CH 56

It was when Herace, who was holding back her tears, and holding Erzen for a long time, someone tapped her on the shoulder. Herace, who had closed her eyes, opened her eyes and looked at the opponent.

A pair of large golden pupils were just in front of her. Herace was frightened by the child’s appearance who approached her without any indication and was seized with strange fear. The child’s amber eyes shone purely, but the eyes that were so clear gave a rather bizarre feeling.

[Do you need my help?]

She remembered the voice she heard on the day she returned to the castle once again. Herace avoided Miguel’s eyes at the creepy sensation as if she had seen a snake. Miguel, who saw Herace’s expression, smiled quietly and said in a subtly lowered voice.

“……We have to go back now. It’s time for the teacher to wake up.”

The fear she felt for a moment was scattered by the approaching breakup. Herace, who could not hide her regret, groaned and hugged Erzen even harder. But she soon relaxed her arms holding Erzen.

She was happy to meet Erzen, but she forgot about it, Herace was also under surveillance.

After Ezekiel’s visit was cut off, the maids would enter her room several times a day for tea time or snacks. Herace knew the real purpose hidden in the eyes of the maids who did not respond to her except Helen.

‘If we get caught, the chance to meet like this would be over.’

Herace managed to shake off her lingering feelings and removed Erzen from her. Holding the child’s arm gently, she called her son’s name to say goodbye.

“Erzen.”

“I don’t wanna!”

Erzen, who felt the time of parting approaching seeing his mother’s expression, shouted sharply. Her eyes began to turn red again with the rising tears.

“I’m going to stay with my Mom. Erzen wants to live here, too. I don’t want to go back!”

“…….”

“I’ll be nice to you. I’m gonna listen to my Mom and won’t cry. I will just stay quietly. So, Mom…… Don’t send Erzen, okay?”

The child’s expression, who was stomping his feet and complaining, was full of fear and desperation of the fact that he was going to be separated from his mother again. Herace approached him and held Erzen again, and said in a friendly but determined voice.

“Good boy Erzen, go back today and I’ll see you again next time. Okay?”

“No, I’m staying with my Mom. Mom, don’t throw away Erzen. Mom. Mom…….”

The child, who would have nodded reluctantly to Herace’s affirmation before, was stubborn today. Erzen, who shed tears while being hugged by her, was heartbroken and Herace’s eyes also reddened.

Miguel, who was staring at Herace, unfastened his arms and went behind Erzen to grab his brother’s waist. Erzen was easily dragged away, even though the force was not strong. Herace felt like she was being robbed of Erzen in that moment, so she almost gave her hand strength without realizing it.

“Erzen, what did you promise to your brother?”

“We will go, but if I resist coming back, I can’t see my Mom…….”

Erzen, who was caught by Miguel, bowed his head while hesitating. Miguel stroked Erzen’s head, held his hand, and moved away from Herace.

“Well, let’s say goodbye and go. We’ll be back next time, Madam.”

“Mommy, see you next time.”

The disappointment on the child’s face remained the same, but Erzen obeyed Miguel’s words. Herace smiled more and more brightly on purpose and said goodbye.

“Yes, Erzen. Go ahead.”

Erzen faltered for the last time in front of the dog hole. Herace soothed the child by kissing Erzen’s forehead goodbye.

“Your Mom will be here, so as you said, you can come again next time. Okay? And Miguel…….”

“Yes, Madam.”

“……Your brother, take good care of Erzen. Please.”

Calling Miguel Erzen’s older brother was not usually easy for Herace either. But there weren’t many people she could ask for taking care of her son. Herace held out her hand to Miguel, ashamed of her selfish heart, so she asked for it.

“Is that what you want?”

Miguel held Herace’s hand tighter as he stared. More power came out of the hands of a child slightly larger than Erzen smaller than adults.

Herace frowned at the pain of the slowly tightening hands. Then Miguel raised the corners of his mouth and smiled, and let go of her hand at once and leaned over.

“Let’s go, Erzen.”

Erzen left the hole first at Miguel’s urging, followed by Miguel. Herace remembered Erzen, who had been in a strange mood as before, and then left, and touched the wall. She could hear the children running through the bushes over the wall.

‘It’s probably beyond here.’

Herace stood there for a long time even after the children disappeared. Until the sun set and the maid who brought dinner found her.

***

The room was so dark that one could barely tell the shape of things. The colorful furniture and all kinds of luxuries that would have been beautiful if they were a little brighter looked bizarre in the dark.

Miguel was not afraid of the dark, unlike his age. He looked everywhere and found the woman sitting under the bed. He approached the crouching woman slowly.

The woman, who had her face buried in her knees, raised her head when she heard someone coming nearby. The long blonde hair was split on both sides, revealing a gaunt face. Charlotte asked when she saw Miguel looking down at her.

“……where have you been?”

“…….”

“I’ve become like this, and you…… Where have you been, my son?”

The feeble voice was full of despair. Miguel smiled as he couldn’t even show his anger like before, and crouched in front of the woman and looked at her. The child’s red lips went up cheekily.

“I met Erzen and the Duchess.”

The focus slowly returned to Charlotte’s blank eyes. She muttered several times that she was the Duchess and took a ring from her finger as if she had realized something.

“Mi, Miguel, you can see her and her son, right?”

“…….”

“Oh, my God, my baby. My son. Then do me a favor, will you?”

She gripped the child’s tender arm with her rakey left hand. Then she held out the ring on the right palm. The black jewels in the ring twinkled on the pale palms of the dark room.

“Take this and feed it to her and her son! Let them vomit blood and die in the pain like tearing their bodies apart while suffering like me as I’m now.”

Miguel smiled and picked up the ring and waved it around. He could see the liquid in the black gem.

Miguel shook the ring a couple more times as if he was amazed, and soon looked sour as if he had lost interest. The ring in the child’s hand fell back into Charlotte’s palm. Miguel shook his head and said,

“I don’t want to.”

“What?”

“I don’t want to.”

Charlotte’s eyes were blank at her son’s plain refusal. Then who will kill them? If it’s not you, who? I don’t even see her son in the same building, let alone the woman in the annex!

Charlotte remembered the knights that appeared out of nowhere just as she looked at Erzen. Their eyes were cold and alert. She found the gaze unbearable. She felt despised because she became a lowly woman like before.

“You! Can’t you see what’s going on? I and your place are in danger! They’ll take our place!”

Charlotte shook Miguel roughly. The child’s small body shook helplessly at his mother’s shaking and collapsed back. Thanks to this, the child who fell on his buttocks had to look up at Charlotte. Although Charlotte was the one who did it, embarrassed, she approached Miguel with a knee step and lowered her voice.

“Hey, I can’t back away like this. How did you get there…….”

“…….”

“Don’t make that face. What will happen to you if I’m kicked out? The nobles are not merciful to illegitimate children. That’s why I’m doing this. For your sake! To make you a Duke, my son!”

“…….”

“So Miguel, listen to this mother. Take it with you…….”

Miguel slightly pushed Charlotte’s hand away and raised himself. The child’s eyes looking down at Charlotte were as cool as looking at a toy that he had already lost interest.

“I said it a while ago, I don’t want to. I can’t do my mother any favor.”

There was injustice shown in Charlotte’s rusty eyes when she realized that he would never do her favor. Frustrated, she looked up at her son’s face and asked him silently why he was doing this to her. Miguel answered his mother’s question gently.

“The Duchess personally asked me to do it. She told me to take good care of Erzen. And I like the Duchess better than my mother. So I want to prioritize her request.”

Charlotte’s eyes grew bigger when she heard the answer. She trembled at the face of an incredible fact.

“Why are you taking her side, not your mother?”

Miguel smiled beautifully when he saw Charlotte’s expression. The child continued innocently while looking at the innocent mother’s eyes.

“The Duchess is much better than my mother in every way. Appearance, personality……. She is a noble woman in every way. Unlike someone. My mother can’t be like her no matter what she wears or what she does.”

Each word that came out differently from the friendly way of saying it stabbed Charlotte at the bottom. Charlotte shook her head and tore her nails off.

“……no.”

“…….”

“No! No!”

“……I’m a good boy, so I’m going to bed now. And my mother should go to bed, too.”

Miguel turned away from the mother at the verge of a seizure. Behind the child’s back came a continuous scream.

“Yo, Young Master…….”

In front of Miguel, who opened the door, Charlotte’s maid Lily appeared. She looked fearfully at the figure and fell down on her knees before Miguel.

“Ma, Madam, so…….”

Rumors of Charlotte being kicked out have already become a fait accompli and have spread throughout the castle. The people who had been suffering from Charlotte were eagerly waiting for her deportation.

And there was one more opponent that the maids were determined to take revenge on. It was Lily. She acted as Charlotte’s frontman and was hated by many people in the castle.

***