C114
"What do you mean?"
The question came out of my mouth without me realizing it.
"The orphanage. Do you happen to remember it?"
Angela studied my expression and tilted her head as if it were strange.
"It was when you were young, but not young enough to not remember it at all..."
I tried to find a hint of a lie in her reaction, but there was none.
I instinctively knew. Angela wasn't a scammer trying to get money.
"Did Ethel really grow up in an orphanage?"
I had no way of knowing. I hadn't even paid much attention to Ethel's childhood.
"Why was she in an orphanage? Was she under their care for a while because my family's circumstances weren't good?"
"It's not like that."
Angela shook her head and widened her eyes.
"You were abandoned in front of our orphanage when you were three. Then you went to another orphanage and from there you were adopted by the Wallace family."
"..."
Was it true that Ethel wasn't the biological daughter of Count Wallace and his wife? Was she an orphan?
It was hard to believe. I had never doubted that Ethel and the Wallace family were related by blood.
Because Ethel and the Countess Wallace were quite similar.
However, when I thought that she wasn't their biological daughter, her behavior so far had a strange sense to it.
In addition to mistreating Ethel, the Wallace family often treated her like a stranger. Really like a servant.
"One moment."
I looked at Angela with suspicious eyes, then opened the carriage window and spoke to the driver.
"Please go to Williams Street. Right now."
Williams Street is a street where several law offices are located, and Sharon's office is also there.
Count Wallace and Samuel left the capital.
In that case, the only person from the Wallace family I could meet immediately was the Countess.
Let's go to Sharon and ask her where the countess is currently staying.
"This person named Angela..."
It didn't seem like she was lying, but I couldn't believe it without any confirmation.
Above all, I wanted to see the countess immediately and find out the truth.
"E-Ethel. Why are you doing this all of a sudden? I'm not lying!"
Angela must have sensed my caution and shrugged anxiously.
"Calm down. I'll check the facts with Countess Wallace."
"...Is that so? Then, I'm relieved. But she won't tell you the truth."
"Why?"
"That's because she adopted you secretly."
"She adopted me secretly?"
"This is a story I heard from someone in charge of the orphanage you moved to while I was tracking your whereabouts. I think Count and Countess Wallace requested not to leave a record of adoption because they wanted to raise you as if you were their own daughter."
"Is that possible?"
"There's nothing you can't do if you give money. I also heard this story after giving some money to that person."
I had many questions for Angela, but I asked this one first.
"Why did you go to such lengths to track my whereabouts?"
"Really? It's because I care about you."
"Then why did you appear before me now? Did it take you so long to find me?"
"That..."
"If you don't speak honestly, I can't trust what you say."
"Fine! I'll tell you everything!"
Angela continued speaking resignedly.
"I was planning to take you to Cassius back then. But when I heard the rumor that the duchess loved Liena, I wondered what the point of all this was..."
"Wait a moment. Why do Liena and Cassius suddenly appear here?"
"Right. You don't have memories of your childhood. So you won't even remember about Liena."
No way.
"Liena, now Princess Cassius, was in our orphanage a long time ago. She was a close friend who was always with you."
Shock invaded me again.
I remembered the question I asked myself after having a strange dream in the Lucibiu mine.
How did Ethel and Liena become friends?
"Yes, it was because of this."
Ethel and Liena were from the same orphanage.
I should have suspected from the moment the word orphanage came out of Angela's mouth, but I was too distracted by the fact that Ethel wasn't the biological daughter of Count Wallace and his wife, so I couldn't even get there.
"Why did you want to take me to Cassius?"
After regaining my senses, I opened my mouth.
"Does it have to do with the most important problem of my life that you wrote about in your letter?"
"That's actually..."
Angela swallowed saliva and looked around with trembling eyes.