My mother's words were probably the words I had always desperately wanted to hear.
It was absurd to expect that love from Caitlyn and Reid.
"We met too late, but we have more days to live together in the future, so we should be glad."
Only then did I realize that inheritance didn't matter in this family.
Was this what family was originally like? The body temperature felt in my hand again was strong.
"In fact, I was worried because you ran out of the stage right away. I had all sorts of thoughts."
"What?"
"Are you disappointed because you are not the daughter of a noble? Are you frustrated because we were your parents, or did you not want to see us again…?"
Eventually, tears began to flow.
I wasn't the only one who was nervous about being disappointed.
"No, that's not… That can't be true…"
"At that time, Ian said he would bring you back. I was so thankful."
I never imagined that my mother, who was left behind with her eyes turned upside down in anger, would think like that.
Because I had never had such worries in my life with Caitlyn.
As expected, Ian was right.
Even if I chased Reid, the first thing I really needed was to have a simple conversation with my new family. It was because it was so heartbreaking to have misunderstandings with such precious people.
"I was a fool, Annabelle. I can't believe Lanella. She has been a fan of Oscar for a long time…"
My mother's words continued.
My mother believed in Lanella, since they grew up together in a nursery, and gave birth to a child in a public hospital.
However, it is said that Lanella lost her mind due to Marilyn's childbirth, and was told that the child was born dead.
Since it was a single room, the father could not even enter the hospital room when the mother was giving birth.
Marilyn speculated that Lanella probably switched her child because she went into labor at the same time while using the same hospital room as Caitlyn.
"Caitlin…had to ask for money because she was giving birth to the Marquis's child, but how wasteful it must have been for her to have a dead child born."
Well, as soon as she saw her dead child, she should've felt more regret and sadness.
"Then, she probably made up her mind when she and Lanella saw my child and I with light purple hair."
"Probably.""
I snorted and answered.
"Reid also must have known that I was not the daughter of Caitlyn and the Marquis of Abedes. He cleaned up all the fortune and ran away."
When I said Reid's name, my teeth grinded by itself.
"Mother, I've never been a nice person, unlike the Rainfield family."
"Really? But I'm still guilty as your parent…"
"No. Don't say that. I'm lacking a lot, but…there are still things we need to get to know each other about, and we are doing well now."
I said as I gripped the sword I was wearing around my waist again.
"But for now, I will catch Reid. I don't think I can see him live happily ever after this."
Then Aaron intervened in a panic.
"Sister, where are you going to catch him? I'll ask the Duke of Wade to systematically track him down…"
Of course, I was terrified of that.
"You don't have to!"
Startled, I quickly shook my head.
"I know where he is. I'm going to get it done within a day. I will be back."
Aaron responded coldly to my words.
"Then I will go with you."
"No, it's a dangerous place."
Tonight, Robert, Ian, and Cessianne would probably raid the black market for slaves where Reid was hiding.
Of course, a huge battle was going to take place, and in the midst of that, a dangerous thing was going to happen.
"If it's a dangerous place, of course, Aaron should go too!"
My mother opened her eyes and intervened.
"Go and watch your sister. Don't you also use a sword?"
"Mother, would I be better with a sword than Aaron? I am second after all."
As I spoke carefully, my mother narrowed her eyes and responded.
"Just because you're in second place, doesn't mean you'll be safe. I can never let you go alone in such a dangerous place. Where is it anyways?"
Aaron blinked quickly. It was an unspoken pressure to never tell her the truth.
I felt it instinctively. If I said it was an illegal slave black market, I would be locked up in the dressing room by my mother before I could do anything like get revenge.
So I got up from my seat and looked around.
"Well, it's just a general store… But Reid is a coward, so it can be dangerous."
"We'll be fine."
Aaron responded with a sincere heart to what I said roughly and smiled.
Either way, he seemed determined to follow me.
Of course, Aaron would be able to protect himself well, so it shouldn't be a big deal, but it really was a dangerous place…
"At this point, I will show my position on the inheritance right through action."
I had nothing more to say.
"Rather than the inheritance that you might receive at any time, it's my sincerity that I am so happy that Annabelle is my sister."
"Gee, you're happy? Did you forget all I did to the Wade Knights…"
"It was a lot of fun. I was a little sad because you didn't come by these days, and Ian was a little bit upset. I'm glad you showed your face even if it was late yesterday. After you left, Ian finished training. I thought he'd stuck there for a few more hours."
"Why was Ian upset?"
"I don't know about that. Well, there must be a reason we don't understand."
Aaron shrugged his shoulders once, as if indifferent, and jumped up after me.
"I will go then, Mother. When we get back, can father prepare dinner?"
"Okay."
My mother said as she continued to sweep my hair.
"I want to hold you and hug you all night, but… Your eyes are already full of vengeance."
"…Ah."
"It seems that they want to repay the person who harmed them unconditionally as soon as possible."
I rolled my eyes as if to get rid of something was too vicious, but my mother added.
"You resemble me in that way."
"No way, Mother."
I said shyly, blushing.
"How can you compare me to someone as educated as my mother…"
Marilyn, whose makeup was all smudged, muttered horrifically.
"I also want to tear Lanella to death if possible. XXX, I hope that XXX will run away in a hurry, get scammed by a scammer, eat up all his fortune, and XX…"
"…"
I remembered the days when I had been swearing at Ian, and I felt like my veins were appearing out.
My mother seemed to be a person who was different in front of different people, and now I was happy that I got to adapt to the latter.
It was nice for her to reveal her deep resentment by saying that her mouth is rough and her expressions are dirty, but she should not hide anything from the bottom of her heart.
"Anyways, it was a feeling that I understood of course."
So I quickly confessed my true feelings.
"I've lived 22 years with that trash. I can never forgive him. I have to catch him quickly before he runs further away."
Today, there was a very large slave auction, so Morriott, a slave trader and Reid's best friend, would not be able to fully support Reid until tomorrow.
Before that, he would definitely hide in the market, but I had to catch him before he went abroad.
"I'll be back in six hours".
Actually, I wasn't going to pass midnight today.
I had that much confidence in my skills.
My mother replied with another sigh.
"You could've worn and eaten the best in the capital city… I still can't believe my daughter lived a life like that…"
Aaron dragged me out because he thought we wouldn't be able to leave at all.
"We'll be back, Mother. I'll escort her well. In fact, I'm determined not to be burdened."
Unintentionally, I accompanied my younger brother who suddenly appeared.
I was strangely excited to leave the dressing room.
Even objectively, it was not a situation to worry about, except a nagging mother.
Father would be preparing the meal when we came back.
It was not his business, but he was following right away…
I felt surrounded by a really ordinary family.
~*~
When I arrived at the general store with Aaron, it was already dusk.
"So…"
Aaron spoke in a cautious voice.
"What's your plan?"
I also answered seriously.
"There's an illegal slave black market underground. The auction will be held today."
"What? No way?! The one that controls the mind of a person with dark magic?"
"No."
"Ah, that's fortunate…"
"To be precise, it's not about controlling the mind, it's about destroying their conscience."
"…Sister, are you going to hire a slave to find Reid? It's not possible! No matter how bad your personality is, such terrible black magic…"
Aaron's face flushed with astonishment. I cut off his words and muttered in absurdity.
"No, no matter how much I grew up as a scum among the scum, why would I still buy slaves here?"
"But you're not the kind of person who has a sense of justice enough to overthrow and accuse the slave auction house, right? That's what Ian does!"
Although we hadn't had much time together yet, it seemed that there was a high possibility that we would become good siblings.
Because we knew each other well.