“At that point, I guess I should say that it is fortunate that she is young. If she continues to get treated and recuperate, she will be healthy.”

“Please. Whatever you need, just ask for it.”

“Please call a priest. It is difficult to completely get rid of the aftereffects with only medical techniques. Divine power is absolutely necessary.”

“I already put a request in the temple. He will arrive after the blizzard subsides.”

“I’ll be waiting. Then.”

The doctor hastily walked away but the Marquis stood in the hallway for a while, then knocked and opened the door. The maid bent down as she wiped the child’s face with a towel soaked in warm water.

“Go out for a while.”

“Yes, Marquis.”

After the maid had left, only Ariadne and Weaver were left in the room. The Marquis stood still and looked at the child.

Pale skin and weak body. An atmosphere that seems like it will crumble and fly away even if you breathe hard. Only the blue eyes on her small face were large. He wouldn’t be surprised if the eyes looked like those of a corpse, but those eyes were unexpectedly clear.

‘She looks like Gloria.’

Their looks really didn’t look alike at all. The delicate and splendid appearance that looks like a doll was a replica of the Duke of Eldeer. Even so, she resembles his youngest sister.

The atmosphere of a child waking up after being ill, and the feeling that even if her whole body was broken and scattered, only those eyes would remain… The Margrave suddenly realized that the child was of his own blood before being the only daughter of the Duke.

That little little thing, her sister’s daughter, his only niece.

<It seems that all the internal organs have been damaged and then repeatedly wished to recover. At least ten times.>

<I can’t imagine what kind of pain she must have endured with that small body…>

<He did that on purpose.>

His sister, whom he thought was living well, died suddenly, and his little nephew, whom he thought was growing up with love, appeared in front of him in a state of disrepair. The impression he had of Duke Eldeer so far collapsed in an instant.

The Marquis had heard that the Duke had stopped eating and drinking for several days after his wife died. So while investigating the death of the youngest, he did not suspect the Duke.

He thought the Duke was just sad while he was angry, asking why his sister with her weak body was so stubborn to enter a polluted area.

But for the first time, he had his doubts. If the Duke was not at all what he thought, maybe her sister’s death wasn’t a pure accident.

‘If my father hadn’t brought her, I wouldn’t have known anything until the end… I must have known.’

If that were the case, he might have just heard that that child had also died from an illness or accident. Without knowing what the child had gone through, he might have sympathized with the Duke who had lost his daughter as well.

‘Gloria… Did you send that child here by any chance?’

Had her ghost summoned the Archmage to bring the little thing back to her old house? It’s ridiculous, but he couldn’t stop feeling that way.

<If it’s a son, Adrian. If it were a daughter, I would name her Ariadne.>

The image of his sister lovingly looking down at her still unswollen belly was vivid in his memory. Remembering that, looking at the scruff of my bird-like nephew’s neck, something inside him screamed loudly.

His expression hardened strangely with complex and deep emotions. At first glance, it was an unpleasant looking face.

Ariadne swallowed her dry saliva.

‘A while ago, the doctor called that person Mr. Marquis.’

If it was a Weaver, that meant that person was her uncle himself. Of course, being her maternal uncle did not guarantee that he would be kind to her.

He looked rather hostile as she watched him stand at a distance from her bed, glaring at her with his grim face. She wasn’t expecting to be welcome, so she wasn’t surprised.

When her mother became pregnant with her, her family disowned her and she married the Duke. And she died at an early age. No wonder people there didn’t like her.

“Nice to meet you, Marquis Ernest Weaver. You are my uncle, I heard.”

Ariadne greeted him as politely as possible. She was seated, so although not perfect, her posture was neat. Then, the corner of the Margrave’s mouth, which had been stiff, twitched. She wondered if the expression of the foreigner was offensive. She hastened her words.

“I’m sorry for coming in and causing trouble. I will definitely repay you for accepting and treating uninvited guests.”

“Excessively… You are too mature. It’s fine to act more like your age.

The Marquis said that and brought tears to his eyes, but Ariadne was very nervous. Did she look cheeky? Should she have acted more like a child?

‘What if I’m sent back to Eldeer right away because he is in a bad mood.’

But a child couldn’t have understood what was happening. If she wasn’t mature enough she could end like the original Ariadne, who died without nobody helping her.

‘The Archmage told the Duke to pick me up later. I have to prove my worth before the Duke comes.’

She decided to talk first, to start with the benefits they could get if they let her stay. So she hurriedly brought her words out.

“Sorry, I…”

“What do you have to be sorry for?”

The Marquis said in a choked voice cutting off her words.

“I have nothing to apologize for.”

He strode over and sat down on the chair next to the bed.

“I’m sorry, Ariadne.”

Why was that person apologizing? Ariadne looked up at him blankly.

Green eyes, like those of an Archmage, ran over his skinny arms and pale cheeks. His eyes trembled and were wet.

“You’ve been through a lot. It must have been hard.”

He stretched out his big hand to her.

“Sorry for noticing this late. I’m sorry I couldn’t save you earlier.”

His hesitantly approaching hand touches her head carefully, fearing that it would break her.

“Now… Okay.”

He drew in his breath as if his throat were choking. His trembling hand gently stroked her hair.

“Now don’t worry about anything. Uncle will protect you so that no one can hurt you.”

His caressing hand was affectionate. Ariadne was confused.

‘I haven’t done anything yet.’

She didn’t even explain what she could give them or what benefits they could get, but he said he’d just protect her? Why?

She didn’t expect that. It couldn’t be like that. She asked without even realizing it.

“Why is the Marquis protecting me?”

“… I’m your maternal uncle, call me uncle, not Marquis. If it’s awkward, you can just call me Mr.”

He wore a smile that didn’t go well with his stern expression. It was like a nasty bear trying to laugh.

“Oh, this room is yours. You can stay here as long as you want.”

“Is this my room? Here?”

“Hmm, isn’t it lacking because it’s a place prepared in a hurry? I will change it to a better room soon.”

“No, that’s enough! It’s not that I don’t like it, it’s just too much for me.”

“Too much, this room? To you?”

Marquis Baek raised one eyebrow as if he was full of energy.

“It must be far short compared to the four rooms in Eldeer Castle, right?”

“No. The room I was in was much smaller than this one. There were no balconies or windows…”

The Marquis’ face hardened. Marquis was a title higher than Count, but lower than Duke. Even so, he had a status that even the Duke couldn’t treat carelessly. As a family that protected the border, there was a position and privilege enjoyed. Moreover, the monsters and by-products of the labyrinth created considerable wealth. As a result, the Blizzard Castle was a luxurious castle that was pitiful compared to the mansions of quite a few nobles. However, Eldeer was not a modest nobleman.

At the northern end of the kingdom, the Margrave’s Castle on the plateau under the highest mountain in the continent couldn’t be more splendid than the Duchy Castle in Eldeer’s Territory, which was located in the middle of the most extensive granary and gold mine. No matter how much this room was in the blizzard castle It was normal for even a room that belonged to the good axis to look lacking in the eyes of the precious princess of Eldeer.

‘Is it because the abuse wasn’t enough, so she couldn’t even enjoy a life worthy of a princess?’

The dress she wore from Eldeer was gorgeous like a princess. The Marquis, who was puzzled, suddenly realized something.

‘…You only did what others could see. A trashy duke.’

Why was there no window in the child’s room? After trying to guess the reason, when the Duke was in front of him, he felt like shoving a piece of glass into his mouth.

Ariadne, not knowing what he was thinking, froze in the mood of the Marquis becoming fierce. The force was too strong for the body of a helpless child to bear.

‘He must be angry. Did I say something wrong?’

It’s not just the atmosphere, there was a physical effect. Cold air flowed from the Marquis. Her body trembled more and more on its own.

‘It looks like it’s getting cold… Come to think of it, Marquis Weaver was a spirit knight.’

Spirit knights were those who used the power of the spirits in a different way than the spirits. They were called spirit knights, not knights or warriors, because they fought on spirits rather than horses.

‘This is the spirit’s power leaking out.’

In novels, when a spirit knight was emotionally agitated, there was always a depiction of leaking power in this way.

‘The main character is a spirit knight, so it was a scene that came out every now and then… It’s no joke after actually experiencing it.’

The Marquis belatedly noticed that Ariadne had turned pale and was shaking.

‘Oops.’

He quickly eased his expression and captured his momentum. He quietly got up and lit the fireplace.

“Hmm, hmm. I’m glad you like the room.”

The room quickly warmed up again. The Marquis added affectionately with a bear-like face trying not to frighten the chick.

“But when the season changes, I will move you to a better room.”

“Oh, it’s okay, I…”

“Since it is a gift from your uncle, just take it. Now sleep a little more. If you need anything, just tell me.”

He smiled and patted her on the shoulder.

“From now on, only think about getting a good rest and being healthy.”

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