Chapter 8

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 8

Chapter Title: A Rainy Apology

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Nos swallowed dryly as he muttered.

"Nyuite..."

Nos's words as he stared at the powder inside the jewelry box startled me out of my wits.

'This is Nyuite?'

It was something so tremendous that I'd grown sick of hearing about it over the course of my three lives.

Because it was none other than the Evil God's relic!

As my face drained of color, Nos looked troubled and spoke up.

"Y-Your Grace. This isn't the Little One's fault. It's because it wasn't stored properly. Otherwise, Nyuite wouldn't suddenly turn to powder..."

Nos tried his best to make excuses, but the duke's expression didn't soften.

Trembling as I clutched at his hem, I grabbed the duke's sleeve.

"Za, wwong... I diwn't mean tuh..."

But the duke brushed my hand away and frowned.

An irritated sigh escaped his perfectly shaped lips.

"What a nuisance."

My entire body shook like an aspen leaf.

'Not only did I fail to win his favor, I caused a huge mess.'

Whether from sheer terror or something else, the ringing in my ears that had started earlier was growing worse.

On top of that, the world began to spin before my eyes, and my vision narrowed.

"Stop making a fuss and go back to your room—"

"Hnn..."

No sooner had the groan escaped me than my body tilted and I tumbled off the chair onto the floor.

"Little One!"

In my narrowing vision, I saw the duke frozen with his eyes wide open.

And then silence fell.

A pitch-black space.

In the darkness, I was looking at Duke Amities's back.

My loving, prudent, and righteous father.

I respected and loved him deeply.

I'd had to give up so much to live as his daughter, but it was fine.

As long as he called me "Leblain" with a smile.

But I knew there was a wall between us.

Duke Amities had given me a room to stay in, taught me a noble's duty, and shared meals with me, but that was all. He hadn't given me his heart or truly seen me as his child.

Still, because I liked him so much—because I loved having a father for the first time—I did my very best.

I hesitated for a long while before reaching out toward his back.

[Fa—]

[Daddy!]

Mina ran past me and threw her arms around Duke Amities's without a hint of hesitation.

[No spoiling.]

[What's wrong with a little spoiling for Daddy?]

As Mina smiled with crinkled eyes, Duke Amities stroked her head and gave her a gentle smile.

A smile brighter than any he'd ever shown me.

I withdrew my hand and bowed my head.

It's okay. It happens.

Mina was the real Child of Destiny, after all.

The kind child who brought rain to drought-stricken lands and hope to the poor and sick.

If I tried even harder, Father would see me too.

If I slept less and studied more, gave more to others, then...

At that moment, the surrounding darkness rippled.

[You fool!]

A thunderous shout exploded from thin air.

I recoiled in shock at the hand that shot out from the twisted shadows.

The hand, wearing a ring engraved with the Ballua crest, seized me by the collar.

[Did you think you could hide from me? You brazen little rat.]

Duke Ballua's figure kicked me. I tumbled helplessly, and soon his sons with arms folded and his wife appeared behind him.

[Useless girl.]

[Not a single redeeming quality.]

[You should just drop dead so we can finally dispose of your corpse in peace.]

They drew closer step by step. I backed away on my palms, trembling uncontrollably.

Don't hit me.

I'm sorry.

I'm so sorry...!

"Gasp!"

I kicked off the blankets and bolted upright.

My back was drenched in cold sweat, and my hands shook.

Only when I saw the familiar clock in front of me did my mind clear.

'It was a dream...'

It must be nighttime; the room was dark. The only sound breaking the silence was the patter of rain against the window.

There was a basin and damp cloth by the bedside. Someone must have just stepped away—the chair was still warm.

'Right, I fainted.'

Remembering the afternoon incident made my breath catch.

'What about that Nyuite...'

I'd died three times and finally found a place worth living.

The Duvered household staff were truly kind, and Duke Duvered was a better man than I'd heard.

But if even these people came to hate me...

The duke's gaze would turn as icy as when we first met. Lea and Nos wouldn't smile at me anymore.

Then, with a boom! thunder crashed outside the window, revealing something lurking in the darkness.

Lea had brought fresh clothes for Leblain, who had sweated profusely in her sleep.

The maids trailing behind her wore worried expressions.

"Is the Little One okay?"

"Even the doctor doesn't know the cause. What on earth happened?"

Lea let out a sigh.

"Children get sick for no reason sometimes. I gave her some fever medicine for now—"

As she said this and opened the door, the clothes slipped from Lea's hands and dropped to the floor.

Leblain, who should have been lying in bed, was nowhere to be seen.

"Wha..."

As the maids murmured in confusion, Lea shouted as if screaming.

"Find the Little One!"

The startled maids searched the bathroom and even the hallways, but Leblain was gone.

Pale-faced, Lea rushed the news to the duke.

Well past midnight, lights flickered on throughout Duvered Castle.

Servants and administrators alike frantically scoured the entire castle for Leblain.

Nos came running to the duke standing in the corridor.

"She's not in the annex."

"The kitchens? She might be wandering around looking for bread."

"We already checked..."

The duke's face hardened.

With so many people mobilized, they couldn't find a single child.

Had an assassin targeting Duvered gotten to her? Or perhaps kidnappers after a noble child, or the council elders who disapproved of the Child of Destiny had made a move.

"Mobilize the guards. Expand the search—"

"Your Grace!"

A urgent voice called from outside the window.

The duke, Lea, and the rest of the Duvered household rushed out to the courtyard.

The butler and gardeners were surrounding someone. Spotting pale brown hair in the midst, Lea dashed forward.

"Little One!"

Leblain wriggled her hands upon seeing Lea holding her.

The duke took a step toward the child.

The surrounding servants parted, finally revealing Leblain fully.

Her thin nightgown was covered in dirt, and her bare feet were a mess of scratches and mud.

Her rain-soaked little body shivered violently, her lips turned blue.

Leblain staggered past Lea toward the duke.

"You..."

As the duke narrowed his eyes, Leblain thrust something forward.

In her trembling hand was a red flower.

"Duke wikes carnatwions."

"......"

"Sowwy."

He recalled Leblain desperately clutching his sleeve, not knowing what to do when the Nyuite shattered.

"Forgive her. Please forgive her..."

The duke couldn't respond.

Because the child begging for forgiveness with her pale face, rubbing her hands together desperately, was so pitiful.

And because he strangely regretted brushing away her hand so coldly.

Thanks to the thunder, I'd spotted the carnations in the garden outside. So I rushed out to find some right away.

The rain was pouring in buckets, but it didn't matter. I had to do something to avoid being hated.

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

'Eek!'

Lea and Nos hurried over in a panic.

"Y-Your Grace. The Little One didn't mean to cause a scene. She's just a child. Still too young to know..."

"She's the Child of Destiny. If anything happens, the imperial family and the Church will raise hell."

But the duke ignored them and carried me back into the castle.

'Wh-what's he going to do to me?'

I'd begged with all my might, but breaking the Nyuite wouldn't be fixed by a flower or two.

Something terrible was surely waiting, so as he carried me along, I steeled myself mentally.

But the place he took me was the bathroom.

'Water torture?'

Terror seized me, and I went rigid.

The duke sat me on the edge of the tub, then slowly reached out.

'He's gonna hit me!'

I squeezed my eyes shut on reflex. But something was off. Time passed with no pain.

I cautiously peeked. There was the duke, one knee on the ground, meeting my gaze at eye level.

Then he took hold of my foot. Tense and wondering what he was doing, I stared at him—and was shocked.

He had started washing my foot.

The water stung as it touched, and I flinched, curling my toes.

"Does it hurt?"

"No."

"......"

He stared at me silently, so I fiddled with my hem and mumbled.

"...Wittle."

His touch grew even gentler.

As the mud and dirt on my foot dissolved into the water and dripped to the floor, the wounds became starkly visible.

'I got hurt pretty bad.'

I'd been too panicked with fear to notice the pain.

The duke's gaze deepened as he looked at my foot.

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

I thought the scolding was finally coming, but his words ended there.

'That's it?'

His lack of anger only made me more anxious. I fidgeted with my hands and mumbled.

"Duke no angwy?"

A strange silence settled over the bathroom.

He stared at me for a long moment before slowly parting his lips.

"I'm not angry."

Really?

For real?

I looked up at him in disbelief, and he narrowed his eyes before flicking my forehead.

It didn't hurt at all.