William entered the room.
He glanced at the child once, then fixed his gaze on me and lowered his head.
“Yes, who is that man?”
“I went to the inn yesterday, and I couldn’t see that he had already left.”
“What?”
As he brought the child into the inn, he ordered William to find Eden and bring him back.
I planned to leave the child in his care again.
However, there was a problem with the plan.
“I searched all over the area just in case, but I couldn’t find it.”
“You must have met before. Did you leave town right away?”
“It seems to have gone that way.”
“Ah…okay. You must be tired. Just go and get some rest.”
“All right.”
After William left, I looked at him, not knowing what to do.
‘By the way, I don’t even know where the orphanage is, but I forgot to ask.’
I regretted it, but it was already too late.
I thought for a while about what to do with the child.
‘Should I leave it at the orphanage here?’
But, as if he had noticed what I was thinking, a look of uneasiness appeared on the child’s face.
And suddenly the child fell to his knees and started crying.
“What are you doing?”
I got up from my seat with a shocked look on my face and gave my strength to help the child stand up.
However, he was holding on to the floor with a strong force uncharacteristic of a child.
“Wake up. Hurry!”
“Bell, please don’t abandon me. Yes? Black.”
“What-.”
“I will stay calm and never disturb you. So don’t abandon me….”
It wasn’t enough that my thoughts were caught, and when the child cried because of it, I looked at the child with a feeling of embarrassment.
‘What do we do.’
In an instant, the face of the child was once again superimposed on me.
Even though I had already been abandoned, I was afraid of being abandoned again, so the past that was so desperate passed through my head like a kaleidoscope.
But I couldn’t take my child with me.
I hardened my heart and opened my mouth.
“Once you wake up. Let’s get up and talk calmly.”
But the child had no intention of waking up at all.
So I raised the child with all my might.
The child’s face was full of tears.
‘I can’t be weak.’
“Sorry. I really can’t take you that’s my situation So please understand me.”
At my words, the child’s face instantly lit up with a light of despair.
“Sorry. Let’s go to bed today and tomorrow I’ll look into the orphanage here.”
“….”
The child lowered his head and did not answer me further.
It seemed that I had resigned myself now that I had come out stubbornly.
I shook my head to come to my senses with a sorry expression on the child.
“Then sleep well and see you tomorrow.”
And I immediately left the child’s room and returned to my room.
However, even when I lay in bed to sleep, somehow I couldn’t sleep easily.
The eyes of the child who was looking at me from earlier did not leave my mind.
“Ha….”
A sigh came out.
Because you know how your child feels.
You don’t know that despair unless you’ve experienced it.
I thought we held hands, but the feeling of being kicked out now has nothing to do with me, but just thinking about it made me cry.
I gathered my heart and listed the reasons why I couldn’t take my child.
But in the end, there was no reason for that.
It was just an excuse to travel.
In fact, there was no reason not to pick up the child even while traveling.
There were numerous servants and knights in the Duke’s family.
It seemed like a good choice for a child if he was entrusted with one of the many jobs in the mansion.
Thinking about that, I couldn’t stay still.
I got out of bed and headed to the children’s room.
Smart.
There was a knock on the door, but no sound was heard from inside.
“It’s me. Are you sleeping?”
I was afraid to speak at that moment when the door opened and the child appeared.
As if it was waiting for me.
“I came because I have something to say. Can I come in?”
The child gave a small nod and I entered the room.
And after choosing the words for a moment, he looked at the child and opened his mouth.
“Come to think of it, I don’t see any reason why I can’t take you.”
The child’s face, realizing what I meant, instantly turned bright.
“Even now I think you’d be better off in an orphanage, but I’ll take you if you want. Are you really going to come with me?”
Unlike before, the child nodded vigorously.
“Yes! I want to go with you!”
There seemed to be a determination that would not change in the child’s voice.
“I will do anything. I’ll do whatever you ask me to do. No, I’ll do my best.”
“I understand your will. So why don’t you become a knight?”
He could have worked as a servant, but when he saw the strength he had briefly felt earlier, the child seemed to have the qualities to become a knight.
“…A knight?”
“Okay. Follow me and I’ll make you a knight. There is also your master.”
I thought of William and called him my teacher at will.
“Yes! I will be a knight. I will become a knight guarding the Bell!”
You are the knight who protects me. The cute idea gave me a slight smile.
“And until now, you didn’t say anything when you called my name,
but if you’ve decided to follow me, you shouldn’t call me by my name like that. Call me lady from now on.”
“Yes. I will, Miss Bell.”
I was the owner of this child because now it belonged to me.
That’s why I had to tell the child firmly from the beginning on anything that could be blamed by others.
“There is a lot to learn in the future. You have to learn how to ride a horse and you have to train to be a knight. Can you do well?”
“I will study hard, young lady.”
I told her to call her lady, but now she always puts the word lady behind her words.
“And….”
Somehow, I decided to take the child, so everything was instantaneous.
“You still don’t remember anything?”
“Yes….”
“Then I need a name.”
I couldn’t keep calling my child ‘You, hey’.
The child needed a name.
“How will we do it. Is there a name you like?”
“My lady, please build it.”
“I?”
“Yes. Since you took me in, you should give me a name.”
That was also true.
I thought about what name would be good for a while, and a good name flashed in my mind.
“Lian, let’s call her Lian.”
“Rian….”
The child repeated his new name.
“Thank you, lady.”
The child who would now be called Lian smiled very broadly.
* * *
After that, the four of us, me, Mary, William, and Ryan, went on a trip together.
I went to Gren’s and saw a real diamond mine with my own eyes.
‘All those diamonds are mine….’
I will never forget the excitement I felt the moment I first saw the diamond mine.
The fact that I could buy a house even if I took a small amount of this rock that I could kick and sold made me very excited.
The purpose of coming to Gren’s was to see the diamond mine with my own eyes.
So I immediately moved to the next destination and saw and felt many things while walking around the empire.
During that time, Lian continued to train hard with William every day,
probably to keep the promise he made to me.
But strangely, it suddenly started to grow bigger, probably because he ate well while staying with me.
To add a bit of exaggeration, it was bigger when I woke up after sleeping, and bigger when I woke up the next day.
During the year we were traveling, Ryan had grown from a 12-year- old to a boy who looked about 14 years old.
Growing up can be slow for some but very fast for others, so I proudly watched Lian grow up without much doubt.
And we had just arrived at the coastal city of Yullita, in the southern part of the empire, and were each taking a break at an inn.
I saw it while riding in a carriage, and the city was very noisy.
So I asked the innkeeper why, and he said it was during a festival.
Hearing the word festival, I suddenly thought of a man I saw in Peorat a year ago.
He was handsome, he was very handsome….
His hair, which looked like black paint would ooze out if he touched it, and his eyes, which seemed like amethysts were stuck in them, made the man’s beauty stand out even more.
‘Are the other kids in the circus doing well?’
The next day after falling asleep thinking about this and that, we decided to stay here for a few more days.
I traveled to many cities for a year, but there were not many places I passed by in time for the festival.
I was lucky enough to enjoy a festival in Peorat on the first day of my trip.
Anyway, the word festival can make people feel excited, but above all, it was the first festival with a unique atmosphere provided by a coastal city, so it was enough to spend time here.
“Miss.”
“Huh. Get out.”
Mary called me outside.
I got ready and went out.
As if we were used to it, we decided to move on foot rather than carriage.
Since the inn we stayed at was in the center of the downtown area, it was an easy enough distance to come and go.
“My lady, look over there!”
Mary pointed at me in an excited voice, probably because she hadn’t seen a lively street full of colorful things in a long time.
“It’s the sea! There is no end in sight!”
I followed the road and walked a little out of the way and saw the vast sea.
It was the first time I saw the sea when I came here.
Somehow, I felt relieved that it was not different from the sea I knew.
“My lady, I have never seen anything called the sea!”
Mary’s exhilaration was felt in me too.
Not only Mary, but Belita and everyone here must have seen the sea for the first time, I thought.
Whether I was right or not, not only Mary, but also William and Lian’s eyes were different from other times.
Among them, Mary was so full of anticipation that she continued to talk about the sea throughout the trip and as she approached Yullita, to the extent that scabs sat on her ears.
“Can I come closer?”
“Okay. Let’s go.”
We approached the golden sandy beach to see the sea closer.
Upon entering the beach, Mary strode from place to place with a thrilled face.
Seeing Mary like that made me feel better too.
When I suddenly looked at William, who was next to me, it was clear what he thought of Mary.
He looked like he was looking at the most lovable person in the world.
Seeing these two people made me feel proud and moved.
I left them quietly in the world of just the two of us and approached Lian, who had been staring at me from earlier.
Lian, who had grown 15cm taller than a year ago, opened her eyes wide and looked at me.
“Are you seeing the sea for the first time too?”
“Yes. It feels strange and strange, so I think it’s right to see it for the first time.”
Rihanna’s growth was definitely amazing.
Not only his height, but also his voice and manner of speaking, the appearance of a child from a year ago was nowhere to be seen.
“I see. How do you feel?”
“It’s blue, wide, and huge.”
“Is that all? How are you feeling now?”
I asked Lian in a teasing voice, “Is that all?”
“…great.”
“What?”
“Very good.”
Lian, who looked at me unwaveringly and said he liked me, was smiling uncharacteristically and pretty enough to make people flutter.
“If I knew you liked the sea, I would have come sooner.”
“….”
Why is he suddenly not answering again?
He was about to ask why he didn’t say anything again.
“Miss!”
Mary came to me, calling me to see if she had played well in the sea.
“I must have been too absorbed in the sea alone. Sorry.”
Mary made a puzzled expression and drooped her eyes.
“No. Are you okay. You can watch more.”
“No. I’ve seen it all. Now go somewhere else Hurry up.”
So we moved back to the street lined with shops.
“It’s a circus troupe.”
After walking away from the beach, I was hungry, so I was watching a festival after filling my stomach, and I happened to encounter a circus troupe.
When I heard the word circus, I hurriedly looked back at Lian, who was following me from behind.
I was worried that Lian would feel uncomfortable or afraid at the sound of a circus troupe, but fortunately, Lian’s expression did not change much.
“Miss?”
As I looked at myself, Lian cautiously called me out as if wondering.
“No, no.”
I groaned and turned my head forward again.
The circus was also full of people.
The performance was already in full swing, and cheers were heard from everywhere.
‘Kid….’
But there were also children among those performing.
It wasn’t the risky tightrope walking in the roaring fire that Lian had done, but he looked quite uneasy anyway.
Two children each mounted a wooden stick on a wheel, exchanging clubs with each other.
I looked back at Lian again.
Seeing them, I was worried about what Lian would think.
And as expected, Ryan’s expression wasn’t very good.
“…Shall we go?”
At my words, Lian nodded cautiously.
It was a moment when he was about to break through the crowd to get rid of Lian’s unstable mind.
Suddenly, it was as if I caught a glimpse of a familiar figure among the people.
“Uh?”
“Why is that, my lady?”
‘No way?’
The person I just happened to be passing by could be someone who resembles the person in my memory.
However, the face and body were not normal, so I couldn’t shake the thought even though I tilted my head.
“No.”
But I didn’t mean to do anything with him or not, so I evaded my words and left with Mary, William, and Lian.
After that, when it got dark, I returned to the inn and was deep in thought.
‘I guess that’s right….’
It was the thought of the man I saw earlier.
I was convinced that the man I saw was him because I had seen him at a circus performance, not in any other place.
I don’t know why, but I was curious.
If the person I saw was that man, would he infiltrate again to save the children?
And most of all, Lian’s uneasy eyes from earlier didn’t leave my head.
As soon as I saw the children of the circus, it seemed to remind me of the children who followed me but were separated from me.
‘Let’s check it out.’
It wouldn’t be bad to go near the barracks where the circus troupe was staying and check their movements.
If a man really showed up, it would be good to see him once more, even for Rian’s sake.
When I thought so, my body moved first.
Before the night got deeper, I hurriedly changed into clothes that were easy to move in, disguised myself as a man, and quietly left the inn.
The barracks where the circus troupe stayed were easy to find.
When I went to a slightly darker place from where I had just performed, I saw several large barracks gathered together.
Since there were strewn around the barracks for performances they used, it was immediately apparent that this was the barracks where the circus troupe was staying.
I hid near the barracks and kept an eye on the movement so that no one would notice.
It was dark all around, so it was a good place to hide.
The surroundings were quiet.
There was no sound of human footsteps, except for the sound of bugs crying everywhere and the waves of the sea in the distance.
‘Is it a waste of time?’
I thought it might be the case, so I didn’t feel disappointed.
It was about the time I was thinking that I should watch it a little longer just in case, and then go back to the inn.
Suddenly, small but urgent footsteps were heard nearby.
Although I was moving carefully so as not to be noticed, it was clearly audible to my ears as I was concentrating on responding to even the slightest sign.
I quietly but quickly approached the sound.
Then I saw two familiar figures entering the barracks.
‘As expected.’
Thinking about what to do, I decided that it would be better to wait than blindly follow them.
So I decided to wait near the road the two had passed until they returned.
Did ten minutes pass like that?
The footsteps were louder than before.
Light feelings were added to the heavy feelings from before.
I moved closer to where I heard the sign.
And near the barracks, I finally met Eden, the man.
He was with his men and three children.
As soon as he saw me, Eden was full of surprise as if he had seen something he couldn’t see.
Even though I was dressed as a man, he seemed to recognize me.
He opened his mouth to say something to me, but then he shut his mouth as if he had suddenly realized where he was.
Then, after quietly beckoning his children and subordinates to follow him, he went on his way.
I followed behind them.
After a while, we arrived near the beach far enough away from the barracks.
I saw Eden stop moving and give orders to his subordinates with a glance.
Then the subordinate took the three children and left.
I quietly watched what he did.
Then, with only the two of us left, Eden opened his mouth.
“Long time no see.”
There was no hint of embarrassment in Eden’s voice.
“Yes. Long time no see.”
I also answered in a voice without emotion.
There was silence again between us, and only the clearer sound of the waves could be heard in our ears.
We stared at each other for a while without averting our eyes.
However….
Eden’s eyes looked a bit sad.
It seemed that he seemed despondent, and that he felt a sense of disappointment.
‘Why?’
It was dark, so I was thinking that I might have seen it wrong, but he started talking to me again.
“Has it been a year?”
“Yes. A year has passed.”
“Seeing that we met again here, it seems that you are still traveling.”
“Yes. I am traveling.”
“I was looking forward to meeting you again.”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
When I heard that I was waiting to see him again, my heart sank slightly.
Eden’s voice was clear compared to what he said, but the atmosphere given by his appearance was enough to cause misunderstanding.
“Why me?”
I was seized with a sense of needlessness and stared at him.
“At that time, the boy who was with Lady did not come to the orphanage and disappeared in the middle. So I had to report the
situation, so I went to the inn, but he had already left.”
‘Ah….’
It was about Ryan.
I felt ashamed that I had been obsessed with the strange idea for a moment, even though I knew that if he saw me, he would definitely bring up the subject of Lian.
“Have you not seen the child?”
Lol😅