Episode 3
A duke without a gatekeeper or a knight.
That itself is amazing.….
Stables? Collapsed.
Roof? A mess.
“Kni, the Knights Templar post turned into a barn…….”
Even the buildings that were difficult to manage were completely blocked from entering by crossing wooden boards.
‘It must be a dream… … this is a dream…….’
Hildegard looked around, chasing the afterimage of the past.
However, the old glory was nowhere to be found.
Where did the gold fountain go?
What’s wrong with the glass greenhouse that was built beautifully with most of the money?
What about the maze garden made of garden trees?
And…… Where is the tower that I built?
“What’s this? Where did our house go?”
None.
There’s nothing.
“Our house…… The tower…….”
“Mines? There’s no such thing in our family!’
Finally, Hildegard admitted.
Yes, good. Okay. I admit it.
I think it’s 80 years later.
I think my family has gotten a little poor.
But this is too much!
It’s not at the level of being ‘a little’ poor!
Finally, Hildegard’s anger exploded.
“These crazy people! There’s nothing in the world to screw up so they ruin the house?!”
Surprised by the untimely scream, the crow flew hurriedly.
“Lies… It’s all lies!”
“Hilde!”
Hildegard eventually fell off the donkey’s back.
It didn’t hurt. To be exact, there was no time to feel pain.
“Oh my gosh, lady! You’re here?”
Suddenly, the door of the mansion opened, and the users ran out loudly.
And there was a voice that stood out in my ears.
“Hilde? Redith?”
“Mikhail! It’s all right, go in.”
However, despite Redith’s reluctance, the opponent ran with a measured step.
Maybe he’s about sixteen or seventeen years old.
The same frizzy silver hair as Redith.
The frizzy hair that had not yet been organized revealed tiredness.
The boy, with his droopy tail, about a span of length, tied loosely and had blue-purple eyes.
His eyes look a little more gentle and friendly than Redith’s.
“Hilde? Are you okay?”
Mikhail ran one step and made eye contact with Hildegard.
And at just the right time, the sound of rumbling rang instead of answering.
Growl!
Mikhail told the user who ran with him with a relieved face.
“You must have been really hungry. You should hurry up and prepare a meal. Robin.”
“I’ll prepare it right away, Master!”
“Why did you ruin it…….?. Why did our house go bankrupt….?”
“What do you keep muttering from a while ago?”
While complaining, Reddis held Hildegard, who was on the floor with a lost look.
“Hyung*, she is weird today. I’ll carry her inside.”
(older brother (to another male))
“It was difficult for Hilde too. Let’s go in now.”
Mikhail smiled affectionately and brushed off the dirt on her sister’s knee and arm.
Redith laughed mischievously.
“Tsk tsk. If you leave the house, you’ll have a hard time. A twelve-year-old doesn’t know that.”
‘Nope! That’s not it!’
Hildegard denied it with tears.
“As long as nothing happened. Come on, let’s eat and sleep.”
“Hurry up and say hello to father. Dad, I went to the princess who ran away from home.”
Redith pretended to greet the portrait hanging in the lobby.
Then the name tag appeared in Hildegard’s eyes.
[The 14th Duke Michaelis Acaraxia]
“Ah……..”
Is this what it feels like to be slapped on the cheek with cold water?
‘Aunt is coming soon and I’ll buy you a shoe store!’
In the portrait, the person with a haggard complexion was her nephew, who was a newborn baby.
* * *
So, I guess I was reborn as my nephew’s daughter.
I know that. But why?
‘Why has our family become like this?’
Scratched handrails and stairs, cracked marble walls.
The sparsely missing chandelier had lost its bright light was helping to make the mansion even scarier
The restaurant was even worse.
“Lady, do you want some more.”
“…….It’s okay.”
“There are potatoes too!”
“…….Thank you.”
The soup was watery because it was overcooked and diluted.
A tough bread that you can barely swallow if you chew it well.
The only thing I could eat was the apricot jam, but even that was almost finished, revealing the bottom.
The saddest thing in the world is the poor dining table.
But is this what is happening in the Acaraxia family 80 years later?
“Hilde, eat more. You are hungry.”
“It’s okay… I ate a lot.”
To be honest, I don’t know what kind of spirit I answered.
‘It’s Mikhail and Redith, right?’
The sons of my nephew, one who resembles Michaelis, and one who resembles Leonhard Oppa.
If the house looks like this, it’s good enough to shout out, ‘I’m going to get crooked right away!’
‘Is it because our members are too nice?… No, but that’s true!’
No matter how kind comes from leisure, no matter how rich is the heart!
‘What’s the point of being rich in heart?’
It seems that I knew how the situation was rolling roughly.
The duke’s staff was reduced.
Perhaps it was to reduce the mouth that had to feed.
It’s not a good financial situation even with empty words.….
‘I’m going crazy…’
Integrity is a good virtue.
But isn’t virtue is a virtue as well?
What do you mean by potato and vegetable soup?
‘What kind of man ruined our property?’
Children without any authority could not have sold the house.
‘Then who is it?!’
It was a time when I was trembling with silent anger.
It was when I was trembling in the still rage.
“Sister, you little pumpkin. I know you’re upset, but stop being stubborn.”
“Redith.”
“Don’t stop me, hyung. Hilde is old enough to know that.”
“Ehm,” continued Redith, who coughed lightly.
“Hilde, I know you want to participate in a swordsmanship competition. But this is an opportunity that may never come again.”
“……Opportunity?”
“It’s literally.”
Reddies looked straight at me and said,
“We have to win this competition somehow. Even if you don’t do well, you can also be the second to pay off the debt with the prize money.”
“Debt?!”
There’s also a debt, too?
The spoon fell loudly from my hand.
“How much is it?!”
“It’s not that much. You don’t have to worry too much.”
Mikhail urgently added.
I guess he was worried that I would be shocked.
“It’s about a million kerubles. It was a debt that our mother owed, but I paid almost all of it.”
It was a relief.
“But I can’t stay in debt like this. Do you understand?”
Hildegard realized that her stomach was boiling.
I guess it is because of the thin soup, so it is boiling.
Or is my blood boiling instead of soup?
“I am going to this competition. That way, we can pay off our debts with the prize money……. We have to solve everything.”
“…….”
“You can’t ask Countess Solver to pay your participation fee. Don’t be too upset. You can go later when you are a little older.”
Is it a situation where others have to pay even for participating in the swordsmanship competition?
“…….”
“Hilde?”.
Hildegard opened her mouth, which had been tightly closed as if she had applied glue.
“I… I want to go back to my room.”
It was a strategic retreat. For the time being
* * *
Creak. Creak.
The sound of the stairs shaking.
I swear it’s a sound I’ve never heard in a mansion in my previous life.
“Haha.”
Hildegard, who chose to retreat after suffering serious mental damage, denied reality with cloudy eyes.
The creaking sound was loud.
“Hahaha.”
As soon as she entered the room under the guidance of the maid, she lay down on the bed like a broken doll.
“Hahahaha!”
Hildegard’s laughter, which she had been smiling like a person who gave up, suddenly stopped laughing.
‘If that’s the case, I’d rather be dead. Or die again now.’
But how can I die?
After dying and waking up, nephews live whining in a mansion that they are worried about leaking rain.
There doesn’t seem to be a single penny in the house, and I’m even living on debt… ….
“I can’t die comfortably like this! Hahaha….!”
Denial – Anger – Negotiation – Depression – Acceptance.
Hildegard entered the first of the five stages of accepting her death.
“Liar! It’s all lies!” You’re lying! You’re lying! You’re lying! You’re lying! Argh!”
Creaking! Creaking! Creaking!
Hildegaard jumped on the bed like a fish that was just caught from the sea.
“Argh! Argh!”
Denying reality, she rolled around, kicking her bed with her dull body.
“No! Even if the rich go bankrupt, three generations have passed! If you spend a lot of money, your in-laws can eat well and live well! How can you ruin it like this? That! Why did you mix it all up? How can this be? Guys! How can it be like this!”
She was angry and crying like a man whose sky had fallen, but nothing changed.
It is said that rivers and mountains change in 10 years, and it has been 80 years.
Everyone I know would have died, and even brother Leonhard has already died and is buried in the ground for years.
‘Then come back safely. Understand?’
I lost all my energy from my body.
“Is it because I didn’t keep my promise? Is that why you’re doing this, brother?”
When I remembered the face of my brother I missed, I naturally cried.
“Leon Oppa….”
What should I do from now on?
My nephews are living like that, but I can’t just wait and see.
The same goes for the families.
However…….
“How can I rebuild a ruined family?”
Do you want me to rebuild my family by myself?
“I would rather seal the demonic spirit again!”
What am I supposed to do with this?
With this young body, like a beggar’s family!
‘In that case, it would be better to return the territory and give up the title. Looking at the family, it seems like it will happen soon.’
After ending injustice and anger, Hildegard entered the third stage of accepting death.
The negotiator was herself.
‘Let’s just think that Acaraxia is ruined. Huh? Return the title after saying I screwed it up.….’
However, it was a negotiation that was obviously going to break down.
She loved this place too much to put down the Acaraxia family.
She grew up here and vowed to die here.
I learned both sadness and joy in this land.
What will happen after returning the land?
Where did I go after that?
Acaraxia of the rainbow.
Beautiful Hildegard.
Although her former glory is gone, the memories and praised pride of making her life as a noble princess remain here.
“Hik…”
Negotiations broke down quickly, and Hildegard accepted reality without a choice.
The last step in accepting death.
It was a short depression and acceptance.
“Hik! Leon is a liar!” You said you would collect the most handsome men of the Empire who would take care of me from the cradle to the grave when I returned and lay them out in two rows… … !”
Hildegard cried, burying her face on the pillow.
If Leonhard, who was lying in the tomb, he would have been the sound of being terrified by the forged promise.
* * *
Thump, thump.
After Hildegard returned to the room, the two remaining in the restaurant continued to eat with dark faces.
How long has it been since he saw Hildegart’s back with her shoulders dropped?
Mikhail put the spoon down.
“Redith, I think it’s better to send Hilde to the capital city.”
“Brother.”
As expected. What I was worried about came out.
Redith raised his head as if he couldn’t.
“No, brother. Brother knows the situation of our house the best.”
“I just need to increase my work.”
“But…….!”
“Hilde has never run away from home so disappointed.”
It was the first time for Mikhail to see his sister so sad.
It was like a squirrel whose only a few acorns in the mountains were stolen by humans.
It was only natural that Mikhail’s heart was weakened by seeing her cuteness and sadness buried together.