Chapter 20

Since Esther suffered from a fever, she has been treated very carefully and carefully. Every morning and evening a doctor came to her, and a special menu was prepared separately.

The girl could not walk for a long time until she fully recovered, so she sat in her room for several days.

Knock... knock... knock…

Esther hugged the toy rabbit that Judy had given her and listened to the soft sounds.

– Rain?

Raindrops pattered softly on the open windows and as soon as Esther saw it, her face instantly darkened.

– Oh, it looks like it's going to rain heavilyб – said Dorothy, who followed the girl's gaze and also looked out the window.

– Exactly… – Esther's eyes twinkled anxiously.

A few moments later, a thunderclap rang out!

Lightning rattled. The bright flashes of light and the raindrops following them became more and more intense.

Esther, who was sitting up in bed, jumped to the floor in fright.

– Miss? Are you all right? – Dorothy, who was on the other side, started and ran up to the girl.

Esther, sitting on the floor, held her ears tightly with both hands and shook her head.

– Are you afraid of thunder? – Dorothy felt that the girl was scared, but at the same time Esther looked extremely cute.

'Children of Esther's age are often afraid of thunder.'

– It will be over soon. I think the Goddess is angry today.

– Dorothy, the windows… Please close the windows!

– Of course! I'll close them right now! – Dorothy tightly closed all the windows in the room so that they would not accidentally open, and wrapped them with double curtains.

Only then did Esther open her eyes.

'This is not a prison,' – remembering this fact, the girl carefully removed her palms from her ears and again felt relieved when she realized that the sounds had become quieter.

However, this lull was only temporary.

'It was not the best to choose a room with large windows…'

Esther couldn't stop the increasing rain and lightning tearing through the sky every few minutes.

– It's not so scary, but it seems that this heavy rain will go on all night ... – Dorothy looked anxiously at Esther, because she had not been herself since the rain began. – Are you really scared?

– No, it's fine.

In fact, the girl clung to the blanket with all her might, but tried to pretend to be calm.

– When people are small, many are afraid of thunderstorms. And I was afraid too. She looks like a monster, doesn't she? However, in fact, she's not that scary. The rain will stop soon, – Dorothy, unaware of Esther's condition, could not stand it and put the girl back to bed.

– Can I stay with you today? – Dorothy asked, looking at her watch.

Although her work time was already over, the maid was worried about Esther, who was different from her usual self.

– No need to do this. It's really good, – Esther forced a laugh and shook her head, she didn't want to show Dorothy her weakness.

– However, if something happens, call me at any time. Necessarily.

– Good.

Dorothy slowly patted Esther's head, and then left the room.

It seemed that this gentle touch restored the girl's calmness for a while, but as soon as Dorothy left, her face turned pale.

In a few moments the sun was hidden, and in the darkness Esther's fear increased.

– It's all right. This is not a prison. Everything is fine, – the girl told herself without stopping, and her words sounded like a spell.

Closing her eyes, Esther tried not to think about anything, but in the face of thunder and heavy downpour, it was all useless.

Crash! Crack!!

Esther instantly jumped out of bed as soon as she heard the sound of lightning falling nearby.

– Aaa-ah!!! – clutching the blanket in her hands, the girl ran to the nearest corner.

She needed a place where she could protect herself no matter what.

– I'm sorry, I was wrong, – Esther nonstop repeated the words that she memorized every day of her past lives, out of habit huddled in a corner. – Please leave me alone. I'm not afraid of you here…

In prison, Esther hated rainy days the most.

It was incredibly scary to hear the thunderclaps that seemed to consume everything in the prison, where nothing could be seen at night.

However, the most important reason was that Rabien always came on such rainy days.

Crash! – there was another clap of thunder, and then the room abruptly plunged into darkness, as if someone had turned off all the lights.

Esther, overcome by the darkness, unable to restrain herself any longer, began to sob:

– Who is this?.. Please stop. I didn't do anything wrong. Dark ... – gloomy memories of the past flashed in the girl's mind, and began to absorb her.

[– Because it's raining today, I feel so bad. Can I relax with you?

– Please, I was wrong. I'll do whatever you ask... okay? Rabien, you're my friend. Please don't do this. I'm so scared…

– A friend? Do I need to tell you this a few times to make you understand? I will never be friends with someone like you.

Before Esther's clouded gaze, Rabien from the past was clearly reflected.

– It hurts! Don't do this! Please don't be like that! – when Esther cried from the blows of the whip, Rabien only laughed:

–You can't get out of here. You will live as my slave until I die.]

Esther screamed, feeling a bright flash of pain from the whip of the false Saint.

'I hate it. I want to escape from here...' – Esther's gaze gradually dimmed, and her soul was almost completely engulfed by the darkness and despair of dark memories.

– I... I can't escape from here.

The girl's memories were infinitely dark, but she deeply believed in them, so everything she tried to do ended in failure.

The darkness that Esther had buried broke through. There was endless despair in her eyes:

– Kill me. That's all right… Save me... no, please kill me. Kill... – Esther sobbed and began to scratch her body. Trembling, the girl injured her arms and legs.

It turned out that to get rid of the trauma of the past, it was not enough just to leave the temple. It's all too deeply ingrained.

*****

Duke Dehsin was going through the documents in his library as usual.

He had a so-called dependence on work, so most of his daily routine was work, and Darwin was not very interested in the weather outside.

However, Ben, who had never neglected work in so many years, had been fidgeting restlessly for some time.

– What is it? – Darwin asked irritably.

– It's... it's raining heavily outside.

– Since when do you care so much about nature?

When the exasperated Duke Dehsin looked at him, Ben clenched his fists and added:

– Not only is it raining heavily, it's also rattling.

– What do you mean by that? – In the end, Darwin put down his pen and touched his temples. His head was ringing from overwork.

– Actually… The last time I went to see Miss Esther, it seemed to me that she was afraid of thunder.

At these words Darwin raised his head and looked at his adjutant with an extremely astonished look:

– Esther? Why did you say that just now?

– This is… You told me not to bother you while you were working… I'm sorry, – Ben, upset, tried to restore calm to his voice, but after looking at Duke Dehsin, he instantly fell silent.

– Is work that important?

– No.

–Since you're my adjutant, you should prioritize properly. My family is much more important than my job.

– I won't make that mistake again.

Darwin got up and left the office. It was still too early to finish the day, but he was worried about Esther's fear of rain.

'The mansion is still an unfamiliar place for her,' – the thought that the girl might be afraid to sleep alone made Duke Dehsin very nervous.

– Nothing's going to happen, – Ben tried to calm Darwin down with a smile, seeing how he was in a hurry.

– I have a bad feeling, – however, Darwin almost ran up the stairs, for some reason feeling anxious.

They were on the third floor, not far from Esther's room. Duke Dehsin and Ben stopped and looked at each other.

– Just what is it…

Darwin, startled, instantly burst into Esther's room.

Ben, who had stopped behind him, looked around the room with a shocked look.

'Oh, my God.'

As soon as they reached the floor, they heard Esther's scream. Thunder struck outside, and from her room came a desperate scream, followed by sobs.

While Ben was reproaching himself for not daring to speak earlier, Duke Dehsin rushed into the girl's room without delay.

– Esther!

Despite the noise, the girl was still trapped in her own world.

Darwin, rushing into the room, instantly noticed the darkness and ordered:

– Ben, bring a candle right now.

– Oh, got it.

Darwin let Ben out into the corridor and looked around in the dark with a tenacious gaze. Because of the sobbing, he was able to find Esther without difficulty.

– Esther, it's me, – Duke Dehsin walked past the bed and slowly approached the figure crouched in the corner of the room. The blanket she was covered with was shaking nonstop.

'What are you so afraid of?' – Slowly and carefully, trying not to hurt the girl, Darwin removed the blanket from her.

Esther, with matted hair, was scratching her arms and legs randomly.

– Esther, – shuddering, Darwin called the girl and firmly but gently grabbed her hands so that she could no longer hurt herself.

Esther's small hand, tightly clasped by the Duke, was so cold that even his heart trembled from this cold.

– ...Esther, – Darwin's voice trembled slightly.

After a second, the girl's eyes, which were tightly squeezed shut, slowly opened.

She cried so much that her eyes were swollen with tears, the whites were red, and her pale lips were bitten with pain.

– The Grand Duke? – Esther woke up thanks to his voice calling her, and blinked blindly.

– Yes, it's me. I'm here.

However, the remnants of the memories of the past lived too deeply in her to let her out so easily. Therefore, the girl spoke in a hollow and empty voice:

– Duke... is this... a temple?

'Her look and voice seem to have returned to the day when we first met... no, they are even more dead than then,' – the moment Darwin saw the darkness in Esther's eyes, he felt a lot of grief.

– No. This is your home. Not a temple.

– Not a temple?

– Yes, – Darwin did not take his eyes off the pale Esther, continuing to stare at her intently.

But even after so much effort, the girl did not look at the Duke.

– The Duke.

– Yes. I'm here in front of you.

The moment Duke Dehsin felt relieved, thinking that the girl had calmed down, tears began to flow down her cheeks again:

– Please kill me.