The marquis family's garden was so overgrown that it was almost embarrassing to call it the garden of a noble estate.
Ordinarily, the mistress of a noble house dictated every aspect of the garden's design. Its beauty was a direct reflection of her pride, which was why so many noblewomen devoted themselves to maintaining it.
The Marchioness, however, had no talent for gardening.
No—more accurately, she had no interest in it.
Then again, was there anything she cared about besides the Marquis?
I wandered leisurely through the garden. The lush grass rustled softly beneath my feet, and a pleasant breeze drifted through the warm afternoon sunlight.
I allowed myself to savor the peace.
Bionne and Lee Ji-ah had one thing in common.
They had both lived impossibly busy lives.
Bionne had been consumed by love.
Lee Ji-ah had been consumed by survival.
It had been a very long time since I'd experienced such quiet leisure.
Rustle.
I had my eyes closed, enjoying the warmth of the sun, when I heard branches shaking nearby.
The place where I stood was a secluded section deep within the gardens—a private sanctuary reserved exclusively for the lady of the mansion. No one was permitted to enter without her approval.
Not even the master of the house, the Marquis himself.
With the Marchioness gone, I was now the lady of this estate.
I wanted to be alone, so I had dismissed everyone—even my nanny and my maids.
Opening my eyes, I looked around for the intruder.
A bush about ten paces away trembled violently.
Slowly, I approached it.
The shrub was as tall as I was, resembling a massive rose vine. Countless razor-sharp thorns protruded from its tangled branches.
Carefully, I grasped a thornless section and tried to pull it aside.
It didn't budge.
The bush shook even harder.
Taking a cautious step backward, I peered into the dense vines.
Please don't be some dangerous animal...
Something small and black shifted within the thicket.
Each movement made the vines sway.
Whatever it was, it seemed desperately trapped, struggling to escape.
I hesitated.
The thorns looked vicious.
Getting stabbed doesn't sound appealing...
But my hesitation didn't last long.
I snapped off several thorns to make the vines easier to grip.
More than anything, I wanted to know what was trapped inside.
This was the inner garden of a heavily guarded noble estate.
No dangerous beast could have wandered in here.
Wrapping my hands around the cleared vines, I pulled with all my strength.
The tangled branches finally parted.
Out rolled a small black bundle.
I'd expected a rabbit or perhaps a raccoon.
Instead...
It was a child.
The little boy tumbled onto the grass, covered in scratches from head to toe. Judging by the state of him, he'd suffered quite a bit while trapped inside the thorny vines.
Curled up on the ground, he looked no older than four or five.
Slowly, he raised his head.
Dark brown eyes met mine.
They reminded me of an abandoned puppy.
He's just like Ttorong.
Those dark brown eyes instantly reminded me of Ttorong, the dog I'd raised when I was still Lee Ji-ah.
Ttorong had possessed the same warm brown eyes, along with golden-brown fur.
I could vividly remember him wagging his tail as he faithfully followed behind me wherever I went.
"..."
"..."
The child stared up at me cautiously.
I bent down and pressed a finger into his plump cheek.
"...!"
Startled, the little boy toppled backward with a squeak.
Squatting in front of him, I looked down at his bewildered face.
Confusion filled his expression.
He looked so thoroughly baffled that I could practically imagine question marks floating around his head.
A laugh escaped me.
This time I pinched his cheek between my thumb and forefinger.
Soft.
Springy.
It felt exactly like a freshly made rice cake.
Perhaps I'd pinched a little too hard.
His dark eyes quickly filled with tears.
He didn't cry.
He didn't even make a sound.
He simply looked at me with watery eyes, exactly like Ttorong whenever I placed food in front of him and made him wait for permission to eat.
...I feel like I'm awakening to some terrible hobby.
I'd never been the sort of person who enjoyed tormenting children.
But for some reason...
Teasing this kid was strangely entertaining.
His reactions were immediate, and he kept reminding me of the puppy who had shared my childhood as Lee Ji-ah.
There was something else.
Beneath the dirt and tangled leaves coating his hair, I noticed its color.
A deep navy blue.
Exactly the same shade as the Marquis'.
"Did you find him?"
"No! I can't see him anywhere."
"Where on earth did that tiny brat disappear to?"
Just as I was about to pinch his cheek again, voices drifted toward us.
I frowned.
The interruption irritated me.
This was my private garden.
No one entered without my permission.
The very fact that someone had invaded my space without my consent was enough to sour my mood.
"What is all this about?"
"G-Gasp!"
"Y-Young Lady!"
I stood.
The maids froze in shock.
Apparently, the possibility of finding me here had never crossed their minds.
They hurriedly lowered their heads.
"I asked what this is about."
"W-Well... th-that is..."
The maids exchanged uneasy glances, each waiting for another to answer.
I stared at them coldly.
"So you've entered my garden without permission..."
"And now you refuse to answer?"
"Should I take that as a sign that you've chosen to disregard me?"
"N-No!"
"We're terribly sorry!"
"P-Please forgive us, Young Lady!"
The maids collapsed to their knees.
Glancing down, I looked at the child still lying beside my feet.
His frightened eyes were fixed entirely on me.
The tall hedge concealed him from the maids' view.
Even if they had somehow noticed him, they were far too busy trembling in fear of me.
Their foreheads pressed against the ground.
"Please show mercy, Young Lady."
"We beg your forgiveness."
I didn't need an explanation.
It was obvious they'd come here looking for this child.
Casually, I spread the hem of my skirt a little wider, making sure it blocked their view of him completely.
"You're being noisy."
"Wh... pardon?"
"Leave."
The maids looked up in astonishment.
I waved my hand dismissively.
"I said leave. I'll speak to my nanny about this myself."
"But be prepared to be punished."
"Th-Thank you, Young Lady!"
"Thank you so much!"
"Then stop wasting my time."
The maids exchanged relieved glances before bowing repeatedly.
I impatiently urged them to hurry.
Afraid I might change my mind, they quickly offered one last round of thanks before disappearing from the garden.
Once they were gone, I looked down at the little boy again.
He hadn't moved an inch.
At some point, he'd grabbed the edge of my skirt with both hands and was clinging to it tightly.
I crouched down until our eyes were level.
Hmm...
The fact that the maids had ventured all the way into the Marchioness' private garden to search for him meant he was important enough to risk punishment.
Of course, they'd never imagined I would actually be here.
I rarely came into the gardens.
Besides, this had always been the Marchioness' private sanctuary.
They had probably assumed it would remain abandoned, just as it had for years.
"So..."
"What should I do with you?"
I gently poked his cheek with my finger.
His brown eyes darted nervously from side to side.
I'd noticed it earlier, but his cheeks were even softer than rice cakes.
Touching them was oddly satisfying.
Unable to resist, I pinched one again.
The skin stretched with delightful elasticity.
I'm going to become addicted to this feeling.
"Why did you come out here?"
The boy remained silent.
His eyes brimmed with tears, yet not even a whimper escaped his lips.
If I hadn't already known who he was, I would have assumed he was mute.
Lant Bayron Elliant.
That was his name.
There was an old saying that blood never lied.
Except for his dark brown eyes, Lant looked astonishingly similar to the Marquis.
He was like a miniature version of the man.
Not long after the Marchioness died, the Marquis had brought Lant to the estate.
Back then, I hadn't learned about his arrival until much later.
My nanny had wept bitterly.
She cried for days, lamenting how pitiful the late Marchioness had been.
I hated Lant.
Until then, I had believed I was my father's only child.
That pride had been shattered.
Worse still, unlike me, Lant so obviously resembled the Marquis that anyone could recognize him as his son at a glance.
The Marquis had even prepared living quarters for him in the detached residence.
To me, that was proof enough that Father cared about him.
Until I entered the Imperial Palace as the Crown Prince's future wife, I tormented Lant relentlessly.
I ordered maids to tamper with his meals.
I found excuses to punish him over trivial matters.
Sometimes I had servants beat him mercilessly.
No one stopped me.
At the time, everyone openly regarded me as the future Crown Princess.
No one dared offend me.
On the contrary, people eagerly bullied Lant of their own accord, hoping to earn my favor.
The only person who could have stopped me was the Marquis.
But he never did.
He couldn't possibly have been unaware of what I was doing.
Even so, he remained silent, just as he always had.
His silence only emboldened me further.
Lant endured every bit of my malice without complaint.
Even while servants beat him with clubs, he never screamed.
That only infuriated me more.
Watching him silently endure reminded me too much of the Marquis himself.
No matter how desperately I had sought Father's affection, the man had never so much as twitched an eyebrow.
Lant's body was never free of wounds.
Some scars were so severe they would remain with him for life.
Once, he had nearly died.
Even then...
No one tried to stop me.
Now that I think about it...
It really was strange.
Lant was the only possible heir to House Elliant.
The Marquis had never formally declared a successor, but there was no one else.
The House of Elliant had always suffered from a lack of descendants.
The previous Marquis had been an only child.
The current Marquis had only two children—me and Lant.
I'd heard he once had a younger brother, but the man had died many years ago.
As a woman, I couldn't inherit the family title.
My husband could have inherited through me, but only if there were absolutely no surviving male heirs.
Besides, my future husband had been the Crown Prince himself.
Unless the Marquis remarried and had another son—or adopted one—the next Marquis of Elliant would undoubtedly be Lant.
Curiously, the Marquis never publicly acknowledged him as his son.
He never revealed who Lant's mother was, either.
He simply placed the boy in the detached residence and gave him the education expected of a young noble.
But formal acknowledgment hardly mattered.
Anyone with eyes could see the truth.
Looking at Lant was like looking at a younger copy of the Marquis himself.
No one could honestly claim that the boy wasn't his son.
