The young man who had been looking at Dorothea blankly for a while scratched his head in embarrassment.
Dorothea personally bowed down once again to the young man who could not understand what she was saying and then asked.
“Who are you?”
Unlike her extremely polite gestures, her words were extremely rude.
The young man, who was laughing, got up from his seat and greeted politely.
“My name is William Fallon Strider, My Lady.”
“Okay, Will.”
Dorothea recalled the story she heard from the Marquis.
There are many guides in the palace.
Don't move alone and wait for him to come pick her up.
It seemed like she already broken his second word, but since she met Will, she felt like she could ask him for guidance. Judging by his relaxed attitude, he seems to know the inside of the palace well.
“Please guide me.”
“..."
Will blinked and looked down at the little girl who naturally reached out to him.
A short, scrawny girl whose height barely reached his waist was looking at him blankly with her arms outstretched.
"Hurry."
Dorothea cheered.
The palace was very large, and the maid dragged Dorothea quite a distance away.
She had used up all her stamina, so her legs were shaking just by bending her knees.
The sound of her breathing getting more and more difficult in her throat.
Will, who looked at her condition, suddenly lifted Dorothea up with his arms wide open.
'This guy is a beginner.'
His tone of voice and his eyes were kind, but his handling was very clumsy as if he had never held a child before.
Dorothea, who was shaking in his arms in discomfort, sighed.
"Are you okay? Where does it hurt?”
“No, that’s enough.”
She can't help it. She has no choice but to accept that it is clumsy.
Resigned, Dorothea relaxed her body and leaned against the man to make the pain as little as possible and muttered.
“Now take me to Grandpa.”
“Who is your grandfather?”
“Marquis of Highclere.”
Will's hand, which had been gently patting her back, stopped.
Dorothea asked disappointedly, looking at Will, who had stiffened.
"You don't know?"
“...No, I know. I know.”
Will nodded with a wry smile.
Then, he carefully handed Dorothea's bangs away and muttered like a sigh.
“You don’t look much like your grandfather. I never thought we would meet here like this.”
“Do you know me?”
“I hope there is someone else as famous as you these days.”
Why not.
Dorothea just kept quiet, but people kept finding out about her.
A question arose in Dorothea's mind.
Will began to walk slowly while holding Dorothea, who was tilting her head.
“But how did you end up here?”
"I do not know either. A maid I didn't know took me to the parlor...”
“The parlor is very far from here?”
“I’m from over there.”
Will stared in the direction pointed by Dorothea's finger and closed his mouth without saying a word.
Among the many palaces, it was clear that the place where the maid had tried to take her was not the drawing room.
“In the palace, never let go of someone you know. Especially stick close to your grandfather.”
When Dorothea nodded to Will's gentle advice, he paused for a moment and asked again.
“Then, you must be that ‘Dorothea.’”
"That's right. I am Dorothea.”
At that moment, the cross necklace hanging around her neck sparkled.
Will's eyes stayed on the cross for a long time, as if he was fascinated.
“I can’t give you this. I almost died getting this.”
“I only saw it because I was surprised that the child gave you the necklace.”
Just as Dorothea was about to open her mouth to hear Will's enigmatic words, she suddenly turned her head and glared somewhere.
"Yes? What's the matter?"
A terrible bloody smell came from not far away.
The sound of the blood-soaked ground crying made Dorothea's head hurt.
'To get caught up in some troublesome thing again.'
She just wanted to eat well and live well.
She had no idea that getting a house with a soft bed would be so difficult.
“Quickly take me to Grandpa.”
Dorothea's face hardened as she was wary that things would escalate.
Unlike before, Will tilted his head for a moment at the impatient appearance, and then obediently began to walk faster.
However, soon after, there was someone who blocked their busy pace.
A Young Prince holding a sword dripping with fresh blood.
Luke strode forward to them.
“It looks like my friend got lost in the palace.”
"Is that so."
“I was taking her to the Marquis.”
“You, Brother?”
“I just didn’t have anything to do.”
“...”
Dorothea, who had been burying her head in Will's arms, finally raised her head under his persistent gaze that had no intention of leaving her.
The red dots on his cheeks stood out thanks to his pale, white skin.
The blunt sword spirit was obsessed with himself to a strange degree.
'But. It may be instinct that people who have accumulated karma are drawn to me.'
In her eyes, she could see his red spirit running wild.
The one with the fire that burns everything.
A person with a sad fate who is inevitably given a harsh life.
“Excessive killing is not good.”
Luke brushed the blood off his sword at the words she blurted out.
“It was just a threat. I didn’t take her life.”
“At least you better not do anything that stains your foundation with blood. It will make it difficult to sleep at night.”
Luke seemed to have gotten used to Dorothea's enigmatic words by now and nodded obediently.
“I will try my best to finish the work somewhere other than my palace.”
“...”
Will, who was listening to their conversation, looked up at the sky for a moment.
'This is a conversation between a man and a woman who are not even adults.'
The bloody conversation between the not-so-cute younger brother and the strange girl made the back of his neck go cold even without a single trace of death.
Is it okay to encourage these two people to talk or interact?
Several footsteps were heard from afar as if they knew Will, who was in deep agony.
A young man he had never seen before, led by four or five armed knights, was approaching this way.
Dorothea's eyes rested on the dazzling golden cloak.
His bright red face was stained with anger.
“Luke Strider!”
The voice of a young man wearing a golden cloak rang loudly.
“How dare you come into my palace and swing your sword at the knights!”
Will, who was holding Dorothea, narrowed his eyes.
“Luke, did you go to Richard’s palace?”
Luke, who was receiving the brunt of the anger, had a calm face.
Luke opened his mouth towards them, brushing away his sword which was still dripping with red blood.
"While following the traces of the child I was looking for, the knights I came across were at my brother's palace. It was he who pointed the sword at me first.”
“What nonsense! From the moment your feet entered my palace, you have already crossed the line!”
Dorothea, who had been looking at the chubby young man who was annoyingly crowded, turned her head away as if she had lost interest.
She had incurred so much resentment that every time he opened his mouth, the smell of the gutter made her nose tingle.
Dorothea, who was quietly held in Will's arms, fumed.
“Will, take me to Grandpa.”
"Hmm...”
The young man narrowed his eyes at Will, who took a step back as if he was embarrassed.
“Brother, how are you taking that child with you?”
“Are you curious about that, Richard?”
“That child...”
As Dorothea buried her face in Will's chest, the man named Richard looked at the young girl with a disdainful expression.
“They said she was eating outside, but she didn’t even have proper manners. I had high expectations because she was the granddaughter of the Marquis of Highclere.”
It seemed clear that it was Richard who had ordered the maid to drag Dorothea away.
In the end, Dorothea also became irritated as she had to walk until her legs hurt and then be held in these uncomfortable arms and smell the bloody smell.
“Richard.”
“...What?"
Richard, who was furious at the clear sound of the girl's voice, stopped.
A greedy and foolish person hiding behind sword-wielding knights.
“Richard.”
The moment Dorothea repeated his name again, an eerie chill ran through Richard.
Richard's eyes rolled back in a strange discomfort as if someone had stripped him naked.
“...Kill that kid.”
"Yes?!"
“That kid insulted me!”
At the command of Richard, who lost his temper and shouted, the knights exchanged looks with embarrassed faces.
It was already widely known that the Marquis of Highclere had a terrible attitude towards his granddaughter, whom he had recovered with great difficulty.
It would be quite unreasonable to point a sword at her like that, and weren't there even two Princes blocking her path?
“Even if I kill you!”
Luke's gaze, which had been looking at Richard, who was backing away and screaming in fear, turned to Dorothea again.
She blinked her eyes slowly, with a strange smile on her face.
Richard's eyes, which were looking at Dorothea's eyes that looked like they were about to be sucked in, lost focus.
“Your Highness the Prince!”
It was the moment when Richard, who had taken the knight's sword, aimed it directly at the opponent.
“Lower your sword!”
Along with angry shouts, more footsteps were heard than before.
At the same time as the white knights sharpened their swords, Will and Luke, who were holding Dorothea, also knelt on the ground.
"Your Majesty."
A middle-aged man with a solemn face was coming this way, accompanied by a pale-faced Marquis.
Dorothea jumped out of the arms of Will, who was kneeling and ran towards her grandfather.
Then, following the etiquette exactly as she had learned in the morning, she stopped three steps ahead, slightly lifted the hem of her dress, and bent her knees.
“This is Dorothea Everly Highclere. It is an honor to meet Your Majesty like this.”
She didn't forget what her grandmother whispered to her.
“It feels really good to see a good person on a good day.”
"..."
The Emperor fell silent at the words of the small girl held in the arms of Will, who had been fiercely confronting the knights just moments before.
The Marquis of Highclere came over and hugged his granddaughter.
Will, who looked at her condition, suddenly lifted Dorothea up with his arms wide open.
'This guy is a beginner.'
His tone of voice and his eyes were kind, but his handling was very clumsy as if he had never held a child before.
Dorothea, who was shaking in his arms in discomfort, sighed.
"Are you okay? Where does it hurt?”
“No, that’s enough.”
She can't help it. She has no choice but to accept that it is clumsy.
Resigned, Dorothea relaxed her body and leaned against the man to make the pain as little as possible and muttered.
“Now take me to Grandpa.”
“Who is your grandfather?”
“Marquis of Highclere.”
Will's hand, which had been gently patting her back, stopped.
Dorothea asked disappointedly, looking at Will, who had stiffened.
"You don't know?"
“...No, I know. I know.”
Will nodded with a wry smile.
Then, he carefully handed Dorothea's bangs away and muttered like a sigh.
“You don’t look much like your grandfather. I never thought we would meet here like this.”
“Do you know me?”
“I hope there is someone else as famous as you these days.”
Why not.
Dorothea just kept quiet, but people kept finding out about her.
A question arose in Dorothea's mind.
Will began to walk slowly while holding Dorothea, who was tilting her head.
“But how did you end up here?”
"I do not know either. A maid I didn't know took me to the parlor...”
“The parlor is very far from here?”
“I’m from over there.”
Will stared in the direction pointed by Dorothea's finger and closed his mouth without saying a word.
Among the many palaces, it was clear that the place where the maid had tried to take her was not the drawing room.
“In the palace, never let go of someone you know. Especially stick close to your grandfather.”
When Dorothea nodded to Will's gentle advice, he paused for a moment and asked again.
“Then, you must be that ‘Dorothea.’”
"That's right. I am Dorothea.”
At that moment, the cross necklace hanging around her neck sparkled.
Will's eyes stayed on the cross for a long time, as if he was fascinated.
“I can’t give you this. I almost died getting this.”
“I only saw it because I was surprised that the child gave you the necklace.”
Just as Dorothea was about to open her mouth to hear Will's enigmatic words, she suddenly turned her head and glared somewhere.
"Yes? What's the matter?"
A terrible bloody smell came from not far away.
The sound of the blood-soaked ground crying made Dorothea's head hurt.
'To get caught up in some troublesome thing again.'
She just wanted to eat well and live well.
She had no idea that getting a house with a soft bed would be so difficult.
“Quickly take me to Grandpa.”
Dorothea's face hardened as she was wary that things would escalate.
Unlike before, Will tilted his head for a moment at the impatient appearance, and then obediently began to walk faster.
However, soon after, there was someone who blocked their busy pace.
A Young Prince holding a sword dripping with fresh blood.
Luke strode forward to them.
“It looks like my friend got lost in the palace.”
"Is that so."
“I was taking her to the Marquis.”
“You, Brother?”
“I just didn’t have anything to do.”
“...”
Dorothea, who had been burying her head in Will's arms, finally raised her head under his persistent gaze that had no intention of leaving her.
The red dots on his cheeks stood out thanks to his pale, white skin.
The blunt sword spirit was obsessed with himself to a strange degree.
'But. It may be instinct that people who have accumulated karma are drawn to me.'
In her eyes, she could see his red spirit running wild.
The one with the fire that burns everything.
A person with a sad fate who is inevitably given a harsh life.
“Excessive killing is not good.”
Luke brushed the blood off his sword at the words she blurted out.
“It was just a threat. I didn’t take her life.”
“At least you better not do anything that stains your foundation with blood. It will make it difficult to sleep at night.”
Luke seemed to have gotten used to Dorothea's enigmatic words by now and nodded obediently.
“I will try my best to finish the work somewhere other than my palace.”
“...”
Will, who was listening to their conversation, looked up at the sky for a moment.
'This is a conversation between a man and a woman who are not even adults.'
The bloody conversation between the not-so-cute younger brother and the strange girl made the back of his neck go cold even without a single trace of death.
Is it okay to encourage these two people to talk or interact?
Several footsteps were heard from afar as if they knew Will, who was in deep agony.
A young man he had never seen before, led by four or five armed knights, was approaching this way.
Dorothea's eyes rested on the dazzling golden cloak.
His bright red face was stained with anger.
“Luke Strider!”
The voice of a young man wearing a golden cloak rang loudly.
“How dare you come into my palace and swing your sword at the knights!”
Will, who was holding Dorothea, narrowed his eyes.
“Luke, did you go to Richard’s palace?”
Luke, who was receiving the brunt of the anger, had a calm face.
Luke opened his mouth towards them, brushing away his sword which was still dripping with red blood.
"While following the traces of the child I was looking for, the knights I came across were at my brother's palace. It was he who pointed the sword at me first.”
“What nonsense! From the moment your feet entered my palace, you have already crossed the line!”
Dorothea, who had been looking at the chubby young man who was annoyingly crowded, turned her head away as if she had lost interest.
She had incurred so much resentment that every time he opened his mouth, the smell of the gutter made her nose tingle.
Dorothea, who was quietly held in Will's arms, fumed.
“Will, take me to Grandpa.”
"Hmm...”
The young man narrowed his eyes at Will, who took a step back as if he was embarrassed.
“Brother, how are you taking that child with you?”
“Are you curious about that, Richard?”
“That child...”
As Dorothea buried her face in Will's chest, the man named Richard looked at the young girl with a disdainful expression.
“They said she was eating outside, but she didn’t even have proper manners. I had high expectations because she was the granddaughter of the Marquis of Highclere.”
It seemed clear that it was Richard who had ordered the maid to drag Dorothea away.
In the end, Dorothea also became irritated as she had to walk until her legs hurt and then be held in these uncomfortable arms and smell the bloody smell.
“Richard.”
“...What?"
Richard, who was furious at the clear sound of the girl's voice, stopped.
A greedy and foolish person hiding behind sword-wielding knights.
“Richard.”
The moment Dorothea repeated his name again, an eerie chill ran through Richard.
Richard's eyes rolled back in a strange discomfort as if someone had stripped him naked.
“...Kill that kid.”
"Yes?!"
“That kid insulted me!”
At the command of Richard, who lost his temper and shouted, the knights exchanged looks with embarrassed faces.
It was already widely known that the Marquis of Highclere had a terrible attitude towards his granddaughter, whom he had recovered with great difficulty.
It would be quite unreasonable to point a sword at her like that, and weren't there even two Princes blocking her path?
“Even if I kill you!”
Luke's gaze, which had been looking at Richard, who was backing away and screaming in fear, turned to Dorothea again.
She blinked her eyes slowly, with a strange smile on her face.
Richard's eyes, which were looking at Dorothea's eyes that looked like they were about to be sucked in, lost focus.
“Your Highness the Prince!”
It was the moment when Richard, who had taken the knight's sword, aimed it directly at the opponent.
“Lower your sword!”
Along with angry shouts, more footsteps were heard than before.
At the same time as the white knights sharpened their swords, Will and Luke, who were holding Dorothea, also knelt on the ground.
"Your Majesty."
A middle-aged man with a solemn face was coming this way, accompanied by a pale-faced Marquis.
Dorothea jumped out of the arms of Will, who was kneeling and ran towards her grandfather.
Then, following the etiquette exactly as she had learned in the morning, she stopped three steps ahead, slightly lifted the hem of her dress, and bent her knees.
“This is Dorothea Everly Highclere. It is an honor to meet Your Majesty like this.”
She didn't forget what her grandmother whispered to her.
“It feels really good to see a good person on a good day.”
"..."
The Emperor fell silent at the words of the small girl held in the arms of Will, who had been fiercely confronting the knights just moments before.
The Marquis of Highclere came over and hugged his granddaughter.
Dorothea was so surprised that the hand he was patting on the back was shaking.
“Thea, didn’t I tell you to stay where you are if you get lost in the palace?”
“I was meeting a guide and receiving guidance.”
Hearing the murmured words, the Marquis of Highclere breathed a sigh of relief while silently holding his granddaughter in his arms.
He was prepared to find the child even if it meant doing the unholy act of searching all the palaces by informing the Marchioness who was chatting with the Empress.
The man called “Your Majesty” took his gaze away from Richard, who was trembling and lying face down, and slowly opened his mouth.
“Luke, I heard that you went to the third Prince’s palace, threatened the knights with your sword, and dragged away your brother’s maid without permission.”
“The child I am indebted to has come to the palace, so I tried to meet her and heard an interesting story. I heard that the child who should have been escorted to the parlor was taken away from the 3rd Prince’s palace.”
“...”
“There was an eyewitness and I tracked it down and found that it was indeed a maid who took the child.”
The Emperor's eyes turned to the cross necklace hanging around Dorothea's neck.
She didn't like the royal family who kept looking at her necklace.
'It's something I risked my life to bring and purify, but now it's a bad idea to take it.'
As Dorothea held the cross tightly in her hand, the Emperor's expression softened slightly.
“It looks like you like that necklace.”
“This is mine.”
“It was a gift I gave to Luke’s mother.”
Is that why you want to take it?
Because it was this man who first gave it to me as a gift?
Dorothea glanced at the Emperor with wary eyes.
Why do people who wear flashy clothes and look good risk their lives on necklaces like this?
They probably don't even know the true value of this necklace.
Dorothea took something out of her pocket and held it out with a determined expression.
“I’ll give you this.”
Of all the things Phi Phi found, the acorn, which was the smoothest and most beautiful, rolled around and fell into the Emperor's hand.
'Eat and leave.'
Dorothea prayed to herself.
“Thea, didn’t I tell you to stay where you are if you get lost in the palace?”
“I was meeting a guide and receiving guidance.”
Hearing the murmured words, the Marquis of Highclere breathed a sigh of relief while silently holding his granddaughter in his arms.
He was prepared to find the child even if it meant doing the unholy act of searching all the palaces by informing the Marchioness who was chatting with the Empress.
The man called “Your Majesty” took his gaze away from Richard, who was trembling and lying face down, and slowly opened his mouth.
“Luke, I heard that you went to the third Prince’s palace, threatened the knights with your sword, and dragged away your brother’s maid without permission.”
“The child I am indebted to has come to the palace, so I tried to meet her and heard an interesting story. I heard that the child who should have been escorted to the parlor was taken away from the 3rd Prince’s palace.”
“...”
“There was an eyewitness and I tracked it down and found that it was indeed a maid who took the child.”
The Emperor's eyes turned to the cross necklace hanging around Dorothea's neck.
She didn't like the royal family who kept looking at her necklace.
'It's something I risked my life to bring and purify, but now it's a bad idea to take it.'
As Dorothea held the cross tightly in her hand, the Emperor's expression softened slightly.
“It looks like you like that necklace.”
“This is mine.”
“It was a gift I gave to Luke’s mother.”
Is that why you want to take it?
Because it was this man who first gave it to me as a gift?
Dorothea glanced at the Emperor with wary eyes.
Why do people who wear flashy clothes and look good risk their lives on necklaces like this?
They probably don't even know the true value of this necklace.
Dorothea took something out of her pocket and held it out with a determined expression.
“I’ll give you this.”
Of all the things Phi Phi found, the acorn, which was the smoothest and most beautiful, rolled around and fell into the Emperor's hand.
'Eat and leave.'
Dorothea prayed to herself.
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