CH 12

Rin sniffed and made a painful sound with a pitiful face as much as possible. 

“I don’t want to go to the Pindias Great Prayer, Grandpa! I know it’s wrong to fearlessly pick and eat the fruit, so if you punish me, I will receive it without trouble. As long as I don’t go to Pindias Great Prayer. . .” 

“Your voice sounds great when you say that you know your mistake.” 

It was a severe rebuke. 

“I’ll go over it in a bit.” 

Jihad asked in a cold voice as he lay down with his shoulders drooping, “What were you thinking when you ate that fruit?”

“Because I was told that it was sweet in the books –”

“So was it actually sweet when you tried it?” 

“Well, I don’t really remember well –”

“Is it true that you tried it because you were really curious?”

“Yes. . .” 

As the powerless answers continued, the Duke shook his head. “Why are you asking such a thing, Jihad?” he questioned. 

“‘I went into a greenhouse that I normally don’t go into and had an accident, and the reason was because I was curious about the taste.’ Isn’t that an answer that doesn’t suit you at all?” The Lord points out. 

This is why I hate quick-witted guys. Even Rin herself was uncertain about how to answer that question.

“Ha. . .Something like that happened while I was away. Yana, so how is your body? Are you okay?”

“Still a bit weak.. .”

“Listen carefully. The person who has taken care of you like a real parent until now is Roman, not me, not Jihad, not Grigori. Roman is sending you back to Pindias in order to have you trained, and no one else can step in and stop it,” The Duke tells Yana. 

It means that there is no special reason that can stop this. 

But the Duke is not a bad person, so as long as there was a justification for stopping this, then it could work. 

“I will talk to Roman and extend the period. But no more. Remember that you did it to yourself, Yana.” 

“Sorry.”

The moment she said everything, the balance of the body collapsed and her eyes turned round and round 

What?

No matter how sorry I was, I was sick, but it was a very sudden fainting feeling. 

In an instant, an aura that was used in the market came to mind. Did the body reach its limit because it used excessive power? 

Ah, so this body is truly weak after all.

“Yana!” 

Jihad’s worried face draws closer. 

Rin closed her eyes. 

It was the third fainting. 

* * *

In the dream of that day, Yana was hiding at the end of the passage without a trace. 

A quiet evening with a scarlet sunset. Not far away came the clear whispers of two adults. 

“Yes? It’s nonsense. Lady Yana’s name was used instead? Wasn’t the fire at the gymnasium caused by the daughter of the second Lord? There must be witnesses!” 

“Mr. Roman will take care of that part. Anyway, this case is going to end as Lady Yana’s mistake, so please don’t comment on this.” 

Yana gently bit her lower lip and hid her face between her knees. No matter how hard she tried to hold back her crying, the tip of her nose grew cold. 

“This is unfair. The only one who suffers is the innocent Lady Yana.” 

“But if everyone shuts up, that unfair treatment becomes a fact.” 

“. . .”

“Ha. I’ll only say it once, so listen up. You came to Tuslena not too long ago, but still don’t know much. . .Miss Ninabel is Roman’s only daughter. In addition, thanks to his outstanding holy power, he is counted as one of the leaders who will lead the next generation of Tuslena. He will have many enemies to stand in his way in the future. We have to take good care of it. It is better to root out all things that can be blamed from a young age.”

“–It is also an incident with casualties.” 

“Well, isn’t it a child’s mistake? Even the great lord will be generous, because it wasn’t intentional. Besides, it’s not another child’s mistake. It’s the mistake of a child who lost her parents early. Everyone will understand.” 

“. . .”

“Come on, come over here. The sun will set soon. Let’s have a drink. It’s embarrassing, but don’t feel guilty about it.”

How much time had passed since the two men disappeared?

After wiping away her runny nose and tears, Yana stood up and walked confidently. 

Today was the day to keep the promise made with the second wife, ‘to come with a landscape painting from the sponsorship of the annex’. As proof of that, the green summer scenery of the detached Huwon was melted into the paper Yana was holding. 

To be honest, I don’t feel the slightest bit right now to show you a picture like this. 

Even so, Yana wanted to keep her promise because she is swayed by her emotions, she breaks promises and behaves as she pleases, which is what grown ups do. 

It was then. 

“Hick. Ugh.”

At the sound of a small sob, Yana’s steps stopping in front of the door. 

Through the slightly open door, two figures could be seen. One was the second mistress, and the other was Ninabel, the second mistress’s daughter and Yana’s cousin. 

The two looked exactly alike, as if they had been stamped from the same seal. To the extent that anyone can see they are mother and daughter. The woman with her blonde hair in curls gently soothed the girl with the same hair color as hers. 

“My sweet baby, Ninabel. It’s okay, stop it! No one will blame you.” 

“But mother. Ninabel is scared. I didn’t mean it. It was really a mistake.” 

“Nothing! I won’t take it as your mistake anymore.” 

“Still, there are people who have seen it. What if they go around saying it was my fault? Hick. Ninabel is a smart and kind lady. . .What if the Duke misunderstands that other people are fools. . .”

“Shh. don’t worry about that. As always, everyone will pretend not to know. This mother promises you.” 

Ninabel, who had been crying for a long time, stuck her head out from the arms of the second mistress. 

“–Yana will take responsibility?”

“Of course! Yana would be rather happy to be punished on behalf of our lovely Ninabel! What could be more rewarding to her than keeping that smile on your face?” 

Kwajjik. 

The landscape painting she was holding in her hand crumpled without hesitation.

Yana closed her eyes and opened them, then slowly walked away from the door. Soon, urgent footsteps echoed through the empty passage, but no one called Yana to stop her. 

No one. 

* * *

Rin, who opened her eyes in the dark, slowly recalled the memories of Yana. 

Her review of the past was now concise. 

It just needed one word. 

Doll.

Yana was the second couple’s doll. 

A doll that will cover the mistakes and sins of their own daughter Ninabel. In the small world dominated by Roman, Yana was completely isolated. 

Rin realized again that Yana was a powerless girl. Unlike her, who ran across the continent with her sword, Yana has been sacrificed for a long time, confined within the walls of the adults. 

I thought there would be a great result just by delaying the trip to the Pindias Great Prayer. 

Maybe Tuslena was a worse hell than there. 

“Of course! Yana would be rather happy to be punished on behalf of our lovely Ninabel! What could be more rewarding to her than keeping the smile on your face?”

Two pasts. 

“Stop the tears. Rin knows how big her heart is and that’s why I chose her.” 

“Is that right? Rin is. . .Will Rin understand?” 

Overlapping into one voice, it echoes in the brain. 

“Besides, it’s not another child. It’s the mistake of a child who lost her parents early. . .Everyone will understand.”

Rin learned from the past. 

“Yes, you are an orphan.” 

The world is alone after all. 

But paradoxically, you need someone to use to get through that world. Just like Sabrina and Theon did, and Roman and his minions did. 

. . .Yeah, I can’t do it alone. 

I have to make an ally for Yana in this house. 

If I had to pick one, it would definitely be the Duke. She had to somehow make a connection to the Duke. A connection that goes beyond the relationship between a grandfather and granddaughter who are indifferent!

“Olga! Are you there? How long have I slept. . .” 

“Are you coming?”

Rin, who was just about to raise her upper body, stopped moving at the cold male voice. 

I wiped my surprise eyes and turned my head to see the profile of a man sitting in front of a yellow lantern. A man with disheveled black hair and a comfortable dressing gown. He turned over a page in his book and said, “There is no one here with that name.” 

“–Uncle Jihad?”