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Chapter 135: Tug of War [unedited]
“Miss,”
Leander came to my office. He has a bit of an awkward look on his face.
“What’s going on?”
“Actually, I think this is something we should handle on our own
 but it’s been getting strange recently, so I have to report it.”
“Please, tell me.”
“The number of people wandering around the mansion has increased.”
Hmm, this was constantly on the report paper recently. Ever since I returned from the dead land, the number of people roaming the mansion gradually increased. However, it was impossible to catch and lock them all up because they were only walking around near the Heilon mansion. Therefore, I just told the soldiers and knights to be more careful than usual.
“Should we tighten our security?”
“They are not hostile or anything like that, like usual. They don’t know how to hide their presence, and they don’t even try to break in. They even run away just with our threatening look.”
“But?”
Leander hesitated, “A child came to day, and what he said is a little bit unusual. I think Miss should give it a listen.”
If Leander said this, he must have a good reason.
I nodded, “Where is the kid?”
“She is still at the front door. Shall I bring her to the drawing-room?”
“No, I’m going to the front door.”
I paused for a moment before leaving. At the desk, there were some snacks that the chefs made for me to eat while working. Among them are candies. I quickly wrapped those candies and then left the office.
In front of the front door stood a girl of no more than ten years of age. Looking at her old clothes, it was clear that she was a child from a poor family among the commoners.
The child stared up at me with her light brown eyes.
“Is this older sister’s name Fiona?”
I looked into the child’s eyes, and nodded, “Yeah, that’s right. What is your name?”
“RizĂ©.”
“Okay, RizĂ©. Why did you come to my house?” I asked kindly.
“I want to ask something.”
“And what is that?”
RizĂ© pursed her lips, “is it true that you can save my older brother?”
“What?”
What is this again? But Rizé’s face didn’t look like she was lying.
“Who said that?”
“My mom.”
“Can you tell me your mom’s name?”
The child spoke her mother’s name clearly.
It was someone I didn’t know. In addition to that, it was a name that four out of the commoner women would have.
“Who did your mom say she heard the story from?”
RizĂ© flapped her arms. “Ah, she said she heard it from a very precious high-ranking person. My mother called him ‘The Count’,”
Aha
, why can’t I immediately guess who the person was? Inwardly, I gnashed my teeth. That fuckin Bill Curtis, how dare he sold my name out.
I asked as gently as possible. “RizĂ©, so what happened to your older brother?”
“I don’t know. But my mom said that my brother was punished by heaven for making a mistake and that’s why he couldn’t even have a grave.”
I remembered the town where the darkness reached. Obviously, it was a difficult place to find even a body. Rizé’s brother was probably one of the poor unlucky people who was struck by the darkness.
“My mom said my brother could come back if the Count helps us. After that, the three of us can live happily.
“Did your mom miss him a lot?”
“A lot. The three of us have lived together ever since my dad died.”
I could see the child’s family condition. Even in poor families in general, the parents were still taking good care of their children to some extent. But Rizé’s appearance didn’t show that care at all. Her tangled hair was not combed, and there was no sign of someone sewing her old clothes. It was clear that she has not been cared by her parent for some time.
I put the candy in her pocket, “Can you tell me when was the last time you saw your mother’s face?”
“Three days ago.”
That meant she hasn’t come back since.
RizĂ© blushed as if she thought she was bad-talking her mother. “But before my brother died my mom was always sweet and always there for me.”
Children always blindly followed their parents.
I looked at her blankly, a bit distraught.
“I miss my mom, and I miss my brother too. Can older sister really save my brother, as the Count said?”
Sniff.
Leander, standing behind me, took out his handkerchief and blew his nose. He has a daughter about Rizé’s age, so he must have remembered his daughter.
I sighed as I looked into the child’s clear eyes, “I can not.”
Anyway, I can’t tell lies.
“Dead people can never come back, RizĂ©.”
Her brown eyes looked at the ground with a gloomy light.
“
.”
I tucked Rizé’s tangled hair behind her ear, and said softly, “instead, I’ll try to get your mother back home.”