“Everything"s ok. Rather, her health seems to have improved.”
“Is that really it?”
Merrill confirmed again and again, as if she could not be relieved by the doctor"s words.
“Yes, make sure she has a nutritious meal and plenty of rest.”
Merrill and Yella were relieved and the doctor left.
From the time Adrienne came into consciousness, she had a lot of questions.
“I"m glad, my lady.”
Merrill smiled, rea.s.suring Adrienne. In fact, the most rea.s.suring thing was her.
This was where Adrienne was most curious about…
People she had met for the first time were naturally calling her a “lady”.
Why are you speaking politely to me? She wanted to ask. But it was going to be a long time before she could open her mouth. Hervoice barely came out and there was a force that scratched at her throat. Her voice seemed to be completely locked in her throat.
“Who…… Are you……?”
“The lady… Don"t you remember me?”
The woman"s face, named Merrill, became even more worried.
“That"s Merrill, the lady"s nanny.”
“Nanny……?”
“Yes… Don"t you remember?”
It was obvious that she couldn"t remember a woman named Merrill. She never had a nanny in her life.
What happened? Was she mistaken for someone else?
But the woman named Merrill was staring at her unwaveringly, with a gentle and warm gaze, as if she was really looking at a child she had been caring for since birth.
“Well… Ever……”
After a moment of hesitation, Adrienne opened her mouth.
“My name is…… What is it?”
“Yes? The lady"s name……?”
Merrill"s face darkened momentarily as she wondered if the lady could not even remember her name.
Merrill had complex thoughts and it showed on her face. She looked at Adrienne with a smile as if she had more to think about.
More and more, Adrienne kept having more questions. Who was this person and what relations.h.i.+p did she have with her?
“My lady"s name is Adrienne Trudy.”
Adrienne"s eyes widened as Merrill responded with a loving voice.
“…… Adrienne?”
“Yes, my lady is the Trudy house"s youngest daughter.”
“……”
“It was decided from the moment you were born, so don"t forget it.”
With a warm smile and a natural answer, it sounded as if she was comforting her. But Adrienne"s name was… No, to be exact, she forgot her surname.
Adrienne Trudy
She couldn"t believe it.
Adrienne was her name. She was also the youngest daughter of the Trudy family. The Trudy family was known for being rich enough to be compared to the imperial family.
And what Merrill said just now, “Adrienne Trudy” is the name that refers to just one of the Trudy family"s daughters.
“I am…… Adrienne…… Trudy……
“Of course. Adrienne Trudy is the lady"s name.”
She couldn"t believe it, so she asked again, but the answer was consistent.
‘Why am I Adrienne Trudy…?"
But the woman named Merrill, who referred to herself as her nanny, didn"t seem to be mistaken or lying.
Her head was jumbled and she felt strange.
“My lady… Do you really not remember anything? Should we call the doctor again?”
Merrill noticed Adrienne"s uncertainty and asked with a worried face. Yella, who was behind her, immediately opened the door and called the doctor.
“Oh, she"s okay. She"s just a little absent-minded……”
“Are you really okay? If you feel a slight discomfort anywhere, say so right away.”
“Yes, I will…”
Luckily, the doctor"s examination did not change. But Merrill and Yella still felt anxious and confirmed it a few more times.
“Miss. Lie down a little more. You have to rest.”
Merrill pulled out a blanket to cover Adrienne"s neck; perhaps she thought she was cold.
“I"ll bring some warm soup.”
Merrill left the room after putting a duvet down.
Adrienne was now alone. She lifted up the blanket Merrill gave her and glimpsed inside. Her body was unfamiliar as if she were looking at someone else"s body. Her heart pounded violently.
She got out of bed and stepped on the floor. She had been lying down for a long time, so the moment she gave strength to her legs, she swayed, but it wasn"t important.
‘Mirror…… I need to check with my eyes."
Fortunately, there was a full-length mirror in the room. Adrienne went to stand in front of it.
In fact, even before she looked into the mirror, she expected it to be like this. The bed was higher than ever before. Taking a step forward, she could see that her feet were little like a child"s.
At that moment, she was prepared to stand in front of the mirror.
‘Really…… Am I really Adrienne Trudy?"
Gentle, short limbs and pale white skin. None of this was her.
‘It"s a child"s body……"
It really was Adrienne Trudy. The 26-year old madam of Ophelia Shop was now the lovely Adrienne Trudy.
She was confused as to what happened when she died, she was even in someone else"s body.
The name was the same as well.
“……”
When she was forced to admit that she had become Adrienne Trudy, she was reminded of her situation. Her face crumpled in an instant.
If all she knew about Adrienne Trudy is true, then she had survived death.
She was terribly unlucky.
She knew about Adrienne Trudy. She did business with n.o.bles, and there was no such thing as not-knowing in the capital.
So she heard all about Adrienne Trudy.
The Trudy house was able to stand up to or outrun the imperial family, even if the opponent was the emperor himself.
She was the only child of the family and was currently 10 years old if she remembered correctly.
There were very few people who saw her in person because she rarely went out, so there were things that everyone spoke of that were not exactly correct.
Adrienne Trudy seems to have been born with everything but she was actually abandoned.
She was Adrienne Trudy. She still couldn"t believe it. But it was undeniable.
Adrienne"s face crumpled.
‘So where is my body?"
Adrienne did not die. No, she was long dead. Adrienne, who had sacrificed everything for her brothers and was eventually killed, died because she was unlucky and stupid.
But she survived for some reason. She was also the youngest daughter of the Trudy family, the empire"s greatest family.
Having the blood of the Trudy family running through your veins was the same as being born wearing diamonds.
So Adrienne Trudy should be happier than anyone else, unfortunately, she wasn"t.
She had been shunned by her family since birth, and she didn"t even come out of her room her whole life.
So when the ladies talked about her, they always said, "that little one has spirit."
The sympathy they had for Adrienne Trudy was a.s.sociated with the symbolic presence of the Trudy house"s Archduke.
As the n.o.bles watched the Trudy"s, they were both alarmed and fearful.
But among them were people who admired and yearned for their power instead of fearing it. Another thing to note is that the great Rachel Trudy is dead.
She was Adrienne Trudy"s mother and her death was the beginning of a tragedy for Adrienne.
Unlike the image that the family has among the ma.s.ses, the family was rather harmonious.
Externally, the Archduke"s face always had no change in facial expressions and he didn"t talk much so it was hard for him to interact with people. But when he was with Rachel, he laughed heartily.
Archduke Trudy always sang her name sweetly.
It was a low voice as sweet as honey–one that you would not expect to see from the Archduke.
Unfortunately, Rachel Trudy wasn"t healthy. Since she was a child, she was weak and often got sick. The slightest cold made her unable to get up for more than a day.
When she first said that she was pregnant, the Archduke was more concerned and afraid than joyful.
What if she dies giving birth? The Duke left everything behind and only listened to the maid"s instructions.
Because of his devotion, she was healthy and successfully gave birth to Jeremiah Trudy.
So he had probably lost his vigilance later on. When news of a second pregnancy came, he believed that everything would be okay as long as he stayed by her side and took care of her, just like he did when she gave birth to Jeremiah.
But as time pa.s.sed her womb only got worse and eventually, she gave birth to Adrienne and was exhausted.
So the Archduke and Jeremiah had to lose their beloved wife and mother, respectively. Even though her body was weak, she had a high mentality. She ignored the tacit rules of n.o.bility and decided to do everything with her own will and heart.
The n.o.bility were different in terms of giving birth. They would leave the child to the nanny just moments after.
But Rachel didn"t. She grew up alongside and raised Jeremiah herself until Jeremiah learned to become independent.
Trudy and Rachel went through a lot of trouble before they named the child Jeremiah. Among the numerous options, it became the name that was picked in the end.
While raising her own children, she experienced all the feelings of a mother.
The joy of hearing their child say mom and dad for the first time, and the sight of their child rolling over for the first time and taking the first step, were all joyful and happy.
Rachel taught everything to Jeremiah herself, whether that be when Jeremiah began talking for the first time or when Jeremiah was able to say what he wanted out loud.
Jeremiah loved his mom, Rachel, a lot. The Duke also loved Rachel.
It was terrible when they lost her. It was as hard as the world coming to an end. The Duke could do nothing.
The problem was that the two of them missed Rachel, so there was no one to take care of Adrienne, who was just born and did not have to suffer.
t/n: oopsies i forgot to ctrl+f the mc"s name from audrey to adrienne… it"s og is adri as in the shortened ver. of adrienne but *shrugs*