Chapter 8

Nos mumbled, swallowing his dry saliva.

"Newt is..."

I was appalled by what Nos said about the stone in the jewelry box.

'This is Newt?'

When I turned blue, Nos said with an embarrassed look.

"Sorry, sir. This was not her fault, but the storage condition was not good. Otherwise, the Newt won't suddenly become a powder."

Nos tried hard to find excuses, but the face of the duke was not resolved.

Holding on to the hem of the skirt, I grabbed the duke's sleeve, shivering.

"Wo,wong....i dwidnt mean to... (Wro,wrong.... i didn't mean to....)"

However, the duke shook my hand and frowned.

A sigh flowed from his lips

"You're bothering me."

My whole body trembled like an aspen tree.

Instead of being favored, I had an accident.

I think I was too scared to say that my life expectancy was getting worse.

In addition, my eyes began to turn round and round, and my view narrowed.

"Don't bother me any more and go back to your room"

"Ugh...."

As soon as I groaned, my body tilted and fell under the chair.

"Little miss!"

In my narrowing field of view, the duke had hardened with his eyes wide open.

Then came the silence.

***

<Sakhaman space>

In the dark I was looking at the back of Duke of Ami Thie.

My father, who is benevolent, careful and just.

I respected and loved him dearly.

I had to give up many things to live as his daughter, but it was fine.

If only he would laugh with me while calling my name.

But I knew. That there is a wall between us.

The Duke of Ami Thie gave me a room to stay in, taught me the mission of the nobility, and dined together, but only to that extent.

He didn't regard me as his child.

Still, I did my best because I liked him.

I hesitated for a long time and then reached out to him

"Fath-"

"Dad!"

Mina run past me to the Duke of Ami Thie

Somehow Mina embraced his arm without qualms.

When Mina smiled with her eyes folded, the Duke of Ami Thie stroked her head and smiled.

It's okay. It could happen.

Mina is really a child of fate.

She's a good girl who brings rain to the drought, and gives hope to the poor and the sick.

If I work harder, my father will look after me, too.

Then the darkness around me shook.

"Stupid!"

A thunderous roar came from the air.

I was appalled at the sight of the hand sticking out of the distorted darkness.

A hand with a ring engraved with Val Lua's name soon caught my eye.

" If you're hiding, I'm afraid I can't find you. You're a small rat."

Duke of Val Lua kicked me. Without hesitation, Duchess of Val Lua, soon appeared.

"This useless girl."

They came up to me little by little. I shuddered with my palms backward.

Don't hit me.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry ····!!

"Heuk!"

I woke up while kicking the duvet.

My back is full of cold sweat, and my hands tremble.

After seeing the familiar clock in front of me, I came back to my senses.

'It's a dream.'

Only the sound of rain hitting the window awakens the stillness.

There was a basin and a towel at the bedside. The chair is still warm as if someone was here for a while.

'That's right, I fell down.'

I couldn't breathe when I remembered what had happened in the afternoon.

'That Newt, what to do.'

After three deaths, I found a place worth.

The employees of Dubblede were really friendly, and the Duke of Dubblede was all right

But when these people hate me,

The duke's eyes will be as cold as they were at first. Lea and Nos would not laugh at me either.

Suddenly thunder pounded, revealing something that had been in the dark.

***

Lea brought some new clothes for LeBlaine, who sweated a lot in her sleep.

The maids followed her and wept.

"Is the baby all right?"

"I heard the doctor doesn't know why. What is going on?"

Lea sighed.

"Because she gets sick for no reason. Once you've given her a fever reducer-"

As soon as she opened the door saying so, some clothes fell from Lea's hand.

LeBlaine, who was supposed to lie in bed, was nowhere to be seen.

"What...."

As the maids panicked and muttered, Leah cried as if screaming.

"Find the baby!"

Surprised maids searched the bathroom, searched the hallway, but no LeBlaine was seen.

The pale faced Lea delivered the news to the Duke.

At midnight, a light came on in the area of Dubblede Castle.

Everyone was busy searching for LeBlaine.

Nos ran towards the Duke in the hallway.

"She's not in the annex."

"The kitchen. She might be wandering around looking for bread."

"I've already looked for it."

The duke's face hardened. Many of these people were mobilized, but they couldn't find a single child.

Did she get hit by an assassin who came here for Dubblede?

Or the Senate, which disapproves of the child of fate, might have used his hand.

"Mobilize the troops. Wide range of search—"

"Your Excellency!"

Then came an urgent voice from outside the window.

The butlers and gardeners were surrounding someone.

In it, Lea, who found her hair in a feverish brown color, ran as fast as she could.

"Little miss!"

LeBlaine wriggled her hand when she saw Lea holding her.

The Duke took a step toward the child.

The guards who were stationed around the area ran out for water, and finally LeBlaine was seen properly.

Her pajamas were covered with dust, and bare feet without shoes were messed up with scratches and dirt.

The young body, which was heavily rained on, trembled, and its lips were blue. LeBlaine has staggered behind Lea and walks to the Duke.

"You....."

When the Duke narrowed the middle of his forehead, LeBlaine popped out something.

It was the red flower in the trembling hands.

"Ywo like cawnartion (you like carnation.)"

"......."

"I'm sowwy (i'm sorry)"

When the Newt broke, LeBlaine ,who had no idea what to do and held his sleeve, came to mind.

"Fowgive me. (Forgive me)....."

The Duke could not give any answer. She rubbed her hands desperately to ask for forgiveness with a pale face.

The moment I coldly struck her hand, I regretted it.

***

Thanks to the thunder, I knew there was a carnation in the garden outside the window. So I hurried to find the flowers at once.

It rained cats and dogs, but it didn't matter. I had to do something not to be hated.

I looked up at the duke with a frightened face. After a long silence, he hugged me.

'Euagh!'

Then embarrassed Lea and Nos came running quickly.

"Ah, sir. The baby may not have made a fuss on purpose.She's still a child, so she don't know anything"

But the Duke carried me into the castle without hearing anything.

'What are you going to do with me?'

I prayed my best, but it can't be solved by a bunch of flowers that broke Newt.

However, the place where the duke entered was the bathroom.

'Is it a water torture?'

I was so scared that I got so stiff.

The Duke stretched out his hand after he put me in the bathtub.

'Falling in!'

I closed my eyes reflexively. That's strange. It wasn't painful.

When I opened my eyes carefully, I saw the duke with one knee bent.

Soon after, he took my foot. I was amazed at what he was trying to do.

He started wiping my feet. When the water touched my feet, i flinched.

"Painful?"

"No..."

"....."

He looked at me without a word, so I mumbled.

"A bit...."

His touch has softened.

Every time the mud and dust on my feet melted into the water and fell to the floor, the wound became clearer.

I didn't feel pain because I was in such a hurry.

The duke's gaze at my feet sank deeply.

"Don't wander around the castle late at night."

I thought I'd be in trouble now, but his mouth didn't open any more.

'That's it?'It's even more disturbing because the Duke doesn't get angry. '

I wriggled my hands and murmured.

" Dyuke, youw're not angwy? (Duke, you're not angry?)"

A strange silence sank into the bathroom.

He stared at me for a long time and opened his lips.

"I'm not angry."

Really?

Are you sure?

I looked at him with a look of distrust, and he narrowed his forehead and tapped me on the forehead. It didn't hurt at all.