Marilyn, who had been shaking the bell, slowly stopped her hands as she searched for the hood that had disappeared.
Dorothea's eyes, looking at Mrs. Jennix, who at first glance seemed to be on the verge of death, had a light that Marilyn had never seen before.
“It’s not something that Young Lady can take responsibility for.”
“...”
“It was my choice from the beginning to the end. Young lady shouldn’t carry this burden anymore. Don’t build walls around people too much, and share the burden with the precious people around you.”
A thin, unbroken voice delivered a heartfelt request.
Right behind him, Freed clashed swords with the remaining ambushers, while Marilyn again tried her best to shake the bell to prevent him from casting another spell.
Mrs. Jenix's lips moved close to Dorothea's ear.
“The Empress Dowager never laid a hand on the Princes’ wet nurses, but one person was different. The Second Prince was not weak. His wet nurse was killed by the Empress Dowager.”
William.
A sickly figure came to mind, always standing back and watching the Princes.
Mrs. Jenix's voice became thinner and fainter.
“Because she discovered the Empress Dowager’s most secret secret, which must never be revealed.”
The strange tension that had been flowing between William and Dorothea the day she had come to the Empress Dowager's palace and taken her out came to mind.
Two people who were so distant from each other that they couldn't even be considered grandsons.
As Mrs. Jenix finished speaking, blood poured out of her mouth.
The contract of subordination is the highest level of contract that a human being can make, originally with her life as collateral.
Now she had to pay the price for breaking her oath.
"Ah..."
A deep exhalation, a sigh of regret, escaped from between the woman's lips, and at the same time, Freed, who had dealt with all the annoying ambushes around him except for the sorcerer, slowly lowered his sword.
“Thea!”
A group of people could be seen running towards Dorothea beyond the completely collapsed barrier.
Richard followed behind them, his eyes widening as he discovered Mrs. Jenix lying dying.
His eyes had lost focus and he couldn't even make a sound properly, but he kept moving his lips.
"...Nanny?"
Richard ran over, pushed Dorothea away, and looked after his nanny, who was already on the verge of death.
A gentle smile spread across Mrs. Jenix's blood-stained face.
“My... baby, baby.”
The little baby she had once been unable to hold and had sent away forever.
Perhaps the child she once held in her arms, but who has now become a terrible monster.
Although he couldn't tell which one she was referring to, the affectionate smile on her face brought back old memories of Richard.
The most peaceful and tranquil childhood of his life, something he had always forgotten.
A caring woman who was always there for the little boy who innocently ran around the flower garden.
The only woman who called herself 'Baby'.
At some point, they grew apart, but it was clearly their whole world...
The woman stroked Richard's cheek one last time, then fell back to her knees.
Her slightly open lips could no longer emit even a faint breath.
Richard's face was filled with shock and horror as he realized that the only nanny in the world who had loved him without calculation had passed away.
A sharp iron bar was thrust down Dorothea's neck.
Even though she only aimed, the soft flesh was covered in blood just from the brush of the sword.
Dorothea stared at the Prince with a distorted face, her eyes not knowing why he was pointing his sword at her.
“Young Lady!”
Just as Marilyn's new voice rang out, someone grabbed Richard's sword with their hand and lowered it.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness. Please do not point your sword at my daughter.”
“Dorothea Highclere. Tell me. Why did my nanny die? Why is it that all the others who were with you are alive and breathing, and only my nurse is dead?”
The Prince's eyes, already lost in thought, began to gleam.
For so long, he'd never thought of her as anything more than just a convenient business.
It seemed that she became precious only in the face of death.
No matter how much Richard regrets, resents, or vents his anger on something he foolishly lost, it will never come back.
The Prince in front of Dorothea was throwing a tantrum like a child who didn't know that fact.
'When you actually have it, you treat people's sincere affection like a rolling stone.'
Is it only now that he realizes what he has lost?
Dorothea's gaze turned to Ben, who was holding the sword in his bare hand.
Blood gushed from the wound on his hand, dripping down the blade and onto the floor.
“I fully understand your grief at losing your nanny, but Your Highness, you must also restrain yourself. From what I hear, it sounds like you do not wish for my cousin’s safe return.”
Philip, who saw Dane shaking his head after feeling the nanny's pulse, helped Dorothea up and calmly advised Richard.
Of course, nothing seemed to reach Richard, who had already lost his mind due to excitement.
“I should have saved her even if it meant throwing my body! Who dares touch my nanny, the nanny who raised me since I was a child!”
Marilyn, who had been hesitating at the one-sided criticism directed at Dorothea, opened her mouth with difficulty.
“Mrs. Jenix...”
“Marilyn.”
Dorothea, who had been just watching Richard shout without saying a word of explanation, called Marilyn's name.
And she shook her head so slightly that it was hard for anyone else to notice.
“...”
As Marilyn, who had been trying to explain the situation, closed her mouth, Dorothea's calm voice rang out toward the noisy nobles.
“We caught the sorcerer who helped kidnap us. If we interrogate him, we may be able to uncover the truth behind it.”
“Who are you! What kind of a fool are you!”
The expected sword in Richard's hand waved through the air.
The keeper was tightly bound, gagged, and unconscious, under Freed's watch.
Even if Richard wasn't a great swordsman, being hit by a blind sword could have resulted in a pretty serious injury.
Luke gave his brother a cold warning and his eyes rolled back.
“Don’t show yourself disgrace, brother. As a Prince, you should at least know what’s more important.”
“Disgrace?! Disgrace? You mean it doesn’t matter since your woman came back safe and sound?”
Richard's eyes towards Dorothea were filled with dark emotions such as hatred and anger.
Luke, who had been looking at Richard as if he was pitiful for mentioning the scandal of the past, turned his head away as if he didn't even want to deal with him.
“Put the sorcerer in the carriage. We need to investigate the case in detail, so take away Madame Jenix’s body and keep it away from others. An autopsy may be necessary.”
“Whoever wants it!”
As Richard struggled with heavy breathing, Aiden, who had been watching with a stern face, struck the Prince on the back of the head with a loud crack.
Whether the other nobles were shocked or not, he simply lifted the Prince, who had been squawking at his beloved niece, placed him under his arm, and threw him into a corner of the cart.
“Sir Aiden! What are you doing!”
“The mad Prince swings his sword at my niece who barely survived being kidnapped, and none of you do anything to stop him. Do you believe that we should ‘summon Thea’ here and now by agreeing to this nonsense?”
“...”
The prickly nobles avoided Aiden's eyes, which were sharp and life-threatening.
It wasn't that Aiden wasn't angry.
In fact, he was just as angry as Richard.
Although they looked calm, both Dorothea and Marilyn seemed shocked and strangely silent.
“Uncle Aiden.”
“Thea.”
“Please take a look at my father’s wounds.”
“I’m fine...”
“I’m not okay. I hope you get treatment.”
Ben nodded silently as he saw Dorothea's eyes fixated tenaciously on Ben's bleeding hand.
They couldn't figure out what the heck was going on.
No matter how chaotic the situation was after being attacked, the entire carriage just disappeared.
How shocked everyone was when they realized later that exactly the carriage she was riding in had disappeared as if someone had cast a spell.
'And why is Mrs. Jenix...?'
She wasn't even riding in the same carriage as Thea in the first place.
Ben, who had been keeping his eyes on his daughter the whole time, saw Dorothea stop Marilyn from opening her mouth the moment she was about to say something.
"Father."
The calm and quiet voice instead aroused concern.
The eyes that met his were deeply sunken.
“I wish that Madam’s body could be carried to the imperial palace intact, without anyone disturbing it.”
Most of the time, he had a strong feeling that the things she wanted were either okay to do or not to do.
Ben nodded at his daughter's words, who had never asked him for something so strongly.
“Yes, I won’t let anyone get near her.”
“...”
Ben comforted Dorothea as she watched Mrs. Jennix's body being carried out, wrapped in a blanket.
“It’s not your fault, baby.”
She knew it.
It was Mrs. Jenix herself who chose to step into the trap; Dorothea had never been involved in that choice.
But...
“Richard doesn’t know how much that woman loved him.”
Ben patted his daughter's head silently at her sudden remark.
“He put her through hell, and now he's blaming someone else for her death.”
It was Richard himself who trampled on her thoughts and heart.
In the end, Mrs. Jenix's true feelings were never conveyed to him even in the face of death.
For the first time, Dorothea felt something thudding unpleasantly in her chest.
Pain in the neck.
It was a deep sense of disillusionment and discomfort towards the individual.
“Thea, wouldn’t it be better if I ride in the carriage with you? If there’s another kidnapping attempt, wouldn’t it be safer if I’m with you?”
“There is no room in the carriage.”
The corpse takes up an entire carriage, making the already cramped space even more cramped.
Among them, it was extremely inefficient for Aiden, who was big enough to easily carry three people, to ride in the carriage.
“Then I’d rather have Dane sit down. It’s too dangerous to ride in a carriage with Brother Colin.”
“It’s okay. I’ll yell when I have to. And I don’t think the other person’s situation is good enough to try to kidnap her again after sending that much power just now.”
"But..."
Aiden, who was looking at his brother with a look of distrust, reluctantly asked Colin.
“That’s why I told you to learn self-defense. Why did you come all the way here in that state and take up the carriage seat?”
“...”
“If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have been able to go with Thea.”
Aiden, who had been blamed for the thin Colin who was less than half his size, turned around with a pout.
Instead of reacting to his brother's nonsense, Colin, with a pale face, quietly climbed into the carriage.
As soon as the door closed, Dorothea asked softly.
“You felt it too?”
“...”
“Someone opened the gates of death and invited me there.”
The barrier master simply played a role in strengthening the surrounding barrier.
Opening the gate of death was something that humans could not do.
At the very least, it must be a being from the underworld, a being that can control the power of the underworld.
“Have you seen your colleague?”
“I just felt it.”
“Did they find you over there too?”
“No, my energy is already more similar to yours. It no longer has the light of death. Even if they see me, they will only feel a sense of alienation, and it will be difficult to know what I am.”
You wouldn't know unless you directly compared the revised list.
“Wasn’t it true that beings from the underworld couldn’t interfere with the human world?”
“That’s the rule.”
“So, you’re saying that someone broke the rules and intervened in the handover, and no one has noticed it until now?”
“...”
“Aren’t all the guys in the underworld fools?”
Colin turned his head quietly.
Normally, he would have gotten angry and asked if Dorothea knew about the hardships of being a God of death, the complicated and eventful hierarchy of the underworld, the incompetent superiors who only eat leftovers, and the lower-level Godsbwho only want to suck up to you without taking responsibility...
Dorothea's condition was too serious for that to happen.
Beneath the calm and serene eyes, dark, suppressed emotions swelled.
“It is important to know which entities are cooperating...”
Colin responded in a gruff voice to Dorothea's mumbling, chewing her fingernails.
“For the time being, I will not be revealing myself or opening the path to the underworld as openly as I do today.”
“What if cooperation is not one?”
"What..."
“If one person was moved, wouldn’t two be moved? Countless messengers are suffering from overwork.”
“...”
Dorothea slowly leaned down and looked at the pale man who had once been a reaper but was now almost completely blending in with humanity.
“Don’t you feel like the life you’re living now as a human being is worth living, even if it means giving up your dignity as a God of death?”
It was easy to tell without asking who the owner of the beautiful brooch was, carefully wrapped in his arms as he returned home.
The way he treated his son was gentle, and even to Dorothea, who could be called his ill-fated relationship, he sometimes showed concern and sometimes resentment. Now, no matter what anyone said, he was in human form.
“Have you ever thought about going back to being a reaper?”
“...”
Colin's eyes shook as he kept his mouth shut.
Dorothea slowly straightened her body again and muttered softly.
“No matter how desperate the country was for its life and had no other choice, it wouldn’t do anything it couldn’t do to you. Right?”
Could it be because something big has changed in his mind?
There was a very subtle, barely perceptible wavering in the voice that was usually full of confidence.
Colin, who had been staring blankly at the young lady who had become unresponsive and had become very talkative, answered with a sigh.
"Yes."
“..."
“Even if given the choice, I wouldn’t go back.”
Dorothea's eyes, looking at Mrs. Jennix, who at first glance seemed to be on the verge of death, had a light that Marilyn had never seen before.
“It’s not something that Young Lady can take responsibility for.”
“...”
“It was my choice from the beginning to the end. Young lady shouldn’t carry this burden anymore. Don’t build walls around people too much, and share the burden with the precious people around you.”
A thin, unbroken voice delivered a heartfelt request.
Right behind him, Freed clashed swords with the remaining ambushers, while Marilyn again tried her best to shake the bell to prevent him from casting another spell.
Mrs. Jenix's lips moved close to Dorothea's ear.
“The Empress Dowager never laid a hand on the Princes’ wet nurses, but one person was different. The Second Prince was not weak. His wet nurse was killed by the Empress Dowager.”
William.
A sickly figure came to mind, always standing back and watching the Princes.
Mrs. Jenix's voice became thinner and fainter.
“Because she discovered the Empress Dowager’s most secret secret, which must never be revealed.”
The strange tension that had been flowing between William and Dorothea the day she had come to the Empress Dowager's palace and taken her out came to mind.
Two people who were so distant from each other that they couldn't even be considered grandsons.
As Mrs. Jenix finished speaking, blood poured out of her mouth.
The contract of subordination is the highest level of contract that a human being can make, originally with her life as collateral.
Now she had to pay the price for breaking her oath.
"Ah..."
A deep exhalation, a sigh of regret, escaped from between the woman's lips, and at the same time, Freed, who had dealt with all the annoying ambushes around him except for the sorcerer, slowly lowered his sword.
“Thea!”
A group of people could be seen running towards Dorothea beyond the completely collapsed barrier.
Richard followed behind them, his eyes widening as he discovered Mrs. Jenix lying dying.
His eyes had lost focus and he couldn't even make a sound properly, but he kept moving his lips.
"...Nanny?"
Richard ran over, pushed Dorothea away, and looked after his nanny, who was already on the verge of death.
A gentle smile spread across Mrs. Jenix's blood-stained face.
“My... baby, baby.”
The little baby she had once been unable to hold and had sent away forever.
Perhaps the child she once held in her arms, but who has now become a terrible monster.
Although he couldn't tell which one she was referring to, the affectionate smile on her face brought back old memories of Richard.
The most peaceful and tranquil childhood of his life, something he had always forgotten.
A caring woman who was always there for the little boy who innocently ran around the flower garden.
The only woman who called herself 'Baby'.
At some point, they grew apart, but it was clearly their whole world...
The woman stroked Richard's cheek one last time, then fell back to her knees.
Her slightly open lips could no longer emit even a faint breath.
Richard's face was filled with shock and horror as he realized that the only nanny in the world who had loved him without calculation had passed away.
***
A sharp iron bar was thrust down Dorothea's neck.
Even though she only aimed, the soft flesh was covered in blood just from the brush of the sword.
Dorothea stared at the Prince with a distorted face, her eyes not knowing why he was pointing his sword at her.
“Young Lady!”
Just as Marilyn's new voice rang out, someone grabbed Richard's sword with their hand and lowered it.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness. Please do not point your sword at my daughter.”
“Dorothea Highclere. Tell me. Why did my nanny die? Why is it that all the others who were with you are alive and breathing, and only my nurse is dead?”
The Prince's eyes, already lost in thought, began to gleam.
For so long, he'd never thought of her as anything more than just a convenient business.
It seemed that she became precious only in the face of death.
No matter how much Richard regrets, resents, or vents his anger on something he foolishly lost, it will never come back.
The Prince in front of Dorothea was throwing a tantrum like a child who didn't know that fact.
'When you actually have it, you treat people's sincere affection like a rolling stone.'
Is it only now that he realizes what he has lost?
Dorothea's gaze turned to Ben, who was holding the sword in his bare hand.
Blood gushed from the wound on his hand, dripping down the blade and onto the floor.
“I fully understand your grief at losing your nanny, but Your Highness, you must also restrain yourself. From what I hear, it sounds like you do not wish for my cousin’s safe return.”
Philip, who saw Dane shaking his head after feeling the nanny's pulse, helped Dorothea up and calmly advised Richard.
Of course, nothing seemed to reach Richard, who had already lost his mind due to excitement.
“I should have saved her even if it meant throwing my body! Who dares touch my nanny, the nanny who raised me since I was a child!”
Marilyn, who had been hesitating at the one-sided criticism directed at Dorothea, opened her mouth with difficulty.
“Mrs. Jenix...”
“Marilyn.”
Dorothea, who had been just watching Richard shout without saying a word of explanation, called Marilyn's name.
And she shook her head so slightly that it was hard for anyone else to notice.
“...”
As Marilyn, who had been trying to explain the situation, closed her mouth, Dorothea's calm voice rang out toward the noisy nobles.
“We caught the sorcerer who helped kidnap us. If we interrogate him, we may be able to uncover the truth behind it.”
“Who are you! What kind of a fool are you!”
The expected sword in Richard's hand waved through the air.
The keeper was tightly bound, gagged, and unconscious, under Freed's watch.
Even if Richard wasn't a great swordsman, being hit by a blind sword could have resulted in a pretty serious injury.
Luke gave his brother a cold warning and his eyes rolled back.
“Don’t show yourself disgrace, brother. As a Prince, you should at least know what’s more important.”
“Disgrace?! Disgrace? You mean it doesn’t matter since your woman came back safe and sound?”
Richard's eyes towards Dorothea were filled with dark emotions such as hatred and anger.
Luke, who had been looking at Richard as if he was pitiful for mentioning the scandal of the past, turned his head away as if he didn't even want to deal with him.
“Put the sorcerer in the carriage. We need to investigate the case in detail, so take away Madame Jenix’s body and keep it away from others. An autopsy may be necessary.”
“Whoever wants it!”
As Richard struggled with heavy breathing, Aiden, who had been watching with a stern face, struck the Prince on the back of the head with a loud crack.
Whether the other nobles were shocked or not, he simply lifted the Prince, who had been squawking at his beloved niece, placed him under his arm, and threw him into a corner of the cart.
“Sir Aiden! What are you doing!”
“The mad Prince swings his sword at my niece who barely survived being kidnapped, and none of you do anything to stop him. Do you believe that we should ‘summon Thea’ here and now by agreeing to this nonsense?”
“...”
The prickly nobles avoided Aiden's eyes, which were sharp and life-threatening.
It wasn't that Aiden wasn't angry.
In fact, he was just as angry as Richard.
Although they looked calm, both Dorothea and Marilyn seemed shocked and strangely silent.
“Uncle Aiden.”
“Thea.”
“Please take a look at my father’s wounds.”
“I’m fine...”
“I’m not okay. I hope you get treatment.”
Ben nodded silently as he saw Dorothea's eyes fixated tenaciously on Ben's bleeding hand.
They couldn't figure out what the heck was going on.
No matter how chaotic the situation was after being attacked, the entire carriage just disappeared.
How shocked everyone was when they realized later that exactly the carriage she was riding in had disappeared as if someone had cast a spell.
'And why is Mrs. Jenix...?'
She wasn't even riding in the same carriage as Thea in the first place.
Ben, who had been keeping his eyes on his daughter the whole time, saw Dorothea stop Marilyn from opening her mouth the moment she was about to say something.
"Father."
The calm and quiet voice instead aroused concern.
The eyes that met his were deeply sunken.
“I wish that Madam’s body could be carried to the imperial palace intact, without anyone disturbing it.”
Most of the time, he had a strong feeling that the things she wanted were either okay to do or not to do.
Ben nodded at his daughter's words, who had never asked him for something so strongly.
“Yes, I won’t let anyone get near her.”
“...”
Ben comforted Dorothea as she watched Mrs. Jennix's body being carried out, wrapped in a blanket.
“It’s not your fault, baby.”
She knew it.
It was Mrs. Jenix herself who chose to step into the trap; Dorothea had never been involved in that choice.
But...
“Richard doesn’t know how much that woman loved him.”
Ben patted his daughter's head silently at her sudden remark.
“He put her through hell, and now he's blaming someone else for her death.”
It was Richard himself who trampled on her thoughts and heart.
In the end, Mrs. Jenix's true feelings were never conveyed to him even in the face of death.
For the first time, Dorothea felt something thudding unpleasantly in her chest.
Pain in the neck.
It was a deep sense of disillusionment and discomfort towards the individual.
***
“Thea, wouldn’t it be better if I ride in the carriage with you? If there’s another kidnapping attempt, wouldn’t it be safer if I’m with you?”
“There is no room in the carriage.”
The corpse takes up an entire carriage, making the already cramped space even more cramped.
Among them, it was extremely inefficient for Aiden, who was big enough to easily carry three people, to ride in the carriage.
“Then I’d rather have Dane sit down. It’s too dangerous to ride in a carriage with Brother Colin.”
“It’s okay. I’ll yell when I have to. And I don’t think the other person’s situation is good enough to try to kidnap her again after sending that much power just now.”
"But..."
Aiden, who was looking at his brother with a look of distrust, reluctantly asked Colin.
“That’s why I told you to learn self-defense. Why did you come all the way here in that state and take up the carriage seat?”
“...”
“If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have been able to go with Thea.”
Aiden, who had been blamed for the thin Colin who was less than half his size, turned around with a pout.
Instead of reacting to his brother's nonsense, Colin, with a pale face, quietly climbed into the carriage.
As soon as the door closed, Dorothea asked softly.
“You felt it too?”
“...”
“Someone opened the gates of death and invited me there.”
The barrier master simply played a role in strengthening the surrounding barrier.
Opening the gate of death was something that humans could not do.
At the very least, it must be a being from the underworld, a being that can control the power of the underworld.
“Have you seen your colleague?”
“I just felt it.”
“Did they find you over there too?”
“No, my energy is already more similar to yours. It no longer has the light of death. Even if they see me, they will only feel a sense of alienation, and it will be difficult to know what I am.”
You wouldn't know unless you directly compared the revised list.
“Wasn’t it true that beings from the underworld couldn’t interfere with the human world?”
“That’s the rule.”
“So, you’re saying that someone broke the rules and intervened in the handover, and no one has noticed it until now?”
“...”
“Aren’t all the guys in the underworld fools?”
Colin turned his head quietly.
Normally, he would have gotten angry and asked if Dorothea knew about the hardships of being a God of death, the complicated and eventful hierarchy of the underworld, the incompetent superiors who only eat leftovers, and the lower-level Godsbwho only want to suck up to you without taking responsibility...
Dorothea's condition was too serious for that to happen.
Beneath the calm and serene eyes, dark, suppressed emotions swelled.
“It is important to know which entities are cooperating...”
Colin responded in a gruff voice to Dorothea's mumbling, chewing her fingernails.
“For the time being, I will not be revealing myself or opening the path to the underworld as openly as I do today.”
“What if cooperation is not one?”
"What..."
“If one person was moved, wouldn’t two be moved? Countless messengers are suffering from overwork.”
“...”
Dorothea slowly leaned down and looked at the pale man who had once been a reaper but was now almost completely blending in with humanity.
“Don’t you feel like the life you’re living now as a human being is worth living, even if it means giving up your dignity as a God of death?”
It was easy to tell without asking who the owner of the beautiful brooch was, carefully wrapped in his arms as he returned home.
The way he treated his son was gentle, and even to Dorothea, who could be called his ill-fated relationship, he sometimes showed concern and sometimes resentment. Now, no matter what anyone said, he was in human form.
“Have you ever thought about going back to being a reaper?”
“...”
Colin's eyes shook as he kept his mouth shut.
Dorothea slowly straightened her body again and muttered softly.
“No matter how desperate the country was for its life and had no other choice, it wouldn’t do anything it couldn’t do to you. Right?”
Could it be because something big has changed in his mind?
There was a very subtle, barely perceptible wavering in the voice that was usually full of confidence.
Colin, who had been staring blankly at the young lady who had become unresponsive and had become very talkative, answered with a sigh.
"Yes."
“..."
“Even if given the choice, I wouldn’t go back.”
A New Series, Traces of Moonlight was out now! For you who are tired of regression stories, you can check it out.You can check it HERE!
The New Series, Reincarnating As My Husband's Mistress is out now!
You can check it HERE!
Support Novellate!
Comments
Post a Comment