ESL Chapter 20

Abel gazed indifferently at the night scenery flowing past from inside the carriage. By now, Lea would have returned and noticed his disappearance. The unfamiliar man who had come to the house in the afternoon told him that Joseph had sent him. He said a major problem had occurred with Joseph and he wasn’t in a condition to move, so he had sent him to bring Abel back. Well, to be precise, it was Bel, not Abel. Humans were certainly lenient toward and tended to underestimate young and powerless beings. Since he was in the form of a ten-year-old girl, the coaxing tone used to take him away was gentle, and the only people watching were just two men—the coachman and the man sitting with him.

‘If it were Lea, she would have run away without a second thought. She’d probably be enjoying herself by now.’

Abel, who had been smiling invisibly, raised his head and looked at the man at his words.

“We just need to go for another half day. Since we don’t have time, we won’t stop to rest, so sleep if you’re tired.”

The man rummaged through a bag that had been loaded in the carriage and pulled something out. It was a rather warm-looking blanket. Unfolding the blanket, the man draped it over Abel’s body.

‘For this kind of work, he has rather clear eyes.’

There seemed to be some circumstances, but Abel paid no attention. Except for Lea, humans felt like nothing more than pebbles to him.

‘At this hour, I’d be having tea with Lea…’

Irritation welled up slightly, but knowing how important this matter was to her, he decided to endure it. Instead, he closed his eyes and began constructing a new magic array he had been designing. How much time had passed? He opened his eyes at the jolting sound of the carriage.

‘Have we arrived? I think he said it would take another half day.’

The man riding with him seemed to have the same question.

“What’s going on?”

The man glanced at Abel once, then opened the carriage door and got out.

“Ah… how did you get all the way here… ugh…!”

With the door open, the man’s voice and groan could be heard clearly. Shortly after, the person who got in the carriage and closed the door was not the previous passenger but a different man. Judging by the blood splattered here and there on his clothes, the man who had just gotten out seemed to have already been killed.

‘Looks like he became useless.’

Even hearing the groan, no emotion arose on Abel’s face. He had seen such scenes countless times over his long, long years. The humans he thought of were greedy and selfish beings. Of course, Lea was an exception.

“……”

Fibien glanced over himself once, then felt puzzled looking at the young girl who was casting an indifferent gaze out the window. Normally in such a situation, a typical child’s behavior would be to feel anxious or suspicious. But this girl showed no such behavior at all. Rather, she seemed indifferent to everything, like someone who had lived through it all. If she had been a slightly older girl or an adult, he might have been suspicious, but since the other party was a powerless child who was only about 10 years old, Fibien felt puzzled but wasn’t suspicious.

The carriage ran without rest, and by dawn they had arrived in the southern region of the Yurasen Empire. When the carriage stopped, Fibien opened the carriage door and spoke to Abel, who was still looking out the window.

“Get out.”

At Fibien’s command, Abel removed the blanket covering him and slowly got out of the carriage. The carriage had stopped in front of a mansion, and unlike its beautiful exterior, the surroundings of the mansion were desolate like ruins. Moreover, at a certain distance from the mansion, an invisible barrier had been set up, surrounding the mansion in a circle. It seemed to be to prevent the people being held hostage from escaping. Abel looked over the mansion once, then turned to look at Fibien who had gotten out behind him and asked.

“Where is my brother?”

The face of the girl asking him the question was still expressionless. Her voice asking for her brother was likewise flat. At such un-childlike behavior, Fibien frowned slightly. It was better than throwing a tantrum or crying, but somehow it felt alien. However, he didn’t forget his duty. His duty was to take this girl to where the Duchess was, as Abram had ordered.

“Follow me.”

Abel followed Fibien as he led the way. Fibien’s walking pace was fast for Abel in the form of a young girl to follow. Abel had to almost run to keep up with him, and even knowing this, Fibien didn’t slow down. Thinking that once this was all over, she would deal with this guy first, Abel surveyed the surroundings.

‘The security is quite tight.’

There were a total of 5 rooms in the long corridor, and men with swords were standing at each door. And where Fibien stopped walking was the last room at the very end. When Fibien approached, the man guarding the room door stepped aside to allow entry into the room. Grabbing the wrist of Abel, who was breathing heavily from chasing his quick steps, Fibien opened the door and pushed him inside almost throwing him like luggage, then closed the door and said.

“The kid is also an important hostage. Guard her well.”

“Understood.”

The man bowed respectfully, then stood firm in front of the door again. Fibien confirmed the man’s attitude, then turned and walked back down the corridor.

Abel, who had entered the room pushed by Fibien’s force, fortunately didn’t fall.

‘I’ll definitely deal with that bastard.’

Abel, who had put Fibien’s punishment on his second to-do list, turned his gaze at the sound of a woman’s voice.

“Oh my, are you alright?”

The woman who approached him hastily in surprise appeared to be in her late thirties and was very beautiful. And surprisingly, she resembled Lea.

‘I thought she only resembled her father, but she resembles her mother too.’

Perhaps for that reason, Abel raised his level of interest in Rien a bit. Seeing someone who resembled Lea even slightly, the irritation that had been slowly raising its head seemed to subside a little.

“Dear child, are you hurt?”

At Rien’s worried question, Abel shook his head.

“Thank goodness.”

Rien, with hair like spun gold and marine blue eyes, had a gentle and soft voice. She was so much the epitome of a noblewoman that one might think this is what such a woman should be like.

When Fibien opened the door, Rien thought it had already been a month. They forced her to embroider a handkerchief and took it away every month. But surprisingly, what was pushed in was a young girl.

How long had it been since she met someone… After being confined here, she couldn’t have a sense of dates. At first, she counted the days, but after 3 years, she stopped. Living confined alone was not something familiar to her. At least there were maids who came to attend to her clothes and baths in the morning and evening, but by the time she got to know their faces, a new maid would come. Moreover, they were thoroughly trained not to say anything other than necessary words.

She was lonely and anxious. But she didn’t think of dying and endured resolutely. For the life of her daughter they were holding, and for her beloved husband who would be waiting for her, she had to endure.

“…Are you alone?”

At Abel’s voice asking while looking around, Rien’s beautiful marine blue eyes sparkled. This child was the first to speak to her about anything other than meals and baths since coming here.

“That’s right.”

“How many people are confined here?”

“…Well… I’ve never left this room, so I don’t really know.”

If there are 5 rooms total that I saw on the way, does that mean 5 people including the Duchess are confined here… Abel, who was making his own guess, looked at her in surprise at Rien’s words that she had never left the room.

‘She spent 17 years here? It’s surprising she hasn’t gone mad. As expected, Lea resembles both her mother and father evenly.’

So that’s where such a strong and unique child came from—blood doesn’t lie, it seems. The Duchess was a woman worthy of respect just for enduring that long time. Of course, he too had lived alone for decades before meeting Lea, but he had the Krauzen Mountains. If told to stay only in a room like this, he wouldn’t be confident about that.

“But dear child, how did you come to this place?”

Perhaps that’s why. He answered a question he would normally have ignored.

“I came to find you.”

“Hm?”

Looking at Rien’s expression showing she didn’t understand what he meant, Abel spoke clearly, word by word.

“I came to find you. Duchess.”

****

Lea, who had been working with Duke Kaien in his study, stopped what she was doing when she suddenly heard Abel’s voice in her head.

<Lea. I found what you asked for. It’s right in front of me now. What do you want to do?>

At the words that he had found the Duchess, Lea’s eyes lit up. She had prepared the event and hoped for good results, but now that the desired result had come, her joy was great. She raised her head and looked at Duke Kaien. Strangely, as if a detector had been installed for her gaze, as soon as her eyes reached him, the Duke’s head lifted and beautiful red eyes turned toward her.

“Wait just a moment. I’ll go there myself.”

Having spoken into the ring, she rose from her seat and approached her father, who was giving her a puzzled look.

“I’ll be away for about two or three hours. During that time, could you make sure they don’t notice I’m gone?”

At the quiet request that only he could hear, the Duke’s handsome face frowned slightly.

“…It’s not something dangerous, is it?”

At the blunt but worried voice, she smiled as if to say not to worry and said.

“Of course. I’m just going to take care of some things.”

And I’ll bring back a gift for Father… Lea only said the last sentence in her mind. The titles of father and mother were still not familiar to her. It was natural since she had never called anyone that in her entire life.

“Transport me.”

When Lea, who had approached the window, closed it and drew the curtains so the inside couldn’t be seen, spoke into the ring, a small silver magic circle was engraved beneath her feet and in an instant she disappeared from that spot.

“……”

The Duke let out a deep sigh when Lea disappeared and closed the documents he had been looking at. In fact, the documents he had processed today were not even half of what he usually did. They say children are lovely no matter how much you look at them, and his eyes kept wandering to her, so he couldn’t concentrate. He stared at the seat where Lea had been sitting just moments ago. She said it wasn’t dangerous, but this was dealing with them. It couldn’t be easy. Anger welled up to an unbearable degree at not being able to go with her, and he closed his eyes to calm his mind. They say the person staying still is more anxious than the person moving—it seemed the documents wouldn’t enter his eyes until she returned. Though he was called the Iron Chancellor outside, at this moment he was just a father with a daughter.

“…Return safely… If I lose you again, I’m not confident I won’t collapse this time…”

He muttered quietly.