Chapter 35

At dinner, the Duke and Duchess were missing. Instead, the Count and Countess Ashaxe were present. Since their father had collapsed, it was them who had been taking care of the affairs of the mansion.

"Alice, are you planning to sleep?" she heard her grandpa call her after dinner.

"No. I am planning to visit the library" she said.

"Then let me accompany you" Count Ashaxe suggested.

"Fine" Alice said with a smile.

"Look at these two nerds" Countess Ashaxe said hearing their conversation said, "again thinking about books."

She then turned towards Stella and Daniel and said, "do you want to listen stories from grandma?"

"Yes" Stella said excitedly.

"I will if you wish" Daniel murmured, hiding his excitement.

"How can a shy person even protect others" Stella teased her brother.

"I am not shy" Daniel snapped.

"Let's go to my room" the Countess directed them upstairs and soon left.

Alice and her grandfather went to the library as planned. They talked for a while about this and that, as Count Ashaxe cleared all of his granddaughter's doubts.

As she looked at him, Alice decided to clear her last and final doubt.

Count Ashaxe was a straightforward person who is often dense. Even if she asked him directly, he won't doubt and just take it as a passing question. But the problem may arise if he tells his wife about her doubts. So she need to be carefully.

In the game, one or the four male lead was Blake Herlane. He was the captain of the knights, and also the heir to Helane Duchy, the Western Duchy. As a good friend of Stuart Etkinson, he hated the Etkinson's for making his cousin suffer, especially the villainess, who supported them instead of her brother. Though he later becomes his cousin's rival in love.

"Grandpa, did mother ever ask for siblings?" she asked naturally.

"Yes, she did. Whenever she saw her friends talking about their brother or sister, she used to get jealous and used a leash out on us" count Ashaxe said remembering the past.

Alice smiled silently. Diana, his only daughter, was born after many miscarriages. So she was treasured by him and was raised like a princess. In this world, where only men are allowed to take responsibility of the family, and woman should only act as side characters, supporting them, he was a father loyal to his daughter.

"I wish I had a cousin" Alice said carefully.

She then looked at her grandpa, whose whole body stiffened, as if he was a rock and not a living person. His eyes became big as he looked at his granddaughter tensely. He drank some water in the jug that servants kept. After feeling satisfied, he looked at Alice, who was looking at him, and coughed lightly.

"Really? A cousin? Um… it is sad that you don't have one" he said.

Alice looked at him suspiciously. She then suddenly smiled.

"It's fine. I don't feel sad about it" Alice said.

"Yeah… you don't have to feel sad about it" Count said anxiously.

She then tried to change the topic.

"Grandpa, can you explain me this sentence" she said pointing towards a line in the book she was holding.

"Uh…. The meaning behind this sentence is simple" he started his usual lecture.

Now, even if he mentions it in front of his wife, she can just ignore thinking it was just a passing thought. Since she already brought the fact that her mother is the only child, it should be fine. But it wasn't. When Countess heard about it from her husband, she became suspicious.

Earlier that day she met up with Margaretta, who told what happened during their conversation. Countess Ashaxe felt it was fine since it was entirely Margaretta's mistake and Alice just put forward the question due to curiosity. But in her conversation with her husband, it was she who directed the topic.

But Countess could not burden her daughter who is already feeling terrible because of her son-in-law's health. And Alice asked quite directly, so it must be just curiosity. And all the above, there were more important people then a cousin whom she forgot. She let go of her thoughts thinking she was just overthinking.

Least did she know that Alice already held the conversation with Emma and the twins.

Meanwhile, Alice was looking at herself into the mirror. The blue eyes that sparkled like sunlight falling on the water. Her cream-colored nightgown that covered her perfectly white skin. Her rosy lips carved in a perfect shape. And her maroon hair that barely reached her shoulder. Everything about her was perfect.

As if she a sculpture carved and then life was put into her. She put her hand on the mirror, her serious eyes prying inside the reflection. Her stiff body did not want to move.

"This isn't some game world" she said to the person inside the mirror.

This is conclusion she came upon.

"It is ridiculous" she continued, "being born into the world of an otome game. And all the above, isn't Alicia's stepmother evil in the game? But mine is not. No. Is she even my stepmother? She might be the real one. Yes. She is Alicia's real mother. "

"And those two kids. How can those two called evil. They are so cool. Even grandpa and grandma are so good to me. Yes. This isn't some stupid game. But just some another world. And the existence of Alicia Etkinson is just some coincidence. Right. Coincidence. There are no male leads or heroine in this world. There is no game."

It isn't because she is not suspicious. She reached this conclusion because she is suspicious. Though she did not see fear in her friend's eyes, she felt the nervousness on Emma's face, anger in her siblings' reaction and stiffness in Count's behavior. But she just doesn't want to suspicious.

She is scared that being curious will only bring her bad. In her previous, when she badly wanted a family, her parents divorced and her strict grandfather treated her as a tool. Except for her dog, no one treated her as human. But even her pet died. She even had to fight her greedy father and relatives, and crushed them under her feet. There was no one called family in her life.

But ever since she became Alicia Etkinson, she only got love and care from them. And even though she knows she is lying about them about her amnesia, she doesn't care. Their love was like a golden apple fallen from sky to a starving beggar and she did not want to lose it at any cost.

Even if she has to lie to herself or to others she doesn't care. She is not interested in being a brave person to sought out the truth. Why know the truth when you can live comfortably by lying? But she ignored the fact, that the castle made of lies cannot stand too long. One day it has to fall. And the sooner it falls, the better.

And the one who will make it fall, is on his way to meet her.