BDPVF 2

Chapter 2

Arphote Silas.

One of only four dukes in the Empire and ruler of the North.

A notorious tyrant known as a demon.

‘But even someone who looks like they wouldn’t bleed if stabbed has a weakness.’

His lost daughter.

Lagrasha.

No one knew why he lost her, but he searched desperately for her everywhere.

During that process, he repeatedly clashed with the saintess, creating conflict wherever he went.

‘And that conflict ends in such an absurd way.’

It turns out the saintess herself is the duke’s daughter—

Lagrasha.

With that revelation, the terrible feud between her and Silas comes to an end.

By the time Silas realizes the truth and begs for forgiveness, however, the saintess has already grown utterly sick of him.

Ignoring his pleas, she imprisons him.

And throughout it all, Silas offers no resistance.

‘As if he was respecting his daughter’s decision.’

To some, the saintess’s choice might have seemed cruel.

But no one could criticize her.

After all, he was the infamous evil duke who had shaken the Empire itself.

And just like that, Silas disappeared from history.

That was how the story went in the novel I remembered.

“……”

The problem was the ring glowing before my eyes right now.

That ring was the Ring of Blue Flame—the very item that would later reveal the saintess’s identity as Lagrasha.

Connected to Lagrasha by blood, the ring emitted a bright blue light whenever it neared her.

That was why the duke always wore it.

At least… it was supposed to.

‘Then why is it glowing toward me?’

It was shining far too clearly to dismiss as imagination.

Riiing—

“Ugh…”

A sharp ringing filled my ears and my head spun.

The same symptom that seemed tied to Iris’s eventual death.

‘Maybe it’s anemia.’

I squeezed my eyes shut and waited for the dizziness to fade.

The symptoms hadn’t appeared much lately, so why now of all times?

Thankfully, it passed quickly.

“Hoo…”

When I opened my eyes again, the moon had hidden behind the clouds once more.

And the ring, which had glowed blue moments ago, had gone dark.

“Kh…!”

Only the villain duke’s painful groans remained in the darkness.

I had arrived at a major crossroads.

Until now, I had desperately avoided thinking about reality.

But now I had to face it.

I had no means of properly stopping his bleeding.

More importantly, he was a villain.

The world would probably benefit if he died here.

But…

‘Wherever I go, I will act for the benefit of the sick.’

The Hippocratic Oath I had once taken still remained in my heart.

So even if he was evil, I should at least try.

Leaving him like this would haunt my conscience forever.

My trembling hands set down the rabbit doll as I approached the duke.

“P-please endure it for a little…”

He had lost a tremendous amount of blood.

Enough that dying from shock wouldn’t be surprising.

Gulp.

Swallowing hard, I examined his wound.

A sharp slash cut across his abdomen.

‘Thankfully, it looks like the major organs weren’t hit.’

But the real issue was the bleeding.

I wanted to wrap a bandage around him as emergency treatment, but I had no bandages.

‘No… wait.’

I have my clothes.

Even though they were filthy and torn, a skirt was still a skirt.

Meaning I could rip it into strips.

‘Sorry, clothes. I hope you find a better owner in your next life.’

RIIIP!

Even with a child’s strength, the skirt tore easily.

The long strips of cloth were enough to use as makeshift bandages.

Carefully, I wrapped them around Silas’s wound.

“Khk…!”

He groaned in pain every time I tightened the bandages.

But to stop the bleeding, I had to bind it tightly.

It couldn’t be helped.

Thinking that, I finished wrapping the remaining cloth around him.

“Hoo…”

At least now he probably wouldn’t just keel over and die immediately.

Wiping the sweat from my forehead, I looked at the duke.

Through blurred vision, he stared back at me.

There was emotion in his gaze.

Of course, I wasn’t a psychiatrist, so I couldn’t tell exactly what it was.

‘Now I need to run.’

Getting involved with the villain duke could only make my life worse.

I wiped my bloodstained hands against my skirt and tried to stand.

“Ah…”

‘Maybe I should sleep for just five minutes?’

Not only did my legs have no strength left, but my eyelids kept drooping.

I’d reached my limit.

“Just… five minutes…”

And just like that, my consciousness drifted away into a distant dreamland.

* * *

“Koo…”

Tiny little breaths tickled his ears.

The source was the child who had just bandaged him moments earlier.

And…

Silas looked down at the ring, which no longer glowed.

Had it been his imagination?

At the moment, the ring showed no signs of light at all.

The ring that contained Lagrasha’s blood.

Someday, when Lagrasha grew up and married, he had planned to pass this ring to her groom.

A ring that glowed blue whenever it sensed Lagrasha’s presence.

But now it emitted no light.

Which meant that child wasn’t Lagrasha.

“……”

Silas pulled a potion from his coat and drank it before turning away.

There was no reason to concern himself with a child who wasn’t Lagrasha.

And yet…

For a brief moment, the ring had glowed blue.

What if the ring was malfunctioning?

What if that was why it no longer shone?

What if that child really was Lagrasha?

‘I can’t lose her again.’

Ever since that day, he had devoted his life to searching for Lagrasha.

Even now, the cries of his one-year-old daughter still echoed in his ears.

This time, he wouldn’t make a choice he would regret.

Carefully, he lifted the sleeping child into his arms.

Because he no longer had the confidence to endure more pain—

Ironically, he chose to accept pain instead.

By taking a child whose identity he couldn’t confirm back to his household.

Having made his decision, he walked deeper into the narrow alley.

Behind him, the rising sun faintly illuminated the child’s face.

But soon, the tall alley walls swallowed the light again.

* * *

Maybe this was heaven.

Half-asleep, I thought that as I felt the softness of the blanket wrapped around me.

Completely captivated by the fluffy sensation, I wriggled my toes happily beneath it.

Soft and warm…

“Huh?!”

I snapped awake only after spending far too long playing with the blanket.

It had been nearly six years since I transmigrated into this body.

A blanket this soft was an unimaginable luxury for me.

Until now, I had spent every night with nothing but a rag, whether in summer or winter.

‘There’s no way I’d ever get to use a blanket like this.’

My eyes flew open as I looked around.

Sure enough, these weren’t the filthy cobweb-covered walls I was used to.

Luxurious wallpaper and decorations filled the room.

Everywhere I looked were objects that clearly cost a fortune.

“……”

Someone with this much wealth had suddenly let me sleep here.

And in this life, I had only met one person rich enough for this.

‘Arphote Silas.’

Looks like my “short rest” last night had turned into a full night’s sleep.

Suppressing the urge to tear my hair out, I climbed out of bed.

The soft mattress seemed to pull me back in, but if I stayed here any longer, I might lose the life I’d barely managed to save.

“I-I need… to run away.”

I’d already escaped once. Surely I could do it again.

If I stayed here, who knew what kind of trouble I’d get dragged into?

I dashed toward the door.

But there was one enormous obstacle in my path.

Cookies.

“……”

Spotting the cookies placed on a nearby table, I froze.

Reuniting with cookies—something I thought I’d never see again—was deeply emotional.

But this was absolutely the wrong place for it.

The duke could return at any moment.

This was a dangerous situation where every second mattered.

And yet my attention had been completely stolen by cookies.

‘Did I become too childish?’

Holding my forehead, I shook my head.

No matter how hungry I was, I wasn’t some little kid who followed sweets around.

Anyone could see that this was obviously bait.

Even babies knew not to follow strangers offering candy.

I wasn’t that kind of child.

* * *

A black suit with faint blue tones.

As always, when someone has the perfect physique, almost anything looks good on them.

And if such a person wears clothes tailored perfectly to them, the effect becomes even greater.

The same held true now.

Step. Step.

The duke—handsome enough to be called peerless—walked down the hallway without the slightest change in expression.

His destination was the room of the child he had brought home.

The physician had informed him the child was likely awake by now, so he was making his way there slowly.

“……”

The distance from his office to the child’s room was considerable.

Even after passing through the Great Hall, he still had to climb three floors.

In truth, Silas had intentionally placed the room far away.

Countless people had appeared before him over the years, claiming they had seen Lagrasha.

At first, he had been delighted.

But cruelly, every single one of them had only been greedy people seeking the reward money.

Even so, Silas had paid them for information.

That was how desperate he had been.

And each time he realized it was false, the sense of loss consumed him further.

Little by little, he became colder.

“……”

Lost in thought for a moment, he eventually arrived at the room.

Rustle rustle.

The physician had been right.

Small noises came from inside, as though the child was doing something.

What could she be doing?

Click.

After a brief pause, he opened the door and stepped inside.

And the moment he entered, the duke was greeted by the sight of—

Crunch crunch…

“……”

A tiny rabbit-like child with both cheeks stuffed full of cookies.