Chapter 4
"Because... because Lady Elara didn't like them," Ida mumbled, barely above a whisper.
I froze.
"What did you say?" he demanded.
"Lady Elara said those clothes were picked out by Lady Rosalind, and she called them filthy," Ida said.
She sobbed, dropping to her knees and pressing her forehead to the floor.
"She also said she's the real daughter of the duke, so why should she wear hand-me-downs from a fake heiress?" Ida added.
My ears were ringing.
Rosalind's face went deathly pale.
"Did Elara really say that?" she asked.
"I didn't!" I shouted.
I couldn't hold it in anymore.
Ida cried even harder.
She wailed, "Later, Lady Elara burned all the clothes!
"She even burned the cloak Lady Rosalind gave her!
"I tried to stop her, but Lady Elara threatened me. She said if I dared tell anyone, she'd have me thrown out of the manor!"
I finally understood.
So that's what had happened.
Turns out, it wasn't because Mother had simply forgotten about me.
And it wasn't some mistake with the servants or a mix-up with my room, either.
On my very first day here, it was this maid who led me straight to the stables.
And now, there she was, groveling before everyone and claiming I'd burned clothes I'd never even seen.
Whose maid was she?
Rosalind.
The fake heiress who took my room, called my parents hers, and was loved by my brothers for eighteen years.
I pointed at Ida.
I shouted, "She never gave me any clothes!
"She's Rosalind's maid! They're framing me!"
The room went dead silent.
The next second, Cedric slapped me hard across the face.
I fell to the ground, my ears ringing.
"Enough!" he roared.
He glared at me in rage.
"Rosa's done so much for you, and you still dare to accuse her?" he shouted.
I clutched my cheek, staring at him in utter disbelief.
I said, my voice trembling, "I'm telling the truth, I swear.
"I have no clothes, no food, and I sleep in the sta—"
"How long are you going to keep pretending?" he snapped.
Cedric kicked me so hard I went sprawling across the floor.
He sneered, "You've got a dozen dresses, but you insist on looking like a beggar.
"There's plenty of food in the manor, but you insist on rummaging through the refuse.
"Now that someone caught you, you're gonna say everyone's bullying you?"
He jabbed his finger right in my face, his gaze dripping with contempt.
He scoffed, "You think looking all pathetic is gonna make people feel bad for you?
"You think Father and Mother will start pitying you if they see you like this?
"Elara, you think acting all pitiful is gonna let you snatch everything Rosa has?"
I shouted through my tears, "I didn't!
"I never wanted to take anything from her!"
"Then why are you trying to frame her?" he demanded.
I couldn't answer.
Because that's when I finally realized.
No matter what I said, they'd never believe me.
All Rosalind had to do was get teary-eyed.
All her maid had to do was fall to the floor and cry.
But what about me?
If I wore ragged clothes, they thought I was deliberately bringing shame to the duke's household.
If I dug through the trash because I was starving, they said I couldn't shake my lowborn habits.
If I said no one had given me any clothes, they thought I was pretending to be pitiful to win their favor.
They thought I was trying to frame Rosalind.
Rosalind was crying, holding onto Cedric's arm.
She pleaded, "Please don't blame Elara.
"She spent eighteen years in the slums. Coming here so suddenly, she must be terrified.
"It's understandable if she doesn't like me.
"If I hadn't been here, she would've been the one everyone adored the moment she came home."
After hearing that, Cedric's stare got even colder.
He scoffed, "Did you hear that?
"Rosa's still defending you, even after everything.
"But what about you?
"You've only been back a few days, and you've already turned this whole house upside down!
"The Winterbourne family's reputation, built over centuries, can't be ruined by some lowborn nobody who doesn't even know the first thing about dignity!"
My tears stopped cold.
So that was it.
They had searched for me in the slums for eighteen years.
But after they finally found me, they weren't afraid I'd suffered.
What they really feared was everyone discovering that the duke's real daughter was nothing but a lowborn nobody.
After that, I stopped trying to speak up for myself.
I started doing my best to stay out of their way.
I figured, as long as I kept out of sight, I wouldn't embarrass the Winterbourne family anymore.
And no one would hate me.