🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 7
“Lady Blanche has left? When did this happen?”
“They say she left last night, supposedly for rest.”
“Rest?”
“Yeah, right. It’s just an excuse—she’s leaving until the rumors die down.”
When Norman heard that Charlotte had left, his vision went dark. He never expected her to leave so suddenly… and he hadn’t even cleared up the misunderstanding yet. A wound he thought had stopped bleeding suddenly reopened, and fresh blood flowed again.
As blood ran down his forehead, Norman wiped it with the back of his hand. Duke Winterile cleared his throat awkwardly. He probably realized throwing that glass ornament was too much.
“Ahem. Next time, tell me beforehand. Then things like this wouldn’t happen! Honestly, you never speak up enough.”
“Yes, I understand. I’ll be more careful.”
“Call the servants and have them clean the floor.”
“Yes.”
Even though his own son was bleeding from the head, that was all the Duke had to say. Norman didn’t expect an apology—his father wasn’t someone who apologized anyway. As soon as the Duke left the office and the door closed, Norman staggered. Then the throbbing pain hit him, and he could finally touch the wound. It was deeper than expected. It would definitely leave a scar.
As he muttered to himself, someone knocked on the door.
It wasn’t the Duke—he wouldn’t knock. Must be the butler. When Norman said to come in, the butler entered, his face full of concern. But when he saw Norman, his expression turned pale.
“Oh my goodness, young master!”
“I’m fine.”
“What happened? The broken glass on the floor…”
“That’s not important right now.”
Norman closed his eyes tightly.
“Find out where Lady Blanche went. Right now.”
“She left? Lady Blanche?”
“Yes. She left. Last night.”
The Duke had been right—it wasn’t really about rest. It was an excuse to get away. Norman recalled Charlotte’s trembling hand as she held her dress and forced a smile, saying:
‘I regret the days I thought of you as someone I could trust.’
Though her voice was calm, her eyes were full of despair—not anger. She had clearly felt betrayed by someone she trusted.
Norman clenched his fists.
“Do whatever it takes. Find out where she went.”
***
Meanwhile…
Charlotte gently cupped little Aria’s freshly washed cheeks. Her warm face was soft and rosy, like it had been painted with blush. She pulled on her cheeks a bit, and they stretched softly. Aria blinked at her with big round eyes and spread her arms.
“Umma~” (Baby talk for ‘mom’)
“Oh, sorry!”
Charlotte wrapped her in a big towel. Aria curiously touched her smooth, clean skin and sniffed the fruity scent on herself. After a thorough bath, her cute face looked even more lovable.
“That tickles.”
“Sorry. Your cheeks are just so soft.”
“My cheeks are soft?”
Instead of letting go, Aria clung tightly to Charlotte. She had even refused to get into the tub without her, so they ended up bathing together. She was such a loving, sweet child—how could someone have abandoned her in that horrible place?
As Charlotte dried Aria’s hair with a towel, Anna came in carrying a few pieces of children’s clothing.
“Young lady, this is all we could find for a child.”
“Let me see… Hmm.”
The clothes Anna brought were for young servant girls, not nearly the right size for four-year-old Aria. They were also thin and quite worn out. Not suitable at all.
“We’ll need to buy new clothes. I think we can find some in the village?”
“I’ll go into town and get some! I’ll need to measure Aria first, though—wow, she’s even cuter after a bath.”
“Hmph.”
Aria pouted. Clearly, she still held a grudge against Anna for trying to put her in a big washtub. Anna poked her cheek teasingly, and Aria buried her head in Charlotte’s chest, sulking.
“Young miss! I take back what I said—she’s not cute after all!”
“Mommy, that lady keeps teasing me. Scold her!”
Aria puffed out her cheeks. Charlotte held back laughter and gently patted her back to calm her.
“By the way, I’m thinking of letting Aria share my room. Can you also find her a pajama set?”
“Young lady, the castle has over 20 rooms.”
“She’s just a child. How can I let her sleep alone?”
“No wonder she calls you mommy!”
Anna listed all the castle’s rooms to talk Charlotte out of it. Nobles usually had their own rooms, even between siblings or parents and children. But Charlotte only pointed at the table—where she had left some gold coins.
“There’s some gold on the table. Take the rest as your pay.”
“Young lady, I’m really going to get scolded by the marquis!”
“Don’t scold my mommy!”
“Tiny one, this is called advice.”
“Aria is not tiny!”
“She is—look how small you are!”
“Mooommmyyyy!”
Tears welled up in Aria’s big eyes. Charlotte quickly stepped in to calm things down and pushed Anna out of the room.
***
Back at the Blanche estate…
“You don’t look well, my lord.”
“Of course not. I sent that little one all the way to the north…”
It had only been a day since Charlotte left, but the Marquis of Blanche already looked deeply worried. Understandably so—he loved his granddaughter dearly, even if he didn’t always show it.
Even though she had secretly left in the middle of the night, news of her departure had spread quickly among the nobles.
The ones who disliked her were probably panicking. Especially Lady Portree—the one who spread lies. Her father, Baron Portree, was likely furious with her by now.
People felt sorry for Charlotte, saying things like, “How bad must it have been for her to run away?” At the same time, everyone was watching the Marquis closely, wondering how he’d deal with those who hurt his granddaughter. Some feared they’d be punished next.
The Marquis didn’t seem pleased by any of it.
“Still, don’t worry too much. She’s strong—just like her father, Ronan. And there’s some good news today as well.”
That made the Marquis frown a little less. The butler smiled and handed him a letter.
“Lord Theodore is returning.”
“Theodore?”
Theodore Arbelche—his name meant “Gift of God.” He had the purest and strongest holy power of any paladin. So powerful, even fierce monsters would run away in fear. And the one who raised and trained him was Ronan.
Years ago, Ronan had gone on a mission to the slums of Sharien, where a dark sorcerer had appeared. The area was destroyed—bodies littered the streets, the ground was rotting, and nothing could grow there anymore.
Everyone assumed there were no survivors… but one small orphanage at the edge had been untouched. Somehow, the dark magic hadn’t reached it. The children there were thin but safe. The reason? A young boy named Theodore had been protecting them.
He had an overwhelming amount of holy power pouring from him. Because of it, the dark magic couldn’t even get close. Realizing his potential, Ronan took Theodore in and trained him to become a paladin.
At first, people looked down on Theodore because he came from the slums. But he soon proved himself—successfully hunting monsters and dark sorcerers. Eventually, he earned the title of paladin and became the new commander after Ronan.
He had spent over five years away, carrying out missions.
“This time, he went to clear out Leopold’s lair. That place was so cursed, even priests wouldn’t go near it. But he managed to purify it enough that it can finally be healed. A saintess and priests will be sent to complete the cleansing.”
“A saintess…”
When the Marquis heard that word, the smile disappeared from his face.
“Is something wrong, my lord?”
“Has the temple had any important events recently?”
“No, not really. Why do you ask?”
“I should visit the temple.”
“Pardon?”
“My granddaughter owes the saintess something.”
The Marquis slowly crumpled the letter in his hand.
“I need to meet the saintess.”
