Clearly, it was a dream.
And it was a very, very dreadful nightmare.
Alicia wandered through darkness in her dreams every day.
Under a night sky where only a thin crescent moon faintly illuminated the world.
In the pitch-black darkness where nothing could be seen, she ran as if being chased, and indeed, she was pursued.
At first, she didn’t understand.
Why was she running?
What was she running from?
It was only suddenly that she learned everything one day—it was like any other day when she was desperately running in her dream.
Breathing heavily with her hurried steps, she glimpsed a faint light at the end of her blurry vision.
Alicia, in the persistent darkness, finally put forth great effort to move her feet towards that single beam of light.
As if it were a lifeline.
From there, without even the slightest inkling, the true beginning of this nightmare began.
With every step she took, the light gradually grew larger and brighter.
Beyond the bright light, people gathered and chatted.
The identities of these people were her family.
Father, brother, sister.
And.
“Mom?”
Even her mother from her faint memory.
A time when she was deeply loved by the people she loved so much.
Alicia gazed at them with absentmindedness and, with a joyful heart, sprinted towards them.
But contrary to her heart’s desire, she couldn’t step into the light.
As if blocked by a thick wall, something invisible obstructed her path.
Perplexed, Alicia fumbled and touched the transparent barrier, then cried out.
“Mom! Sister!”
However, no matter how loudly she screamed, not a single glance came her way.
She pounded on the wall so hard that her hands grew numb, but the thick, transparent barrier showed no sign of breaking.
In her despair, as she wept, someone’s hand firmly grasped her own.
“Ahh!”
Surprised, Alicia’s hand recoiled and fell on her behind.
The woman, with her long hair cascading around her, stood still and stared at the fallen Alicia.
Due to the shadow cast by her long hair, her facial features were not clearly visible.
The only thing that could be discerned was the fact that this woman also had blonde hair, just like herself or her mother.
“Let’s go.”
The woman grasped Alicia’s wrist again and forcefully pulled her along.
“Why… why are you doing this, let me go, please.”
Even though Alicia protested with a trembling voice, the woman continued to tug her relentlessly.
“Come here. You need to come with me.”
“Let me go… please, let me go. Sister! Sister, Mom! Dad! Brother!”
The startled Alicia continued to scream as she looked beyond the transparent barrier.
But once again, her family members did not acknowledge her.
It was frightening and heart-wrenching.
Her family was right there, harmonious as ever, while she had to endure such a situation all alone.
Tears flowed incessantly.
“Let me go… I want to go back to my family… Let me go!”
In her sorrowful state, Alicia screamed and tried to pull her arm out of the woman’s grip.
Or, she attempted to do so.
The woman’s grip was unbelievably strong, and there was no sign of it loosening.
Instead, the woman stopped in her tracks while attempting to drag Alicia somewhere and stared at her in silence.
A creepy sensation overwhelmed Alicia, and even as tears streamed down her face, she swallowed her saliva with difficulty.
Finally, a subdued voice emanated from the silent woman’s lips.
“You have to come with me. That place isn’t meant for you.”
“Why isn’t that place meant for me? I want to go back to my family…”
As Alicia responded stubbornly, the woman suddenly snapped.
“No! That place is not yours!”
Alicia was so startled that she stared at the woman in disbelief.
The woman huffed in her fury.
Then, the woman tightly gripped both of Alicia’s shoulders and shouted emphatically.
“You’re my daughter! You’re my daughter! Rosetta!”
“Rose…tta?”
At the sudden mention of a familiar name, Alicia blinked.
Wait, why would her sister’s name come up here?
‘Now that I think about it…’
Alicia recalled hearing that her sister’s biological mother had blonde hair.
So, this woman was Rosetta’s biological mother.
That’s why Alicia’s mother cared for Rosetta’s biological mother like a sister…
‘This woman is Sister’s real mother.’
Alicia couldn’t say anything.
The real Rosetta was beyond the light, but if she revealed that fact, this woman might try to take her sister away.
Alicia hesitated for a moment, then just shook her head slightly and mumbled as if responding.
“You… must have mistaken someone else for me.”
“That can’t be! I passed on this golden hair to you.”
“I’m telling you, you’re mistaking someone else for me. I’m not Rosetta.”
“No! You are the real Rosetta! I wanted to name you Rosetta.”
“What’s that supposed to mean…”
“But I gave up on it. Living as a real noblewoman is better for you than being called Rosetta.”
With those words, the woman began to laugh like someone who’s gone mad.
Alicia took a step back, but the invisible barrier blocked her path.
Anxiously looking behind her, she saw that her family, who had been chatting happily, had stopped and was now staring at her.
“What…”
Alicia was about to call her sister, but she stopped herself.
For some reason, all of her family members had cold expressions.
She tightly sealed her lips, feeling an inexplicable sense of unease.
A strange anxiety surged within her, and cold sweat ran down her back.
“Alicia.”
At the sound of her name, Alicia quickly turned her gaze forward again.
The woman, who had been laughing maniacally a moment ago, was now shedding tears.
Tears in her eyes, the woman gently held Alicia’s hand and sat down.
“You are my daughter. Rosetta, no… Alicia.”
“What… do you mean…”
And then, it happened.
The dim world began to crumble, and another space started to fill in.
She looked around in confusion.
“Where is this…?”
Home.
This place was the Valentine Duchy where she was born and raised, to be precise. More accurately, it was her mother’s room in the main residence of the duchy, which had always been empty until now.
But now, there were people here.
Alicia tried to walk towards the people when she suddenly turned back.
The woman who had claimed to be her real mother had disappeared.
Alicia swallowed her dryly and moved towards where the people were.
“…M-Mom?!”
Pushing past the people who stood in a circle near the bed, she saw her mother lying on the bed.
Her mother’s face was drenched in sweat, and it seemed like she was in labor.
“Me? Am I being born?”
She didn’t hear anything specific, but she had a gut feeling.
“Haah… Haah….”
Lying on the bed, her mother breathed heavily.
“Is the… baby… okay?”
A trembling voice escaped through her labored breathing.
“Don’t worry. The Ducal Lady is healthy.”
The woman by the bedside replied warmly, and Alicia checked to see the face of the person who answered.
She gasped and froze.
The woman was Katie.
Katie from her younger years.
“Is that so?”
In response to Katie’s answer, her mother smiled faintly and reached out her hand.
However, her hand couldn’t quite make it and fell to her side.
“Mom!”
“Madam! Madam!”
Amid Alicia’s shocked cries, the voices of the people continued.
They easily passed through Alicia’s body and approached her mother.
Alicia stared in astonishment at her mother lying unconscious and then anxiously turned her gaze towards Katie.
It was a sudden turn of events, but Katie moved calmly instead of being surprised. She wiped away the baby’s blood and amniotic fluid, swaddling the newborn in cloth.
Alicia approached, completely entranced. Someone shouted, “I’ll inform the Duke!” and rushed out of the room, but Alicia paid no attention.
Katie’s movements were swift and precise. She skillfully cared for the baby while glancing around at the people.
Alicia stood right in front of Katie, staring at her face. Then, slowly, she lowered her gaze and checked the baby in the nanny’s arms.
The baby had unusually widely-opened eyes for a newborn. It let out a loud cry, and its long, golden eyelashes, which didn’t seem typical for a baby, glistened with tears. Its occasional glimmers of golden irises were bright and vibrant.
And…
“…This baby’s… hair… is silver?”
The sparse hair on the baby’s round head was silver, not blonde like hers.
“What is this… what…”
Alicia’s face froze in astonishment, and her body gradually collapsed.
However, in a cruel twist, the situation changed once again, as if she was being ignored.
The setting remained as the Valentine Duchy. The only difference was that the newborn was growing rapidly.
Yes, the baby with silver hair.
“Mama! Papa! Sister!”
The child grew up surprisingly fast. Always surrounded by her family, they laughed heartily.
Even her mother, who had passed away when she was young, was still alive. It was a picture of perfect happiness.
The kind of happiness she had always dreamed of.
However, Alicia wasn’t there.
Laughter echoed—Rosetta’s laughter.
In response to the unexpected laughter, Alicia stared at her, captivated.
And then, their eyes met.
“Sister?”
In response to Alicia’s murmuring, Rosetta, who had momentarily halted her laughter, walked towards. Her emotionless face seemed somewhat eerie, even though she was Alicia’s beloved sister.
Then, Rosetta slowly crouched in front of Alicia, lowering to her eye level.
“Did you see it?”
“…See what?”
“This was originally my life.”
“What do you mean…”
“If only you weren’t there, I could have had this life.”
Alicia swallowed hard. She couldn’t comprehend what Rosetta was saying, yet she had a vague sense of understanding.
She bit her lip firmly.
Rosetta gently cupped Alicia’s face in her hands and whispered softly.
“Our mother. If she hadn’t swapped you and me… in truth, our family could have lived like this.”
With those words, she woke up from the dream.
It was still dim outside.
Alicia got up immediately, clutching her pillow, and headed to Rosetta’s room.
This was the nightmare she had the very night before Rosetta’s birthday.
And, since that night…
Alicia had the same nightmare every day.
The only things that changed were the figures who came closer, whispering resentfully.
One day it was her father.
The next day it was her brother.
Another day it was her mother.
And then, again, it was her sister.
They all said the same thing.
That everything went wrong because she and Rosetta had been switched.
That she needed to set everything right.
That they wouldn’t let this transgression go.
That they resented her.
That they wanted to kill her.
Her, only her.
If only she hadn’t existed.
“…Everyone would have been happy.”
Today, as she woke up from the nightmare once again, Alicia whispered breathlessly.
Her face, as she leaned on the bed, was pale.
Clearly, it was a dream.
And it was a very, very dreadful nightmare.
Alicia wandered through darkness in her dreams every day.
Under a night sky where only a thin crescent moon faintly illuminated the world.
In the pitch-black darkness where nothing could be seen, she ran as if being chased, and indeed, she was pursued.
At first, she didn’t understand.
Why was she running?
What was she running from?
It was only suddenly that she learned everything one day—it was like any other day when she was desperately running in her dream.
Breathing heavily with her hurried steps, she glimpsed a faint light at the end of her blurry vision.
Alicia, in the persistent darkness, finally put forth great effort to move her feet towards that single beam of light.
As if it were a lifeline.
From there, without even the slightest inkling, the true beginning of this nightmare began.
With every step she took, the light gradually grew larger and brighter.
Beyond the bright light, people gathered and chatted.
The identities of these people were her family.
Father, brother, sister.
And.
“Mom?”
Even her mother from her faint memory.
A time when she was deeply loved by the people she loved so much.
Alicia gazed at them with absentmindedness and, with a joyful heart, sprinted towards them.
But contrary to her heart’s desire, she couldn’t step into the light.
As if blocked by a thick wall, something invisible obstructed her path.
Perplexed, Alicia fumbled and touched the transparent barrier, then cried out.
“Mom! Sister!”
However, no matter how loudly she screamed, not a single glance came her way.
She pounded on the wall so hard that her hands grew numb, but the thick, transparent barrier showed no sign of breaking.
In her despair, as she wept, someone’s hand firmly grasped her own.
“Ahh!”
Surprised, Alicia’s hand recoiled and fell on her behind.
The woman, with her long hair cascading around her, stood still and stared at the fallen Alicia.
Due to the shadow cast by her long hair, her facial features were not clearly visible.
The only thing that could be discerned was the fact that this woman also had blonde hair, just like herself or her mother.
“Let’s go.”
The woman grasped Alicia’s wrist again and forcefully pulled her along.
“Why… why are you doing this, let me go, please.”
Even though Alicia protested with a trembling voice, the woman continued to tug her relentlessly.
“Come here. You need to come with me.”
“Let me go… please, let me go. Sister! Sister, Mom! Dad! Brother!”
The startled Alicia continued to scream as she looked beyond the transparent barrier.
But once again, her family members did not acknowledge her.
It was frightening and heart-wrenching.
Her family was right there, harmonious as ever, while she had to endure such a situation all alone.
Tears flowed incessantly.
“Let me go… I want to go back to my family… Let me go!”
In her sorrowful state, Alicia screamed and tried to pull her arm out of the woman’s grip.
Or, she attempted to do so.
The woman’s grip was unbelievably strong, and there was no sign of it loosening.
Instead, the woman stopped in her tracks while attempting to drag Alicia somewhere and stared at her in silence.
A creepy sensation overwhelmed Alicia, and even as tears streamed down her face, she swallowed her saliva with difficulty.
Finally, a subdued voice emanated from the silent woman’s lips.
“You have to come with me. That place isn’t meant for you.”
“Why isn’t that place meant for me? I want to go back to my family…”
As Alicia responded stubbornly, the woman suddenly snapped.
“No! That place is not yours!”
Alicia was so startled that she stared at the woman in disbelief.
The woman huffed in her fury.
Then, the woman tightly gripped both of Alicia’s shoulders and shouted emphatically.
“You’re my daughter! You’re my daughter! Rosetta!”
“Rose…tta?”
At the sudden mention of a familiar name, Alicia blinked.
Wait, why would her sister’s name come up here?
‘Now that I think about it…’
Alicia recalled hearing that her sister’s biological mother had blonde hair.
So, this woman was Rosetta’s biological mother.
That’s why Alicia’s mother cared for Rosetta’s biological mother like a sister…
‘This woman is Sister’s real mother.’
Alicia couldn’t say anything.
The real Rosetta was beyond the light, but if she revealed that fact, this woman might try to take her sister away.
Alicia hesitated for a moment, then just shook her head slightly and mumbled as if responding.
“You… must have mistaken someone else for me.”
“That can’t be! I passed on this golden hair to you.”
“I’m telling you, you’re mistaking someone else for me. I’m not Rosetta.”
“No! You are the real Rosetta! I wanted to name you Rosetta.”
“What’s that supposed to mean…”
“But I gave up on it. Living as a real noblewoman is better for you than being called Rosetta.”
With those words, the woman began to laugh like someone who’s gone mad.
Alicia took a step back, but the invisible barrier blocked her path.
Anxiously looking behind her, she saw that her family, who had been chatting happily, had stopped and was now staring at her.
“What…”
Alicia was about to call her sister, but she stopped herself.
For some reason, all of her family members had cold expressions.
She tightly sealed her lips, feeling an inexplicable sense of unease.
A strange anxiety surged within her, and cold sweat ran down her back.
“Alicia.”
At the sound of her name, Alicia quickly turned her gaze forward again.
The woman, who had been laughing maniacally a moment ago, was now shedding tears.
Tears in her eyes, the woman gently held Alicia’s hand and sat down.
“You are my daughter. Rosetta, no… Alicia.”
“What… do you mean…”
And then, it happened.
The dim world began to crumble, and another space started to fill in.
She looked around in confusion.
“Where is this…?”
Home.
This place was the Valentine Duchy where she was born and raised, to be precise. More accurately, it was her mother’s room in the main residence of the duchy, which had always been empty until now.
But now, there were people here.
Alicia tried to walk towards the people when she suddenly turned back.
The woman who had claimed to be her real mother had disappeared.
Alicia swallowed her dryly and moved towards where the people were.
“…M-Mom?!”
Pushing past the people who stood in a circle near the bed, she saw her mother lying on the bed.
Her mother’s face was drenched in sweat, and it seemed like she was in labor.
“Me? Am I being born?”
She didn’t hear anything specific, but she had a gut feeling.
“Haah… Haah….”
Lying on the bed, her mother breathed heavily.
“Is the… baby… okay?”
A trembling voice escaped through her labored breathing.
“Don’t worry. The Ducal Lady is healthy.”
The woman by the bedside replied warmly, and Alicia checked to see the face of the person who answered.
She gasped and froze.
The woman was Katie.
Katie from her younger years.
“Is that so?”
In response to Katie’s answer, her mother smiled faintly and reached out her hand.
However, her hand couldn’t quite make it and fell to her side.
“Mom!”
“Madam! Madam!”
Amid Alicia’s shocked cries, the voices of the people continued.
They easily passed through Alicia’s body and approached her mother.
Alicia stared in astonishment at her mother lying unconscious and then anxiously turned her gaze towards Katie.
It was a sudden turn of events, but Katie moved calmly instead of being surprised. She wiped away the baby’s blood and amniotic fluid, swaddling the newborn in cloth.
Alicia approached, completely entranced. Someone shouted, “I’ll inform the Duke!” and rushed out of the room, but Alicia paid no attention.
Katie’s movements were swift and precise. She skillfully cared for the baby while glancing around at the people.
Alicia stood right in front of Katie, staring at her face. Then, slowly, she lowered her gaze and checked the baby in the nanny’s arms.
The baby had unusually widely-opened eyes for a newborn. It let out a loud cry, and its long, golden eyelashes, which didn’t seem typical for a baby, glistened with tears. Its occasional glimmers of golden irises were bright and vibrant.
And…
“…This baby’s… hair… is silver?”
The sparse hair on the baby’s round head was silver, not blonde like hers.
“What is this… what…”
Alicia’s face froze in astonishment, and her body gradually collapsed.
However, in a cruel twist, the situation changed once again, as if she was being ignored.
The setting remained as the Valentine Duchy. The only difference was that the newborn was growing rapidly.
Yes, the baby with silver hair.
“Mama! Papa! Sister!”
The child grew up surprisingly fast. Always surrounded by her family, they laughed heartily.
Even her mother, who had passed away when she was young, was still alive. It was a picture of perfect happiness.
The kind of happiness she had always dreamed of.
However, Alicia wasn’t there.
Laughter echoed—Rosetta’s laughter.
In response to the unexpected laughter, Alicia stared at her, captivated.
And then, their eyes met.
“Sister?”
In response to Alicia’s murmuring, Rosetta, who had momentarily halted her laughter, walked towards. Her emotionless face seemed somewhat eerie, even though she was Alicia’s beloved sister.
Then, Rosetta slowly crouched in front of Alicia, lowering to her eye level.
“Did you see it?”
“…See what?”
“This was originally my life.”
“What do you mean…”
“If only you weren’t there, I could have had this life.”
Alicia swallowed hard. She couldn’t comprehend what Rosetta was saying, yet she had a vague sense of understanding.
She bit her lip firmly.
Rosetta gently cupped Alicia’s face in her hands and whispered softly.
“Our mother. If she hadn’t swapped you and me… in truth, our family could have lived like this.”
With those words, she woke up from the dream.
It was still dim outside.
Alicia got up immediately, clutching her pillow, and headed to Rosetta’s room.
This was the nightmare she had the very night before Rosetta’s birthday.
And, since that night…
Alicia had the same nightmare every day.
The only things that changed were the figures who came closer, whispering resentfully.
One day it was her father.
The next day it was her brother.
Another day it was her mother.
And then, again, it was her sister.
They all said the same thing.
That everything went wrong because she and Rosetta had been switched.
That she needed to set everything right.
That they wouldn’t let this transgression go.
That they resented her.
That they wanted to kill her.
Her, only her.
If only she hadn’t existed.
“…Everyone would have been happy.”
Today, as she woke up from the nightmare once again, Alicia whispered breathlessly.
Her face, as she leaned on the bed, was pale.
