Chapter 54
After Henry handed over the people who spy on them to the castle, he came here with the Duke.
It wouldn’t be too hard to find my location because I had a tracking device on me.
Together we rode the carriage back to the castle.
I was lost in thought all the time.
‘What happened?’
Why is Andy aware of Zachary’s tactics?
The boy’s name is definitely Andy. The list also clearly said Andy.
‘Most of all, he’s really weak.’
I’m afraid he’ll get beaten up by the maids.
Such a powerful knight, sincere and thoughtful, wouldn’t be Andy.
When I was worrying about it, a hand touched my cheek. It was Isaac.
“I’m sorry, I should have went here quickly.”
“It’s owkay.”
“…kid, why are you always fine?”
“Huh?”
Isaac looked really upset.
I’ve experienced many things in life, and I always had a hard time. It was a normal thing for me, so most of the things didn’t matter.
My fourth life here is really satisfying. But I am ready to defect, so I don’t want anything.
Isaac, who was staring at me, dropped his shoulders. Henry’s eyes were dejected, and the Duke said nothing.
When I got off the carriage, the sun was going down.
Isaac and Henry went back to the room with a dim expression, and I am worried about the kids.
Then, the Duke bent his knees and made eye contact with me.
“Blaine.”
“Yes.”
“Never do something so dangerous again.”
Did he get angry because I was in trouble?
I didn’t mean it, but it must have been annoying for him because I almost got into trouble several times.
He smiled faintly.
“I’m glad you didn’t get hurt.”
“…….”
“Rest.”
The Duke, who said so, stroke my hair and headed for the castle.
I touched the duke’s hand for a moment.
It felt strange.
“……”
‘I don’t have time for this. I need to find Zachary quickly.’
Suddenly, I ran into someone.
“Uuhh..”
When I was rubbing my forehead after a pretty hard hit, I heard a familiar voice, “Little miss?”
It’s the chairman.
“What’s the matter?”
“I have to prepare for defecting. So,…”
“Does your anxiousness have anything to do with returning home with the Duke and the brothers today?”
“It, it’s not that!”
“I must be right.”
“It’s nwot…”
As I answered while avoiding his gaze, the chairman groaned and looked into my eyes.
“Why did you set a dangerous goal like defecting?”
“That’s because it will be dwangerous in the future. If Mina comes, I’ll be a swacificed.”
“With Duke of Dubbled’s protection, things are likely to be different.”
“I don’t want to experience it agwain.”
“It’ll be different.”
“Dyuke and the bwothers just think of me as a pet.”
Their affection is the same as loving a cat when it comes home. Otherwise, it is strange that they love me so much suddenly.
How can they keep loving someone else’s child? I’m not a lovely child like Mina either.
“Little miss. Do you know how difficult it is to protect you who has become more special than your last life.”
“……..”
“You have many loyal and talented people. Even Eugene Nos who is a coveted talent even in the imperial family has put those people aside and always comes forward in your own business.”
“……..”
“I know Theodore Dubbled, he doesn’t want to do such a nuisance for his pet.”
I didn’t say anything. The chairman looked at me and said,
“Did you stop yourself from believing in anyone because you’re going to defect?”
“Go away! I won’t lwisten!”
“You are afraid you’d be abandoned by your family again. More than the risk of failing to defect.”
“Don’t cwontinue!”
“That is what you are very afraid of.”
I glared at the chairman with moist eyes. To avoid crying, I bit my lips tightly and clenched my skirt.
He looked at me for a while and bent over.
I quickly ran into my room, I closed the door and hid myself under the blanket.
My fear, which had been chained up and hidden inside me, seemed to have been revealed.
***
I woke up in the darkness and quickly realized.
This is a dream. The evil dream that always follows me.
When I realized so, my surroundings began to change.
This was the altar of the Imperial Palace. It was the place where my whole body was torn apart as a sacrifice in the first life.
There was an elephant bag on the altar. It was my bag I packed for defecting.
My head is half twisted and my whole body is covered with wounds.
[Dumb Leblaine, do you want to believe in people again after you’ve been dealt with?]
The adult version of Leblaine, looked at me standing tall.
‘But…. But, the people in Dubbled seems different.’
[It was the same with the Duke of Amity. You said your father is different. It was like that with Vallua. You said you will live differently this time.]
‘Maybe it’s really different this time. I’ve never had anyone like the Dubbled people in my life before.’
[You think you’re special now?]
“…….”
[If Mina comes, it’ll be different. If it gets known again that you’re a child of fake destiny, you’ll be thrown away!]
I covered my ears with both hands.
It was like the pain of being sacrificed and the pain of being whipped by the Duke of Vallua.
The grown-up Leblaine who approached me was suddenly divided into three and became Mina, Duke of Amity, and Duke of Vallua.
[Will you beg for affection like a beggar again?]
[Like always!!]
Their screaming faces turned oddly.
Black liquid drips from all over the body, and their mouth is full of creepy sharp teeth.
‘Don’t come here. Don’t come!’
I got up and ran out.
But they are chasing my shadow persistently.
[Sorry, LeBlaine. But this is your fate. For us, for the country.]
[Mina is a special child.]
It was completely black and it hit me. I’m suffocating.
I struggled to get out of the thing that had swallowed me up to my throat.
‘Help me. I don’t like it. I don’t like it! Help me!’
The dream always ended only after I was completely engulfed in darkness. I’m sure that’s the case this time, too. My hands slowly loosened.
But this time, I saw a light in front of me.
“……Le.”
“….Blaine.”
Gasp!
I hurriedly opened my eyes. My whole body was covered with cold sweat.
In front of my eyes, I saw Isaac, who was helpless, Henry, full of worries, and the duke, who was holding my hand.
“Are you okay?”
“Are you surprised by what happened today?”
“Get a hold of yourself.”
This is the light.
I hold my tears as I looked at the three men whose outline was blurred by the light of the lamp.
Even if I didn’t see them clearly, I felt that their faces would have had a worried expression.
I squeezed the duke’s hand. I tried to hold my tears in, but the tears persistently kept coming out.
“Sniff…”
Isaac frowned when he saw me biting my lips tightly as to not make a sound.
“You idiot! Why did you hold it in, just cry!”
By saying so, I put a lot of strength on my forehead so that I wouldn’t drop tears from my eyes.
Henry said so and stroked my head.
“Did you have a nightmare?”
“……”
“You must have been so scared. I’m sorry.”
Henry kept saying sorry to me even though it wasn’t something to be sorry about.
He said he was sorry for coming late even after protecting me, and he said he was sorry for not knowing what I liked.
The Duke embraced me.
“I don’t know what else to do if you cry.”
“…….”
I laughed at his words.
The Duke, who did not know how to give affection or how to love me, made it funny and meaningful to love me in a clumsy way.
‘I’m stupid. Even though I’ve lived four times, I’m still a fool.’
I want to believe it again.
She knew she was more likely to get hurt, and she knew it would be easier for her to run away, but she didn’t want to miss the warmth that touched her skin.
‘One last time, one more time.’
When I laughed, the faces of the Dubbled’s people lit up.
“……Father.”
The Duke’s gaze trembled for a moment when I called him that.
It was the first title I called him that since I received the Etwal.
“Brother.”
“Br, Bro, Brother…..!”
Only
“Leblaine just called me……”
“No, she spoke to me!”
“She spoke to me, you idiot.”
Seeing the two bickering quickly, I buried my face on the shoulder of the duke.
I was in the light. Now the evil dream was not so scary.
That night, I threw away my elephant bag.
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