Orlando's face flushes a bright, furious crimson as he desperately tries to erase the lingering truth of Lily's previous words from the room. Realizing he has been caught staring in his sweaty training gear—and completely mortified that a servant had the audacity to call attention to it—his panic spikes.
He whips his head toward my personal maid, his eyes flashing with a mixture of anger and absolute humiliation.
" And w-what did you say?!" Orlando stammers loudly, his voice cracking as he fiercely deflects the attention away from himself. "What on earth are you talking about, girl?! Know your place! You are just a maid! Who gave you permission to speak out loud in front of Father and me? You do not hold any position to interject in our presence! What absolute nonsense are you uttering?!"
He is practically tripping over his own words, his furious blustering a dead giveaway that Lily had hit the nail right on the head.
Lily's eyes go wide with fear. Realizing she has spoken entirely out of turn in front of the high nobility, she drops to her knees instantly, bowing her head in terror. "Y-Yes, my lord! It was entirely my fault to speak out of turn. The Duke and Lord Orlando did not ask for my input. It is my mistake, please forgive me!"
Looking at Lily trembling on the floor, my corporate protective instincts flare up, completely burning away my initial hesitation. I can't stand by and watch this arrogant brat bully the only person who actually shed real tears for me.
"Wait! What on earth are you talking about, Orlando?" I cut in, my voice sharp and clear as I glare at him from the bed. "Stop it right now! She is my personal maid, and that gives her every right to speak in this room when it concerns me!"
Orlando rounds on me, his jaw dropping in sheer disbelief. "What?!"
"She is a kind soul, unlike you," I press on, leaning forward aggressively against the pillows. "I was panicking because of the weird silence in this room, and Lily was simply trying to calm me down and put me at ease. She was protecting my feelings! She isn't like you at all."
"What did you just say?" Orlando barks, his entire face turning the color of a ripe tomato. He tightly crosses his bare arms over his chest, his knuckles turning white around his training sword. "Why is she not like me? How dare you compare me to a mere servant! Do you have any idea what my position is in this empire?!"
"Yes, I know exactly what your position is," I fire back, my eyes narrowing into a cold, corporate glare. "I know your status is much higher than hers. But you know what else, brother? You don't have a single shred of a heart. You are completely cold!"
Orlando flinches slightly, completely caught off guard by the venom in my voice.
"How can you say such incredibly harsh words to your own sister?" I ask, my voice laced with heavy frustration. "I have been asleep for eight long days like a dead body. I just opened my eyes, and instead of a warm welcome, you stand there telling me I look hideous and calling me ugly! How can you be so cruel to your little sister the moment she wakes up? You are terrible. But Lily? Lily is a kind soul. She is the one who actually cared for me the most while I was gone, so do not you dare scold her like that. As my maid, she holds the absolute position to say whatever she wants about me! I explicitly gave her the power to speak up on any matter that concerns me. You don't have a single right to scold her, and you certainly don't have the right to humiliate her under my roof."
Orlando's jaw slacks, his chest heaving as he glares at me with wide, disbelieving eyes. "W-What? Have you completely gone mad, Elanore?!"
"Stop it right now."
The Duke's deep, authoritative voice booms across the room, instantly shattering the air. He steps forward from the threshold, his posture rigid as his sharp gaze locks onto his son. "Why are you standing here arguing like commoners?"
Orlando whips his head toward his father, completely bewildered and frustrated. "Father! What are you even saying? Why are you stopping me? Let me make things clear right now! I need to scold her properly and teach her a proper lesson. If I don't, she will become completely hopeless! This is not how a proper lady behaves, and it violates every rule of high society etiquette!"
"I told you to stop it, Orlando," the Duke commands, his voice dropping into a low, dangerous warning. "Your sister is entirely right. It is not correct for you to speak to her in such a manner. After all, she has been gravely ill and sleeping like a corpse for eight days straight. You should be showing her some basic respect and speaking to her nicely."
The Duke crosses his arms, looking down at the sweaty, weapon-wielding heir with a disappointed scowl. "In fact, I think it is you who needs some proper lessons on manners and how a true gentleman is supposed to act."
"Father!" Orlando yells, his face exploding into a fresh wave of crimson. "How can you take her side?! I was out on the training grounds practicing my swordsmanship while she—!"
"Your swordsmanship does not excuse your complete lack of decorum in a lady's bedchamber," the Duke fires back smoothly.
Within seconds, the room erupts into absolute chaos. Orlando refuses to back down, fiercely arguing his case because his pride simply won't allow him to admit he's wrong, while the Duke unyieldingly doubles down, trying to beat some high-society manners into his stubborn son's head.
But as their voices blur into a chaotic, echoey background noise, the defensive corporate walls in my mind suddenly begin to crack.
I sit back against the pillows, entirely lost in my thoughts as I watch the two of them shout back and forth. I know this isn't my real family. I know the Valerius family has a reputation for being freezing cold, detached, and ruthless to Elanore.
And yet... watching the raw, messy, unpolished chaos unfolding at the foot of my bed, a strange, unexpected wave of warmth washes over my chest.
It hits me all at once, pulling a memory from deep within my soul. Back in my own world, my real family was always warm. We didn't live in a grand estate, but my household was always full of life. This ridiculous bickering instantly reminds me of how my own brother and I used to argue over the most trivial things every single day, shouting until our throats were sore. It reminds me of how my mother and father would passionately trade opinions whenever they had a disagreement, turning the dinner table into a loud, lively debate.
Completely lost in the sweet, bittersweet nostalgia of my true home, my analytical armor completely dissolves. I am so deeply buried in my memories that I don't even realize a change is passing over my own face.
A gentle, unforced smile begins to bloom on my lips—a quiet, radiant expression coming straight from the bottom of my heart. There is no sound to it, but my entire face softens, reflecting a pure, unguarded happiness that Elanore's features have likely never shown before. I am completely unaware that I am smiling with all my heart, just sitting there floating in the warmth of the past.
"Please, my lords, stop! Just wait a moment!"
Lily's frantic voice suddenly cuts through the shouting, but her tone has completely changed from panic to awe. She steps away from the two men, pointing a trembling hand back toward the bed. "Dear lords... look at my lady. She... she is smiling."
The argument dies instantly.
"Look at her smile," Lily whispers, her eyes shining with sudden, happy tears. "It isn't a loud one, but... she looks so radiant."
Orlando freezes mid-sentence, his jaw still slightly open as his eyes snap toward Elanore. Right next to him, the Duke completely stops his lecture, his sharp gaze locking onto Elanore's face.
In a fraction of a second, the loud, chaotic room plunges into a profound, breathless silence. The heavy bickering vanishes, leaving only the quiet morning light wrapping around the three of them as they stand totally paralyzed, unable to take their eyes off the unexpected warmth on Elanore's face.
"Lost in the beautiful memories of her past, Sara's genuine smile has completely brought the powerful Valerius men to a grinding halt. The fierce corporate shields are down, and for the first time, they are looking at a sister and daughter who looks truly, profoundly happy.
How will Sara react when she snaps out of her daydream and realizes the entire room is staring at her gentle smile? Will the Duke and Orlando finally drop their stubborn defenses, or will the sudden silence make Sara pull her walls right back up?
Let's turn to the next chapter to see how Sara handles being caught in her own warmth! Stay with us to see what happens next!"