Chapter 1 - please be patient, grand duke v1c1

<01> Part 01. The shadow girl

The empire’s rainy season was long.

The rainy days continued for over ten days, and those who had been waiting for the sun walked and locked the door, giving up.

Rain poured down across the imperial palace, in streams, and slums.

A narrow alley where the eaves and eaves are connected, making it difficult to see light. Rumor has it that postal wagons do not come in and out of this place, and the police in charge of police in the capital are not interested in what is happening there.

A slum where ordinary people are reluctant to even step in.

A wagon stopped at the entrance to the louver area, which was so dark that it was difficult to distinguish between night and day.

It was a carriage that was not suitable for slums that had to live on one gil for a week, whether in form or as a breed of horses.

( essentialvillainess: I’m guessing a gil is a form of currency in this novel’s world )

The attendant in a robe puts down the footrest and opens the door of the carriage. Then, the women’s shoes, made of silk-layered leather, stepped on the red velvet base.

“Let’s take the lead.”

An elegant, lowly voice. The man, standing in the dark, crouched, revealing his yellow teeth.

“This is this way.”

The woman stared at the man with ice-cold eyes and put on a robe. In the alley where garbage, the homeless, and the bodies of dead animals were left unattended, the smell vibrated despite the rain. The fingertips of the woman, who seemed to be like an ice cube, trembled invisibly at the presumptuous scene. I had to do that. Noble nobles didn’t fit in these underdeveloped areas.

“Madam, if you are having trouble, please wait in the carriage. I will handle it.”

“No, I am going directly.”

Anastasia Bale.

The woman was the wife of Marquis of Gilead Bale. Marquis of Veil extended his hands to the shipbuilding and iron mining businesses as he owned several textile and tobacco factories.

Now that the Hundred Years’ War ended, the Marquis of Bale was a respected family that had accumulated enough wealth to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Grand Duke of Hajar. The hostess of such a precious family is looking for such a slum.

As if a tense escort was protecting Anastasia, he revealed the sword on his back and followed him.

“I mean, I had a hard time finding him. Hehe… By the way, why are you looking for that little boy…”

The man who spoke to him without knowing the subject laughed at the expense of the nobles. But the answer was from the escort driver.

“Go straight on the road. I wouldn’t go round and round in the same place even if my life was a waste.”

A sword that was pulled out halfway while making a sound. The man who was ahead of the bloody threat groaned further.

“Rain, spinning around. A little while ago, it was a red-nosed bar, and this is Mrs. Mulburn’s oil shop. Even if the roads look similar, they are all different, so don’t worry.”

(essentialvillainess: red-nosed is referring to, when you’re drunk, you get a red nose from your face flushing. )

The Marquis’ wife gave a scintillating glance to the escort who was on guard. In any case, if the assistant has a different mind, he may lose the difficult opportunity.

The knight who put his sword in him followed him again in a polite manner.

This place was like a fortress. A huge fortress built by those who were abandoned in the world.

Like a terrified man, he glanced at the house with a red ribbon with an expression that the man who was ahead lived.

Rather than being an independent house, it was accurate that it pointed to one of the dozens of doors in a building that was connected like a wall.

“There it is. You don’t know how hard I was trying to find that girl. The woman, the mother, cares for her so terribly… So, give me a generous amount and give me 10 gill—Hehe.”

The only place where there are no eaves, so you have to get rid of the pouring rain. There was a child she was looking for.

The moment the eyes of the premiere, Marquis’s wife, were forged, the escort driver struck a leather pocket with coins.

The sound of a flickering coin resonates in a tunnel-like space.

The man flipped his eyes and ran into his pocket. After checking the amount inside, the man buzzes, bows his head to the ground, and steps back.

Then he started to run away. Maybe it’s because of a pretty big payoff than I thought.

“Stop your mouth properly. You understand?”

The escort driver nodded with a determined expression at the order of the Marquis’ wife.

“I will.”

Anastasia, with her secret gaze, steps into the rain. The moisture seeps into the leather shoes. The tip of her lips trembled at that terrible sensation.

But the child didn’t even know she was approaching, and he was struck by the rain and was addicted to something.

Cheeks and honey-colored hair that stretches to the waist. Did you say 12 years old? However, the child was smaller than his age and looked younger.

The child, dressed in rags, was keen on carving wood. Her small hand with a sharp knife deepens her glabellar lines.

Even though he got close, the child did not notice the existence of Anastasia.

Because of the inclined slope, she stopped on a path of streams.

“Hey.”

Then the girl who dropped the knife in amazement raised her head.

Her bright eyes, like a mixture of turquoise and emerald, caught her eye.

A familiar color that I’ve seen tired of. The anger that had been suppressed rose to the toes.

The Marquis’ wife, patiently pressing her anger, asked, looking at the door and the child that were firmly closed.

“It’s raining, but what are you doing here without entering?”

Then, the child with sweet lips pulls out a bundle of cloth that covered his ears and hides it behind his waist.

“My mom is working tonight… here.”

Work? She laughed.

A woman’s groan and a man’s harsh swear words flowed out of the thickly curtained window.

Beautiful Canilia living in a brothel. A brilliant gem born in a brothel. People in the slums said that they called this child that way.

In the past, a beautiful woman who couldn’t take her eyes off was hiding in the louver area with a full-term body.

The woman, who had nowhere to go, went from house to house, ate bread, and slept among the homeless. Always scared, like someone being chased by someone.

Then one day, the woman gave birth to a child on the street.

On a rainy day like today, the man said he gave birth to an angel with emerald eyes next to the body of a stinking dog.

Those who regretted the situation of a woman who couldn’t even get milk because she couldn’t eat gave you food and something to cover. Fortunately, the woman thought she would be grateful, and she cared terribly for her child.

But raising a child on the road was like giving up his life.

The season of abundance has passed and withered.

When the child got a fever from the severe cold, the woman gave her body to the village doctor for the first time.

Very few men could still refuse a beautiful woman even after having children.

Besides, you’re a widow.

The doctor saved the child in exchange for taking the woman.

12 years like that. “Your name…Lia, is that right?”

The child nodded with an innocent face at the loving voice of the Marquis’s wife.

“Do you know me?”

“Well, everybody knows. Your mother… I came to visit after hearing the news that she was sick.”

“…Are you mom’s friend? Is my mother sick?”

The child, whose eyes were round, turned around as if he was about to run into the house at once.

The moment the crying child was about to knock on the door, the escort’s clunky hand struck the back of his thin neck.

The child’s body, who couldn’t even scream, breaks. Thick raindrops poured loudly over the child’s small body.

The escort gently hugged the drooping Lia and fr owned.

“Twelve years old…she’s too light.”

The Marquis’ wife nodded, looking down at Leah held by him.

“Go. I hate being noisy… . Ask them to organize.

“The mother of the child…”

As she took steps, she stopped and turned her head. He glared coolly at the place where a screaming groan still leaks out, raising his mouth and sighing briefly.

If it catches fire on a rainy day, what will happen?“

Terrible words were spoken in an elegant tone. Creepy goosebumps into the man’s skin.

“It’s a joke. I just hope it won’t be safe, so you know. Let’s go.”

The shadows of the two were once again swallowed up into the darkness, and the windows opened throughout the serene.

The people who were hiding in the strange air current looked around, as if it wasn’t a big deal, and locked the window again.

The rain is getting stronger if the heavy rain is about to begin.

The imperial night was getting deeper.

***

Honey, honey?

There was a good scent. Besides, it has a fluffy texture that I have never felt before. Is this heaven? I didn’t want to wake up if it was a dream, but Liara raised her eyelids with a shaking hand.

“Ouch!”

The child, who was terribly surprised, screamed and woke up. Horror with her blushing eyes. This was an unknown place.

My favorite place to live for 10 years was Aunt Lauren’s attic, a cloth seller. There was a cute puppy, Polly, and various colored fabrics were hung there. When she sees the fabrics fluttering in the wind, it feels like she’s at the castle where the princess lives, so Lia likes it.

However, this place was completely different from Aunt Lauren’s house. A gorgeous room you’ve never even imagined.

Leah is a bed that looks ten times my body and a floor-to-ceiling window. And he couldn’t hide his surprised expression when he saw the books stacked on the luxury carpet and the large fireplace.

“… Is it heaven in here?”

Lia’s innocent murmur, the woman holding the tray, laughs and puts it down.

“Are you hungry? Let’s fill the stomach first and wash it. The smell… Well, it sounds like it’s hard.”

Lia swallowed her mouth while watching the soup in front of me. But I couldn’t eat it. I was worried about my mom even though I didn’t know why I opened my eyes in a place like this.

Did I even fall asleep on the street?

Talking to a very, very pretty woman…?

“Why not eat? Are not you hungry?”

The woman asked anxiously, looking at Leah, who only blinked. The child shook his head and curled his knees together.

“Mister, where are you? How about my mother? Where is the pretty woman you saw before?”

“Madam will come after you eat this soup and ha ye a clean bath.”

“Why— Yo?”

“That’s it.- .”

It was when the woman hesitated when she couldn’t find anything to say back.

A loud noise was heard outside the huge door, and the door popped open. There, there was a boy with honey-colored hair sparkling like an angel and emerald eyes, smiling brightly as she looked at her.

It was the first time that such a beautiful person has been.

Lia hid her sloppy hands as she saw the boy approaching me.

“Hi, Canelia.”

[Please be patient, Grand Duke]