# 118
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My trembling pupils wandered around my neck and then hovered in the air, unable to tell where they were going.
“What are you talking about, necklace…?….”
The low, sad voice gradually became angrier.
The Archduchess stood up, trembling, and screamed.
“What a blatant thing! I never thought that something so small could be so evil, get out now, don’t appear in front of me again!”
“Well, I...!”
“If you say another word here, I won't really forgive you. How dare you impersonate my daughter? How can someone like you be my daughter!”
I felt like my heart fell to the ground.
In an instant my vision became blurry, my breath hitched, and my mind became distant.
I lifted the hem of my skirt as hard as I could to keep from crying, but I couldn't help my trembling body.
In the end, I couldn't say anything and turned around.
* * *
“Ha...”
After the depressed child appeared to have given up on everything, he disappeared.
How much time has passed?
The Archduchess, who had been standing there for a while, suddenly lost all the strength in her body and fell into a chair.
However, my heart, which was beating as if it was about to jump, could not calm down yet.
The Archduchess closed her eyes tightly, feeling so miserable that she couldn't even lift a finger.
Then the tears, which I don't know when, poured down my cheeks without stopping.
It was as if the ground was about to swallow her up, like a black abyss.
I remembered the quick words the child had said a moment ago.
“Naughty, how can you make fun of people like this?...”
However, she was a child I cared about a lot these days.
It was amazing that the little girl didn't miss her father's treatment, but I was so surprised and grateful to learn that she had helped find my daughter.
Was this the reason?
When the Archduchess heard that Leia had been visiting the Marquis' palace for the past few days, she unknowingly left her bedroom and saw the child from afar.
“Oh, I told her not to run, and then if she falls, tell someone to take responsibility!” It seems to be lifting and falling the heart of a very old man!〉
My father, Marquis Diabelle, raised his voice loudly as if he was angry with the child, but the corners of his mouth quickly twitched, and when the child smiled embarrassedly, he noticed and became impatient.
The child was so beautiful that she did not know what to do.
This was the same for the Archduchess who was watching.
It was amazing to see the little girl running around with such a small body, and I was proud to see her mumbling over her food, and I couldn't take my eyes off her even if she smiled softly.
Part of me wanted to walk up to him, touch his hand, stroke his head, and apologize for being so rough with him last time.
I wanted to tell her that the name is really beautiful, and that it really suits her.
But the Archduchess could not do this.
Like a thorn stuck in a nail, my heart ached every time I saw the little girl.
She didn't know that it was a feeling of guilt towards her daughter Adriana.
The Archduchess suddenly remembered the Duchess's question.
〈Your Highness, but why Diana? You also have a niece, Miss Clara.〉
It was not difficult to guess why such a question was asked.
Even if she was a friend's daughter, it would be natural for her to become the godmother of her only niece, who is her blood relative, instead of Princess Elad, who is a complete stranger.
〈No one can replace Adriana, ma'am, anyone.〉
The Archduchess smiled bitterly and responded.
As a mother of her own daughter, the Duchess immediately understood what she meant.
Since Diana was the daughter of an old friend, she was able to give her proper attention and affection as her goddaughter.
Although little Diana will grow up to follow me as her godmother, she will not assume the vacant position of princess.
But Clara was different.
They were of the same blood, but no, that was what made it more difficult.
It had been a long time, hadn't she already clashed with Askart and coveted her daughter's things?
Maybe I was tactless, but in front of me, I respected myf and toed the line, so I left him alone, but if I made Clara a princess, I might get angry as if I were the lost princess.
Even if my daughter died, she wouldn't have had the confidence to open her eyes and see someone acting as if she were their daughter.
‘How much more for my niece….’
I can't believe I feel this way about a complete stranger.
The Archduchess trembled with f-loathing and guilt towards her daughter.
I could not bear to see the kind of loving attention and affection that was supposed to go to Adriana, and that she continued to pay to that child.
Therefore, whenever I made eye contact with the child, she would deliberately turn her head away and act very cold and cruel.
I'm afraid that the moment I let my guard down even a little, I'll end up being nice to her.
'But you are Adriana...'
The moment she saw the child making such a ridiculous claim, the Archduchess felt as if cold water had been poured on her head.
How could I forgive the girl who dared to claim to be Adriana?
But it was a strange thing.
Why does my heart hurt so much?
Why does the image of the child clenching her jaw come to my mind as if trying to stop crying?
The Archduchess closed her eyes tightly again.
I could barely swallow the lumps that had built up to the tip of my chin.
I concluded that all these feelings were the result of anger.
“I'm glad they don't know what happened now.”
If her father or Askart found out that the child was claiming to be Adriana, they would never treat her like they do now.
The Archduchess stood from her seat.
"Yes."
But at that moment, the headache that had seemed to get better over the past few days came back and I felt like my head was going to explode.
The chest pain was also more painful than before.
It was time to sit on the couch again and catch my breath.
“Your Highness!”
"Are you here? I've been looking for you for a long time!"
The maids entered the greenhouse with astonished faces.
“No, what's wrong with your face...”
The maids were startled by the Archduchess's pale skin and heavy breathing and quickly tried to get water and medicine for her.
But the Archduchess waved her hand and said:
“Bring the servant.”
* * *
I ran into the room and boom!
She closed the door and immediately hid under the blanket.
My face was already wet.
However, I was still so sad that I covered myf with a blanket and cried like a baby.
Once the crying started, it didn't seem like it would stop anytime soon.
On the contrary, it became so severe that I couldn't breathe properly, and my breathing gradually became more difficult.
At one point, my heart was pounding as if I was about to lose my breath, so I hurriedly took off the blanket and grumbled, pulled up my sleeve and wiped away my tears.
Even if I cry like this, there is no mother in the world who will hug me.
“It wasn't there from the beginning... There's really nothing there anymore.”
I muttered and muttered.
How worried I was.
How much I missed you.
How much am I...
The image of the Archduchess screaming that someone like me was not her daughter could not leave my mind.
I felt very upset and deeply sad that she didn't recognize me.
“It's all my fault, I ruined everything.”
But I also know.
That I was too hasty.
“I should have waited a little longer.”
I'll let you know when I have more solid evidence.
I wanted to meet my family as soon as possible and be recognized, so I acted impulsively as if I were a child.
I felt a tingle at the tip of my nose from the regret that came back to me so late.
'maybe . …Am I not the real Adriana?'
Maybe because my heart was broken, I began to hear voices of doubt.
However, the moment I faced the Archduchess, everything from my appearance in the mirror, which I did not always understand, to the feelings I felt towards Ascarte and the Marquis, made me convinced that I was Adriana.
Therefore, even without clear evidence, it was impossible to deny it.
“What, in the name of the Creator of Heaven, is this necklace? . . . . .”
I thought it was a sure sign.
I didn't want to remember it again, but I grumbled and remembered it.
〈What in heaven's name are you talking about, Necklace? ….〉
I definitely said that.
It is understandable that she did not recognize the necklace, but the Archduchess's words sounded like someone who had not seen the necklace itf.
At that moment, my head turned white as if it had been struck by lightning.
Only Diana could see the face I was seeing.
Therefore, it is not surprising that my necklace is only visible to that child.
If you think about it, there was more than one thing caught.
No matter how well I hid it, the greedy manager couldn't find the necklace.
From the time I was in the orphanage to the time I was a ar, no child except me and Diana ever talked about this necklace.
The children were so curious that they probably found the necklace and showed interest in it.
As my confidence grew, goosebumps appeared on the back of my neck.
What was once the most precious thing I now felt terrifying.
I immediately raised my hand to remove the necklace from my body and throw it on the ground.
But my hands didn't have the strength.
“What the hell, Creator of Hell...”
I looked down at the palm of my hand and had a dazed look on my face when I saw the necklace wasn't moving.
It was as if my body refused to take off this necklace.
As soon as I realized this, I felt like all the blood was draining from my body.
The princess has been kidnapped.
However, it is impossible that the kidnapper could have abandoned the princess in the orphanage with her parents' testimony intact.
Then this is the only thing left for me...
“It belongs to the man who kidnapped me.”