Chapter 8
“…Pardon?”
“So you’re actually satisfied, are you? See? I’m better than that duke who only looks impressive on the outside, right?”
“Y-Yes. You’re the best, Marquis.”
“Good. If anyone asks, be sure to tell them this: that bear doll was a gift from me. That the bear you liked enough to sew back together was given to you by Colin.”
“Haha… ha.”
“Now then, let’s go have a meal. Yesterday I let you eat alone in your room in case you felt shy, but not today. Today is a family dinner.”
I was usually good at playing along with most things, but this time, I genuinely had no idea how to react. The Marquis Colin and his family truly exceeded all expectations.
‘Thanks to this, it feels like I just got a proper vaccination. These are the kinds of people I’ll be dealing with from now on. So I need to stay sharp.’
With a bright smile, I grabbed his hand.
“I’m so happy!”
As I took his hand, he looked momentarily flustered and gave an awkward smile.
“A family dinner… It’s my first time having one, not counting the children at the orphanage.”
“Yes, the meal preparations should be finished.”
“Okay!”
“And from now on, I’ll assign you a maid. You won’t have any inconvenience living here for the time being.”
“For the time being?”
“Ah—no, I mean… for life.”
He treated me so well that I briefly wondered if he had ulterior motives, but as expected, his true intentions slipped out naturally—he saw me as something to use up and discard.
“You scared me. I thought you might be treating me like something to use and throw away!”
“T-That couldn’t be further from the truth. A special child like you is very precious. I even donated a great deal to the temple to bring you here.”
“I see.”
“But no matter how I think about it, those temple people are nothing but bandits. To demand such a large sum just for sending children out for adoption… every last one of them are thieves.”
“They said everyone at the temple was kind…”
At my defense of the temple, the Marquis Colin’s forehead creased instantly.
“Ruby.”
“It’s Rubie.”
“Right, that. Never think of those temple people as good. They’re just clever businessmen—creatively so.”
“Businessmen?”
“That’s right. In this world, there is only one truly kind and good person. Remember that well, Rubie.”
“Yes! Who is it?”
“Me.”
For a moment, I almost laughed at how shamelessly he said it.
“You, Marquis?”
“Yes. You can tell just by the fact that I brought you here for no reason. So if anyone asks, say that I’m the kindest and the best person in the world. That will be your way of repaying me for the money I spent to bring you here. Understood?”
“Yes!”
Pleased with my bright, childlike response, he smiled broadly and led me to the dining hall. For something called a “family dinner,” the place was conspicuously empty.
As if he had expected this, the Marquis Colin guided me to an empty seat, and our so-called “family” dinner, just the two of us, ended quickly.
From that day on, every day, the Marquis took me to these family dinners.
On the first day, he personally escorted me back to my room, but after assigning me a maid, he only accompanied me to dinner. A few days passed like that, and during a dinner no different from the others, he looked at me with a serious expression.
“Rubie. Tell me… what kind of power do you have? Can you release it outward?”
I had wondered when he would ask that question. As expected, the Marquis Colin displayed his foolishness.
Whether he was truly foolish or simply underestimated me because I was a child, I couldn’t tell.
“I’m not really sure! But if I had something like that, wouldn’t the priestesses have already locked us up and drained our power?”
“Hmm…”
“But Marquis, don’t my siblings eat? I haven’t seen them since the first day. I thought family dinners meant everyone eats together…”
“That’s… for the time being, they’re eating in their rooms. Don’t worry about it. They’re still young and immature.”
“I see.”
Of course, I already knew the truth.
Knowing the Marquis wouldn’t take their side, those twins were scheming in their tiny heads to bully me when he wasn’t around.
“You’ll dine together someday.”
“Yes.”
“But, Rubie.”
“It’s Rubie…”
“Anyway, Rubie. When you find out what your power is, you must tell me first. Understood?”
“Yes!”
I already knew what my power was. Which is exactly why I had no intention of telling him.
‘If you find out what my power is, you’ll never let me go. Unfortunately for you, I plan to leave your grasp as soon as possible.’
He spoke as though I were an expensive possession he had purchased, and now he was openly warning me—almost threatening—to hand over my power.
In response, I gave him a polite, fabricated smile.
After finishing dinner with the Marquis Colin, I returned to my room with the maid he had assigned me.
And there, waiting for me, was Andasia.
She had completely torn apart the large teddy bear the Marquis had proudly gifted me.
“You really are the worst.”
The moment she saw me, Andasia’s face stiffened in visible shock. Ignoring the bear, I waved at her.
“Hello, little sister.”
“I’m not your sister! Why would I be your sister, you filthy orphan mutt?”
“‘Filthy orphan mutt’? That’s not something family members should say to each other. Andasia, I think you need some training at the temple. How can your mouth be so vulgar?”
“Cut the nonsense. Don’t try to change the subject.”
“Was I changing the subject? Ah, you had something to say, Andasia. Go ahead. What is it, little sister? What do you want to say to your big sister?”
Grinding her teeth in irritation, Andasia flared her nostrils before pointing at the teddy bear.
“How dare you turn the bear our father gave you into that?”
“I wonder. How did the bear end up like that?”
“Are you pretending not to know?”
“I’m not pretending… Andasia, are you saying I did that?”
“Ha! Look at you acting innocent!”
“I’m not acting innocent—I didn’t do it. Andasia, you were the one who tore it apart, and I fixed it. Why would I destroy it like that afterward? Poor bear.”
If I could, I would’ve given it life. It was just an adorable teddy bear, yet it had already suffered twice because of Andasia.
‘But I suppose this is all an eight-year-old child can come up with.’
I looked at Andasia, who was fuming with anger, with a hint of pity. But she continued her performance.
“Don’t make me laugh. You acted all nice on the outside, but you took your anger out on the bear, didn’t you? This is exactly why filthy orphan mutts are hopeless. Our father treated you so well, and yet you pretend to be kind while doing this behind his back. Blood will tell—lowborn trash can’t help themselves.”
Andasia lifted her chin proudly, a faint smirk on her lips. Watching her, I slowly shook my head.
“There’s no way I did that.”
Since this was what Andasia wanted, perhaps I should humor her and play along with this childish game.
“Then who did it? This is your room, isn’t it?”
“That’s true. But I didn’t do it.”
“Well then, who do you think Father will believe? You, with your lowborn blood? Or me? In the end, it’s obvious he’ll choose blood.”
“I suppose so.”
“So behave yourself. I don’t intend to throw out someone who’s already been adopted. But I don’t like how you act. If you’ve come to your senses, tell Father you’d rather sleep in some dusty attic. And don’t get greedy over anything. Got it?”
How childish.
After going through all this trouble, this was all she wanted in the end.
“Why aren’t you answering? Answer me.”
