The Obsessive Male Lead Is Jealous Of My Doll - Chapter 15
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Karentina, who was staring blankly at the spot where Zion and Eddie had left, suddenly came to her senses.
‘Let’s get moving first.’
As she turned her steps to meet Bishop Viano, the Bishop was momentarily surprised when he saw her.
“I’m trying to make donations for the children.”
Bishop Viano’s face lit up at the mention of donations.
“So, how much?”
“One thousand lats.”
“A, a thousand lats?”
The amount handed over to the temple by the butler under an unknown pretext was five hundred lats. Bishop Viano was on the verge of his jaw dropping at the staggering double amount.
“Yes. But there’s a condition.”
“What kind of condition are you talking about?”
“We’re going to build a new orphanage.”
“No, why bother with such an unnecessary thing?”
As Karentina frowned at his words, the Bishop closed his mouth.
“Please provide a temporary place in the temple for the children to stay warm while the building is being completed, and ensure that both meals and sleeping arrangements are comfortable. If additional expenses are needed, the Duchy will provide everything. If that’s possible, I’ll make a donation.”
Bishop Viano, with his mouth wide open, seemed to have calculated that there was nothing to lose and nodded.
“Yes… Well, it’s possible. Thank you. Blessings in the arms of God.”
Despite the fact that the Bishop seemed slightly displeased at the idea of taking in the children from the slums, given the amount of money involved, he managed to put on a capitalist smile at once. After leaving the temple and seeing the children sharing bread with satisfaction, Karentina met Eddie again.
“The orphanage will be rebuilt. You don’t have to shiver in the cold or go hungry for a while.”
“R, really?”
Eddie, who had widened his eyes as if he couldn’t believe it, continued to wear a blank expression.
“…Eddie, I have a question to ask you. Don’t you hate the northern region?”
“Why are you asking that?”
“I’m just curious. I thought that this place that made you lose Priestess Leah and gave you a hard time might be unpleasant.”
The child thought deeply for a moment before slowly opening his mouth.
“Not having Priestess Leah is sad, but I like the northern region. It’s where I grew up and my hometown.”
“….”
Karentina’s heart crumbled.
‘Perhaps it’s because of that incident.’
With a troubled expression, Karentina leaned in and whispered into Eddie’s ear.
“It’s sad that Priestess Leah isn’t here, but I like the North. I was born and raised here, and it is my hometown.”
“….”
Her heart crumbled.
‘Perhaps it’s because of that incident?’
Karentina, who had a distraught look on her face, whispered into Eddie’s ear.
“By any chance…”
Eddie’s eyes widened when he heard the whisper.
“H, how did sister know about that?”
She smiled wistfully as she gently stroked the child’s head as he opened his eyes wide.
“Just. Even if it doesn’t look like it, I’m quite a very high-ranking person in the North.”
Eddie glanced around and whispered to her.
“…I see. Can you show me later?”
“Of course.”
As she embraced the brave Eddie tightly, the child’s ears turned bright red.
‘Thank you for holding on until now. I’ll make sure to protect you.’
Upon confirming that Eddie and other children from the slums were assigned rooms at the temple, Karentina got into the carriage.
“Zion.”
[ Why? ]
‘I’ll give you magic power, so grant me a wish.’
She quietly rested her chin on the window of the rapidly moving carriage.
‘Find any evidence of Bishop Viano’s communication with the butler or any information related to corruption.’
̊ · : * ✧* : · ̊
After returning to the castle, Karentina headed straight to Stella’s room.
Stella’s fever showed no signs of subsiding as if the fever reducer had had no effect. It had already been two days, or perhaps more. Seeing the child, who could barely eat and only managed to swallow water, she felt a pang in her chest.
“Young Lady Karentina, I’ll take care of her, so please get some rest.”
She couldn’t help but nod her head at Gemma’s concerned words, filled with concern. When she returned to her room and leaned on the plush sofa, an overwhelming fatigue engulfed her.
‘The Imperial Consort and Duke Horton… this is harder than I thought.’
Karentina gazed at the ornate ceiling, lost in thought. She couldn’t believe it, but it was really Eddie. How did a child who claimed to love the North, where they were born and raised, end up in the southern Duke Horton’s workshop?
There must be one answer.
“Rainbow hexaplex trunculus.”
Along with the Duchy of Lorraine, the Duchy of Horton was an ancient noble family with territories in the southern fiefdom surrounded by the sea. One of Duchy Horton’s main businesses was the production of dyes used to color luxury fabrics, and the raw material for creating some of the world’s most beautiful colors was the rainbow hexaplex trunculus.
Like its nickname, ‘Opal of the Sea,’ the rainbow hexaplex trunculus came in a variety of colors.
The rainbow hexaplex trunculus were an extremely expensive luxury item, with only ten thousand being caught to produce a small amount of dye. The aristocrats went crazy for dresses dyed with the rainbow hexaplex trunculus, and due to the lack of alternatives, the prices soared to unprecedented levels.
‘It was a source of money for the Emperor and Duke Horton.’
However, capturing the rainbow hexaplex trunculus was an extremely arduous and dangerous task. To save on labor costs, the Duke and Duchess Horton and the Imperial Consort brought in Viscount Maurice, who was considered the most reliable.
Since Viscount Maurice didn’t like the North, and with more than enough income from the magic stones production, he naturally allowed the children of the slums to be sent as slaves readily. It was almost inevitable for Eddie, who had become enslaved, to become indispensable to Duke Horton in order to survive.
‘Eddie had excellent knowledge of minerals.’
A few years later, the rainbow hexaplex trunculus were on the verge of extinction due to massive overfishing, and it was Eddie who saved the struggling Duchy of Horton.
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