Chapter 117
“Ugh… my head hurts.”
Hestia pressed her throbbing forehead and slowly got up. Looking around, she saw others groaning and lying on the floor. It seemed they had all passed out after drinking last night.
Feeling nauseous, she grabbed a piece of fruit nearby to freshen up. She was still tired, but now that she was awake, she couldn’t go back to sleep.
‘Well, today is a rest day anyway.’
Since they had been working hard, they had decided to take the day off after Leonhard’s birthday celebration. Gallian and Hilde had worked especially hard, so Hestia chose not to wake them up and carefully got up.
Stretching her arms, she glanced outside and checked the time—it was only 5:30 AM.
‘Hmm? Where is he?’
She noticed that one person was missing from the group lying around. Curious, she quietly stepped outside.
“Did he sneak off to sleep in his room alone?”
Muttering to herself, she decided to take a walk in the garden. As she walked deeper into the estate, she soon arrived at a familiar place.
A light mist covered the ground in the early morning air. And in the distance, she saw a dark figure standing still.
“Who would be out here at this hour…?”
Curious, she approached the figure. And when she finally saw his face, she stopped in her tracks.
“Oh, so you were here?”
The person standing there was none other than Luciard.
“You’re up early,” he said.
“I wake up at this time every day. It’s a habit now. What about you? What time did you get up?”
“Around five?”
“That’s really early.”
Hestia rubbed her arms and moved to stand beside him.
Luciard was sitting in front of a grave.
It was the resting place of Icarus and Flora.
They sat side by side in silence, gazing at the names engraved on the tombstones.
“…Thank you,” Luciard suddenly said.
“If it weren’t for you, I can’t even imagine what would’ve happened to the duchy.”
“Ugh, why are you saying such embarrassing things?”
“Looking back, I have so much to thank you for. You helped me, you became a strong guardian for Leonhard, and you prevented the duchy from falling into the wrong hands. Everything I have now is because of you.”
Hestia fell silent at his sincere words.
“If you hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t be living this peaceful life.”
It was true.
If she hadn’t helped young Luciard, he would’ve run away from home and cut ties with the Winstons. If she hadn’t become Leonhard’s guardian, he would’ve faced a miserable future.
And… the Frost family would have declined even further.
“You don’t have to be so grateful. I did it all for myself.”
For the first time, Hestia spoke honestly.
Luciard blinked, then suddenly burst into laughter.
“Hah! Sure, if you say so.”
“What? I mean it! I did all of this for myself.”
Luciard clearly didn’t believe her. Instead, he seemed to think she was just trying to downplay her kindness.
“I can see it all over your face. You’re thinking something weird, aren’t you? That’s not what I meant!”
“You don’t have to explain. I already understand everything.”
“It’s the truth! Hey! Where are you going?!”
Luciard stood up with a smirk, and Hestia quickly followed, still trying to explain.
As the two argued like always, the morning sunlight gently warmed the tombstones behind them.
◆ ◈ ◆
Meanwhile, in another possible future…
If Humphrey had become Leonhard’s guardian instead of Hestia, things would have been very different.
A ten-year-old Leonhard sobbed uncontrollably, clinging to Daisy’s dress.
“No… Daisy, don’t go! If you leave, I’ll be all alone…!”
“Duke… Duke…”
Holding back her emotions, Daisy forced a smile.
“Listen carefully to me… From now on, the only person you can trust in this mansion is Lloyd.”
Two years had passed since Icarus and Flora’s tragic deaths.
Leonhard had chosen Humphrey as his guardian, and that was the beginning of his misfortune.
One by one, the people he had trusted in the duchy either sided with Humphrey or were dismissed.
Nova, who had always protected Leonhard, suddenly fell ill and died earlier that year. Daisy had tried her best to protect him, but…
“You thief! How dare you steal the countess’s necklace?!”
Humphrey’s wife accused Daisy of theft. Despite being innocent, she was beaten and forced to leave the mansion.
“If you don’t leave right now, I’ll have the knights drag you out!”
“…I’ll leave on my own, so don’t worry.”
Daisy was filled with anger and frustration, but she was even more worried about leaving Leonhard alone.
The only relief was that Lloyd was still in the mansion.
Although the former vice-captain had been given the role of a regular knight, he was still loyal to Winston.
“Never go anywhere alone. Always take Lloyd with you, understand?”
“Uh-huh…!”
“Ah… I should be staying by your side, Duke…”
Daisy hesitated, reluctant to leave. But if she stayed longer, it would only put Leonhard in more danger.
She gently pulled away from him and made a firm promise.
“I will do everything I can to prove that Humphrey is unfit to be your guardian. Until then… you have to stay strong, okay?”
“…Okay! Daisy, you’ll come back, right?”
Tears welled in Leonhard’s eyes, and Daisy finally let her own tears fall.
“Of course. I promise I’ll come back to you.”
And with that, Daisy was forced to leave the Winston estate, where she had spent over ten years of her life.
‘…Humphrey, just wait. You won’t get away with this.’
She had seen with her own eyes how much he had stolen from Winston and how cruelly he had treated Leonhard.
‘I have to get to the capital as soon as possible.’
Determined to report everything to the royal family, Daisy hurried toward the capital—unaware of the dark shadow following her.
…
A month passed.
Leonhard still believed in Daisy’s promise. Every day, he waited by the front gate, hoping to see her return.
But she never came back.
Instead, the only visitors were Humphrey’s guests.
“Young Duke.”
Without knocking, Humphrey entered Leonhard’s room.
Leonhard frowned but said nothing. He had given up expecting any manners from this man.
“…What do you want?”
“We need to visit the capital. His Majesty has requested to see you.”
“The capital…?”
“Yes. His Majesty wants to meet you in person.”
Leonhard’s face lit up.
‘Daisy did it!’
She had promised to report everything to the royal family. Maybe the emperor had finally taken action!
“Yes! I’ll go! When do we leave?”
“Right now.”
Leonhard quickly went downstairs and saw two carriages.
One was filled with Humphrey’s family. The other was empty.
“You’ll be riding alone in this one.”
“Alone?”
“Yes, wouldn’t that be more comfortable? Unless you’d like me to ride with you—”
“No, no! I’ll go alone!”
Leonhard climbed into the carriage, eager to reach the capital. But then, he suddenly remembered something.
“Wait! I want to take Lloyd with me!”
Daisy had warned him to never go anywhere without Lloyd.
Humphrey’s smile faltered for a moment before he answered, “I’m afraid Lloyd is out on an errand. He won’t be back until tomorrow.”
“…What?”
Leonhard hesitated.
But he was too eager to meet the emperor.
“O-okay… I’ll just go without him.”
“Good choice. Now, sit tight.”
The carriage set off, leaving the Winston estate.
Leonhard peeked out the window, watching the scenery pass by.
As they entered a mountain path, he felt uneasy.
‘Is this the right way?’
The road was rough, and the carriage shook with every bump.
Curious, he leaned out to check on the other carriage.
But—
“…Huh?”
There was no one following behind.
The other carriage had disappeared.
But now, no matter how hard he looked, there was no one around.
Sensing that something was wrong, Leonhard quickly knocked on the small window leading to the coachman’s seat.
“Wait a second! Where are we going? Is this the right way?!”
He pounded on the window with all his strength, but there was no response. Instead, beyond the window that wouldn’t open, the coachman grinned, revealing his yellowed teeth in a chilling smile.
At that moment, Leonhard suddenly remembered how his parents had died in a carriage accident.
“I… I need to get out of here…”
The carriage was still moving, but staying inside felt even more dangerous. He grabbed the door handle.
Clatter— Clatter—!
But the door wouldn’t budge, as if it had been locked from the outside.
“Open the door! Let me out!”
Fear of death took over his entire body.
He pounded on the carriage door until his hands hurt and desperately pulled at the handle, but there was no sign of it opening.
Just then, the carriage, which had been rattling, suddenly came to a stop.
Leonhard gasped for breath and turned his head.
Click—
A sinister sound came from where the coachman was.
Cautiously, he peeked through the small window—only for the coachman’s eye to suddenly appear right in front of him.
“You’d be better off biting your tongue and dying now,” the coachman sneered.
Before Leonhard could even process those words, the carriage began moving again.
But this time, it wasn’t going forward—it was rolling backward.
Looking out the window, he realized the horses were no longer attached to the carriage.
With nothing holding it back, the carriage started rolling down the slope.
“M-Mom! Dad! Daisy…!”
Leonhard, with tears in his eyes, frantically called out the names of the people he wanted to see most.
But no one was there to answer him.
RUMBLE— RUMBLE—!
The carriage, picking up speed, hurtled toward the edge of a cliff on the mountainside.
CRASH— BAM— BAM!
A deafening series of crashes echoed through the air, like an explosion.
Peering down at the cliff where the carriage had fallen, the coachman smirked, pleased by the dizzying height of the drop.
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• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •By Freya• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •
If you want to support the translation and the translator, you can buy a coffee~
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