When I became a Commoner, They Broke Off Our Engagement! Chapter 7

It's been eight months since I met the fairy Clew. Now my cooking skills have improved, and I can do basic life magic.

However, my sewing skills haven't improved at all. Even though I’ve been learning embroidery since childhood as an aristocrat, I’m not good at it.

"The commoners don't bother with embroidery, so you don't need to worry about that. However, not being able to sew is a problem. Anna, your biological mother makes a living from sewing, so why are you so clumsy?" Clew remarked.

"Wait, how do you know about my real mother? Did you go and see her?" I asked.

Clew's expression turned guilty. It seems he had gone to see her without telling me.

"I went to scout because you might end up living there someday," Clue confessed.

"So, what was it like?" I asked.

"The girl there, Annette, has blonde hair and blue eyes, just like the Sennet family. She's capable of everything because she’s had to work hard from a young age. She excels at cooking and sewing, and she's smart enough to attend an advanced school on a scholarship."

"What about magic? Can she use magic?" I asked eagerly.

I was most curious about that. Despite my efforts, I couldn’t use healing magic. Could the real daughter use healing and plant-empowering magic?

"She supports her family's livelihood with healing magic. If she were to leave now, her family might be left on the streets," Clew said.

I'd always thought that she would be able to use it. After all, that’s to be expected since she is the true daughter of the Sennet family. Any hope I had that there was a mistake vanished.

"Wait, you said something weird. Why would her family be destitute if she left?"

"You have two younger brothers and a younger sister. Annette supports them. Their mother does some mending work, but that alone isn't enough to live on," Clew explained.

"What about their father? Isn’t he there?" I asked.

I had always been taught that the father is responsible for earning the family’s living. Is it different for commoners?

"Their father disappeared about a year ago. Apparently, he has done that several times before."

"How can he be a father if he abandons his family?" I said, shocked.

"Well, there are various circumstances," Clew said vaguely and offered no explanation.

What I understood was that Annette was going through a lot of hardship. She should have been living a life free from such struggles.

Over these eight months, I’ve tried several times to tell my parents and brother the truth. I can’t go on like this forever. But whenever I was about to say it, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

I thought I had improved over these eight months. I felt like I could manage living as a commoner. But could I support a family? I don’t have Annette’s special magic.

I’m not good at sewing.

My cooking just passes muster; I’m not skilled enough to become a chef.

Can I take care of my family when I can barely manage myself? If anything, I might end up being a burden.

Then there’s my fiancé, Edmond. I’ve been seeing him often lately, despite not liking him initially. After finding out that I’m not the marquess' true daughter, I could interact with him more freely. Edmond enjoys the experimental dishes I make and even gives me advice. We're more like friends than fiances, but for someone like me who never had friends, meeting him is a highlight.

But our relationship is built on a false foundation. Sometimes I hear the whisper of a devil suggesting that I could keep quiet and continue as is.

That wouldn’t bring true happiness. The truth will eventually come out. Clew isn’t the only fairy who knows about this. There’s the fairy who switched me with Annette. It’s better if I tell it all before that fairy appears.

I know this, yet confessing to my parents the truth is incredibly difficult for me.