Nos muttered, swallowing hard.
“The newt...”
I was horrified by what Nos said about the stone in the jewelry box.
*Did he?*
*This newt?*
When I turned pale, Nos said with an embarrassed look, “I am sorry, oh sir.”
“Why?”
“It was not... this... her mistake, but the storage case... why?”
“Be quiet.”
“The disagreement... I didn't... the newt suddenly powdered!”
He tried hard to find excuses, but the Duke's expression remained cold.
I grabbed the hem of the Duke's sleeve, clinging to him, and he shuddered.
“Limit... anyone... why?”
“I mean... that...”
However, the Duke shook my hand off and frowned.
A sigh escaped his lips. “You are bothering me.”
My whole body trembled like an aspen tree.
Instead of being forgiven, I had caused an accident.
I think I was too afraid to even mention that my life expectancy was dwindling.
Suddenly, my vision began to spin, and my field of view narrowed.
“You are bothering me. Now, go back to your room.”
“Ah...”
As soon as I groaned, my body tilted and I collapsed under the chair.
“Miss LeBlin!”
In my narrowing vision, I saw the Duke stiffen, his eyes wide open.
Then came silence.
***
In the darkness, I was looking at the back of the Duke of Amity.
My father—generous, careful, and just.
I respected and loved him very much.
I had to give up many things to live as his daughter, but that was okay.
As long as he would laugh with me while calling my name.
But I knew.
I knew there was a wall between us.
The Duke of Amity gave me a room to reside in and taught me the duties of the nobility. We had dinner together, but only to that extent.
He didn't consider me his child.
However, I did my best because I loved him.
I hesitated for a long time and then reached out to him.
“Father—”
“Father!”
I called him father, but Mina called him dad.
Mina passed by me to reach the Duke of Amity. Somehow, Mina embraced his arm without fear.
When Mina smiled with her eyes folded, Duke Amity patted her head and smiled.
*It's okay.*
*It can happen.*
Mina was truly a child of destiny.
She was a good girl who brought rain to drought and gave hope to the poor and sick.
*If I work hard, my father will take care of me too.*
Then, the darkness around me shook.
“Stupid girl!”
A thunderous roar came from the air.
I was horrified to see a hand emerging from the distorted darkness.
A hand with a ring engraved with the Valois name quickly caught my attention.
“So this is where you were hiding. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to find you, you little mouse.”
The Duke of Valois kicked me.
Without hesitation, the Duchess of Valois appeared.
“This girl is a useless interest.”
They approached me little by little.
I shook, pulling my hands back.
*Don't hit me.*
*I'm sorry.*
*I'm sorry!*
“Hyuk!”
I woke up, kicking the duvet.
My back was drenched in cold sweat, and my hands were shaking.
After seeing the familiar clock in front of me, I came to my senses.
“It was a dream.”
Only the sound of rain hitting the window broke the stillness.
There was a sink and a towel next to the bed.
The chair was still warm, as if someone had been here for a while.
*I really did faint.*
I couldn't breathe when I remembered what happened that afternoon.
*That newt... what do I do?*
After three deaths, I had finally found a worthy place.
The staff were truly friendly, and Duke Doppelganger was fine. But if these people hated me, the Duke's eyes would become as cold as they were at the beginning.
Lina and Nos wouldn't laugh with me either.
Suddenly, thunder struck, revealing something in the dark.
***
Leah brought some new clothes for LeBlin, as she had sweated a lot while sleeping.
The maids followed her, whispering.
“Is the child okay?”
“I heard the doctor doesn't know the reason. What is happening?”
Leah sighed.
“There is no specific reason for the sickness. Once you give her the fever reducer—”
As soon as she opened the door, the clothes fell from Leah's hand.
LeBlin, who was supposed to be lying in bed, was not there.
She was nowhere to be seen.
“What...?”
As the maids panicked, Leah screamed.
“Search for the child!”
The surprised maids searched the bathroom and the hallways, but LeBlin was nowhere to be found.
A pale Leah delivered the news to the Duke.
In the middle of the night, lanterns lit up the cobblestone paths of the castle.
Everyone was busy looking for LeBlin.
Nos ran toward the Duke in the hall.
“She is not in the annex!”
“The kitchen! Maybe she was walking around searching for bread!”
“I have already searched there!”
The Duke's face hardened.
Many people were mobilized, but they could not find the child.
Had she been taken by an assassin who came for the Doppelgangers?
Or had the Senate, which disapproved of the Child of Destiny, used their hand?
“Tighten the troops. Expand the search operation—”
“Your Grace!”
An urgent voice came from outside the window.
Servants and gardeners were surrounding someone.
Leah, spotting her, ran as fast as she could.
“Miss LeBlin!”
LeBlin flinched when Leah grabbed her hand.
The Duke took a step toward the child.
The guards stationed around the area moved aside, and LeBlin was finally seen clearly.
Her pajamas were covered in dust, and her bare feet were marred by scratches and dirt.
The little body trembled under the heavy rain; her lips were blue.
LeBlin staggered behind Leah and walked toward the Duke.
“You...”
As the Duke narrowed his eyes, LeBlin held something out.
A red flower was in her trembling hands.
“You... you like cloves.”
“...”
“I... I'm sorry.”
When the newt broke, LeBlin had no idea what to do. She remembered how she used to grab his sleeve.
“Forgive me...”
The Duke gave no answer.
With a pale face, she rubbed her hands together, begging for forgiveness.
The moment the cold hit her hand, she regretted it.
***
Thanks to the thunder, I knew there were carnations in the garden outside the window.
So I rushed to find the flowers right away.
It was raining cats and dogs, but it didn't matter.
I had to do something to show I wasn't hated.
I looked at the Duke with a frightened face.
After a long silence, he hugged me.
*Eh?*
Then the embarrassed Leah and Nos came running over.
“Ah, sir. Maybe the child just wanted to make a fuss about the latest event. She is still a baby, so she doesn't know better.”
But the Duke carried me into the castle without saying a word.
*What will happen now?*
I prayed with all my might, but I knew a bunch of flowers couldn't solve the problem of a broken newt.
However, the place the Duke entered was the bathroom.
*What?*
*Is he going to torture me with water?*
I was so scared that I became stiff.
The Duke extended his hand after putting me in the bathtub.
*Here it comes!*
I closed my eyes involuntarily.
But this was strange.
Strangely, it wasn't painful.
When I carefully opened my eyes, I saw the Duke kneeling on one knee.
Soon after, he took my foot.
I was amazed by what he was trying to do.
He started wiping my feet.
When the warm water touched my skin, I felt a sense of relief.
“Does it hurt?”
“No...”
He looked at me without a word, so I muttered, “A little...”
His touch softened.
Every time the mud and dust on my feet dissolved in the water, the wounds became more visible.
I hadn't felt the pain because I had been in such a hurry.
The Duke's gaze sank deeply as he looked at my feet.
“Why were you walking around the castle so late at night?”
I thought I was in trouble now, but he didn't say anything more.
*What is this?*
*Is he not angry?*
*Why isn't he shouting?*
I twisted my hands and groaned.
“Duke... aren't you angry?”
An eerie silence sank into the bathroom.
He stared at me for a long time and then spoke.
“I am not angry.”
*Truly?*
*Are you sure?*
I looked at him with distrust.
He brought his forehead closer and gently tapped my forehead with his.
It didn't hurt at all.