Has anyone ever experienced randomly recalling the most unexpected memory just because of a single event or mention of something that triggered it?
That's what Calista experienced when she heard her full name—Calista Vermilion. A name that she might have read a few times in her past life.
Where did she hear it? She wonders. It sounds familiar.
Her mind raced, processing countless thoughts in mere seconds. Connections sparked like wildfire, scenarios formed and dissolved, and decisions crystallized with startling clarity—all before a single moment passed.
Calista blinks once, and there she remembers where she heard that name.
Her eyes dilated as realization dawned on her. Her mouth slightly agape as she looked at the person in front of her and met those steel-blue eyes staring at her.
His midnight-black hair framed a face of sharp features, while his steel-blue eyes held a cold, distant allure. His cold stare didn't change even when glancing at his own daughter.
Calista remembered a few of the words in a novel as she stared at those eyes.
He's the heroine's father.
Calista remembered clearly the content of the story since it was the book that she read before she passed away.
It was described in the novel that the duke was a very cold person. Even her own daughter, the heroine, was not exempt from it.
However, there's one person that the duke adores, his illegitimate daughter, Calista Vermilion.
According to the novel, Calista was the daughter of the duke and his first love. She was brought to the duke's family when she was ten years old and was living her life to the fullest as the duke's daughter, but it was later revealed that she was not the duke's daughter but an unknown girl from an unknown lineage, and she ended up being punished and was imprisoned in the dungeon for the rest of her life.
Calista Vermilion's real identity would have been buried forever if she hadn't tormented the heroine, the duke's daughter, and garnered the hatred of the duke's children and even the crown prince.
Remembering Calista Vermilion's fate made Calista alarmed. She doesn't want to be imprisoned in the dungeon forever.
She knew how torturous being isolated from the world with minimal human interaction was, as she was living in a tightly monitored environment in the hospital her whole life. How much more living in a poor living environment in a dungeon, no less?
That would make her life more torturous.
She doesn't know why she was given a chance at a new life and was brought inside a novel, possessing a minor villain's body no less.
However, she doesn't want to accept this at all.
Now that her body is much healthier than her last, and she can do anything she ever wanted with this body, she will not waste this opportunity.
She will not end up in prison.
The first thing she needed to do was get along with the duke's children. They are the ones who will dig into her past. If they have a good relationship as siblings, they will not dig into her past, and her real identity will be buried forever.
She needed to be a good-natured daughter and sibling first.
Calista's eyes focused again, and she looked at the duke with determined eyes before her eyes flickered with uncertainty, shifting as if searching for clarity, while a hint of hesitation lingered in her gaze.
She needed to act innocent to capture the duke's heart!
Using her looks, she purposely widens her alluring teal eyes and gazes at the duke, then tilts her head slightly to the side.
"Daughter? I'm your daughter? That means you're my father?" She asked in a gentle, innocent way.
"Yes, I'm your father," the duke said in a cooing, gentle voice.
Calista stepped back, showing her pretentious alertness and reluctance to the duke.
She avoided his eyes and whispered, "I don't have parents."
The duke's eyes softened at her whisper, and he took a step forward, trying to get near her and give her a hug.
Seeing this, Calista stepped back, away from him, but the duke's movements were fast, and she didn't even realize that the distance between them was gone.
The duke gently hugged her and brought her between his arms while he was still crouching down at her.
Tears started welling up in her eyes and slowly falling down from them.
A silent cry turned into a wail.
Sobs echoed in the now silent room as if the world had turned still for her.
Calista felt her feet leave the ground as a strong arm supported her body, preventing her from falling, while a large hand gently patted her back.
She opened her eyes and realized that she was now being cradled effortlessly in the duke's strong arms.
Calista initially wanted to pour out crocodile tears, but it seems that the emotions that she suppressed and the physical trauma that she experienced made her tears turn genuine.
The strong arms that wrap around her give a sense of security and make her feel safe.
Exhaustion finally dawned on her as her alertness and adrenaline lifted off from her body and her eyes slowly fluttered closed.
The duke, who was carrying Calista in his arms, glanced at her, wondering why the figure in his arms was now calm, and found her asleep.
His eyes softened at the sight, and he continued patting her back gently as he continued walking down the hallway of the worn-out building, passing by a few children in the orphanage watching him, or more specifically, the figure he was carrying.
"W-where will you take her?" A child asked him.
The duke halted his steps and slightly turned and glanced at the small child.
"I'm taking her home," the duke responded bluntly.
"Home? Are you her dad? Are you going to take good care of her?" The child asked.
"I will."
The child blinks before nodding her head as a relieved smile slowly appears on her lips.
"That's a relief," the child muttered.
The duke watched the child for a moment before turning around and continuing to walk out of the old building.
He went to the carriage parked just outside the old building, boarded the vehicle, and was about to close the door when a knight approached the carriage.
"My lord, what should we do with the remaining children?" The knight asked respectfully.
The duke glanced at the old building and thought of the children he just passed by.
"Bring them to a proper orphanage," he responded.
"As you wish, my lord."
The knight bowed to the duke and left in a hurry. The duke stared at the old building through the window and saw the poor state of it before glancing down at the child sleeping soundly on his arm.
"Are we going, my lord?" the coachman asked.
"Let's go," the duke responded.
With Calista in his arms, the carriage they were riding started moving and slowly moved away from the worn-out building where Calista grew up.