FMFR Chapter 8

Chapter 8

How to gain sympathy it was certainly foolish of her to lose control of her emotions and become so sharp-edged when she met Daphne.

She had shown exactly the pitiful adopted-daughter image Daphne wanted to see.

Now it was her turn to act the same way and gain their sympathy.

“……I’m not upset that you called Daphne aside and said those things to her. From now on, you can treat her just as well even when I’m there.”

If she acted jealous of Daphne, or behaved as though it were only natural for her biological daughter to receive better treatment, all she would accomplish was leaving the impression that she was unruly because she had grown up outside the family.

‘…I should have acted like this from the very beginning.’

The moment she saw Daphne, she had been unable to hide her murderous intent.

“Actually, if you hadn’t told me to call her ‘older sister,’ I wouldn’t have gone that far.
When you told me to call her that, I felt as though the place I had barely managed to find for myself was being taken away from me.”

As she continued speaking, the blood vessels in both of Duchess Heidel’s eyes became increasingly prominent.

It was obvious that she was barely suppressing her surge of emotion.

“Mother didn’t know you felt that way…… I said something I shouldn’t have.”

The Duchess of Heidel replied as though she now understood why she had rejected Daphne’s suggestion that she call her ‘older sister.’

“……I understand. So you don’t have to worry about how I feel. You and Father haven’t done anything wrong to me.”

“……Why don’t you ever let yourself feel hurt? Why don’t you tell your mother when something upsets you? I’m your mother, Dea. I’m your mother……”

She could clearly picture what would happen if she complained: they would end up pitying Daphne. And that was exactly what Daphne wanted most.

‘There’s no need to act foolishly and hand her exactly what she wants.’

If she wanted to avoid being defeated by Daphne, the only option was to make herself look as pitiful as possible and stir their sympathy.

“Because you cherish Daphne. I know that being your biological daughter isn’t important to you, Mother. After all, it’s been such a long time since I last saw you.”

“……How could you say that, darling? I’m only acting this way because I said earlier that you were too sensitive……. Hmm? You’re holding back what you want to say and trying to be a good girl…….”

“……Because I’m afraid that Mother and Father will dislike me…….”

Parents who feel guilty toward their child are more easily broken down when faced with a child who constantly watches their every reaction.

Medeia did exactly what Daphne had done.

It was her way of gaining the sympathy of the Duke and Duchess of Heidel.

She made herself appear as though she was careful about her behavior because she was afraid of falling out of their favor.

“……I’m scared. No matter how hard I try, I can’t make up for all the time that has already passed.”

It was strange. At first, those words had clearly come from a calculated place, so why was this suppressed hurt now leaking out so naturally?

“If I hadn’t come back……. No. Please pretend you didn’t hear what I just said.”

It was dangerous. She had to suppress it even more.

If she didn’t stop now, she felt as though everything inside her would spill out. Only if her desire to lean on the Duke and Duchess of Heidel faded away could she make sure she would never be abandoned again.

“Daphne called Madam Sisanna for me. She’s been very considerate of me, and I only just realized how much she thinks about me. It might be difficult right away, but I’ll try, so that we can become close.”

“……Dea.” The Duchess of Heidel staggered, clutching the area around her chest. Then she burst into tears. She covered her face with her hands before throwing herself into the Duke of Heidel’s arms and sobbing.

“Why, why are you still like this after growing so much……? You’re all grown up, yet you still keep watching everyone’s reactions…….”

“…….”

“You’re acting just like you did back then, when you secretly ate candy and got scolded by me. Why are you still stuck at five years old? Why…….”

Medeia hid her trembling hands behind her back.

Although she exerted so much force through her fingertips that every joint ached, she still refused to let go.

Because she did not want to be embraced by the Duchess of Heidel.

She could not simply continue standing there awkwardly, either.

Fortunately, the Duke of Heidel stroked his wife’s back and pulled her into his arms, soothing her.

“Medeia, it’s all right. Go inside and get some rest.”

“……Yes.”

He then gestured toward Medeia, as if telling her to go on inside.

Medeia gave a small bow and headed deeper into the mansion.

But when she reached the stairs, her body stiffened.

Earlier, Baron Bellosi had been there, which had at least made climbing them a little easier, but not now.

The fact that she had died by falling down the stairs had made even climbing them terrifying.

Just as she gripped the banister and was about to take a step forward, she heard someone coming down from above.

“Has Madam Sisanna left?”

When she looked up, Daphne was smiling brightly, her eyes curved into gentle crescents.

“……Yes. I was just seeing her off.”

“I’m looking forward to the coming-of-age dress Madam Sisanna is going to make for you.”

It made sense that she would be looking forward to it.

Though, to be precise, she was probably looking forward to the coming-of-age ceremony rather than the dress itself.

Daphne had wrapped Medeia in fur made from a white fox, saying that it would go well with her dress on the day of the ceremony.

‘My maternal grandfather went out hunting white foxes and was attacked by a bear, and he died…….’

The Duchess of Heidel had cried as she remembered her deceased father, while the Duke of Heidel had scolded Medeia, calling what she had done thoughtless.

Moreover, most of the guests invited to the coming-of-age ceremony already knew that the former Baron Bellosi had died while hunting a white fox.

So everyone had whispered that there could be no more horrifying act of filial disrespect than this.

Medeia wanted to tell them that Daphne had given it to her as a gift, that she had not known.

But when she saw the frightened look in Daphne’s eyes, as though silently begging her not to say anything, Medeia had no choice but to keep quiet.

Later, Daphne said that she hadn’t done it on purpose.

Foolishly, she believed her.

Until the very end, she covered for Daphne, hiding the fact that the fur made from the white fox’s pelt had been given to her by Daphne.

“I suppose so. Thank you for looking forward to my coming-of-age ceremony so much.And for Madam Sisanna too—for taking such good care of me.”

This time, she had no intention of simply standing there and suffering the same fate when Daphne wrapped her in white fox fur again.

“It’s nothing. The Heidel ducal household must still feel unfamiliar to you, so it’s only natural. Oh, right. Would you like to go to the opera with me tomorrow? I was planning to go with Chloe, but I thought it would be nice to introduce you to her.”

“……The opera?”

“Yeah. It’s called Orpheus. It’s the story of a man who goes all the way to the underworld to find his dead lover. Even though it ends tragically, the love between Eurydice and Orpheus is truly beautiful.”

Come to think of it, she remembered that Daphne had been particularly fond of an opera called Orpheus.

She had even been the one to suggest going to see it together, just as she was doing now.

Back then, Medeia had gone along despite having no interest in opera because she wanted to become closer to Daphne.

The Baroness of Bellosi’s daughter was not particularly friendly toward her.

She had been broken off from her engagement the previous year, and the reason was Princess Charlotte.

Her former fiancé, the Marquis of York’s younger son, had fallen in love with Princess Charlotte at first sight and openly courted her.

Even though Princess Charlotte had been disgusted and refused him, the younger Marquis of York had unilaterally demanded to break off his engagement with the Baroness of Bellosi’s daughter.

Because of that, when she recognized Medeia, who had been taken under Princess Charlotte’s protection, her expression immediately darkened.

She had openly sneered at Medeia, asking whether it had been difficult serving Princess Charlotte.

‘I wasn’t familiar enough with Serenier back then, so I couldn’t give her a proper response.’

Although she was now fluent in Serenier, Medeia thought she understood why Daphne wanted to take her along anyway.

With the Baroness of Bellosi’s daughter being impatient and quick-tempered, it would be more than easy for the two of them to get into an argument.