Are dogs, cows, or people this funny?
Somehow, not long after she decided to start a new life, her life was threatened several times. She was even receiving threats from people around her.
Dorothea, who had been silent for a while, stopped fiddling with her sleeves and sighed briefly.
Wood was the first man she took as her servant in this world.
'Of course, it is true that I reached out in a hurry because there were so few talented people around me.'
Still, she did not bring him to nothing.
Because she was confident that she could polish him well and make him into something usable.
Wood met her eyes and shook his head furiously. His intention seemed clear, but Dorothea pretended not to know and lifted her hand.
“I can’t help it. I can’t bear to let someone who begs for his life like that disappear from my arms.”
“...”
“I also have something called a conscience.”
A look of bewilderment flashed in Luke's eyes, but Dorothea paid no heed to the look and continued speaking.
“I don’t know anything else, but the person who cursed you is a high-level magician. He is skilled in the art of magic and has likely made a living using it for decades.”
Cursing is something that requires one to bear a burden that can eat away at oneself as well as the other person.
The mistakes of inexperienced people were so dangerous that they sometimes cost the magician his own life.
Even if he succeeds, if the other person reverses the curse, he may end up falling victim to it himself, and sometimes, he becomes possessed by the turbid energy he was exposed to for a long time while cursing and becomes an evil spirit.
“I can’t handle it the way I am now.”
She felt this clearly while watching Hertia's final moments.
Now she has only reached the ‘starting point’.
She was lucky enough to already have two people in her household, but that's it.
She had been in this body for only about a year, so even if it was not enough, it was still not long enough.
"How much?"
Luke, who had been silent, asked softly.
“How much time will it take for you to be able to handle it?”
“At least five years.”
“Five years...”
She would have been sixteen by then.
When she mentioned a time that may have felt long or short, Luke looked up at the ceiling in silence, as if lost in thought for a moment.
After a long silence, he finally opened his mouth.
“Is 5 years enough?”
"Maybe."
“Okay, let’s do that. I will wait."
“There are conditions.”
As soon as Luke could answer, she spoke again.
Luke's eyebrows rose at the boldness of daring to impose conditions on the Prince in a threatened situation, but he then stared at her without saying a word, as if asking her to speak.
“Everything I wandered around in, erase it all without a trace.”
"Good."
Following Luke's simple consent, Dorothea followed up with the conditions.
“Don’t come visit me for five years. There must be no interference whatsoever. You shouldn’t come here and meet me.”
“Is it to conserve strength?”
Dorothea shrugged her shoulders in response to Luke's serious question.
“No, I just think that if I see your face before then, I will be so unlucky that I will hit you all.”
“...”
“It’s not a good feeling to be threatened, is it?”
She has already felt the feeling of being one-sidedly influenced by someone in her past life.
It couldn't have been a good feeling to have to follow someone else's intentions regardless of her own will.
Although she feels like she would rather just go away with her family.
Because they are not her.
Unlike her, it may not be easy to give up their current status and the things they enjoy.
Now that she had accepted this 'family' within her boundaries, she was willing to put herself in their shoes.
She's involved in some annoying and troublesome work, but she guess she'll have to deal with it.
“When I look at your face, even if I try to do something, I feel like I don’t want to do it.”
Still, he said he was the Prince of the country, so Dorothea tried to take care of him, but he stabbed her like this.
This was all caught up to her because she handled things immaturely not long after she woke up, but in any case, it was extremely embarrassing.
“You’re angry.”
"Yes."
“Now it seems like there is a touch of humanity in that face that doesn’t seem human.”
Who says what to whom?
Luke asked quietly as Dorothea turned her head to face him.
“What should I do if you say you won’t keep your promise after five years? It seems to me that if you are given five years, you have enough ability to erase the knight's past.”
“I keep all the promises I made.”
Luke, who had been quietly listening to the words she spoke clearly while making eye contact, glanced at her.
Her body is so small and slender that it's surprising that she can sit upright from head to toe.
The sickly look on her face did not improve at all.
But strangely enough, her words had a strange ‘power’.
It instills confidence that it will definitely come true.
Luke pretended to hide his true feelings and mentioned the things he had to lose to the little girl in front of him.
“You may keep your promise, but if you die, the promise is over. Then I’m just wasting my time.”
“Then what are you going to do?”
When Luke gestured, the guard knight waiting behind him approached.
He seemed to whisper something, then went out the door and brought someone in.
It was a boy who appeared to be one or two years older than Dorothea.
“Freed.”
A boy with a stiff face got down on one knee.
He was a handsome boy with very impressive blue eyes that matched his short navy blue hair.
Dorothea slightly squinted her eyes when she smelled the strange, animal-like smell coming from him.
“This child is one I personally picked up from the battlefield and is suitable for guarding. In particular, he has an excellent ability to monitor the surroundings and filter out traps.”
“...”
“Keep this child aside. Then I agree to your promise to wait without any interference for five years.”
Even though he was being handed over to someone else as if he were handing over something, no emotion appeared in the eyes of the boy called Freed.
The moment she saw his dry, empty eyes, she nodded without hesitation.
"Good."
As if the given time had just expired, she heard footsteps approaching here from afar.
"However."
Dorothea suddenly added to Luke who was trying to empty his teacup.
“Does he have to be returned ‘after 5 years’?”
Luke, who seemed to think about her question for a moment, spoke again.
“Even if you say you don’t want to give it back, that child will try to come back to me. Because he is a man who knows good faith.”
“So, what if that child betrays trust?”
They say that a person can change in 10 years, but he could change his mind after 5 years of being with her.
Besides, if he lived under such a conniving and mean master and then met a kind, gentle, and considerate master like her, wouldn't he be moved?
“That kid might like me more.”
Luke laughed and cocked his head arrogantly, probably because he thought her words were childish.
“Then you take it.”
It can't be like that, though. It was as if the words he was saying were stuck behind him.
“Well, I’ll see you in five years.”
“Okay, five years later. Oh, and...”
"Hmm? Is there anything else you want to say?”
The 7th Prince looked at the girl sitting upright in front of him as if he was surprised.
“It’s just this one time.”
“...?”
“I’ll let it pass for once. From now on, don’t force yourself on me again. Don't use people around me to threaten me. Don't ask anything from me without getting something in return. Whatever it is, don’t try to control me.”
The body is still clearly ill.
Pale skin.
But why...
All nerves in Luke's body were tense, as if an unwelcome guest called death was right around the corner.
Goosebumps that he had never experienced even on the battlefield, where he had overcome countless crises, sent goosebumps from his toes to his head.
He almost gave in to the urge to pull out his sword and hit the tiny girl with the silent warning that came over him.
But instead, unlike his usual self, he accepted the other person's warning obediently and responded.
“I will do that. This will be the last time I treat you like this.”
The girl smiled and nodded with satisfaction.
“You must keep those words.”
***
Since he had promised, the Marquis had no choice but to take a few laps around the garden, and he was very displeased with the 7th Prince, who seemed to be already paying attention to his still-young granddaughter.
However, she indeed received help from the 7th Prince in a hurry, and it was also true that thanks to that, once it was revealed that Dorothea was a spiritist, the negative views such as slander, ridicule, and belittling towards her origins disappeared.
'It's just this one time.'
As a marquis who knew the unique insidiousness of the royal family, he had no intention of sending his precious granddaughter into a silent battlefield.
When he opened the door to the living room again with a rather heavy face, he saw Wood, whom he had never called, sitting next to them.
The Marquis quickly looked at Dorothea, but she continued sipping her tea with a calm expression.
A face with nothing shared, as if they were just chatting without meaning in their free time.
The Marquis narrowed his eyes and asked Wood, who was in the middle, an awkward smile.
“Why are you here?”
“The Lady invited me. We had a connection when I met His Highness the 7th Prince in the past.”
"Hmm...”
In response to Dorothea's quick reply, the Marquis' wide eyes glanced at Wood.
The Marquis already talked to Felix about removing that guy from the military, so he wonders if it would be okay if Wood contacted the royal family.
While he was doing complicated calculations in his mind, Dorothea drove away his thoughts with a cheerful voice.
"Grandfather!"
She opened her mouth to the Marquis, pointing to a handsome boy who was one step behind her with his head down.
“His Highness the 7th Prince introduced me to a friend.”
“What a friend? What does that mean, baby?”
Dorothea had innocent eyes, as if she knew nothing, and raised a high-pitched voice like an excited child.
His Highness the 7th Prince said, 'It hurts my heart to keep seeing me fall into danger.' He said he would give me a friend as much as he wanted me to be safe, if possible!”
“...”
The Marquis' face distorted.
In other words, even though Dorothea is in danger several times, the Marquis is not responding properly, and because they do not trust the security of the mansion, does this not mean that they are personally providing an escort?
Even the Emperor does not carelessly give his authority to his subjects for fear of misinterpretation of his intentions.
Unexpectedly, the 7th Prince slapped the Marquis on the cheek and instead grabbed him by the collar and shook him.
The Marquis, who had been insulted, managed to calm himself down as he looked at his granddaughter's smiling face.
A sharp murderous attack deflected away from Dorothea, who pretended not to know anything, and poured down on Luke.
Even though Luke must have realized that the Marquis was saying this to spite me, he calmly accepted his attack and silently brought the teacup to his mouth.
“There was no need to give her a gift.”
“I’m scheduled to go on a mission soon, so I don’t think I’ll be able to come to this mansion or meet that kid for a while.”
Luke added, finishing the tea he was holding and putting it down.
“It will be quite useful, so take it. I just hope that when I return, we will at least be reunited safely.”
"Is that so? The expedition is scheduled for a long time, so I hope you return safely.”
Luke nodded, pretending not to notice the words of congratulations from the Marquis, who was broken in one place and looked like he was praying for his safety.
Wood, who was listening to the blood-curdling conversation between the Marquis and the Prince, glanced at Dorothea with his mouth still 'closed'.
“...”
The Marquis' face distorted.
In other words, even though Dorothea is in danger several times, the Marquis is not responding properly, and because they do not trust the security of the mansion, does this not mean that they are personally providing an escort?
Even the Emperor does not carelessly give his authority to his subjects for fear of misinterpretation of his intentions.
Unexpectedly, the 7th Prince slapped the Marquis on the cheek and instead grabbed him by the collar and shook him.
The Marquis, who had been insulted, managed to calm himself down as he looked at his granddaughter's smiling face.
A sharp murderous attack deflected away from Dorothea, who pretended not to know anything, and poured down on Luke.
Even though Luke must have realized that the Marquis was saying this to spite me, he calmly accepted his attack and silently brought the teacup to his mouth.
“There was no need to give her a gift.”
“I’m scheduled to go on a mission soon, so I don’t think I’ll be able to come to this mansion or meet that kid for a while.”
Luke added, finishing the tea he was holding and putting it down.
“It will be quite useful, so take it. I just hope that when I return, we will at least be reunited safely.”
"Is that so? The expedition is scheduled for a long time, so I hope you return safely.”
Luke nodded, pretending not to notice the words of congratulations from the Marquis, who was broken in one place and looked like he was praying for his safety.
Wood, who was listening to the blood-curdling conversation between the Marquis and the Prince, glanced at Dorothea with his mouth still 'closed'.
Dorothea felt even more fearsome as she witnessed the terrifying scene of the Marquis and the Prince fighting over just a few words.
While drinking tea, Wood glanced at her and faced a girl who smiled sweetly, and he trembled.
'How did I get so involved with that kid?'
His eyes suddenly turned to the doll-like boy standing silently behind her.
He sent a sympathetic look towards the boy, who clearly had a dark future ahead of him, and secretly warned him.
‘Run away now. Run as far away as you can.'
However, perhaps because his feelings were not conveyed, the boy just stared straight ahead without saying a word.
The 7th Prince went on a campaign to a conflict area with a different race, and Dorothea stayed in the mansion for five years.
For a while, the seclusion and the actions of the 7th Prince, who seemed addicted to war, were on people's lips, but as time passed, even that faded away.
When everyone was wondering if something like that had happened, the 7th Prince, who had been wandering the battlefield, returned to the imperial capital after 5 years.
The clock hands, which had stopped for a moment, began to turn again.
While drinking tea, Wood glanced at her and faced a girl who smiled sweetly, and he trembled.
'How did I get so involved with that kid?'
His eyes suddenly turned to the doll-like boy standing silently behind her.
He sent a sympathetic look towards the boy, who clearly had a dark future ahead of him, and secretly warned him.
‘Run away now. Run as far away as you can.'
However, perhaps because his feelings were not conveyed, the boy just stared straight ahead without saying a word.
***
The 7th Prince went on a campaign to a conflict area with a different race, and Dorothea stayed in the mansion for five years.
For a while, the seclusion and the actions of the 7th Prince, who seemed addicted to war, were on people's lips, but as time passed, even that faded away.
When everyone was wondering if something like that had happened, the 7th Prince, who had been wandering the battlefield, returned to the imperial capital after 5 years.
The clock hands, which had stopped for a moment, began to turn again.
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