Free Web NovelInside the Duke Family's estate in the center of Wind Facing City.
As Marchioness Avnora returned with the rather helpless Miss Yumo in tow, the entire residence—which had long been shrouded in sorrow and oppressive silence—suddenly came alive again.
The moment the servants and guards saw the timid, doll-like pink-haired girl holding the Marchioness' hand, nearly everyone revealed expressions of shock and delight.
?!!?
Th-That's Miss?!
Miss has been found?!
Th-That's wonderful!
The instant he realized what had happened, the elderly butler Audit, who had been waiting for the Marchioness to return, immediately burst into tears and hurried toward Avnora.
"My Lady! Miss Yuan'er... Miss... has been found?...? Hm? N-No? Y-You are...!!"
Before he could finish speaking...
As Audit drew closer to the pink-haired girl, he suddenly froze in place.
His eyes widened with nothing but astonishment.
The girl's timid demeanor, completely unlike Miss Yuan'er, instantly gave rise to an unbelievable possibility in his mind.
?!
"M-Miss Xia'er?!"
The moment those words left his mouth, the overwhelmed old butler's legs gave way, and he dropped to his knees before Yumo.
The latter was completely caught off guard.
"Miss... you've finally come home..."
Audit continuously wiped away his tears, unable to describe the emotions surging within him.
Back then...
It had been his own negligence that allowed Miss Xia'er to disappear without a trace.
That incident had haunted him like a nightmare every single day since.
Now...
Seeing Miss Xia'er return safely to the Duke Family...
How could the old butler possibly not be overjoyed?
It felt as though the enormous mountain weighing upon his heart had shattered in an instant.
Overcome with emotion, Audit even wanted to step forward and embrace the tiny girl.
However...
At that moment, Avnora slowly raised a hand to stop the weeping old butler.
"Audit, you'll frighten the child."
!?
Hearing those words, Audit immediately realized how inappropriate his behavior had been.
After wiping away his tears with a handkerchief, he quickly stood up and respectfully bowed toward the pink-haired girl.
"Welcome home, Miss Xia'er."
"..."
Faced with Audit's greeting, the pink-haired girl gave no reply.
Instead...
She silently lowered her head.
Hm?
The sight caused Audit to frown slightly.
Although Miss Xia'er had always been timid... freewebnσvel.cøm
She had never behaved this nervously around familiar people.
The old butler turned toward Avnora in confusion.
"My Lady... this is...?"
"It's a rather complicated story. First, take the child to bathe and prepare a clean change of clothes for her."
"Very well. I understand, My Lady."
Audit respectfully nodded.
"Miss Xia'er, please come with me."
The elderly butler gave Yumo a kind smile.
At the same time...
Avnora slowly crouched beside her and gently patted Yumo's shoulder.
"It's alright, Xia'er. This grandpa isn't a bad person. He'll have one of the maids help you take a bath and change into some beautiful clothes."
"..."
Miss Yumo, whose emotions were exceedingly complicated, still said nothing.
Yet after listening to Avnora's gentle, heartfelt persuasion...
The pink-haired girl slowly reached out and grasped Audit's calloused old hand.
The instant he felt the warmth of his young mistress' hand, an overwhelming sense of recovering what had once been lost flooded Audit's heart.
He had to struggle with all his strength to keep himself from bursting into tears again.
"Please follow me, Miss."
With that, Audit gently led Yumo into the Marquis' estate.
Seeing that Yumo neither resisted nor displayed any obvious hostility, Avnora finally let out a long sigh of relief.
A look of comfort appeared in her eyes.
Only after Yumo and Audit completely disappeared from sight did the Marchioness' expression instantly become serious.
She slowly turned around and looked toward the white-armored knight who had just returned.
"How did the investigation go?"
Authority filled Avnora's voice.
"It has been completed, My Lady."
The knight behind her answered somewhat awkwardly.
After confirming that no one else was nearby, he stepped close to Avnora and spoke in a solemn voice.
"According to our investigation... Miss Xia'er previously arrived in Wind Facing City together with the Child of Destiny and members of the Black Rose Family. It is said that she was rescued by the Child of Destiny."
"Rescued?"
The instant she heard that word, Avnora's expression changed dramatically.
She hurriedly asked,
"What do you mean... rescued?"
"W-Well..."
"Speak plainly."
"Yes, My Lady. According to the people from the Asumos Church... Miss Xia'er was rescued... from slave traffickers..."
"What?!"
The moment those words reached her ears, Avnora's face turned deathly pale.
Her fists clenched tightly.
"My Xia'er... b-became... a slave?!"
...
—
Meanwhile.
Inside the guesthouse.
After listening to the young priestess' report, Mengxi couldn't help frowning.
"You're saying... that girl was taken away by people from the Duke Family??"
The silver-haired girl looked utterly bewildered.
"And it was the Marchioness herself? What's going on?"
Hearing her question, the blonde priestess sighed helplessly.
"According to the Marquis' servant who came just now, that little girl is the Duke Family's long-missing young lady. That's why the Marchioness became so emotional and immediately brought her home."
"What? That lowly slave girl is actually the Marquis' daughter? What kind of nonsense is that? How could a Marquis' daughter end up as a slave?!"
Kabanei couldn't help blurting out after hearing the explanation.
However...
The instant the words left his mouth...
Mengxi's sharp gaze locked directly onto him.
The Seventh Brave shuddered from head to toe and hurriedly shut his mouth.
Mengxi then withdrew the hostility from her face and looked toward the priestess for confirmation.
"Are you certain he said Xiaomo is the Marquis' daughter?"
"Yes, Miss Mengxi. He said she's the young lady who disappeared from the Marquis' family four years ago. They were also extremely grateful to you for saving their young lady."
"How strange..."
Hearing that, Mengxi slowly sat back down on the sofa, rubbing her temples.
Her feelings were becoming rather complicated.
On one hand...
She felt relieved.
At first, she'd thought that after confirming she'd awakened, Yumo—
No.
Xiaomo—
had quietly slipped away.
If that had truly been the case...
There would have been nothing Mengxi could have done.
Fortunately...
Xiaomo hadn't actually intended to leave.
That realization allowed Mengxi to finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Of course...
Beyond relief...
What filled Mengxi's heart even more was complete confusion.
The silver-haired girl had fallen entirely into bewilderment.
Others might not know.
But how could Mengxi not know?
Her Sister Yumo...
Was an Abyss Demon!
A Demon King-class existence!
How could she suddenly become the missing daughter of some Marquis?
What the hell is going on?
Could it be...
She has some special plan?
Is she deliberately infiltrating the Duke Family?
But...
Judging from the way they'd interacted before...
She didn't seem clever enough to come up with something like that...
Mengxi pouted in confusion.
Wait...
Sister Yumo is so intelligent...
Could she actually be a Demon King who was originally transformed from a human?
Is it possible...
She really is the Duke Family's missing daughter?
Could that pink-haired little girl actually be her true appearance?
Come to think of it...
When I'd been pretending to be a child and acting cute before, I asked her about things like this.
But whenever the topic of her true form came up...
Sister Yumo always avoided answering.
'Could this... be the reason?!'
!!
Aaaah!
I can't figure it out!!
Mengxi frantically shook her head, trying to stop her wildly overactive imagination.
Just then...
The priestess beside her looked at Mengxi with some confusion.
"Um... Miss Mengxi, were you planning to bring that girl back to the Asumos Church?"
Hm?
Hearing the question, Mengxi narrowed her pale violet eyes slightly.
"Why are you asking that all of a sudden?"
"Miss Mengxi... if that girl really is the Marquis' daughter, then bringing her back to the Church's headquarters will probably be impossible."
"Hm?"
"W-Well... you know how it is. The people of the Snow Night Empire have never been particularly fond of the Asumos Church. In fact, they're somewhat hostile toward us. The Marquis is unlikely to let you take his daughter away. Besides..."
"Besides what?"
"I also heard that the royal family of the Snow Night Empire has ordered the Duke Family's daughter to go to the imperial capital... as a candidate to become the Crown Princess. If that girl really is the Marquis' daughter... she'll most likely have to go to the imperial capital..."
The priestess slowly recalled the intelligence she'd previously seen.
The moment Mengxi heard those words...
Her eyes suddenly contracted.
A dangerous aura gradually spread from her body.
"Y-You said what? Crown Princess?!"
Damn it.
That stallion again!
Mengxi already hadn't thought much of Xue Tianao-Valedin.
Now...
The disgust she felt toward him skyrocketed once more.
