CH 16

After Elliot left, she looked around the room and lay down on the big bed. It was an overly large bed for such a small body. But there were no complaints. The wider the bed, the better. Plus, this bed was the softest and most comfortable bed she had ever used. In addition, there was even a cozy scent from the blanket.

She felt like she was about to fall asleep in a drowsy mood, but she endured it with her eyes wide open. It was because she had to organize her thoughts on what she had to do next. The man who stole her mother’s letters under Daniel’s orders was hiding in that mansion. In order to know who Daniel’s boss was, it was necessary to adapt to this mansion and memorize people’s faces and locations. If he stole the letter without even reporting it to the Grand Duke’s grandfather, he must have been a person with some standing here.

The first thing that came to mind was the butler who had been helping Daniel a while ago. Did he say his name was Barden? A butler by the name of Barden had heard of Daniel’s arrival and was waiting at the front to serve him. Judging from the content of the conversation, Daniel and Bardon seemed to know each other quite well. However, she couldn’t blindly doubt the person named Barden.

If his role was to greet guests at the Grand Duchy of Crichton, it wouldn’t be strange that he went to meet Daniel. Besides, if the guest was the younger brother of the Grand Duke of Crichton, there was no question. So she had to put him at the top of the list first, but be aware of the possibility of someone else.

One never know. Maybe not one or two.

She felt frustrated, but she didn’t even know the name of the maid who escorted her from the Grand Duke of Crichton’s office to the lobby. She would have to learn about this slowly while living in the mansion. At least now that Prince Crichton’s eyes are on his mother, he won’t be able to pay for it. The only thing to worry about from now on was how Daniel would come out in the future.

Daniel had hoped that his mother and the Prince of Crichton would never see each other. 

According to Daniel’s words shortly before his death, the reason was that his mother was the Emperor’s former fiancée. She certainly deserved it.

The Crichton family and the Emperor were at odds over her mother. Although Grand Duke of Crichton and Brian said that they had dealt with it, it was only a temporary measure as the direct cause had not been resolved. Even more so, the problem was that her mother had unilaterally broken off the official engagement between the imperial family and the Grand Duke, rather than a simple breakup between a man and a woman. A scandal that would never be seen again in the Empire.

The worst situation occurred when the fiancée of the prince escaped in search of her love. Of course, the relationship between the imperial family and the Grand Duke’s family must have been greatly strained.

She didn’t know what position Daniel might have been sticking to, but when she analyzed only the exposed situation, it was that even if Daniel took control of the Crichton family, there was no reason for the Emperor to help the Grand Duke’s family. However, she might have thought that if her mother returned and resolved her old relationship with the Emperor, she would not know what would happen again. Although the old remnants wouldn’t be completely resolved, at least there might be a possibility to change the Emperor’s heart again after she turned away from the Grand Duke’s family. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Daniel stole his mother’s letter to prevent that emergency.

But now, because of her, her mother was able to safely return to the Grand Duchess of Crichton. Would she be all that? The day after her return, she even confronted the Emperor, so Daniel, who was wary of this, must have dried up his mouth.

It hadn’t been long since her mother’s return to the Grand Duke of Crichton, and the eyes of the Grand Duke of Crichton, Brian, and the Emperor were all focused on her mother. That’s why he wouldn’t be able to touch her mother hastily right now. But she didn’t think that Daniel would continue to let go of his hands like this. Maybe pretending to be nice and moving her mother and she to another place. It wasn’t even a crowd. Officially, at the spot where Daniel and she met for the first time, Daniel was thinking of sending her to another aristocratic family as if he were selling her, who was only nine years old. He even said it shamelessly in front of her, probably expecting her not to understand.

If it hadn’t been for Elliot, she would have gotten too angry and kicked him in the shin. Even when she was young, Daniel had these thoughts, how could his mother not have those thoughts? lthough her mother had a lump called Nara, she was coveted by any aristocratic family, given her position as the daughter of the Grand Duke of Crichton, who held the power next to the Emperor.

Daniel wouldn’t have known this either. He could just as well pretend to care about his mother and drive her away to another aristocratic family.

Knock, knock.

The clear and elegant echo of the tree broke her thoughts. She casually turned her head and looked out the window. Through the window, she could see the clock tower located in the center of the capital. The time was past 6 o’clock.

“Little lady, it’s time to eat. Excuse me, may I go inside?”

She got up from lying down and looked at the door, opening her mouth.

“Come on in.”

As soon as she gave permission, the door opened and a grown woman in a maid’s uniform and a girl my age entered. The two of them approached her with quiet steps and bowed their heads respectfully toward her.

“Hello, little lady? I would like to greet you before guiding you to the dining hall. This is Kalina Clovet. Please feel free to call me Kalina.”

First she introduced herself to her as a bright blonde maid who looked to be in her mid-twenties. She nodded her head and gave her a smile.

“I’ll take care of you, Kalina.”

After she finished speaking, Kalina looked at her and smiled.

“You can speak comfortably.”

“Ah… Yes, I will.”

Apparently, since she was the granddaughter of the Grand Duke of Crichton, it would not be very comfortable for Kalina to hear her respect. She quickly adjusted, and soon after, Kalina put her hand on the shoulder of the girl who came with her.

“And this child is Anita Lee Ophelia, who will keep the little lady by her side.”

After Kalina finished, Anita bowed her head at me again.

“It is an honor to have you by my side.”

Anita’s cheeks were stained red as she raised her head from her bow. It was cute the way she rolled her eyes, worried she might have made a mistake in her own actions.

“I too will take care of the little lady, but she, Anita, will be the little lady’s exclusive maid, so she will be her companion, and she will run errands.”

Kalina added her explanation.

“Please take care of me, Anita.”

“Yes, yes!”

She held out her hand as if to shake hands, and Anita, embarrassed, reached out and squeezed her hand into mine. Then again she took her hands back in amazement.

“I’m sorry.”

Anita apologized to her in a small, shy voice. She shrugged her shoulders and smiled at her. Then she turned her head to check her Kalina.

“Then, Kalina, can you guide me to the dining hall?”

“Yes, little lady,”

She was escorted by Kalina and she headed to the dining hall. In fact, she was able to find it on her own because she had once followed her mother to a dining hall in the morning without her guidance, but she followed her as if she didn’t know anything. Behind her, Anita was also following at her pace.

“Nephew, are you going to eat?”

She came down the stairs and was about to turn around when she heard a familiar voice behind her. She turned and identified the owner of the voice.

“Uncle.”

Behind her was Brian. When she called out to him, Brian smiled happily and came over to her side.

“I heard that you went to the imperial castle with Cornelia today. Cornelia says she was fine… Did something happen there by any chance?”

“What’s going on?”

She didn’t understand what he was saying, so when she asked back, Brian turned his head and met her eyes.

“No, it doesn’t seem like there was, so it happened. Forget the question I just asked.”

Brian evaded and smiled kindly. She realized later that he had asked if there was anything special between the Emperor and mother at the imperial castle, but she also kept her mouth shut because she did not know what kind of conversation her mother and the Emperor had. Still, it didn’t seem that her expression was bad after her mother confronted the Emperor, and more than anything else, she had a good relationship with Marianne, the Empress.

“Mirabel, can we go to the restaurant with you?”

Brian asked her hesitantly. She turned her head again to check on him, and he was holding out his hand to her. It was amazing to see a person who at one time felt difficult and frightening, struggling in front of her.

Brian in her memory was always a man who slaughtered monsters with a fierce expression… 

Brian awkwardly tried to remove his hand as she stared blankly at him.

“Sir, if you don’t like it, you don’t have to go with me.”

“No. It’s great. Let’s go together.”

She grabbed Brian’s hand to retrieve it. Brian’s hands were large and rough, befitting someone trained in swordsmanship. It felt like a giant’s hand compared to her small, delicate hands, only nine years old. Brian looked at her with his eyes wide open, hard to believe she held his hand. It seemed as if tears were welling up in his eyes.

“Uncle? if… Are you crying?”

She asked him straight-forward. It was because she wanted to make a mistake. But instead of denying it, Brian replied with a bright smile like a child.

“Nothing. How can you not shed tears when you have such a cute and pretty nephew?”

Brian picked up the handkerchief Kalina handed her next to her and wiped away his tears. She wondered again if the Brian she knew and the Brian now were the same person. At the time, even though it was scary, she thought it was really cool, but when she saw it like this, it felt like her fantasy was shattered.

She didn’t hate it though. Since both her parents died when she was young, she was the one who wandered the world alone with no one to turn to.

She couldn’t believe that she had a family to support her.