On a gloomy night, Ben, who had left Dorothea in the care of an old woman who welcomed her granddaughter in tears, carefully left the room.
“As my second son said, the size of the forces of those who lined up the young girl seemed to be considerable.”
“I guess so.”
“All of those who secretly poisoned the mansion have already died.”
The Marquis, thinking of the people who ransacked his mansion, exuded a cold, murderous spirit.
“Was there anything else? What did the kid say?”
He was a rambunctious child.
Hertia raised her eyes and continued to say that she only did so because Dorothea asked her to take the to the mansion.
Later, she even spewed out nonsense as if she couldn't do anything.
That Colin instigated Dorothea to be killed, or that Dorothea took his spirit and made a contract with him.
“It seems like he was either brainwashed by the ‘organization’ or was mentally unstable to begin with.”
Otherwise, there was no way she would have said such nonsense with such a confident face.
Moreover, seeing him half-fazed, wondering if his connection with the spirit had been lost, was even worse.
“Either way, it will be difficult to get any more information.”
"Sorry. I should have paid more attention.”
"No. I’ve been too relaxed these past few days.”
The Marquis wiped his complicated face as if he had a lot in mind.
Neither the Marquis nor Ben knew that Dorothea was not a mana bottle but a child with the potential to become a spiritist.
Without knowing this, the mother's family ignored the child's existence out of fear of death, and the only father left the child and went out every day to seek medical expenses. How ridiculous is this?
“I don’t know whether calling the high priest was a benefit or a loss.”
In order to quell the rumors, the most influential and trustworthy person was called in, but unexpectedly, Dorothea's existence became widely known.
Since the high priest directly declared it, it was impossible to deny that she was not a spiritist.
“His Majesty must be even more greedy.”
The Marquis' face darkened.
When he thinks about the painful childhood that child went through, he wants to let her grow up as free from trouble as possible.
The special status of a spiritist would seem to be more attractive food to the nobles than anything else.
“More than anything, we must prevent something like today from happening.”
Felix, who had been listening to the Marquis' words, nodded.
His heart sank when he heard the child say that she followed Hertia out of the mansion without any suspicion just because she was wearing a maid's uniform.
“It would be best to call the children to the mansion.”
Felix raised his head at the Marquis' words.
“Edwin is polite, and Dane is a bit mischievous, but he’s not a bad kid.”
Felix, who had stopped, nodded.
Since they were going to meet these children soon anyway, it wouldn't matter even if they moved it up a bit.
“Now that I think about it, Philip must be around the same age as Thea.”
Felix paused at the sudden name and then nodded.
It had been three years since he had seen Colin's only son, Philip.
He always became reluctant to his illegitimate brother, who was different on the outside and on the inside, and Philip also naturally lost interest in him.
“Colin seems to have changed a bit.”
There was no greed, no sense of inferiority, no dark, treacherous duality that filled his eyes.
Rather, it seems as if he is overly cynical about the world, tired of life, and has let go of everything... It was something he had never seen before.
"Hmm...”
The Marquis nodded.
“Let’s invite all three children to the mansion. Everyone will be good friends to Thea.”
***
When she opened her eyes early at dawn in a quiet mansion, a blue spirit blocked her vision.
Dorothea looked at the spirit that had been attacking her since morning and spoke kindly to her.
“You were bored while I was sleeping?”
Nothing was said, but the fluttering tail seemed to express positivity.
When Dorothea stretched out her hand, a cool breeze came from the spirit.
“Why don’t you play with Phi Phi?”
The spirit fluttered and quickly moved away from her.
'Hmm.'
As expected, the reaction was a bit subtle.
Is it because she can feel the ‘energy of death’ from the spirit?
However, it was not a corrupt fraud and there was no reason for the spirits of nature to be afraid of the pure energy of death.
'Unless it is a soul that was born into life and given life in the first place.'
There was no reason to fear death unless you were a soul who lived a finite life like a human or animal and met its end at the death's scythe.
“What is a spirit?”
Dorothea muttered as she reached out and stroked thr spirit.
The spirit accepted her touch as if it were pleasant, and then disappeared in the air.
She would return when Dorothea called or when she felt like it.
Dorothea couldn't overcome her fatigue and fell asleep early, so she felt empty because she couldn't eat dinner properly.
“Should I call Jane?”
She had no desire to bother her loyal maid early in the morning when she was still fast asleep.
Eventually, Dorothea left the room alone and headed to the kitchen, where luxurious food was always coming out.
The kitchen door was tightly closed, but the small side door where the ingredients were brought in was open. She crouched down and was about halfway through when she heard a rustling sound from somewhere.
“Damn, where did you put it?”
“..."
“Damn father, you hid it so well.”
Dorothea stopped at the young boy's grumbling voice.
The sound of items being rummaged through in the kitchen continued to be heard.
Bang!
As if something had been touched incorrectly, the large pot rolled on the floor with a loud noise.
“Oh, shit.”
A boy with a scrunched-up face opened his eyes wide when he saw Dorothea, who was halfway through the side door while picking up a pot.
"You...”
Since she's already been caught, she'll have to shamelessly leave.
After passing through the door, she got up from her crouch and raised her head.
Someone's face appeared on the boy's face with dark auburn eyes.
He frowned and spat harshly at Dorothea.
“If you’re in the kitchen at this time, you’ll be scolded. It doesn’t matter whether you do it or not.”
The boy appeared to be a head taller than her, but judging from how small he was compared to his peers, he was probably about the same age.
Looking at the clothes he's wearing, she doesn't think he's an ordinary attendant.
“Are you here because you’re hungry?”
Dorothea nodded at the blunt question and asked him.
“Are you here because you’re hungry too?”
“I have something to find.”
The boy who said that opened his eyes and looked around once again.
Eventually, his eyes landed on the item on the highest shelf.
“Oh, there it is.”
“What is that?”
“It is the rock honey of a blood-a-bust which only finds its place in the crevices of high cliffs. A low-ranking official who came to deliver a gift so precious handed it to him with his hand trembling...”
The boy who continued talking suddenly closed his mouth. Then he looked down at Dorothea with a strange face. The boy, who met her pale pink eyes, was shocked and asked.
“Do you know who I am?”
"No."
It was the boy who said what he wanted to say without even introducing himself.
He clicked his tongue and pulled her cheek as if he were an adult.
“You arrogant kid. Did you start talking without even knowing who I am? There is no such thing as a tomboy!”
“Put this aside.”
He wasn't sure, but one thing was certain.
Dorothea doesn't seem to be a good match for this rambunctious kid.
“Let go.”
The boy, who had let go of his hand without realizing it, glanced at the small girl in front of him with puzzled eyes.
He didn't see any threatening elements in the girl, who was skinny and had a soft voice, but why did he let go of his hand without realizing it when she said, 'Let go.'
"You...”
“If you want to eat rock honey, you can eat it. Before that, give me my snack first.”
“It’s sealed tightly so I can’t eat it...”
“I will open the lid of the jar, so you can bring me the fruit from that storage room.”
He opened the warehouse door as if fascinated by the girl's instructions as if she could clearly see where everything was.
“To the ripe red apple at the far left.”
“Have you come in here?”
The refrigerated warehouse is a space where employees organize items every day.
He couldn't understand at all how the girl could know the location of the objects filled in every nook and cranny.
When the boy who handed the apple took the rock honey off the shelf, the lid that had been tightly sealed with candle wax caught his eye.
The outside of the jar was shiny as if to show that it was a valuable item.
“Are you sure you can open this?”
Dorothea smiled and nodded at the curious voice.
“If you open it, it will open.”
“What are you talking about? It was sealed so tightly.”
"Really. I said it would open.”
He was a fool for believing it.
When he snorted that it was probably a lie because she wanted to eat an apple, the girl spoke again.
“Try to open it.”
It was the moment when he placed his hand on the lid of the girl's stalk.
Before he could even put strength to his hand, the lid slid open and the sweet smell of honey filled the kitchen.
The boy looked at the open honey jar and then at Dorothea with blank eyes, as if he were possessed by something.
“You can eat now.”
“Uh...”
He continued to aim for rock honey, but when he was able to eat it, he became frustrated.
The boy knew very well that this was a delicacy that the Marquis enjoyed only occasionally on sleepless nights.
Also, the ingredients are extremely expensive and come from a very distant place.
“You wanted to eat.”
The boy coughed loudly at her words.
“You can’t eat everything you want.”
The moment he said that he straightened his shoulders, thinking that he had become an adult.
He was elated at the thought that even his brother, who was always showing off, couldn't resist the temptation of this honey.
“Okay, then. Don’t eat it, but put it back.”
The boy who was putting honey on the shelf suddenly came to his senses at Dorothea's calm words.
'Why am I posting this again?'
Since when did he put back the opened jar of honey just because he was afraid of his father and other adults, especially the Marquis?
The sun began to rise little by little in the dusky dawn sky, and sunlight began to seep into the kitchen.
At the same time, the playfulness and typical childishness of the boy who had run away from home for a while returned.
“Look at this. This is how you eat it!”
The moment he scooped up a generous amount of honey with a silver spoon and filled his mouth, Dorothea saw a shadow fluttering around her.
The Lord, who guards the kitchen.
The guardian deity of this family and a man who protected the site for generations was ashamed of the atrocities of his descendants.
The shimmering shadows scattered in the air.
It seems he came to say hello, but he seemed quite uncomfortable.
“You’re going to have wild dreams for a while.”
"Yes?"
The moment the boy tilted his head, Felix appeared silently from behind and grabbed his ear and twisted it.
The boy who was soaked in sweetness began to scream.
“It hurts, father!”
Dorothea passed her cousin, who was being beaten one-sidedly while holding a red apple in her hand, and crawled back to the room through the side door, where she met Ben.
“...”
Ben, who was looking at his niece who had robbed the kitchen with her cousin in the middle of the night, stretched out his hand.
“I guess I should put something to eat in your room so I don’t go hungry.”
"Yes."
Dorothea answered quickly and was hugged by her father, taking a big bite of the crunchy apple.
Ripe apples were very sweet and refreshing.
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