Dorothea opened her eyes to the fishy smell that irritated her nose.
The sound of heavy breathing was right in her ear, but it wasn't hers.
As he strained her eyes, her blurred vision slowly returned.
When she woke up from her sleep, she realized that she was being moved around in someone's arms.
As Dorothea in his arms turned over, the man stopped and stood there.
“Are you awake?”
A gruff voice asked cautiously.
The large, unfamiliar man was holding her with one hand.
A bloody smell emanated from the spear in his opposite hand. The strong smell of blood seeping into the blade made it clear that he was a general who had killed countless people.
"Baby...”
“What about my family?”
The giant stiffened at the calm voice asking.
Judging by the fact that the river is still visible around them, they haven't come far. However, it didn't seem like it was the way back to the mansion.
The giant, who was rolling his eyes as if he had a hard time answering, answered with an anxious face.
“They, they left you here at this hour. They don’t deserve to stay with you!”
“I sneaked out alone.”
“You are weak and young and need someone’s protection.”
“So please send me back.”
To the guardian.
The giant's eyebrows drooped at her words.
The large figure holding a weapon full of life surprisingly looked like a downcast puppy. A rough beard touched Dorothea's face.
She realized that the hands holding her were gentle as if they were handling a delicate, newly born bird.
'Who is he?'
She couldn't even remember her father in this body, so there was no way she could remember it being this man.
Dorothea was not surprised by most things, but the current situation was difficult to understand.
While Dorothea was tilting her head, she heard a faint but distant voice shouting her name.
A high, thin voice mixed with crying. It was Jane's.
“Jane is looking for me.”
It was understandable that she suddenly disappeared in the middle of the night.
According to the original plan, Luke should have returned home happy with the cross necklace he was wearing.
The moment the boy got grumpy, everything went wrong.
As she listened in the arms of the silent giant, wondering what he was thinking, Dorothea could also hear the urgent footsteps and shouts of others besides Jane.
“I have to go back.”
"Late! Now it's time to come and find you! They left you alone in this dangerous situation, and then they came this late!”
He snorted and growled.
“You, you are not being taken care of properly!”
Dorothea's eyes naturally narrowed at the loud voice.
While her ears were tingling and she couldn't come to her senses, she could see bugs and animals around her jumping around in fright.
Fortunately, his cries were loud enough to scare away other animals, so they were heard by those searching the area.
Wood's eyes, which appeared from the bushes with the sound of urgent footsteps, widened when he saw Dorothea.
Then he cringed at the sight of the huge man holding her.
A giant holding a huge spear was glaring fiercely at Wood with murderous eyes.
'I wonder what she got caught up in again.'
Dorothea blinked as she was held in the giant's arms.
Dorothea, who disappeared without a sound in the middle of the night, fortunately, did not appear to be injured.
“Thea!”
Next, Ben emerged through the bushes.
His complexion turned pale when he saw his daughter being held in someone's arms.
He pleaded with the stranger, his eyes fixed on his daughter.
“Please let the child go.”
The man lightly swung the spear he was holding as if he had no difficulty.
With the menacing sound of the wind, the tall reeds surrounding the area were cut down.
As Dorothea looked down at the reeds that had fallen to the bottom of the rainforest tree, a sound like lightning rang again in Dorothea's ears.
“This child was shivering in the cold alone in a remote place without a guardian. You, you... Is there anything you can say about neglecting a child like this?”
“...”
Wood's eyes narrowed as he looked at Dorothea.
'Then why did you leave the mansion in an immature manner?'
The girl who actually enjoyed a night out blinked her eyes, pretending not to know anything.
A roar burst out once again from the mouth of the giant who was holding her.
“Ben Everley, how dare you!”
The unknown, unfamiliar person seemed to know not only Dorothea but also her father.
However, Ben seemed embarrassed when his name was called as if he didn't know him.
'Uncomfortable.'
The man was strong enough to lift her with one hand, but he didn't have much experience holding children.
Dorothea crumpled her face as she felt pain on one of her shoulders as she leaned on it.
Since the work was done, she wanted to go home and rest, but the man who held her had no intention of letting her go but instead screamed until her ears were tingling.
'I'm going to have blood on my ears.'
Jane appeared late, breathing heavily, and her face turned blue when she saw Dorothea being hugged by someone.
“Ah, the young lady was attacked by a strange man...!”
Before Dorothea could shout that she had been kidnapped, the giant retorted.
“I am not a monster!”
Saliva flew out of the screaming mouth and landed on the back of Dorothea's hand.
As she struggled in discomfort, the giant hugged her and continued speaking.
“I can take care of this child better than you guys!”
Wood and Jane looked at each other in confusion at the sound of shouting.
Unlike the two people who were wide-eyed at the absurd remark, Ben was serious.
The man wheezed at Ben, who frowned as if trying to remember something.
“You are a man unworthy of being a father. You left my sister to die so miserably, and then you left this little girl wandering around outside with her fragile body. If I hadn't discovered her...”
Wood and Jane looked at Ben at the incomprehensible words.
The man who held Dorothea preciously in his arms didn't seem like he was going to harm her, but he couldn't just leave her like that.
“I can’t give her to you!”
Whatever the reason, it seems clear that Dorothea was kidnapped.
At that moment, Ben's expression changed as he looked at the man. The expression on his face changed slightly the moment he mentioned 'sister', and it seemed like he had reached a conclusion after careful thought.
A look of embarrassment appeared on Ben's face before confusion.
“Are you son of the Marquis of Highclere?”
The man snorted but didn't deny Ben's words. Dorothea repeated the unfamiliar name to herself.
Marquess of Highclere.
“Does His Excellency the Marquis know that you are here?”
“Now is that scary? How dare you neglect your child like this! No matter how heartless my father is, if he knew that my sister’s child was growing up like this, he wouldn’t leave you alone!”
Ben wiped his face bitterly at the sharp words.
A mixture of guilt and self-reproach shadowed his face.
“You are the third son. Unlike the last time I saw you, you have become a fully grown adult.”
"Noisy!"
Dorothea sighed softly at the loud voice.
In terms of loudness alone, this man was twice as loud.
Her exhausted body kept trying to sleep, but he was screaming and shaking so much that she couldn't sleep at all.
“How anxious the child must have been! It was heartbreaking to see her wandering around here, shivering so pitifully!”
It doesn't seem like she's really wandered around that much.
“Look at how she came all the way here barefoot because she wasn’t fed or put to sleep properly at home! It must have been because she was hungry!”
Dorothea pushed away the spitting man's face with a small hand with a grumpy expression.
Ben demanded in a weary voice.
“Please give me the child, 3rd Prince.”
“...”
“There’s no way the Marquis told you to bring Thea. The Marquis...”
The man flinched at Ben's calm words.
Apparently, the reason he tried to kidnap Dorothea here today was something that had not been agreed upon with the Marquis.
He said as if making an excuse.
“I receive a high reward. Plus, I have a nice house.”
“How can a young master, who has barely reached adulthood, take care of a child?”
Just now?
Is this a face that has barely reached adulthood?
Dorothea looked up seriously. At first glance, his face, covered with a stiff, curly beard, did not look like a young man who had barely reached adulthood.
Reddened ears caught her eye.
“Just bring in a nanny!”
Dorothea grew tired of this battle and realized that it was time to put an end to the situation.
She was sleepy, cold, hungry, and wanted to go home.
Above all, she felt a strange sense of discomfort when he started ignoring Ben.
Isn't everyone blaming Ben for this, as if her mother lost her life because of Ben's lack of ability, or as if this child is sick?
Even now, with his face so pale, he didn't even know his clothes were torn or his shoes were taken off, so he came all the way here to look for her.
Dorothea raised her hand and slapped the bearded man's cheek until it made a hard sound.
“...!”
The man who had suddenly been slapped by the niece he was holding in his arms looked at her with a blank expression.
“Let go of me. I want to go home.”
“...Baby.”
Dorothea didn't know about anything else, but she didn't want to see the remorse on Ben's face.
Jane cried, and Wood slowly approached her and stretched out his arms toward her. Dorothea extended her hand to Wood as if it were natural.
The man who was her maternal uncle looked extremely hurt and held his cheek.
Wood, who accepted her, sighed.
Then he added in a voice so low that it was difficult for people to hear.
“You also have a bad mood.”
It was a voice full of sincerity.
Dorothea felt aggrieved by the scolding of the bridge.
If she thinks about it, isn't it she who calmed him down when he almost turned into a murderer, relieved him of his resentment, and also informed him that he had just been cursed by a boy?
'Even though I do good things, I still hear people say I'm bad.'
Then, don’t you think you have to do something nasty to live up to expectations?
Dorothea nervously pushed her hair back and whispered to Wood.
“Remember this location.”
"Huh?"
“I have something for you to do after I get back home.”
Dorothea's gaze turned to the river. Considering the sticky note on the necklace, it was unlikely that it would have been swept away by the current.
The necklace is probably submerged in the bottom of the river, still giving off an ominous energy.
By eating away at life and polluting it.
“I’m looking for the necklace I dropped in the river earlier.”
Dorothea crossed her fingers to make the shape of a cross.
“Please come find a necklace that looks like this.”
Of course, it meant taking her safely to the mansion and then returning alone to search the river.
Wood couldn't believe his ears at that absurd instruction, but shook his head.
'Nasty thing.'
He sensed his fate: he would have to return here at dawn and search the riverbed.
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