DTS - Chapter 103


“It’s not good. It’s not good.”

The Marquis drank his tea in silence, his heart burning as he listened to the words of the priest in charge of the temple.

The face of the new director looking at the Marquis was very dark.

“I never thought something like this would happen while the High Priest was away.”

The sickly girl grew into a healthy and strong lady under the Marquis's devoted nursing and care for a long time.

“How can her health be so bad? This is not a simple matter.”

“I already tested it for poison, but there was no reaction. I wondered if it was a curse, but...”

The temple conducted all possible tests, but no abnormalities were found.

Rather, Dorothea's soul was cleaner and clearer than ever.

That's understandable. After kicking out all the impurities and inflicting evil upon the opponent, even though her vitality has diminished, her energy is bound to be infinitely pure.

The new director, who had been amazed by the soul without a single speck of dregs, shook his head.

“With such a pure soul, it is only natural that she would be devoted to her duties. Thinking about how hard she must have worked to bear the weight on her slender shoulders...I, the head priest, cannot help but feel bitter.”

“...”

“Isn’t it that her are sacrificing herself to live up to the expectations of His Majesty, her family, and those who are watching her?”

The priest sighed and closed his eyes.

“How can the Minister of Finance drag such a child into a political fight by accusing her of being dishonest...?”

As a servant of a God who values ​​mercy, he seemed extremely disappointed with the Emperor's actions in not actively protecting Dorothea.

The Marquis was greatly relieved by the priest's attitude.

No matter how much he cherished his granddaughter, he could not bear to refuse to let Dorothea be summoned to appear before a public hearing.

However, if she testifies to her condition at the temple, she will have sufficient justification to not respond to the summons request.

'That means the condition isn't that good, though.'

For the time being, there is no choice but to recuperate in the temple and quietly regain her health.

The Marquis's mouth felt bitter.

“If I had known this would happen, I would not have sent the child away, no matter how much His Majesty coveted her."

Was it wrong to pretend not to be able to resist the words of his granddaughter, who kept nagging him with sparkling eyes, saying that she had always received help from someone at the mansion, so now she wanted to do it herself?

According to Dane, Dorothea has been very busy since she arrived in Spencer's Earldom.

She didn't even have time to eat, so she had to sneak food from the kitchen at dawn.

The weight of the expectations she must have been receiving was felt anew.

“If I had known this would happen, I would never have shown you the medals I received when I was young.”

Clearly, the child was impressed by his own dazzling past and thought that she should become a great person like her grandfather and bring honor to the family.

“If I had known this would happen, I would have forgotten the tales of my youth...”

The Marquis, who had been telling stories about this and that because his granddaughter's reaction was so good, applauded three or four times at the end of each story, had regret in his eyes.

The image of his granddaughter working hard day and night to emulate her respected grandfather was vivid.

The new director, who was looking at the Marquis, nodded with pity in his eyes.

'If only there had been a minister, it would have given her a little more energy...'

He just felt sorry that he couldn't help her because he was away.

Instead, he felt a sense of duty deep in his heart to at least prevent things from getting any worse than they were now.

“You don’t have to worry. We will take care of the Young Lady’s safety at our temple.”

Given that the hearing is being held in private, it means that either the evidence or witnesses they have secured are not clear enough to hold a public trial, or something is troubling them.

In the current situation, it would be impossible to forcibly take away a girl under the protection of God.

“Your Grace, you don’t need to worry.”

That was the moment of confirmation.

A junior priest, panting for breath through the suddenly open door, opened his mouth with a look of exhaustion.

“A stranger broke into the temple and kidnapped the Marquis’s daughter!”

“What...?!”

“...?!”

The shrine master and the Marquis both stood up at the same time.

And Dorothea's relatives, who had been looking into this tumultuous situation, looked at each other with pale faces.

“He was a colossal giant, standing over 7 feet tall, and he instantly subdued the knights with his huge spear before running out of the temple with the young lady in his arms. His will to live was so great that even the most accomplished priests had difficulty approaching him.”

“Where?! Where did he go?!”

“That... When he left with Young Lady in his arms, everyone had fainted, so no one saw the direction he went.”

As Diana, who had been listening, stumbled and collapsed in the hallway, Felix, who was next to her, supported his wife with a stern face.

As the Marquis prepared his horse with a stern expression and Dane was about to follow him, Philip's calm, low voice cut through the corridor that was filled with life.

“I need to go to the palace, so I would like you to prepare a carriage rather than a horse.”

Unlike Dane, who was puzzled by his cousin's unexpected remark, a look of realization crossed Edwin's face.

Edwin glanced at Felix's stiff face and quickly opened his mouth.

“Father, I will prepare a chariot that can run fast.”

Unlike Dane, who looked at Edwin as he quickly headed out as if he couldn't understand, the enraged Marquis shouted the name of his troublemaking youngest son.

“Aiden Highclere! Youuuuuu!!”

***

At that moment, whether the temple was turned upside down or not, Dorothea, who had entered the palace in Aiden's arms, let out a faint cough and looked around at the foolish people who were about to target her and pour out slander.

All the nobles who had been furious and resentful just a moment ago, widened their eyes when they saw her.

That would be the case since her condition seemed worse than when she arrived at the capital with them.

At that time, walking and breathing on her own feet didn't seem to be a big problem.

Even though Aiden was just holding her in his arms, she was extremely precarious.

Pale eyelids that flutter as if they are about to close, a small body that shakes violently even with a light cough, and even rough and irregular breathing.

They had no idea how it got to that point.

Although they took great care to ensure that her health would not deteriorate further, fearing the Marquis of Highclere's retaliation.

'I gave you every convenience I could to rest and recuperate. Even my own rest time was spared and I worked tirelessly on writing the report.'

'We're the ones who can't even eat properly because we're working so hard!'

'Even on the way back in the carriage, I couldn't rest comfortably because I was busy checking documents.'

Why are they all dying?

Of course, they could not have known that Dorothea was constantly running between the palace, the Baron's residence, and the autopsy room.

Cough.

The ears of the nobles gathered there perked up at the sound of a cough.

Dorothea smiled faintly at Marilyn, who was looking up at her, fidgeting as her excited body trembled slightly.

Whether it was because she stayed up all night or because she was worried, there were faint shadows under her eyes.

'Should I say I'm a little sorry?'

Because they dragged people around without giving them a chance to rest.

'But I hope the road you take won't be lonely.'

It was because she wanted to send off the last journey of a woman who had lived a lonely life with all her sincerity.

Het gaze, which had been on Marilyn for a moment, soon turned to the Crown Prince sitting next to the Emperor.

She could read faint irritation and contempt in the eyes that looked at her without saying anything.

It seemed as if she could hear the sound of someone turning their head around to assess the situation.

Dorothea, with her eyes downcast, greeted him with the utmost politeness and impeccable manner.

“I am sorry that I could not come right away even though you sent a messenger directly to me. The priest who was checking on my condition stopped me.”

“Who on earth would drag a dying child away? What kind of inhuman, inhuman person would take a sick child like this and put her in front of people?”

Aiden sobbed as he held Dorothea in his arms.

The Emperor, who seemed so inhuman and ignorant, looked at Dorothea with a strange expression and asked cautiously.

“Did your family send you away?”

The girl, who had been leaning against her uncle's sturdy arms, raised the corners of her lips and shook her head.

"Then..?"

“I ran away.”

“...!”

The girl smiled bashfully, her face clearly pale.

“Your Majesty called me, and it is my job above all else, so I cannot leave the responsibility to others.”

The hearing room was filled with silence at the girl's surprising sense of responsibility for a matter of national importance.

The nobles, who had been raising their voices and talking about the duties and responsibilities of a nobleman, rolled their eyes and looked at Dorothea, who had come to take responsibility, without even being able to properly support her thin neck.

“I heard that someone pointed out my immaturity. Since this was my first time taking on a new role, I tried my best but I didn’t seem to be able to deliver satisfactory results. In that case, I should apologize.”

The surroundings became quiet as a clear and calm voice explained the circumstances of the situation accurately.

Even Secretary Blair, who had a pile of documents accusing the lazy and dissolute girl, closed his mouth for a moment with a look of confusion on his face.

“Ugh.”

Aiden, touched by his niece's kind words, held Dorothea in his arms and wiped away his tears.

The entire hearing room, which was in full swing, was plunged into a solemn atmosphere.

'You were busy drinking, dancing, gambling, and smoking.'

Everyone looked at Dorothea and Blair Millionaire with one mind and one heart.

Blair hesitated for a moment, then glanced at the Crown Prince, who was fixating on Dorothea as if it had nothing to do with him, and then slammed down a thick folder as if he had made up his mind about something.

'We need to change the flow.'

As a seasoned man, he could not have been unaware that sometimes a fanatic mood can have a more powerful effect than any evidence or witness.

But the Lady's blue eyes met his, and they were much more capable than Blair had imagined.

The faint sneer in her eyes was deep and dark as if she knew his inner thoughts.

Blair, who had been staring into those eyes without realizing it, came to his senses belatedly and rebuked them with a stern face.

“Does Young Lady think that the national ambassador is a joke? Just saying that you are immature...!”

Dorothea lowered her head as the sound of a loud noise filled the hall.

Are you scared or something?

As the gaze was focused on the pitiful Lady with her head bowed low, Dorothea slowly raised her head.

"Ah..."

Before she knew it, a stream of dark red blood was flowing from her nose, down her lip, and dripping down her chin.

As the Emperor stood up with a stern face to call the healer, the tightly shut door to the hearing room burst open, and uninvited guests barged in.

“Thea!”

"Baby!"

The Marquis' eyes sparkled as he saw his granddaughter with a pale face and blood dripping from her nose.

The finance minister didn't realize that the tips of his fingers, which were pointing at Dorothea, were beginning to tremble.

***

Dorothea did not look back at the Marquis.

She was grateful that he appeared in such a dramatic situation, but she didn't want everything to end up like this.

'It's later than I thought.'

She raised her head, having wiped her nose, which was still bleeding.

The reason she did not erase or quickly recover the price of the flesh she had lost was that she wanted to turn public opinion toward herself, but her greater purpose was to induce the other party to let their guard down.

“Your Majesty, I beg you to understand that the elders of the family have intruded into a private hearing. They seem to have lost their senses for a moment because they have been listening to me so intently.”

“...”

“If Your Majesty will give them a seat, I think they will respect you and wait until the hearing is over. I will receive my punishment later.”

“Make room for them.”

The Emperor's eyes were complicated as he slowly looked at the red handkerchief that had been pulled down from her nose as the bleeding stopped.

Dorothea stared blankly at the Crown Prince sitting next to her.

He didn't look particularly shaken, but his hands were pale from the strength he had put into them.

'You must be annoyed.'

The people of the Marquis family who had been very excited had already regained their senses and sat down.

Even though they clenched their teeth, they were not so clueless as to run wild without knowing the pros and cons.

This is not a temple, but a palace, and they are merely nobles who live off the empire's allowances.

No matter how powerful you are, everyone knows that you must not give your enemies a reason to find fault with you.

“As you know, Count Jubel, it is very unfair to say that we did nothing. Even the young ladies who worked with us rolled up their sleeves and did their best.”

“Yes! We worked very hard...”

But she didn't do it.

Why does 'we' naturally include Dorothea Highclere herself?

While he was silent in confusion, the person next to him quickly poked him in the side.

'Would you believe me if I said that in this situation, I worked except for YoungbLady Dorothea? That Young Lady is in the worst condition.'

'It's not like that.'

'We're all being accused now. For now, we should all live together, and then we'll figure out the details of the fault.'


Count Jubel reluctantly continued speaking at the sight of their wide-eyed gazes.

“We will all submit our best results, so feel free to ask questions or call witnesses if you wish.”

In the end, Count Jubel, who had appealed to his grievances including 'Dorothea', piled up the documents he wanted to explain in front of Minister Blair.

The submitted materials were heavier, thicker, and more detailed than the evidence documents originally prepared for the accusation.

“This, this thing...”

Secretary Blair looked around at the faces of those who had performed and narrowed his eyebrows.

He unconsciously turned his gaze towards the Crown Prince and glanced at those who had been summoned to the hearing.

Although they were all tired and worn out, they had proud and resentful expressions on their faces.

They were even very angry.

'Hmm.'

He pointed to Valery, who was bowing her head, avoiding Dorothea, who seemed the most dignified and upright.

“This is clearly a matter of national importance that His Majesty personally entrusted to you. What help did Young Lady Valerie, who was just out of friendship, go to and help with?”

At best, she followed her friends down there and had fun and ate.

There's no way she would have volunteered for such a difficult task that wouldn't even have her name on it.

It was completely incomprehensible to his common sense.

Valerie, who had been completing her work with more dedication than anyone else, smiled brightly at Blair's confident nomination.


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