Chapter 14

"Call me when the child wakes up."

"…Pardon?"

Caught off guard by the unexpected words, Ellie only gaped.

"If anything happens, tell this uncle."

The duke left the room, leaving Ellie standing there.

"A, Uncle…"

Ante, who had been singled out by the duke, sighed at the unfamiliar title.

"As you wish. I'll be at the door, so let me know if you need anything."

He smiled gently at Ellie, thinking that it would be disgraceful to make a child cry like the duke.

Ellie blinked in a daze even after the door closed.

* * *

The teachers hurriedly left their seats to fetch the adoption papers.

It would be more accurate to say they fled, but the orphanage was already filled with the duke's elite knights, the Black Lions. There was no place to run.

"Be a bit more careful when you go in…"

Ante grumbled, glancing at Erhardt, who was leaning against the door with his arms crossed.

"What?"

Ante replied, exasperated by the indifferent response.

"Didn't I tell you? The children are more afraid of the duke than ghosts."

"…"

"If you show such a terrifying face, the young master won't come along willingly. It would be fortunate if he doesn't think he's being dragged to a ghost's house."

The duke intended to adopt the child as soon as he found him.

The child was too young to stand on his own in front of those who coveted the family.

However, due to the unfortunate timing, he only gave a menacing impression.

His appearance was already intimidating, and now he had shown a frightening face, making it possible that the child would refuse to go with him.

"…About the child next to him."

At that moment, Erhardt spoke in a thoughtful tone.

"Do you mean the girl next to him?"

"She seemed to know I was coming here."

"Really? The duke?"

Ante's eyes widened in disbelief.

"But… isn't this the first time the duke has set foot in this manor?"

"That's right."

It was true, which made it even more puzzling.

'How did she know?'

How could such a small child know that he was looking for the child?

Of course, she could have overheard the conversation.

The coincidence that the director had hidden one of the children, who turned out to be Claid's son, and that the girl had met someone looking for the child…

'That's impossible.'

Erhardt considered the possibilities one by one.

If he reversed his thinking, it was simple.

'The child already knew.'

That he was coming here, and that the child was Claid's son.

But the mystery still remained.

This was the child he had searched for over ten years.

How did the small girl recognize Claid's child?

Erhardt's eyes narrowed.

Regardless, he had made a bad first impression on Claid's son.

Even in his fever, the boy had stood in front of the girl, as if protecting her.

'Such a protective attitude.'

Those with such eyes were not easily defeated.

He knew this better than anyone, as he had once had such eyes himself.

He tapped his arm with his index finger.

"What should I do?"

He muttered to himself.

"Surely… you're not going to kill them? Such young children."

"…"

"Ah, no?"

Ante, growing anxious, asked cautiously, but received no answer.

Ante's face began to pale.

'Even if the lord is a psychopath, he wouldn't be so reckless, right?'

He tried to suppress his unease.

At that moment, Erhardt slowly straightened his body from the wall.

"I need to hear their story. I need to make a judgment."

"Story…?"

In response to Ante's question, Erhardt answered with a blank expression.

"To see if I'm wrong or not."

* * *

Thanks to the mana stone, Damian's complexion visibly improved.

He was amazed by the power of mana, but another mountain stood before Ellie.

A man who resembled a giant mountain. Duke Erhardt Schuetz, who would become Damian's stepfather.

'Why is he staring at me like that?'

Ellie swallowed hard.

"Is the child asleep?"

Erhardt broke the icy silence.

"Yes, he just fell asleep."

"Is that so."

Silence fell again.

By now, Ellie was a bit flustered. His piercing gaze was intense.

Just as Ellie was breaking out in a cold sweat, Erhardt spoke.

"You seemed to know I was looking for the child. Is that true?"

"…!"

Caught off guard by the direct question, Ellie's face stiffened.

'Why is he asking this?'

Suddenly, the original novel's plot came to mind. The life of 'Ellie,' who had to wander the streets as punishment for tormenting Damian.

'He's testing me.'

As this thought crossed her mind, her confusion began to settle.

'I need to answer carefully.'

But she couldn't lie about something so obvious.

'So, what can I say…'

After some thought, Ellie finally spoke.

"…Yes, I knew."

"How did you know?"

"The director told me. He said there's a black-haired, red-eyed child here, and to subtly mention it to Duke Schuetz."

Oh. Ante nodded involuntarily.

She was a smart and perceptive child. However, Erhardt continued his questioning without wavering.

"So, you were also told that there are five children, right?"

"That…"

Ellie hesitated.

If he knew she had approached deliberately, he might suspect her.

But from the duke's gaze, she could tell that a clumsy lie would only lead to more lies, and he would see through it.

"Yes, that's right."

At her straightforward admission, he tilted his head slightly.

"Why didn't you lead me directly to the child if you knew everything?"

"Because I wanted you to know what this orphanage is like."

For a moment, the duke frowned. But Ellie continued calmly, undeterred.

"As you might have noticed, the teachers don't take care of us. We do everything, and at night, they go to the casino to gamble and enjoy themselves."

"…"

"I wanted you to see the situation here for yourself."

With that, the child fell silent, as if she had said everything she needed to.

Ante was impressed.

She was a very smart child.

She skillfully led the situation to her advantage.

It was impressive that she could speak so honestly in front of the duke, but…

'In other words, she used the duke as a pawn.'

Ante closed his eyes in frustration and then opened them again.

What could he do to stop the duke? As he strained his brain, the duke finally spoke.

"Name."

The duke, who had been silent, finally spoke.

"What's your name?"

Caught off guard by the unexpected question, Ellie blinked.

"…Ellie."

"The child."

"Damian. His name is Damian."

I see. Erhardt nodded lightly and looked at Ante.

"Where is the director?"

"Um… I think he's in the director's office with the other teachers."

"Bring them here."

Ante, who had been puzzled by the duke's order, left the room.

The director's appearance was terrible. His disheveled hair and pale face clearly showed what he had been through.

"Y-Your Grace, what brings you…"

She stammered, looking ahead.

She saw Damian lying in front of the duke and Ellie sitting beside him. Instantly, the director's face turned not just pale, but blue.

'Could she have told everything?'

She had already heard from the teachers that Damian was Duke Claid's son.

'If she told everything, I won't let it go!'

As she ground her teeth and glared at Ellie, the duke spoke in a deep voice.

"I'm adopting the child."

"And…"

Erhardt pointed at Ellie, who was sitting next to Damian.

"The girl next to him. I'll adopt her too."

"What…"

Confused, the director stammered, and Ante quickly asked.

"Will you adopt her as a daughter?"

"No. I'll adopt her as a daughter-in-law."

"Wh-What?!"

At that moment, everyone in the room, including Ellie, gaped in shock.

'Daughter-in-law? Daughter-in-law?'

There was someone else who was supposed to be connected to Damian. She couldn't take that place.

But from the duke's expression, it seemed his decision was firm.

Ellie looked down at the deeply sleeping Damian.

Four years from now, fifteen-year-old Damian would go to war with Duke Schuetz.

There, he would meet the heroine, Ashabel.

A perfect heroine who could give him more comfort than her clumsy consolation.

Ellie didn't want to interfere with them. All she wanted was for Damian to be safely adopted by the duke's family.

'But…'

Ellie's trembling gaze moved. Damian was holding her hand tightly.

She couldn't look away from the hand that held hers firmly.

The gentle and kind child who had opened his heart to her and needed her.

She had already grown attached to him in this short time.

"Ellie, do you dislike me?"

"Don't go, Ellie…"

The sobbing voice kept echoing in her mind. Ellie's eyes flickered.

"It's not possible, Your Grace!"

At that moment, a sharp voice cut through the stunned atmosphere.

The director, with bloodshot eyes, shouted at Ellie.

"Don't take that lowly girl with you!"