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Chapter 84
The Grand Duke held onto the doorknob of the pawnshop and took a deep breath.
It seemed that meeting the younger sister he had brought back long ago from Pardon Island after such a long time stirred complicated emotions within him.
Previously, the Grand Duke had insisted he wouldn’t meet his sister. He claimed that simply watching over her from afar was what was best for the child.
And yet, he had come here—just to confirm whether the person I had brought back was indeed his sister. He even kept his own face hidden while doing so.
Hmph, that didn’t sit right with me.
The princess had been dragged all the way to Blansk without knowing a thing. Even if there had been some excuse that advance notice was impossible, she had essentially been abducted, so surely an explanation was necessary.
I tapped him lightly on the shoulder.
[Your sister is anxious, so please show her your face first.]
[You think she’s that frightened?]
[She was dragged here without knowing anything—of course she’s frightened. She needs to see her guardian first before she can feel at ease. Explain the situation to her, step by step.]
I urged him with passionate gestures.
I just wanted the princess to see the Grand Duke’s face quickly and be reassured.
After some hesitation, the Grand Duke finally nodded.
Ah, but before he reunited with his sister, I suddenly remembered something else I needed to mention.
[There are actually two people waiting inside, not one.]
[And the other?]
[A woman in her forties, with brown hair.]
The Grand Duke had not mentioned this brown-haired woman when he first hired me.
“Might be the nanny…” he muttered to himself, but I heard him clearly.
The nanny? So the brown-haired woman was the princess’s nanny? That would explain why, back in the forest, she had called the girl “my lady.”
The Grand Duke gripped the doorknob again, turned it, and stepped inside.
Less than a minute later, the pawnshop door opened again. Katarina stepped out alone.
“What kind of trickster is that?” she muttered, slamming the door shut behind her.
[What happened?]
[He asked me to leave. Said he wanted private time with his family. He claimed he didn’t want to show his ugly side to an outsider like me.]
So, the Grand Duke must have sent Katarina out so he could reveal his face to his sister and the nanny.
That meant only three people remained inside now: the Grand Duke, his younger sister, and the woman who seemed to be her nanny.
Katarina clicked her tongue and came to stand in front of me.
[I’m sorry.]
[Sorry for what all of a sudden?]
[After seeing the girl’s face, I understood. She looks like she was stamped out of the exact same mold as His Highness the Grand Duke. I accused him of an affair without basis. I owe Lady Alisa an apology too.]
[Given the circumstances, anyone would’ve suspected it. I did, too, at first.]
The financial officer Moreno had lost his bet with aide Julio.
After thinking deeply for a moment, Katarina raised her hand again.
[But you’ll test her, right? That relic you got from the priest of the Furan faith—the one that lit up when the Grand Duke touched it?]
The sacred relic of the Archangel Michael—that’s what she meant.
[Of course I’ll test her.]
To test it, the princess had to either hold the relic or at least give a drop of her blood. This couldn’t be the last meeting—we needed more chances to confirm.
Whether as a pawnshop owner or as the Grand Duke’s wife, I had to forge a bond with the princess.
Now that she had stepped onto the land of Blansk, it was my duty to help her settle here safely and take root.
That was the only way I could atone for my past sins.
If there was one great sin in my life, it was that I returned home and then forgot about that child. If there was one great delusion, it was believing that the war my country started had nothing to do with her.
Maybe from the start, I didn’t have the strength to stop the king’s will to invade Dvorka. But I could have tried sooner, harder. Instead, I hadn’t. Back then, I believed there were things more important than that girl in the forest.
Now it was different.
Now that I knew she had survived and was standing before me, nothing else mattered more than her.
About thirty minutes later, the Grand Duke emerged with the two women.
All three of their eyes were wet with tears. The princess seemed calmer now, reassured after meeting her brother. The nanny, too, looked at me differently—embarrassed, even.
The Grand Duke fixed his eyes on me, as if he had something to say. Katarina noticed and quietly slipped upstairs.
[I know this is hardly enough, but please accept it.]
From inside his robe, he pulled out a pouch as big as a human head. I took it quickly and opened it. Inside were two fist-sized gold bars.
I shook my head and shoved the pouch back at him.
[I rescued your family, and you think you can settle it with just this?]
[No. To reclaim my marriage regalia, I’ll need to bring you ten times that.]
What should I do, Davit Mikhailo, Grand Duke? Even if you bring me millions, I have no intention of returning your wedding regalia—
not unless you bare the whole truth to me.
[Will you take your sister and that woman back home now?] I deliberately asked.
[As I said before, I already have another residence prepared.] he answered.
I already knew that his knight, Sir Kirill, had purchased a house. Katarina had even scouted the address for me. It was in the middle of the central-west district, safe enough, but she reported it was rather small for two people.
[It’s late. Let us escort you with my tavern’s wagon. I need to step out before opening the shop anyway.]
We had two wagons in the tavern’s backyard. Each seated only two people plus the driver, but that worked fine if we split into pairs.
The Grand Duke gestured thanks.
I helped the princess into my wagon first, then climbed in beside her.
[I’ll drive this one. You take the other and lead the way.]
The Grand Duke nodded, seating the nanny beside him before departing first.
I took the reins and followed at a slower pace. Vera’s gang drove roughly—had the princess ridden with them, she might’ve been sick from the jolting.
Sitting beside her now, I felt my chest swell with emotion. More than anything, I was grateful. Grateful she had survived the war and come this far.
The princess looked at me with a bright smile. The little child who had once only reached my waist had grown into a proper young lady. Long eyelashes, a small sharp nose—she looked like a doll. Sixteen, they had said? A bit of baby fat still rounded her cheeks.
[I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were a friend of Davit’s.]
She apologized first, for how she had treated me with hostility. Ha. So the Grand Duke had introduced me as his “friend.” Who decided that?
Well, perhaps it was better that way. The princess, sheltered as she was, didn’t need to know that the Grand Duke had hired mercenaries to rescue her.
She kept trying to chat with me in sign language, even though she could see my hands were busy holding the reins.
[I heard you also have a disability like mine.]
I nodded. Sorry for the lie—I had no choice.
[They said you do a lot of good things.]
So the Grand Duke had told her all sorts of stories in that short time. I didn’t answer. My hands weren’t free anyway.
[The city is so beautiful. It feels like I stepped into a fairy tale. Am I really going to live here?]
She beamed as she looked around at the red-roofed brick buildings.
I nodded again. If she liked the city I had rebuilt, that made me proud. To shelter my benefactor here in Blansk—that was the greatest joy.
For a while, she gazed around like a tourist. Then suddenly, her smile faded.
[Do you… know anything about me?]
Her question puzzled me. What did she mean?
[No one tells me anything,] she signed sadly.
[Who am I?]
She doubted her very identity.
It seemed she had no one to confide in—except a stranger like a pawnshop owner.
[It feels like everyone knows who I am except me. The queen who dragged me from the forest and locked me in the castle, the queen’s maids who tended me, Davit, even our nanny—they all know, but none of them tell me.]
Her hands trembled as she nearly broke into tears, but then she drew a deep breath and swallowed it back down. She was used to suppressing her sadness.
[Still… I’m glad I don’t have to marry that lord.]
Her gentle eyes curved into a smile. Just like the Grand Duke’s.
Even in this situation, she was strong enough to find something positive.
[He came to see me once. He looked even older than Uncle Emil before he died.]
“Uncle Emil”… she must have meant the man who had escorted me out of the forest. So he had died. Drafted into the war and killed, perhaps. To lose the one who had been like a father to her—how deep that grief must have been.
As far as I knew, Count Bogdan of Pardon Island was in his fifties. Too old to wed a girl like her. What was Queen Elizaveta thinking, pushing such a marriage?
Probably that Bogdan’s wealth could sustain the royal family of Dvorka, and marrying off the princess was her way of securing it.
I clenched my teeth. To abduct such a pure child, imprison her, and then try to sell her to such an old lord—unforgivable.
As I fumed silently, the princess signed to me again.
[Do you think I can finally go out into the world now?]
Her violet eyes shone with expectation.
Why ask me that? Did she think I could answer?
Just then, the Grand Duke’s wagon ahead stopped. We had reached the destination. I pulled my reins and set them on my lap.
[Do you want to go out into the world?] I asked.
[Yes! I want to go to school, make friends, shop at the market… and, um, I have someone I want to find.]
She signed eagerly.
Who did she want to find? Could it be… me?
[But before that, I want to know who I am.]
She added her last wish.
I looked at her quietly.
If that was my benefactor’s wish, then I would devote all my strength to making it come true.
I wiped the corner of my eye with my sleeve and pointed to the door again.
I had completed the request—now, go inside and greet your sister.
