Chapter 22
22
"Oh, my..."
Leah covered her mouth with both hands upon seeing the welts, so dark they were almost black, left by the beating.
Henri turned his head away under the Duke's cold gaze. The corners of his stubbornly closed lips trembled.
"I hate liars. Especially if they're my sons."
"..."
"Speak."
"..."
"Henri!"
"Don't!"
Before the Duke's voice could turn any colder, I shouted and wedged myself between them. I clung to the Duke's arm, squeezed my eyes shut, and shook my head.
"Annie scawed. Gongzhanmi make Annie scawed too. (Henri is scared. Duke is making Henri scared too.)"
And I was scared too.
I wanted to run away as fast as my legs could carry me.
'I'm crazy. Clinging to a monster who can use magic without a starting word.'
I'd rather crawl into a lion's mouth.
Just as my body was trembling with fear,
the Duke's hand slowly lost its strength.
Henri, finally free from the Duke, gritted his teeth and ran out the door.
I hurriedly chased after him.
I barely managed to grab his sleeve and cling to his waist, but Henri shook my hand off.
'Eek!'
I almost fell from the sudden shove.
I rushed to Henri again and said,
"Annie not bwoken. (Annie not broken.)"
"..."
"I scawed of pointy things too. Scawed of fwogs. It okay to be scawed."
"..."
"I pwotect you. So let's go to Gongzhanmi."
"Who asked you to do that!"
Henri's shout echoed sharply in the dark hallway.
I froze in surprise, and Henri glared at me, his teeth gritted.
"Why are you meddling? What are you?"
"..."
"Do you think you're really my sibling just because you were adopted?"
"..."
"Don't be ridiculous. Who would really consider an orphan with no blood relation as family?"
Henri, speaking harshly, raised the corner of his lips in a sneer.
"Don't be nosy and mind your own business. It's annoying."
With those words, he turned his back.
'Stubborn.'
And I stood there, blankly watching him walk away.
People asked me about what had happened in Henri's stead, who was holed up in his room, and I told them the truth, except for the part where I had deliberately trapped Teramore.
"...So I went to the study and Annie was getting hit."
Noth and Viscount Dubois became very agitated at that part and swore fiercely.
"That bastard deserves to die."
"Son of a bitch-!"
Noth, his face soon turning somber, muttered,
"Why didn't the young master say anything about it..."
"He must have been afraid that something bigger would happen if he spoke, as he is still a child."
Viscount Dubois sighed deeply.
"What shall we do, Your Grace?"
"Imprison Teramore in the underground prison, and the Viscount will be in charge of the interrogation."
"This wouldn't have happened if the Senate hadn't pushed him as the young master's tutor. Shouldn't we hold them responsible for what the young master has suffered so far?"
"Keep the fact that Henri has been abused a secret."
"Yes-?! No, of course, today's incident alone is enough to kill Teramore, but why are you keeping the past a secret!"
Viscount Dubois asked in confusion, but the Duke dismissed them.
Viscount Dubois and Noth, leaving the room, spoke in low voices.
"He must not want to dissolve the Senate."
"That must be it. Dissolving the Senate would lead to civil war."
"I understand his intentions, but as a father with children, it's too cold a decision."
Everyone shook their heads, saying that the Duke had no affection for his children, but I thought differently.
The Duke had carried out any dangerous orders without complaint until his predecessor's death.
That must have been because his predecessor was in charge of the three young masters.
His children were held hostage, so he fought at the forefront even in dragon subjugation, risking his life.
'The Duke is also hiding the fact that Henri's abuse has been going on for a long time.'
If the Senate were dissolved and a civil war broke out, it would eventually be resolved, even if it took a long time.
The reason he gave up the opportunity to get rid of the eyesore that was the Senate was so that Henri's weakness would not be revealed.
'He noticed that Henri has trauma because of his predecessor.'
A child of a powerful family with weaknesses is always in danger, so he had no choice but to give up the opportunity.
"Shall we go, Little Miss? I have prepared warm milk."
I stared intently at the Duke's door and then took Leah's hand.
Henri's room.
Noth, who had come to check on the child, confirmed that he was asleep and turned to the Iri (Dubled's elite troops) he had brought with him.
"Make sure today's events don't leak out, and issue an emergency order to strengthen security within the castle."
"Shall we place a guard next to the young master?"
"Leave it. It will only make his heart more complicated."
The Iri with dark indigo hair shrugged.
"Well, Teramore will be tortured to death, and even the Chairman of the Senate has been summoned in the middle of the night, so who would harm the young master?"
"Watch your mouth?"
Another Iri frowned.
Soon, Noth and the Iri left the room.
The room, with the sleeping child left alone, was buried in deep darkness.
The faint sound of breathing sank into the silence, and only stillness floated to the surface.
How much time had passed?
Creak-.
A small friction sound was heard.
The one who opened the door and entered the room was LeBlaine.
She struggled to close the large door and tiptoed across the carpet to the bed.
"He must be asleep."
He refused the doctor's examination and locked himself in his room, so he must have been sleeping the whole time.
LeBlaine carefully rolled up Henri's sleeve. The bruise she had seen during the day had turned dark blue.
She gently applied ointment to the bruises and wounds, and Henri stirred as if it stung.
"Hic."
She pressed down on her pounding heart with her small hands and checked on Henri again.
Fortunately, he didn't seem to have woken up.
'Let's go back. He'll shout scarily again if he wakes up.'
Just as she was putting the ointment back into her pocket, she heard a small groan, "Hngh..."
LeBlaine paused and looked at Henri. Then, she carefully patted the blanket covering Henri.
"It's okay, baby. It's okay."
When she was beaten by Duke Valois and collapsed, when she was framed for Mina's attempted murder and tortured, she wanted someone to pat her like this.
To say it was okay.
That tomorrow would be better.
So she hoped it would be comforting to Henri too.
With a click, LeBlaine left the room, and Henri carefully lifted his eyelids.
"Who's calling who a baby."
Even though he showed his dislike, she foolishly followed him around, so was she really an idiot?
"Idiot..."
[Why are you meddling? What are you!]
He had shouted.
[Do you think you're really my sibling just because you were adopted? Don't be ridiculous. Who would really consider an orphan with no blood relation as family.]
He had vented his anger so cruelly.
Henri bit his lip tightly.
The words he had said to her were not sincere. He was ashamed of showing his fear, so he had raised his guard and shouted.
In fact, he was scared.
When Teramore swung his hand, the illusion of his grandfather overlapped. The illusion soon became his father, who looked just like his grandfather, and shouted.
Why can't you meet my expectations?
The one with the defect is not my son!
Soon, the illusions of his father and grandfather swung their swords at him.
They grabbed his fleeing hair and shoved the blade deep into his throat.
Just like his grandfather had done to his uncle in the past.
So in fact,
[I pwotect you, Henri.]
-It was salvation.
Henri buried his face in the blanket and sobbed quietly.
The castle was in an uproar.
Two of the three senators who had recommended Teramore lost their positions and their jurisdictions.
The establishment of the advisory body, which the Senate had so vehemently opposed, had no choice but to be passed as it was.
Teramore's state in the underground prison was terrible. But he did not give up until the end, reaching out of the bars and begging the soldiers.
"Tell the Chairman... tell the Chairman. I know the secret of the Child of Destiny!"
If the Chairman knew that she was actually a demon, he could turn the situation around.
He had been cautious about using it before because of his position as a senator, but the Chairman was different.
The soldier clicked his tongue and coldly kicked his hand away.
"Talking nonsense. Who would believe the words of a madman."
"I'm not crazy!"
"If you weren't crazy, how could you dare to raise your hand to the young master."
The soldier shook his head and continued.
"If the Chairman sees you, he'll cut off your head right away. If you want to live even one more day, don't talk nonsense-"
At that moment, the door of the prison opened and someone came down the stairs.
"Young Master."
The soldiers bowed to Henri.
"...!"
Teramore's face brightened when he saw Henri.
'Heaven hasn't abandoned me!'
He must have come to see him because he was afraid of revealing his trauma.
Henri ordered the approaching soldiers.
"You guys guard the outside of the prison until I call you."
The soldiers looked at each other, as if they were worried about leaving him alone with Teramore, but they bowed deeply and left the door.
Teramore, left alone with Henri, grabbed the bars and shouted.
"Please, please get me out of here."
"..."
"I won't reveal the young master's trauma. So please let me meet the Chairman."
"What are you going to do when you meet him?"
"Of course, I'll take revenge on that bitch, cough!"
A chilling energy emanating from Henri's body tightened around Teramore's neck.
"Wh, what are you doing, ghk...!"
No way.
Something was wrong.
There was no way Henri would dare to look at him straight and strangle his neck.
"Y, you defective... product...!"
He said the words that always drove the child to the edge of a cliff, but Henri looked at Teramore with an indifferent face.
"I'm not a defective product."
[Annie not bwoken.]
Teramore reached out to Henri with a pale face.
Henri, who would normally tremble at the sight of the wrinkles on his hand, casually kicked his hand away.
For some reason, he was no longer afraid.
When he thought about that trash harming the small, little child, something welled up inside him before fear.
Henri smiled crookedly and said,
"And my sister isn't a bitch, she's LeBlaine."
LeBlaine, sound asleep in her room, didn't know.
That she had gained a puppy whose specialty was blackmail, whose hobby was tax evasion, and whose beauty was her weapon.
