Chapter 6 - ‘No Luck’ Is An Ability

‘Do I really have an ability?’

If so, what is it? Why can’t I see it?

The next morning, the talk with Seos flickered in Leticia’s mind.

“You don’t need to be awakened, because you already have?an?ability.”

‘It would be nice if I really did.’

But at the same time, there was a contradictory wish that she didn’t want to have the ability.

‘If I really had the ability.’

What?about?the discrimination and the neglect she has suffered so far?

‘No, I still need the ability, so that my family won’t be ashamed of me any more.’

Leticia wanted to tell her family that she had?an?ability, but she didn’t know what it was,?so?she?decided?it was better to keep quiet. They wouldn’t believe her if she told them anyway.

“What on earth is this ability?”

What kind of ability?is it for it to not?awaken?

“Miss.”

“…”

“Miss?”

“…Oh, sorry. Did you call me?”

Leticia, who?blankly stood?there, turned in surprise. There, the baker was enthusiastic and readily to teach her how to make tarts.

The image of El and Ian, who fought with each other the day about making tarts, came to mind, and Leticia paid a visit to the kitchen. Fortunately, the baker who worked at the mansion said he would help.

As she made it, she thought about getting close to her siblings while giving them dessert like before.

“How about figs on top of the tart?”

“Yes, thank you.”

With the help of the baker, Leticia rolled out the dough with a stick, put it in a mold and baked it in the oven. She spread fig jam on top of the freshly baked tart to bring out the flavors, and also placed the chopped figs on top of the jam.

“Well done, young lady.”

At first glance, the fig tart looked delicious.

The fig tart was better than she had expected and Leticia was very proud.

“Thank you for your help.”

“I’m glad I could be of help, Young Lady.”

After expressing her gratitude to the baker, Leticia cut the tart into quarters and separated them on a clean plate. Then the baker asked,

“Are you not going to eat it, Young Lady?”

“It’s okay, I can make another one and eat it later.”

Leticia said thank you again for today and left with a plate of fig tarts.

Soon the first place she went was Diana’s room.

“Diana.”

Leticia knocked on the door of Diana’s room. When there was no response, she spoke again.

“Hey, can I come in?”

But there was still no answer. Leticia knocked on the door and went in, but Diana seemed to be out.

‘She’s not here.’

As she left the room, she ran into a passing maid. It was the maid who was assisting Diana.

“Miss, what’s wrong?”

“Oh, it’s …….”

After a moment of hesitation, Leticia handed the maid a plate.

“Can you pass this to Diana when she comes back?”

“Yes, of course.”

It was a pity that she couldn’t see Diana in person, but it was okay.

Leticia gave her regards to the maid and then went to Emil’s room. Fortunately, this time Emil answered.

“Come in.”

As soon as the permission was granted, Leticia carefully opened the door and entered.

A brilliant mind, Emil always excelled at the Academy of Sciences and earned the fullest expectations of his professors and the family. He was now in the midst of preparing for the Imperial Civil Service exam.

“What’s wrong, sister?”

“Oh, I have something for you.”

“…?”

Seeing the curious expression on Emil’s face, Leticia placed the tart plate she was holding on the table.

“…this is …….”

“I remember you used to like desserts, so I baked?for you.”

“….”

“I hope it’s to your liking.”

She beckoned him to try it quickly, but Emil only looked at Leticia silently.Then he quickly said with a sigh.

“Sister.”

“Yes?”

“I’m a little busy right now.”

Leticia immediately understood what he meant and managed to smile.

“Sorry, then work hard.”

As soon as she left the room with an embarrassed look on?her?face, she let out a long sigh. She didn’t have high expectations, but she didn’t expect such a lack of response.

Next she went to Xavier’s room? and gave him the tart. It was obvious that he didn’t like it, but Leticia was just happy that he accepted it.

Then, she immediately went to Irene’s room to?hand?her?a plate of??tart.

“Sister, I don’t like tarts. I don’t even like figs.”

“Oh, it’s …….”

A sigh naturally escaped from Leticia’s lips.

However, Leticia managed to smile and recommended it again.

“Still, try one bite to see….”

“I don’t want to…”

“…”

“I don’t like it.”

With that, Irene turned her face away as if she didn’t want to look at it any longer. Leticia couldn’t convince her to eat any more at that sight.

“I’m sorry.”

She didn’t expect Irene to be so uncomfortable, and she couldn’t hide her embarrassment.

Back in the days when even a small dessert was a luxury, Irene ate the burnt cookies without hesitation and even said it was delicious. That Irene was longer there.

Leticia left Irene’s room immediately and went back to her room, suppressing her melancholy. In her room stood Mary, who was preparing tea.

“Miss, are you here?”

“Yeah…….”

Leticia, who came in with a trudge and no strength, set the tart she was holding down on the table and sat down in a chair. Mary, who approached her with a worried look on her drooping face, looked at the tart and asked.

“Where did the tart come from?”

“Oh, I made it…”

“Really?”

The tart, loaded with ripe figs, looked amazing at first glance.

“It looks delicious.”

Leticia, who was sitting sadly, looked up at those words.

“Would you like to try some?”

“Yes? Can I really eat it?”

“Yes. Please try it and let me know if it’s good.”

Leticia quickly put a fork in Mary’s hand. After a moment of panic, Mary meekly did as Leticia said and took a bite of the tart.

However, as soon as she put it in her mouth, her expression hardened.

“Miss…..”

“What? Does it taste bad?”

“Whoa …….”

Leticia naturally tensed up from seeing Mary’s expression. She looked at Mary with a stiff face and their eyes met immediately.

“If it’s bad, just spit it out…”

“It’s so good!”

“Really?”

“Yes, it’s very good. Did you?really?make this yourself?”

Mary took another bite of the tart, her eyes twinkling. Leticia felt her nerves relax as she saw how Mary enjoyed it.

“I’m glad you like it.”

It was a pity that Irene didn’t eat the tart, but she was relieved that it still suited the taste to the others.

***

At first it was just a coincidence.

“Are we really allowed to eat this?”

“Master Xavier told me to eat it.”

The next day, on her way through the corridor, Leticia heard the voices of the maidservants through a crack in the open room, but something didn’t seem right, so Leticia stopped in her tracks and concentrated on their conversation.

“This tart is really good.”

“Yes, it is. By the way, I heard that it was made by the First Lady.”

“Are you sure?”

Thump.

She could hear the faint beating sound in her heart. She hoped it was just an illusion, but they mentioned ‘Leticia’.

‘You didn’t eat it, you gave it to the maids.’

Leticia bit her lip as she felt something complicated.

‘Did the others eat it?’

Suddenly remembering? something, Leticia went to Emil’s room. There was no answer to her pounding on the door, so Leticia entered cautiously. But the room was quiet, no one was in it.

‘Where did you go?’

Just as she was about to leave, she saw something. Leticia glanced at it and slowly approached.

“…”

The tart she had given Emil was still on the table.

It looked as if it was abandoned.

No, it couldn’t be.

‘Sometimes you can’t eat when you’re busy……….’

Leticia came out of the room feeling bitter and burning in her eyes. She bit her lip hard to hold it in.

‘Irene didn’t want it, Xavier gave it to others, and Emil didn’t eat it…’

She went straight to the garden to calm herself down. But the dialogue between the maids and the tart that was placed untouched on Emil’s table did not leave her mind.

‘It’s all right. It happens.’

Leticia finally calmed down and headed towards the fountain when she stopped. Strangely, there were many birds gathered there today.

It looked as if they were eating something.

“No way, it’s …….”

She had a bad feeling about this, but she kept approaching it as if she was possessed.

And the moment she saw the birds eating the discarded tarts, Leticia couldn’t say a word.

“…”

She felt like her heart was broken in pieces and shoved into a trash can.

***

“The first young lady.”

After the meal was over, the maids rested for a while. In the middle of gathering and eating the remaining dessert, one of the maids began to look around. As soon as she saw that no one was around, she whispered in a small voice.

“She has an ability.”

“What?”

“Really?”

“Yes. I heard it myself.”

On the day that Leticia and Seos had their conversation in the reception room, the maid sensed something unusual and, unable to contain her curiosity, secretly eavesdropped from outside.

The maid spoke more covertly, recalling what she had heard at that time.

“By the way, do you know what they were talking about?”

“What?”

“That lack of luck seems to be her ability.”

The maids, who were listening intently, asked back with expressions of dismay.

“Is there such an ability?”

“Well, ……the second lady can make?it?rain flowers. So, the first lady’s lack of luck can?also?be an ability.”

The maid shrugged her shoulders lightly and everyone started nodding.

“But I feel sorry for her. She’s been ignored by her family.”

“Well, yeah. I feel sorry for her.”

“Wait a minute.”

One of the maids, who was quietly listening to the conversation and eating her dessert, suddenly continued with an anxious expression.

“If lack of luck is an ability, shouldn’t it be avoided?”

“What are you talking about?”

“She can make others have bad luck as well.”

“…”

“…”

Marquis Leroy’s obsession with luck, ronin, and superstition exerted his influence not only on his family but also on his servants. So as soon as the other maids heard?of this, they?immediately?turned pale and looked at each other in bewilderment.

“What shall we do! I even ate the tart that she made.”

“I ate it too.”

“So did I.”

“What are we going to do now…..?”

Everyone was solemn because they couldn’t think of a better way.

Then one of the maidservants said with a tragic look on her face.

“Let’s avoid her from now on.”

“Then what about meals and refreshments prepping?”

“What are we supposed to do?”

“We’ll leave it to Mary.”

“Yes. That’s better.”

They were sure that Mary would not complain about taking care of Leticia and would gladly accept it.

The maids breathed a sigh of relief as they were thinking the same thing.

“Phew… that’s good.”

“That’s right. We were about to get unlucky too, weren’t we?”

The maids decided that from now on, they should not approach the eldest Lady who had bad luck.

***

‘What am I? What have I been doing all this time?’

After escaping from the mansion and coming to the fountain in the square, Leticia sat in a daze and reflected on the days that had passed.

A good day with the family? Of course there was. When she was a child, her family was not rich and it was even in hardship, but they were rather closer and friendlier than now.

“But what about now?”

The living condition was much better, but their relationship was far from what it used to be. Now, her family always felt ashamed of her and ignored her.

In the beginning, her family didn’t treat her like this. They even worried about her for a while, comforted and encouraged her.

But since her ability never awakened, they gradually started to give up on her, and now……..

“…”

Leticia stared down at the ground incessantly. The thought of having to endure this misery alone suffocated her.

That’s when it happened.

“What are you doing here?”

Leticia looked up as soon as she saw the shadows spreading at her feet. In front of her, gently tilting their head, El and Ian were looking at her.

“Are you sick?”

“Oh, no, no…”

“You don’t look so good.”

El and Ian took turns?carefully observing?Leticia’s face. They could see the worry in her eyes, and Leticia suddenly felt like crying.

“I’m fine. I’m not sick.”

She clutched the hem of her dress and managed to smile. El, who was watching Leticia with a strange look, tugged on Leticia’s hand.

“Go somewhere with me.”

“El, where are you going all of a sudden?”

“What?”

Ian was perplexed by the sudden action and?questioned?El, but El replied without sincerity.

“Just be quiet and follow me.”