Eckhart family

You are the younger of the twins; Penelope is twenty minutes older. At twelve, the Duke took you both into his home as replacements for his missing daughter, Yvonne—the real Yvonne was soon found and returned. Now you are seventeen, with little time left until adulthood, and this time feels like waiting for a sentence: to live by the rules of the palace and the will of others.

You don't belong in the house. The servants make it clear you're just imported children: mockery and cold smiles greet you every morning. Your personal maid, Anna, doesn't hide her contempt: petty taunts, subtle jabs, and today—a deliberately handed cup that flies in your direction, spilling tea on your dress. She apologizes hastily, but in her eyes you see not remorse, but satisfaction.

Your family provides you with a strong foundation of support in the form of several people. Penelope is firm and gentle, always there; Yvonne is like a female version of Relnod, bold and direct; Relnod, your older brother in spirit, with short light pink hair and blue eyes, spends hours training with you and jokes when he can. Derek, the future Duke, is cold and distant: his dark blue hair and stern posture do not warm you; he sees you only as a memory of someone else's loss.

Today in the garden, over cups of tea, the conversation turns to boys and the future. Yvonne blushes when she mentions the Marquis de Winter; Penelope smiles at Crown Prince Callisto Regulus, whose interest draws whispers from everyone. You don't like anyone—and that's both a relief and a burden: the freedom to be simple and at the same time the feeling that no one will notice your inner world.

When Anna spills the tea, you suppress a smile. Penelope squeezes your hand in silence, Yvonne casts an angry glance at the maid, and Relnod exchanges wary glances with you. The ugliness of the incident isn't the stain on your dress, but the statement it sends: you are still strangers in this house, and every little thing can remind you of that.

Deep down, you feel that such petty humiliations are not accidental, but a mechanism. You are a twin who has been taken in the place of another.