IBHD 10

Chapter 10

A little earlier.

Inside the carriage heading toward the Grand Duke’s residence—

I’m tired.

The Grand Duke roughly ran a hand through his hair as he gazed out at the scenery beyond the window.

Inspecting such a vast territory and personally checking on so many of its residents was no easy task.

But what was even more exhausting was the time spent traveling back and forth between the residence and the territory.

Sitting in a carriage for an entire day with nothing to do was incredibly boring.

That was why, whenever he went out to inspect his territory, he preferred to visit everything in one trip, even if it took a little longer.

But this time, because of that child, I’ve had to travel back and forth twice.

He stepped into the residence, thinking that the first thing he would do upon arriving was wash away this terrible fatigue with a hot bath.

But something about the atmosphere was strange.

The servants who normally lined up in front of the entrance to greet him whenever he returned from an outing were nowhere to be seen.

It was something that had never happened even once in more than a decade.

Looking bewildered, the Grand Duke opened the front door himself.

And then—

…Why does the house look like this?

The interior, which was always kept neat and orderly, was in complete disarray.

As though a thief had broken in.

And that wasn’t all.

“She isn’t in the garden!”

“She isn’t on the second-floor terrace either.”

“Check her room again, just in case she came back!”

The servants were frantically running all over the house, barely even noticing the Grand Duke.

He stood there blankly watching them when Martin spotted him in the distance and hurried over.

“Martin, what on earth is—”

The Grand Duke was about to demand an explanation, but Martin was faster.

“Your Grace, we have a serious problem!”

“A problem? What happened?”

“The young lady has disappeared!”

“…What?”

The Grand Duke’s eyes widened unusually.

There was only one person in his residence who could possibly be called the young lady.

“What do you mean, disappeared?”

“She vanished while her maid was away for a moment. We’ve searched every corner of the residence, but we can’t find her anywhere! What should we do…?”

The Grand Duke silently stared at Martin, who was trembling, before shifting his gaze toward the window.

The darkening sky came into view.

The sun had already set, and thick clouds hid the moon, leaving not even a sliver of moonlight.

It was a terrible darkness.

“Damn it.”

His heart sank.

Where could a child with nowhere else to go possibly have disappeared to?

He hurried outside.

The thought of the child crying in fear made him remember himself on a certain day, and he couldn’t bring himself to stop.

But no matter how thoroughly they searched, they couldn’t find even a single strand of the child’s hair.

Unable to suppress his sudden frustration, the Grand Duke shouted,

“What have you all been doing, that you couldn’t even protect one little child?!”

“I deserve death for this, Your Grace.”

Martin, struggling to follow him with his aging body, lowered his head like a criminal.

Seeing his old retainer’s miserable appearance, the Grand Duke could no longer bring himself to vent his anger on him.

Instead, he roughly raked his fingers through his hair and swallowed his frustration.

Just then—

“Martin.”

“…Yes, Your Grace.”

“Have you searched that place as well?”

“Pardon? Which place do you mean…?”

Martin followed the Grand Duke’s gaze and suddenly froze.

The pine forest surrounding the residence.

Tall trees stood packed together so densely that even during the day, very little sunlight reached the ground.

The Forest of Darkness.

Because there was nothing particularly worth seeing there, it had been poorly maintained and had gradually become a den for wild animals.

For that reason, even the people of the Grand Duke’s household never entered it at night.

“Ah, no. But surely she couldn’t have gone in there. It’s quite far from the residence…”

“But now that we’ve searched both inside and outside the residence, that’s the only place left.”

The Grand Duke immediately started walking.

The distant howls of wolves stirred an ominous feeling in his chest.

A short while later—

As he frantically searched through the forest, he spotted something and stopped.

“So here you are.”

The Grand Duke finally breathed a sigh of relief when he spotted the golden hair shining brightly even in the darkness.

But then—

“Daddyyyy!”

He heard a form of address for the first time in his life.

He had never even heard it from Ahin, his only blood relative.

Yet a child who had absolutely nothing to do with him was calling him by that name.

“Waaaaah, Daddy!”

The Grand Duke was utterly bewildered.

Yet he couldn’t bring himself to ask why.

Not after seeing the state the child was in.

Her hair was completely tangled and disheveled.

Her dress had been torn to shreds and reduced to rags.

And then…

“Why does your face look like that?”

Her tiny face was swollen like a full moon, with bumps sticking out here and there as though she’d grown countless lumps.

If not for her blonde hair and peridot-colored eyes, he would never have recognized her.

While the Grand Duke stood there frozen in bewilderment—

Ariel, clinging tightly to his leg like a cicada, began pouring out her grievances.

“The bees—hic! The bird, the black bird. They attacked—hic! They attacked this body! Waaaaah!”

The Grand Duke lifted the sobbing child into his arms and quietly held her close.

So that no one would be startled by the strange state of her face.

Very, very tightly.

Ariel returned to the residence nestled securely in the Grand Duke’s arms.

While the doctor removed the bee stingers embedded in her face, Ariel eagerly explained everything that had happened to her that day.

And then, unbelievably, the people of the Grand Duke’s household burst into laughter, clutching their stomachs.

Ariel furrowed her brows.

“Why are you laughing? It was really dangerous! We don’t know when they’ll attack again. We need to prepare immediately!”

When Ariel shouted while warily looking around, Jane and Martin quickly suppressed their laughter and soothed her.

“Yes, my lady. Don’t worry. We’ll make sure that those nasty crows and swarms of bees can never get inside again.”

“Yes. If the Grand Duke’s knights stand proper guard, they will never be able to enter. Isn’t that right, Your Grace?”

Martin looked at the Grand Duke as if silently telling him to play along.

The Grand Duke, who had been covering his face and quietly laughing, nodded.

“What are you all doing? Make sure those swarms of bees and crows cannot get inside.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“We will stake our lives on it. Not a single bee will be allowed inside.”

The knights replied in trembling voices and left the drawing room.

Even then, Ariel still looked anxious, as though she wasn’t convinced.

“Don’t worry. My knights are competent. No one has ever been able to set foot here without my permission.”

At the Grand Duke’s confident words, Ariel finally let out a sigh of relief.

Still, after spending some time with that human, I do feel a little reassured when he’s around.

Just as Ariel sighed, Phew, the doctor spoke.

“I’ve removed all the stingers, Your Grace. However, I believe you’ll need to apply ointment every day until the swelling has completely gone down.”

“Thank you for your work, Kyle.”

After thanking the doctor, the Grand Duke rose with a smile.

“It’s late. You must be exhausted after fighting such formidable enemies today, so go upstairs and get some rest.”

“Come here, my lady. I’ll take you to your room.”

Jane quickly stood up after the Grand Duke and opened her arms.

But Ariel shook her head and grabbed onto the Grand Duke’s trouser leg.

“My lady…?”

“She must have been badly frightened.”

The Grand Duke clicked his tongue sympathetically and stopped Jane from trying to pull Ariel away.

“I’ll take her to her room myself. You all may return to your rooms.”

The Grand Duke scooped Ariel up and strode toward her room.

After placing Ariel on the soft bed, he was just about to turn around when—

Caw. Caw.

“Eek!”

Ariel’s face went pale.

That was definitely the cry of the very bird that had attacked her.

“Didn’t you say you were going to guard this place properly?! How did this happen?!”

As Ariel stomped her feet, the corners of the Grand Duke’s mouth loosened.

“Don’t worry. It won’t be able to come inside here. Can’t you see that the window is closed?”

“You only say that because you haven’t seen that horrible bird! That vicious creature is fierce enough to break through that window!”

Ariel pounded her chest with her tiny fists in frustration before suddenly shaking her head slowly.

“This won’t do. I don’t feel safe.”

The Grand Duke found it amusing that she was so terrified of a single crow and quietly laughed before meeting Ariel’s gaze.

“Then what would make you feel safe?”

He assumed that at most, she would ask him to stay beside her until she fell asleep.

But—

“Sleep here.”

The words that came out of the child’s mouth were far more outrageous than he’d expected.

“…Here?”

“Yes. What if those creatures break through the window and come inside? So stay here and protect me.”

“…You really want me to sleep here?”

The Grand Duke stared down at Ariel’s bed and asked with an incredulous voice.

The child’s bed was very small.

To a child, it was large enough to roll around in comfortably.

But for him, it was so narrow that he would barely fit even if he curled up his legs.

And she wants me to sleep here?

It was ridiculous.

Instead, he was about to suggest that he would stay by her side until she fell asleep.

But—

“I said it’s fine! Hurry up and lie down beside me!”

When Ariel ordered him, he found himself crawling into the tiny bed before he even realized it.

Ariel looked pleased as he curled up in the cramped bed.

Only then did she lie down comfortably and tightly grasp the Grand Duke’s hand.

Just in case he tried to leave while she was asleep.

Very, very tightly.

And that night—

Ariel dreamed.

She dreamed of getting revenge on the flying insects and birds that had dared to leave her in such a state.

In her dream, Ariel enthusiastically swung her arms and legs at the swarm of bees and the bird.

They collapsed helplessly beneath her tiny hands and feet.

“Ugh… ugh… ugh.”

The sounds were a little strange for the groans of animals and insects, but Ariel didn’t pay much attention.

It’s only a dream, anyway!

Ariel pointed at the creatures sprawled across the floor and proudly declared,

“Do you understand your crimes now?!”

The nasty bird and bees crouched down and begged her forgiveness over and over.

Ariel happily stomped on them to the very end.

Never once realizing that the groans she heard were actually coming from the Grand Duke, who was being pummeled by her tiny arms and legs in his sleep.