Chapter 8

Leslie’s face hardened and her posture immediately straightened. She took a deep breath and looked straight at the duchess.

“I have a proposal for you, Duchess.”

There was no longer a shy little girl who was honest with her emotions. Like an open book, the girl had shown raw confusion, thankfulness and embarrassment. But that girl was not here. She hid her emotions now and sat up straight as she spoke. The duchess was feeling more and more intrigued by the sudden change.

“That is...”

Leslie’s pupils quickly moved to the butler Jenna, then back to the duchess. Jenna understood Leslie’s hesitation and curtly nodded to the duchess and left the room.

“I’ll take my leave. Have a pleasant conversation.”

Watching to make sure Jenna had left and the door was shut, she turned back to the duchess. She bit her lower lips and then spoke again to reveal the news.

“Please adopt me.”

Duchess Salvatore’s eyes widened and her head tilted to the side unconsciously. She had never heard of such a bizarre proposal, especially from such a young child. She had been confronted by young ladies of the high society who proposed a marriage between the noble houses and her sons, but nothing of this scale. She almost let out a surprised laugh.

Most bizarre was the fact that the girl was none other than Marquis Sperado’s daughter! Leslie stared at the duchess and continued.

“Please make me the one and only Duchess of Salvatore.”

At such a request, most people would huff at Leslie and kick her out. But the duchess didn’t and also looked straight back at the lilac-colored eyes.

The duchess knew the look in Leslie’s eyes, resolute and never-doubting. She had seen it before, all too familiar.

Only those who have been cornered to the doorsteps of death had such a look in their eyes. It wasn’t something a little girl such as Leslie should have.

“And why should I accept this proposal?”

“Because if you do, you’ll be able to have what you want. Also…”

Thud!

With a loud, heavy noise like thunder in a storm, darkness swallowed the duchess’ residence. Distant screams and voices rang throughout the mansion, but the duchess couldn’t take her eyes away from the girl. Only the girl was safe from the fangs of the shadows, almost glowing amidst total darkness.

Shadows and the creeping darkness. The black abyss.

It enveloped everything around them, completely blinding the duchess. Not a thing could be seen, but the little girl before her. The duchess knew this power and what it could do.

‘A black magician!’

Duchess Salvatore forced down a laugh that was about to explode out of her throat. There had never been such a strong, powerful black magician in many decades. Leslie’s powers were overwhelming like the kind that the first black magician at the time of the empire’s founding had. But since then, the powers diminished and eventually none ever bore such magic. But it was back and Leslie was the one.

“You’ll gain the empire’s—no, the continent’s best black magician of the century.”

As Leslie finished speaking, she closed her eyes, and the darkness disappeared as quickly as it had appeared—as if it was all sucked into Leslie’s tiny body.

“Ahaha.”

Finally, a small laugh broke out of the duchess. She brushed her hair out of her face, revealing the full design of the mask.

“Miss Sperado, do you know what I want?”

“No, I don’t.”

Leslie answered confidently.

“But I heard that you were touring orphanages to adopt a girl.”

People speak without a filter when the person listening is deemed below them.

Leslie was the child who was worthless in the House of Sperado. She was at the very bottom of the feed, placed at the lowest hierarchical position. She wasn’t even considered to be of the same value as the stable hand.

So, no one had a filter on their words when they were around Leslie—not the marquis or the marchioness. They frequently made the mistake of revealing important information and rumors about the high society, and one of them was about the duchess’ tour of the orphanage.

“Goodness, it seems like we have a rat in the house. Thank you, Miss Sperado.”

The duchess smiled appraisingly. It seemed like she already knew who it was that was talking about her affairs based on Leslie’s information.

“But that still doesn’t answer the question of why you want me to adopt you. You’re the daughter of the marquis. I’m sure that he doesn’t force labor or starve you.”

At the duchess’ words, Leslie couldn’t help but snort a little. Surely, there had never been labor exploitation, but Leslie was abused, starved, neglected, and humiliated every day until finally, she was thrown into the fire to die painfully.

But she didn’t argue and continued speaking, locking her eyes with the duchess.

“All I ask is for you to protect me until I become an adult. The moment I become legal to gain legally recognized independence, I’ll leave the house. I won’t ask for more, and I won’t ask for any inheritance or rights.”

A single tear escaped Leslie’s lilac-colored eyes. Then, as if the dam broke, more tears flooded down her face.

“I just want a normal life. I want to read books, eat delicious food, meet people, and get married to a good person and have children of my own.”

She didn’t want to be used and then tossed aside like trash. She didn’t want to live for someone else, but her own life. She wanted to be Leslie and live life to the fullest instead of surviving each day. She wanted to have the power to make her own choices. Leslie’s eyes, though blurry from the tears, never once broke away from the duchess’ eyes.

“So please, I beg you, Duchess. Please adopt me into this house.”

Watching the girl cry and beg, the duchess tapped the armrest of the sofa. Leslie was speaking the truth. There were so many raw emotions flowing out of the girl. But there was something else, too. Something stronger than sadness.

“I have a feeling there’s another reason. Tell me, Miss Sperado. Is that all?”

At the duchess’ words, Leslie wiped her face and answered. Her eyes, now clear from the tears, revealed ice-cold fury, erasing any signs of sadness.

“And if I can.”

The sound of Leslie gritting her teeth rang in the guest room as silence fell. Through her teeth, Leslie spat each word deliberately emphasizing her goal.

“I want to destroy the House of Sperado in the name of Salvatore.”

There were other various ways to survive till adulthood.

But Leslie chose the House of Salvatore because they were conveniently looking to adopt a girl. Also, the House of Salvatore was more influential and powerful than a marquis. It was well-known that the House of Salvatore is especially powerful and can compete against many other houses all by itself. So, it was Leslie’s best choice. By becoming a duchess, she can gain an upper hand in case her plans go wrong.

“Hmm,” the duchess made a nasally noise as she intertwined her fingers to rest them on her knees.

“Good. Can I ask you a few more questions, Miss Leslie?”

Leslie nodded her head, not realizing that the duchess was referring to her by her name instead of the House name.

“Why me? I understand your reasons, but why Salvatore? Why not the imperial court for protection? With your powers, the imperial family will surely fulfill all your wishes and more. Plus, they are the ones who can make your wish of destroying the house a real possibility. So, wouldn’t it be more advantageous for you to approach them?”

“The imperial court won’t fulfill my wish. They won’t disrupt the balance the House of Sperado plays. Even if they decide to punish the house, the punishment will never be what I want. Most importantly, they might already know about our secrets. Imperial spies are everywhere.”

Leslie was sure of her reasons and thought that she was right about the imperial family.

What happened to her had been happening for over a thousand years. For some power, thousands of innocent children were burned alive. There was just no way the imperial family didn’t know about it. Surely, they knew but decided to keep quiet for their own sake.

The imperial family kept the balance of power by keeping the terrible secret as a secret forever. The House of Sperado gained influence and magic, so it was a mutually exclusive secret, beneficial for both families.

“And you thought about all this and came to me? If you don’t mind me asking, how old are you?”

“I’m twelve years old. I am still young and inexperienced, but I learned a lot. And I wanted to survive, so I thought a lot about what I heard.”

Duchess Salvatore scanned Leslie. Silver hair gleaming like white snow and eyes like beautiful purple diamonds. She liked the girl from her appearance to her cleverness.

The members of the House of Salvatore inherit black, dark grey, or dark brown hair with dark green eyes. So, it wouldn’t be such a bad thing to have Leslie in the family. She will look like a tiny snowman, so white and soft unlike her two sons. Just having her in the guest room made the room warmer and friendlier. And she seemed to learn fast and was highly intuitive.

Her confidence needed some work, but it was something that could be improved on. With love and affection, the girl would be even more adorable than now. Of course, with some care and grooming, she would become a beauty, too. She would shine brighter than any other young ladies in the society.

‘And the black magic.’

She was just perfect. The duchess smiled widely at Leslie.

But there was one more test for the girl. The duchess stood up slowly and went around the coffee table to stand before Leslie.

“Miss Leslie, have you heard rumors about me?”

At the sudden change of topic, Leslie blinked hard.

“People say that there’s monsters’ blood in the family and...”

‘Should I tell her?’ Leslie hesitated. The duchess watched intensely as if to urge Leslie to speak the words.

“...And half your face was covered in scales.”

“Haha, so you heard.”

It was an insulting rumor, but the duchess merely laughed at it. Then, she tapped her half-mask with her fingers.

“I’m going to take this off and it might be frightening. Are you ready, Miss Leslie?”

“Yes.”

Liking that Leslie answered with no hesitation, the duchess took off her mask. Under the mask was a hideous burn. Leslie flinched a little at the sight of it.

It happened during the war, so the duchess couldn’t get it properly treated in time and it left a scar. Her skin was crinkly and bulging in weird places, twisted in tiny knots in between the lines.

“I got this a long time ago before you were born. I was betrayed by those I trusted my life with.”

Duchess Salvatore studied Leslie’s expressions carefully.

Most children cried at the sight. Some were so frightened that they fainted.

For Leslie to become her child, she couldn’t be like most children.

“Does it... hurt?”

But unlike the reactions the duchess had been used to, Leslie looked at her scars with sincere sympathy. Leslie’s eyes weren’t fearful and rather painful as if she were hurt, feeling the burn synchronously with the duchess. The duchess was pleasantly surprised.

“It looks painful.”

Leslie said while looking at the duchess’ burn. As she stared, Leslie remembered the horrifying night when she was burned. She understood how terrible the fire was, how merciless its tendrils licked. So, she knew the pain and felt nothing but utmost sympathy. Besides, Leslie had a burn like the duchess’ on her arms, branded by the fire.

“Aren't you scared?”

“No, I’m not scared. I have one, too.”

Leslie rolled up her sleeves and showed her burns to the duchess. The duchess smiled at the sight and put her mask back on as she walked back to her side of the room. She sat down noiselessly.

“It doesn’t hurt anymore. Like I said, it was from a long time ago.”

The duchess assured Leslie. The girl seemed like she was about to cry once again. Finally, she made her decision for the bizarre proposal.

“Alright, Miss Leslie. Let us discuss the terms...”

Growl―!

“...Growl?”

Leslie’s cheeks grew so red that it seemed as though it was ready to explode any minute. Her face changed from fury, emptiness, and sadness to complete embarrassment. She quickly hugged her belly, but it was a little too late.

Growl, growl!

With perfect timing, her belly rumbled even louder, demanding Leslie to feed her. Her cheeks went from red to purple, then turned red again. If someone were to touch her, she could evaporate with overwhelming embarrassment. The duchess grinned and got up, extending her hand towards Leslie.

“Oh, my, I’ve made a terrible mistake. Miss Leslie, won’t you join me for dinner?”