TDOT~35

Chapter 35

Not a Fake, but a Real Angel

Daniel’s low, deep voice echoed again inside the tall, grand library.

“Frida.”

His anxious voice hit the high walls, broke apart, and faded away. Daniel stood in the dim light, taking in the musty smell. For as long as he could remember, the fireplace here had never been lit, but tonight, a weak flame flickered. At the edge of the firelight, he saw a small figure. Only then did he realize how tense he had been, worried he wouldn’t find her. There she was—sitting with her head awkwardly tilted against the wall, fast asleep. Seeing this troublemaker made Daniel’s legs weak. He leaned against the wall and finally let out a deep breath.

“Haa…”

He couldn’t remember the last time his whole body felt so tense. Maybe even his mind had been exhausted. As he relaxed, an old memory slipped out—the year he turned fourteen and could never call his mother again.

Daniel let out a short laugh. He remembered the back of a child he once believed was an angel—small, dressed all in white, with snowy hair like an icy mountain. That day, he realized just how weak a desperate person could become. Even after everything, he still believed in angels. He really wanted to believe that God had sent him a real angel, not a fake like Duchess Marguerite. If it really was an angel, maybe his wish would come true. Full of hope, he had stepped forward.

“…Stia. Sob Hestia unni…”

Luckily, his hope was quickly broken. He soon saw the truth: the girl crying in front of him was no angel—at best, a scared little rabbit.

“Tch.”

Annoyed, Daniel kicked a stone.

‘Angel, my foot. Why do I keep getting fooled like this, idiot?’

He could almost hear Dominic’s mocking laughter behind him. At the sound of the stone rolling away, the crying child turned around. Her face was covered with tears and snot, her eyes red and swollen. Up close, she really did look like a crying rabbit. But even when she saw Daniel, a stranger, she just kept sobbing.

“Hic, Hestia unni is gone. Sob”

What, was this some spoiled girl playing hide-and-seek?

“Why don’t you just ask the adults to help you find her?”

Maybe it was the childish way she kept sniffling, but Daniel felt sorry and replied without thinking.

“Sob They say unni went to heaven. She can’t come to see Frida anymore.”

He went silent. Heaven… He had someone there, too. Someone he’d never see again.

‘Daniel, everyone dies someday. I just went to heaven a little early to wait for you. So don’t be sad, my son.’

His mother… smiled. Even as she was dying in place of her troublesome son, she worried about him instead of herself.

‘Remember, Daniel. Never blame anyone for this—especially not yourself. I’m doing what I have to. You’re still a child. I’m the adult, so I have to protect you.’

‘Stay alive, Daniel. Just being alive is what matters. No matter what happens, keep living.’

After that, every time he remembered his mother’s voice, he trained with his sword like mad—so the blade wouldn’t point at himself or that fake, heartless woman.

‘Damn.’

He reached for his sword by habit but clenched his fist instead. If he drew it here, who knows what he’d do? If this frail kid fainted from fright, things would just get worse. Instead, Daniel ran a rough hand through his sweaty hair.

“Stop crying. The dead don’t come back.”

“Really… She’s never coming back? I’ll never see Hestia unni again?”

“No. Are you stupid? You can’t see dead people. Unless maybe you die, too.”

“Sob… wail…”

“If you’re brave, try dying.”

He hoped the child hadn’t heard that last cold line mixed in with her cries. What a pathetic loser, taking out his pain on an innocent kid.

“Frida, where are you? Frida!”

Someone was calling desperately from the bushes. The little girl ran towards the voice, still crying. That’s when Daniel learned her name: Frida. Years later, he’d realize that the little girl he met in the forest was a real noble with the middle name “Cloud.” It was about a year before Leopold became emperor that he heard Hakbon’s second daughter had died.

“That family was once praised as saints. How did they fall so far?”

“They say there’s one more daughter?”

“So what? They say she’s pale as snow—she’ll die soon, too. What’s her name? Oh, Frida Cloud Hakbon.”

He’d once laughed at how fancy the name was for such a small, rabbit-like kid—and then forgotten about her. Daniel became Duke Richard, earned a new noble name, and kept living the same way: fighting to survive, just as his mother told him. He never thought of that pale little girl until Dominic, holding a letter with the imperial seal, said:

“They want you to marry the Hakbon daughter. Does the old fox Dowager Empress think we’re fools? Everyone knows those girls die young. If she dies, you’ll have no heir—just riches and loneliness.”

Even as Dominic and Ricardo fumed, Daniel stayed silent. If she died, she died—what difference did it make? He just felt sorry for the girl, doomed to a short, unlucky life, now tied to someone like him.

Frida stirred in her sleep, shifting her head uncomfortably. Daniel’s bad memories vanished as quickly as they came.

“Hoo…”

He took a deep breath to calm down, then walked quietly over to the fireplace. Kneeling on the floor, he looked at Frida, sleeping in an odd position with her head drooping like a willow branch. Up close, she looked a bit bigger than before. When had this fluffy, rabbit-like kid grown so much? Her thin neck looked like it might snap under the weight of her head. Daniel decided to help by gently supporting her neck—but at that moment, Frida’s cheek fell right into his big palm.

Caught off guard, Daniel hesitated. Frida slowly blinked her unfocused violet eyes at him, opening and closing them a few times. Still half-asleep, her lips parted.

“Trai… tor.”

In front of the brightly lit Marian Hall, Muriel paced back and forth, disappearing into the darkness and coming back, over and over. Finally, Dominic, who had been sitting on the steps, lost patience and shouted,

“Hey, stop making everyone so nervous! Just sit still for a minute!”

Muriel ignored him, rushing off again before returning. Dominic finally got up and walked over. Watching her fidget with her clenched fists, he shook his head.

“Why are you so worried? Even if the duchess can’t ride a horse, she can’t have gone far.”

Muriel pouted and shot him a fierce look.

“That’s not it! The sun’s set. Our lady can’t see well in the dark!”

Dominic looked away from her icy gray eyes.

“I just mean, if you keep her locked up all the time, of course she’ll try to escape eventually.”

“If you’d shown up on time, this wouldn’t have happened, Dominic! She went out looking for you because you were late.”

When hours passed and Frida was still missing, Muriel blamed Dominic and grilled him.

“You know our lady never breaks a promise, whether it’s payment or anything else. Have you ever seen her miss a deadline?”

Dominic mumbled, still avoiding her eyes.

“…No.”

“So why were you late? That’s why all this happened! You know how impatient she is—you should have taken care of things!”

Muttering about how Dominic should show more consideration for a sickly lady, Muriel’s anger then turned on Daniel.

“Just how much money has the duke hidden away? If he’d stop throwing gold around, maybe our lady wouldn’t be so wild.”

Dominic finally faced her, taking the chance to argue back.

“You think it’s easy hiding all that gold? Moving it in secret isn’t simple. And you can’t just turn gold into coins whenever you want. It takes thousands of coins just to get connections at the Bulenche bank—”

“Dominic, you knew… too?”

‘Uh-oh.’

As Muriel’s face grew cold, Dominic let go of his crossed arms. He realized he’d said too much, but it was already too late. Muriel stepped in, glaring at him with fierce gray eyes.

“So you knew about the vault all along, and still watched our lady sell her earrings and shoes?”

Dominic tried to escape, but Muriel grabbed his shoulder roughly.

“You bastard. You’re dead meat tonight.”