# 5
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Elinor felt like she was about to faint.
The main villain has found her hiding place with her nephew.
She took great care when choosing where to stay.
Although she moved in haste, she carefully chose a destination that was less frequented by strangers and less likely to spread rumors.
However, the information was leaked so easily.
And what did he say?
I'm sorry, honey?
Please, forgive me?
“You've got the wrong person.”
Elinor first tried to avoid the situation by pretending not to know.
“You seem to be confusing me with someone else.”
“…I know I’m not trustworthy.”
But Matthias never got up.
He knelt on the ground, putting on an expression like a small, rain-soaked dog.
He whispered with a trembling voice and an emotional tone.
"I should have stood up for you when my mother insulted you. You were very hurt, weren't you?"
“No, what do you mean now...”
“I was negligent and didn't protect you properly. I'm really sorry. But, just for once, can't you give me another chance? I can't live without you and our baby.”
“Oh my God, oh my God.”
Sophie, who was watching, covered her mouth with her hands.
“The man who abandoned Ellen and her child is our distinguished guest?”
“Come on, let's go out.”
When the situation became strange and uncontrollable, Elinor decided to avoid the place first.
Are you going out? No, the dawn air is cold and would not be good for the baby. On to the second floor then.
I moved quickly.
I stopped in the hallway and looked at Matthias.
“What the hell is going on...”
“Shh.”
Matthias put his finger to his lips and smiled.
He motioned with his head to the end of the hallway.
There was a faint sound from downstairs.
It seemed that Sophie could not resist her curiosity and tried to eavesdrop.
“Can we talk here?”
Elinor bit her lower lip hard.
She wanted to object to his words, but she couldn't let Sophie hear what was going to be said from now on.
Finally, I opened the door.
Matthias easily succeeded in entering Elinor's room.
“All the rooms seem to have the same design.”
Matthias whistled as he scanned Elinor's room.
Elinor looked at him warily.
She opened her mouth in a firm tone.
“How exactly did you find me?”
“As a husband, when my wife and child disappear, it is natural for me to look for them.”
“Please, stop joking, Your Highness Duke Hilliard.”
Elinor revealed his identity first.
Since he arrived here, it means he already knows everything.
Matthias, the main villain, had his own information guild.
It was likely that the Information Guild was the one who discovered her carefully hidden location.
“I'm not your wife, am I?”
In an instant, Matthias's appearance completely changed.
The sad, rain-soaked dog atmosphere disappeared.
The appearance of the young husband trying to win back his wife's heart also disappeared.
The man who stood before Elinor now was the young Duke Matthias Hilliard, the arrogant and beautiful man from whom no one could take their eyes off.
An interesting smile appeared on his lips.
“So, you know me?”
“How come I don’t know the only duke in the empire?”
“I am glad Miss Elinor knows me.”
“I am even more surprised that His Highness the Duke knows my name.”
“How could I not know about the Empire’s Treasure? It is said that the progress of magic technology has accelerated by a hundred years thanks to you.”
Matthias spoke with sugar-coated words.
During her academy days, Elinor received offers from the Magic Tower, Temple, and Imperial Palace, but Duke Hilliard's family was not among them.
“I didn't know you were so beautiful. It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Elinor.”
Matthias extended his hand to her.
But since she was carrying the child, Elinor did not hold his hand.
That was rather rude towards Duke, but he didn't seem bothered and just shrugged.
“You must have come because Charles disappeared.”
Elinor continued speaking in a calm tone.
“But I don’t know where Charles is.”
“Why does Miss Charlotte suddenly appear? Has she disappeared?”
“You came to Piaccina to look for me while I am secretly hiding. This is just a rural village far from the capital.”
“Hmm?”
“With the strength of your information, you cannot be unaware of Charles’ absence from Winston Palace, no matter how much my father tries to hide it.”
'He acts like he knows nothing when he knows everything.'
Elinor denounced Matthias's hypocrisy within her.
In the original story, Matthias couldn't abandon Charlotte until the end.
The reason he met her was because of the demonic energy that was polluting the Duchy's lands.
The demonic energy was not only polluting the land, but it was threatening the lives of the people of the territory.
The only solution to stop the pollution was the powerful Sacred Power that the Saint possessed.
When Matthias discovered that Charlotte's hands could cleanse demonic energy, he became obsessed with her.
His obsession turns into distorted love, and he continues to harass her throughout the original story.
'In the end, he planned to kidnap Charles during her wedding with the hero.'
But his plan failed in the end, and he met a miserable fate.
‘To come to this rural village in search of the heroine…’
Elinor glanced at Matthias.
'Even if Charles is associated with a secondary character, the Duke's obsession with her seems to follow the original story.'
Matthias was someone who challenged even the Crown Prince.
But this time, Charlotte eloped with just a Holy Knight, not the Crown Prince.
It was as if he had gone from facing a lion to chasing a rabbit.
He would have no intention of abandoning Charlotte, even if he died and came back to life.
“Once, Charles talked about you in a letter.”
Elinor began to lie quietly.
“She said that His Highness the Duke took a special interest in her. When I read that letter, I thought that a kind person especially valued Charles. So, since Charlotte has disappeared now, I assumed that you were searching for her very much.”
"Did Charlotte say that? That I'm interested in her?"
In fact, Charlotte never mentioned Matthias in any letter.
From the beginning of the original story, the younger sister's letters to her older sister have completely stopped.
But even the main villain wouldn't know the details of simple correspondence, right?
Elinor bowed her head.
“If my thoughts are over the top, I apologize.”
“No, it's okay.”
Matthias replied calmly.
It seems that her prediction that he did not know the content of the letters was correct, because he did not deny his relationship with Charlotte.
He looked directly at her and asked.
“You seem close to your sister?”
“Is there a sister who doesn’t love her good and beautiful younger sister?”
My very beautiful younger sister.
So, for fear of following the original story, I turned away from it first.
"I always feel sorry for Charles. I wasn't able to take care of her properly because of going to the academy. So, when I heard that someone was taking care of her, it stuck with me and I was grateful."
“Haha.”
An elegant smile appeared on his lips.
Elinor thought that his face deserved such beauty.
“Since you're being honest, I'll be honest too.”
He straightened his back.
“As you said, I'm looking for Miss Charlotte. Do you really not know where she is?”
“I was living in the academy the whole time.”
said Eleanor softly.
“Just two months ago, I returned home. When I arrived, Charles had already left the palace.”
"Yes."
“If you are looking for Charles, instead of this rural village, it might be better to enlist the help of a large guild in the capital…”
“Who doesn't know that?”
Matthias laughed sarcastically.
But his eyes were not laughing.
His gaze turned to the child Elinor was holding.
"The baby is so cute. His blonde hair looks just like Miss Charlotte."