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Chapter : 29
“Kyaa!!”
“Eek!!”
In an instant, the lake was filled with screams.
Patricia froze, startled by how quickly everything had happened.
But soon, as if she intended to dive back into the lake, she started running.
Thud.
“What are you doing?”
She was caught by Lawrence again after only a few steps.
“But… my brothers fell in! Help them!”
Even while held by Lawrence, Patricia kept her eyes on the lake, clearly worried about her brothers.
“…Help them?”
“How can I not?”
“…After all the trouble you’ve caused me, you’re really going to help them?”
“Sniff… they’re my family! Please, help me!”
Patricia cried out like that, sobbing.
Lawrence looked at Patricia, panting as if she might collapse at any moment, and finally spoke.
“Then, you go and bring the adults.”
At Lawrence’s words, Patricia started running.
Her long yellow dress flared as she ran with all her might.
By the time the adults had rushed to the lake, the children had already been pulled safely onto land.
“My lord! This is…”
The steward alternated his gaze between the soaking-wet Lawrence and the children on shore, sighing in despair.
“It seems the ice on the lake was too thin. It couldn’t support their weight and broke.”
Lawrence wiped the water from his face as he spoke.
“Why did you even come here?”
“I only showed Duke Gerhardt’s garden because Lord Morgan requested it. I merely showed them my favorite spot.”
The nobles were too busy checking on their children to pay much attention to anything else.
Yet, angry at how close their children had come to danger, they questioned Lawrence, who seemed the calmest of all.
Lawrence just shrugged slightly.
“More importantly, Count, shouldn’t you thank me first for pulling your child out of the water before questioning me?”
“I… apologize.”
Lawrence’s tone was harsher than usual.
“You might catch a cold, so you should all head back! I’ll have physicians sent, so let’s move quickly.”
Sensing Lawrence’s change in tone, the steward hurriedly shifted the topic and led the group back to the mansion.
“That was nearly a disaster!”
“Good grief, why go into the lake?”
They carried their children and followed the steward back, leaving only Lawrence and Patricia by the lake.
The Duke of Herarilla paid no special attention to Patricia, and the servants passed by her without a word.
Her yellow dress was smudged with dirt, as if she had tripped while running.
Patricia glanced at her departing family, then, noticing someone watching her, turned toward Lawrence.
She walked toward him.
“Are you okay? You’re all wet…”
Her eyes were already swollen from crying, and concerned for the soaked Lawrence, she removed her outer garment.
But it was no larger than a handkerchief, and she held it out toward him.
Was she offering it to wipe the water?
“……”
Patricia’s hand was scraped and bleeding.
“You care about the young lady, huh?”
“……”
“You foolish girl.”
Lawrence frowned, annoyed.
He had never felt such irritation in his life.
How could someone be so foolish to act like this? He couldn’t understand—and didn’t want to understand.
“What are you staring at?”
Lawrence growled, and Patricia stepped back timidly.
Step, step.
Lawrence walked past her.
Family?
He had thought she might be like him.
But she wasn’t. Not at all.
She was neither as capable nor as clever as he was.
Being weak wasn’t noble; it was simply incompetence. That’s why one suffered.
Being unable to protect oneself was incompetence.
Perhaps that was also her case.
Without strength, she could only endure and accept what came her way.
Perhaps she had learned so much to endure that she didn’t even think of revenge.
Lawrence stopped abruptly after walking for a while.
“What are you doing?! Hurry up!”
When shouting didn’t get her moving, he heard her footsteps rushing toward him.
Patricia approached, watching Lawrence’s expression, then smiled brightly.
She scrunched her nose and tried to ease the tense atmosphere.
But even that annoyed Lawrence.
“Tch… bothersome.”
It was unclear whether physicians would even come to her.
When Lawrence reached out, Patricia hesitated, then grasped his hand.
A faint glow briefly shone where their hands met.
“Had my hopes up for nothing,” Lawrence muttered quietly.
He hadn’t wanted her to be foolish like him.
Lawrence clicked his tongue softly.
The children who fell into the icy lake all caught colds.
Duke Gerhardt apologized for the unfortunate incident on his lands and suggested that the children remain in the duchy until they recovered.
The nobles accepted, worried their children’s colds might worsen if they moved.
Only the servants became busier.
The adults drank in the banquet hall while the children took medicine and rested in their rooms.
Of the children, only Patricia and Lawrence were exempt from bedrest.
Pat pat pat pat.
“Lord Lawrence!”
Lawrence frowned as Patricia came running toward him, calling his name.
“What is it?”
“Look at this!”
Patricia held her palm out in front of his face.
“The wound from yesterday is already healed! Amazing, isn’t it?”
Lawrence sighed quietly and quickly moved on.
Perhaps Patricia regretted what she had done to get him wet.
“Why are you following me?”
After walking for a while, Lawrence suddenly stopped and asked Patricia, who was trailing him.
“…I’m not following you.”
“Then?”
“I’m going my own way too.”
Patricia rolled her eyes slightly and trailed off.
“Your way?”
Lawrence didn’t want to accept her lie.
Seeing her face only made him angry.
He noticed the steward approaching from down the corridor and raised his hand.
The steward quickened his pace toward him.
“Steward. Take the young lady with you.”
“You mean the princess?”
“Yes, her.”
Lawrence nodded slightly, and Patricia pouted as if displeased.
The steward looked uneasy, then spoke again.
“My lord, this is Princess Patricia. You must show proper courtesy. And I’m sorry, but I don’t have the authority to take her away myself.”
Lawrence glared at him for a moment, then spun on his heel.
Step, step, step.
Patricia, surprised by how quickly he put distance between them, hurriedly greeted the steward and followed him.
Pat pat pat pat.
In her yellow dress, running after Lawrence like a little chick following its mother, Patricia’s small figure looked helplessly adorable.
When Lawrence glanced back, she paused for a moment, but soon resumed following him.
The soft sound of her steps made Lawrence sigh again.
Haah…
In the end, Lawrence couldn’t get a moment’s rest.
He roughly brushed his face and left the room.
“Ah… hello.”
Opening the door, he met Patricia and only nodded slightly.
She had been ridiculously kind as a child.
Lawrence recalled how she had persistently bothered him over the years and drew a deep breath.
The memory alone made him feel pain.
“….”
Despite all the past torment, Lawrence had endured Patricia’s antics alone because he felt sorry for her.
“Did you sleep well?”
Patricia awkwardly smiled, trying to divert his gaze, which made him uncomfortable.
Lawrence nodded and looked away.
“Let’s go eat.”
Patricia followed behind him.
Pat, pat.
Haah…
As they descended the stairs toward the dining room, Patricia sighed.
It was a soft sound, but in the silent corridor, it was enough to stop Lawrence in his tracks.
“Why are you sighing?”
“Ah… it’s just…”
Patricia, flustered, looked around then bowed her head.
“I’m worried about what comes next.”
“….”
“I have no money and no home now. How will I live? Can I even survive?”
She glanced up at Lawrence, then spoke again.
“…I don’t even know anyone here.”
Her voice trembled as if she were about to cry.
“What did I do wrong? I don’t understand why my father and brothers are so eager to make my life miserable.”
“….”
“No matter how much I try to fix things, it seems my fate is sealed. Nothing I do works.”
She covered her eyes with her hands.
“…Patricia?”
“Last time, if it weren’t for the steward, I would have… been really beaten. My father keeps tightening the noose with humiliating words every day, threatening to sell me to some rich old man. Sniff, sniff.”
Her small shoulders shook.
Tsk.
Lawrence frowned, unsettled by her quiet sobs, but then stepped closer and gently pulled her into his arms.
“Don’t blame yourself. It’s not your fault.”
He patted her shoulder reassuringly.
