Chapter 35

Daniel's deep, resonant voice echoed once more through the grand, two-story-high library.

"Frida."

The anxious tone that rose from his abdomen collided with the walls, fragmented, and soon faded away. In the silence that followed, Daniel involuntarily held his breath as he faced the musty smell and the dim light. The fireplace, which he could not recall ever being lit, was now burning. A feeble flame flickered, as if it could extinguish at any moment. It was only when he noticed the small figure at the far end of the space illuminated by the fire that he realized how tense he had been, fearing he might not find her. The figure, with its head awkwardly bent and leaning against the wall, was sound asleep. The moment he saw Frida, his legs felt weak. Daniel, who had been holding his breath, quickly exhaled.

"Ha..."

He couldn't remember the last time he had felt such tension in his limbs. Perhaps the tension had even drained from his head. As the bolt that had been holding back a memory released, a recollection from the year he turned fourteen, when he could no longer call out to his mother, surfaced.

"Huh."

Suddenly, Daniel let out a bitter laugh, remembering the small back of a child he once believed to be an angel. She had been huddled, her snow-white hair cascading down like an ice mountain, over a pure white dress. That day, he realized again just how weak a desperate human could be. Despite all the chaos, she still naively believed in the existence of angels. But... he really wanted to believe. He wanted to believe that God had sent him a real angel, not a fake like Lady Margret. With the hope that if she were an angel, she might grant his wish, he took one step after another toward her.

"...Stia. Boo hoo. Hestia, big sister..."

Fortunately, the hope was quickly shattered. He soon realized that the child, whose shoulders were shaking in front of him, was anything but an angel. If she were a rabbit, it might have been different, but an angel would never cry in such a disheveled state.

"Ch."

Daniel kicked a stone in his path hard and clicked his tongue in annoyance.

'Angels, my ass. How many times have I been fooled by such nonsense? You idiot.'

He could almost hear the mocking laughter of the obnoxious Dominic over his shoulder. The sound of the stone rolling into the bushes made the crying child turn around. Her pale face, covered in tears and snot, and her swollen, bloodshot eyes made her look like a rabbit with a pained expression. Even upon seeing Daniel, whom she had never met before, she continued to sob without showing any surprise.

"Sniff, Hestia big sister is gone. Boo hoo."

What, was this a well-off girl playing hide and seek?

"Just ask the adults to find her for you."

Though it was a bother, he replied without much thought. If he had to pinpoint a reason, it might have been because the overly childish and nasal voice, which came from her as she sniffled and sobbed, tugged at his heart.

"Sniff sniff. Big sister went to heaven. She can't come to see Frida anymore. Sniff."

"..."

Heaven... He had one too. Someone who had gone there, a beloved family member he could no longer see.

'Daniel, everyone dies. Your mother just went to heaven a little earlier to wait for you. There's no need to be sad, my son.'

His mother... had smiled. In front of her cowardly son, who couldn't cry or feel sad, she had smiled beautifully and elegantly.

'Remember, Daniel. You must never blame anyone for this. Especially not yourself. Your mother is just doing what she must. You are young, and she is an adult, so it's right for the adult to protect you. Isn't that so?'

Even as she was dying, she worried about Daniel, taking his place to die instead of the spoiled child who had thrown a tantrum, wishing for a mother like the duchess.

'Survive, Daniel. Being alive is what matters. No matter what happens, keep your life.'

After that, whenever he thought of his mother's voice, he swung his sword in a frenzy. He struggled to ensure the tip of the sword never pointed at himself or at that hypocritical woman.

'Damn.'

Daniel, who had instinctively reached for the sword at his waist, hesitated and clenched his fists. If he drew his sword here, he couldn't guarantee what kind of accident might happen. If the scrawny brat fainted at the sight of him losing control, it would only cause more trouble. Instead of gripping the hilt, Daniel roughly ran his hand through his sweat-soaked hair.

"Stop crying. Crying won't bring the dead back."

"Sniff... Is she really not coming? I can't see Hestia big sister anymore?"

"No, you can't. Are you stupid? How can you see someone who's dead? You might meet them when you die, though."

"Sniff sniff... Waa..."

"Try dying if you're brave enough."

He hoped his last words, muttered quietly, wouldn't be heard clearly amidst the child's sobs. He didn't want to take out his frustration on an innocent child, a pathetic and foolish brat. Disappointment in someone as dim-witted as him would be a waste.

"Frida, where are you? Frida!"

A voice calling out desperately from beyond the bushes reached them. The child, still sobbing, took quick steps toward the sound. It was then that he learned the child's name was 'Frida.' A few years later, he learned that the child he had met in the forest was a real noble, with the middle name 'Cloud.' This would have been around a year before Leopold became emperor, when the war was nearing its end. News of the death of the second daughter of the Harkbone family reached the battlefield.

"Once a family revered as the lineage of the Holy Maiden, how did it come to this? Tsk tsk."

"I heard they have another daughter?"

"So what? If the lady has white hair and skin, she'll probably die within a few years. What was her name again? Ah, Frida Cloud Harkbone."

He heard this from Dominic, who knew everything that happened in the empire, as he chatted with the mercenaries.

'Frida... Cloud Harkbone.'

He had mocked the grand name for such a small, rabbit-like child and forgotten about it. After that, Daniel became the Duke of Rihard and was officially listed in the noble registry. The name he received for his contributions to making Leopold emperor was 'Daniel Johannes Rihard.' His middle name, granted by the emperor himself, was placed between the name Daniel, given by his mother, and Rihard, inherited from his father. Even after being recognized as a noble, his life continued much the same. He lived intensely, trying to keep his life as his mother had instructed, and rarely thought about the white child. Not until he heard her name again from Dominic, who had brought a letter with the emperor's seal.

"Marry the daughter of the Harkbone family? The old fox of the imperial court, does she think we're fools? Everyone knows the daughters of that family die young. Nobles can't marry without the emperor's permission, and if the Harkbone lady can't bear children and dies, the lord will end up living alone and childless for the rest of his life."

Daniel remained silent as Riccardo and Dominic argued. If she died, she died. Whether she died quickly or slowly, alone or not, what was the fuss about? He stayed quiet, not wanting to get involved in the noisy father and son, but it wasn't that he didn't care. He felt sorry for the child, who was born with a short life and was now entangled with a troublesome and headache-inducing person like him.

"Hmm..."

Frida, who had been in an uncomfortable position, shifted her head in her sleep. The unpleasant old memories that had flooded Daniel's mind quickly dissipated.

"Huff..."

With a deep breath, he straightened his thoughts and quietly walked to the side of the fireplace. Kneeling on the floor, Daniel stared at Frida, who was sleeping in an odd position. Her head, leaning against the wall, swayed slowly like a willow branch in the breeze. Up close, she seemed to have grown a bit since a month ago. It was surprising how she had grown so much from the small, fluffy child who had once confused him as an angel or a white rabbit. It was a wonder her delicate neck, attached to her small body, hadn't broken. Thinking he should at least make her head more comfortable, Daniel reached out to support Frida's neck, which was about to bend again. At that moment, Frida's cheek landed on Daniel's large, rough palm.

As Daniel hesitated, unsure of when to pull his hand away, Frida slowly opened her eyes. Blink... Blink. Her unfocused purple eyes, which had been staring at Daniel, weakly closed and opened a few times. Her eyes, still not fully awake, distorted, and her lips, which had been closed, parted.

"Guard...ian."

*** Murial, who had been pacing in front of the brightly lit Marian Hall, suddenly darted into the darkness. However, she quickly returned. She repeated this several times, running out and coming back. Dominic, who had been sitting on the steps of the hall, finally couldn't take it anymore and shouted.

"Hey, stop making such a fuss and just stay still!"

Ignoring Dominic's words, Murial disappeared into the darkness again and reappeared. Finally, he got up, dusted off his seat, and approached her. Seeing her tightly clenched fists fidgeting nonstop, Dominic shook his head.

"Why are you so restless? The duchess, who can't even ride a horse, must still be somewhere in the castle."

"Who said it's because of that? It's getting dark, and our lady can't see well in the dark."

"Well, you should have taken better care of her, considering her poor eyesight..."

As Dominic met Murial's cold, gray eyes, he subtly turned his head and muttered.

"I mean, you keep her confined, forbidding her from going out, so she probably couldn't take it anymore and ran away."

"If you had arrived on time as you promised, this wouldn't have happened, Dominic. Our lady went out looking for you because you didn't show up."

For hours, Murial had blamed and interrogated Dominic, holding him responsible for Frida's disappearance.

"You know how much our lady values trust. Have you ever seen her break a date, whether it was a down payment or a final payment?"

Dominic, avoiding Murial's gaze, mumbled.

"Never."

"Would someone who knows this be so careless? This is all your fault. Knowing how impatient our lady is, you should have taken better care of things."

If you had any decency, you wouldn't have pushed our lady, who is already weak, so hard. Murial's complaints, which he had been muttering, now turned to the Duke of Rihard.

"What kind of money did His Highness the Duke hide? You keep inciting our lady with talk of money, making her act like this."

"That's a bit unfair. Do you think we don't find that money valuable?"

Dominic finally turned his gaze to Murial. Seizing the opportunity to argue, he crossed his arms.

"How did we gather that money? Do you think it was easy to secretly move and hide it from people's eyes? And, just because we have gold, it doesn't mean we can mint gold coins. It took thousands of gold coins just to establish connections with the Burenche Bank..."

"Did you... know about this, Dominic?"

'Oh no!'

Seeing Murial's face turn cold, Dominic subtly uncrossed his arms. He realized he had said too much, but it was already too late. Murial stepped closer to Dominic, who was backing away.

"So, you knew about the existence of the vault all along, didn't you, Dominic Moli?"

Despite taking a step back, Murial seemed to be getting closer. Her gray eyes, as terrifying as Daniel's red ones, glared at Dominic.

"You knew and just watched as our lady sold everything, even her earrings and shoes."

"That, that..."

As Dominic planned to run to escape the situation, his shoulder was roughly grabbed by Murial's hand.

"You bastard. You're going to die by my hands today."