Chapter 13

Even the furniture had rounded corners so that the little girl wouldn’t get hurt by a bump. On the ceiling was a painting of baby angels running around, next to it was the signature and name of the most famous painter at the side.

Also, the bed, surrounded by canopy, which was too wide to use alone. And the bedding… was invisible.

“Where’s the blanket? Oho.”

Tyce found a blanket rolled by the bedside. And he also found fingers sticking out of the crevice in the blanket.

“Hey. Daughtry’s youngest daughter.”

The blanket rolled up and down. Tyce laughed.

“Show me your face. How beautiful are you that your father and your older brother are hiding you like that? Or are you as ugly as the rumor goes?”

“…..”

“Oh well. You’ve grown up poor, so you’ve got no manners and you’ve got nothing to show. That’s why you’re hiding, right?”

Tyce got closer and closer. Elisabeth held her breath.

‘Sir Tyce knows Emilie’s face. I’ll get caught right away.’

Elisabeth clenched her small fist. She was going to give him a blow and run away.

“Let’s look at your face… Aah!”

It was when Tyce was about to lift the blanket. Tyce rolled on the floor before Elisabeth could even shake her fist.

“Huh?”

‘Did I have the power to hit people?’

Elisabeth raised her head. Dylan was fuming while kicking Tyce. Pok! Tyce’s scream was heard while landing with a thud.

“Ah! What, what are you doing?”

“What are you just doing? Why did you come into someone’s room as you please!”

“I, I was wondering what your younger sister, uh, looked like. Can’t we see her?”

“No!”

Dylan kicked Tyce again. She heard a louder sound this time. Tyce shrieked with pain.

Dylan gave his eyes a boost to Elisabeth, who was staring in amazement. Elisabeth quickly hid her face under the blanket.

“How, how dare a subject like the Count’s son, a, attack the Marquis’ son?”

“Get up. I’m going to ask Marquis Orell if he taught his son that he could go into other people’s rooms freely.”

“Hey. That’s not it. Hey.”

Dylan dragged Tyce’s neck out of Elisabeth’s room.

Elisabeth crawled out of the blanket only after the door was closed and everywhere was quiet.

“Phew.”

I almost got caught. It would have been a real disaster if it wasn’t for Dylan.

When I touched my chest with my hands, my heart was still pounding.

“What’s wrong with your face, Tyce?”

Marquis of Orell yelled. Tyce’s cheeks were swollen as if they had been stung by wasps.

“Oh, that’s, well I fell down.”

“Fell… down?”

The Marquis asked back as if he could not believe it.

Dylan watched the scene while feigning innocence.

After leaving Elisabeth’s room, Dylan took Tyce to a quiet place and beat him up. Tyce, who was bluffing, was also scared and was busy begging when Dylan punched him properly.

“Boys are too tough, aren’t they? Our Thomas fell down and got hurt like that.”

“Father, I never did.”

Count Raizen intervened without notice again.

Orell had a hard time, but he kept his mouth shut because he couldn’t question him further there.

***

Victoire, Damon and Dylan stood side by side and watched the carriages leave the mansion.

The sunset glowed red as if burning two carriages.

“Dylan.”

“Victoire.”

Victoire and Dylan called out to each other at the same time.

“I’ll tell you first.”

“No, I’ll tell you first.”

They were stubborn, no matter who was first.

“Dylan, you hit Sir Tyce right?”

Damon quickly took the lead through the crack. Dylan frowned, dissatisfied.

“I tried not to kill him.”

“I’m so proud of you, my brother.”

Damon said in a tone not admirable at all.

“Why did you hit him?”

Victoire asked.

“Because that bastard has entered Elisabeth’s room as he pleased.”

“What?”

Victoire then said after pondering for a moment.

“Good job.”

“Father!”

Damon was furious.

(Damon) “He used violence, but what do you mean he did well. Besides, the opponent is the Marquis of Orell. There’s nothing good about showing antipathy already.”

(V) “He sneaked into Elisabeth’s room, so he should get hit.”

(Damon) “That’s not how children’s education works, Father.”

(V) “You and I don’t match in the education viewpoints. It would be better to separate at this point.”

Dylan, who was staring at the pathetic sight of his bickering and father and brother, then said.

“Victoire, you’re messing up the false rumor about Elisabeth, so now they’re looking down on Elisabeth.”

The two men looked at Dylan at the same time.

Victoire looked bitter when he realized what Dylan meant.

(V) “The rumor is for Elisabeth. A poor, lousy, and lowly child. No one will ever think of Princess Emilie Cabezo after hearing this rumor.”

(Dy) “Even though Elisabeth is despised? Even though a bunch of nasty guys like Tyce Orell, look at Elisabeth like a little puppy?”

(V) “The first thing I do is to protect Elisabeth.”

(Dy) “Like hell you’re protecting her. You’re just using her.”

A sharp silence fell between the two men.

“Give Elisabeth a tutor. Top-of-the-line. And then spread the word out.”

“No. What if the tutor finds out who she is?”

Damon has dried Dylan.

(Dy) “Then call your aunt.”

The Aunt he was referring to was Baroness Terran, Victoire’s sister. She lived under the cloak of her identity like Victoire, then married her husband in the north.

“My sister hates the blood of the Duke of Cabezo. Much more than us. It could be more dangerous for Elisabeth. You don’t know this either?”

Dylan closed his eyes tightly. Victoire calmly watched his young son as he seriously worried.

“Then I’ll teach her.”

“What?”

“Am I not a decent tutor? If it is rumored that I’m teaching her myself, then everyone can’t ignore Elisabeth.”

“A kid like you?”

“I’m not that young. You don’t even know my social reputation.”

By Dylan’s sharp remarks, Victoire confirmed with silence.

“If we teach her ourselves, it means we’re treating them like family, so they won’t look down on Elisabeth anymore.”

“Dylan, aren’t you just busy taking lessons in the Knights of the Dalton?”

Damon said far from the topic.

“I’ll take care of that.”

“What a spoiled brat, Dylan.”

Victoire said in a mixed tone.

“What bullshit are you talking about?”

“Did you forget what Elisabeth said? ‘Get along with each other’ is what she said.”

“Ugh.”

Dylan was disgusted. He left, he didn’t want to talk anymore. Watching Dylan move as he stomped his feet, Victoire’s face darkened.

“Look, Father. That’s not how children’s education works.”

Damon sighed deeply.

***

The mansion where the people left was calm as if a storm had passed by.

Elisabeth strode down the quiet corridor. She was on the way to Dylan’s room.

‘I should say thank you.’

I owe Dylan one today. I don’t have any presents for him, but I wanted to convey my heart.

‘I feel like I’m constantly in debt to Dylan.’

Dylan is the one who tries to kick me out, and also the one taking care of me. He always tells me to get out of the way and always comes to save me from danger.

‘So when I think of Dylan, I feel weird.’

I want to hate you, but I can’t hate you. I want to like you, but it’s hard. It was a complex emotion that could not be easily defined even by the heart of eighteen.

Dylan’s room was on top of the mansion. The three-story Daughtry mansion was young-looking and bright. It mainly used high-quality yet high-colored materials, and the architecture style also followed the latest forms.  Some people laughed at him, calling him ‘nouveau riche’, but someone even built a villa after Daughtry and mimicked the mansion.

Even inside the mansion, the third floor, where this Daughtry’s at the top, had a different atmosphere.

‘Wow, it’s dark.’

Unlike the second floor, where Victoire, Elisabeth and Damon’s rooms are located, the third floor had a room or study for the family’s collection. Dylan’s room was the only room on the floor where a person ate and slept.

Victoire had said this about the layout of the room.

Though not affectionate, he was a father who quietly listened to his son.

The third floor was as quiet as a mouse. Elisabeth carefully approached Dylan’s room. Then she took a deep breath and knocked.

“…..”

Knock, knock

“…..”

Knock knock!

There was no answer.

‘Marian surely said Dylan was in his room right now?’

Are you ignoring me on purpose?

That’s a possibility.

Elisabeth inflated her cheeks. Then clenched her little fist.

It was that moment when she was about to strike her fist.

“What is it?”

The door opened and Dylan put out his face.

“Uh, uh….!”

“That fist, are you trying to swing it at me?”

“Nope, no!”

Elisabeth quickly hid her fist behind her back. Dylan went into the room first, expressionless. Elisabeth followed behind in a hurry.

“What’s the matter?”

Dylan’s expression was unsettling. I was always unlucky, but he seemed colder than usual.

Elisabeth opened her mouth, hesitating a little.

“Thank you for today.”

“About what?”

Dylan asked back as if he didn’t know. Dylan was quick-witted, so there was no way he didn’t know. It was intentional to ask back.

Elisabeth said, swallowing her suspicion.

“You saved me from Sir Tyce.”

Dylan stared at Elisabeth.

‘What’s that, your I-don’t-like-this look?’

“If you’re grateful, get out of this house.”

It was a familiar word. But something was strange to think that it was a beginning again. Dylan’s gray eyes were sitting heavily.

‘Why did you come here…’

Dylan shut his eyes once and opened them.

‘It won’t leave my head.’

The figure of Elisabeth, who was crouching and trembling, kept flickering.

I was angry why I couldn’t beat Tyce Orell more. I was angry at myself for not being able to stop the situation.

I thought it might happen one day, but when I saw it, my eyes turned upside down.