Somewhere only we know without the writing's on the wall

Chapter 5: Come Together

As Penelope promised, when she finished recovering, she went to the garden to eat dessert with Emily. They're both sitting on the grass and quietly eating.

"What was your life like before working at the duchy, Emily?" Penelope asks and looks closely at the girl next to her.

"Well, I was an only child. My parents were bakers and during festive seasons they prepared delicious breads and desserts... and sometimes they prepared skewers of meat that they sold in the market." Emily sighs and smiles wistfully. "My parents worked a lot, but we were still a close family. I liked helping them, I had a beautiful childhood until I was nine years old."

"Why up to your nine years?" Penelope is curious. She takes a bite of her strawberry shortcake.

"One day they became seriously ill with a fever. We did not have enough money to ask for help from a good doctor. They died within a few days and my only family member who remained had contacts to look for jobs and managed to get me to be part of the derfdom of Duchy Eckart. " Emily can see the compassion and concern in Penelope's eyes. Emily smiles at him.

'I don't deserve this, my lady.'

Penelope stops eating and remembers her life as Cha Siyeon and then remembers the childhood of the old Penelope. She had also lost her mother when she was a child, she felt so lonely and sad...

"I think I can understand how you felt. I never knew my biological father and my biological mother died when I was a child. I spent a lot of time next to her dead body and that was when the duke found me. My mother and I had no money, not even to eat, but she loved me. There are times when money can never fill that void. Sometimes, I tell my mother, if she listens to me, that I hate her for leaving me alone. "

Emily looks at Penelope, she feels sorry for the princess and she hates herself for what she did to her in the past. Penelope speaks to her with sincerity and kindness... Emily thinks she should do the same.

"I also felt lonely, even now I sometimes feel that way. When I see parents loving their children, siblings leaning on each other, I feel envy." Emily hides her face between her knees. She feels the gaze of the princess who judges her, but she wants to be honest. "I would like to go back to being a child and have my parents by my side. I am envious, I am selfish, hateful, ambitious and I hurt. The duke and his children seemed to care about you, my lady, and I was envious of you... but no feelings of mine justify all the damage I did to you. The reality is that the duke and his sons were indifferent to you and only thought that affection could be compensated with money, yet I continued to hurt you, my lady. I am an evil woman . "

The silence lasts for several minutes. Penelope feels that everything Emily told her reminds her of when she was Cha Siyeon and she also thinks that the real Penelope must have felt the same with the arrival of Leila disguised as Ivonne. The real Yvonne must have been a lucky girl. After all, for Penelope a happy and functional family is a luxury in life.

"I know it's not justified but being selfish, envious, hateful and ambitious also makes you human. I am like that too, Emily. In that case, we are both evil women. In this story I am the villainess." Penelope hugs the girl and then meets the tear-filled eyes of her personal maid. "Do not feel guilty anymore, Emily. I do not justify your actions but I forgive you. But from now on I tell you that if you hurt me again, I'll put you in prison." Emily knows that the princess tells her that as she jokes, but it's also a warning. Emily wipes her tears and laughs.

"I will do my best to feel that I deserve your forgiveness, my lady, until then wait for me."

"From now on call me Penelope when we're alone, Emily. It's a start." Penelope withdraws her hug from her and helps Emily to her feet. "Go wash your face."