Chapter 4

My voice trembled as I asked a question that felt both pathetic and absurd.

"Am I really that awful and cruel in your eyes?"

Alice froze for a moment as she looked at me.

She remembered the obedient and thoughtful younger brother she used to know.

In the end, she couldn't bring herself to say anything truly hurtful.

"Forget it. I've already checked. Coco isn't in here. Let's look somewhere else."

They actually planned to lock me inside my room.

Arthur said I wouldn't be allowed out until Coco was found.

I tightly grabbed the corner of Sophia's shirt.

"I still have a piano recital to attend. Please don't lock me up."

Without the slightest hesitation, she pulled her shirt free from my hand and hurried away.

I had no idea how long I stayed trapped in that room.

Only after Charlotte brought Coco back did I finally regain my freedom.

The whole family apologized to me with guilty expressions.

But by then, I already knew the piano recital that might have helped them remember our past was long over.

My face darkened. Then I slammed the bedroom door shut.

After that, I curled up on the floor by myself. In the end, I still broke down and cried.

I was their real family.

I truly couldn't understand why they treated me this way.

I cried for a long time. Even those five dark years had never made me feel this shattered.

Only after my fingers brushed against my dry, cracked lips did I slowly get back to my feet and decide to find something to drink.

As I passed the bedroom that had once belonged to me, I noticed the door was slightly open.

A narrow gap remained.

For some reason, I stepped closer and peeked inside.

What I saw became something I would never forget for the rest of my life.

Vivian was lying on the gray-blue bed.

She was holding Frost's old pillow tightly in her arms as if she had lost her mind.

Her voice was soft and gentle. She whispered the same name again and again, "Frost..."

I was completely stunned and stood there frozen for a long time.

...

Afterward, I went out and bought a lot of alcohol before returning to my room.

But I couldn't stop thinking about the way Vivian had called the conqueror's name.

Yet after only a few sips, my bedroom door was gently pushed open.

Sophia stood at the doorway holding an elaborate costume.

"Stop drinking. There's a comic convention this afternoon. You need to go."

After asking a few questions, I finally understood what was going on.

It turned out Frost had promised to attend the convention before.

They stopped me from going to the piano recital I excelled at.

Yet they wanted me to attend a comic convention that Frost loved.

Clutching my glass, I asked with a bitter laugh, "Are you treating me as his replacement?"

After I exposed the truth, Sophia deliberately avoided answering.

Instead, she handed me a photo of Frost in costume makeup.

The cosplay makeup was extremely dramatic.

And I didn't even know how to do makeup.

Alice raised an eyebrow slightly and patiently persuaded me.

"No matter which one of you made the promise, people shouldn't think you break your word. Please, just learn how to do the makeup and show up this afternoon."

I pressed my lips together before taking the makeup kit she handed me.

"I'll try. If nothing else, I'll do it for my own reputation."

Only after hearing me give in did they show a hint of a smile, then they turned around and left the room.