Free Web NovelChapter 57: Chapter 57: Casted Out
Chapter 57: Casted Out
—ARIA—
The walk toward Duke Valen’s study felt significantly more ominous than any normal hallway journey reasonably should.
Honestly, no good thing had ever started with the words "The Duke wishes to speak with you."
That sentence alone carried the exact same energy as a school principal calling students into the office before suspension announcements.
As I walked deeper into the quieter section of the estate, my brain immediately began producing increasingly catastrophic possibilities to emotionally prepare myself for disappointment.
Did father somehow discover I was planning to build my own business?
Did Kaelen and Ezekiel finally kill each other after breakfast?
Did Cynthia cry dramatically somewhere and accidentally trigger noble family civil war?
At this point, none of those possibilities even felt unrealistic anymore.
The estate had already become emotionally exhausting enough that I genuinely no longer trusted peaceful silence.
By the time I reached the door of Duke Valen’s study, I already felt spiritually tired.
I stopped briefly outside and stared at it suspiciously before knocking twice.
"Enter."
I pushed the door open carefully and immediately paused.
Cynthia was already inside.
Ah. I see what’s happening here.
The atmosphere inside the study felt painfully stiff the moment I stepped inside.
Cynthia was sat several feet away near the fireplace with both hands folded tightly across her lap.
And somehow...
The moment I saw both of them together waiting for me like this, my survival instincts immediately activated.
Oh, this was definitely family drama.
Exactly what I needed after spending the evening burying myself in my business.
I slowly closed the door behind me.
"...Should I sit down?" I asked.
Duke Valen gestured calmly toward the chair across from his desk.
"Sit down, Aria."
I obeyed and lowered myself carefully into the chair while studying both of them quietly.
Cynthia refused to look directly at me.
Meanwhile, my father remained silent for several long moments afterward, his expression unreadable as though he were mentally reorganizing words that refused to cooperate properly.
Finally, he exhaled quietly.
"There is something I should have told you long ago."
There it is.
The classic noble confession setup.
Honestly, if dramatic background music suddenly started playing, I would not even be surprised anymore.
Duke Valen’s gaze shifted briefly toward Cynthia before returning to me again.
"The matter concerns her."
Cynthia immediately lowered her eyes modestly, fingers folding neatly across her lap like the picture-perfect tragic daughter prepared for emotional sacrifice.
And suddenly...
The entire atmosphere became painfully awkward.
Because unlike both of them...
I already knew exactly where this conversation was heading.
Which honestly transformed this entire moment from shocking revelation into socially exhausting theater.
Now I had to pretend to discover information I technically solved several Chapters ago.
Transmigration truly required acting skills nobody warned me about.
Duke Valen finally spoke again after several seconds of suffocating silence.
"Cynthia," he said slowly, "is my daughter."
I blinked once.
Then widened my eyes slightly because unfortunately realism demanded participation.
"...What?"
Academy award performance.
For real.
Duke Valen’s expression tightened faintly afterward, likely mistaking my fake shock for genuine devastation.
"She is my biological child," he clarified more firmly. "My daughter."
Silence followed immediately afterward.
Cynthia lowered her gaze toward her hands while father remained painfully composed.
Which honestly helped nobody.
"I should have told you years ago," he continued quietly. "However... the circumstances surrounding Cynthia’s birth were complicated."
Complicated.
That certainly was one diplomatic way to describe secret noble children capable of destroying inheritance lines and political reputations simultaneously.
Cynthia finally spoke softly afterward.
"My mother passed away several years ago."
Her voice sounded careful and controlled, like someone already bracing herself for rejection before the blade even arrived.
And annoyingly enough...
Something uncomfortable tightened faintly inside my chest.
Because for all Cynthia’s manipulative tendencies, she was still another girl trapped inside this emotionally dysfunctional household.
Another daughter raised around distant adults making terrible decisions and then acting surprised when the consequences eventually exploded.
Duke Valen continued afterward.
"After her mother’s death, I decided to bring Cynthia into the estate quietly."
Yes.
Quietly.
Excellent strategy.
Truly flawless.
Nothing ever goes wrong when nobles hide emotionally devastating secrets beneath the same roof.
"I intended to reveal the truth eventually," he added more heavily. "But the timing never seemed appropriate."
I nearly sighed aloud.
Ah yes.
The noble parent special.
"We were waiting for the right time."
Spoiler alert.
The right time never exists.
"And because of my hesitation," Duke Valen admitted quietly, "matters within this household became increasingly strained."
Ha.
Sir.
Respectfully.
This was literally the exact reason the original Aria became a villain in the first place.
Neglect.
Isolation.
Humiliation.
And then everyone acted shocked when she eventually emotionally imploded.
"Aria..."
Cynthia finally looked toward me properly.
And wow.
Her expression looked so fragile and pitiful that if I did not already know her personality, I might have applauded.
Honestly impressive acting.
But beneath the carefully lowered lashes and trembling voice...
I could practically feel the satisfaction radiating off her spiritually.
"I know you likely resent me," she said quietly.
The room fell silent again afterward.
Both of them were watching me carefully now.
Waiting.
Expecting heartbreak.
Anger.
Betrayal.
Maybe tears.
And suddenly...
I realized something deeply sad.
Neither of them expected forgiveness at all.
I leaned back slightly in my chair afterward while staring quietly toward the desk.
Because truthfully...
I no longer even knew what reaction people expected from me anymore.
Should I scream?
Cry?
Throw expensive objects across the study dramatically?
Unfortunately...
The original Aria had already exhausted herself to death long before this moment ever arrived.
And even I genuinely lacked the emotional energy required for a full noble daughter breakdown tonight. freeweɓnovel.cøm
So instead, I exhaled quietly.
"...Father."
Duke Valen visibly stiffened slightly at the word.
"When exactly were you planning to tell me?"
His silence lasted just a little too long.
"I was considering the appropriate timing."
Uh-huh.
Sure.
Meanwhile internally?
I was practically vibrating.
Well anyway, I have been waiting for this reveal for the entire storyline.
BWAHAHAHA.
I quickly buried the thought before it escaped onto my face and cleared my throat softly instead, forcing my expression into something appropriately wounded and dignified.
Please.
You think Cynthia was the only one capable of acting?
"Very well, father," I said quietly. "I understand this could not have been an easy decision for you... especially considering the Empire’s strict laws regarding ’other’ children."
I deliberately emphasized the words slightly.
Duke Valen immediately flinched.
Excellent.
If this conversation was going to traumatize me emotionally, then I deserved at least minor psychological retaliation.
"But," I continued softly afterward, lowering my gaze slightly, "I also understand now why you have called me here tonight."
The atmosphere inside the study grew even heavier.
Cynthia visibly straightened slightly.
Oh my goodness she really thought she was winning inheritance politics right now.
Adorable.
I slowly stood up from my chair afterward before offering a faint smile so heartbreakingly calm it genuinely startled both of them.
"If this is truly the case..." I said quietly.
Then lowered my eyes with full tragic heroine energy.
"...then I shall humbly step aside and become the casted out daughter."
