Even though it was the same color as Diana, who had been with her for several days, her mouth moved with instinctive fear.
“Sir, please save me…”
When the beautiful, statue-like Duke of Elrad frowned at the words, her heart sank at the terrifying moment.
‘Scary person.’
There was no one in the Empire unaware of the rumor that the Duke of Elrad was called cold-blooded, but Lia knew better than anyone that the rumor was true. Because she experienced it firsthand.
In my previous life, after the Duke of Elrad summarily disposed of the director, returning to his estate, leaving the children of the Tessar orphanage untouched by watching Diana’s dangers and never spoke. With Jack, who was the only one who protected his daughter.
The children of the orphanage, who had nowhere to go, became vagrants and wandered around, eventually becoming beggars.
The same was true of course for Lia.
Shivering in the cold, losing what she had begged all day long, and starving was a daily routine.
She was framed one day for stealing things.
I hated the next day so much that I ran away, panting until my lungs were ripped.
‘I can’t let that repeat again.’ Lia prayed.
This time, I would never go against his heart.
But what I need to do right now is…
“Jack is up there… My friend is sick. Please help us.”
“Did this guy do that?”
Lia’s eyes grew bigger when Bianca next to her asked.
The woman with her reddish brown hair tied high had the impression of looking strong and a good person.
Lia felt more at ease with her appearance, and involuntarily nodded her head and said,
“He cursed us every day and said he would sell us all as slaves!”
“Slave?”
The circumstances of the abuse that have been revealed now made everyone speechless, and along with the word slave.
As Bianca gave an exasperated expression, the director’s face also turned paler.
“It’s a lie!”
He hurriedly reached out his hand to cover Lia’s mouth.
As his large hand approached, Lia tightly closed her eyes as she waited for the impending pain.
“Argh!“
At the same time, the director screamed.
Lia stared blankly at the large back that blocked her view.
At first glance, the director’s wrist caught by the Duke seemed to have been bent completely the other way as if breaking it.
At that moment, the tears that had formed fell dripping.
Lia began running into the orphanage yard, leaving behind the call of Bianca from behind.
I saw children standing in a row dressed shabbily as if they were being punished, similar to what I remembered a long time ago.
Lia felt her heart pound, and began digging with her bare hands under the tree she had left mark beforehand.
“Sister!”
Then a beat later, Bianca, the knights, and the Duke holding Diana with the captive director appeared.
Lia was relieved to see Jack being carried by the knights.
And I felt a heavy responsibility as I looked at the faces of the children who had gotten tired and pale.
“What is this?”
“It’s a secret ledger that records the details of the children’s slavery transactions so far!”
The director, who thought they would never find evidence, was embarrassed when he saw the familiar cover of the documents Lia gave to the Duke, and began to scream in madness. Eventually, he was even gagged by the knights.
The children’s eyes were filled with confusion when they saw the director, who had been exercising undisputed power, was brutally suppressed.
Lia, who had already experienced so much suffering, cried desperately.
“There’s a lot of data on embezzlement and corruption as well as the slave trade! The director never treated us like people. The kids must have pretended they didn’t know about Dana, but they were all threatened…”
As Lia’s explanation got longer, not only Bianca but also everyone’s expressions hardened.
In particular, the Duke’s eyes were terrifyingly cold and frightening.
“Yes, as you said, the kids told me they’d never seen a girl like Diana. So you, and the kids are not at fault, is that what you want to say? For whatever reason, those kids lied to me.”
At the sound of his cold voice, Lia felt her heart freeze with fear.
But I didn’t avoid his eyes. How could I turn a blind eye to what situation children would be in and how we would live in the future when I know the end clearly?
“Please forgive me. It’s because I’m scared. I’m sorry!”
Lia knelt down and begged for the children’s fault. Tears burst out without realizing it.
One by one, the children followed Lia and knelt down on their knees, as if they had not taken an easy meal in the meantime. And they all cried and begged not to kill them.
Seeing the skinny children crying and begging for help, Diana also began to cry, wriggling with her lips watching the children crying.
The Duke, who pressed lightly on his temple, said in a displeased voice.
“Help? When did I say I’d kill you?”
“…Hic.”
“I won’t kill you, so stop crying.”
“…Hiccup.”
“It means I’ll forgive you.”
After all, Lia finally stopped crying when the Dukw said that he would move all the children to another orphanage.
When what I was so worried about was resolved, I stopped crying and felt drained.
“Sister!”
Diana, who came down to the floor, hit her father’s arms with her soft fist, and ran toward Lia.
“Sister, are you okay?”
Diana, with tears in her big eyes, checked Lia’s face and body.
Only then did the Duke and knights realize that the reason Diana was crying was because of that child.
Who knows who has looked after their precious young lady the entire time she lived in the orphanage.