Ricoâs guild members planted in our house were none other than my two dedicated maids.
They must have broken through the 50-to-1 competition rate to collect information.
âGoosebumps.â
I cautiously got up.
âU, unniesâŚâ
And whispered quietly to the two sly faces.
âI look forward to working with you in the futureâŚ?â
The two smiled brightly.
âOf course, Lady!â
âOf course!â
* * *
The next day.
Enoch was astonished to receive a report that someone had sent to me anonymously.
âThat kidâŚhe was the illegitimate son of the Marquis of Onyx?â
The day he arrived at the Capital, he ran into a commoner boy who was being bullied by a nobleman.
He was looking for someone because Lilith asked him to, but he hasnât made much progress so far.
In the meantime, the anonymous tip that flew in was surprisingly written about the child.
âIt said L.â
All clues to infer the informant are the initials L.
There was no wish or request, only the childâs situation was conveyed as it was.
The illegitimate son of the Marquis of Onyx, who is now almost confined to his mansion and is being abusedâ.
âL. I donât know who it is, but the intent is clear to save the child.â
Among institutional aristocrats sensitive to reputation, illegitimate children were often considered shameful.
Even that child seems that only his life has been spared now.
âIf this is true, then I must save him quickly.â
It was unknown how long the aristocracyâs whims, which kept the illegitimate child alive, would continue.
âDamn it. But why onyx?â
Enoch rubbed his forehead nervously.
He had no personal acquaintance with the Marquis of Onyx. He had never seen his face when he was in the capital seven years ago.
Even Onyx was a fairly powerful and well-known aristocrat in the Capitalâ.
No matter how much Enoch was, there was no justification for him suddenly invading the Marquisâ mansion and asking if he was abusing his child by hiding it.
âI canât just go without plan.â
Enoch himself has to pay attention to the eyes around him.
He returned less than a week ago, and he couldnât openly make a fuss.
Is there any way to visit the Marquisâ mansion as quickly and naturally as possible?
âJust howââ
âDad!â
âUh-huh, princess!â
Just then, the office door swung open.
Enoch, who quickly hid the report letter, met Lilith.
âMy daughter, is class over?â
âYes yes!â
Lilith ran with her teddy bear bag, so Enoch put her on his lap and gently stroked her hair.
âPrincess, what did you learn today?â
âI took art class today for the first time and it was so much fun. The teacher also taught famous sculptors and artworks?â
âIs that so?â
âUng, Dad, do you know this?â
With her eyes shining brightly, Lilith took out a book from her bag and opened it.
âItâs a work of art by a sculptor named Lindel, and itâs very famous. The title is <The Gate of Heaven> and itâs so pretty.â
âOh.â
It was a work of art that made a door out of bronze and sculpted baby angels on it.
âI really want to see this, can I?â
âWhy not? Where is this? If itâs a famous piece of art, would it be in the Shrine Art Museum? Daddy will take you there.â
âNo, itâs not there. I asked the teacher. Is this Marquis of Onyx? That uncle bought it. Thatâs why it was in his house?â
âWhat? Onyx?â
Enochâs eyes got bigger.
âThe angel is so prettyâŚActually, Iâm really looking forward to seeingâŚ.â
âYou can see it!â
âAh! Really?â
âYeah! Princess, you can see it!â
Enoch smiled brightly and jumped up, holding Lilith.
He naturally needed a reason to visit the Marquisâ houseâ.
âDad is going to call that uncle. Letâs go see it.â
âWow, really? Daddy is the best!â
After solving his worries and hugging Enoch with a cool expression inside, Lilith secretly grinned.
* * *
Marquis of Onyx.
Duke Rubinsteinâs visit made everyoneâs day busy from the moment they heard about it in the morning.
Of course, it had nothing to do with someone who didnât get any sunlight because he lived on the second basement floor of the Marquis.
âEat quickly today! This room stinks, so I donât want to stay for long!â
The maid shouted loudly and threw a piece of hard bread and a tray of water.
Then she ran away to the door as if she didnât want to be any closer.
âWhere did she put it?â
He couldnât see what was in front of him since yesterday, when the oil in the flashing lamp ran out.
Cheshire fumbled on the floor for a long time in the dark and managed to find bread.
âBy the way, can we see the Duke today?â
âIs that so? Ah, I envy the girls who work for the Rubinstein family. If you make it look good in the Dukeâs eyes, isnât life blooming?â
ââŚDo you think the Duke is crazy and stick with the maid?â
âThat bugâs mother also seduced our master. Itâs not impossible.â
The two maids were far away, walking around and laughing toward Cheshire, who was buried in the dark.
The light from the lamp held only in their hands was so faint that the room was almost dark.
âExcuse me⌠Can you put some oil in the lamp? I canât see anything ahead.â
âWhat do you mean? Do you not know how expensive oil is?â
âIf we change the oil in your room lamp, would Young Master Jonathan will be happy? We will be beaten, you idiot.â
âEat it quickly. We must go quickly. The Duke is coming soon.â
That Duke, Duke, and Dukeâ.
It was because of the duke that Jonathan, his half-brother who came to beat Cheshire yesterday, felt good too.
âThe Duke of Rubinstein is coming tomorrow. You bug, you donât even know what kind of family Rubinstein belongs to, do you?â
ââŚ.â
âThis time I will definitely look good to the Duke. Hopefully, I can marry the daughter of that house later.â
Is he the second most powerful person after the Emperor?
Anyway, Cheshire would never see his face in his life.
âIf you get close to the Duke, father wonât let you live anymore. It would be disgraceful if your existence even became known.â
Oh, then Iâm finally going to die.
He was scared when the end was getting closer, but it was also the moment he had been waiting for while living a life that was worse than death.
âYeah, Iâm going to die soon, so what do I need a light for?â
Buried in the darkness that couldnât see an inch ahead, Cheshire thought.
At that time.
âWhy are you being so late? Donât you know that Duke Rubinstein is coming today?â
Another voice came into the room.
âOh, Richell, Iâm sorry. I have to take the trayâŚâ
âIâll take care of it. Go out first.â
âOh my, thank you.â
âThank you. Come quickly.â
I saw the face of another maid approaching with a lamp.
Richellâ.
She was one of four maids in this house who knew of Cheshireâs existence.
She wasnât friendly, but she didnât throw food or swear.
She just stayed by his side without saying a word until he finished eating.
They never had a conversation, but Cheshire knew that Richell felt sorry for him.
âExcuse me.â
Cheshire spoke for the first time to Richell, who approached to get the tray.
âCan you change the lamp?â
ââŚ.â
Even though he knew it was a meaningless request, he was afraid of immediate death so he brought it out.
Before he dies, he wants to onceâ.
He wanted to remember that there was even a tiny bit of warmth from someoneâ.
âYou donât need it.â
But Rachel got up with a tray and spoke calmly.
Then she turned and walked away.
âAnyway, today, Young Masterâs world will be brighter.â
She walked away, leaving behind words he doesnât understand.
Bang.
The door was locked as usual.
Cheshireâs world has gone dark.
âMy world is getting brighter?â
It was a funny thing to say.
He groped the cold floor as usual, crawling into one corner and crouching his body.
And like a habit, he took out what he had put in his arms and held it in his hand.
A week ago.
A girl who felt sorry for him gave him a pink handkerchief with a rabbit on it.
Cheshire now seemed to understand why he had brought this.
Warmth.
He did it because he knew it was just the high nobleâs sympathy, but he was thirsty for that stingy warmth.
Although he always said âI want to dieâ, this little boy always tried to survive and wanted someone to be with him.
The fact that he had to stay next to his mother, who strangled him every day and said she would rather die togetherâ.
In the end, he was abandoned by his mother, and lived like an animal in this houseâ.
All of them, everythingâ.
Damn, it was because of the will to âliveâ.
âEven my father wonât let you live anymore.â
Is that so?
Cheshire is very close to death right now.
For the first time, he was feeling the emotion of fear.
His eyes have turned sour. No matter how painful it was, he never cried, but today he did.
âIâŚâ
Just a single warmth.
Cheshire tightly gripped the handkerchief and cried.