She’s Not Our Daughter! - Chapter 30

Chapter 30

“Hand.”

Sierra looked up at Cassius. His earlobes were a little red, but his gaze was certain. His eyes were like a desert night bathed in a bluish light.

“Can I just dance however I want?”

“Yeah. Originally, I would dance to the music, but I’ll teach you the basic steps first.”

He pretended to be okay, but even Sierra was nervous, hand-in-hand with Cassius.

Cassius whispered low in her ear.

“I’ll start.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Cassius started dancing. Sierra, knowing nothing, tightened her movements to avoid stepping on him.

Sierra looked down at her feet and danced step by step together.

Cassius’ gaze fell on her head.

“Tango is an eye-to-eye dance.”

She quietly raised her eyes, meeting his own. Her breath caught, and she ended up stepping on his foot.

Cassius didn’t show any reactions.

“Yet again.”

“…You stepped on my foot.”

“You can make a mistake.”

Cassius, who was once expressionless, smiled once more. Seeing that smile, Sierra loosened up and matched his tempo.

‘…I’m having trouble dancing, Cassius.’

Sierra’s foot paused . She couldn’t dance, so it was natural for her to lose her concentration.

But Cassius naturally took the next step and led her to dance. Even Sierra, who was a little embarrassed, blinked and followed his steps. One step at a time, neither slow nor fast.

“There is a saying that if the steps get tangled, that’s tango,” he whispered as they sped up.

“Is there such a saying?”

“Yeah. Tango is such a free dance. You just have to relax and move around comfortably.”

Sierra met his deep eyes. Because she was nervous, she used too much strength and made many mistakes.

“…It’s not easy.”

She stepped on his foot painfully.

Cassius laughed softly.

“Like this, wait a minute…”

“…”

“Wait, it’s just tangled.”

Cassius stuttered out his words.

“You can do it again.”

His feet met Sierra’s. In the terribly quiet hall where no music could be heard, only the sound of heels hitting the floor could be heard.

Sierra made eye contact with Cassius and danced. It was a relatively dynamic movement.

“It’s an amazing dance, but I’m bad at it.”

“It’s okay, we’re dancing together.”

“Dancing with you doesn’t feel like I’m a bad dancer.”

Sierra smiled broadly, relieved, and Cassius held out his hand again.

“Once more?”

As she smiled, Sierra nodded her head.

Sierra was definitely not good at dancing. After dancing a few times, she happened to accidentally lean her head on Cassius’ chest.

‘…His heartbeat is too loud.’

It would have been better if there was music, but without music, Cassius’ reaction was more careful. She bit her lip.

‘I can’t do this.’

Sierra straightened herself again and muttered softly.

“Let’s stop for now.”

Cassius nodded in agreement.

Obviously, she was just thinking of making Cassius her good friend. But when she saw Cassius, her feelings for him became strangely complicated.

Her toes kept curling and her eyes kept blinking. She hated this feeling of befuddlement and quickly let go of his hand. “I think this is enough for today’s practice. I think I’m doing well.”

“Okay.” Surprisingly, Cassius backed off.

However, Sierra was still staring at him

‘Did Cassius have such deep eyes?’

She struggled to suppress her tumultuous heart.She took her eyes off his gaze. She felt weird. No, it was difficult to describe in words.

* * * 

Recently, Hanael had more things of her own. Everyone loved Hanael very much, the godmother even kissed her on the cheek. It was a luxury she had never felt in a rural village.

Hanael went outside today to play in the lobby of the mansion. With a stuffed toy in hand, she wandered around the mansion looking for the maids. And it was then that Hanael saw Sera, a little maid who was friendly towards her.

She ran towards Sera excitedly.

“Wahh-”

Hanael, who was about to say hello with her mouth wide open as she ran, stopped quickly. There was a tall gardener by Sera’s side.

‘What are they doing?’

Hanael widened her eyes and shook her head. A sweet voice echoed in her ears.

“My daughter, is it hard to work?”

“No, Dad. It’s okay!”

“Dad loves you very much.”

“Mom loves you too.”

The gardener, who had a large beard and a well-dressed maid beside him, laughed happily.

Sera was standing between them, holding their hands tightly and smiling happily. The sunlight coming in from the window shone at the family.

Hanael quietly rolled her eyes. They seemed like a really warm and friendly family.

‘…I’m jealous.’

Seeing the loving family, Hanael took a step backwards without realizing it.

Then she hesitated and hid in the hallway just behind the lobby. The events of the past came to mind in Hanael’s mind. It was the same in kindergarten.

All of her classmates were picked up by their dads. But Sierra was the only one who came to pick up Hanael. She didn’t go looking for her dad because she was afraid that her mom wouldn’t like it… In Hanael’s small mind, something from when she was younger came to mind.

Sierra then told Hanael to call her Auntie. Hanael didn’t know what an aunt was, so she called Sierra her aunt.

The people made fun of Hanael that she was an orphan without a mother or father. When Hanael cried and opened the pharmacy door, Sierra had told the people that she wasn’t an orphan.

‘Hey…!’

She had said to the people in a sharp voice, hugging the sniffling Hanael.

‘She’s my daughter. She also has a wealthy father. So please don’t say anything rude!’

‘No, pharmacist girl-‘

‘Shut up! Don’t bully my daughter and get out!’

Her voice was louder than any father. Hanael remembered the warmth of her mother, who hugged her tightly. But now she says she’s not her mother.

She said she had a new mother. Hanael hugged the stuffed doll tightly. She wanted to see her mother.

At that time, a shadow fell right in front of Hanael.

“Hanael?”

It was Hanael’s father, no, he was Mr. Idiot.

“…”

“Are you crying?”

“No, not at all!”

Hanael hated crying. She was already almost an adult, grown enough to protect her mother. She didn’t want to look like a child. However, the idiot soon knelt down on one knee and grabbed Hanael’s arm tightly.

Tears fell from Hanael’s eyes.

“Yeah, I’m not crying.”

Hanael groaned while her eyes filled with tears.

“I told you I’m not crying. I was smiling. You didn’t know, did you? I guess you don’t know because you’re an idiot.”

Hanael stared at Mr. Idiot. This man did not look out for himself for a very long time. She hated it very much, but…

“Hanael, listen to what I’m going to say.”

“What? I’m not your daughter… Go away.”

“No, You can be my daughter. You don’t have to be my real daughter. Still, you’re going to be my daughter Hanael.”

Children instinctively recognized the truth. It was the same with Hanael. There was only sincerity in Cassius’ eyes.

Hanael hiccuped.

“…Okay.”

“I will take responsibility for you for the rest of your life.”

Hanael cautiously asked him.

“…How about Mom?”

Hanael froze at his brilliant smile.

“I’ll take care of you and your mom for the rest of my life, if you allow me.”

Hanael nodded her head while clenching her fists on her cheeks.

* * * 

While Cassius and Hanael were having a secret meeting, Sierra came into the room. She had to carefully select the nobility to invite to a party in the salon.

“What kind of people would you like?”

“The people here may have something to do with the Ideos family.”

Cassius would think Sierra didn’t know, but Sierra wasn’t stupid. There was no way the sensitive Cassius would have put just anyone on the list of nobility.

“…We need fresh people.” Sierra decided to refer to other things besides the list of participants, keeping it a secret from Cassius.

‘If Cassius is to make friends, he will need new people anyway.’

Sierra nodded to herself and worked hard on all the gossip she got from the drawing room.

She searched, and after checking the gossip she had, hardened.

[Is Lady Macbeth the Duke of Ideos’ first love?]

‘Is Cassius’s first love Lady Macbeth…?’

Several articles on Lady Macbeth were also attached separately. Sierra, who quickly scattered the articles, sighed,

‘I’m feeling a little weird…’

Maybe it was because she was dancing with Cassius earlier, and it felt like her chest was pounding and pounding.

‘…What is this strange feeling?’

Feeling her pulse pounding, Sierra shook her head and threw the articles on the floor. She ignored her heartbeat. Just then, a gentle knock was heard from outside the door.

“Come in.”

At Sierra’s words, the loyal maid came in and shook her head.

“I’m trying to help your baby bathe, but is she here?”

“I know that Hanael is with the other maid.”

Recently, Hanael, who had taken up playing as a hobby, was happy with the other maids.

The maid swallowed and nodded her head. Her gaze busily moved between Sierra and her surroundings.

“Ahh… Would you mind helping, Miss Sierra—Oh my, Such a vulgar article!”

The maid hastily gathered the gossip magazines on the table about Lady Macbeth and Duke Ideos.

“All of this, it’s all rumors!”

There was a sign of panic, fearing that Sierra might have misunderstood it. It wasn’t that she had such a bad attitude, but her mood became even more strange.