She Is a Daughter Raised As the Son of a Duke

“Brother, do you feel like people are looking at us strangely?”

“Yeah, I wonder why…?”

When Clovin and Clara noticed the people around them acting strangely, the knights forcefully pulled them onto the red carpet.

“Ugh… What is this about? Who do they think they are treating us like this?!!”

Clara burst into anger, but the knights didn’t even flinch, leaving her flustered.

‘Why? Why are they doing this…?’

The reactions from everyone felt odd to them.

As anxiety overwhelmed them, Clara and Clovin crawled closer to each other, hugging tightly.

Diego approached them and looked down with a smirk on his face.

“Congratulations on ruining your life, Young Lord and Lady Penzo.”

Even though Clovin and Clara couldn’t understand, they had a bad feeling about it.

“What are you talking about? Ruined?”

“Turn around.”

Upon Diego’s instruction, Clara and Clovin turned around. Their eyes widened so much that the whites were visible.

It was because the Nazret family, including Milo, was standing there.

Penso siblings’ pupils shook as if in an earthquake.

“M-Milo, how did you…?”

As Clara mentioned Milo’s name, Heint’s expression crumpled. He declared coldly,

“I will sue them for imprisoning my son and assaulting him.”

The ballroom buzzed once again. The guests were taken aback by the news they couldn’t understand.

“Did the Marquis have a son?”

“I heard a long time ago that the Marquis lost his son. I thought he never found him.”

“So, the person next to the Marquis is Young Lord Nazhet?”

“It seems that way. He looks quite similar to the Marquis.”

“Just now, the Marquis said he would sue them for imprisoning and assaulting his son. Does that mean… because of the Count Penso and Lady, he was missing all this time?”

“Oh my, is that true?!”

As the guests’ conversations grew louder, the Emperor intervened.

“Quiet down, everyone. Marquis Nazret is speaking.”

Upon the Emperor’s words, all the guests closed their mouths, and the hall finally fell silent. The Emperor looked at Milo, who stood next to Heint, and thought to himself,

‘Considering his resemblance to the Marquis, he must be his lost son.’

“Tell us more about it, Marquis.”

Heint heard everything that had happened to Milo until now.

It was Gliw-gon who kidnapped and imprisoned Milo from the beginning. Although Milo found out that he was a clone and was treated as a slave in Penso, he couldn’t bear the anger not only towards Gliw-gon but also towards the Penso siblings.

So Heint decided to sue the Penso siblings for imprisonment and assault. Whether he was a clone or not, the fact remained that he was treated as a slave and was imprisoned and assaulted.

“This child standing next to me is my son, who was missing. The Penso siblings imprisoned and assaulted my son.”

“Is that true?”

The Emperor asked, and Milo answered,

“Yes, it’s true. Clovin Penso and Clara Penso not only imprisoned me but also assaulted numerous young slaves. They would beat them with their hands and feet as a basic punishment. Some days, they used whips, and other days, they used daggers until the person fainted.”

Everyone was shocked to hear Milo’s disclosure. The Empress and the Crown Prince had similar reactions, but the Emperor tried to remain calm.

Clovin and Clara vehemently denied the accusations, fearing that their lives would truly be ruined.

“We didn’t do any of that. If we had imprisoned and assaulted him, how could Lord Nazret be here?”

In truth, they were also suspicious. How could Milo, who should have been in Penso, full of injuries alongside the other slaves, appear here in perfect condition?

“Lord Nazret looks so similar to the Marquis that anyone can tell he is of Marquis’s lineage. However, would we go crazy and imprison and assault him? Maybe some slaves have experienced such things, but never Lord Nazret. There’s no reason for us to do that.”

Clovin and Clara’s words seemed plausible, leaving the guests uncertain. Indeed, Milo looked completely unharmed to claim that he was imprisoned and assaulted.

Watching them closely, Diego gestured to the knights again, and they brought out photographs and distributed them to the imperial family, the Penso siblings, and the surrounding nobles.

Whenever Milo was injured during his time in Penso, he secretly took photos alongside the patterns on the Penso furniture or in places where the Penso family photos were displayed. There were also pictures of Clara holding a whip to beat the slaves. The evidence photos alone numbered over 200.

“The reason I’m unharmed now is that His Highness treated me with precious herbs.”

“Lord Nazret is telling the truth.”

As the evidence photos were shown and even Diego confirmed their authenticity, Clovin and Clara’s faces turned pale. Under the protection of the Imperial Family, Heint’s intervention, and the undeniable evidence, it was clear that denial would not solve the situation.

Moreover, they would soon be sent to prison.

“We will thoroughly investigate the circumstances after the founding ceremony is over. Take them away as well.”

When the Emperor ordered, the knights took Clovin and Clara away.

In an attempt to resist being taken away, Clara and Clovin clung to Milo and tried to collapse, but Milo didn’t even spare them a glance, and Stella just smirked with satisfaction.

Having completed the exposure, Diego looked around with a sense of satisfaction.

‘May must be feeling exhilarated. After all, Clovin kept provoking him.’

Yesterday he cried, so today I wanted to see him smile. And to witness that smiling face, Diego unconsciously turned his head to look for May.

“Huh…?”

However, May, who should have been at the banquet hall, was nowhere to be seen.

Strange. He couldn’t have gone home without witnessing this exhilarating scene, right? Besides, didn’t May know that today Milo would be recognized as Nazret’s son and that it would be the beginning of the fall of Penso’s?

Diego asked Stella, who is May’s closest friend,

“Young Lady Nazret, do you know where May Flotina is?”

Stella was actually looking for May as well but couldn’t find him.

“Come to think of it, I haven’t seen him since he followed Young Lord of Penso.”

“Clovin?”

When Stella nodded, Diego frowned.

‘What mischief is he up to now’

Diego went outside the banquet hall and briefly stopped the knights who were taking the Penso siblings away. He asked Clovin,

“You said you took May Flotina with you.”

Clovin’s tear-stained face pleaded with Diego.

“Please, spare me. I don’t want to go to prison, Your Highness!”

He didn’t even think about how the Crown Prince knew about it; all he could think about was how to lessen his punishment.

As Clovin refused to answer his question, Diego coldly tightened his grip and punched him in the abdomen.

“Ugh-“

Falling to the ground in pain, Clovin shed tears.

Diego grabbed Clovin’s collar and spoke in a menacing voice,

“Tell me quickly where May is. Before I kill you.”

Only then did Clovin realize the seriousness of the situation and revealed where he had taken May.

“May is probably at the Lake of Dreams looking for a brooch…”

“He went into the lake?”

“Yes…”

Diego immediately rushed towards the lake without hesitation.

‘Why would he go there, this idiot!’

* * *

I delved into the lake using my magical power to emit light and carefully searched the bottom. Fortunately, the gem on the brooch sparkled, making it easy to find.

Once I grabbed the brooch, I tried to swim back up to the surface.

However, at that moment, mysterious waves from all directions swallowed me.

When I regained consciousness, I found myself not underwater. My clothes were not wet, indicating that it must be a dream.

“Where is this…?”

I was inside the reception room on the 1st floor of Flotina. I was standing by the window, and on the sofa, Persis and a certain woman were facing each other, engaged in conversation.

Seeing Persis, my heart tightened. Was he doing well even without me? Who was he talking to? And was I dreaming from some other time? If it wasn’t a dream, I would have been curious but would have brushed it off. But in this dreamlike state, I took a step toward him.

However, at about the time I took a step closer, I heard a shocking remark.

“Do you want to raise the child of the woman you loved, who is now in love with another man?”

I froze on the spot. With that mention of the ‘child,’ I immediately realized that they were referring to me.

I had anticipated that I might not be my father’s biological daughter, but hearing that I was the child of another man made my mind go blank. I stood there, unable to say a word.

“Get rid of it. There’s nothing more foolish than raising that child as a Flotina noble.”

The woman stood up as if her business was finished.

“It’s late, so I’ll take my leave. Your Highness, this is my first love, so I offer you this advice. Please make a wise choice.”

As the woman left the reception room, Persis was still trembling, holding his forehead. It seemed like he had a headache due to stress.

I couldn’t think of anything with my mind blank, but my frozen body was able to move. I approached Persis and picked up the photo he had been looking at.

One of the pictures was of a man alone. On the back, it was written ‘Materosin Kissel’.

Another photo showed the man I just saw and a woman who could be Viche Yuriet.

I put down the photo and looked at the one labeled ‘Materosin Kissel’ again. It was undeniable that he resembled my father outwardly, wearing the Third Knight Order badge on his chest.

It was not surprising to realize now, but I was truly not Persis’s biological daughter.

While feeling disappointed, I placed the photo on the coffee table. Just then, I heard Persis’s muttered words.

“Viche, why…?”

Sadly, it was a resentful remark about why he had claimed May as his own.