Chapter 16

Walking heavily, they turned west, towards a steep hill. When Esther climbed the hill, the path split into two again.

Fortunately, this time there was a sign nearby.

The pointer pointing to the right read: «Havel's Garden», so the girl chose this particular path, the road of which was smooth and well-groomed.

On both sides of the path, from the place where the garden began, beautiful trees were planted, and next to them there was green grass and bright flowers.

– Isn't he beautiful? Havel is the gardener's surname. He received the most prestigious award of the Empire, and now he is a gardener working for the Grand Duke.

Esther nodded after listening to Dorothy's explanation.

The landscaping of the temple was also done very well, but it was not as beautiful as this Havel Garden. Its territory was so large that Esther could not see where it ended.

Looking around, Esther discovered something unusual.

The yellow freesia flowers were strangely planted in the grass, as if something had been laid out with them.

– What is it? – The girl asked Dorothy, deciding that this was very unusual.

– Don't you understand? This is the coat of arms of the family. You can see it much better if you look at it from above.

'How much money and effort did it take to land this?' – Pursing her lips thoughtfully, Esther went to another corner of the garden.

Being in the temple, the girl preferred the company of flowers, because at least next to them she felt alive.

During a happy walk, Esther discovered a large number of fountains. Water was pouring out of the exquisitely carved plaster statues, and it seemed that they could come to life at any moment.

– Wow, they look like real people.

While Esther was looking around the garden, a boy came up the hill. Following Esther's path, he came to Havel's Garden.

It was a child with black hair and pale skin.

However, his body was so bulky compared to his height that every time he took a step, the ground beneath him made a thud. Despite the fact that Esther didn't walk much, sweat broke out on her forehead.

– This way is killing me. Why did he call me here? The boy's face twitched in a grimace of displeasure.

When the boy's gaze found Esther, his eyes sparkled.

'Is that her?' – the eyes, which were extremely difficult to see because they were deeply embedded in the flesh, flashed strangely.

As soon as the boy saw the target, he began to approach it so fast that it was time to wonder how he could achieve such a speed.

Dorothy, belatedly realizing who had come, decided to inform Esther:

– Miss, this is…

– Shh, – However, before Dorothy finished, the boy came up to them and put his finger to his lips, asking for silence.

As soon as he approached them, the boy immediately crossed his arms over his chest and examined Esther from head to toe. The girl's hands tensed from this unpleasant look, and she involuntarily became alert.

Esther felt that he was unfriendly to her.

–Are you Judy's little sister?"

– And who are you?

He looked like an aristocrat in his clothes, but this was the first child she had seen in the castle.

'It doesn't seem to belong to the Grand Duke's family since no one has introduced him to me.'

Although Esther was very wary, the boy abruptly grabbed her hand and squeezed it hard.

The stunned girl tried to free her hand, but could not do it because of her weak body.

– What the... how urgent was it that you were told to pretend to be his little sister? My pride is hurt.

Esther didn't even hear what the boy was saying, she just saw the bright mockery with which all this was said.

– Mr. Sebastian! Don't do this! – Dorothy wasn't able to do anything.

She had to protect Esther, but Sebastian was the son of the Duke of Biselle, and Dorothy, a simple maid, could not stop him.

'So this is Sebastian,' – the familiar name stunned Esther. 'Sebastian is the name of the person I was supposed to meet with Judy today.…'

– Hey, you're so skinny that there's nowhere to even grab, – Esther's hand fell when Sebastian threw it away.

The imprint of someone else's hand was clearly visible on the girl's wrist.

– How much did they promise to pay you? I'll give you twice as much, so tell me.

Esther wanted to say no, but she couldn't even open her lips.

The girl knew that she was not in the temple, but the fear of being imprisoned struck her whole body.

Sebastian's contemptuous gaze, which seemed to be looking at the beetle, was the look that was usually looked at Esther during her life in the temple.

– Ah-ha-ha, look at her. Are you afraid? Eh? – Seeing Esther's frightened look, Sebastian burst out laughing loudly.

[– A rootless orphan. Dirty. You can't play with it, because you can get infected. Do not approach her, – the words heard from the people in the temple rang in Esther's head.]

When Esther suddenly turned pale, Dorothy stood in front of the girl and clenched her fists. What followed required a lot of courage from her:

– M-Mr. Sebastian, if you keep saying that, I will have no choice but to tell My Lord.

Sebastian glared at Dorothy. However, since the name of the Grand Duke sounded, the boy had to moderate his ardor.

Pouting, Sebastian crossed his arms again:

– Miss? Is she really from the Tersia family?

– Yes, that's exactly it!

Sebastian chuckled and looked back at Esther.

'I thought Judy was lying, but it looks like it's all true.

But the frightened girl, who doesn't even seem to be able to speak, is extremely far from the family of Tersia.'

– Ha, I thought it was a lie, – Sebastian didn't apologize.

Because when he saw Esther's hair and eyes, he was convinced that she was not pure-blooded.

'After all, everyone knows that the peculiarity of the Tersia family is dark green eyes,' – Sebastian, who appreciated the pedigree, looked mockingly at Esther standing in front of him. 'I don't know where they got her from, but since she's not a pureblood, you can just ignore her.'

– Honestly, where did they get you out of? A child like that can't compare to my younger sister. I'm offended.

– Young Master!

– Are you crazy? How dare you yell at me? – Sebastian shouted at Dorothy, who had just screamed. The boy's voice was as loud as his footsteps.

– I was just talking to myself, so tell the Grand Duke. And I won't let you go, because I clearly remembered your face, – Sebastian threatened Dorothy, and, smiling, left.

Sebastian usually suffered a lot from Judy, so he couldn't wait to repay him in kind.

Dorothy tried to calm Esther, mentally cursing the departed Sebastian:

– Miss, don't take his words to heart.

– Don't worry, it's all right, – the girl laughed falsely.

'I wonder why Sebastian's words have sunk so deeply into my soul? After all, everything he said is true,' – however, the girl was angry that she could not answer him with a single word.

'Even though I have decided to change, I still hesitate before the nobility...' – Esther stopped and sat down on a bench, put down the basket and slowly wrapped her arms around her knees.

– I want to rest, – burying her face in her knees, the girl closed her eyes. She didn't want to think about anything.

'How much time has passed?' – Esther's hands, hugging her knees, opened and fell down, and something wet and soft at the same time touched her fingers.

'What is it?' – the surprised girl looked up and saw that black eyes were looking directly at her.

– A puppy?

– W-waf! – a puppy with a chestnut coat began to lick Esther's palm nonstop.

Despite the fact that he was half the size of Esther, he was so affectionate, waved his tail and showed charm.

–This is the first time you've seen him, isn't it? This is Mr. Judy's puppy.

– What's his name?

– Lucky.

The puppy began to sniff Esther's basket. He touched the lid with his nose, and, as if asking to open it, tapped it with his paw.

– Do you want to eat?

– W-waf! Waf!

Esther laughed, heard the answer of the Lucky One.

Initially, the girl brought cookies to share them with Judy, but she didn't mind sharing them with such a cute puppy.

– It's good that I brought it.

'Who would have thought? I'm happy that I have someone to share with,' – Esther, who was trying to break the cookie into small pieces, suddenly froze, wondering if the puppy could eat it.

– Dorothy, can I give the puppy a cookie?

– Of course, will it make him feel bad?

'Hm,' – Esther, concentrating, pondered and, having decided, just in case, gave the puppy a small piece of cookies.

The lucky guy, who had been sitting and wagging his tail all this time, was delighted and quickly ate a piece of cookies, and then sat very close to Esther, as if he liked her very much.

After the girl gave the Lucky Guy something to eat, he immediately lay down on his back and opened his tummy so that she could touch him.

– Cute… – Esther hugged Lucky and touched his soft fur.

Curiously, the longer the girl stroked the puppy, the better she felt.

– Miss, we don't know when Mr. Judy is coming, so I think we'd better go back inside.

– I'm not waiting, I just like it here, – Esther smiled at Dorothy, who was worried about her. The girl stroked Lucky and looked at the sky.

The sun was still shining brightly, and the day was very sunny, so Esther wanted to sit in the garden for a while longer.

'Not because I'm waiting for Judy, but because I love the sun. That's all.'

*****

– Oh, my God. I just made a fool of myself, – Judy scratched his head nervously.

Today, after hearing information from a merchant that he often trades there, he went to the auction house.

The boy came to the auction because he heard that there would be a talking bird, but it never appeared.

Now Judy was annoyed because he had waited all day in vain. Complaining to his escort, the boy belatedly remembered his meeting with Esther.

– Wait, Edward, what time is it now?

– It's twenty minutes past five.

– It's too late.

Judy sent a note in advance because he was afraid of being late, but he completely forgot about the meeting.

Scratching his head, the boy realized that he had made a mistake, but did not attach much importance to it.

– She must have been waiting for me.

'Then I'll just come back and apologize.'

Before going to the castle, Judy went into a toy store and bought a rabbit doll.

Instead of a long choice, the boy impulsively bought him, because he was white and very similar to Esther.

– Did you have a good walk?

– Yes. Where's Esther? – upon entering the mansion, Judy immediately asked the butler who greeted him.

However, from these words, the butler's expression changed dramatically:

– Didn't you just come from a meeting with Miss?

– What? – Judy, stretching from fatigue, froze, absurdly stretching out his arms. Realizing that the butler's words were strange, the boy became alarmed.

– Miss went to meet the young Master earlier in the day and hasn't returned yet.

– Don't tell me…

'Is she still waiting?' – the rabbit doll fell out of Judy's hands, he ran out into the street without even thinking to pick it up.

It was the end of summer, so the evening darkness was already covering the street.

The sky was overflowing with red strokes created by the sunset.

'We were supposed to meet at two o'clock in the afternoon!' – The boy kept running, denying that Esther had been waiting for him since that time. Judy's breath caught in his throat and he tasted blood, but he didn't stop.

– Ha... ha... ha... – when he reached the garden, Judy leaned on his knees with both hands and bent slightly.

Bent over, the boy had to breathe for a long time to bring his breathing back to normal.

Thanks to his fast running, Judy was able to reach the garden before sunset. Taking a short breath, the boy ran again, looking for where Esther was.

– Hey! Esther!! Where the hell are you?!

After running all around, Judy finally noticed her.

Esther was sitting on a bench in front of the fountain. Just by looking at the ribbon on the girl's hair, he immediately realized that it was her.

Judy's face was filled with guilt when he saw Esther.