Dorothea got off the bed and looked through the window at her cousin who had fallen into the pond.
“Then you can’t use it.”
The spirit that returned to her side fluttered its entire body as if giggling.
“Naughty boy.”
Dorothea, who had affectionately stroked the spirit, suddenly held out a towel towards her cousin, who was walking out of the pond, soaking wet.
Philip, who had been looking at the fluffy towel for a while, took the towel without saying a word and started wiping his wet hair.
While Dorothea's body was so skinny that everyone felt sorry for her due to a long illness, Philip's growth was quite slow compared to his brothers of the same age, although not as much as her.
Unlike his peers who also did basic physical training, Philip's body was extremely weak as he rarely worked outside.
Because his clothes were so wet, his clothes stuck to him, exposing his skinny, muscleless body.
Through the white shirt, something like a dark stain was reflected in the moonlight.
Philip must have noticed that Dorothea's eyes were on his body, so he covered his upper body with a towel.
“It’s because you're so playful. Sorry."
“...”
Philip passed by the girl without saying a word, and his eyes were still dry and empty.
***
After the drowning, Philip stopped hanging around Dorothea.
She didn't know what caused the change of heart or why he tried to run away with Dorothea's things in the first place, but she kept everything quiet.
Because there was something else that was important to Dorothea.
“The bottom line is that we haven’t found out anything.”
“They say the spirit stone hasn’t appeared in front of people even once for 10 years. It was the last time it was presented to His Majesty the Emperor.”
Dorothea rested her chin with a sullen expression on Wood's information, which he obtained by searching various guilds.
“It’s the imperial palace...”
“That’s not a place you can go carelessly. The Marquis is already worried because of your involvement with the 7th Prince, so it’s better not to think about it as a useless thing.”
“You worked hard for several days and got nothing.”
Wood's eyebrows rose as Dorothea muttered something pitiful.
“Colin and I are the ones who had a hard time for a few days.”
“I had a hard time too.”
“I’m the one who wanders around the guild and sells my feet until the sun rises and the sun sets! Colin was the one who had to use up his hidden emergency fund to buy all the items related to spirits! But what did you do to cause trouble!”
A loud voice echoed through the room.
Dorothea was so annoyed that she covered her ears.
She heard that Aiden and Wood trained together, and it seemed like they started to resemble each other more in terms of voice than skill.
The girl, who was watching the family members vomit blood about their hardships, sighed and refuted.
“You couldn’t figure out what I wanted because you were lacking. Thanks to you, my poor heart suffered.”
“...You really shouldn't go anywhere and open your mouth. Because one day, that mouth will cause disaster.”
Dorothea, who was looking at Wood shaking, shrugged her shoulders and turned around.
“It seems like there is nothing to be gained by trying any harder than this. I can't help it. If your method doesn’t work, now I have no choice but to try ‘my method.’”
An ominous feeling enveloped the man.
Looking at the pattern so far, the girl's method goes beyond common sense, is incomprehensible, and in most cases...
'There are times when there are situations where I end up suffering more than I am now.'
His face turned white or not, but Dorothea stood up and opened her mouth with a wry smile.
“Let’s go to Colin. There’s someone I need to meet.”
Wood stood up, struggling helplessly.
While it was a comfort to his heart to have someone to share his hardships with, it was painful to see the hardships he would have to endure in the future.
***
When Dorothea expressed her desire to go to Colin's mansion, the other family members readily allowed her to go out.
It seemed like it was fortunate that the child, who already had very little interaction with others, had an uncle who was at least obedient to him.
In particular, Ben even put a gift in his daughter's hand, telling her not to cause trouble and to come back after playing politely.
And as always, Wood was the guardian who accompanied Dorothea on her outings.
“I’m going to take the carriage and stop by the mansion and come back anyway, so there’s no need to go all the way, right?”
Dorothea calmly opened her mouth towards Wood, who was muttering with a sullen expression.
“Because unexpected accidents or incidents may occur.”
“Normally, something like that doesn’t happen when you go to your uncle’s house for half a day.”
“You don’t know. It’s a world where you can be kidnapped while sleeping at home.”
That's because your uncle, who was not very independent, took you out on his own.
Wood swallowed the words welling up in his throat and looked up at Colin's mansion with a shocked face.
He came and went a few times, but it was difficult to get used to the quiet and eerie atmosphere unique to this mansion.
It had a clean exterior with no flaws, but he couldn't figure out why it gave him a creepy feeling.
“Give me this gift.”
When Dorothea stretched out her hand, Wood gave her the gift he was holding with an unexpected look on his face.
Still, perhaps because he is a very obedient uncle, she wants to give him a gift with her own hands.
It was a moment when he thought, he was a helpless child at times like this.
“Your hands must be empty so you can react quickly.”
“...What do you mean you’re reacting?”
The girl who said something like a riddle smiled mysteriously and entered the mansion without saying a word.
In a strange atmosphere, the newly hired butler at the mansion greeted them in a polite manner.
“I’ll take you to the parlor.”
"No."
Dorothea stopped the butler and made an unusual request.
“I want to go to Colin’s room.”
It was extremely unreasonable behavior for a guest who came to the mansion to visit the owner's bedroom.
However, the other person is Dorothea Highclere, the Marquess of Highclere's favorite granddaughter and the child who does not even use honorifics towards Colin, the owner of this mansion.
“...”
The perplexed butler's eyes turned to Wood, who was silently standing next to her.
He looked at the distant mountains with a resigned look on his face that said, “This is the beginning again,” and then said one word.
“Let’s do whatever the child says.”
***
There was no guard in the hallway on the floor where Colin's bedroom was located.
With dark-colored curtains and few people passing by, the quiet hallway felt very eerie.
The guide stopped in the middle of a hallway without a single ornate decoration, as if to represent the owner's neat personality.
“This way.”
"Great job."
The man bowed his head politely and quickly left the hallway.
Dorothea pulled the doorknob a step faster than Wood, who reached out to knock.
The moment the door was wide open, something sparkling in the dark room came into Wood's sight.
It was a weapon pointed at Colin's neck, who was sitting on the bed.
"This..."
“What a guy!”
Before the shadow buried in the darkness could escape, Wood quickly launched himself.
He raised his foot as high as he could, sending what the shadow was holding flying away.
As soon as a dull sound was heard, Wood's hand suppressed the opponent.
"Stop."
A tired, cracked, and weak voice came out of Colin's mouth.
Dorothea crossed the room and opened the closed curtain, revealing the beast's face beneath Wood in the sunlight.
“...!”
Colin's only son, Philip, was pressed against Wood's body with an expressionless face.
“Just let go of my son.”
“No, I just...”
Dorothea left the embarrassed Wood alone and picked up the weapon that had flown far away.
The silver knife, which gave off a soft glow, looked very sharp at first glance. Even if the wielder is a child, it can easily harm the opponent.
The moment Wood relaxed his knee, Philip quickly struggled to escape Wood's hand and ran towards Dorothea.
The boy's eyes were fixed on the knife she was holding.
The moment Wood, with his face frozen, quickly grabbed the boy, his shirt was torn apart, exposing his bare skin.
“...”
A body full of bruises and wounds.
Unlike Wood, who was at a loss for words, Dorothea, who was looking at the fallen boy's back, threw the knife out the window.
She opened her mouth, looking down at her maternal cousin, who was still silent and with dead eyes.
“I think I know why you came into my room in the middle of the night, rummaged through my things, and stole my books.”
“...”
“The only thing you touched was the stuff Colin gave me.”
Philip raised his head and met Dorothea's gaze, and his eyes gave off a gloomy light.
Unlike Wood, who was embarrassed, Dorothea spoke to her maternal cousin in a calm voice.
“You knew from the beginning.”
That the ‘former’ Colin tried to kill her.
So, he told her not to trust Colin and tried to take care of all the items he gave her.
Philip circled around to prevent Colin from touching Dorothea again.
Philip kept his mouth shut and didn't say anything, but that alone seemed like a sufficient answer. Colin also seemed to understand the situation and was silent, covering his pale and tired face with his hands.
Wood, looking very embarrassed, asked Colin awkwardly.
"That... What should we do with your son?”
“...”
“If I release him, I think the situation from before will repeat itself.”
His mind became tangled like a complicated skein of thread as he witnessed corruption before his eyes.
No matter how much he thought about it, it was a series of things that he couldn't understand.
Dorothea broke the awkward silence and opened her mouth.
“I think there was a misunderstanding, so it would be best to have some tea.”
"Yes...?”
“Let’s have tea time.”
Wood looked down at her words as if he were dumbfounded, but the girl walked out of the room, called a maid who was passing by in the hallway, and ordered tea and snacks.
“I hope you pay special attention to snacks.”
The maid, who didn't understand the meaning of the girl's words, politely replied that she would, and then asked with a worried face.
“I heard a loud noise inside. Is something happening?”
"It's okay. In essence, father and son grow up by fighting.”
The maid tilted her head at Dorothea's calm and collected words, but then nodded with a smile.
It didn't seem like she understood, but since it was the young lady's words, she seemed to be agreeing with her rather than refuting or questioning her.
“Is there anything else you need?”
“I need a rope.”
The child kept struggling, so it would have been difficult to run away during tea time.
If they don't properly resolve the misunderstanding here, they'll be in trouble.
“A rope?”
“If possible, something that is sturdy and doesn’t dig into the flesh.”
“Why is the rope...”
When the maid asked in astonishment, Dorothea shrugged her shoulders and did her best to answer her question.
“During tea time, the father and son might have more serious conversations.”
“...?”
Dorothea added to the maid who turned around with a very embarrassed face.
“And bring me an extra shirt, too. My guard tried to stop him and ended up ripping off Philip’s shirt.”
“...”
From the maid's quick steps out of the hallway, she could feel her eagerness to get away from this place.
When Dorothea entered the room again after finishing her short conversation with the maid, Wood, who had been listening to the suspicious and strange conversation outside the door, sighed with a very dark look on his face.
“I knew this would happen to me again.”
There's no way he can get tangled up with her and end up okay.
Phillip, who was suppressed by his hand, still kept his mouth shut and said nothing.
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