|| ᴀ ꜱᴀɪɴᴛ ᴡʜᴏ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴀᴅᴏᴘᴛᴇᴅ ʙʏ ᴛʜᴇ ɢʀᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴜᴋᴇ || ᴄᴏᴍᴘᴇᴛᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜ ꜱɪᴅᴇ ꜱᴛᴏʀɪᴇꜱ ||

Chapters 106-110

Episode 106: Three Sides to Every Story (XI)

'Mother?'

Although having a mother was a natural thing for others, Esther never received such warmth.

What did he mean by mentioning her birth mother all of a sudden? And that she didn't throw her away? The small child's heart pounded at the endless questions filling her mind.

"...I do not need it."

Esther hardly regained focus as she opened her mouth to refuse his request.

She couldn't remember her mother anyway, and even if she didn't abandon her, nothing would change. She didn't want to raise her hopes for it to all be in vain.

"Are you sure?"

However, Deheen noticed that Esther did not truly mean what she said. Soothingly, he clasped her hand and assured her not to worry.

Deheen slowly observed Esther's fearful gaze. He began to speak in a calm tone.

"I just wanted you to know."

The wounds this small child had suffered from would not disappear, but he at least wanted to tell her that she wasn't abandoned, and that she was the daughter of a mother who risked her life to protect her.

Esther took the time to pull herself together. She hesitated and hauled the blanket over the tip of her forehead. She then quietly asked, her face invisible under the covers.

"...Who is she?"

Deheen continued holding the small hands of Esther's that stuck out of the blanket.

"First, I should talk about Irene, my deceased wife."

Shur slithered over to Deheen as he slowly began reciting a story from the past.

"Irene was the daughter of a respected county. However, after her parents passed away, she underwent difficult times with her only younger sister, her remaining family member."

The steady patting of Deheen reassured Esther.

"Her younger sister's name is Catherine. She was a very fussy but nice and thoughtful lady. Her dream was to run a tea house, and she was able to set up her place after Irene and I married."

Catherine was a tomboy who completely differed from the modest Irene, but she possessed a lively and attractive charm.

"The tea house was successful, and Catherine seemed very delighted, but one day, she announced there was someone in her heart... She said she was pregnant with a child."

As he continued to say things that seemed to have nothing to do with Esther's situation, she slowly slipped out from her blanket.

Deheen smiled and leaned closer to Esther.

"She didn't say who the person was, but I remember how happy she was when mentioning her child."

Whenever Irene worried over the child's father and asked if she was going to give birth, Catherine would prepare the baby supplies while saying, "You're asking something that's obvious."

"Then, suddenly, Catherine disappeared. Irene, who wandered in search of Catherine, gradually became ill. She had lost her beloved sister... I also spared no effort to find Catherine, but it was all for naught. All of that happened 14 years ago."

Feeling distress rising in his heart, Deheen paused for a moment.

"I don't know what Catherine had been through, but she left far away and gave birth. At that time, she was fatally injured."