NOVEL NEXT Vol. 1 Chapter 6
Didn’t they say that even if one entered the Dragon’s Nest that they can come back alive and healthy? ‘But this isn’t the case at all!’ She thought that it would be better for her to enter the Dragon’s Nest. Rosalia smiled as wide as she could as she prayed for a dragon that did not exist to appear in front of them. Let’s smile first. Her facial muscles felt like they were too tight and numb but if she stopped smiling right here and now then she knew that something big would definitely happen. “Ha, ha, ha, ha…” If her laughter seemed like it was broken and cut off at some parts then it was only your illusion. However, it seemed like she had grinned so hard that her mouth was already starting to twitch. ‘Is laughing and smiling like the Madame said really going to work? What if it did not work, then will I end up with nothing but an enemy?!’ Tears were definitely flowing in her heart. When she first helped Duke Valencia she did not know that her future would definitely be completely different from the hopeful plan that she made at that time. If the Duke gets angry at this then… ‘Let’s run away.’ Duke Valencia’s wounds needed to be treated and healed so she would just throw the rest to him with a ‘Bbong!’. She would just take one or two gold coins and leave with it. ‘No matter how monstrously strong the Duke is, if I hit him on his injury then he will not be able to catch up to me soon, will he?!’ In fact, she wanted to run away immediately but she was in the Duke’s arms and he was holding on to her tightly. Duke Valencia turned to look at Rosalia who was smiling brightly as she tried to hide her plans and ambitions from him. Then, he looked at the gold coins that fell on the floor blankly. He probably had realized it as soon as he saw them. That those were initially his belongings and that this dirty little rascal stole it from him. ‘Now!’ Rosalia felt a deep sense of crisis, she was already on the verge of kicking Duke Valencia on his stomach. Drop, drop━ Bright red liquid flowed down from Duke Valencia’s smooth forehead. “Blood!” “What?” Caught in surprise, Rosalia forgot to attack the Duke. When he heard her cry, the Duke took his eyes off of the floor and looked up. “Uncle’s head is bleeding!” Before the Duke could do anything, Rosalia had already hurriedly reached out and wiped the blood. Rosalia’s tiny hands were immediately dyed red. “It’s true.” The Duke held Rosalia’s bloodied hands as he fiddled and wiped the blood off of her hands. “But it’s strange?” “H, huh? What?” “I don’t remember being hit in the head so why is my head bleeding?” Sting! Rosalia turned away as she felt the stinging gaze of the Duke. It was truly prickling and stinging. “W, well that’s really weird. Did you get hit without you knowing it? I got hit so many times before that I did not know that I got hit in that specific place.” “Yeah. I guess that’s right.” With that confirmation, she was sure that the Duke had no doubts at all. However, watching him like this, Rosalia felt like she was shedding tears of blood in her heart. ‘Ah, what’s wrong with me! I’m sure that he got hurt when I was dragging me here! If I got caught then I’m done for.’ If she had known that this would happen, then she would definitely have dragged him here with a little more care. It’s too late for regrets. And there was definitely no way for Rosalia to bring the Duke safely and with more care since they have such a large difference in physiques. She was already caught with the gold coins so she vowed to make sure that she wouldn’t be caught with the injury on his head. Then, the Duke said… “Thank you.” “No, I did not do…! Huh? Thank you? For what?” Thank you? Is that something that should be said at this moment? Rather, it was more fitting and natural for the Duke to grab her by the collar and tell her ‘You dirty rascal!’. Rosalia blinked her eyes in embarrassment as the Duke wiped the blood off of her hands. Then, he raised his other hand that was free of blood. ‘The thank you is a trick huh?! You’re actually trying to turn my head the same way as yours, right?!’ Hoho. Thank you. You made my head like this. So I’ll make yours as bloody as mine. It’s that situation, isn’t it?! Rosalia’s face turned pale with fright. If she was truly hit with that big hand of his then she would definitely wander the borders of life and death. It will definitely hurt ten times, no, a hundred times more than when the Humphrey workers hit me! It did not even occur to her that she had already forgotten about how she was going to kick the Duke away and run. Before she could even think of anything else, his big hand had already settled on her head. Rosalia closed her eyes tightly as she tried to shrink as much as she could. Then… ‘…Huh?’ “You helped me and didn’t care about your hands getting dirty.” The Duke did not hit Rosalia. His hand was on top of her head but he only gently patted her head with no force at all. “S, stop it.” She felt weird. This was the first time she felt a tickling warm feeling in her chest. “Why?” “It’s dirty. My hair is dirty!” “It’s not dirty.” Duke Valencia promptly and flatly denied her claim. “You’re afraid but you’re still helping others until the end. You’re just like her baby, gentle and kind by nature.” Rosalia could not understand what the Duke was talking about. She just wanted to get rid of his hands. She felt so strange that she thought that it would be better for her to get hit instead of this. She believed that she did not feel this weird when the Humphrey workers slapped and dealt with her. “We don’t have much time. We should get going.” Duke Valencia, who gently stroked the back of Rosalia’s head, took a step forward. He was still holding Rosalia in his arms. “I’m coming too?” “Why are you asking the obvious?” It may sound obvious and natural to him but it wasn’t for Rosalia. She glanced down at the considerable amount of gold coins that fell at the foot of the Duke. “How come you’re not scolding me?” “Scolding?” “I…” Rosalia, who was trying to confess her sins, paused. After waiting for quite some time for her to talk, the Duke finally opened his mouth. “If you know that it was something that you shouldn’t have done, then it’s more than enough.” “Really? Is that really enough?” “And it’s also important that you do not make the same mistake in the future.” When they were passing by where the Humphrey workers were dealt with, Duke Valencia covered Rosalia’s eyes again. But before he could do that, Rosalia asked her about the coins on the floor. “But why aren’t you picking up the coins on the floor?” “We don’t pick up something that already fell down.” “Then I’ll take it.” It’s such a waste. That’s not just one or two gold coins and you’re just going to leave them be? The Duke must be crazy. “No matter what happens, Valencia’s wouldn’t bend down that easily. Rosalia, you are now a Valencia too so you must remember that you don’t have to pick something that has fallen down with your hands.” ‘Hngh! Liar. You told the person named Rosalyn that you would kneel for her.’ Rosalia pouted her lips as she wriggled and turned to look at the general location of the gold coins. She still has plenty of lingering feelings for it, after all. Then, she saw something from between the gaps of the Duke’s hand that was blocking her view. ‘Ice?’ Something transparent was shining like a jewel over that place. It was the place where the Humphrey workers were standing not too long ago. Her curiosity suddenly peaked when she saw something that had never happened in the book. However, her curiosity had to bend down and succumb to pressure since there was a huge hand that was covering her eyes. “If you want something, then just tell me first and don’t steal it. “Whatever you want it will be placed in your arms.” “……” “Except the corner of the stable.” Those were sweet words that she could never hear again once the real Saintess appeared. And Rosalia, who knew about her exact situation, just nodded her head along. ***** Duke Valencia and Rosalia both entered a carriage. They did not have money but they did not have much trouble getting a carriage ride since people knew of the Duke’s status. But there was a slight mishap. When the coachman saw Duke Valencia covered in blood as if he came out straight from the battlefield, he couldn’t help but fall down and shriek. It seemed like there was quite a distance from where they rode the carriage to their destination since she hadn’t heard if they had arrived yet after already running for quite some time. And since this was her first time riding in a carriage she turned to look around once or twice. Not long after, Rosalia became exhausted and slowly dozed off. “Yaaaaawn…” Unlike Rosalia who had grown tired and sleepy after she had betrayed the madame and turned around to have a free life, Duke Valencia had shown no signs of fatigue. He could see her head banging here and there once they entered a ragged road. The Duke turned to her and sat beside her before pulling Rosalia to give her a comfortable ride. Rosalia did not even notice that she was moved as she was sleeping so deeply. It was only late at night when the carriage that was ringing with the sound of even breaths and rattling wheels came to a stop. “Your Grace, Duke. We have arrived.” The coachman politely knocked on the door to inform them of their arrival. “Huh. Are we here?” As soon as Rosalia, who had been sleeping like a log and did not wake up even if her head banged everywhere, heard the words of arrival she opened her eyes like a ghost. The Duke first got out of the carriage as he tried to hold out his hand to escort Rosalia out. Then, a thought flashed in his head as he took her by the armpits and hugged her in his arms. “Please put me down.” “I’ll put you down once we’re inside.” “I’m already eight years old and I can walk on my own!” “Do you think that eight year olds are much older than what you thought?” Despite Rosalia’s objections, the Duke did not put her down. The Duke just nonchalantly hugged her while walking inside the estate. The Valencia Estate was a luxurious place that Rosalia had never had the chance to lay her eyes on for the eight years that she had lived in this world. Without realizing it, her mouth had already gaped open in both wonder and surprise. Suddenly, a man came up and stood in front of the Duke. “Where in the world have you been? What the hell is this! You just disappeared without leaving any word at all!” “I went out to find something.” “Wouldn’t it be enough if you told us that? Did you really have to go and pick up the item yourself? The atmosphere in the Imperial Family these days have been quite serious too…” “What’s done has already been done. You can nag me later. But before that, make sure to bathe this child first and feed her with whatever she wants to eat.” “Yes?” The man, who finally found Rosalia’s existence, looked at her dumbly. Duke Valencia silently placed down Rosalia beside the dumbfounded man. Once the man saw Rosalia’s face properly, his face hardened like a stone as he made another dumb sound. “Huuuuuuuuuuh?” “No. I think it would be faster to tell a maid to do it.” The Duke let out a short sigh as he turned slightly to call someone else. The man finally came to his senses and spoke quickly. “N, no. I will take care of her just like you ordered. But this… What is this?” “Don’t point at her recklessly. That’s my daughter.” Heop! The man quickly folded his finger that was pointing at her and took a deep breath. Since then, she couldn’t hear the sound of breathing from the man. ‘Is that person alright?’ Rosalia looked at the man who wasn’t breathing worriedly. The man who remained still as if time had stopped suddenly moved as he breathed in short quick breaths. “You have a daughter? Since when?! What kind of woman was she?! Did you refuse to marry her because of that woman? No, but this child looks like the missing second son of the Oricsa Family…” “Noisy.” As soon the word ‘Oricsa’ came out of the man’s mouth, the Duke shut him off decisively. The Duke did not hide his displeasure at the word. “Are you crazy?! No matter how much you hate him… Don’t tell me… Did you kidnap someone with the Oricsa’s blood?!” “Kidnap… I don’t think so. But in this case, the side who left the child behind was the one in the wrong.” “Aigoo, then that means that I was right that you kidnapped her! How can we deal with this?! The Oricsas will make a buzz again! Aaaahhh! If my hair falls out the next morning then it’s all the Duke’s fault!” “Your saliva is spraying out.” The Duke quickly pulled Rosalia behind him as if he was protecting her from the man. “What did I tell you to do first?” “…To bathe her, and feed her.” He seemed to have heard his orders properly even though he was out of his mind since he remembered them exactly. The Duke nodded his head calmly. “Rose.” “Yes?” “Her name is Rosalia Von Valencia.” “Yeeeeees?!” “I will put her in my family register right now so you better keep that in mind.” “What did you saaaaaaaay?!” The man’s scream rang loudly in the confines of the Valencia Estate. ‘Will his eyeballs fall off if he continued like that?’ Rosalia, who was caught between the two men, was thinking about something absurd..