Please Save My Child

Estelle sat on a chair that was high compared to her height.

 

‘Too high…’

 

Normally, there would have been a footrest nearby. After Count Embron visited the mansion, his consideration for Estelle gradually decreased in a subtle way. Count Embron narrowed down Estelle’s range of action, making excuse after excuse that other noble ladies did not do this. Estelle was a child, not yet ten years old. A young child who has not established himself has no choice but to be influenced by the words of his adults.

 

“Estelle still hasn’t shed the traces of being an orphan.”

 

“…”

 

“Even if it’s like that now, how disappointed everyone will be if it continues like that. I, Embron, will put my painful heart aside and become a strict teacher for Estelle.”

 

The man always spoke sharp words in a friendly voice without hesitation. Several maids were in the same room to help Estem, but they all just kept an eye on the Count.

 

‘I miss Reina.’

 

Dad and Bonita too. She wanted to see everyone.

 

“You are the only heir to the empire’s greatest dukedom.”

 

“…”

 

“So, Estelle, you must not show your weakness to anyone or be pampered. The Duke has known how to stand on his own since he was much younger than you, Estelle.”

 

Estelle could do nothing but nod at his words. Her head dropped and she saw the carpet beneath her feet.

 

“Estelle, you shouldn’t lower your head and stoop like that.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“You can’t even stutter.”

 

Count Embron had a staff in his hand. Estelle raised her head and rolled her eyes.

 

‘Scary.’

 

Count Embron never hit or threatened Estelle with his cane. If Estelle made a mistake, he would just hit her with his cane. But that alone made Estelle feel tremendous fear. It was because it reminded her of the cold and fear she felt at the orphanage.

 

“Let’s continue with the theology we learned last time.”

 

“Huh.”

 

A book that was infinitely large and heavy compared to Estelle’s small hands was opened. Estelle hated this theology class so much.

 

“…Fineke, who denied the existence of Master Vendicion and worshiped other unclean things as gods, was deprived of all grace as a result of his disbelief…”

 

During theology classes, Fineke’s story always came up. Count Embron deliberately brought up the story about Fineke in front of Estelle, but young Estelle did not know about it. He naturally thought that if he learned theology, he had no choice but to listen. This was a story he often heard at the orphanage, so he thought he had no choice in order to live as his own citizen. Everyone around her told her that she was lovely, so she finally felt ashamed of her white hair and pink eyes, which she had started to like.

 

“Miss Estelle? Did you hear?”

 

“Huh? Yes.”

 

“Then tell me what I just read.”

 

Estelle glanced over the part the Count had just read and read it.

 

“White hair and pink Fineke eyes are symbols of sin.”

 

* * *

 

‘Anything I want.’

 

Everything comes true. As Reina stood dazed in the hallway on the top floor of her mansion, she recalled her dream from last night. Even though it was her first time hearing it, the voice and warmth were familiar to her. She couldn’t remember anything about the person’s appearance. Even though Eugene prevented her from meeting the person she longed for, she didn’t feel any hostility. Reina stood at a distance in the quiet hallway and looked out the window. Now that a lot of the snow had been cleared, the dirt floor was visible. The window, which was wiped clean every morning, showed no fingerprints and cast a shallow light on her. Reina’s face was full of deep sorrow.

 

‘Whatever is possible, how far can it go?’

 

Was this result because she, Reina, wanted herself to live? Would she have been okay if she had stayed still and hoped she would survive on her own?

 

‘That’s not it.’

 

Reina shook her head.

 

If so, if so…

 

‘Then she wouldn’t have had to go through so much trouble.’

 

Reina thought about Estelle becoming darker and darker and realized that just wishing for something would not make it happen… So, the meaning of what the woman in her dream said to Reina was this.

 

‘What I’m saying is that moving is the right answer.’

 

It’s funny that she’s so obsessed with her dreams, but she wasn’t the possessor in the first place. She also found it funny that she argued about reality because the possessed person was unreal. Reina lightly swept her windows and placed her forehead against them.

 

“There are too many problems…”

 

After that dream, her already delicate mood became even more somber.

 

‘The first thing to solve’

 

Of course it was Count Embron.

 

‘No matter how Count Embron is currently Lady Estelle’s tutor, this situation is strange.’

 

It felt so natural in her novel that it came into her own head. Naturally, everyone followed the Count’s side and isolated Estelle. It wasn’t until she found herself in this situation that Raina realized something strange.

 

‘Master, why did you take even your closest associates to the Holy Kingdom?’

 

Even though Damien was inexperienced as a guardian, his care for Estelle was genuine.

 

‘Did you decide that Count Embron was a trustworthy person?’

 

So were there any parts that didn’t appear in the novel?

 

“Strange.”

 

It was so strange that even Gereina herself was the only one who recognized this strangeness. But Raina alone was powerless. After Damian left and Count Embron came in, she was surprisingly less on Reina’s side. She said she felt more comfortable trusting the words of nobles than the words of commoners. Reina tapped on the window, lost in thought.

 

‘And the task’

 

After Reina completed all of her education, she would receive a title and she would officially become a nanny. In the process, Reina had to come up with a reason to support him as he received the title in a short period of time. Peter told Reina to find ‘something new’ that could have an impact on the empire. Of course, he didn’t mean to show something definite in a short period of time. Raina knew that too.

 

‘I won’t have anything to do while Count Embron is teaching you, so I guess he meant to think about it in the meantime.’

 

Rather, things have become more complicated. Peter and Damian didn’t know Count Embron’s true nature, so everything was probably just a favor.

 

‘It’s complicated.’

 

In the end, it’s a roundabout ticket. Reina frowned. The only solution at this moment was for Damian to come back quickly or for Estelle to ask for help. It was a moment when adults became truly incompetent. She couldn’t do anything until the child asked for help.

 

It rattled… Reina had been repeating the same worry for several days when she heard a sound from somewhere. 

 

“Who is it?”

 

Reina was on the top floor, a place where no one came and went. Because this was the best place to get lost in her thoughts.

 

‘The top of the mansion has only a warehouse and unused rooms.’

 

What did you come to pack now? However, items in the mansion were usually replenished early in the morning and late at night. Reina rolled her eyes at him and then slowly headed in the direction of the sound. It was an action that did not have any special meaning, but was done out of a desire to see if someone might need help. The ornate door was open.

 

“…?”

 

Reina turned her gaze inward. In contrast to the ornate door, the inside was bare and empty. So she was able to find out immediately who entered without having to worry about it.

 

“…Anne-Marie?”

 

“…Boton!”

 

It was Anne Marie.

 

‘Obviously Anne-Marie was also Count Embron’s chosen one.’

 

Raina finished her thoughts in a short moment and asked Anne-Marie.

 

“Did you come to get something?”

 

“Oh, no. Nothing.”

 

Anne-Marie turned her gaze elsewhere and frowned. She did not fail to hide her displeasure towards Reina. It was natural for the stone that rolled in to be hated by the stone it was stuck in.

 

“Do not enter this room without permission.”

 

Anne-Marie said as she closed the door.

 

‘Then Anne-Marie also went in.’

 

Reina looked at the closed door. Anyone could see that it was an unnatural and suspicious situation. Anne-Marie narrowed her eyes and looked.

 

“When the master is around, you’ll be forgiven for almost anything you do, but not now, so don’t go around fanning as much as you want. You’re not that stupid, so I’m sure you’ll be quiet.”

 

A clear warning. Anne-Marie said this in her quiet voice and left. Reina looked at Anne-Marie leaving, leaving her alone in the hallway. Then, making sure she was coming down her stairs, she quietly extended her hand towards her storage room.

 

‘If you’re going to give a warning, do it properly.’

 

So, if you really don’t want to see the warehouse, take it with you when you leave. This was like being spoon-fed an opportunity to watch. There wasn’t much to see inside the warehouse, even though it was such a large space. Everything was covered with white cloth. Reina wandered near where Anne-Marie was standing. Among the furniture covered in fabric, she saw something strangely sticking out.

 

“Is this it?”

 

When she lifted the cloth slightly, a strange box was revealed. She checked the contents and said that she dropped the box.

 

“This, this.”

 

It was a picture so terrible that she didn’t even want to put it into words. The horrible faces of people with white hair and pink eyes…

 

“Did Count Embron order you to leave it in this place?”

 

Why did they need this photo? Raina’s vision began to spin. The moment when her hand, which had been wandering in the air as she stumbled backwards, reached for the wall. The white cloth hanging on the wall was caught in her hand, and the stiff fabric became wrinkled… As the cloth slid to the floor, a huge portrait appeared in front of her.

 

“This person…”

 

The woman she saw in her dream: a white-haired woman wearing an elegant dress and smiling.

 

Reina realized.

 

The woman she met in her dream, that person. That she was the Duchess Titania.

 

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Translator Note: