Come to think of it, I had rarely used the words father or mother sinceing to this world.


    Even when I was the Emperor’s child, I had always referred to him strictly as Your Majesty. Not because I refused to call him father, but because of the weight of his position. No matter how much he was my parent, when addressing the Emperor, his title came before our rtionship.@@novelbin@@


    In that sense, the words mother and father that I used in this world had always been tools—means to an end, meant to put me in the most advantageous position.


    Staying in the Grace household alone was enough to ensure my safety. They never abandoned the orphans they took in; they raised them properly and made them part of their household. Not as disposable pawns, but as proper retainers, providing them with shelter, food, and a stable position.


    But at the time, that wasn’t enough for me.


    No matter how well-fed a servant was, they were still amoner. The gap in status between a mere servant and someone like Alice or ire was simply too great for meaningful conversation.


    To truly stand on equal footing with them, I needed to be a noble. And so, I used every ability I had to be the Grace family’s daughter. The only reason I was able to pull it off was because I had seen the exact steps ire had taken to be one.


    In other words, the very process of me calling Baroness Grace mother had been built entirely on deception.


    “…Mother.”


    And yet, I was calling her that now.


    “Yes, Sylvia.”


    Baroness Grace smiled as she responded.


    “You’ve finallye home.”


    “……”


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