STIH 04

Is this heaven?

That was the first thought that drifted through my hazy mind.

It was warm, soft, and fragrant—exactly like the heaven I had imagined.

Right. I died, didn’t I?

I had lived diligently without committing any great sins, so surely I deserved to go to heaven.

Then would I finally get to see Mom again? What about my younger siblings, whom I never got to say goodbye to?

Filled with both anticipation and worry, I slowly opened my eyes.

The first thing I saw was a golden ceiling carved with embossed patterns and magnificent crimson drapes.

Hmm. Was heaven supposed to be this colorful?

I thought it would be a little more…

Then an angel shouted from beside me.

“Wake up!”

I bolted upright.

Not in heaven, but in a bed.

The luxurious room, the busy maids, and Hughie and Dido sleeping beside me gradually brought me back to my senses.

Right.

I had died and come back to life.

And I had realized that I was Ambrose’s heir.

…When I think about it, it’s even more unbelievable than a dream.

Blinking, I rubbed my face with my tiny, soft hands, which I still wasn’t used to.

The elderly woman who had awakened me hurried me again.

“Oh dear, please get up already. The sun is high in the sky. You need to wash up and have breakfast.”

“Uh…”

Before I could protest, she scooped me right out of bed.

I had noticed it the previous night when she showed us our room, but despite her age, both her speech and actions were astonishingly swift.

Then again, she’s the head maid here, isn’t she?

Not just any noble household, but the person responsible for managing the affairs of the Ambrose family.

Someone in that position couldn’t possibly be ordinary.

The head maid was already shaking my siblings awake as well.

Eventually, Hughie and Dido opened their eyes, whined a little, then promptly latched onto my sides.

Fortunately, the head maid had the warm appearance of a grandmother, so they weren’t very wary of her.

In front of Duke Ambrose, whose sharp features and intimidating aura had terrified them, they had cried their lungs out as if the world were ending.

“Come now, eyes open wide. Stretch like this.”

“Streeetch!”

As I looked after Hughie and Dido, I felt the maids’ gazes pouring toward us.

Half of them looked at us fondly.

The other half looked less than pleased.

At least they were making an effort not to show it too openly.

It’s actually better than I expected.

I had prepared myself for this from the beginning.

Realistically speaking, Hughie and Dido weren’t blood-related to this family.

What surprised me more was how friendly the head maid was.

Especially considering how shabby we look…

Reflected in the full-length mirror was still the image of three little beggars who looked ready to start panhandling.

The head maid lightly pushed my back as I clicked my tongue inwardly.

“Well then, shall the three of you head to the bath?”

She was perceptive, too.

Pretending to give in, I allowed myself to be ushered toward the bathroom together with my siblings.

Still, this was only a guest room that had been hastily prepared last night.

And yet the attached bathroom is bigger than our entire house.

There was only so much relative deprivation a person could endure.

At this point, it simply felt like a different dimension.

Though really, did the bathtub need to be made of gold too?

If water touching it wasn’t a problem, then it had to be solid gold, right?

While I stared seriously at the gleaming tub, I obediently entrusted myself to the maids.

And then I truly ascended to another world.

“How’s the water temperature?”

Yes.

This was paradise.

When I finally regained my senses after momentarily losing them, I was already outside the bath and having my hair dried.

“…Huh.”

Wait.

When did that happen?

Looking around, I found Hughie and Dido just as fluffy and refreshed as I was, both wearing blissful expressions.

Normally, they would cry and throw tantrums to avoid bathing.

The servants of Ambrose really are on another level.

I was marveling at that when the head maid suddenly chuckled.

The three of us looked up at her with questioning eyes, and her smile deepened.

“It’s because all three of you have the same eyes. How can they be so beautiful, as if painted with a single brushstroke?”

“Our eyes take after our mother.”

It was a response I’d given countless times before.

Mom herself had always proudly claimed that she’d passed her prettiest feature down to all three of her children.

Large eyes, long eyelashes, and gently drooping corners.

It was exactly the feature that had made the neighborhood adults adore us.

They often called them calm, cow-like eyes.

Though I’ve also heard people say eyes like these belong to surprisingly stubborn people.

Considering the personalities of our family of four, that didn’t seem entirely wrong.

I lowered my gaze and smiled softly out of habit.

The head maid spoke almost in a whisper.

“…But your overall aura resembles him very much.”

“Him?”

“The Young Master. You truly are his daughter.”

Ah.

I understood now.

Most of the maids who treated us kindly seemed to have long years of service behind them.

They had probably served the Ambrose heir before he disappeared.

If they thought of me as their young master’s daughter, then naturally they’d feel affection for a blood relative who resembled him.

But if they only saw me as a new member of the household, they might think I was an unnecessary burden who had even brought extra mouths to feed.

To confirm my suspicion, I directly asked one of the maids who seemed distant.

“Do I really resemble him?”

“Ah, well… we’ve never actually met the Young Master.”

“I see.”

Just as I thought.

The maids awkwardly bowed and resumed cleaning the bathroom and tidying up.

They seemed to be junior maids responsible for cleanup and miscellaneous errands.

Most had youthful faces and nervous expressions.

Tiny yellow badges were attached to their uniforms.

The more experienced maids, who appeared much more relaxed, wore blue badges.

And the head maid… wears a red one.

The butler I had seen yesterday wore a red badge too.

Red for the highest-ranking servants?

I wondered what it signified.

At that moment, my eyes met the head maid’s.

“The noble crimson eyes of Ambrose.”

“…”

“You really do look exactly like him. Don’t you agree, girls?”

Noble?

I’d never heard anyone use that word about me before.

Never imagined I would, either.

At the head maid’s remark, the blue-badged maids immediately gathered around and chimed in.

“That’s right! You’re the spitting image of both the Master and the Young Master!”

“Your beauty is unmistakably Ambrose.”

“And your hair color is so unique!”

“Exactly! Such a pale shade of purple!”

“It looks like lavender.”

“Or perhaps lilac…”

“Did you inherit your hair from your mother too?”

“Yes. Though hers was a little darker.”

So noisy.

Surrounded by maids, I completely failed to notice another commotion approaching.

Then—

BANG!

The door flew open as if it were about to break.

Four people stormed inside.

“Impossible!”

Each shouted something different.

Depending on how one interpreted it, their cries sounded either delighted or desperate.

While I stood there bewildered, the head maid stepped in front of me, still dressed only in my bathrobe.

“What is the meaning of this rudeness?”

“Rudeness? Maya, you’re the one overstepping.”

“That’s right! We’re family! Outsiders should stay out of this!”

“To think we’ve finally found Lady Ansley’s daughter—what a joyous occasion!”

“So where is my beloved niece?”

“Um… if you’re looking for me, I’m right here.”

Honestly, this was exhausting.

I peeked out from behind the head maid.

Immediately, the group of uninvited guests—young and old alike—turned to stare at me.

Prickle.

“…Huh?”

I frowned at the fleeting sensation.

I quickly looked around, but the culprit had already hidden themselves.

What a shame.

The maids’ simple reactions had been much easier.

This group, on the other hand, was impossible to read.

“Are you truly Ansley’s daughter? Good heavens, it feels like only yesterday that child was learning to walk.”

“Hmm. You’re rather cute. I’ll allow you to call me big sister.”

“Sob… As Lady Ansley’s one and only aide, my lifelong regret has finally been eased.”

“Don’t cry! Even I, who was practically that girl’s real older sister, am holding myself together!”

The four visitors, each wearing their own metaphorical mask, bombarded me with words.

Outwardly they seemed happy to see me.

But were their true feelings the same?

Then the oldest man among them staggered toward me.

Looking closely, he actually resembled Duke Ambrose quite a bit.

But the atmosphere around him was completely different.

His careless behavior.

The strong smell of alcohol.

The drunkard casually asked, as though he either lacked tact or was pretending to.

“By the way, where is your mother?”

“She passed away.”

“Ah… when?”

“Yesterday.”

Everyone froze.

Even the maids’ eyes grew moist.

But I smiled brightly as though it didn’t bother me at all.

“It’s okay, though.”

I grinned.

“Because now…”

“…I’m an Ambrose.”

Prickle.

The emotions directed at me in that moment came in many forms.

Interest.

Jealousy.

Calculation.

And…

Killing intent.

Among all these people…

Which one of them wants me dead?