Chapter 5: First Meeting (II) |
As soon as Deheen finished speaking, the guards held Daina’s arms. She was forced to kneel down, so her hands were covered with dirt.
Daina felt a great fear at the moment. If she was handed over to the temple, she would be imprisoned, and she would not be able to avoid Rabienne again. It would be a future where she would suffer from being trapped in an underground prison that she wanted to escape from.
‘No…’
Daina crawled desperately to hold Deheen.
“Please,”
Deheen’s gaze turned back to Daina, who was sobbing.
“I can’t be in the temple. Please don’t hand me over to the temple. Just kill me here. Please.”
“Then I’ll be in trouble. There’s no advantage in killing you. It just gets worse with the temple.”
He couldn’t help but sound cold. She was a complete stranger, and besides, Deheen wasn’t kind enough to show approval to a child who tried to attack him.
Daina shook her head, feeling her eyes darken. The despair was even greater because she thought this was her last chance.
However, Deheen, who was calmly turning away from Daina, stopped.
“Phew.”
The misfortune of the world that she couldn’t get out was embraced by Daina.
‘What kind of life do you have?’
Deheen gently looked down at Daina with his arms crossed. Then, all of a sudden, he took out his hand and swept away Daina’s hair which was covering her forehead.
Daina flinched and frowned her clear pink eyes.
“You….”
Deheen’s eyes shook when he saw it. He was strangely nervous when he saw Daina’s dark grayish brown hair.
It was because he remembered his dead wife. The eye color was the same. She had no resemblance to her face, but she was a child who reminded him of someone he missed.
“Have you changed your mind?”
Daina stared back at Deheen. He noted that her eyes were very clear. There was an incredibly deep darkness, but it was pure and deep.
Deheen’s heart clenched in the eyes that were looking up at him.
“Okay, I’ve decided.”
Deheen bent down deeply to meet Daina’s eye level.
“Do you laugh sometimes?”
“Should I laugh?”
Daina, who was absent-minded, replied after a pause.
“How old are you?”
“…I’m 12 years old.”
“That’s just right.”
Deheen paused and stared at Daina. It was the first time for Daina to receive someone’s gaze so deeply. So, her face turned red without even realizing it.
“You.”
Daina, who was called by Deheen, gulped.
“Why don’t you be my daughter?”
“Keuk.”
Daina was caught off guard and she coughed in surprise. It wasn’t just Daina who was shocked.
Ben, who was watching the situation, shook his head, urgently saying no.
“Your Grace!”
“You’re noisy, Ben.”
However, he had to back down at Deheen’s words.
Daina brooded over Deheen’s words several times. But she couldn’t understand what she heard at all.
“Your daughter?”
“You’re right. You said you were an orphan? I want to adopt you.”
Adopt? She pinched the back of her hand, but it was not a dream. Daina’s doubts about Deheen have grown as she couldn’t figure out what was going on.
“To torture me….?”
“Why would I do such a hard work?”
“Then, you’re really adopting me?”
“Yes.”
It was a heartless voice for a person who wanted to adopt her as a daughter. However, it was not possible for a man as big as Deheen to play with such a thing.
“But I attacked the Grand Duke?”
“There was no harm.”
Looking at Daina’s suspicion, Deheen said a more few words.
“I was about to find a child to adopt. I happened to meet you and I like you.”
“Am I not dirty, since I’m an orphan?”
Deheen’s eyes twitched when the girl asked if she was dirty. His fierce face turned scarier.
“That doesn’t matter.”
Deheen’s voice was firm.
“If you agree to be my daughter, from that moment on, you will be the noblest child.”
‘Noble… me?’
In Daina’s opinion, the word that didn’t suit her the most was ‘noble’.
When the girl didn’t even respond, Deheen sighed and grabbed Daina to raise her. She was so skinny that he could hold a long arm in one hand. She was so light that he didn’t even feel the weight.
Deheen clicked his tongue and shook the dirt off Daina’s hand.
“I don’t think you’re in a position to refuse my offer. If you refuse my offer, I’ll hand you over the temple.”
Deheen’s voice was much warmer that it was at first, though his tone was crude. Nervous, Daina bit her lips and looked at her palms.
Thanks to Deheen’s dusting, it was clean. It was the first time that someone gave their hand to Daina first.
‘Can I follow you?’
No matter how much she thought about it, the proposal to become her daughter was a proposal that Daina had nothing to lose.
So, she couldn’t believe it anymore…
It didn’t matter if Deheen had a different purpose to adopt her. There was no hope for her in the temple anyway.
If she stayed like this, her future would be imprisonment by Rabienne again. Daina’s eyes, which had been shaking for a while, stopped, and now she was looking straight.
“All right, if I could get out of here.”
“Good choice.”
The sunlight fell radiantly between the two. Because of that, Deheen’s bluish black hair shone brightly. Daina was briefly distracted by blue waves.
‘Is this man my father…?’
When she thought of that, she felt goosebumps on her back.
For Daina, parents were something she could never have. But suddenly, parents appeared. And the most aristocratic of the nobility, her father would be the grand duke?
It was a nonsensical situation.
“Your Grace, it’s time to go back. The event will begin shortly.”
“Yes, I’ll go.”
At Ben’s words, Deheen came to his senses. He escaped from the bunch of people for a while, but he had to go back and fill his seat before the event began.
Nevertheless, it was heartbreaking to leave Daina, who would be his daughter.
“Don’t let someone go after you finish the check-in.”
Deheen said to Daina to wait. To look friendly, he added a rather awkward smile. However, Deheen’s smile was scary because of his well-known reputation.
It was the smile that Ben lamented that it did not improve even after practicing in the carriage.
Daina’s face suddenly turned white when she saw the smile. Deheen, who thought Daina was scared because of him, quickly returned to a serious expression.
“Well, I’m sorry if I scared you. This is the way I smile.”
“No, I’m not scared!”
Daina shook her hand in a hurry. Then she added words so that he would not misunderstand.
“It’s been so long since someone smiled affectionately at me… I was surprised.”
Since Daina, who had always been suffering from the cold, was able to read the kindness in Deheen’s eyes.
“Sweet? Me?”
No one would normally look at Deheen and say anything sweet. Seeing his big size and cold eyes didn’t make the word sweet.
He knew himself better than anyone else, so his head was full of unexpected words. Still, he took a deep breath because he felt like he was losing his breath.
‘What’s wrong with my heart?’
Deheen’s heart, which was always calm, began to beat fast. Ben, who was watching the situation from the side, became serious.
He approached the hardened Deheen and whispered to him.
“Maybe she can’t see well?”
“I have good eyes. I can see very well from a far!”
Daina was anxious that Deheen would change his mind. So, she shouted out loud. Almost immediately, she was amazed by her own voice and covered his mouth.
Deheen, who saw it, burst into laughter.
“Hahahaha. Look at that. My smile wasn’t wrong. The problem was the people who didn’t recognize it.”
“I don’t think that’s a problem.”
Ben patted his chin and whispered. Then he mumbled that if he was really going to adopt a child, he would have to start with an eye exam.
“I…. Then, when can I leave the temple?” asked Daina, looking at the two.
It seemed like she thought she would be thrown away if she parted with Deheen without a definite answer.
“We’re going back together at the end of the event week. I’ll send someone to get in touch with you.”
Daina eagerly set a date in her mind. Five days were left before the week ended, so after five days she could leave the temple.
Daina has never succeeded in leaving the temple.
‘If I get out of the temple, will I be able to escape from Ravienne?’
‘No, will I die?’
“Oh, I almost forgot the important thing. What’s your name?”
Daina came to her senses and tapped her mouth. A name she had never said before. She quietly pulled out her own name, which she didn’t expect someone to ask.
“…Daina.”
“Yes, Daina. I’m going to pick up you soon.”
Daina nodded as she looked at Deheen.
★★★
After leaving Daina, Deheen headed straight to the office where the saint candidates were managed. As he walked, Ben, his secretary, stood beside him and expressed his worries.
“Your Grace, no matter what, a child like her is a bit… it’s a child who attacked Your Highness! What made you decide to adopt right away.”
“I like the child.”
It was a simple but obvious reason. Ben nodded his head in silence.
“And she looked like Irene.”
“Yes. Head and eyes. I was very surprised.”
“I felt my heart leaving in many ways.”
“But she’s an orphan. There are a lot of kids who have better conditions for adoption.”
“What’s wrong with an orphan?”
Deheen’s tone got sharper. It was not obvious, but his eyes and voice were scolding Ben’s thoughts.
“Oh, that’s not what I mean…”
Ben, who was speechless, made no further excuses.
“It’s not that kid’s fault. It’s just worse luck than others.”
“You’re right. I was wrong.”
There was a soft smile around Ben’s mouth when he admitted his mistake.
‘You’re like this.’
Deheen was criticized for being crazy and liking to slaughter. People misunderstand him as a cruel monster, but in reality, he was not.
Ben, who watched from his side everyday, knew Deheen better than anyone else. A man who has strong, unbiased and clear-cut convictions.
None of the nobles Ben knew were straight as Deheen. That’s why Ben has been supporting Deheen for 10 years.
“But I will look into the past of the child. It’s better to make sure.”
“Do it.”
Deheen has seen countless people rolling in the battlefield. There must be a special reason why she liked him. Ben believed Deheen’s eyes in seeing people.
“We’re here.”
“Let’s go in.”
The two men entered the office without hesitation. As soon as the door was opened, the believers who recognized Deheen, jumped up and welcomed him.
“I can’t believe Lord Deheen came all the way here!”
“Do you have anything to do?”
The event was in full swing, so there was only a young new official and a middle-aged new official.
Deheen scurried towards priests. The new officials shifted their eyes to avoid criticism.
“I want to take a saint candidate.”
Credits goes to the original team, v-haven.