24  Chapter 24

“Detrie.”

“…..”

“Blather. Are you mad? Anissa is…sowyyi.” [Brother. Are you mad? Anissa is… Sorry]

I accidentally stepped on Dietrich’s feet while returning to Dahlia, but he didn’t even look at me.

“You promised to be quiet in the banquet hall.”

“But it’s a bad uncle.”

“It won’t be good if you catch Derreck’s eye.”

“That uncle torments my brother, and is bothering Malilin.”

“I don’t need your help.”

I wriggled to get on my bed and he pushed my forehead back.

“Ahhhh!”

It didn’t hurt much, but I rolled around the floor in a loud voice. Then I put my hands around my forehead and tried to make a tearful face, Dietrich finally got up and looked at me.

“It’s hurt”

Even though I cheated, he no longer maintained his cold face.

“…sleep alone tonight.”

“Why…?”

Again, silence. I became sullen and approached his bed again, dragging the pillow from my room to his bed again.1

“It’s cold when you sleep alone.”

‘You must be cold, too!’

Lagrange’s winter was comparable to Korea’s extreme cold. Besides, there is no ondol*, and the hole in the wall is rough.

This old castle was really cold at night.

‘There are some things that are done out of familiarity, but there are other things that require us to sleep together like cold temperatures!’

Children tend to have warmer bodies, so I could sleep warmly with Dietrich.

“…I know. I’m sleeping with Malilin tonight.”

I sighed as Dietrich turned his back so he could see my sad expression. As soon as my little feet reached the door and I was about to grab the doorknob, his mouth opened.

“Why is that maid taking care of you?”

“Malilin is a good person.”

Marilyn was a woman who was good to me even though she had nothing to gain. I think it would have been much better to be a Leatrice’s maid than a Dahlia’s maid.

‘There are very few adults like Marilyn who take care of children that aren’t theirs all because of their kindness.’

But Dietrich shook his head slowly.

“There’s no such thing as a good adult in this castle.”

I turned back because I thought Dietrich was ready to talk. When he came down from his bed, he shook a few coals to save the embers.

“Don’t accept sympathy. It won’t help you.”

That was one of the few sincere things Dietrich ever said to me.

“Sympathy is not a bad thing.”

“It’s shameful.”

“No it isn’t.”

He looked at my determination and kept quiet. I continued to talk, looking up at the warm light of the stove.

“If it helps you, then I don’t see a problem.”

“…”

“Detrie is still a child.”

A child cannot survive alone without adult protection.

Most wild animals can walk and run as soon as they are born, but that doesn’t apply to human babies.

We have no sharp fangs or thick leather skin to protect us.

‘But you were able to survive alone.’

Alone in this cold and lonely castle full of violent adults whose intentions were unclear. Without the protection of anyone.

“Well, Malilin is a really nice person.”

“How do you know that?”

‘Cause I can read Aura.’

I couldn’t say anything, so I just smiled.

“Because you are so naive, you were deceived.”

“When have I been tricked?”

Dietrich’s mouth was still when I asked with my eyes wide open.

‘I don’t think I’ve ever been tricked by anyone.’

Euradia’s ability was useful in many ways, so I could even figure out who was lying to me.

‘I’ve never seen anyone with an aura that’s as hard to read as Dietrich’s.’

The only person who could fool me was Dietrich, but what would he do by deceiving a useless child like me?

“…”

Dietrich shook his head and dismissed the conversation. He held me in his arms, crouching beside the fire as if he had no intention of kicking me out.

“Are you going to sleep?!”

“Yes.”

“Hehe.”

‘I won’t sleep in the cold tonight.’

I rubbed my face against Dietrich’s white cheeks excitedly. He frowned in disgust but didn’t push me away.5

This winter sure had been harsh.

Of course winter was cold, but you could make warmth by holding hands.

***

“Princess, you shouldn’t do that next time. Even though Leon Euler was guilty, Marquis Euler is a scary man.”

If you’re nagging, don’t bother. I’ve already  heard enough from Dietrich.

I turned my head, pouting at Marilyn’s words.

“Malilin, what’ will Anissa be when she grows up?” (She is referring to herself in the 3rd person)1

“You can be anything you want.”

She wasn’t very honest at times like this. She knew there wouldn’t be a bright future for Lagrange’s little girl who didn’t have the chance at becoming a Grand Duke.

I clenched my fists in front of her as she avoided my gaze and revealed a little aspiration.

“I’m going to be a warrior.”

“…a warrior?”

“The warrior who scolds the uncle who bullies Mallillin.”

Marilyn laughed and thought of it as only a kid’s dream, but it wasn’t without a possibility.

‘Don’t you think it’s possible if I become stronger?’

I will also be learning swordsmanship from Baal, and it didn’t seem like an impossible task.

‘More like a wandering mercenary than a warrior.’

If I leave Lagrange, I will have to avoid Dietrich’s eyes for a while, and as a mercenary, there was no easy way to get a new name.

“But you aren’t a warrior yet. So you don’t have to stand up for me, Princess.”

Marilyn said as she sat me on her lap. She put a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled beautifully.

“I’m the one that has to protect you, princess.”

“But Malilin is weak…”

I have a strength, but Marilyn’s body has no advantages. She can only make desserts and braid my hair.

“You really don’t look like a Lagrange child.”

I was playing with her slender wrist, and suddenly I heard a voice from behind.

“Mr. Joseph.”

It was the elder that I saw at the banquet. He was an old man with a white beard down to his neck. He had a strong atmosphere because of the stubborn cane in his hand.

“Hello.”

The old man named Joseph walked to Marilyn and lowered his head to look at me.

The eyes I met were dark green like midsummer. They were quite rare in the north.

“Do you know me?”

“No.”

When I shook my head at the old man’s question, he burst into laughter as if my answer was cute.

The withered rose forest is a very quiet place because it is a place where people rarely visit.

‘Which means you are here for a reason.’

I concentrated on the aura with my eyes wide open to read the old man.

“My name is Joseph-Louis Euclid. You can call me Joseph. Or Grandfather is fine.”

‘Euclid?’1

It was a name that I had never imagined to hear in Lagrange. When I opened my eyes wide in surprise, the old man laughed graciously.

‘Are you kidding me?’

“Are you an Euclid?”

“Yes. A traitor.”

“Traitor?”

“Prince Euclid was my brother. I cut off his neck and crossed over to Lagrange.”

‘Ughhh. You’re a bad guy.’

‘Does that mean he’s Anissa’s great grandfather?’

I think I read this in the back story. I tried to remember the identity of the old man and focused on his story.

“Well. Do you think everything is good in Euclid? Who knew there was a kid like you in Lagrange.”

“Like me?”

“A child who has clear eyes and knows how precious a person is.”

The old man swept down his beard and lifted me to sit me on the fountain. The snow that had piled up on the floor made a crunchy sound everytime it experienced a heavy movement.

“There is no belief more foolish than believing that good and evil can be distinguished as easily as Gods and Devils. It is not black and white.”

They weren’t words that were easy for children to understand. Maybe he was talking to himself, but instead of explaining it so I could understand, he said something else.

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