I Ran Away And The Reverse Harem Started Chapter 117

After a long silence, Yvette finally spoke.

“…Rumi kidnapped Irene? My maid?”

“…”

“I can’t believe it either. Not until I see her with my own eyes.”

“Yes. She’s inside the café, so you can speak with her. But before that, there’s one more thing I need to tell you.”

The two women, still in shock, looked at Daniel.

Could there really be something even more painful waiting to be said? A hint of dread and uncertainty flickered across their faces.

“The maid named Rumi said she gave Irene Büllossen a new name when she abandoned her at the orphanage.”

“A new name?”

“Yes. She thought that giving her a name might make the orphanage staff take better care of her. She took it from a flower blooming by the train station…”

“Tell her to cut the nonsense. What? Naming her would help her get more care? That’s just another way of saying she stole even my daughter’s name!”

The viscountess trembled with rage and betrayal. Deborah gently placed a hand on the older woman’s frail shoulder, while Yvette, clearly furious, was breathing heavily.

“What is it? The name she gave her when she abandoned her.”

When Yvette demanded the answer, I involuntarily swallowed hard.

Daniel’s gaze slowly turned toward me.

As everyone’s eyes followed his, a strange change came over their faces—confused, questioning. After a few seconds of silence, Daniel finally spoke heavily.

“She said the name was… Rosieta.”

All eyes turned to me.

 

 

 

****

 

 

 

 

In that moment, time seemed to slow down.

My palms were slick with sweat. I discreetly wiped them on my skirt hem after entering the café, but it did little to calm me.

“…I can’t believe it. It’s all too much of a coincidence. As if the heavens were playing some cruel joke…”

Yvette muttered quietly after stepping into the café. The room was so still, her words carried clearly to me.

Rumi had been moved to the second floor to avoid a scene. Daniel and Deborah had gone upstairs to check on her condition. That left just me and Yvette on the first floor for the moment.

I had been staring at the pitch-black window, but turned my head when I sensed her gaze. Yvette was already staring at me.

“I told you before, didn’t I? Every time I see you, I feel like the heavens are toying with me.”

“Yes, back in Rewybourn.”

“Even when you first appeared in the Count’s territory, I just thought you were someone who resembled her. And now, I still think the same. I can’t shake the doubt without clear evidence.”

“Yes, I feel the same. It could just be an absurd string of coincidences.”

I tried to sound calm, but Yvette’s expression only grew more pained.

It was certainly an ironic situation.

We had already questioned once whether we could be the long-lost sisters we were each searching for—and then dismissed it.

Yvette had always needed definitive proof. I had never had anything concrete to show. Just a similar appearance and age. And after twenty years of false hope and heartbreak, Yvette was desperate for certainty.

Even though Rumi claimed she named Irene “Rosieta” when she left her at the orphanage, both of us were too cautious to leap to the conclusion that we were sisters.

Yvette’s expression was filled with inner turmoil as she carefully spoke.

“I hesitate even to say this… but if you really are my younger sister…”

“…?”

“Then I made an unforgivably rude request. To my own sister.”

She was referring to her earlier plea in the hydrangea garden. I gave a faint smile. I could see the guilt etched on her face.

“Well, even if I weren’t your sister, it was still a pretty rude request.”

That bit of sarcasm made Yvette scowl further, and I quickly changed the subject.

“Anyway, nothing’s been confirmed yet. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves and risk ending up incredibly awkward if it turns out I’m not your sister.”

“You’re very calm. Too calm, really.”

“That’s just how I am. When things get serious, I actually feel more at ease. Maybe I just lack a proper sense of danger…”

Yvette looked at me like I was one strange woman.

But it wasn’t that I had no thoughts on the matter. I was calm, yes, but my mind was a chaotic swirl.

What if I really was Irene Büllossen? The lost second daughter of the Büllossen family… a saint candidate like Deborah?

…Then what would that mean for my past twenty years?

Still, getting my hopes up only to be crushed again—as I had been in Rewybourn—was something I wanted to avoid. So I decided to keep things light. I wouldn’t get carried away until I had proof.

That detached, over-analytical way of thinking I had? It helped. Seeing life like it was someone else’s problem.

Even so, I couldn’t deny the nervous tension.

Avoiding Yvette’s gaze, I clenched my fists. My palms were slick with sweat again. Just then, Daniel came downstairs.

“We’re ready. Let’s head up.”

 

 

*****

 

 

Although the Viscountess Büllossen had been determined to confront the kidnapper when they rode the carriage to the café, she ultimately couldn’t bring herself to go inside.

The shock and fear of realizing that the kidnapper wasn’t a stranger, but a maid who had worked in her mansion for twenty years, had completely overwhelmed her.

“I don’t know what will happen to me if I see that maid’s face.”

And so, the viscountess chose to remain in the carriage with Collin. Yvette, considering her mother’s delicate state, entered the café alone.

She followed Daniel up the stairs. In a corner of the second floor sat a woman who looked to be in her fifties, wearing a worn-out robe. Her gray hair now outnumbered the brown strands.

Yet Yvette recognized the maid she had known for twenty years at once. Upon confirming the woman’s identity, she let out a cold laugh.

“So it really was you, Rumi.”

Yvette’s voice was full of scorn and sharp as a blade. Her eyes burned with icy fury, though she managed to stay composed.

“It’s been a long time, my lady.”

Rumi slowly rose from her seat and bowed. To Yvette, nothing could be more deceitful.

“You think I want to sit here reminiscing with you?”

“…”

“Forget all that. Just tell me exactly why you’re here. You owe me that much.”

“Of course.”

Before Yvette had even finished her words, Rumi sat back down. She covered her mouth with her sleeve and coughed a few times. Yvette frowned in distaste at everything about her.

Biting her lip, Yvette moved to sit across from her. I sat beside Yvette as well.

Rumi folded her hands and glanced at the two of us in turn. When her eyes landed on me, it seemed as though she had something to say, but she kept silent.

Only then did I realize she was the woman I had bumped into on the street a few days ago.

So she had continued living in the capital even after leaving the Büllossen household.

Apparently, she stayed with the household until Yvette came of age, after which her whereabouts became unknown. There had been no news of her since.

To Yvette, Rumi had been like a companion throughout her childhood until adulthood. The betrayal she now felt must have been immense.

“Why did you do it?”

Yvette asked directly.

“You worked in our household for twenty years, and yet you stabbed our family in the back. Why?”

At her question, Rumi looked at her with dull eyes. A faint sneer passed across her face.

“For money. What other reason could there be, my lady?”

“That’s a lie. Money alone isn’t a reason.”

At that, cracks formed in Rumi’s once-composed face. She gripped her old robe tightly.

“No, my lady. You don’t understand. For commoners like us, when something goes wrong, nine times out of ten, it’s because of money.”

“Are you trying to lecture me, Rumi? You?”

“That’s not my intention. I wouldn’t dare lecture you, my lady. I’m just stating a fact. You were born and raised as a noble, so you wouldn’t know.”

Hmph. Yvette scoffed at her boldness. Rumi regained her composure as quickly as it had cracked. Their eyes briefly met.

“You say it’s not about money because our family could’ve loaned you some. Don’t you remember when your father fell ill, we gave you an advance of a year’s wages?”

“Yes, I remember. That did happen. I won’t deny it.”

Rumi nodded.

“But that was still a loan I had to repay. And I needed far more than that.”

“For what?”

“My children’s father gambled.”

“…”

“What started as casual betting turned serious. Then he used my monthly wages, then our savings, then our children’s tuition, and eventually even our home. And behind my back, he had racked up significant debt.”

“…”

“And then my son got sick. My second, Hermann.”

Yvette looked at her expressionlessly. There was no trace of sympathy in her gaze. Neither Daniel nor I showed any pity either.

After a long silence, Yvette finally spoke.

“Then why didn’t you just ask us for money?”

“…”

“We would’ve given it to you—no questions asked. You worked for our household. My father was fond of you. He’d have given you the money and probably forgotten he even did. That’s the kind of man he was.”

“…”

“You knew that about him. So no, money isn’t a good enough reason.”

Her words were gentle, but her tone was cold and unforgiving. At that, Rumi faltered, then let out a hollow laugh.

“An open-ended loan, is it? How generous of you. But what good is that now?”

Shame, self-loathing, and a flicker of jealousy passed over Rumi’s face. She hunched her shoulders even further. Yvette silently watched her for a while.