Leticia looked down at her cookies in a daze. The excitement to name them collapsed in an instant.

  Leticia raised her eyes to look at Diana as she lightly touched the cookies.

  “Was it you?”


  “What?”


  “Was it you again?”


  She did wonder who else would spread the rumor beside her family.

  Leticia bit her lip, while standing in front of Diana.

  This was her first dream. It may seem small and insignificant to others, but it was precious to Leticia.

  Then a false rumor casually trampled it, so it was hard to get back up.

  “I know you don’t like me.”


  Her family members always looked down on her, but Diana was the worst among them. She knew that Diana condemned her for her lack of ability.

  At least now she knew that it wasn’t her fault.

  “I don’t like you either.”


  “What?”


  “Do you know how dirty it is to spread rumors like this?”


  While speaking, she couldn’t control her overwhelming emotions from boiling over. Now she’d reached the point of screaming.

  “What did I ever do to you!”


  She couldn’t think of anything.

  Leticia cared for Diana as if she was her own child. She never neglected her even once.

  She ran errands here and there to earn even a little bit more money. No matter how tired she was at the end of the day, she spent time reading fairy tales to her younger siblings. When she couldn’t be with them, she felt bad and tried to do better.

  Then received nothing in return.

  ‘I’m sick of it.’


  She was so angry that her eyes were burning with rage.

  It wasn’t something that she started out hoping for. It didn’t mean that she wanted to be rewarded for the affection she gave.

  She wanted them to know that she’d always been sincere, at least for the time they spent together.

  When it came back to her like this, it was very upsetting to Leticia.

  “What have I done so wrong besides not having an ability.”


  That wasn’t her fault either.

  Why do they have to take out their frustrations on her?

  “Do you think you’re some kind of genius? All you can do is make it rain flowers.”


  “Hey, you listen here!”


  Diana was embarrassed at first by Leticia’s anger, but began to shout back in irritation. Somehow, she even looked like she’d been wronged.

  “I fully understand that you suspect that I did this, but it wasn’t me.”


  “Then who else is there?”


  “I guess there is someone else besides me who hates you.”


  “….”


  The emotions that had been controlling Leticia’s mind went cold.

  As soon as she noticed, Diana looked at her with a smirk.

  “Surely there is one or two somewhere?”


  “….”


  “Maybe you should take better care of your image?”


  The look of pity on Diana’s face was so abominable that it made Leticia’s lips tremble.

  Before Leticia could rebut, a short exclamation interrupted the two.

  “Wow.”


  Keena was still watching with her arms crossed. She alternated between looking at Leticia and Diana with a crooked smile.

  “Family is family, you and the fourth are just like each other.”[1]

  From the first moment they met at the banquet during the Hunting festival, she knew Keena wasn’t normal. The more she saw her, the more she realized she didn’t have an answer.

  Keena nodded to herself, while keeping her eyes on Diana.

  “Well, your family… hmm… I guess it’s a bit of a thing.”


  “What? You!”


  Diana snapped back with a ferocious look, she was annoyed by the sudden interjection. Soon enough she openly looked Keena up and down, then scoffed at her.

  “You don’t seem to be from around here. What are you wearing? You’re obviously not a child from a noble family.”


  Keena’s clothes were too plain to be a noble lady. A white shirt and black pants, they were clothes that any commoner man would wear.

  To Diana’s eyes, it looked disheveled and shabby.

  “Are you sure you’re a noble?”


  “Not now, no.”


  Leticia suddenly had questions at Keena’s offhand answer.

  ‘Not now?’


  Unlike Leticia, who felt there was something strange in Keena’s answer, Diana’s attention was distracted elsewhere.

  “Why are you talking to me like that?”


  “You started talking informally first?”


  “Do you want to be dragged away for contempt of nobility?”


  Before they knew it, the situation had turned into a fight between Keena and Diana.

  Keena’s face was indifferent to the fight though, so Diana seemed to be angry unilaterally.

  “They can even grab your whole family for this.”


  “Whatever.”


  Even when Diana said she’d report her to the guards, Keena responded as if it was someone else’s problem.

  “I don’t have a family.”


  Leticia had been thinking about how to clear up this situation. At Keena’s admission, she looked up in shock. Keena, who was a head taller than Leticia, smiled nonchalantly and said.

  “That’s a pretty good reaction.”


  While Leticia was surprised to hear it for the first time, Diana glared at Keena with her chin up.

  “Well, I don’t even know what you’re going on about.”


  “Diana.”


  Leticia called out to stop her, but Diana’s words were not over yet.

  “I’ll cut you some slack because I feel sorry for you. You’d better be careful next time.”


  Unlike her words, that sounded merciful at first glance, her eyes were filled with contempt. Keena faced it calmly without averting her eyes.

  It was only when Diana was so far away they couldn’t see each other anymore that Keena muttered quietly.

  “That family is still like that…”


  “What did you just say?”


  “No, nothing.”


  Keena waved her hand as if it didn’t matter.

  Leticia was still worried about Keena.

  “Are you alright?”


  “Huh? What?”


  “Well Diana…”


  She couldn’t bear to say the end, so her words trailed off.

  Keena understood what Leticia was trying to say, and lightly shrugged her shoulders.

  “You don’t understand? It’s all just crap anyways.”


  “That’s all?”


  “That’s what I mean, I don’t feel sorry for myself.”


  So there’s nothing to hurt.

  She didn’t want to see herself suffer by what someone said purposely to harm her.

  It’s what the other person wants.

  “Come to think of it, I want to try this.”


  To turn the mood around, Keena smiled brightly and picked up a cookie Leticia baked and opened the note inside.

  “Hm…”


  Keena checked the note, then peeked at Leticia.

  Leticia quickly approached Keena.

  “Thank you.”


  “Huh?”


  “I thought you were trying to help me.”


  “Just…”


  She hadn’t meant to, but somehow it turned out that way.

  Leticia must also have realized, but she was less wary of Keena then before as she seemed to think that she’d helped her.

  As soon as she saw Leticia’s pale hand held out to her, Keena thought she was right.

  So she grasped Leticia’s hand. Leticia pushed her hand away, gently but firmly, with a look of discomfort.

  “What are you doing?”


  “You put your hand out.”


  “If you take one, you have to pay me.”


  Keena had been wondering what she meant, then she asked to be paid for the cookie.

  “What? Do I have to pay?”


  “Isn’t that obvious?”


  “….”


  “This is something I’m sure of.”


  Unlike her meek impression, her eagerness to be paid was clear.

  Keena pouted with a discontent look on her face.

  “What a cruel thing to do when we have that kind of relationship”


  “What kind of relationship is that?”


  “Okay, I don’t have any money right now. So I’ll pay you back next time.”


  She even pulled out her pants pockets to show that she was broke.

  Keena looked carefully at Leticia and asked.

  “What about you?”


  “What?”


  “Are you okay?”


  Keena asking about her wellbeing was unexpected, so Leticia paused for a moment.

  The look on Keena’s face showed that she didn’t know how to deal with Leticia’s feelings. It was too late to pretend nothing had happened, so Leticia turned her head away in embarrassment.

  “It’s just… I don’t want to think about it too much right now.”


  She never imagined that the rumor that had spread among the Leroy family would drag her down now.

  She was feeling confused about what to do, and felt like all her hard work in baking the cookies had gone to waste.

  Watching her quietly, Keena told Leticia.

  “I’m the same age as you.”


  “Yes?”


  “So the next time we meet, say hello comfortably.”


  “….”


  “I’ll pay you back for the cookie too.”


  Somehow she looked grim, so Leticia smiled without realizing it.

  “Got it.”


  Keena looked a little relieved only after seeing a smile spread across Leticia’s face. She left while saying that she’d see her again soon.

  As soon as she moved away from Leticia, Keena took the note back out of her pocket.

  ‘You will meet the noblest person in your life soon.’


  ‘Noble…’


  Keena stopped walking and looked back at Leticia.

  ***

  “How did it go?”


  “Everyone believes the rumor.”


  “Good, the rumor has circulated quickly.”


  The rumor was spread in such a way to make it unclear whether it was true or not.

  Emil had been anxiously waiting for the butler report. He took a sip of team with a calm expression on his face to cover up that fact.

  “Is there anything else that the Young Master would like me to do?”


  “Keep monitoring and reporting on my eldest sister like you are already doing.”


  “Understood.”


  Once he received his orders, the butler bowed and left the room.

  Only then did Emil finally relax, and lean back in his chair.

  “Ha…”


  He felt his body completely relax and suddenly felt very tired. He thought he might finally be able to concentrate on the second test.

  Emil had thought that Leticia’s ability was to make others unhappy, or at least unlucky, but his prediction had been wrong.

  That was the reason Leticia had been ousted from the family, but so far nothing bad had happened around her. She just lived a peaceful life at the Achilles’ mansion.

  Eventually Emil had to admit it.

  Leticia did not have the ability to bring misfortune.

  Still, he couldn’t bear to tell his family.

  ‘I’d have to admit that we threw someone away who didn’t do anything wrong.’


  Emil sighed painfully and rubbed his face.

  ‘This is the best I can do.’


  As long as Leticia is quiet, and no other family members know, there won’t be any stigma attached to our family.

  Rumors had circulated inside the family of the misfortune she could bring, so he spread it outside as well.

  People were not interested in the truth or reality of a rumor. All they wanted was a subject to gossip about.

  Rumors are easier to believe if there was a little bit of truth mixed in.

  Thus, Emil imprinted in people’s heads that Leticia was capable of making others unhappy.

  ‘It couldn’t be helped.’


  He knew what he did was bad.

  He also knew it was vicious.

  It’s the method Emil chose, because he couldn’t afford for his family to lose status.

  ‘It’s okay.’


  No matter how fast and wide the rumor spreads, people will eventually lose interest.

  ‘You’ll be fine soon, too.’


  Emil layed down on his bed while thinking about it. The fatigue that he had endured spread throughout his body.

  His eyelids became heavier and he tried to close his tired eyes.

  [Your value is what you make.]

  His eyes opened wide at the sound of a voice brushing against his ear.

  It was one of the things Leticia always said to him in times long forgotten.

  He still didn’t know why she said that. He thought it was something that was more necessary for Leticia to hear, not him.

  Who are you to give advice when you don’t even have an ability.

  “It’s okay…”


  Emil murmured this to himself like a spell, and closed his eyes again.

  He didn’t think they would understand why he did this.

  What he wanted was consistent from the beginning.

  ‘I hope all of you believe the rumor.’


  ***********************************

  [1] So it took me a bit to figure out what the heck Keena meant, she was saying that Diana and Xavier are the same. I’m assuming she means they both have a temper.??╮(￣ω￣;)╭