Chapter 24

Dinner, a few days later.

The meal was held in silence, however, Duke Dehsin, who had finished eating earlier than usual, stared intently at his children.

– Is something wrong? – wiping his lips, Dennis asked, the first to notice this look.

– Do you have something to say to me?

– Me?

– Yes, – there was ice in Darwin's voice.

As soon as he heard this, Dennis, who understood what was being said, instantly frowned.

He did not deny it, realizing that his father did not ask just like that.

– ...I'm really sorry.

– I knew you were going to the city soon, but I didn't prevent it because I trust you, – Darwin said in a calm but stern voice.

Because of what was happening, Esther and Judy put down their forks and looked at them.

– However, you took Esther with you. What if something had happened?

– It's all my fault, – knowing that, without any excuses, it's only his fault, Dennis apologized resolutely.

– I never thought that you, Dennis, and not Judy, would get into a similar situation. Why did you do that?

– I wanted to be friends with her.

Duke Dehsin wanted to scold Dennis for his act, but when he saw that his son just wanted to get closer to Esther, his heart thawed:

– Hmm, but is this the right way?

– Yes, I've already thought about it.

– Good.

When the Duke's anger subsided, Judy began to resent the injustice:

– What?! It's true? Did they go out into the city? You should have taken me with you!

– Judy! – Darwin called the boy's name loudly, drowning out his grumbling.

After a few moments, having calmed down, Duke Dehsin took a glass of water from the table and sighed:

– Continue to have dinner.

However, no one was in the mood to continue the meal, Ben, confused by the gloomy atmosphere, coughed:

– Your Highness, you wanted to talk about that.

– Talk? What are you talking about?

– About the twins birthday, – Ben whispered another topic of conversation to the Duke.

– A!

'The twins birthday is getting closer.

Although there are about 3 months left, however, given the full scale of preparation, you need to start doing it in advance.'

Every year, the twins' birthday celebration was extremely loud and large–scale, and was personally supervised by Duke Dehsin.

Every time, he tried his best so that his sons would not be upset by the absence of their mother.

– Dennis, Judy, – Darwin called softly to his sons, and the boys looked at him at the same time. – Your Birthday Is Coming Soon. What do you want to do this time?

– Wow, it's already so soon?

– Hmm.

The fact that Duke Dehsin had scolded Dennis just recently was instantly forgotten.

Excited, the boys immediately started discussing the concept of this Birthday.

– Why not take masks so as not to know who is in front of you?

– I'm fed up with this. Instead, let's think about an evening of reading.

– Are you crazy?

Esther, pretending to listen to the conversation between the brothers, impatiently picked up a fork, and all because today's dessert was her favorite cheesecake.

However, Darwin, who saw that the girl was very alienated, intervened in the conversation of his sons:

– A lot of interesting people come to the party we are hosting. Esther, I'll introduce them to you.

Esther, who was calmly trying to stuff a whole piece of cheesecake into her mouth, froze:

– ... with me?

– Yes. I was thinking about when it would be best to announce everything, but I thought a birthday party would be the best option. Isn't that right?

– Ah... um... yes, – the girl nodded in confusion, pretending to agree with Duke Dehsin.

'I want to live in peace, without an idea, but won't it disrupt my plans?..'

– Then we need to hire a governess.

– I've already picked up a few candidates, – said Ben, who had begun a thorough search for a governess candidate back when Esther was first brought in.

Since the birthday party was also a part of the life of secular society, it was very important for the girl to learn how to dance and behave properly.

– I will choose the best governess. Three months will be enough to prepare.

Esther wanted to tell the Duke that it was not necessary, but she needed to live up to the status of a Great Family:

– Thank you.

Naturally, the girl's thoughts were completely different.

'Three months…

Will I still be alive by then?'

No one knew what Esther was thinking, but she was excited about her birthday, which was to take place in a few months.

*****

After dinner, Darwin went straight to his bedroom. He had been thinking about going to bed early for a long time, but today Ben followed him into the bedroom.

– What happened?

– The man I sent to the temple has returned.

– What? When?

– Recently. I didn't report it while dinner was going on.

Darwin closed the door and sat down on the sofa. Ben immediately sat down opposite the Duke and began to talk about what he had learned:

– He looked around, but everyone says that junior candidates are never sent to prison.

– Are you sure?

– Yes. The number of places for detention is too limited… He said that if someone falls into a trap, then no one will know about it.

Duke Dehsin's eyes darkened even more. He remembered Esther's words and actions on that rainy day.

'Even when I think about it again, it becomes clearly clear that these are the actions that would not have appeared if there had not been a big reason for it. It's clear that something was going on.'

– Who has the name Rabien in the temple?

–It's... there's only one person in the temple named Rabien.

– Alone? Duke Braon's daughter? – Frowning, Darwin picked up a napkin from the table.

– Yes. She is.

'So, according to Ben, Esther was not loved in the temple, and Braon was a person who cared about her very much.

Only, Braon is one of the most rotten people who cherishes only his own interests in the Imperial Palace and Temple.

However, it is an indisputable fact that Braon is the head of one of the Duchies.'

– However, it's hard to say that the daughter of the Braon family and our young Miss had contact in the temple.

Ben tried to find out more and find an intersection that he might have missed, but no one remembered the usual junior candidate.

Even if you think about it rationally, it turned out that there could be no connection between Esther, an ordinary orphan, and Rabien, the daughter of a Duke.

– Besides, I found out that Rabien is being called the candidate who will become the next Saint. It makes no sense to say that such a person will abuse violence in the temple.

Ben's every word was perfectly reasonable.

Darwin understood that Rabien, according to Esther, was exactly the daughter of the Braon family. However, the more he listened, the more a strange feeling came over him.

– So you didn't find out anything else at the temple?

– Yes.

'As a result, nothing is known about the injury received by Esther...' – Darwin, who wanted to know what hell the girl went through, felt disappointed:

– Anything else?

– Um... I did a little more investigation, and I found out something, – saying this, Ben emphasized how difficult it was for him to find this data. – This is a record of the place where Miss Esther was before she was in the temple.

– Is there any data on this?

– Yes. I got this information when I found a priest who bought it at a bargain price and brought it to the temple.

– You must have suffered a lot, – Darwin laughed at Ben, who looked too gloomy.

After that, Ben's expression, which had been gloomy before, brightened noticeably.

– Tell me.

– They say Miss Esther was found in the south, in Harstal. Although it is a small area, there is a temple there, and the slums are under his control.

That's all we managed to find out, however, and it was a miracle, considering that Esther was the youngest candidate.

– Then we'll have to go there.

– It's been six years… Even if we go there, will we be able to find something?

'Thinking rationally, Ben is right. There can be no memories of a child who was sold for a few pennies.

However, my intuition tells me that there is some reason why you need to go there.'

– I have to find out everything. I'll go there myself, so put it on the schedule.

– Your Majesty? It's a little…

– Otherwise, the truth about Esther may come out, do we need it?

– ...No.

– Moreover, Harstal is not so far away, so everything will be fine.

At these words, Ben nodded.

Although Harstal was located in the south, it was easy to reach it by going down the river Tersia.

– Then that's it… You said you already have candidates for the governess position, right?

Duke Dehsin's words caught Ben, about to leave after the report, on the very threshold. Ben sat down on the sofa again and began to report:

– Yes. There are about five of them.

– Which of them graduated from the senior courses of the Academy?

– All five of them.

Darwin raised his eyebrows in amazement when he heard these words:

– Good job. Find among them a person who can help Esther not only in matters of etiquette and dancing, but also in many others.

– Of course. However... the governess, whom I put in the first place, said that she would be able to be her only in a year.

When Ben stopped talking, Darwin abruptly straightened up:

– So someone's already got her?

– Yes. They say it was the Count's family and it looks like he paid a decent sum.

Darwin snorted and crossed his legs, placing the shin of one leg on the knee of the other:

– Then tell her we'll double the money she's getting now.

– Twice? But, it seems too much…

– There is still plenty of money. It is much more important to find a good governess for Esther.

– I'll contact him.

Duke Dehsin exerted considerable pressure on Ben and succeeded. He did not say this openly, but due to the fact that he and the Duke had known each other for 10 years, Darwin read everything in his eyes.

– Do not spare the means and methods for this. If everything is in the same order as the twins, then she will receive six times more than she receives now.

– ... Yes.

'Duke Dehsin had never been interested in the twins' education. It was enough for him that they study well, and this study does not harm their healthy growth.

But now, everything has changed like this,' – Ben thought that the world had finally gone through a period of its long stagnation.