Chapter 4

A few hours later.

Violet murmured in embarrassment.

“T-the child is still… I guess she’s still unfamiliar.”

“….”

Violet smiled awkwardly as she patted the child’s back who was hugging the back of her neck.

With her face hidden all throughout, the child sat on Violet’s leg who was sitting in the chair.

In front of Violet sat the Duke and Duchess of Eston, Adrian, and the twin brothers Luca and Royce.

Except for the Duke, all of them had pink hair that resembled the Duchess.

The very same with the child who was in Violet’s arms. It was a very coveted and pretty color.

A little while ago, the atmosphere became tight after Violet’s shocking declaration.

Duke Eston immediately ordered a servant to request a test at the temple. For plucking out the child’s hair again, Violet was in charge of it.

Fortunately, when the child placed a cookie into her mouth, she didn’t even know her hair was plucked because she was busy eating.

“….”

Because of this situation, Violet was distressed and embarrassed.

Not only the Duke and Duchess, but also Adrian and even the young twin brothers… They were looking at the child’s back, who was in Violet’s arms, with great pressure.

As she was looking into space for a while, Violet swallowed the pressure, and said, “Ah, right!”

“Since you requested a test today, it’ll come out as early as tomorrow!”

Duke Eston shook his head.

“No, it’ll come out today.”

“Yes?”

“I donated 1 billion Tar to the temple.”

“Y-yes…?”

Violet asked back in surprise.

The donation she made for requesting a test only in one day was 4,000 Tar.

Since usually, nobles donated 2,000 Tar for one test, the amount which Violet donated was already a large amount.

‘But, he said that he donated 1 billion?’

It was truly a huge amount.

‘It won’t be weird even if the results come out in only 10 minutes…’

Violet was absolutely amazed inside.

Indeed, since Duke Eston was the richest man on the Continent, it was possible. The amount of 1 billion Tar would be a trivial thing.

Moreover, a child who they thought was dead may be alive, so wouldn’t they do anything they can?

‘That’s that. Still, it’s too uncomfortable, though…?’

Ever since she came to her senses, Violet didn’t know what to do when she saw the Duchess who kept on crying.

This was because the child had only been hugging onto Violet, without looking at the Duke Family people’s faces.

In a few hours, it would be revealed that they were a real family though… but if she kept sticking to Violet, it would be difficult.

“Now, how about you come down now?”

Violet tried to drop the child who was in her arms off, but the child clung as she shouted, “No!”

Somehow the little child’s grip was so strong that Violet eventually decided to just hug her like that.

Although Violet’s legs were a bit numb… she patiently held it in.

“…”

No matter how she saw it, it seemed that the child was frightened by the unfamiliar environment. It was sad and pitiful, so she hugged the child tighter and patted her on the back.

But in fact, the child was actually recalling the future through the original work by putting her brain to work as hard as it could.

‘What should I do?’

The child had been thinking so hard that rational thinking was now becoming impossible. Besides, she was hungry.

What was worse, it was about to gradually get sadder and sadder and sadder. She didn’t know she would cry her heart out so unsightly like this.

Time flied for a little while just like that when–

“Your Excellency the Duke! A person from the temple has come!”

***

Perhaps thanks to the 1 billion Tar donation, a high-ranking priest came to the Duke’s Household himself with the test paper.

Looks like the priest came in a hurry, as he panted as he politely held out the test paper.

“The probability… of paternity is 99.9%. Gasp… ahem. If it is this rate, you can call it as 100%, Your Excellency the Duke.”

The priest spoke very kindly to the Duke who was checking the test paper.

Duke Eston checked the phrase at the very bottom.

The probability of paternity is confirmed to be 99.9%.

Just in case, the Duke and the Duchess requested each of their hair. All of the results came out as a match.

It was certain without further doubt.

No, in fact, as soon as he saw the child’s face, Duke Eston was convinced.

Because the child’s face looked so much like his wife’s.

“If by any chance there’s anything else you want to request from us, or if there is any matter that you need from us, anything…!”

“I have!”

It was while the high-ranking priest was bowing as he talked with a bright face that Violet raised her hand.

As people’s eyes gathered, Violet hesitated for a moment and said.

“Uhm… it’s because the child was injured so I called a priest and she received treatment, but it seems that it didn’t heal properly. Can you look at the child’s wound?”

The priest was startled by Violet’s words.

Those words also meant that that priest did not work properly. Or, in the first place, the temple sent a priest with weak healing power.

“For you to say wound, what does that mean?”

“Is she hurt? Where? How much?”

However, at those words, it was the Duke and the Duchess who were more surprised.

“About that, actually….”

Violet closed her mouth again as she tried to start talking slowly. The place where her eyes were directed to was the high-ranking priest.

She couldn’t say it in front of the priest.

“Ah, yes. Then I will heal first….”

Reading the room, the priest put on a business smile. It seemed to be a story that should not be heard.

If that was the case, he just had to heal quickly and then drop out of it.

It would be difficult if anything happened after digging into the secret of the Duke’s Family who donated as much as 1 billion Tar.

After all, trust was the most important thing in the temple’s money making business ever since the early times.

“Then… Can you show me the child’s wound?”

The priest brings together its divine power.

Any wounds were ready to be healed cleanly.

***

Violet barely managed to pull off the child who did not want to separate from her and received healing magic.

Thanks to the priest, the child was healed from all the wounds which were left on her body and fell fast asleep.

Recalling the faint bruise mark on the child’s body, the Eston people all swallowed their breaths in regret.

“From whom did she get beaten up?”

Among Adrian’s twin younger brothers, Luca, the older brother, said as his face immediately crumpled.

“I know right. It’s much more serious than the wound we got after we both fought, you know.”

Luca nodded at Royce’s answer.

“But, is she really our younger sister? They said she’s dead!”

“They said she came back alive. Like the undead! Look at how she looks! She looks the same as Mom, you know!”

“Then, she’s an undead baby that looks like Mom?”

Adrian ordered them, his two younger brothers who kept talking in whispers, to be quiet as he said, “Shh.”

Even though Luca and Royce grumbled, they closed their mouths tight as Older Brother said.

Violet laid the child on the bed in Adrian’s room with the maid who personally accompanied her, and gave him a pink teddy bear he brought.

Then she came back to the drawing room.

***

The Duke Eston Family people, who were waiting for Violet, waited only for Violet’s mouth to open.

After taking a deep breath, Violet began the long short story.

“The place where I found that child is a slum.”

“A slum, you say?”

The Duke of Eston’s expression was crumpled in an instant.

“Yes. As you know, those who illegally traded slaves in our territory fled to that side. Since in the Capital, I was the only one who knew their faces clearly, I was looking around the slums with the knights just in case.”

Violet continued to talk in the quiet atmosphere.

“And then I found that child. When I saw her pink hair and sky blue eyes, I remembered Adrian and looked at her for quite a while… but her face looked so much like the Duchess.”

“…Why hadn’t anyone discovered her this whole time? We were in the same Capital, though….”

When the Duke spoke despondently, Violet replied.

“About that… Her face and head were covered in black dirty water, so you wouldn’t have recognized her even if you saw. And it is also because the Duke Family’s knights and employees rarely have any matters that require them to go to that slum.”

“Well, that’s indeed true…”

“And when I asked, she said that she could only wash herself with rainwater on rainy days…. It had just rained a few days ago, right? That’s why I was able to find her pink hair and look at her features.”

“….”

“Did you say she washes with rainwater?

At Violet’s words, the Duke Family people’s faces were distorted in shock.

“That’s impossible! Do you mean she washes her face like this while it’s raining? Only because she gets rainwater?”

Royce mimicked the actions of washing his face in shock.

“Sob sob….”

The Duchess began to sob again. It seemed that her heart was collapsing.

Violet felt sorry for their appearance, but closed her eyes and continued the story.

“…So I took her to my house first.”

Throughout the story, the Duke was pressing his forehead with his large hand, and the Duchess was crying.

Adrian, as expected, also listened attentively to Violet’s story with a heavy expression.

Even the faces of the twin brothers, who were usually mischievous children, were serious.

Violet continued to speak.

She explained the circumstances of discovering the child, and the things she knew. This included the fact that the child was 6 years old, and others, which she heard directly from the child.

“Then, what happened with that wound?”

The Duke of Eston, who was listening to the story, asked.

“I don’t know where the wound came from, but the maids found bruise marks on her body while washing her. I did call in a priest to heal it… but at first, it looked really severe.”

“….”

She also brought up the speculated circumstances.

“And… just in case, I asked the butler to find out, and it was said that the illegitimate child who was kicked out of Viscount Beryl Family’s around last year looked like this child.”

“Then, the child, who…”

“The child’s mom seems to have fled across the border, but it was said that she had dark pink hair and the name was Rosaline.”

“…!”

At those words, the Duchess, Sofia’s expression became distorted.

The face of the maid who worked at the Duke Household a long time ago came to her mind.

After the child whom the Duchess gave birth to died as soon as it was born, the maid had immediately quit from working.

As Violet told the evidence that she had found, the Duchess’ expression gradually became darker and darker.

Looking at each of them, every circumstance matched.

Since no one knew the fact that that maid was pregnant at the time, no one could be suspicious of it.

Moreover, since the hair of the dead newborn baby was also pink.

“I was afraid of hurting you for nothing If I told you in advance and the test results came out differently… so I came here as soon as I received the test paper from the temple.”

“Thank you, Violet.”

“You saved us, Violet. My child… that child…”

Violet smiled embarrassedly at the Duke and the Duchess of Eston’s words.

“But, originally, what was the name of the child? Even if I asked for her name, she wouldn’t say it.”

“….”

“It seemed that she couldn’t live well in Viscount Beryl’s Household either. Seeing that she was kicked out in the first place… it looks like she didn’t even receive a name from that place.”

“Raphine. It’s Raphine.”

The Duchess said as she sobbed.

“Raphine… it’s a pretty name.”

Violet muttered and smiled.

In the meantime, Violet smiled brighter when she made eye contact with Adrian.

The smile contained a warmth from the heart to comfort her friend.

Violet hesitated and apologized.

“Adrian, I wanted to tell you in advance, but sorry…. I’m also sorry that I secretly plucked out your hair. It stung, didn’t it?”

“It’s okay, Violet.”

Adrian smiled affectionately as usual. Warm emotions raised in his blue eyes.