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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: The April Family's Surprise Visit
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The incident started going off the rails the moment Roena tried to book Hotel Flex for Kovistein.
When Roena's letter arrived at April Castle, the entire estate was buzzing with festive energy.
"Lady Roena's letter has finally come!"
"She won't throw another tantrum now, right?"
"Oh, thank the heavens. You've finally shown mercy to us poor souls tormented by that little devil."
The servants were so overjoyed they burst into song, chanting "All is well, our precious lady," filling the castle with clamor.
There was a reason for their over-the-top reaction.
In truth, everyone at April Castle had been eagerly awaiting Roena's letter.
Before her marriage, Roena had stormed out of April territory with a thunderous declaration: "If you contact me first, I'll never see you again!"
It was all because the April Marquis and his sons had meddled relentlessly in her affairs, pulling every annoying stunt imaginable.
Unable to bear their nagging any longer, Roena had issued that ultimatum the day before leaving for Delus territory.
And since the trio would sooner pretend to die than disobey Roena's words, they'd been pining away, waiting faithfully for her to reach out first.
Then, after over a year of silence, a letter arrived from their lady.
No one would have batted an eye if the Marquis declared that day a holiday for all of April territory.
The Marquis's wife had died in childbirth giving birth to Roena, so Roena had never known her mother.
Never even tasting her milk from the moment she was born—how heartbreaking and precious she must have been.
To outsiders, they were the devilish April trio, but to Roena, they were angels in disguise.
With Roena's letter placed proudly in the center of the table, a family meeting commenced. Kyle began the briefing in all seriousness.
"Roena says she's heading to Allang for a vacation. She skipped it last year, but it looks like she's planning one this time."
"Then we go to Allang right now."
The Marquis declared it as if he'd been waiting for the cue, but Elijah hesitated.
"Father, what if the little one gets upset?"
The Marquis snorted at Elijah's question.
"Obviously, we hide and watch from afar."
"As expected of you, Father. I'll prepare stealth items so we don't get caught!"
Elijah clenched his fist with renewed determination. But Kyle blocked the two who looked ready to bolt at any second.
"That's not allowed. Remember a few years ago at her talent show rehearsal? We got caught spying, and it was a disaster."
"Ah, just thinking about it brings tears."
The Marquis pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed at his eyes. The memory still blurred his vision with tears.
"The little one was terrifying during that summer talent show fiasco."
Elijah hugged himself, shuddering. She'd ignored them for a full week, driving the trio to desperation.
They'd been so thoroughly scolded that they dubbed it the "Summer Talent Show Incident." Memories they never wanted to relive.
"But I miss the little one so much!"
As Elijah groaned, Kyle adjusted his glasses.
"Who said we can't go see her?"
"Huh?"
Elijah's eyes sparkled with anticipation, and Kyle turned to the Marquis to explain.
"Father, how about we go openly and give her a proper welcome this time? It's the perfect excuse for our inspection trip to the Aile Hotel."
"Oh, right—time flies."
"Hey, that's a great idea! Let's throw a full welcome party while we're at it. Our little one loves parties!"
And so, Roena's welcome event was planned swiftly under the Marquis's approval, Kyle's orchestration, and Elijah's leadership.
But once things start to tangle, they rarely untangle easily.
When the trio burst into Roena's room at Allang—fanfare blaring—they found a bewildered young man standing there.
"Little one! We missed you so much!"
"Eek!"
Startled by Elijah's shout and the trumpeting fanfare, Kovistein plopped down onto the floor.
That triggered the dominoes lined up on the ground, which began toppling in a chain reaction.
Once they'd all fallen, they revealed a welcome message for the absent Roena.
[Roena, we love you!]
The message that would never reach her hung in the air, and silence enveloped the room.
The first to recover was the April Marquis, who snatched a guard knight's sword and menaced Kovistein.
"Where did you hide away our darling Roena?"
His eyes glared fiercely, as if ready to devour the man on the spot.
That late afternoon, during teatime, I chattered to Archid about the bizarre letter I'd received that day.
"So, to clear up that Kovistein wasn't a kidnapper, it took a full three hours of convincing."
"Poor Kovistein."
"It's my fault. I only mentioned using the family voucher for a stay, and they must've misunderstood that I was going."
Even thinking back, it was such an embarrassing fiasco.
I'd only wanted to score some points with Kovistein, but instead, it looked like I'd sicced my family on him as a warning?
[Lady Roena, I'll do much better from now on. Please put in a good word with the three of them.]
Recalling that line from Kovistein's letter made me feel unnecessarily guilty.
How much must he have suffered to write that?
I felt bad, like I'd unintentionally used force against him. That's when Archid spoke up.
"No. It's my fault for not considering how empty your family home must feel. I should have invited them sooner."
"Pardon?"
"With their precious daughter married off and out of touch, of course they'd miss her. I overlooked that."
Archid bowed his head politely in apology. I hadn't meant it that way, so I waved my hands frantically.
"No! It's absolutely not your fault, Archid! If anything, I should've written more often."
"No. I should have invited them before the Marquis even sent that letter saying he missed her."
"No, I'm independent now that I'm married!"
Besides, I don't even know what the April folks look like!
My frustrated outburst only seemed to deepen the misunderstanding. Archid drooped his brows and persisted.
"Marriage doesn't make you any less family. I fell short."
"It's really fine..."
For a while, the two of us went back and forth, each blaming ourselves in an endless loop.
Archid seemed convinced he'd failed to show proper consideration for my family.
Even though invitations were technically the Family Head's domain, making it the Grand Duke's responsibility anyway.
In the midst of bickering with Archid, I suddenly recalled the April Marquis's letter from earlier.
[Little one, are you still mad? I want to see your face and talk it out.]
It was so affectionate. Calling his married daughter "little one," every line brimmed with thoughts of Roena.
And from Kovistein's letter, the twins had come to see Roena too.
It seemed there was a reason the April family hadn't written in a while.
Asking if she was still angry implied Roena had been upset with them.
'I thought, as an out-of-wedlock bride, they wouldn't care about their daughter's news.'
A father and brothers who loved their daughter and sister enough to trek all the way to distant Allang.
Faced with this warm family scene I'd never experienced, I sat dazed long after reading the letters.
'Roena grew up so loved.'
Realizing that simple truth made my chest tighten like a knot.
Probably because my previous life had been nothing like it, stirring envy.
The reason I was so drawn to Archid was that our situations were similar. I longed for a family safety net like his but never had one.
But I wasn't the Roena the April family remembered. That's why their visit to Delus territory worried me.
What if they saw through me as a fake?
Even if they didn't notice right away, living on a tightrope as someone's stand-in, like in my past life, filled me with quiet sorrow.
In my previous life, despite striving for love, I'd gained nothing and lost even what I had.
As those buried memories resurfaced, my face hardened involuntarily. My fingertips trembled; I hid them under the table.
I didn't want to meet the April family.
I was scared of what might happen if we did, too attached to this peaceful life now. Terrified they might declare my world a lie.
I was sinking into shadows without realizing when something soft brushed my cheek. A fragrant scent wafted close.
"Roena?"
Archid tilted his head to meet my gaze. His worried eyes held mine steadily.
Looking into those pale blue-gray eyes brought a measure of calm.
Right. When had I ever clung to my past life?
I was happier now. Being by Archid's side, paving his future—it was more than enough.
"Are you alright? Your color's off."
Archid cupped my cheeks with both hands, his voice laced with concern.
Knowing he'd mustered courage to ask, I smiled brightly and placed my hand over his.
"Archid, I'm incredibly happy right now. Happy enough that I could die tomorrow without regrets."
