A Second Chance

Just after she had breathed her last, Kalina awoke to the sound of crying coming from her left. Her eyelids were heavy as if she had been asleep for a long time and her body felt strange and lethargic. Wasn't she just killed by her stepsister? Was she saved? Where was she now?

"Oh, Kalina..." the person wept. "My baby..."

Kalina stiffened. The voice was her mother's–who had been tragically killed by Lucille. How could her mother be alive?

"M-Mother..." she croaked, opening her eyes with great effort and seeing the Duchess sitting by her bed, crying into her handkerchief. Kalina reached towards her weakly, tears forming in her gold eyes.

"Kalina! You're awake!" her mother exclaimed, grabbing her hand. "Stay in bed, I'll call the doctor." Finishing her words, the Duchess immediately ran out of the room.

Kalina closed her eyes and sobbed silently. Her mother was somehow alive...but why did she look so much younger? Her appearance matched that of the one she had when Kalina was thirteen.

She looked at the hand that her mother had held. It was definitely hers, but it had...shrunk.

"Kalina, I'm here!" The Duchess burst back in, the family doctor and following close behind. The Duchess helped Kalina drink a glass of water as the doctor checked her pulse and concluded everything was fine.

"Mother, what happened?" Kalina asked. She still couldn't comprehend her situation.

"Two nights ago, you waited outside in the cold for your father and refused to come in," the Duchess explained. "You came down with a fever and you suddenly fell unconscious yesterday. Oh, I was so worried. Mother is sorry." She embraced Kalina tightly.

Hearing this, Kalina recalled a time when she was younger that she did fall severely ill after waiting for her father, who was with his mistress at the time.

Kalina came up with the conclusion that she had travelled back about ten years in time, before Lucille had been brought to the estate, after seeing her childlike hands and her recent actions.

She frowned when she thought about how spoiled she had acted when she was a child, throwing tantrums every hour and screaming when things didn't go her way.

The doctor thought she was going to have another fit after seeing her expression and began nervously sweating while looking for an opportunity to escape.

"Mother, Doctor, thank you." Kalina said after her mother released her. She smiled calmly, shocking both the Duchess and the doctor, who couldn't believe their eyes.

And thank the heavens for giving me this wonderful chance.

－－－－－－－－－

"Did you hear? Lady Kalina woke up."

"Shh, what if she hears us?"

"She looked this way! Hurry!"

Kalina sighed as she watched the backs of the flustered maids as they retreated like she was some kind of predator. She was known to be an immature and demanding child who harassed her maids as a hobby. However, the current Kalina was ten years older mentally.

"Kalina, are you sure you're alright?" The Duchess had worried after seeing Kalina's serene smile earlier. "You aren't sick, are you?"

Kalina had turned to her mother and smiled again. "I'm fine, Mother. I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble with my actions in the past."

Kalina's mother had been so moved by her daughter's rare apology that she didn't think any further about her daughter's sudden personality change. She left to go visit a friend at her mansion and Kalina was left alone to start devising her plan.

She turned to the maid next to her, who flinched and bowed her head.

"What's your name again?"

"It's Olivia, miss."

Ah, Olivia. The poor maid who Kalina treated so harshly that she had conspired with Lucille to spread rumors about her master. Well, this time around, Kalina decided to make Olivia into her faithful pawn.

"Olivia, would you be so kind as to ask the butler to gather all the servants in the main hall?"

"Oh..oh, yes, miss!" Olivia nodded furiously like a small animal.

Kalina smiled gently as a reply, though her eyes held more thoughts.

Olivia stared blankly at her young lady for a few moments before she realized her mistake, bowing deeply and running off to call the butler.

About fifteen minutes later, all the workers of the Ephraim household had gathered in the hall by Kalina's order. They whispered amongst themselves, wondering how the pampered young lady would reprimand them.

"Thank you all for waiting."

The crowd turned towards the voice and saw Kalina descending down the grand staircase, dressed in a plain white dress without any accessories, a beige shawl wrapped around her torso. Her modest outfit accentuated her slender body that had gotten even thinner after being ill.

As the servants hurried to greet her, Kalina motioned with her hand for them to rise. They all refused to make eye contact.

"To all those who I have treated harshly in the past, I deeply apologize." Kalina bowed deeply, her long hair nearly brushing the floor. It was unheard of for a noble to bow to their servants, especially to this degree. All the workers thought Kalina looked especially pitiful and urged her to lift her head.

Kalina thanked the people around her while wiping her teary eyes. Everyone present thought she was grateful for their forgiveness and smiled sheepishly while wondering what could have caused their young miss to change so much. Though, they preferred the current Kalina and didn't mind the sudden transformation.

Little did they know that hidden behind the sleeve of her dress was a sly smile that strongly contrasted her misty eyes.