Chapter 112. A Saint who was Adopted by the Grand Duke
Updated: Apr 27
Esther stared out blankly, her chin resting against the window. She was like this for more than an hour now.
“My lady?”
Dorothy called for Esther several times as she stepped inside the room, a glass of parfait in her hands.
Although Esther was too lost in her thought to notice Dorothy until she stood right next to her.
“My lady!”
When she called for her in a raised tone, Esther turned her head in surprise.
“…Ng? Did you call me?”
“What were you so lost in thought about? I brought this for my lady to eat. It’s your favorite, isn’t it?”
Dorothy smiled cheerfully as she held out a parfait adorned with fresh strawberries and a silver spoon to Esther.
“Thanks.”
Esther didn’t have much appetite, but nevertheless, she thought of Dorothy’s sincerity and put a spoonful into her mouth. However, as soon as she did, the fruity taste of strawberry popped, her eyes widening in turn as the flavor melted inside her mouth.
She lost sense of thought for a moment, and by the next, she had already scooped another spoonful and shoved it inside her mouth.
“What do you think? Hans made it himself. He was worried that you didn’t look too well these days.”
“I see.”
Esther slightly bit her lower lip. She didn’t think that they would notice her mood so clearly.
As a matter of fact, for the past few days, Esther spent most of her time thinking about her mother and Rabienne.
Nonetheless, she felt that her fogged head clear the moment she savored the sweet taste of the parfait.
Esther moved her spoon so diligently that the bottom of the glass could soon be seen.
“Oh, would you like more?”
“No, this much is fine. Please tell Hans that I enjoyed his snack.”
“Of course.”
Dorothy seemed very pleased as she walked out with the empty glass.
Esther, observed as she left from behind, then turned with a determined expression on her face.
“I know what I'm going to do.”
Her thoughts were now somewhat organized. She walked down to Irene's room at the end of the third floor.
Esther hesitated as she grabbed the doorknob, but then gathered up her courage and opened the door.
Irene's brightly furnished room was still surrounded with multitudes of portraits.
Esther looked around. She swallowed her saliva as she found the picture she had come back for. It was a portrait containing her mother.
She walked slowly towards the picture on the cabinet. The size of the frame was slightly larger than Esther’s face.
Esther lifted the frame, careful not to drop it. A tense expression was evident in her eyes.
“I saw you last time.”
A very pretty person who didn’t seem to have anything to do with someone like her. Yet a person with the same hair and eye color as her.
Just looking into the frame made her eyes sore and hot. She felt like she was going to cry.
She was just staring, but in the end, a tear sadly plopped on the frame.
Esther quickly tilted backward and sniffled her nose so that the portrait wouldn’t be destroyed.
“I didn't cry.”
Although there was no one, she deliberately spoke with vigor and stomped back to her room, the frame in her arms.
Darwin was the first to suggest that Catherine’s painting be brought to Esther’s room.
Esther situated the frame by the window and stared at it intently, her hands propped underneath her chin.
“I also had it.”
She still couldn't believe she had a mother who loved her.
Esther’s terrible memories of the Temple, which she thought would forever be engraved in her heart, were now surprisingly easy to forget.
No. To be precise, she didn't forget, but the whole painful record was buried away.
Esther would habitually forget, but such memories would return, one by one, and torment her endlessly.
“…Maybe I could have grown up to be normal.”
Esther whispered quietly to herself. Her voice was so miniscule that it was swept away by the wind coming from the window.
Esther's past lives, which she pleaded be normal more than anything, were so painful and unbearable that she didn’t want to recall even a moment.
However, she let herself foolishly think that maybe, if her mother was beside her like other children, all those painful times would have been slightly different.
“No, then I wouldn’t have met my father or brothers.”
Esther shook her head violently and rebuked herself.
She didn't want to go through the past again, and she now had a precious new family that she loved the most.
“Ssk, ssk! Sssk!”
Before Esther could realize, Shur had climbed up the wall to the window and hissed so she could notice him. His eyes were exactly the same as his mother’s.
“Thank you, Shur.”
Esther smiled as she noticed Shur was trying to comfort her.
“It’s a life that’s hard to keep.”
Esther murmured sadly as she patted Shur's smooth skin.
She didn't want to lose the ordinary life that she finally found. She wanted to protect it.
However, Rabienne was once again shaking up her life.
“I won't let you succeed this time.”
Esther's determined eyes burned golden. At the same time, the Saint’s stigmata rose shone the back of her hand.
“I won’t be able to handle the matter myself.”
In the past, Esther wouldn't have thought of confiding in anyone, but now it was different.
Because she wasn’t alone. There were people around her that she could trust and rely on.
Even if Rabienne knew she was a Saint, Eshter wasn’t afraid.
The only petrifying thing for Esther was that her ordinary and precious daily life, which she struggled to earn, would crumble to pieces.
“First of all, I'll tell them everything.”
Esther decided to confide in her family the reason for Khalid’s visit.
She hesitated as she didn't wish to bring her family into this mess, but Esther wanted to believe in Darwin’s words that reassured her not to endure anything alone.
Esther soon left the room and walked downstairs. On the second floor was Dennis’s library.
Dennis read a lot at this time around. She thought it would be the same today, and as expected, an escort was standing outside.
“Brother is inside, right?”
“Yes. He's been there since lunch.”
As she entered the library, the smell of old books permeated Esther’s nose.
And there she saw Dennis busily turning pages while situated amongst the piles of books.
“Brother Dennis.”
Dennis looked up to see who entered before jumping from his seat in surprise.
“Esther? What are you doing here?”
He removed a pile of books from the chair beside him so Esther could sit down.
Esther rested herself in the chair and stared at Dennis with clear eyes.
“I have something I want to discuss.”
She was going to tell him that Rabienne was currently searching for her.
She thought that the first person to know should be Dennis, who had the knowledge of books and therefore was more reliable than Judy.
“Speak comfortably.”
“Actually, a few days ago, a person came from the temple.”
“Why?”
Dennis flinched at the word ‘Temple’ and removed his spectacles. His drooping eyes flashed coldly.
“The saint is looking for me.”
Esther honestly confessed everything she had heard from Khalid.
“What nonsense… She asked to bring your blood? Is she a vampire or something?”
Dennis skimmed through the books piled up while in astonishment and pulled out a thick novel.
It was a novel with illustrations depicting vampires who feed on blood by driving fangs into people.
The novel depicted a vampire who lived by sucking blood from people with their fangs.
“How dare they think of taking your blood. What a joke our family has become.”
Dennis ran far more wildly than Esther had expected. This was the first time she had seen him so angry.
“And you didn’t give him blood, right?”
“Please, no way. I've known Sir Khalid before… He said he would bring in blood another way.”
“Good job.”
Dennis patted Esther’s head while praising her.
“I sent Sir Khalid back, but she might send another person using a different method. I don’t know if they’ll try to kidnap me…”
Esther knew Rabienne's persistent personality better than anyone. Her lips trembled with anxiety.
Dennis noticed her scared expression. He quietly looked into Esther's eyes to calm her down.
“Don't worry. No one can take you away from us.”
Then he spoke in a soothing and friendly voice.
“I'll protect you. No, everyone in the Grand Duchy will protect you.”
The corners of Esther's stiff lips rose slightly in response to Dennis’s warm reassurance.
But, contrary to the way he spoke with Esther, Dennis’s heart was boiling with rage.
‘The Saint was a member of the Brions family, wasn’t she? I can't leave her unscathed.’
He wouldn’t let her go, even if she as much as reached out to touch Esther.
“Let's go to Father. I don't think we can solve this alone.”
Because of Dennis’s strenuous energy, Esther ended up being dragged out of the library to meet Darwin.
They headed to the office where Darwin usually stayed the longest.
Fortunately, Ben, his aide, was standing outside the door.
“Have you come to see his Grace?”
“Yeah. Is he inside?”
“There is currently a guest, so I’m afraid you’ll have to wait a bit longer.”
“That’s alright, but who is the guest?”
Dennis asked lightly. It wasn’t that important since many guests were coming in and out of the Grand Duke’s mansion.
“The guest is Prince Noah.”
Esther was surprised by the name.
‘Noah?’
Questions arose about when Noah, who was supposed to be at the Imperial Palace, arrived here, and why he was suddenly meeting her father.
“What should we do? Shall we sit down and wait?”
Esther nodded vigorously as she thought of Noah, although she would have done the same even if he weren’t there.
At that moment, the door of the office opened, and the maids marched one after another, their hands occupied with baskets full of fruit.
“How can there be so much fruit?”
“Right?”
Esther and Dennis tilted their heads and stared at the fruit.
***
Inside the office, Darwin and Noah sat facing each other, each gazing at the other intently.
Darwin was very relaxed, and Noah was trying his best to remain aloof.
“Why did you bring so many fruits?”
Darwin, confirming the maids left, asked sharply, his eyes raised in a dubious manner.
“I didn’t want to come empty-handed.”
“You may come empty-handed from now on.”
“Ahm, is that so?”
Noah cleared his throat, embarrassed by Darwin’s cold wall.
Noah soon noticed that if he continued speaking nonsense, Darwin would ask him to leave immediately. He swiftly brought up his main point.
“Although this is still to be officially known, the Temple's permission had been granted a few days ago. I was chosen as the Crown Prince.”
“That's great. Congratulations.”
Darwin replied in a laid-back tone that Noah couldn’t tell whether he was truly congratulating him or not.
“However, now that you are visiting Tersia for the first time since your becoming the Crown Prince, I don't comprehend how to interpret it.”
His words were filled with thorns.
This was because he, as a father who cherishes his daughter deeply, was not very pleased with Noah’s constant reappearance.
“There was a document that was to be delivered as soon as possible, so I brought it myself.”
Noah steadfastly accepted Darwin’s gaze and handed over the document.
