Episode 06
She had decided to leave. The old promise had long lost its meaning in the face of endless waiting. Rather than waiting for Selena, whose return was uncertain, protecting the child before her eyes took precedence. But then.
“Don’t go, Nanny.”
At the moment she was ready to give up everything, the child grabbed her hand again. Leticia rushed into her arms, confessing her wrongs and begging for forgiveness. It was as if they had returned to the past. How could she push away that hand?
“Then… can I go see Lucia tomorrow?”
Leticia asked, her lips trembling. Her tear-streaked eyes darted nervously.
“I want to apologize to Lucia too…”
At the cautious tone, Marianne felt a lump rise in her throat. She had thought this child had changed completely. That there was no turning back, that there was nothing more she could do. But now…
“Of course.”
She tried not to let it show in front of the child, but she couldn’t hide the catch in her voice. Marianne tucked Leticia’s blanket around her tightly, forcing a bright smile. It was truly a joyful day.
Having changed out of his mourning clothes, Fabian stepped into his study. Though he had shed the black garb, his face, as he sat at the desk, remained shadowed with gloom. It was only natural, having just returned from Luis’s funeral.
“…”
He didn’t want to think about anything, but sitting alone in the vast study, all sorts of thoughts flooded his mind. The comrade who had died before his eyes, the five-year-old child swallowing tears in front of his brother’s body, and Leticia, who, even at six, had yet to manifest a divine beast or even a glimmer of light…
Fabian leaned back in his chair, tilting his head upward. A knock came at the door.
“It’s Marianne, my lord.”
“Come in.”
Fabian said, roughly tying back his disheveled hair. Marianne entered, bowing her head respectfully.
“The doctor just examined the young lady. There are no serious injuries, but she seems quite shaken, so I’ve had her rest in her room for today.”
“…I see.”
Fabian replied curtly, rising to guide her to the couch. Marianne gave a slight nod and sat down.
“She’s grown a lot.”
“…”
“The last time I saw her, she was much smaller.”
The lovely pink hair, the wide violet eyes—day by day, the child grew more like her mother. Marianne responded calmly.
“It’s been a while since you’ve been here.”
“…”
“Are you going to leave again without even having a meal with the young lady?”
At her quiet question, Fabian fell silent for a moment. Selena’s friend and his daughter’s nanny sat there, not touching her teacup, her eyes fixed on him.
“It’s still… a bit difficult.”
“It will only get harder as time goes on.”
“…”
“She is your daughter, my lord.”
He had heard those words countless times. Even knowing Leticia hadn’t manifested a divine beast by age six, Marianne always said the same thing. That Selena had never loved anyone but Fabian Blandot, that Leticia could not be anyone’s child but his.
Then why hadn’t Leticia manifested a divine beast even now, at six? And where in the world had Selena gone?
“The children’s matter… I’m sorry it turned out this way.”
Instead of reprimanding her, Fabian chose to shift the conversation. It was only right to say something, since he’d heard it was his daughter’s fault.
“Is Lucia hurt?”
“Children’s quarrels are common enough. We applied some ointment, so she’ll be fine.”
Still, she had been hurt. Perhaps he should send a doctor. Just as he opened his mouth to speak—
“It seems Lucia brought up the topic of your divine beast, and that’s what upset the young lady.”
“…”
“Children may be young, but their ears aren’t deaf.”
Fabian quickly caught the hint of reproach in her voice. It wasn’t anger over his daughter injuring another child. Rather, it was a deeper, more fundamental resentment.
“No matter how many times I tell her you love her, my lord, she already believes you’ve abandoned her. And yet, the one person who could prove otherwise is standing right in front of me.”
He had neglected his daughter for so long. Even though he knew Selena’s betrayal wasn’t the fault of that young child. He hadn’t had the courage to face a child who was practically proof of that betrayal.
But children grow, and she must have realized what it meant not to manifest a divine beast like her father. That must be why she was so sensitive about the topic.
“Does this happen often?”
Marianne nodded slowly. Fabian clutched his face in his hands.
“Often, even light jests were taken too seriously. Lately, it’s been getting… worse.”
“…”
“It’s all my fault that the young lady was struck. I will accept any punishment for this.”
Marianne bowed respectfully. But Fabian vividly recalled the sight of her being dragged in by Branda and the servants—her exhausted face, hunched shoulders, and the resigned tone in her voice. And what had Leticia said when she ran to her?
“Mary isn’t to blame! It’s me, I was the one tormenting Lucia. Mary kept telling me not to hit the other children…”
It wasn’t hard to imagine how Leticia had grown up in his absence from the estate. Nor was it difficult to deduce who was truly responsible for all this.
“I…”
Fabian rubbed his face roughly.
“I have no intention of punishing you. This is all… because I neglected matters at the estate.”
“Count.”
Marianne lifted her head.
“I know it’s not my place to say, but is there any chance you could delay your campaign?”
A brief silence settled. Fabian closed his mouth for a moment, then pressed his lips inward. Marianne, as if urging him, continued.
“You are the young lady’s father. Even just a few days together…”
“I understand.”
Fabian nodded. His ready agreement seemed to catch Marianne off guard, her expression tinged with surprise.
“…I’ll stay at the estate until Leticia’s condition improves.”
Truthfully, lingering at the estate wasn’t a difficult decision. After all, the reason he’d been sent on the campaign in the first place was the emperor’s consideration for him, struggling after Selena’s disappearance.
Yet, the words to cancel the campaign outright didn’t come easily. He still lacked the courage to face his daughter, Leticia, for long.
Adrian woke with a throbbing headache. It was a familiar sensation, one that often followed nights when the sleeping incense was burned too heavily. He instinctively started to call for the butler—until he realized his vision was unnaturally dark and his hands were bound behind his back.
As if to jolt him into reality, the carriage lurched violently. His small body lifted into the air before crashing against the hard floor. A sharp pain elicited a soft groan from Adrian.
“…Ugh.”
“Oh, looks like our little one’s awake!”
A gruff male voice boomed above him. Adrian grimaced. He tried to tear at the ropes binding his wrists, but his body felt strangely weak, devoid of strength. Come to think of it, his voice, too…
“Hey, kid, when you see an adult, you’re supposed to greet them. Got it?”
“Greet what? The kid’s blindfolded, you idiot.”
The men’s raucous laughter echoed through the rattling carriage. Adrian thrashed again, but with his arms bound and his vision obscured, escape was impossible.
At last, the cloth covering his face was pulled away. In the dim interior of the carriage, he saw men with scruffy beards and a foul stench staring down at him.
“Well, look at that, he’s a pretty one. The nobles in Verde will eat him up.”
“Hey, hey, when an adult compliments you, you say ‘Thank you,’ got it?”
The men, sizing Adrian up, chuckled and patted his head roughly. Adrian knew this scene. No, it was a scene he could never forget, not until the day he died.
“Why…”
Adrian muttered softly. The men before him were the slavers who had tried to sell him after his brother’s funeral, when he was kidnapped as a child. The same ones he had surely slaughtered with his own hands after awakening his sword aura.
Why were they standing before him now? It was as if time itself had rewound.
“…Leticia Blandot.”
The sudden image of her face creased Adrian’s brow. It had happened the moment he grabbed her arm. He didn’t know what or how, but he clearly remembered the flash of light that had erupted when he seized her.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ✧: *. ꕥ .* :✧ﾟ. ───
