Chapter 14: Promise

Yudith’s adoption news shocked Melvin.

Even so, how could he ignore his engagement to the Emperor’s youngest daughter, the Second Princess, and adopt a daughter, even if he had declared his non-marriage?

“The Emperor will throw a fit if he finds out…!”

“Let him.”

“No…! What about the Second Princess…?!”

“What does a mere nine-year-old know? And that man is crazy to sell his nine-year-old daughter to me for Mana Stone mining rights? Do you know how disgusting it is every time I go?”

“That’s… but…”

“In the first place, what that man wants is the right of succession through my child. He can’t get it now, so he’s aiming for the distant future. Isn’t that exactly what the Emperor would do?”

Damian frowned as he walked down the hallway, looking truly disgusted.

Mana Stones are stones containing natural Magical power and are essential resources for Magical engineering.

There are many mines that can be mined elsewhere in the continent, but…

The Emperor, increasingly anxious as the annual mining volume from the mines owned by the Empire decreased, is now eyeing my territory, which is predicted to have high reserves and is not yet fully mined.

He didn’t know until he gave me the territory that so many Mana Stones would be piled up in such a remote place.

‘He’s my uncle, but he’s a truly insidious man…’

That’s why he was delaying the marriage the Emperor was pushing for. Because he would lose everything if he got married.

If he had a child through marriage with the Imperial Family, the right of succession would naturally pass to that child.

And after that child is born, they will try to brainwash them about the Imperial Family. To make them hand over the mining rights naturally when they grow up. It’s a problem even if I don’t have children.

Because if I marry and die, it automatically goes to the Second Princess.

That’s exactly the picture the Emperor is thinking of.

“Then are you thinking of giving the territory to that bastard…?”

“I’ll see how it goes.”

“Ha… you should just get married.”

“Why don’t you go first?”

Marriage, what a joke… I refuse to suffer the same fate as my Mother. There is no love or affection in noble marriages. To sell one’s life for such an act is foolish.

“And I’m not going to show that child yet.”

There’s no point in showing that child right now, it will only cause problems. I don’t plan to show them until they become an adult.

Eight years until that child becomes an adult.

By then, the Earl will have completely forgotten that they lost a bastard, and if I make that child my successor when they become an adult, all the mining rights issues will be resolved.

“Eight years of successor education. I plan to show them off at their debutante ball when they come of age.”

“…What if they are not useful as a successor?”

“Then I’ll have to find a way to use them somehow.”

‘He never says he’ll abandon them…’

The moderately poor Edmund territory. The territory on the cliff, with its back to the end of the world, has only Mana Stones and Byproduct of monsters as specialties.

Agriculture is not properly cultivated in the barren land, and livestock do not grow properly either.

That’s why the frugal spirit of using anything that can be used has been ingrained in the head of a person with the high status of Grand Duke.

‘Everyone will be in an uproar when I return to the territory…’

Melvin sighed softly and quietly followed Damian.

Melvin thought so when he saw Damian recklessly entering the patient’s room upon hearing the news that the bastard’s maid had woken up.

Truly un-noble…

---

“…? Where is this…?”

“Chloe?! Are you okay?!”

“Milady…?”

Her dry throat felt prickly.

Yudith, who had become even thinner, widened her eyes greatly when she saw Chloe wake up, and stroked Chloe’s face with teary eyes.

Chloe turned her head and looked around. Fortunately, the scenery unfolding beyond the window was not that of The Earl, so she let out a sigh of relief and asked Yudith.

“Where… is this…?”

“…It’s a temple.”

“A temple…?”

Chloe drank the water Yudith handed her and moistened her throat. The cold water flowed down her esophagus and helped her to come to her senses, so she could think properly.

‘Come to think of it, what happened…? I remember holding Yudith’s hand and escaping from The Earl…’

“Wait a minute! Wait a minute! I’ll go get someone.”

With those words, Yudith hurriedly got up and ran outside.

Chloe put her hand on her chest, felt no pain, and was slightly surprised.

The piercing pain in her heart had disappeared, and she felt even lighter. Looking at Yudith’s slightly gaunt face compared to the last time she saw her, she realized that she had been unconscious for quite a long time.

‘What on earth happened…? What was that pain in my chest…?’

-Bang!

“Eek!”

While she was deep in thought, Chloe’s body flinched in surprise at the sound of the door suddenly opening violently and hitting the wall.

When she turned to the side, she saw a man with a familiar face she had seen once looking down at Chloe.

The man with grayish-blue hair, the man who killed the Witch by the lake, the eyes that felt cold for some reason.

‘Why is this man here…?’

“Are you awake?”

“Uh… that… Damian… Edmund… sir?”

“You remembered.”

After saying that, Damian sat down on the chair right in front of her and stared at Chloe. Feeling burdened by Damian’s glaring eyes, Chloe spoke first.

“Uh… excuse me… did Edmund-nim save me and Milady…?”

“That’s right.”

“…Uh… thank you…”

“There’s no need to thank me. I intend to get what I’m owed anyway.”

Damian leaned back in his chair and took a small breath, then explained what had happened so far, step by step. The fact that I was cursed, the fact that Yudith blocked the running carriage to ask for help, the fact that this place is a temple brought here to break the curse.

‘…A curse…? A curse…? Me…? And…’

Hearing the story that Yudith had saved her by blocking the carriage with her body for her sake, she felt a lump in her chest.

She grabbed her chest with a mixture of helplessness about herself and gratitude towards Yudith.

“And I’m thinking of adopting that child as my daughter.”

“Yes?”

At the sudden remark, Chloe widened her eyes in surprise and turned her head to stare at Damian.

“…What are you thinking?”

“That child said it first, that she would do anything to save you.”

Chloe glared at Damian even more murderously at Damian’s smug expression.

‘…Is this person the same as The Earl…? Not seeing people as people and trying to take advantage of Yudith…?’

“Don’t glare at me like that. It’s a story I agreed on with that child.”

It hadn’t been long since she had escaped from The Earl, but she had already met a human who was trying to take advantage of Yudith.

And she felt even more guilty thinking that it was all because of her. She had promised to make her happy until she became an adult.

‘In the end, I’ve become a burden to Yudith…’

She felt like she was going to cry. She was too helpless in this world. She couldn’t use Magic, she wasn’t a noble, she had no connections, and she had no money. She felt like she was just holding Yudith back because she had nothing.

“…What are you going to make Milady do that you’re even adopting her?”

“…What are you going to do if you know?”

Chloe did not avoid Damian’s cold and heavy gaze. She only glared back even more murderously, as if she would rush at him right away.

While they were glaring at each other, Yudith entered the room with the priest, and looked slightly surprised to see Damian inside.

“Oh? Why are you here?”

“What, I was just talking.”

Chloe frowned even more as if she was about to cry at Yudith’s nonchalant gaze at Damian. Damian smirked and whispered softly to Chloe.

“Don’t worry. I will take good care of this child as my adopted daughter.”

Chloe’s emotions were greatly shaken by Damian’s words as he approached Chloe and whispered in her ear.

-Drip.

She felt something snap inside her.

She felt like she had reached the wall of her helplessness and the limits of not being able to do anything.

Tears welled up at the suffocating helplessness.

This world was an absolute aristocratic society.

She felt like she couldn’t do anything for Yudith in this situation with just this body of a commoner, just a maid, so she cried.

Large teardrops formed and fell on the bed.

“Chloe?”

She was grateful to Yudith, who was just worried about her as if nothing was wrong. And she hated her. She was grateful and hateful to Yudith, who was always like this, always just saying it was okay and never properly showing her heart, even if she kept worrying about her.

“…Milady… I’m sorry… I… I should have…”

The dam of emotions that had burst could no longer be stopped.

Helplessness and guilt overflowed and continued to pour out as tears.

Yudith, seeing Chloe suddenly start crying, didn’t know what to do, apologized to the priest behind her and sent him out, then closed the door and approached Chloe.

“What’s wrong…? What happened?”

“Milady…”

Chloe hugged Yudith tightly in her arms and started crying like a child. She buried her face in Yudith’s shoulder and shed tears.

In aristocratic society, adopted daughters were treated similarly to bastards, if not better. She didn’t know what that Damian was thinking of adopting Yudith for, but she had a feeling that it wouldn’t be a good thing.

Yudith, who didn’t know what the situation was, just hugged Chloe and accepted Chloe’s sadness. Patting her back, Yudith also leaned her head on Chloe’s small shoulder, creating a posture as if they were hugging each other.

How much time had passed? Chloe, who had shed all her tears, did not take her head off Yudith’s shoulder and asked Yudith.

“Milady… shall we run away…?”

“Huh?”

Yudith raised her head in surprise and looked down at Chloe.

“Aren’t you suffering because you’re being adopted by a strange person because of me…? I… I don’t want Milady to be in the hands of another person again after coming out of The Earl…”

“Ah…”

Yudith sighed softly as if she finally understood.

She was slightly angry at what Damian had said that made Chloe cry so much, but looking at Chloe, who was worried about her and crying, she felt something sprouting in her heart.

“….It’s okay, I’ll be treated better than at The Earl.”

“..I don’t know… what Milady is thinking…”

She hated Yudith, who just kept repeating that it was okay. Yudith was always like this. Even if she kept worrying about her, she would just say it was okay and never properly show her heart.

“I don’t know how to live without Milady… is it okay for Milady to disappear…?”

“What?”

Yudith looked at Chloe in surprise. She questioned Chloe as if to say, what is this?

“What are you talking about? Where are you going?”

“Yes…? But… that Damian person… said he would take good care of Milady…”

“Ha…”

Yudith, who sighed deeply, got out of Chloe’s arms, opened the door, and looked right next to her, where Damian was leaning against the wall and eavesdropping.

“Explain properly.”

“Haha… you’re a quick-witted child.”

Damian, who scratched his head as if he was embarrassed, slowly entered the room and looked at Chloe.

“…First of all, I’ll have to reintroduce myself. I am Grand Duke Damian Edmund.”

“..Grand Duke…?”

Chloe’s body flinched greatly at the title of Grand Duke. Not Kim Haru’s emotions, but the fear of aristocratic society engraved in Chloe’s body began to rise greatly.

‘A Grand Duke… that means they’re directly related to the Imperial Family, or at least of Imperial blood. Come to think of it, Edmund… that was a name that appeared near the end of the original story…’

Only now realizing it, Chloe’s eyes widened as she looked back and forth between Yudith and Damian.

“I apologize for being sharp earlier. I was curious about the nature of your relationship with this child. I prodded a little, but I didn’t expect this…”

“Huh…?”

Chloe stared at Damian as if genuinely dumbfounded. I was feeling so anxious because of it, and it was just because he was curious…?

“Well… I can see that you’re both so close that you’d die without each other.”

“Seriously… I’m just… speechless…”

“My apologies. I must return to my territory soon, and I cannot take a puppet of The Earl with me.”

With his arms crossed, Damian sighed softly and looked back and forth between Chloe and Yudith. A maid and a child who seemed to have a good relationship. After sneaking in and observing, he felt that taking the maid along wouldn’t be bad either.

“Departure is in two days, so rest well. You will both have much to do when you arrive at the Grand Duke’s estate.”

With those words, Damian left the room.

A deep silence descended between Yudith and Chloe in the room he had left.

“Ha… where are we going…?”

“Haha… where would I go…”

Yudith climbed onto the bed next to where Chloe was sitting, and they sat shoulder to shoulder.

“Don’t say you’re going anywhere… you said we’d go together…”

“…I’m sorry. But you know I really didn’t plan on going, right…?”

“…Yeah… I know…”

Yudith rested her head on Chloe’s shoulder and slowly closed her eyes. Chloe’s heartbeat traveled through her shoulder to Yudith.

Where would she go? I have no intention of letting her go, ever.

In fact, I could have refused to become his adopted daughter.

If it were Damian, with his personality, he wouldn’t have scolded me much even if I had refused. With his kind nature, he would have made other requests, but the reason I didn’t refuse the offer to become his adopted daughter is…

Because of you, Chloe.

I thought that if I became a Duchess, you, as my personal maid, would be able to live a good life without much hardship, so I accepted the offer with the intention of taking you with me no matter what.

From the moment you said you would come with me, I vowed.

That I would never let Chloe go. That I would never let go of Chloe, the only color in my life.

In order to keep Chloe from leaving me, I needed a good environment.

I didn’t need honor, but I needed wealth and power. Because that would be the foundation for Chloe to live happily.

“Promise.”

Yudith held out her pinky finger to Chloe.

Yudith held out her pinky finger to make a promise that she would stay by her side forever and never run away.

“Of course. It’s a promise.”

Chloe smiled and held out her pinky finger to make that promise, unaware that it would last a lifetime.

Their pinky fingers intertwined, and a promise was made.

Seeing that, Yudith smiled.

She received confirmation. She received a promise.

She promised that she would stay by her side forever.

“Yeah… it’s a promise…”

Chloe, unaware of her inner thoughts, simply smiled and looked at Yudith.

This was…

The day Chloe officially became Yudith’s personal maid,

And the day they promised each other a lifetime.

---

And the seasons turned,

And many days passed,

-8 years later.-

“Milady. The seamstress will be here soon.”

“Okay, Chloe, can you wait for me for a moment?”

Golden hair, like melted gold, fluttered in the breeze from the window, tickling Yudith’s neck.

Yudith’s red eyes had become even clearer after her Magical power manifested, transforming into jewels as beautiful as rubies.

“Done! Chloe, let’s go quickly!”

Yudith, who had finished organizing the documents, placed them next to her desk and stood up from her chair. She grabbed Chloe’s hand and headed to the drawing room where the seamstress had arrived.

Next month, Yudith’s official declaration as the heir to the Edmund family and her Debutante, where she would show her face in society for the first time, were scheduled to take place.

The past eight years had passed by very quickly.

‘Yudith is already an adult… it feels like just yesterday that she was so tiny…’

Looking at Yudith’s back as she walked down the hallway holding my hand, I felt the passage of time.

I am 24 years old.

And Yudith will be 18 next month.