‘Why is that man so obsessed with this child?’

He recalled the dying words of his father, the former Count of Hazel. Before breathing his last, he had dismissed everyone and called only Joseph, the new head of the family, to his side. Surprisingly, what he had to say concerned Florencia.

“Joseph, you are now Count Hazel. You must protect the family and its members. Remember my words.”

“Yes, Father.”

“Florencia, that child will surely say she wants to become a saintess and leave the mansion when she grows up. When that happens, don’t oppose her and just let her go. Don’t think of marrying her off elsewhere, just let her do what she wants.”

And then, on the day he returned after completing the procedures to inherit the title of Count. Someone had blocked his carriage, and he had been blindfolded and taken to an unknown place where he met a man.

“Count Hazel, pleased to meet you.”

Though he couldn’t see the man’s appearance, Joseph somehow felt he knew who he was.

“Your sister will soon leave for a distant place with me. However, it seems my good bride is hesitating because she’s worried about her brother who will be left alone.”

And also the fact that he was completely obsessed with his half-sister.

“The Count will have to solve this problem. Rather than having no living being left in the beautiful Count’s mansion…… wouldn’t it be better for everyone if the two people who were thorns in your side disappeared?”

The second time Joseph met him was just recently.

“Count Hazel…… Explain this to me. What is going on?”

A cold, low voice echoed through the space. Though his appearance remained hidden, Joseph clearly felt that the man was extremely angry. Unlike his ill-mannered brother Geoff, Joseph was a man of relatively sound judgment. As the eldest son of the family, he had received successor training from an early age and was skilled at handling subordinates, but somehow, in front of this man, his entire body trembled with instinctive fear.

“……I apologize, please forgive me. I will ensure this never happens again.”

The man said nothing more, but Joseph instinctively understood what wrongdoing he was being questioned about. It wasn’t something he could have just overlooked assuming nothing would happen. If he had at least known that Florencia was injured, he would have sent a doctor. The fact that he didn’t know because he had urgently gone to inspect an issue at his provincial territory wasn’t even worth offering as an excuse.

“If you want her, I can bring her to you immediately. Wherever you take her, whatever you do with her, I absolutely won’t question it or look for her. So, please be merciful to our family and my relatives……”

“Ha.”

Cold sweat trickled down from the top of Joseph’s head. The faces of his lovely son Benjamin, not even a year old, and his wife flashed before his eyes.

“It seems she isn’t even family to Count Hazel…… Moreover.”

He appeared genuinely dumbfounded.

“Do you think I…… haven’t taken her away and left her in that house all this time because I couldn’t?”

“What? Then……”

“At the very least, you shouldn’t cross the line.”

Not fully understanding these words, Joseph could only gape for a while. Unlike his usual reputation for being cool-headed and intellectual, he stammered as he asked,

“The, line you speak of, I’m sorry, but could you explain more specifically……”

“Do I need to teach you every little thing?”

“……”

“I don’t have the hobby of leisurely teaching others.”

The sharp voice flew at him like an accusation. In the coldness that seemed to freeze all the surrounding air, Joseph couldn’t even bring himself to open his mouth.

“……Brother?”

Florencia’s cautious call awakened him from his thoughts.

“I’m sorry. I was just lost in thought for a moment…… Where were we?”

“You were telling me about adding Michael to the family registry.”

“Ah, yes. I plan to add Michael to the registry as an adopted son and send him to study abroad at the knight school in Lugarn. As it happens, a distant relative of our family lives there, who will become Michael’s guardian to help him settle after completing his studies.”

“What? Michael is still a child, brother. How can he go to such a distant place…… If it’s because there’s no one to look after him, could you reconsider? Even if I become a saintess, I’ll stay at the temple here. I could also come home occasionally on holidays.”

Joseph slowly shook his head as he persuaded her.

“Michael has wanted to become a knight for a long time, Florencia. If he stays here, the label about his birth will follow him forever, and he clearly won’t fit in among his noble peers. You wouldn’t want Michael to experience the same pain you went through, would you? Though parting will be sad, this is the path for your brother’s future.”

“Yes……”

Florencia nodded in agreement with his words and answered in a small voice, hanging her head. Deep sadness filled her downcast long eyelashes. Joseph spoke as if to comfort Florencia:

“I plan to complete the procedures necessary for his studies abroad soon, so you should put aside your worries about Michael and focus solely on your theological studies. If you keep worrying, it will actually hinder his adaptation, so it would be better if you don’t come home if possible.”

* * *

On the night she returned to the Academy dormitory, Florencia dreamed. It was a memory from long ago, from her childhood.

“Your eye color is just like violets…… Come closer this way.”

The man, who appeared much older than her father, Count Hazel, examined her as if selecting merchandise. Young Florencia stood frozen, trembling with fear. Count Hazel’s stern command fell upon her hunched shoulders.

“What are you doing, Florencia? This gentleman is Marquis Deugish, who will soon become your husband. I won’t tolerate any disrespect.”

“Haha, leave her be, Count Hazel. Ladies are naturally shy about such matters.”

Marquis Deugish stroked his mustache and sent her a leering gaze.

“You said she’s ten this year? She’s a bit older than my preference…… But considering the Count’s kindness, I’ll cherish her like my own daughter.”

He was a middle-aged man with swarthy, dry skin, lusterless black hair, and sunken cheeks. Whenever Marquis Deugish moved, a strange smell wafted from him—a mixture of the revolting odor of stagnant water and something sour and stale like dried herb powder. The moment she met his eyes, Florencia felt her breath catch with terror. Though too young to understand the exact meaning, what lay in his snake-like eyes was a sinister and sadistic desire.

“Since my new bride is so cute, I’ll have to teach her many things, haha.”

“Um, Marquis. Then about your investment in my business that you agreed to……”

“Don’t worry. Since you’re willing to trust me and send your lovely daughter, aren’t we like family?”

“Thank you, Marquis Deugish.”

Though she couldn’t fully comprehend the conversation between the two men, her vague understanding brought even deeper fear. As words like a transaction passed between them while she stood there, Florencia’s face turned pale.

“I’d like to consummate the marriage tonight, but that wouldn’t be proper etiquette for a lady, so I’ll come to take her in ten days.”

After the Marquis left, having looked her over with his filthy gaze until the end, Count Hazel ordered the maids not to give Florencia any food.

“Marquis Deugish prefers only young women. Fortunately, he said he likes you, but children naturally grow quickly overnight…… We must be careful not to break off the marriage.”

“Father…… Please don’t send me away, I’m scared……”

“Shut up! Do you know how important his investment is for this business…… I was going to sell you off as a maid, but I’ve raised you until today, so shouldn’t you show some filial piety?”

Florencia was ten years old but looked barely seven due to her small stature. Nevertheless, Count Hazel fretted that she might grow in the meantime and the Marquis’s heart might change.

After five days of consuming only cold water and a few bread crumbs, she couldn’t bear it anymore and secretly slipped out of the mansion.

“Sob, hic…… I’m scared, please help me……”

As day turned to dusk and her surroundings darkened, she became frightened. But she couldn’t return to the house where her stepmother and harsh half-siblings waited to beat her for no reason. Florencia wandered the streets in thin clothes, feeling the fierce wind slap her cheeks where tears had dried.

“It hurts…… sob, my head is spinning……”

After walking for a while, an imposing building appeared. It was the largest Lebleia Temple in the capital. The young girl, having eaten nothing, had no strength left to walk and sat down in front of the door, crying quietly.

“Hnng…… It’s so cold……”

Her stomach had hardened, and she no longer felt hunger, but her head felt foggy as fever rose. Florencia curled up her small, shivering body.

‘A child like you will fall to hell by incurring God’s wrath the moment you enter the temple. Because you were born with dirty blood.’

Eriendna’s sharp voice came to mind.

Though everyone regularly attended mass, Florencia had never been to the temple. This was because someone like her, who couldn’t hold her head up in the world, didn’t deserve to receive God’s blessing.

She worried that if she stayed here any longer, she might anger God. Not knowing where to go, she got up crying, about to leave for somewhere else, when the large, firmly closed temple door opened.

“What are you doing here?”

“……”

“Don’t cry, would you like to come inside with me?”