The Truth

[8 years ago, in Novich dukedom's garden]

A girl around 7 years old can be seen running from her dad. "Young Miss! Please be careful!" said Amanda, her personal maid.

The kid then slowed down from running and showed the paper to her dad. "But I have to give this to dad!" Grinning from ear to ear, the maid can't do anything but let the girl do what she wants.

"Thank you, Amy!" Sigrid shows her cute smile. She proceeds to run towards her father but this time, the maid didn't stop her at all knowing that Duke Karim is already waiting for her daughter to come.

"Dad! Look!" She excitedly showed the drawing to her father, but the man embraced and lifted her up before looking at the paper. "Woah! Is this me?" said Karim with a calm and soothing voice.

Sigrid looks at her father with suspicion. "How did you know?" She then turned her head towards Amy.

"Amy! Did you tell dad?", The maid shakes her head. "I wouldn't dare, Young Miss," Her composure was still fixed as always despite the cuteness that the girl was always giving.

He sighed, "Of course she wouldn't tell me. I just guessed it, never thought it'd be right," His daughter is still suspicious of him but then proceeds to explain the details of the drawing she drew.

***

[Present time | 20th of March 1672]

Sigrid sighed after reminiscing the happy moments they shared with each other when she was still a kid. "Can I be a kid again?", She then chuckled at the hilarious thoughts that crossed her mind. "I haven't gone mad, have I?"

"You haven't, My Lady," said Amanda.

Her words made the woman smile, "How could they do that?" Her voice began to tremble again at the thought of what his mother just said earlier.

"I'm sure that His Grace has his own reasons, My Lady," This time, the maid extended her hands to hug and pat the woman she's been with for a decade.

"To the point that they decided to hide the truth? Is it that hard to tell me everything? I-It's not like I would go anywhere after knowing it," If the lady wasn't making any noise earlier when she was still in front of them, tearing up, now's the opposite of that. The moment she feels Amanda's warmth when she hugs her, the noise that she's been hiding is now coming out.

"Why? I want to hear their explanations. I want them to at least deny everything that I heard. But... they didn't," The sight of Sigrid made the maid's chest tight. The Lady isn't a crybaby, she in fact, is a strong kid even when she was a kid. She's facing every problem head on, but this time, she managed to cry her hearts out.

Amanda didn't know what to do to comfort her master, she knew that right at this moment, Sigrid needs more love than ever but she didn't say anything and just continued patting her head.

Not long ago after that, she heard a faint snore that made her jump a little. But she fixed her composure again then called for another maid to help her move the lady to her bed. "This time might be really hard for you, My Lady." After cleaning the woman's face from crying, she takes her way to out of the room.

***

[Earlier in Duke Karim's office]

The duke sighed because of the topic that his wife opened up. "Honey, I thought we're done talking about this?"

His wife, Helina, looked at him face to face. "You know that I've been worried the moment they begin bugging you again because of that!" She felt the tears rolling down her cheeks after she said that.

Karim placed his hands on her wife's cheeks then kissed the tears, "Please calm down, I will find a way to solve this," He then looked at her eyes. "I promise, we'll get through this," Helina believes him because of the sincerity in his eyes. There's still a faint doubt, but she decided to ignore that.

"They can't really bother me as we already made an agreement regarding that. I won't give Sigrid up," Karim knows it himself; he doesn't know what could he possibly do if those people took their daughter away.

"I-I'm still anxious just thinking of the things they might do to us... Sigrid is not our biological daughter, who knows what will happen?" She blurted out of anxiousness.

Karim was about to say something to soothe his wife again when they heard something outside their office. The man hurriedly goes out of the room to check what that sound is.

It was the tea set. But what scared him the most is who the person that caused the accident was. "S-Sigrid!" His face was in horror.

"No way..." said Sigrid while she covers her mouth using her hand to prevent saying something other than that. The lady saw the tea set on the ground, shattered. It's as if she didn't notice that it fell from her hands. "Ah!" She then picked the broken pieces bare handed.

***

[Present time | 20th of March 1672]

"Huh?" Sigrid looks around then stretches her hand. "When did I fall asleep?" She tried to remember the things that she did all day but suddenly regretted it.

The things, facts, thoughts don't seem to want to let go of her. She feels again the heavy feeling that strikes her the moment she hears her parents talking about her, not being the biological daughter of theirs.

"Why? If so... who are my real parents?" That's the thing that made her stand up. "Yes... who are my real parents then? Where are they?" She's excited with just a thought of being with other people.

"But if I meet them, do I need to get out of this house?" It's like a second of happiness, her mood again became gloomy. All her life, she lived as Sigrid Novich, the only daughter of Duke Karim Novich and Duchess Helina Novich. Does she need to live as a different person after all the efforts she puts through for herself all her life?

"Absurd. I'm Sigrid. Sigrid Novich. I won't live as any other person." It's the fact. She never really like the idea of playing pretend.

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lilithnov