That's why I was not the only one who noticed its existence. My mother also looked at Cecilia's earrings.
My mother was about to say something, but she closed her mouth when the maids carried the food in. However, she still looked closely at Cecilia's ears.
Yes, you should be doubtful of her that much. Even a little doubt will raise distrust.
Actually, my mother gave me those ruby earrings for my birthday. It was a special piece of jewelry made by the highest quality rubies and the design crafted by hand.
There's no way my mother wouldn't notice them. My mother also knew that I treasured those earrings.
But now Cecilia is wearing it? I knew she wouldn't call her a thief right away, but she would definitely doubt her.
Before coming to the dining room, I handed over the earrings to Jamie. Then she went straight to Cecilia and told her she had stolen my earrings as a token of trust.
Before I returned to the past, it was clear that Jamie had received poor assessments from Cecilia. So Cecilia didn't use her as one of her hands.
The reason was obvious. Because Jamie was a coward and only handed Cecilia all the accessories I didn't use. Cecilia couldn't have been satisfied with that. Perhaps that's when Jamie's worth was already decided.
I needed to improve her worth. I wanted Cecilia to be impressed by Jamie's newfound braveness and deem her suitable to use as her hand.
So I handed over my favorite earrings. It looks quite expensive to anyone who sees it at first glance.
With this, Cecilia will consider Jamie to be a reliable and trustworthy person. And when Cecilia entrust Jamie with various tasks, Jamie will tell me all about it.
Because Jamie couldn't forgive Cecilia for deceiving her.
It would be funny that this young lady, who was still wallowing in her sorrows, came in with such splendid jewelry in her ears. Now she was making a mess of things wanting to put me in despair. Her demeanor was very convincing, but not the way it was done.
Father may not have noticed, but mother and the maids must have seen it clearly.
Doubt. Instilling it is my first step in revenge. I'll show you all what she truly is that nobody knew.
I kept staring at Cecilia as I was eating. Especially around Cecilia's ears as if those ruby earrings were there.
As I continued to look at her with shaky eyes, she gave me a slight smirk that only I could see.
As if she had won the flag of victory.
Not knowing that my mother was looking at her with suspicious eyes.
Throughout the meal, Cecilia made a nerve-wracking noise. Every time Cecilia cut the meat, the sound of the knife hitting the plate could be heard.
My father furrowed his brows as if the sounds were intrusive, but did not mention it directly to Cecilia.
Today was the first meal we had as a family of four.
After seeing Cecilia's earrings, my mother was quietly watching her.
My father seemed to be thinking whether he should talk about having brought a new family member, but he did not put those concerns into action. It was shown in my father's actions how carelessly he brought Cecilia into the house.
But all through this awkward atmosphere, I quietly finished eating my meal.
When the dessert came out after the meal, Cecilia looked at my father and opened her mouth.
"Father, as you can see, I'm not good enough. ... Am I even worthy of the name Hailon? I'm afraid my inadequacy will do a disservice to this house."
Her shaky eyes seemed to show her sincerity. She was trying to make up for her lack of table manners with her facade. It looked like she wanted to be loved, but she seemed to be saying it in a rather pathetic way.
"Isn't that over and done with? You are already a member of House Hailon."
"Yes, dear, don't worry too much. You're still unfamiliar with the way things are, but you'll get used to it soon."
What a reliable father and a loving mother.
But then, when they were done talking, everyone looked at me.
As if they wanted me to say something as well.
What should I do with these people playing a harmonious family? I wanted to be scathingly sarcastic about Cecilia's flaws, but I put up with it and came up with an idea.
"Cecilia, you're already my sister. But if you're really worried, how about doing this?"
"What is it...?"
She trembled a little, afraid of my calm acceptance.
"You're going to be educated once more."
My cheerful voice spread all over the dining room as I gave a suggestion. Cecilia quickly hardened her features, but immediately smiled brightly.
"No, thank you. I've already received all the education I needed as a noble lady when I was in Ogel.”
"Rose, what's the point of taking the lessons Cecilia had already taken?"
Even my mother helped Cecilia and made a firm disagreement.
It would be a disgrace if she was going to be educated again at this point before her coming of age ceremony. I'm sure that rumors about her will circulate in social circles.
It will be known that a grown-up young lady wasn't properly educated and will learn again the things noble children have been learning.
It would seem that my mother realized this as she looked at me knowingly, but I turned my head away and looked at my father.
My father was looking at me without saying a word. His gaze meant he agreed with me.
My father was a man who likes perfection after all. The living witness is me. I was forced to live life acting only as a noble being without being able to act any lesser.
I was able to become the flower of society by cultivating myself in first-rate cultural knowledge, behaving elegantly at all times, and keeping an excellent appearance.
With the way my father was looking at me, the sweet girl who stayed at our house for several months must have approached him differently.
But how can you dislike a child approaching you warmly?
However, that was when she was someone else's daughter. If Cecilia, who is now his adopted daughter, bears Hailon's name and goes out to society but then happens to make mistakes, my father will not be able to raise his face due to shame. Because he's always been a man of dignity.
That's why, as I noticed earlier, Father's eyebrows creased little by little whenever Cecilia behaved clumsily and made so much clatter with her silverware.
"Knowing your mistakes and not fixing them is just laziness. The social world is a place where rumors are exaggerated to the point of being frightening with just a single slip. You know full well that the rumors about me in the past have put me in this position." I spoke sharply.
Cecilia, I'm the one whose social reputation has been tarnished because of you.
I also wanted my parents to know that it's them who didn't take care of me when I was in a predicament at that time. They merely considered it as just a passing rumour. They didn't know that I've been hurt badly by it.
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