Published at 18th of November 2020 07:38:37 PM
Chapter 43: 43
She shook her head .
“I can’t swave it . ” (I can’t save it . )
“Then tell me how to make it again . ”
“But it’ll be diffewent from Amy* . (But it’ll be different from Amy . )”
Tl note: Amy is the fish’s name .
Adrian’s gaze fell to the floor .
I recalled the memory of his past self . It was him who first rode a horse in the victory march of the Holy War .
The intense dignity he bore could be felt even before his beautiful appearance came into someone’s eye .
I had vaguely thought no one could hurt him .
But the child I was seeing now was engulfed in sadness . To the point where just looking at him made a person’s heart ache .
“But we can make a grave for them . ”
When I spoke in a small voice, Boone was restless, saying,
[Child, ten strawberries!], But I pretended that I didn’t hear it .
Adrian looked up and stared at me, I didn’t avoid his eyes .
***
“I’ll dig dweeper . ”
Adrian looked at the girl pointing at the ground while holding Amy carefully in one hand .
“How long awe you gonna dig . Come hewe . ”
The girl brushed off Adrian’s hand, as she gave Amy back to him to hold .
Then she squatted down and dug up the soil . Within minutes, a hole twice the size of the one Adrian had made could be seen .
“Now it looks like a burial ground . ”
She was a really weird kid .
She dug as well as a farmer .
The child had never seen anyone be so kind to him either .
‘But . ’
But if she knows who I am, she’ll act differently .
Everyone did .
The royal family, the nobles, and even the palace men considered him like an eyesore .
An eyesore that was scary to touch, and annoying .
As the emperor’s eldest son, and being constantly checked on by Empress Yvonne, the eldest daughter of duke Marche, Adrian felt uncomfortable .
He was physically alive yet, at the same time he didn’t feel alive .
So if she knew who he was, everything would be different .
The gaze that looked at him with a litter in it would be darkened with fear, and her lively eyes were bound to be grim . I felt sorry, but I thought I should say it sooner .
“I am the eldest son of the imperial family . ”
“Is twat so?”
“I said I was the child of the dead empress, but I,…”
“So?”
Adrian was speechless .
Strange .
She should have been surprised .
Even if she doesn’t know about their complicated political relations, it’s normal to be afraid of the word imperial family .
Adrian looked at her with strange eyes, and the child snorted .
“Is that important now?”
“… . Huh?”
“If it doesn’t mattew, lets bury them . ” (If it doesn’t matter, let’s bury them . )
The child pulled his hand .
Suddenly, Adrian sat down with the child, and let the pair of fish, which had become completely turned back into water, rush into the pit .
The child patted over the water instead of Adrian .
“Now, let’s pway . ” (Now, let’s pray)
Adrian stared at the child who had both of her hands and eyes tightly closed .
“Pwease let us be togwether for a long time in the next life . ”
“…… . . ”
“Even if we fight and get angry, let us be next to each other in the nwext life,”
“…… . . ”
The child gently looked at Adrian’s eyes .
“Let this cwild be happy . ”
It was as if she was talking to himself .
He couldn’t say anything and looked at the child . Adrian couldn’t tell why his eyes were moist . Just to be clear, this was the first time he thought he would never forget the name of a person .
***
After burying the fishes and praying, I got up from my seat .
“Are you going?”
Adrian held my hand and asked me, so I replied,
“Yes . ”
“… . Come again?”
“Huh?”
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“… . Please come again . ”
His eyes were looking at me .
“Yes, well . ”
“But if you don’t come,… . ”
Adrian’s eyes twinkled . His long eyelashes glistened under the sunlight .
‘Wow…’
He is indeed a beauty that could rival the Dubbleds .
Even though my aesthetic sense had become accustomed to many kinds of beauty, my heart was still pounding
“Now we’re fwiends . And fwiend keep their promises . So, see you someday . ”
“Friends… . ”
I couldn’t help but laugh inwardly at the sight of Adrian muttering several times because he was so cute .
After that, I waved my hand to say goodbye, turned around, and ran away .
‘I’m late, too late!’
I had come here under the pretext of playing hide-and-seek, but half an hour had already passed .
As I headed for the garden, I heard a voice shouting,
“Where are you, little miss?!”
The soldiers and servants were frantically looking for me .
“Blaine is hewe!”
I jumped and shouted, and the people came running .
“Oh my god… . ”
Lea was relieved at the sight of me .
“Where have you been? I was so surprised that I couldn’t find you no matter how hard I looked . ”
The place where I was is not far from the garden, but if they couldn’t find me, then it was probably because Adrian had built a barrier .
I replied, “I’m wong…” (I’m wrong…)
Lea sighed and shook the dirt off my skirt .
“It’s okay because you are safe . But please don’t do this next time . ”
“Yes . ”
“We have permission to go . Now let’s go back home . ”
When she said so, I nodded with a bright expression .
[Strawberry! Little miss, ask if she’ll give you ten strawberries . ]
I looked up at Lea .
“Lea, ten stawbewwies?”
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“That… . ”
Lea’s eyes narrowed .
“You broke your promise, so I’m only going to give you five . ”
Oh my god .
As a shocked expression came upon her face, laughter exploded all around her .
***
I could only get five strawberries, but I felt pretty good .
The money that Urso had borrowed was returned to the original owners, but quite a lot of money was left even after the handover .
‘There are 6,000 francs . ’
Seria’s capture reward was 30,000 francs, meaning the total amount of money I currently had was 36,000 francs .
‘Now, I have to keep searching for earnest money-making ways so that I can find a place to live later on . ’
I knew about a few good things I could invest in .
The problem was I’m too young to contact an investment target .
This was the reason why I lived in poverty when I was a beggar .
Of course, I had to live as quietly as I could because I didn’t want to stand out, but I couldn’t invest because of this .
‘I need an adult to help me . ’
Seria was also an option, but she had limitations because she had the label of a criminal now . She was still alive but had to stay under imprisonment .
I couldn’t keep relying on Boone for help . My divine power was inadequate, so it would not be possible for me to maintain his form for the next five days .
‘I need to decide when to use Boone’s powers . ’
It’s an ability I don’t really need, but it’s a shame to not use it .
While I was thinking about that, the carriage stopped . We had arrived at the Dubbled’s Castle .
As soon as the door opened, Henry and Isaac approached me .
“Why did you come back so late?”
When Isaac brought his face too close and questioned me, Henry pushed him aside and hugged me .
“You had a hard time, didn’t you?”
Then Isaac took me away and held my hand .
“I asked the chef to prepare your favorite meat . ”
Henry turned to the other side to argue with Isaac while directing his question at me .
“Wouldn’t eating late at night be bad for your health? I think you’d rather have a simple meal on the terrace and a delicious breakfast tomorrow . ”
“It’s unhealthy to not eat . ”
“The child is weak . Don’t compare her with monsters like you . ”
They tried to take me away from each other’s grasp, as my eyes went as wide as saucers .
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“Ow…”
I groaned and then I was suddenly brought in the Duke’s arms .
“Don’t fight . ”
When the Duke spoke sternly, Henry and Isaac looked at each other with discontented faces, but soon replied, “Yes,…”
‘Oh, I’ll be able to live after all . ’
It was difficult being stuck between the two of them because the trip was tiring and I was working hard to keep Boone quiet .
I leaned my face in the arms of the duke .
I was so tired but I had to greet them .
“I’m bwack . ”
Then the duke, Henry, and Isaac’s gaze all softened .
“Yes . ”
“Welcome . ”
“Let’s get inside . ”
Having been here for a few months it really felt like I was back home .
***
On the next day, I got the strawberries Lea promised me for lunch .
When I looked with glistening eyes at the strawberries full of whipped cream, Boone rejoiced, saying, [Good for you, my dear . ]
Lea gave me a bib and took some strawberries out of the bowl .
“… . Three, four, five . ”
“Lea, I lwike you . ”
When I kissed Lea on her cheek as a token of gratitude, the maids were squealing .
“Little miss, I helped Lea put on the cream . ”
And then Dahlia put out her cheek .
“I picked the strawberries too . ”
Linda came close to me .
“Do it for me too please . ”
Yuni tilted her head towards me .
I kissed them on the cheek once more and picked up the fork again .
[I can get you some milk, too . ]
‘What?’
[I can also pick strawberries . Should I emerge?]
“……”