At my question, Janet sighed before opening her mouth.
“There was a big explosion in the hotel restaurant.”
“What? What caused it?”
It was Demian who answered my question.
“I went down to the restaurant with Dad, and some man threw a black ball! It exploded!”
“What? You’re not hurt, are you?”
I looked at Demian in surprise. He shook his head and replied, “Thanks to Dad, I didn’t get hurt at all.”
I sighed in relief, but then I noticed something odd.
“Then why are only the two of you here?”
Janet’s face grew even more serious. Finally, she answered in a strained voice.
“Sir Sardin is trying to put out the fire. And the Duke…”
She couldn’t finish her sentence, and I felt a sense of foreboding from her reaction. I couldn’t help but think about the possibility I had been denying.
‘Could it be that Erich protected the child… and something happened to him?’
It felt strange. Yes, because he was a man I believed could never die. So even with the hotel on fire, I was sure he wouldn’t be harmed.
But now, thinking that something might have gone wrong with him made me feel as if a knife was slicing through a corner of my heart.
‘Why do I feel this way…?’
At that moment, the child grabbed my cheek with his small hand.
“Mom, Dad is safe!”
Demian’s words, as if he could read my thoughts, brought me a sense of relief.
‘Of course it would be like that.’
Then Demian asked, “Mom, were you worried about Dad?”
I flinched at his question but pretended to be calm as I replied, “Rather than that, it’s because I can’t see it. And that person…”
He’s not your father.
I always tried to say that but ended up sighing.
‘But he did protect my child.’
Yes, perhaps that’s why my heart feels so unsettled right now. After all, Erich had protected my child several times in this life, unlike the previous one.
‘Yes, this is definitely a sense of indebtedness. There is absolutely no way I could love Erich Lennon Blant again.’
It’s just because I owe him my life. I repeated that to myself for a moment.
‘But why on earth can’t I see him?’
I called out to Janet, who still wore a dark expression.
“Janet.”
She looked at me in surprise.
“Yes, yes! Madam.”
“Do you know where he went?”
“Ah, he said he had some matters to attend to, so he stepped away for a moment.”
I frowned at her words.
‘Seriously, to leave at a time like this…’
At that moment, as if she could read my thoughts, Janet quickly added, “I think he was checking for any other potential dangers around.”
I sighed and then looked at Janet.
“But you look worried. What’s wrong?”
When I asked what had been on my mind, Janet hurriedly lowered her head.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I made a mistake.”
“I’m not trying to scold you. I’m asking because I’m worried, so please be honest.”
At my words, Janet looked at me with trembling eyes and then spoke.
“I’m scared of fire.”
“Scared of fire?”
“Yes. When I was little, someone set fire to our village… many people I considered family died.”
Her words carried a certain sadness, and I was at a loss for what to say to comfort her. Then she said, with an awkward expression,
“I must have said something unnecessary that upset you. I’m sorry…”
“No! It’s not unnecessary!”
At my urgent exclamation, Janet looked at me with wide eyes. As I looked at her, I remembered how she had been scalded by hot water instead of my child in my previous life.
‘If she’s afraid of fire, she must have been afraid of heat too… she even suffered burns.’
Finally, I took her hand and said.
“Thank you for being honest with me. And the person who set fire to your village will surely face divine retribution.”
As I said what I had wanted to say, she blushed and smiled.
“Yes, I really hope that happens.”
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
Until just a moment ago, Reinhardt had no doubt that the child of Duke Blant and Cornelia was dead.
And was that right?
The sight of Cornelia getting out of the carriage and thrashing about was truly exhilarating.
‘Now, when that woman collapses and wails, if I approach her to comfort her… she’ll be more easily swayed.’
When someone loses something precious, even a little bit of support makes them grateful.
So Reinhardt planned to remove the child that Cornelia loved so dearly and be the pillar she needed to cope with her sorrow.
‘Shall I go now?’
However, Reinhardt could not achieve his goal.
“Reinhardt Adolf Tarrant, I warned you, didn’t I? Not to pull any foolish tricks.”
This was because the person he was sure was dead was standing right in front of him.
‘Duke Blant, how on earth is he…!’
For a moment, he was stunned, but then Reinhardt quickly began to think.
‘Right, if he’s alive, then I just need to kill him!’
This was a secluded alley in the capital, with no one watching.
Having made his decision, Reinhardt reached for his gun.
But…
Thud!
Reinhardt dropped his gun after being hit in the face.
Thud!
What a disaster.
For a moment, he thought that, then he opened his mouth.
“How the hell did you survive that fire?!”
At that question, Erich recalled what had happened earlier.
The sphere thrown at him exploded with a loud noise as soon as it hit the ground.
Seeing that, Erich wrapped his arms around the child and summoned his aura to envelop them both immediately.
He thought that he would be burned all over, but at the very least, he had to save the child.
And at that moment, his vision changed.
Bang!
He and the child were suddenly outside the hotel.
<Did you do that?>
Surprised, he asked the child, who smiled brightly and placed a finger to her lips.
<It’s a secret, Dad! Got it?>
‘I really don’t know what kind of ability that is.’
For a brief moment, he thought about that, then he glared at Reinhardt with anger.
‘If the child had been ordinary, we both might have burned to death.’
Finally, Erich drew his sword.
“There’s no need for you to know.”
At that, Reinhardt stepped back and went to the alley on the corner, raising his voice.
“What are you doing? Hurry up and…”
Reinhardt, who was about to call for the guards that always stood behind him, wore a look of utter disbelief.
This was because he could see his subordinates sprawled on the ground.
‘Damn it, could it be that he…?’
At that moment, his vision flashed again, and a sharp pain surged through him.
“Ugh!”
The groan laced with pain was brief, and Reinhardt gritted his teeth.
‘How dare he hit me?’
It was the first time someone had the audacity to swing a fist at him.
And it was also the first time he felt such helplessness, unable to resist that punch.
His eyes turned wild with the humiliation he was experiencing for the first time. Reinhardt spat out a curse filled with rage.
“You human butcher! Do you think you can get away with this?”
Erich replied in a flat voice,
“I will. Look around.”
Reinhardt glanced around and flinched.
There was no one else around.
“There’s not a single witness here, let alone evidence.”
With those words, Erich pressed the sword he was holding against Reinhardt’s throat.
Reinhardt understood well what that implied.
Covering up evidence and murder, things he himself had often done.
But now, being on the receiving end like this made him feel not only angry but also wronged and fearful.
At that moment, a horn sounded from afar.
“There’s a person collapsed in the alley!”
Erich’s cold voice flowed into Reinhardt’s ear.
“You’re lucky.”
After putting away his sword, Erich said,
“Remember, this is the last time I’ll show mercy.”
With those words, Erich vanished, and the knights of the security force entered the alley.
“His Grace, the Archduke Tarrant, is here!”
Reinhardt soon felt a sense of liberation and relief.
“Your Grace, are you alright? You have a bruise on your face…”
And at the same time, he was engulfed in rage.
“Ahhhhh-!”
With bloodshot eyes, Reinhardt let out a furious scream as a knight approached him.
“Your Grace, what’s wrong?”
The knight tried to calm him down, but soon Reinhardt’s fist flew.
“Damn it! Die! You bastard, die!”
Watching Reinhardt take out his anger on the knight, Erich clicked his tongue.
‘He still hasn’t come to his senses.’
Now Reinhardt’s vigilance would increase, making it even harder to deal with him.
Yet the reason Erich hadn’t killed Reinhardt was…
<I just want to discuss business.>
Because Cornelia needed him.
‘Why that person of all people…?’
For a moment, as Erich glared at Reinhardt with hostility, he let out a deep sigh.
‘Still, for the time being, he won’t be able to act recklessly and will keep a low profile. And…’
For now, he just wanted to see Cornelia.
Erich turned his steps back toward the direction of the hotel.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
‘What’s going on? Why isn’t he coming back? Could something have happened?’
I wondered, glancing around nervously.
Then, a hooded figure quickly appeared before me.
The well-built silhouette could only belong to one person.
‘Thank goodness. He looks unharmed.’
I had worried that he might have gotten burned while protecting my child, but seeing him safe brought my sanity back.
‘Alright, I’ve seen he’s safe. He was just fulfilling his duty to protect me and the child…’
“Cornelia, wait a moment!”
Just as I was about to reflexively shake off his hand that was gripping mine, Erich kneeled down and sat there.
