She Is a Daughter Raised As the Son of a Duke

“…”

May trembled only with her eyes, then quickly averted her gaze without saying a word. Persis had expected her to be pleased, but May’s unexpected reaction gradually hardened his expression.

May felt resentment first.

Why stop living as a son? Are you rejecting me and trying to drive me away, claiming that I’m not of your blood?

But looking at Persis’ expression, it didn’t seem like he was trying to drive her away.

And that, in its own way, made May feel empty.

After all the efforts to live as a son, why now, at this moment, is she losing strength? She had planned to become a knight when she came of age, as if proving herself, and finally leave this house. Why?

The emptiness made her feel indifferent.

“…No, I will continue living as a son.”

Why? Persis, who didn’t expect her to refuse, seemed to freeze in place.

“It was a condition for you to adopt me until the manifestation of the family’s power proves that I am your biological child. Until the family’s power is manifested… I’ll stay like this.”

“But Heint… He advised me, convinced me that you would resent me. And I don’t want you to resent me anymore. So, you don’t have to live as a son anymore.”

Resentment. I resent it. That’s why it’s even harder to accept becoming a daughter. Even though it was the words she had longed to hear.

May struggled to hold back her innermost thoughts from spilling out.

“You should also consider my position, adapted to being a son. If I want to live as a daughter, I’ll let you know when the time comes.”

May casually resumed her meal, as if nothing had happened.

* * *

Floa was delighted to hear that May and Persis had gone out together. He had hoped that their family would finally become harmonious, but somehow their expressions upon returning home were not cheerful.

Floa went to May’s room first and asked her.

“Did you have a good time with Persis?”

May avoided Floa’s gaze.

“We had lunch on the train, gave each other gifts, and went sightseeing outside.”

It was strange for her to give a different answer when asked if she had enjoyed it.

“Did you have any trouble with Persis?”

“No, it wasn’t trouble… I just felt a bit empty.”

“Empty?”

May didn’t respond.

“Floa, I need to change clothes. Can you leave the room?”

“…I’ll give you some privacy.”

Floa came out of May’s room and teleported to the study where Persis was. Holding the handkerchief he received as a birthday present, Persis was sitting on the sofa, gripping it tightly, with a subtle expression.

Floa approached him and asked.

“How was your time with May?”

“…She gave me a birthday present.”

Floa smiled gently as she sat on the opposite sofa.

“That must have been nice.”

“And she refused. She said she would continue living as a son until the manifestation of the family’s power. She said it was a condition for her adoption, asking if it wasn’t the condition for her to live as a son, and to consider her position adapted to being a son.”

“So, although you don’t look entirely happy…”

Persis spoke candidly.

“I hope she can live as a daughter regardless of the family’s power. But now that she’s come out so strongly, I don’t know what I should do.”

“After pretending to be a son for five years, she might need some time. Even though she refused now, there must be a part of her that still wants to live as her true self.”

“But soon the child will become an adult, and I’m worried that if we continue like this, she might leave.”

“She won’t leave.”

She has many memories with us, so at least she won’t leave Flotina.

Floa thought complacently.

“Well then… that’s fortunate.”

Persis tightly grasped the handkerchief as if it was precious to him.

***

Two days later, I officially became a member of Club Nine and joined Nine.

Jed, at Diego’s request, introduced me to Nine, and thanks to him, I was walking down the corridor alone with him.

“The employees who manage Nine only come to work on weekdays. The regular gatherings of Nine members are every weekend, and each member has their own bedroom, so you can sleep and stay at Nine as you please, even on weekdays.”

“Okay.”

I looked at him with sparkling eyes. How can someone be so handsome?

The feelings of resentment I had towards him due to the scale incident had long disappeared. They say there are people whose mood improves just by looking at their face. For me, it must be Jed.

We walked side by side and stopped in the room at the far end on the right side of the second floor. He opened the door.

“This is the bedroom you’ll be using.”

As soon as I opened the door, I could see the window. The window had checkered ivory-colored curtains, and there was a table and a chair below it.

Inside, there was a single bed and a standing lamp, and on the opposite side, there was a dresser.

“If you need anything, shake the rope next to the bed. A servant will come.”

“Okay, thank you.”

“I’ll go now.”

Perhaps due to my mood, Jed seemed to keep his distance from me. I wanted to confirm if it was simply due to my mood or if I was feeling it correctly.

“Hey, Jed.”

I called out to Jed, who was about to leave. He turned back to me.

“At the Iris’ party before… you said you wanted to become close to me.”

“…That’s right.”

Feeling embarrassed, I clasped my hands together and fidgeted with my fingers.

“Do you still feel the same way now?”

“…”

His answer didn’t come immediately. During the time he didn’t give me an answer, I regretted asking, thinking that I had asked without thinking.

“I’m sorry for suddenly saying something strange. If you don’t want to answer, you don’t have to-“

“Because of Diego.”

“…Huh?”

“Diego became interested in you, so I helped him come to Nine. I thought he would come if you said you wanted to become close to him.”

“Ah…”

So Jed’s words meant that he didn’t actually want to become close to me? He only helped Diego, and it wasn’t genuine.

Well, in the original story, Jed was someone who followed the rules but also followed Diego’s intentions.

I felt ashamed of myself for mistakenly thinking that he wanted to become close to me.

He spoke to me again.

“The one who wants to become close might be you.”

His straightforward remark caught me off guard. Although I have had my fair share of unrequited love experiences, I had never received such a straightforward response before.

What does this mean…?

Perhaps, at first, it wasn’t the case, but as he saw me, he started to want to become close? Thanks to the power of inevitable unrequited love, my thought process turned in a positive direction.

Otherwise, there would be no reason for him to stay with me!

I shyly drew a smile on my lips. Then, I slightly nodded my head and affirmed his words.

“You’re right. I want to become close to you, Jed.”

Just looking at him from the side made me happy, and the fact that I could become close to him made me moved.

“Okay, then let’s become close, Jed!”

Though I’m not sure about May, Jed was in a state of speechlessness. His expectations were completely off.

He thought that May would be taken aback and deny it when he threw a curveball.

He hoped that May would be taken aback. The truth that it was because of Diego meant that they had no chance of becoming close.

But May accepted it without any surprise. In a foolish and innocent manner, he conveyed his sincerity.

That fact truly annoyed him. ⟨ Jed’s Feelings He is talking about May here, and he’s using he pronouns here because may is a boy please people dont be confused⟩

May clapped her hands together and smiled brightly.

“So let’s become close, Jed!”

In this barren and gloomy Nine, there would be no one else who could smile like him, like warm sunlight.

That fact also made Jed feel unpleasant.

“He definitely joined to seek revenge.”

Diego crossed his legs and folded his arms as he listened to Velta  and Galley.

“Is there a stupider choice than joining Nine for revenge?”

“But, Your Highness, we were prepared for Flotina’s reaction.”

Velta let out a deep sigh with a worried expression on her face.

“I’m worried that we might end up blocking our path to becoming Knights Templar…”

Galley, sitting next to Velta, cautiously asked.

“May I ask why you’re wary of Flotina? We understand that the competition for Knight selection has increased because of him, but shouldn’t it not matter to you, Your Highness?”

The response was simple.

“I don’t like the sight of someone trying to become a Knight.”

Galley and Velta looked at Diego with eyes that questioned, “Just for that reason?” But then they realized that they weren’t much different themselves and averted their gaze.

Clovin fidgeted with one leg, feeling irritated.

“It’s been a week and I haven’t received a response from Young Lady Stella… I sent another letter the day before yesterday, she couldn’t have not seen it… It’s all because of that troublesome Flotina.”

For Clovin, love took precedence over becoming a Knight.

He felt more stressed by the misconception that May was dating Stella than the fact that he had raised the competition for Knight selection.

“So what’s your plan for dealing with Flotina from now on?”

“The invitation for the Arcus Tournament arrived this morning. May Flotina will undoubtedly participate in the tournament. I intend to hinder him there.”