Duke Everett’s sermons were always the same. Be obedient, do not rebel, be grateful for the benefits I had enjoyed because of him, repay everything that he had provided for me…

So, I could only respond obediently, “Yes, yes.” Duke Everett was someone who could always banish me from the castle or even kill me.

“Now that you’re of age, it’s time to look for a marriage partner. Your bridal training will be handled by Baroness Baden . She is scheduled to come to Everett Castle starting next week, so work hard.”

“…Yes, Father.”

After listening to all of that, I could guess the point of time of this dream. It must have been around the time when Duke Everett had planned to marry me to Theodore.

The root of all my misfortunes lay in Duke Everett’s ambition. Everything to him was just a tool to fulfill his desires, and I was a child raised to be a tool from the beginning.

“You may be useless in some respects, but your face is pretty fair, so with that…”

At the Everett Castle, I always heard that I was useless. But was I truly useless?

No. Now that I think about it, I wasn’t at all. On the contrary, I was even more useful than Hessen. The only advantage Hessen had, who would often cause accidents due to his inability to control his emotions, was that he was a spirit contractor.

On the other hand, I was adept at dealing with people and had excelled in many things I had learned while growing up at Everett Castle.

Nevertheless, Duke Everett always claimed I was inadequate and useless. Even Owen often echoed these sentiments.

Looking back, the reason they pushed me in that way was all too simple.

I had to feel inadequate myself, and that made me easier to control.

“….And you need to practice dancing more. How will you captivate men like that? Tsk tsk… That’s the only use you have.”

“……”

…It’s quite amusing. Now those words sound ridiculous to me. The past two years seem to have been longer than I thought. The current me was certainly not the same as before.

‘But you remain the same. Without any change, just satisfied with the power in your hands…’

He didn’t know that the girl he raised as a tool has returned as a vengeful spirit.

I suppressed the laughter that was about to escape my lips. Pretending to pick up the silverware, I asked Duke Everett.

“There’s something I’ve been curious about for a while. May I ask?”

“Right, what is it?”

“It’s about my mother.”

“You mean your birth mother? Why are you suddenly bringing up that woman?”

Duke Everett asked as if it was no big deal while cutting his steak. As expected… It was just as Somnia had informed me.

When you enter someone else’s dream, the other person doesn’t perceive that fact. The dreamscape might seem vivid to me, but to the other person, it’s just a vague dream. They would act according to their unconscious, deeply buried reasoning.

In other words, it meant that he would answer my questions straightforwardly, as if he were intoxicated like people under a truth serum.

Generally, we don’t dream uncontrollable dreams unless it’s a lucid dream. That was the state Duke Everett in.

Of course, if the other person was a spirit contractor, the risk of getting caught would be high.

However, from Duke Everett’s current state, it didn’t seem like his spirit, Caligo, had warned him.

‘Or perhaps he didn’t notice Somnia’s presence.’

I smiled at Duke Everett as usual and spoke.

“Since she gave birth to me, I can’t help but wonder about her whereabouts. Where she is, what she’s doing…”

“That woman is dead.”

I stiffened without realizing it.

A chilling cold seeped into my bones. Even though it was a dream, all my senses were as sharp as in reality.

My hand holding the knife trembled. I tightened my grip and asked again.

“…She passed away?”

“Yes, it was a long time ago now.”

“…How did she pass away?”

“You’re curious about everything. She’s no longer a woman you need in your life anyway, is she?”

“I’m just, curious…”

A foreboding feeling made my heart pound.

…No, it couldn’t be.

But if it were Duke Everett… would be be the kind of person to leave others alive after that?

Then, could it really be…

“On the day she left Everett Castle, I went after her myself and killed her.”

“……”

The knife in my hand fell onto the dining table.

“I thought she might cause trouble if I let her go. It would be inconvenient if the fact that you were not my biological daughter but rather an adopted daughter spread around, wouldn’t it?”

“….”

“I initially planned to take you in as my adopted daughter and get her to have an illegitimate child with a similar appearance to yours. But, she refused.”

“….”

“Quite arrogant as a maid. So I locked her up and tried to force her, but she escaped. She then threatened to reveal the truth about you unless I let her go. So, I pretended to comply with her demands, followed her, and ended her life.”

“….”

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