She's Not Our Daughter! Ch 92

A Bizarre Vision

In the end, Cassius canceled all of his appointments for the day. Instead, he searched the mansion to check if other visions existed beyond the teacup.

For now, there are absolutely no suspicious circumstances.

He didn't carry the butterfly brooch. He didn't sink into sudden sleep or dreams. The present moment stood as clear reality. Yet strangely, the visions no longer appeared in the form of dreams but began to approach his reality.

Cassius left the teacup behind and walked quietly down the hallway. Nothing appeared in the corridor before him, as if the previous vision meant nothing.

Just as he abandoned the search and turned around, Sierra's vision suddenly flashed around the corner of the hallway.

And......

From the moment he recognized the illusions surrounding him, the visions invading the mansion continued without end. Whenever he walked quietly down the corridor, Sierra ran out from the distance.

Cassius, quick, feel this!

What is it?

The baby is kicking inside my belly!

A pregnant Sierra waddled heavily through the mansion. Beside Sierra, his own reflection supported her with a joyful smile. They resembled a happy newlywed couple.

He pressed his throbbing eyes and watched the illusion.

Why did the joyful daily life he always dreamed of manifest before him like a dream?

Why?

Though he questioned it repeatedly, the vision didn't end.

Cassius walked slowly down the hallway as the illusions of Sierra and himself faded. Deeper inside the mansion, the visions grew more detailed and distinct.

He stared at the landing of the hallway, near the window by the stairs. The illusions of him and Sierra materialized there as well.

[Sierra] "Can we be happy?"

[Cassius] "Of course, without a doubt."

[Sierra] "I want our baby to be happy too...... I thought of a name for our child."

[Cassius] "What is it?"

[Sierra] "But don't nobles choose names differently? Going to a naming specialist, or inheriting a name passed down through generations......"

[Cassius] "None of that matters. I will go with the name you chose. It carries more value and meaning."

[Sierra] "Well, then...… If a son is born, Harnel. If a daughter is born, Hanael."

Had he driven himself into utter madness?

Yet it felt too strange for madness. The vision carried an intense reality, exactly as if a magical projector played before his eyes.

He blinked again and reached out his hand. Mocking him, the illusion passed easily through his fingers and gradually flickered out.

He let out a long sigh, leaned his back against the window, and took a deep breath.

What was happening? Why did Sierra keep appearing before him......

[Sierra] "Is something wrong?"

The illusory figures of Sierra and himself vanished, and the real Sierra stood there. He blinked and turned his head.

Strangely...…

[Sierra] "Are you crying?"

A dull ache filled his chest.

The sensation mimicked the sudden fear of heights that had gripped him out of nowhere long ago. Terror surged over him that Sierra might vanish abruptly.

Helpless, he bit his dry lips. Though she studied him with a puzzled face, words failed him. He cast his eyes downward and spoke.

[Cassius] "Hold me."

[Sierra] "Huh?"

I am terrified you will vanish.

Swallowing the words, Cassius quietly stared at Sierra. Though confused, she reached out and patted his shoulder.

Tightening his arms around her waist as her hand awkwardly wrapped around his shoulder, the inexplicable anxiety gradually subsided. However......

Past her shoulder, another warm vision approached. It was they once more.

Holding Sierra close as she patted his back, Cassius narrowed his eyes, watching the figures of himself and her. The illusions looked slightly older than their current selves, perhaps due to the deep worry etching their faces.

[Sierra] "The weather is beautiful today."

[Cassius] "Shall we go on a picnic?"

[Sierra] "But our baby is sick. We must nurse our child. Even if we hire a hundred doctors, a baby only wants her mother."

[Cassius] "Still, your health is important too...... Rest well."

A sullen Sierra, and himself holding her waist tightly...…

Despite her soothing touch and the slow fading of the illusion, the strange surge of emotion enveloping his body refused to die down.

Perhaps this is......

[Cassius] "Sierra."

[Sierra] "Yes?"

[Cassius] "Hanael......"

He maintained a strict rule: never do anything to upset Sierra. Yet he felt compelled to utter these exact words now.

[Cassius] "I believe she is our daughter."

Why did denying Hanael's existence irritate him so much when he knew it would upset her? Perhaps the visions were showing him the truth.

[Sierra] "Is it because of the paternity test? The doctor could be a fraud, and there are some suspicious aspects to it."

[Cassius] "No."

He recalled his previous deductions. Naturally, he trusted her words. However......

[Cassius] "I feel there is a truth we don't know."

Could those visions be the reality that Sierra and Cassius remained ignorant of?

He stared quietly at her, then squeezed her hand firmly. Fortunately, her current warmth was a tangible reality, not a fleeting illusion that vanished like a dream.

[Sierra] "That makes absolutely no sense."

She breathed heavily. She gripped his hand and pulled him into the secret room of the Ideos estate.

---

Locked inside the chamber where no one could eavesdrop on their conversation, panic gripped her after hearing every detail of the visions Cassius witnessed.

Narrowing her eyes, she let out a long sigh and stared at him.

[Sierra] "Could the butterfly brooch be deliberately manipulating you? Showing you an illusion. But......"

She trailed off, pausing. Why would Amille do such a thing? Her older sister loved her. That stood as the single truth that would never change even if the world collapsed.

She swallowed hard and stared at him. Cassius spoke quietly.

[Cassius] "Sierra."

[Sierra] "......Yes."

[Cassius] "I know you and Amille share a profound connection."

Of course. Anyone with eyes would conclude the same, so it made perfect sense for Cassius to think so.

Sierra fought to maintain her composure and nodded. In this private room, she felt ready to reveal to him that Amille was her older sister.

[Cassius] "This person, Amille. Is she someone who would harm you?"

She couldn't flatly deny this question. She stared at him with eyes full of absolute trust.

[Sierra] "She would choose death over harming me."

[Cassius] "Then......"

[Sierra] "......Amille is,"

She spoke quietly.

[Sierra] "Someone who loves me just as much as you do. She is one of the only two people in the world who cherish me like that. So don't suspect her."

Cassius studied Sierra with a thoughtful expression. Staring at him, Sierra blurted out the next words.

[Sierra] "It happened when I was a child."

Her words flowed out like a quiet confession.

[Sierra] "Whenever I came home crying after being beaten by someone, Amille would hit them twice as hard."

A past Cassius knew nothing about. He sharpened his focus. Sierra calmly continued her story.

[Sierra] "And...... she worked relentlessly to support my tuition so I could attend the academy."

[Cassius] "......"

This sufficed to show their relationship crossed beyond anything ordinary.

[Sierra] "You know that I have no parents."

Watching her speak lightly, showing no trace of pain, he bit his lower lip hard.

The suffering Sierra must have endured before she could state that fact so calmly kept echoing in his mind. But when he reached out toward her, Sierra shook her head firmly.

[Sierra] "I felt no sorrow over being an orphan. It didn't matter when people called me a beggar, or when loan sharks invaded our home. I was fine because someone protected me and raised me with affection......"

[Cassius] "......"

She paused to catch her breath and looked at him. She completely trusted Cassius now; they were a team, so she could speak freely. They were inside a secure room, after all.

[Sierra] "Because my older sister, Amille, was there."

His eyes widened slightly.

An older sister. Then Hanael is Sierra's niece.

Countless thoughts rushed through his mind. As they stared at each other in silence, a sudden knock rattled the door.

Cassius raised his eyebrows. When they occupied this secret room, absolutely no one except the head butler dared to look for him. Why then......

[Cassius] "What is it?"

He opened the door, and the head butler entered with a worried expression. The butler held an envelope sealed with the Crown Prince's crest and the imperial wax stamp.

[Butler] "The Crown Prince......"

A blood-red envelope. It signified......

[Butler] "......is declaring war, Your Grace."

Both Cassius and Sierra raised their eyebrows simultaneously. An impatient prince declaring war went entirely against their calculations.

[Butler] "At the same time, vile rumors are spreading everywhere without discrimination."

Sierra, who had been analyzing the situation silently, suddenly questioned him.

[Sierra] "What kind of vile rumors?"

The head butler narrowed his eyes and parted his lips. The loyal servant looked highly hesitant to utter the words. Sierra gestured toward him with her chin.

[Sierra] "Speak."

He supported her quietly.

[Cassius] "Yes, tell us if the rumors are already circulating."

[Butler] "The truth is......"

After hesitating for a long moment, the head butler finally blurted out the words.

[Butler] "They claim that Duke Ideos' previous monster war was a complete failure."

[Cassius] "......"

[Butler] "Subversive voices are shouting that the Duke is a fraud, not a war hero."

Sierra ground her teeth. Cassius had protected the Emperor and the Crown Prince from monsters. Yet the ungrateful prince dared to instigate a smear campaign. How dare he.

He dared to strike first.

This criminal, how dare he.

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