# 69
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“Hoo.”
Elinor immersed her body in the water.
Whether in her previous or current life, her life was not smooth.
But that didn't mean she was ready to give up her life on her own.
She hoped every day that tomorrow would be happier than today.
She wanted so badly to see the child meet Charlotte again.
These were wishes that could not be kept by those who had given up on life.
“A funeral that will bring us together again?”
The real Charlotte would certainly never think that way, which makes the hallucinations caused by black magic so insidious.
“Why did I only hear hallucinations?”
Elinor remembered Charlotte's voice she had heard in the valley.
“Matthias seems unaffected.”
She didn't know exactly why, but it was lucky that there was at least one sane person.
If Matthias had not caught her, she would now have been a cold corpse lying on the polluted ground.
“…That was the first time I had ever seen Matthias so worried.”
Now that Elinor was in the bathroom, they had temporarily separated, but until moments ago, Matthias had been constantly by her side.
He was very worried that Elinor would make the wrong choice again.
Even Elinor saw it.
How sensitively he reacted to your every move.
Come to think of it, this was the second time.
Matthias saved her twice.
In the burning inn and in the polluted valley, his stance had always been firm.
He was genuinely worried for her, and was relieved to know she was safe.
Mathias, wearing the mask of Duke Hilliard in front of others, was only revealing his true feelings to Elinor.
As if he treated her like his beloved family.
Elinor hugged her knees.
She had never experienced the love of family.
But this strange feeling might be similar to what Matthias showed towards her.
For some reason, her mouth felt dry.
Like someone suffering from thirst, after having tasted a little water, she wanted more love.
At the same time, Elinor blamed herf.
Because she did not give the child, her family, enough love.
“I should have called him from the beginning.”
Because of her strange stubbornness to let Charlotte choose the name, the child lived for nearly a year without a name.
Come to think of it, it wasn't for the child's benefit.
It was just cowardice of her to avoid emotional attachment to the child.
As Matthias said, it is also the child's family...
But the person who was coldest towards the child was not Charlotte, but herf.
“I miss the baby…”
Elinor whimpered.
At that moment, she wanted to see the baby so badly.
She felt sincerely sorry that she had, even for a moment, thought of ending her life and leaving the child alone.
She, who knows how painful it is for someone to abandon you.
She almost did the same to the baby.
Elinor lowered her head deeply.
Tears flowed unconsciously because of her intense feelings.
At that moment, the golden bird approached Elinor.
Biiii-
He chirped softly and landed on the edge of the tub.
He tilted his head with bright, bead-like green eyes.
Bi-bi-
“It's like he's telling me to stop crying.”
It happened in the valley too.
When I thought there was no longer a solution, the golden bird revived the deactivated sealing array, making the valley shine with light.
Not only that. In front of Logan, he even refined the black magic.
With amazingly bright light.
“Are you the one who saved me from the hallucination?”
Elinor asked, wiping her tears.
In fact, from the moment she heard the little bird's voice, Charlotte's voice disappeared.
The golden bird chirped: “Peeoo.”
“Are you really a sacred beast, as the Grand Duchess said?”
Matthias said that the sacred power of the Golden Bird is ultimately the power of Elinor.
Because the bird is considered to belong to it.
But the golden bird first appeared when the child showed holy power.
So, to be precise, it is a sacred monster born from the hand of a child.
“I feel like you're different somehow.”
Biiii, biiii.
The golden bird chirped in a pure voice as if it was singing.
Elinor did not understand the bird's response.
But she felt kindness from this little being.
* * *
When the cold winter comes, the socializing season begins in the empire's capital.
Since it was an occasion to build relationships and strengthen friendships, everyone was eager to attend dinners and dances hosted by someone of repute.
Occasionally, some bourgeoisie who had made their fortune in business or young officers who had achieved accomplishments in the army would host dinners, but these occasions attracted only people from the lower classes.
“Haa.”
In a dark corridor in the palace where dinner was being held.
Charlotte's breath mingled with a man's.
The man was the dinner host, a young captain who had recently been considered a promising talent.
There were rumors that if he met a noble who seriously supported him, he could rise much higher than he was now.
So, quite a few people attended the dinner.
Most of them were lowly nobles, but there were also some people among them who had close relationships with high-ranking officials.
Therefore, it is natural that the focus should be on hosting attendees.
“Hey, ma'am.”
But the man, completely enchanted by Charlotte, had already left the main hall for dinner.
Charlotte stroked the man's back.
The man made a sound as if he was scratching his neck.
From the moment he saw her, he thought she was stunningly beautiful.
He believed that there was no one in the world more beautiful than her.
When this beauty kissed him herf and touched his body, he could not maintain his composure.
“Ma’am, if it’s not rude, may I know your name?”
After an intimate moment, the man asked Charlotte.
But Charlotte was lying beside him, staring blankly at the bedroom ceiling.
When Charlotte didn't answer, the man became worried.
“I would like to see you again. More politely this time, and more respectfully.”
"literature…?"
“I would like to meet your parents and get their formal approval for the engagement.”
Charlotte turned around quickly.
Her beautiful green eyes flashed like a beast.
The man was very surprised but did not reveal it.
Her lopsided smile quickly eased his guard.
“Do you want to marry me too?”
"What? Marriage?"
The man's face turned red.
Of course, he had no intention of not wanting to marry such a beautiful woman, but hearing her intentions directly made his heart tremble.
The man said shyly:
“I may not look like it, but I'm promoted faster than my peers. And I have a chance to get promoted soon, too.”
“Hmm.”
“I won't let a drop of water touch your hands. If you want to live with your parents, that's fine, of course. Do you have brothers or sisters, ma'am?”
“I have an older sister.”
“So you have a sister. It seems like you two get on well.”
"Good."
Charlotte raised the corner of her mouth and laughed.
“She was a woman who was dying to kill me.”
"What?"
"Of course, I wanted to kill her too. Don't you think it's strange to call this a good relationship?"