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‘Mother?’

Although having a mother was a natural thing for others, Esther never received such warmth.

What did he mean by mentioning her birth mother all of a sudden? And that she didn’t throw her away? The small child’s heart pounded at the endless questions filling her mind.

“…I do not need it.”

Esther hardly regained focus as she opened her mouth to refuse his request.

Esther couldn\'t remember her anyhow, and even if she didn\'t abandon her, nothing would change. Esther didn\'t want to raise her hopes, all to be in vain.

“Are you sure?”

However, Darwin noticed that Esther did not truly mean her words. He held her hand warmly and assured her not to worry.

Darwin slowly observed Esther\'s fearful gaze. He began to speak in a calm tone.

“I want you to know.”

The wounds this small child had suffered from would not disappear, but he at least wanted to tell her that she wasn’t abandoned, and that she was the daughter of a mother who risked her life to protect her.

Esther took the time to pull herself together. She hesitated and hauled the blanket over the tip of her forehead. She then quietly asked, her face invisible under the covers.

“…Who is she?”

Darwin held Esther\'s small hands that stuck out of the blanket.

“First, I should talk about Irene, my deceased wife.”

Shur slithered over to Darwin as he slowly began reciting a story from the past.

“Irene was the daughter of a respected Count’s family. However, after her parents passed away, she underwent difficult times with her only younger sister and family.”

Darwin\'s patting Esther on a steady beat reassured her.

“Her younger sister’s name is Catherine. She was a very fussy but nice and thoughtful lady. Her dream was to run a tea house, so she set up her place after Irene and I married.”

She was a tomboy who completely differed from the modest Irene, but she possessed a lively and attractive charm.

“The tea house was successful, and Catherine seemed very delighted, but one day, she announced there was someone in her heart… She said she was pregnant with a child.”

As he continued to say things that seemed to have nothing to do with Esther’s situation, she slowly slipped from her blanket.

Darwin smiled and leaned closer to Esther.

"She didn\'t say who the person was, but I remember how happy she was when mentioning her child.”

Whenever Irene worried over the child’s father and asked if she was going to give birth, Catherine would prepare the baby supplies while saying, “You ask something that’s obvious.”

“Then, suddenly, Catherine disappeared. Irene, who wandered in search of Catherine, gradually became ill. She had lost her beloved sister… I also spared no effort to find Catherine, but it was all for naught. All of that happened 14 years ago.”

Darwin paused for a moment, his heart distressed.

“I don\'t know what she had been through, but Catherine left far away and gave birth. She was fatally injured at the time.”

Esther\'s eyes were now red. Small tears were tangled on the strands of her long eyelashes.

“She eventually passed away as soon as she gave birth to her child.”

“…Is that so?”

"That Catherine is your mother.”

Esther’s sympathetic expression soon changed into one of doubt at the words that left Darwin’s mouth.

“You\'re lying, aren\'t you?”

“Look at this. I found it in the slums of Harstal. The necklace that was hanging around your neck 14 years ago belonged to Irene.”

On the way here, Darwin stopped by his room and pulled out the diamond necklace from his drawer.

Esther sniffled and stared at the pink diamond necklace that contained the same color as her eyes.

“Since you arrived here, I visited the slum where you grew up and found this necklace by accident. That\'s when I realized.”

She was confused and bewildered at the sudden information she had to take in.

But Esther wanted to believe his words. She asked in a small voice.

“So… I wasn\'t abandoned?”

She then recalled the time she was piggybacked by Victor in the past.

Esther\'s eyes filled with tears at the thought that what Darwin said was true.

She bit her lip to hold in her tears, but they flowed down regardless of her will.

Darwin wiped away Esther’s tears, his heart tearing apart at her appearance.

“Rather than throwing you away, she must have valued you so much that she gave birth, even in her life-threatening situation. Your mother never abandoned you.”

Eventually, a sad cry broke out.

Esther shed endless tears. Emotions that she had kept hidden for the longest time burst from her heart.

‘She doesn’t even have a mother.’

‘You\'re an orphan.’

The words that attacked her endlessly during her stay in the slums and Temple. Later on, she was hurt so much that such words no longer had an effect on her.

The first time Esther realized she didn\'t have a mother was when she was begging for food during her stay in the slums.

As the small child trudged to the market and begged for today’s meal, she would see other kids her age running around, holding their mother’s hand. She suffered a terrible feeling of loss as she observed them.

Why did she abandon me? Why did she leave me? She resented herself for thinking in such a way, but everything was forgotten when she entered the Temple.

From the moment she was born, her self-confidence remained rock bottom. She thought it was unfair that her life was like this.

But, she wasn\'t abandoned.

The fact that at least one person would have been happy to learn that she was born made Esther cry.

“Did… Did she love me?”

Darwin embraced Esther warmly as she spoke in a trembling, thin voice.

“Isn\'t that obvious?”

Darwin\'s shoulders were quickly wet with Esther\'s tears.

The more she sobbed, the more Darwin’s heart ached. He hugged Esther tightly.

He comforted the fragile child while she wailed, hoping all the sorrow she had left unattended would be relieved.

After a while,

When she was exhausted from crying and no more tears came out, Esther sniffled and asked Darwin about her mother.

“Then… The pretty person I saw in the frame… Is that my mother?”

“That’s right. Fortunately, a few of Catherine\'s paintings remained.”

Esther couldn\'t believe that the pretty person she saw in Irene\'s room was her biological mother.

She wanted to see her face again. Esther raised her head. She would secretly go after Darwin left.

“Who hurt mother before she gave birth to me?”

“Now I will find them. Whoever the culprit is will pay the price.”

Darwin’s eyes turned cold, completely contrasting his friendly gaze when he faced Esther.

He had doubts that the man Catherine met was related to the reason why she had to run away while pregnant with her child.

He planned to track while taking the name Brions as a lead, and until then he wouldn’t tell Esther anything.

“Thank you for letting me know.”

The existence of her unknown mother and their relationship with Darwin were all amazing and shocking news.

But above anything else, Esther was very grateful to Darwin for caring so much about her that he did all this.

“I thought you\'d ask about your father… Aren\'t you curious?”

There was nothing more Darwin could tell her, but he initially thought Esther would also ask about her biological father.

Esther shook her head silently. Even if her father had a story like her mother, she didn’t want to hear it.

Esther now had a father who couldn’t be replaced. No matter the person.

“I only have one father. I\'m not curious.”

Esther\'s eyes were filled with trust and faith.

“Thank you. Khm.”

Darwin felt the tip of his nose twitch again. He hurriedly turned his head to conceal his face.

The moonlight permeated through the curtains and warmly brightened the two, as if driving away the darkness from the room.

***

The next day, Duke Brions was occupied with a backlog in his office.

His aide informed him of an unscheduled guest’s arrival.

“What\'s his name?”

“He was called Evian. He informed me to let you know he was from Tersia, since you’ll recognize him then…”

He didn\'t recall the name Evian, but as soon as the word Tersia came out, the Duke’s eyes flashed.

“Bring him here.”

‘It’s the same person from last time.’

A physician from Tersia, whose eyes were full of ambition.

A fishy smile formed Brions’ lips. He didn’t expect him to come this far.

After a short while, Evian opened the door and walked in, his face composed.

“It\'s an honor to see your Grace again.”

“Yes, if you come all this way, it’s safe to assume you have important information for me?”

Brions led Evian to the couch and went straight to the point.

“Yes, I have quit my former job and left Tersia. Please promise me a place here.”

“Good.”

He would dispose of him when he holds no use anymore. There was nothing to lose.

However, Evian was not so foolish. He placed a memorandum prepared in advance on the polished table.

“I also have to secure a hole for myself to live in. This will determine your responsibility for my employment. Do read it.”

Brions’ eyebrows wriggled as he watched Evian’s bold statements.

He wanted to kick him out, but Evian owned information that Brions desperately needed.

He skimmed through the memorandum. There was nothing particularly difficult. He only showed an ambition for money and power.

He signed with the pen next to him and pushed the paper toward Evian.

“Now tell me.”

Evian seemed very satisfied. He presented a favorable attitude and was willing to cooperate with all of the Duke’s needs.

“Thank you. First off… Is it because of the lady’s mana that you are interested in her?”

“Mana?”

“Yes. When I first treated the lady, an abnormally powerful force could be felt within.”

“How were you able to detect her mana?”

Brions was filled with suspicion towards Evian. It was difficult to detect mana unless one was a priest.

“I have the ability to detect such energy. If you are unable to believe me, you can check yourself.”

“…Let\'s continue for now.”

It wouldn’t be bad to check after their conversation. He would pay close attention to everything Evian said for now.

“There existed great potential. That much mana would be difficult to find in most priests.”

Evian also mentioned Esther\'s growing flowers in a day and the story of when she healed a servant who was bitten by a deadly viper.

“That much?”

Brions nervously tapped the table throughout the conversation. He gave strength to his eyes.

For the saint candidates, mana was also taken in as God\'s blessing. That was the reason why the Saint\'s energy was of the highest level.

“…Alright. Stop. Show this to my aide and he will hand you a suitable position.”

“Thank you, sir. Please write me down whenever you wish.”

After all, this path he had chosen to take was the right direction. He smiled and left.

As soon as Brions was left alone in the office, he couldn\'t contain his anger and swept the objects on the table to the ground.

“Damn it!!”

What did he mean, strong enough to surpass the highest of priests? He would have to make sure, but Brions was almost positive Esther was his daughter.

His aide jumped in, surprised at the sudden breaking of glass.

“Are you hurt?”

"Catherine, what happened to Catherine? I ordered you to find out.”

The secretary flinched and replied to Brions, madness read in his eyes.

“I\'m sorry. It\'s been too long, so we are still tracking her whereabouts.”

Brions groaned and muttered irritably.

“Even if everything is twisted, it\'s deviated too much.”

Even if the child survived and was adopted into the Grand Duchy, there was no easy way to take her back.

‘I have to get her somehow.’

Kidnapping was the simplest way to retrieve her, but it would be difficult to do so in the Grand Duchy, even if he hired the most talented and skilled person for the job.

“Damn it, Catherine.”

Brions, unaware that Catherine was the Grand Duchess\'s younger sister, considered filing a paternity lawsuit as a last resort.