Chapter 17: 17

–Mr. Helladius is dead!

The shock alone was enough to make Obdolisa’s water break, and she went into childbirth. As soon as she gave birth to her child in misery, her memory cut off. 

When she came to her senses, Helladius, who was said to have died, was by her side. 

The joy was instantaneous. 

Helladius whispered as he wept, “Our Third…”

As soon as she gave birth to their child, she lost her breath. 

At the moment her water burst, she entered the closest house there was with only four attendants with her. Gallio, the butler, Julie, the former head of the magic swordsmen, and the priest and maid who were always with her throughout her pregnancy just in case. 

There was also the house owner. 

It was said that as the other three tried to save her, the maid helped deliver the child. It was only after Obdolisa’s breath returned that the three could look back at the maid and child. 

But neither was in the house. 

They soon found the maid outside the house, but she had already been killed. Both the child and the landlord had disappeared. 

Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Julie immediately mobilized all the soldiers in the Duchy. When he heard of the news that still nothing had been found, Helladius hurriedly returned from the Imperial Capital. 

He tracked the child’s tracks for days without sleeping. He spent every single moment with his eyes wide open. 

Then, he found the landlord, or should he say, kidnapper on a cliff in the territory. He was unconscious on the ground as if he was attacked by something. 

As soon as the kidnapper awoke and recognized Helladius as the Duke’s husband, he bit the suicide pill in his mouth. 

–What did you do to my child? What did you do!

In response to Helladius, who was crying desperately, the kidnapper said this,

–Heaven…

Without completing any other words, the kidnapper died immediately. Helladius could not believe what the kidnapper had said. 

He couldn’t. He just couldn’t.

Since then, he searched everywhere but still could not find his child.

In the end, Helladius had no choice but to admit it. He had lost his third child, who he could not even see once. 

Obdolisa, too, didn’t believe Helladius’ words at first. 

She looked down and touched her slim belly. She couldn’t even hold the child that was moving in it not so long ago. 

For the rest of her life, she wouldn’t know what her child looked like. 

‘If only I hadn’t lost consciousness!’

‘If only I hadn’t stepped outside!’

‘If only I had taken more people with me!’

Because she was one of the Dukes that supported the entire Empire, Obdolisa acted as resolutely as before. But inside, she recounted every action she could have done differently, shedding both blood and tears as she blamed herself. 

It was such a suffocating pain, that she felt it would be better to die.

Then, she found out that Helladius was just as distressed as she was. 

–If only I hadn’t gone to the Capital. Nothing would have happened. You wouldn’t have been so shocked if I had stopped the false news that I was dead. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry…

Obdolisa and Helladius hugged each other tightly and opened their hearts to each other. And this helped heal the wounds of the two people.

However, the trace of this event would remain for the rest of their lives. 

Unless their dead child came back to life, the dark hole in their soul could not be filled. 

Nevertheless, Obdolisa slowly cheered up. 

Because she had to. 

She didn’t want her husband to blame himself anymore. There were also their two children. She was also the Duke, the Lord, she had responsibilities. 

And…

‘Revenge!’

It wasn’t just a kidnapping for ransom. 

There wasn’t even a demand for money. In the first place, everybody knew that kidnapping the Duke’s child, the pillar that supported the entire empire, was crazy. There was only one purpose.

To shake the Duke of Leocardia, the Shield of the Empire. 

‘And they achieved that goal.’

The Master, the Duke of the family, had been in trouble. 

The Duke’s husband fell into great frustration at the crisis of his wife and abduction of his child, and he could not look back on anything else. 

In the meantime, a huge incident took place in the Imperial Capital, and those behind the kidnapper achieved their purpose. 

‘But they didn’t completely succeed.’

They would think it was a perfect success, but it wasn’t at all. There was something that the criminals behind the scenes couldn’t guess. The thought of it sent a surge of joy through her, but it was not yet time to reveal it. 

It was not yet time to punish the criminals, so Obdolisa, externally, remained silent. 

Even though she knew who they were. 

‘One can’t look only at what happened in the Imperial Capital.’

The criminals behind the scenes could not be easily dealt with without proper evidence. Even with the power of the Duke of Leocardia, one of the pillars of the Empire. 

So, Obdolisa didn’t act upon it and just stood strong and firm as the Shield of the Empire. 

Still, an immeasurable amount of anger resided inside her. 

It was like a swan floating quietly above the water, but below, its legs were kicking with all their might. 

Time passed, and Helladius traveled out of the territory in the name of training Juliano. And three months later, Helladius brought in a child who looked almost exactly like Marciana when she was a child. 

‘Our third is definitely gone…’

Nevertheless, Obdolisa couldn’t help but feel like Dia was their lost child. 

Their third didn’t even have a name. Marciana and Juliana said that they would be the ones to name their younger sibling when they were born. 

However, the two children ended up not being able to see nor name their younger sibling. 

Only the term third remained. 

Not even a body. Just third. 

“Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

“If my third child was alive… Would she look like Dia?”

Obdolisa let out a sigh of pain, then said, “No, don’t answer me. That was a silly question.”

Gallio, as always, replied calmly, “Yes, it was a silly question.”

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The Gallio-like answer made Obdolisa laugh. 

She suddenly felt much lighter. 

“Yes, it was a silly question. I’ll ask you properly. What do you think of Dia.”

“She was lovely. I understand why Helladius and Juliano brought her and why they want to welcome her as family. But.”

“But?”

“Something is off.”

Obdolisa felt that her mind which had relaxed for a while suddenly pulled tight. 

Gallio was more than just a butler. He was the head of the secret intelligence organization “Black” run by the Leocardia family. His other abilities were also great, but especially so in the field of observation and analysis.

He was very accurate in judging people from years of experience. 

That was also the reason why Gallio was present at the meeting with Dia. 

“Looking back at history, a smart genius with strong magic is indeed sometimes born regardless of blood. Mr. Helladius for example. I don’t know exactly what they are, but Dia is exactly that kind of genius. But I can’t get rid of the idea that something’s wrong. Her mental age isn’t appropriate for her age either. She’s clearly young, but I feel like I’m dealing with an adult.”

“I agree. I also think she’s like an adult. But it seems like she doesn’t know much of the basics, and is a little bit of a troublemaker.”

Obdolisa recalled her argument with Dia earlier. 

“Arguing with a five-year-old…”

She felt a little depressed.

“I don’t think she’s lying, but she’s definitely hiding something.”

“Of course she is.”

 

It seemed like abuse was a prominent part of what the orphan experienced, so it was only natural to be wary of others.

‘But it’s weird that she followed Hel and Juliano sincerely.’

It was the same with Juliano and Helladius. The two were never so quick to give their hearts to others. 

‘Of course, Dia is very lovely and cute.’

Whenever one sees a small child walking around and blinking with her big eyes, one couldn’t help but feel their heart melting.

However, Helladius and Juliana had only met Dia a little over two weeks ago. 

‘It’s amazing for sure.’

Obdolisa had a strange feeling. 

She didn’t know why but she felt distant but pure happiness. Her heart also felt strangely thrilled.

“Even if she is hiding something, the circumstances suggest that Dia is not a spy..”

Obdolisa shook her head.

“What kind of a spy is a 5-year-old.”

 

“Maybe she’s not actually five. I found out that her teeth had fallen out a while ago. Dia has lost all her front teeth, and the ones that had fallen suggest that she is around six or seven years old.”

“Really? I didn’t know.”

Both Marciana and Juliano were direct descendants of Leocardia, so they grew very fast compared to the average person. The two had lost all their baby teeth before they were even four years old.

“Wait. Six or seven-year-olds are that small…? Even for a five-year-old isn’t she already very short?”

“Yes. Even for a five-year-old, she is too small and too thin.”

“If she’s actually six or seven then, it’s a serious matter.”

Obdolisa was devastated. 

“I thought it was okay since she was an orphan and just five years old. What do you mean she might be older? Maybe she’s sick? How could this be? She probably only weighs around 10 kilograms.”

“I don’t think she’s sick. However, I’ll tell Ruth to examine her very closely.”

“Good. I should’ve told you to do a check-up as soon as she got here yesterday. Well, maybe Dia doesn’t actually know her exact age? She’s from the orphanage. I don’t think the orphanage workers are people who will tell you your age.”

“I don’t think Dia herself knows. Five, six, or seven years old aren’t much different in the eyes of the staff. So, there’s no reason to lie.”

“Yes, I also don’t think Dia will lie to us. Oh no.”

Obdolisa confessed what she had just noticed. 

“I keep thinking positively of Dia.”

Gallio nodded and confessed his honest feelings.

“In fact, so do I. She’s such a cute and lovely child and even looks very similar to Marciana in her childhood… Even so, I feel like my vigilance is breaking down too quickly. So I’m being more careful.”

Obdolisa understood Gallio’s feelings. 

She gave out her orders after a moment of consideration. 

“Just in case, let’s have some investigations on Dia. Send Agent Black to Spania. Find out who whipped Dia. Be sure to find out what kind of son of a bitch did that to a child.”

Opdolisa’s eyes boiled with anger before it slowly dissipated.

“Understood. As you wish, my Lord.”

Gallio said as his eyes glistened with determination. 

“I think we need to find a teacher for Dia as well.”

“I’ll do it. I can also observe her while I’m at it. Etiquette doesn’t require anything in-depth, so I think you can leave it to Lavigne. Lavigne is also very observant, so she can take good care at Dia. Let’s make her Dia’s maid.”

“Do it.”

“I’ll go ahead now. I’ll tell Ruth to do the checkup first.”

Gallio’s steps to the treatment room in search of his son Ruth were quick. Since he had a grandson of similar age, Gallio was well aware of just how bad Dia’s growth was. 

It was simply abnormal. 

As much as he wanted to deny it, Gallio was so worried about Dia that his heart hurt. 

‘…What’s wrong with me.’

Of course, she was lovely and cute, but his concern felt a little too over the top. It was very strange. Throughout his 60 years of life, except for his family, there were only three people that made him feel this way. 

His master, Opdolisa Leocardia.

The heir to his master, Marciana Leocardia.

The son of his master, Juliano Leocardia.

‘…No way!’

Edited by: Healing Moon

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