Chapter : 06
Carlos was drying his wet hair with the help of a maid.
His orange hair, soaked with water, seemed darker than before.
“That hair color isn’t very common, is it?”
“I’ve seen red hair often, but this is my first time seeing orange hair in person.”
“And the name Carlos?”
“…Pardon?”
The maid immediately responded to the muttered soliloquy.
She seemed tense, trying not to miss even my smallest action.
She must have suffered quite a lot under Patricia.
“Haa… No, never mind.”
The child’s freshly cleaned skin looked even paler.
I couldn’t be certain because his eyes were swollen from being beaten, but his face seemed quite handsome.
Good looks, orange hair, and even the name Carlos.
At this point, there was no choice but to accept it.
Carlos—the one who was bound by a vicious fate with Patricia in the original story, the one I had been searching for—was that child right in front of me.
In the novel, Carlos became the captain of the Gerhardt ducal family’s knights.
He was a loyal and capable knight whom Lawrence Gerhardt trusted and relied on the most, someone who would carry out Lawrence’s orders without question.
He was also the one who killed Patricia in the original story.
“Haa…”
In the novel, Carlos didn’t hate and torment Patricia merely because she was Lawrence’s stalker.
There was a personal grudge.
Before becoming the captain of the Gerhardt knights, Carlos had lived at the Herarilla ducal estate—and as if it were a natural procedure, he had suffered Patricia’s cruelty.
The novel never specified exactly what humiliation Carlos endured, but judging from the depth of his hatred, it didn’t seem to be anything trivial.
‘Just what did she do to him?’
Whenever Patricia and Carlos met, they were practically at each other’s throats.
Patricia sent assassins after Carlos every time, and Carlos would turn a blind eye and refuse to help whenever Patricia’s life was in danger.
Of course, Carlos’s feelings were easy enough to understand.
Who would want to save someone who kept trying to kill them?
The problem was that now, Patricia was me.
I didn’t want to form a bad relationship with Carlos.
All I had to rely on was the power of the Herarilla family, while Carlos was destined to become the Empire’s greatest knight.
What benefit would there be in becoming his enemy?
So I decided to meet Carlos first and offer a gesture of reconciliation, and searched the Herarilla knight order from top to bottom.
Naturally, I assumed Carlos was one of the Herarilla duke’s knights.
But there was no knight named Carlos, nor anyone with orange hair.
No matter whom I asked, no one knew a Carlos.
Damn it.
So I hastily jumped to a conclusion: ‘Carlos hasn’t entered the Herarilla estate yet.’
But instead—he had been a child servant.
An unexpected… stroke of luck, perhaps.
I was happy to have found Carlos, but my worries were far greater.
“Um, Carlos.”
“Yes?”
The child answered, widening his round eyes.
“Have we… perhaps spoken before? Or met…?”
“No, this is my first time talking with you, Young Lady.”
As he shook his head, a glimmer of hope appeared.
“Uh… have I ever bullied you, or…?”
Even so, I asked again just to be sure.
It was possible I’d mistreated him silently.
Carlos looked startled, his eyes widening as he shook his head.
“No.”
“Good. That’s a relief.”
Thank goodness. It seemed I hadn’t touched Carlos yet.
“But… how old are you?”
The novel never mentioned Carlos’s age, but I hadn’t expected him to be this young.
Then how old was he when he was knighted?
“I’m fourteen.”
“What?!”
Fourteen, despite having such a small build that he didn’t even look ten.
Seeing my shock, Carlos blushed.
His smaller stature compared to others must have been a complex.
“Oh— I didn’t mean to offend you.”
“…”
“Don’t worry. You’ll grow a lot later.”
“…Do you really think so?”
“Of course!”
At my confident reply, Carlos smiled faintly.
His eyes were still swollen, but even so, his smile was pure and adorable.
“Tell me anything you want to eat!”
I felt grateful and fond of Carlos for having stayed hidden so well, out of Patricia’s sight, until now.
And honestly, the thought that being on good terms with him might help me someday filled me with relief.
“Let’s get along well from now on.”
I felt guilty for harboring such impure intentions toward a child, but I had no choice if I wanted to survive.
This was survival instinct.
Knock, knock.
“Lady, this is Butler Albert.”
At the sudden visitor, everyone in the room fell silent, staring at the door.
Why was he looking for me?
Whenever the butler sought me out, there was always one reason.
A summons from the Duke.
And the Duke would never call me with good intentions.
When I opened the door, the always-composed butler was oddly watching my expression.
“Lady…”
Uncharacteristically, he hesitated.
He had probably reported the dismissal of the stable master to the Duke, and now felt sorry that I was being summoned and would be scolded because of him.
“Please, speak freely.”
I shrugged lightly as I said it.
Reporting to the head of the family was the butler’s duty, after all.
I was the one who caused trouble despite being told to keep a low profile.
“Lord Lawrence Gerhardt, the young duke, has arrived.”
“…What? Pardon?!”
The words that came from the butler’s mouth were far beyond what I could handle.
“What do you mean?”
“He wishes to meet with you, Lady. What would you like to do?”
Though he was asking my opinion, the butler’s expression was grave.
Judging by his cold sweat and flustered look, it didn’t seem Lawrence Gerhardt had given any prior notice.
Why would Lawrence Gerhardt come?
Hadn’t I seen him just yesterday?
After seeing his cold, furious expression, I never wanted to face him again.
Even if his anger had been directed at Patricia and not me, meeting someone who clearly disliked me was uncomfortable.
He had warned me not to draw attention again.
Yet despite telling me that, he showed up unannounced without any courtesy.
Of course, I hadn’t exactly asked for permission before visiting him yesterday either.
Still, hadn’t I waited for him under the blazing sun for two hours?
“I’ll go right away.”
Though I wanted to return the favor and make him enjoy some sunbathing as well.
Something felt off.
A sense of unease crept up my spine.
If I stubbornly resisted…
‘It’s not like I have anything else to do, so I’m going now.’
I justified my unheroic behavior by telling myself it wasn’t fear—it was simply because I was free.
I didn’t know why Lawrence had come looking for me, but it certainly wasn’t to share tea and idle conversation.
“Do you know why the young duke is looking for me?”
“…I’m afraid I don’t.”
I tried probing for information as I followed the butler down the stairs, but learned nothing.
Only the vague impression that the young duke seemed angry.
When I opened the door to the drawing room, I saw the young duke sitting with his back to the door—and my eldest brother, staring at the door as if desperately waiting for it to open.
He looked slightly more gaunt than he had at breakfast that morning.
Morgan met my eyes with a strange mixture of a plea for help and the glare one gives an enemy.
That contradictory expression made my heart churn with anxiety.
And Lawrence’s murderous aura only made it worse.
Seriously—what was he trying to do, leaking killing intent like that?
Lawrence was radiating killing intent.
Not deliberately, but as though it were overflowing after being suppressed for too long.
That made it even more terrifying.
Morgan looked as though he might suffocate at any moment, pale as a sheet and drenched in cold sweat.
“Pa… Patricia.”
I wanted nothing more than to quietly close the door and leave, but thanks to Morgan kindly calling my name, I had no choice but to walk toward them.
“Since Patricia is here, I—I’ll take my leave.”
My dependable eldest brother rose without hesitation and fled the drawing room.
His hurried retreat, as though afraid I might stop him, felt cruel.
I wanted to keep him by my side, but seeing him practically trip over himself to escape made me feel pity, and I decided to face Lawrence’s anger alone.
“Young Duke, you called for me?”
“…”
Lawrence Gerhardt said nothing, silently staring at the empty seat Morgan had left behind.
Only after I slowly sat down could I see his red eyes.
His dark crimson eyes burned with rage, and my hands began to tremble.
I now fully understood Morgan’s cold sweat.
His gaze was far more chilling than before.
After glaring at me for a long moment, he finally spoke.
“Hand it over. Now.”
“…What?”
His voice, enunciating each syllable as though chewing it out, made my heart pound.
The way he looked at me—as if he might kill me at any moment—made my head spin.
“…”
If possible, I would have handed over everything.
The problem was, I had no idea what he wanted.
“Haa…”
“…”
Seeing my bewildered expression, he slowly closed and reopened his eyes as though utterly incredulous.
The killing intent pouring from him grew even thicker, making it hard to breathe.
“Do you really think this is a joke?”
His voice was submerged deep in fury.
