Chapter 7: The Odd One

"What did you do?!"

Esther rushed toward Lumi, who was still standing at the stairs after Evan Caesar left a few moment ago.

As if it were instinct, Lumi immediately flinched and raised both hands to cover her head.

"I—I didn’t do anything..." Her voice came out small and trembling as she kept herself guarded beneath her arms.

Esther stared at her for a moment before reaching out and pulling her hands down.

"You didn’t do anything?" she repeated, her expression filled with disbelief. "Where did you go last night? Did you meet him?"

The questions came one after another, leaving Lumi barely any chance to respond.

"I-I..." Lumi lowered her gaze, fingers curling nervously at the hem of her sleeve.

"You met him, right? Did you tell him what we did? Did you tattle on us because we asked you to transfer the Fated Guide connection to Celestine?"

Esther sighed in irritation before turning to Felix, "I told you... this one isn’t just bad luck. She’s also a troublemaker."

Lumi’s fingers tightened around her sleeves, hearing those words.

Esther continued, her voice laced with bitterness.

"The elders have said it for generations. A Guide family should never have an odd child. When a child is born without Guiding ability, it is believed to be a sign that misfortune has entered the family. Such a child will only bring trouble upon the household and drag down the fortune of the family."

Her gaze shifted briefly toward Rei before settling on Celestine.

"Rei was born perfectly healthy. Celestine was blessed with exceptional Guiding ability. Then you came along." Her eyes returned to Lumi, cold and accusing, "The third child. The odd one."

Lumi lowered her head further, saying nothing.

"If it weren’t for Celestine," Esther continued, "I might have believed you were nothing more than an unlucky child. But look at her now. She is everything a daughter of the Pei family should be... talented, promising, and capable of bringing honor to our family."

Her voice hardened, "If it hadn’t been for the fact that harming you in the womb might have hurt Celestine too, I would have killed you long before!"

Lumi’s breath caught.

Esther looked at her without the slightest trace of regret. "You should be grateful that you were allowed to be born."

Lumi should have been used to such hurtful words by now. She had heard them in one form or another for as long as she could remember. Yet her heart still tightened painfully at every word.

Her eyes slowly filled with tears as she pressed her lips tightly together, trying her best not to let a single sound escape.

She had learned long ago that crying would not change anything.

So she simply stood there, swallowing the ache in her chest and forcing herself to remain silent. But the tears still gathered at the corners of her eyes.

She simply bobbed her head. "I understand..."

Then, without saying anything else, Lumi turned and started walking upstairs.

"Where do you think you’re going?" Esther’s voice came from behind her, cold and sharp. "I’m not finished with you yet."

Lumi stopped, her fingers tightening around the railing as she slowly turned around.

"Come back here, and don’t make me be the one who goes up to you!"

That was a warning. One Lumi was far too familiar with.

She immediately turned around and took slow steps down the stairs, her head lowered as she approached her mother.

"I didn’t meet him yesterday," she said quietly. "I didn’t tattle on you, either. It was my first time meeting him."

It was a lie, at least partly.

She had met Evan last night.

Although, meeting probably wasn’t the right word for what had happened.

She had fallen off a building, been caught by the neck, nearly strangled to death, and slapped him across the face while he was in Rampage. Somehow, telling her family that seemed like a terrible idea.

Esther stared at her for a few moments before clicking her tongue.

"Whatever. It doesn’t matter anymore." She turned toward Felix, her expression already settling into a plan. "Just lock her in her room until the Fated Bonding Ceremony. We can’t let her wander around and cause another problem."

Lumi’s eyes widened slightly.

"And next week, let Celestine take her place." Esther finished her words, looking completely not slightest guilty with her plan.

Felix’s expression shifted. He had already considered the same thing.

If Celestine simply took Lumi’s place during the ceremony, everything could still proceed as planned. The two girls were identical twins, after all. With a little effort, even the smallest differences could be concealed.

But the thought of fooling Evan Caesar still made him uneasy.

That man had noticed the transfer agreement immediately. He had questioned every explanation Felix gave him, and even when Felix thought he had managed to steer the conversation in the right direction, Evan had somehow seen through it.

Could they really deceive him?

Felix’s gaze drifted toward Celestine.

’Perhaps... if we are careful enough.’

Before he could say anything, Esther had already turned toward their daughter.

"Celestine, straighten your hair today. Lumi usually wears hers that way."

Celestine nodded slowly. "All right, Mother..."

She smiled, wearing the soft and gentle smile she always put on her lips.

"And put on a small beauty mark beneath your right eye. Lumi has one there. Make it as similar as possible."

Felix remained silent for a few more moments before finally letting out a weak sigh.

"Do it... The two of you are basically identical." He paused, then added, "Celestine, buy some new clothes as well. Wear something closer to Lumi’s style. Evan seemed to notice the difference in your clothes earlier."

"But Father..." Celestine suddenly frowned, the smile disappearing from her face. "Her clothes are basically outdated."

Lumi just stood there, listening.

They spoke so naturally, as though she wasn’t standing only a few steps away.

Her hair... Her beauty mark... Even her clothes.

One by one, they discussed everything Celestine needed to change so that she could become her.

Lumi lowered her eyes.

’So... even this can be taken away from me.’

She had spent her whole life trying to be less noticeable, thinking that perhaps if she caused no trouble, asked for nothing, and simply stayed out of everyone’s way, they might eventually leave her alone.

But even that wasn’t enough. Now, they wanted her to disappear completely. And the worst part was that no one seemed to think there was anything wrong with it.

Her fingers slowly curled into the fabric of her sleeve. She wanted to say something or anything but the words remained stuck in her throat.

After all, what could she possibly say?

She was the odd child, the useless twin, the daughter who should never have been born.

"Wait..."

Rei, who had been quiet for a while, suddenly spoke up.

Everyone turned toward him.

"You should turn her into Celestine too, shouldn’t you?" he said, his gaze moving between the twins. "Wouldn’t it be strange if one of the twins suddenly wasn’t there?"

Lumi’s heart sank. Even Rei had thought of it. Of course he had.

If Celestine was going to become her, then perhaps there was no reason for Lumi to remain herself at all.

Esther’s eyes lit up slightly as she considered his words.

"That’s true..."

She turned toward Lumi and looked her over, as though she were examining a problem that needed to be fixed.

"Then we’ll have to change her as well."