CH 145

Maybe ten years old at most.

The child was so terrified that she was speechless, unable to say anything, just crying.

Lloyd looked at the child with sharp eyes and asked suspiciously.

“How did you get here?”

He was already sensitive enough about Aria’s nearly getting injured incident.

The child’s shoulders shuddered at the frosty voice. And she began to tremble like a swaying tree.

“My, my mom told me to go here, she, she told me not to move, but I’m, I’m scared, so I’m going to wait somewhere else….”

It was difficult to understand what she was saying because of her mumbling tone and low whispering voice.

Lloyd frowned for a moment and asked.

“What?”

Perhaps she got frightened again, the child made a loud ‘gasp!’ and hid behind Aria’s back.

“It looks like the child got abandoned…”

Aria, who roughly understood the child’s words with her keen hearing, muttered with a serious expression.

The child was abandoned by her parents in the Ingo Mountains.

Aria was naturally forced to recall her own past.

‘Of course, I was the one who started the situation back then.’

Does this child know that she has been abandoned by her parents?

Of course, she would know. How quick witted are kids? It’s probably just that she trusted her parents. Thinking that they would never have abandoned her.

“It looks like they want to abandon her in this place.”

Lloyd, who inferred all the circumstances, gave a twisted smile.

Abandoning a child in the mountains of Grand Duchy Valentine, where all kinds of atrocious rumors circulate. Their intentions were so obvious.

They just wanted the child to be killed by the devil.

“The devil’s job isn’t to kill a naughty kid, it’s to torture criminals in a pit of fire.”

Lloyd looked up and down for a moment, plotting something.

He doesn’t know who the child’s parents are, but he intends to make them pay the price of almost getting Aria seriously injured.

“What is your name?”

“Name, name…”

As if the child couldn’t remember it right away, she paused for a moment, then said.

“Laura.”

It felt strange not being able to answer her own name right away. But Aria did not express it and held out her hand.

“Laura, it’s dangerous here, so let’s go together. If you go to the castle, I’ll tell them to find a place to stay for a while while your mother comes.”

Laura gave a blank look and then nodded her head. And she mumbled in a shy voice, clutching the hem of Aria’s skirt.

“Yes, Sister…”

…… Sister? No, of course, Aria is an older sister, but…….

Aria felt a guilty conscience.

‘But what was that song?’

The song that came to mind when the child was about to be eaten by the carnivorous rabbit.

‘I thought I knew what song it was when I was going to sing it…….’

Lloyd reacted so quickly that it ended before she could even sing.

Aria thought for a moment, then turned to Lloyd.

For some reason, the captured carnivorous rabbit looked very sad and had eyes that looked like it was about to cry.

‘Well, now is not the time to sing out of the blue.’

Even the rabbit didn’t seem to have any intention of aiming at Aria any more.

Aria, leaving this behind, took their new companion, Laura, and headed with Lloyd to the carriage.

“Come here now.”

Tristan said with his arms wide open, his chest showing.

And when Aria just stared at him, he raised the corners of his lips in a funny way and flicked his fingers.

“Come here. Now that I’ve been listening to my daughter, you must reward me.”

Reward?

“After the large-scale cleanup, we searched out all those who were suspicious. We buried them in the ground so that there will be no traces and sent them back to nature.”

Then Dwayne, his aide, who was standing next to the Grand Duke with a tired face, added in surprise.

“Your Grace, a fine burial doesn’t mean it’s a fine act. Please leave out the useless words.”

“I fertilized the land and tried to protect the environment, so if this isn’t a fine act, what does it mean?”

“Using people as fertilizer is not fine, it is gore.”

Ah? This was what he meant by keeping the Grand Duke’s castle clean while she goes to the Imperial Palace?

‘To be honest, I forgot…….’

Although Tristan is annoyed by everything in the world, he has shown the ability to handle terrifying tasks, once he decides to do something.

‘In a matter of a moment, all the thousands of employees were investigated.’

Aria, feeling a bit sorry for some reason, averted her gaze unknowingly.

Then Tristan sighed, ‘Hmm?’ ‘, and said in a sympathetic way.

“The reward is just one hug.”

“……”

“You’re not coming here to hug me.”

Aria found dark shadows beneath Tristan’s eyes. Apparently, while she was away, his insomnia had increased again.

Aria walked over to Tristan and fell into his arms.

“I’ll sing you a lullaby too.”

And whispered.

“Hmm, great.”

It was when Tristan hugged her tightly like a teddy bear and smiled wide.

“…I knew from a long time ago that you were senile.”

Lloyd, who had just entered the office, said with a frown.

He put the papers down on his desk. The papers that received excessive force from his hand fluttered in the air.

Tristan looked up at it for a moment without saying a word.

“Do you want to show off your strength in front of your father who has lost his strength and is weak?”

“Yes, thanks to the Grand Duke’s encouragement to build up more strength, I came back stronger.”

Lloyd tried to pry Aria from Tristan’s arms. The more he did, the tighter Tristan hugged Aria.

Until she suffocates.

“Let her go when I’m still nice. At least I want to send you back with flesh and blood intact.”

Lloyd grabbed Tristan’s forearm and gritted his teeth. It was really going to break if he continued a little longer.

Aria, who could not do anything because she was caught between the father and son, finally opened her mouth.

“Both of you, stop.”

The two father and son came to a halt.

Dwayne, as usual, was clicking his tongue inside as he stared at the father and son with a nasty relationship, but was now horrified.

His eyes widened to the limit.

“The Young Madam talks?!”

Aria looked at Tristan and said,

“Father, please let me go.”

Then the strength was gone in the arms that were holding her.

“Lloyd, stop.”

Lloyd then took a step back.

Dwayne was so startled that he admired it in the midst of his great shock. At the same time, he realized an important truth.

‘What’s the matter that the Young Madam suddenly became able to speak at this point…….’

She has the power to control two wild beasts that run rampant with just minimal words. After suppressing the urge to immediately applaud, he looked up at Aria with an emotional gaze.

“Since we’ve found all the spies, I want to reveal my secrets to everyone.”

“Ah, is that so. I’ll have to get an audience right away.”

“How about having a small banquet?”

“Banquet?”

Aria nodded her head.

“It’s a banquet that all employees can participate in. I also wanted to say thank you to them for taking care of me and giving me a lot during this time.”

Thank you?

“That’s their work. The Young Madam doesn’t have to be grateful for what’s obvious.”

Dwayne said confused. But Aria shook her head and said firmly.

“I have received kindness, love and attention beyond work. I believe that emotions should be reciprocated with emotions.”

It was the first time he heard Young Madam’s voice. And her answer, in a voice he heard the first time, really resembled that voice.

It’s clear and clean, but like a flowing river, it’s straight and strong as if it’s pouring down the path……

“And I also want to reveal everything on the spot.”

Aria, as if she had never made a resolute voice, returned to her soft look in an instant, blushing in embarrassment.

‘Angel.’

‘Angel.’

‘Angel.’

All three of them were thinking the same thing at the same time.

The banquet was decided to be held in the rose garden, as all the employees could not gather in the banquet room.

Valentine’s garden is truly endless.

“Young Madam!”

Marronnier approached her shyly, blushing. She was not wearing her usual maid outfit, but a gorgeous red dress adorned with rose-shaped lace.

‘Marronnier usually had a lot of romance dreams at banquets.’

When Aria was elected the Queen of Spring Flowers, Marronnier got even more excited and said repeatedly that she had expected it.

It was starting to become hard to the ears

In fact, the reason she planned this banquet was partly because of Marronnier.

‘I thought you’d like it.’

Even if she didn’t say anything, Marronnier seemed to be excited about everything.

Aria smiled happily.

– You look so pretty today.

“Hehe, what are you saying.”

– Really. The roses couldn’t even bloom because they were embarrassed to see you.

“It’s just not the time to bloom yet!”

Marronnier was terrified.

As it turns out Aria was a genius who could do most of the work, if only she was given the guide.

“I don’t think I should have taught you something.”

When Marronnier was muttering seriously, “What have I done to the Young Madam…”,

“Be careful.”

Aria suddenly heard a voice whispering and turned her back in surprise. She didn’t see anyone.

– Did you just tell me to be careful?

“No? I’m the one who should be careful with what I say.”

Marronnier was answering as if she hadn’t heard anything.

‘But I definitely heard it.’

Aria, after returning to her hometown-like Grand Duke’s castle, had been slacking off but now she looked around, paying attention.

‘That’s……!’