. The small size makes her look small, and so do the clothes...”
He looked at my dress, which was of very good quality for a maid, then tilted his head to look at the apron around my waist.
At that time, an indifferent voice was heard from behind.
“My younger sister has silver hair like me.”
“Aha.” The boy nodded and asked me.
“Then who are you?”
When I froze and stopped breathing, I fisted the tender flesh into my mouth.
I wanted to answer quickly, but my hair was pure white and my mouth was dry, and I didn't even think about it.
That was when I was barely able to open my lips.
“This is the first time I've seen your face.”
Just like the moment I died, he stood in front of me.
She looked at Lucio blankly.
Silver hair shines so bright that it hurts your eyes, and cold blue eyes show through it.
He has a cold appearance, as if he breathed life into a statue made of ice, but his beautiful features are enough to captivate you just by looking at him.
However, he looked much younger than I remembered.
“Is this the child my mother brought?”
Lucio asked me, but I couldn't answer.
At that time, he frowned gently.
“But why are you shaking so much?”
At that moment, I was pulled into the past.
* * *
〈Leah, did you hear that?〉
〈What?〉
〈There was that scary person back then〉
Eh what? …
It was the Duke who said something.
Emily frowned as if she couldn't remember.
I asked quietly.
〈… …Duke of Elad?〉
〈Oh, that's right! This scary duke.〉
〈Why him?〉
〈The son of a duke goes to this academy.〉
〈So, is he the older brother of that crying little girl then?〉
While Emily was speaking, the children from the orphanage next to her also joined the conversation one by one.
〈What if I called her a crying baby? You said she was a princess. 〉
〈Hehe, anyway, we'll never meet again, what about you and Jack?〉
〈Good Jack, I'm sure he'll be well fed now.〉
I turned my head blankly as the children spoke enviously.
From the mountain where the orphanage is located to the village, and then from the village to the capital.
We moved around for several months and settled here in Suyton, where the Gifted Center and Academy are located.
Since it was a place where students who would become the future of the empire resided, the streets were clean, there were no cruel adults, and above all, it was a good place to give alms.
Although he was young, he probably wanted to act like a benevolent and generous gentleman, because students would sometimes give him large sums of money.
'Of course, there were many bad kids who looked down on us and bullied us. '
Anyway, there was a park near the academy, and there was a drinking fountain inside so I could fill my hungry stomach with water, and there were many restaurants nearby, so it was fun to rummage through trash cans for discarded food.
‘There were guards, but as long as you avoided their eyes, it was a nice place to live.’
. ...We believed it.
If the guards caught me, I would have ended my life as a vagabond and entered any orphanage.
My children and I, who were young and ignorant at the time, were afraid that we would die if these people caught us.
This was partly because we believed the words of the gang of ars who accepted us.
〈Anyway, as you know, the Duke’s son, what was your name? Ru. … Yes ! His name was Lucio Elade.〉
Then Emily clapped her hands and said.
Lucio Elad.
I called that name in my head once.
No, several times.
But I had no idea.
I never thought I would meet that person.
* * *
〈ru... Luce. ...What?〉
I scratched my broken head as I wrote on the ground with a tree branch.
〈I thought it would be easy, but it was hard〉
I lived without even knowing the existence of letters, and I did not know of the existence of letters until after I left the orphanage.
But the same thing there was no one to tell them, either in the orphanage or on the street.
However, there were signs in the world.
Little by little, I was matching the words and letters coming out of people's mouths.
〈I liked my name because it was easy〉
Of course, there was no one to check if what I wrote was correct, but I was convinced that I could write my name anyway.
With the holes wide open, she learned the letters by thinking of the names of the children in the orphanage.
Then I suddenly wanted to write Lucio's name.
The reason was simple.
Because it seemed easy.
But I can only use “if”.
〈Lucio... Lucio Elade〉
I became sullen because the letters were harder than I thought, so I mumbled that name several times for no reason.
It's unfortunate.
Why did they call me that name that day?
<Who are you … . ?〉
Suddenly, I was startled by a voice coming from behind me, and I turned around, immediately meeting blue eyes.
At that moment, the fur on my entire body popped out and my eyes started rolling.
That scary person I saw in the orphanage!
*Refers to the Duke since the Duke and his son, Lucio, have the same appearance.*
〈Because you keep calling my name.〉
. ...No, it was his son Lucio.
For a moment, I immediately realized who he was, because he looked so similar that I could easily mistake him for the Duke of Elad.
Lucio took a step towards me.
'Oh, what should I do? I think he was angry because a ar like me called his name arbitrarily.'
There were noble boys who would get angry when they saw something in their field of vision, saying that we had smeared their eyes.
Moreover, he is the son of the fearsome Duke of Elad, whose heart aches just thinking about him.
I froze and couldn't say anything.
The boy with an indifferent and weak expression slowly frowned.
Then he asked me again and I looked at him stupidly.
〈But why are you shaking so much?〉
* * *
“Lucio, is this child... “Maybe you are deaf?”
The person who immediately brought me out of the past and into reality was a red-haired boy.
I quickly lowered my head and said.
“No, no. I was so surprised that I was being rude. Sorry. please forgive me."
Lucio was also such a great gentleman that I couldn't even look at him, but the person next to him was so apologetic for even talking to me, so I apologized to him profuy.
I was worried that because of me, Duke Elad would think that they were not educating their employees properly.
“I might have actually been criticized for my clothes.”
“Can you tell me who he is? “I have never heard that the Duke of Elad has any other daughters other than the youngest princess.”
He seems to have believed that the Duke had ected one of his vassal's daughters and brought her to the capital.
“You misunderstood. I am a maid working in the ducal household.”
"maid? But why...?
He looked at me with a puzzled look, as if he didn't believe what I was saying.
At that time, Lucio suddenly crossed my path and said:
“Your Highness, I don’t feel very well because you are interrogating someone in my house.”
“What?”
Then the boy called His Highness Nikola Rakshtein burst into laughter.
“What did you do? “I only saw it because I was surprised to have such a young maid.”
“If you look carefully, you will find him in the Imperial Palace.”
“Anyway, I won't say a word.”
I looked uncomfortable between Lucio, the eldest son of the Duke of Elade, and Nicholas, the Prince Imperial.
Since the situation of the two people was different, it was impossible to leave the place like this, and it was difficult to continue listening to their conversation.
It was then.
“Have you met me before?”
"… … Yes?"
She seemed surprised by Lucio's question.
Since I was speechless and unable to answer, Nicholas suddenly spoke slyly.
“Lucio. You just said that you were seeing this face for the first time. Are you working on this man now?” “I can’t believe your taste was so young!”
Nicholas laughed as if Lucio was a pervert and was engaging in low-level manipulation, and Lucio looked at him like he was an insect. It was a time when I was the only one in the middle who was embarrassed.
“Brother!”
When I turned my head at the unexpectedly welcoming voice, I saw Allen grab Diana's hand and rush out of the main building.
“Why did you come so late? Do you know how long it's been since Diana and I arrived in D.C.?
“I had no choice because it was exam period. But I came right after it was over.”
"This is correct! “Then are you going to sleep today?”
“I plan to stay for a while.”
"amazing!"
Allen raised both his hands in joy.
It was the first time I had seen him so bright.
“It's different than when I was with Diana. “He's really like a little brother.”
Well, Lucio, who is 6 years older than 11-year-old Allen, might be the big brother.
At this time, Nicholas clicked his tongue and said.
“Oh no, I don’t care about a tearful reunion of brothers.”
“It can't be. “Your Royal Highness, how are you?”
Allen greeted him warmly, but Nicholas maintained an angry expression and spoke.
“It's okay to kneel down and greet me. Anyway, I also came to see the rumored younger princess.”
Then he turned his head and his eyes widened.
Diana, who had come with Alan, was clinging to me as if she did not care about her older brother, whom she had not seen for a long time.
“Oh Leah!” “I’ve been looking for you for a while, but are you still here?”
Unlike Nicholas, who seemed surprised, Allen looked at me as if he was aware of this and spoke calmly.
“It's been a long time since I've worn those clothes. “Are you going to play with dolls with Diana?”
As soon as she finished speaking, Diana's eyes lit up, and she smiled and nodded.
“Aha. I was the princess’s maid.”
It's time to take a break thanks to the prince who found out for himf.
“But what about you, Askal? “Have you not met?”
“Ascart said he was tired and went back to the dormitory.”
“No way. I was going to show you our Diana.” “Askal, you have never seen Diana before.”
When Allen appeared sullen, Nicholas, who had been listening, smiled and said.
“Haha. Prince Allen, if you continue to brag about your sister in front of the Archduke, you will be hated.