After coaxing the blank-faced woman for a few moments, her closed, parched lips slowly parted once more.
Daniel, his eyes gleaming with anticipation, gazed at her intently as she spoke.
“…I found it.”
It was a sentence without a subject, but it was easy to deduce its meaning.
However, Daniel widened his eyes as if he knew nothing and inquired innocently,
“Found what? What are you talking about?”
Occasionally, he intentionally led people to ask questions about his own perplexity.
Speaking like that made his miserable situation all the more apparent.
And that was precisely the perfect moment to extend a helping hand.
When people became utterly fragile and miserable.
Alicia’s eyelashes quivered lightly.
“My sister and I… we’ve been switched at birth. I found evidence of it.”
“…Oh my goodness.”
In response to Daniel’s attitude that seemed to express disbelief, Alicia tightly closed her eyes and then opened them again.
“This evidence, are you sure about it?”
“…Yes. I’m sure. It’s concrete evidence. I… I took my sister’s place. She could have been much happier than she is now, but because of me…”
“Calm down, Alicia. Please, calm down.”
Daniel’s increasingly intense voice soothed her.
Alicia’s voice resembled crying, but no more tears flowed from her dry eyes.
She took a few deep breaths and then spoke with a composed expression.
“I think I should tell my family the truth.”
“That’s… but, Alicia. If the dream you had was the truth, couldn’t the accusations that came up in the dream’s final moments become real too?”
“……”
“Can you endure your family’s accusations? In that case, wouldn’t it be better to… just keep it a secret?”
“No.”
Daniel, who had been feigning concern and continuing the conversation, abruptly halted his speech and raised his eyes with curiosity.
His blue eyes, which held Alicia within their gaze, were emotionless.
However, such a demeanor was always fleeting.
Moments of vulnerability, whether from overwhelming exhaustion or fleeting expressions of emotion, they passed quickly.
He swiftly composed himself and looked at Alicia.
“So, you’re willing to endure such accusations and really tell them?”
“Yes. I have to tell them. My family has the right to know the truth. If they blame me…”
She clenched her lips once.
Then, she lifted her head and smiled brightly as she continued.
“If they blame me, then I’ll accept it.”
…That’s just how it is.
Alicia was more resilient than he had initially thought.
Quite strong, not as fragile, and therefore…
Quite bothersome.
‘I thought that if I comforted her a few times, she would collapse sooner than expected…’
The woman in front of him cried as if she had collapsed, yet she seemed stronger than he had anticipated.
‘Perhaps she’s been influenced by Rosetta.’
When that thought crossed his mind, he had to resist the laughter that threatened to burst forth.
In any case, my Rita is truly remarkable.
His red tongue swept across his parched lips.
But this was a dilemma.
Now was not the right time for this truth to be revealed.
Alicia had to be his hidden card.
The weakness of Rosetta, whom he must have by the throat.
He couldn’t let go of this leash so soon.
“Tomorrow, no… Right now, I’ll go and tell the truth and apologize. That’s what I should do. I should go to my sister right now…”
“Alicia.”
As Alicia rambled on, Daniel firmly called her name.
Her trembling golden gaze turned to him.
Daniel bit his lip tightly, then released it and opened his mouth. His lips, once pale from pressure, gradually reddened.
“Before that, there’s something you need to know.”
“Something I need to know?”
Daniel nodded his head.
The quiet night air felt oppressive.
Alicia swallowed hard.
“I received a prophecy yesterday.”
“A prophecy?”
Daniel paused for a moment, locking eyes with Alicia. Then, as if in regret, he furrowed his brows slightly.
Alicia felt her throat growing dry as the words didn’t come out easily.
And just when she was about to cry out, urging him to speak already…
“The last star of Valentine will bring about the downfall of the Empire.”
For a moment, the air seemed to freeze as their breaths ceased.
It was as if the atmosphere had turned icy and silent.
“…The last star… if it refers to…”
Alicia murmured absentmindedly.
Her body trembled ever so slightly.
The last star of House Valentine, which in normal circumstances would refer to the youngest of the three siblings, should be Alicia.
But now that the truth had come out about how Alicia and Rosetta had been switched at birth, the meaning of House Valentine’s ‘last star’ would not be Alicia, but…
“Sister.”
In this context, the last star of Valentine hidden within the prophecy became ‘Rosetta Valentine.’
“And with the rumors circulating about Lady Rosetta lately… if this prophecy were to be revealed…”
Alicia could easily deduce the consequences that would follow her unfinished sentence.
No matter who became the focus of that trust, avoiding imprisonment was out of the question.
No, at the very least, they would spend their entire lives under surveillance.
Despite the household’s involvement with the imperial family, a title such as ‘ducal lady’ would not be enough as a shield.
However, if it became known that the prophecy referred to ‘Rosetta Valentine’…
‘Sister… might even face execution.’
Execution.
Just the thought of it sent shivers down Alicia’s spine.
“No, that can’t ever happen.”
She gripped the mirror tightly, her hand trembling with tension.
Her rigid shoulders twitched left and right continuously.
“For now, I’ll keep the prophecy hidden for as long as I can. But I can’t guarantee how long we can conceal it.”
“…..”
“Until then, take your time to think and make a decision. Whether to reveal the truth to everyone or keep it hidden.”
The choice is yours to make.
* * *
No, the choice had been made from the very beginning.
From the moment he approached Alicia on the day of the hunting festival and subtly manipulated her.
Daniel casually tapped the disconnected mirror with his fingertip.
“Dear Almighty God, You are truly merciful.”
The voice that flowed from his smiling lips was sweet.
Yes, God was indeed merciful.
At least, to him.
From birth, he had been granted unimaginable power, and now, he was helping Him with these tasks.
It all started with a brief prophecy.
A few days before the hunting festival, he suddenly fell ill with a fever.
It was the first time he had experienced an illness that even his powers couldn’t cure, and he was baffled by the whole situation.
He remembered his older brother’s desperate cries, clinging to him as he sobbed.
Pathetic.
If that man had been more perceptive, he should have realized that there was someone else inside the shell that was his younger brother.
But instead of ridiculing Duke Freesia, he pretended to be a loving younger brother even as he suffered.
Several days passed like this.
On a day when the fever had reached its peak, he had a dream.
A room entirely enclosed in mirrors.
Words were etched onto the shimmering mirror.
〈 The last star of Valentine has returned to disrupt the world. 〉
The engraved sentence pierced through Daniel’s mind like a sharp blade.
At the same time, he woke up.
When he opened his eyes, the fever that had been burning seemed to have subsided.
People soon gathered around him.
They showed an excessive amount of interest in him, not just as someone who had recovered from illness, but because they claimed the ‘relic’ had reacted as soon as he opened his eyes.
The mirror of revelation.
Although he had not yet come of age, it was the first time a relic had reacted to someone so young. People were convinced that Daniel would become the owner of the sacred relic.
An atmosphere of excitement prevailed.
Amidst the fervor of the crowd, Daniel secretly smiled.
Ah, indeed.
God was truly generous.
* * *
However, questions soon arose.
Why did it refer to the ‘last star of Valentine’?
〈 The last star of Valentine has returned to disrupt the world. 〉
This description clearly pertained to Rosetta.
To ‘disrupt the world’ implied that Rosetta would be changing a predestined fate.
But why the term ‘last star’?
After all, Rosetta was not the youngest.
This small question gradually grew into a larger wave, gaining momentum.
“Come to think of it, Rosetta resembles her father and brother quite a lot…”
Not just her hair color or eye color, but her features were strikingly similar.
Even though she was the daughter of the duke, it was undeniable that she also shared such strikingly similar features with Damian and the late duchess.
On the other hand, Alicia and Damian had notably different appearances.
Moreover, considering their ages, both noble ladies were born only a month apart.
So, could it be possible to entertain the idea that…
‘What if the two ducal ladies were switched at birth?’
After coaxing the blank-faced woman for a few moments, her closed, parched lips slowly parted once more.
Daniel, his eyes gleaming with anticipation, gazed at her intently as she spoke.
“…I found it.”
It was a sentence without a subject, but it was easy to deduce its meaning.
However, Daniel widened his eyes as if he knew nothing and inquired innocently,
“Found what? What are you talking about?”
Occasionally, he intentionally led people to ask questions about his own perplexity.
Speaking like that made his miserable situation all the more apparent.
And that was precisely the perfect moment to extend a helping hand.
When people became utterly fragile and miserable.
Alicia’s eyelashes quivered lightly.
“My sister and I… we’ve been switched at birth. I found evidence of it.”
“…Oh my goodness.”
In response to Daniel’s attitude that seemed to express disbelief, Alicia tightly closed her eyes and then opened them again.
“This evidence, are you sure about it?”
“…Yes. I’m sure. It’s concrete evidence. I… I took my sister’s place. She could have been much happier than she is now, but because of me…”
“Calm down, Alicia. Please, calm down.”
Daniel’s increasingly intense voice soothed her.
Alicia’s voice resembled crying, but no more tears flowed from her dry eyes.
She took a few deep breaths and then spoke with a composed expression.
“I think I should tell my family the truth.”
“That’s… but, Alicia. If the dream you had was the truth, couldn’t the accusations that came up in the dream’s final moments become real too?”
“……”
“Can you endure your family’s accusations? In that case, wouldn’t it be better to… just keep it a secret?”
“No.”
Daniel, who had been feigning concern and continuing the conversation, abruptly halted his speech and raised his eyes with curiosity.
His blue eyes, which held Alicia within their gaze, were emotionless.
However, such a demeanor was always fleeting.
Moments of vulnerability, whether from overwhelming exhaustion or fleeting expressions of emotion, they passed quickly.
He swiftly composed himself and looked at Alicia.
“So, you’re willing to endure such accusations and really tell them?”
“Yes. I have to tell them. My family has the right to know the truth. If they blame me…”
She clenched her lips once.
Then, she lifted her head and smiled brightly as she continued.
“If they blame me, then I’ll accept it.”
…That’s just how it is.
Alicia was more resilient than he had initially thought.
Quite strong, not as fragile, and therefore…
Quite bothersome.
‘I thought that if I comforted her a few times, she would collapse sooner than expected…’
The woman in front of him cried as if she had collapsed, yet she seemed stronger than he had anticipated.
‘Perhaps she’s been influenced by Rosetta.’
When that thought crossed his mind, he had to resist the laughter that threatened to burst forth.
In any case, my Rita is truly remarkable.
His red tongue swept across his parched lips.
But this was a dilemma.
Now was not the right time for this truth to be revealed.
Alicia had to be his hidden card.
The weakness of Rosetta, whom he must have by the throat.
He couldn’t let go of this leash so soon.
“Tomorrow, no… Right now, I’ll go and tell the truth and apologize. That’s what I should do. I should go to my sister right now…”
“Alicia.”
As Alicia rambled on, Daniel firmly called her name.
Her trembling golden gaze turned to him.
Daniel bit his lip tightly, then released it and opened his mouth. His lips, once pale from pressure, gradually reddened.
“Before that, there’s something you need to know.”
“Something I need to know?”
Daniel nodded his head.
The quiet night air felt oppressive.
Alicia swallowed hard.
“I received a prophecy yesterday.”
“A prophecy?”
Daniel paused for a moment, locking eyes with Alicia. Then, as if in regret, he furrowed his brows slightly.
Alicia felt her throat growing dry as the words didn’t come out easily.
And just when she was about to cry out, urging him to speak already…
“The last star of Valentine will bring about the downfall of the Empire.”
For a moment, the air seemed to freeze as their breaths ceased.
It was as if the atmosphere had turned icy and silent.
“…The last star… if it refers to…”
Alicia murmured absentmindedly.
Her body trembled ever so slightly.
The last star of House Valentine, which in normal circumstances would refer to the youngest of the three siblings, should be Alicia.
But now that the truth had come out about how Alicia and Rosetta had been switched at birth, the meaning of House Valentine’s ‘last star’ would not be Alicia, but…
“Sister.”
In this context, the last star of Valentine hidden within the prophecy became ‘Rosetta Valentine.’
“And with the rumors circulating about Lady Rosetta lately… if this prophecy were to be revealed…”
Alicia could easily deduce the consequences that would follow her unfinished sentence.
No matter who became the focus of that trust, avoiding imprisonment was out of the question.
No, at the very least, they would spend their entire lives under surveillance.
Despite the household’s involvement with the imperial family, a title such as ‘ducal lady’ would not be enough as a shield.
However, if it became known that the prophecy referred to ‘Rosetta Valentine’…
‘Sister… might even face execution.’
Execution.
Just the thought of it sent shivers down Alicia’s spine.
“No, that can’t ever happen.”
She gripped the mirror tightly, her hand trembling with tension.
Her rigid shoulders twitched left and right continuously.
“For now, I’ll keep the prophecy hidden for as long as I can. But I can’t guarantee how long we can conceal it.”
“…..”
“Until then, take your time to think and make a decision. Whether to reveal the truth to everyone or keep it hidden.”
The choice is yours to make.
* * *
No, the choice had been made from the very beginning.
From the moment he approached Alicia on the day of the hunting festival and subtly manipulated her.
Daniel casually tapped the disconnected mirror with his fingertip.
“Dear Almighty God, You are truly merciful.”
The voice that flowed from his smiling lips was sweet.
Yes, God was indeed merciful.
At least, to him.
From birth, he had been granted unimaginable power, and now, he was helping Him with these tasks.
It all started with a brief prophecy.
A few days before the hunting festival, he suddenly fell ill with a fever.
It was the first time he had experienced an illness that even his powers couldn’t cure, and he was baffled by the whole situation.
He remembered his older brother’s desperate cries, clinging to him as he sobbed.
Pathetic.
If that man had been more perceptive, he should have realized that there was someone else inside the shell that was his younger brother.
But instead of ridiculing Duke Freesia, he pretended to be a loving younger brother even as he suffered.
Several days passed like this.
On a day when the fever had reached its peak, he had a dream.
A room entirely enclosed in mirrors.
Words were etched onto the shimmering mirror.
〈 The last star of Valentine has returned to disrupt the world. 〉
The engraved sentence pierced through Daniel’s mind like a sharp blade.
At the same time, he woke up.
When he opened his eyes, the fever that had been burning seemed to have subsided.
People soon gathered around him.
They showed an excessive amount of interest in him, not just as someone who had recovered from illness, but because they claimed the ‘relic’ had reacted as soon as he opened his eyes.
The mirror of revelation.
Although he had not yet come of age, it was the first time a relic had reacted to someone so young. People were convinced that Daniel would become the owner of the sacred relic.
An atmosphere of excitement prevailed.
Amidst the fervor of the crowd, Daniel secretly smiled.
Ah, indeed.
God was truly generous.
* * *
However, questions soon arose.
Why did it refer to the ‘last star of Valentine’?
〈 The last star of Valentine has returned to disrupt the world. 〉
This description clearly pertained to Rosetta.
To ‘disrupt the world’ implied that Rosetta would be changing a predestined fate.
But why the term ‘last star’?
After all, Rosetta was not the youngest.
This small question gradually grew into a larger wave, gaining momentum.
“Come to think of it, Rosetta resembles her father and brother quite a lot…”
Not just her hair color or eye color, but her features were strikingly similar.
Even though she was the daughter of the duke, it was undeniable that she also shared such strikingly similar features with Damian and the late duchess.
On the other hand, Alicia and Damian had notably different appearances.
Moreover, considering their ages, both noble ladies were born only a month apart.
So, could it be possible to entertain the idea that…
‘What if the two ducal ladies were switched at birth?’
