# 58
---
The Emperor feigned ignorance of the existence of black magic in Hilliard's territory.
Maybe he wasn't going to feign his ignorance forever. If black magic spreads to other areas, things will get complicated.
But he wanted to make Hilliard suffer as much as possible.
The Hilliard Territory possessed enormous wealth and power, second only to the Imperial Family.
Therefore, it was in the Emperor's interest to weaken their power at this opportunity.
“Brother, my mother had another seizure today. The doctor says her condition is getting worse. What should we do…?”
"I'll take care of it, Logan, don't worry. Just take good care of the kids while I'm gone."
At the time, Matthias was a minor, and had to take care of his injured mother and younger siblings while trying to survive at any means possible.
“Don't trust anyone outside the family.”
Through a series of events, Matthias realized something.
Everyone outside the family is enemies, and they will attack like hyenas if they know they are in crisis.
There were many traitors internally and pressures externally.
Over the past 10 years, it has held up anyway.
There was no suffering that he did not experience.
It was thanks to his hard efforts that the secrets of the territory were not revealed, that the Grand Duchess's health improved to a certain extent, and that his brothers were able to grow up safely.
“But that has reached its limit now.”
Matthias remembered the rumors that Hilliard's territory was cursed, and laughed at himf.
'Eleanor Winston.'
He did not expect it to possess such holy power.
Matthias had never seen such a warm and powerful force before in his life.
Even Charlotte, who was said to possess unprecedented sacred power sensitivity, wouldn't be that strong.
Why did Elinor hide her sacred power?
Is it because of her sister, who is believed to be the next saint?
Maybe she was worried about preventing her sister from becoming a saint?
In fact, these little things didn't matter.
Matthias regretted not revealing his problem to her sooner.
If he had done that, he wouldn't have wasted time unnecessarily.
Elinor is such a kind-hearted woman that she takes care of her nephew's abandoned child.
‘Her not accepting my help directly is probably because she is disappointed in me.’
I should have treated her better from the beginning. Why did you act like this in the past?
It was very rude of me to call an unmarried woman the baby's mother.
And I criticize her for not wearing socks, or because she put a doll on the bed.
Maybe the child is a little cold, or maybe he will grow up seeing beautiful things.
Matthias also forbade Elinor from leaving the segregated ward.
This was a problem she had expressed her displeasure with many times.
“In fact, the biggest mistake is that.”
She was unfairly accused of meeting men every night.
He knew from the beginning that it was false rumours.
However, jealousy blinded him for a moment, and he said what shouldn't be said.
“Why did I make so many mistakes?”
Why did I live a life full of mistakes?
Matthias grabbed his head.
If he were Elinor, he would hate to see the other party.
His hands trembled from stress.
He wanted to take Elinor to the border immediately, but he was afraid that would completely alienate her.
“If Elinor was a materialistic woman.”
If he could tempt her with gold and jewels, that would be fine, but unfortunately, Elinor had no material desire.
When he bought her a few dresses, she felt like a burden, so if he gave her more than that, she would definitely be disgusted.
“The only thing she wants is to find her sister.”
But the Garden of Five Colors' trap didn't work, so this one failed as well.
If Elinor decided to leave now, Matthias would have no excuse to stop her.
Even if he forced her to stay, she would not move according to his will.
“Or maybe if you threatened to use the baby…”
This scenario was the most likely to succeed.
But he shook his head.
First, he did not have the heart to use the child to whom he had become attached.
Moreover, if he used the child, Elinor would look down upon him.
Just imagining her beautiful red eyes looking at him as if he were an insect made his heart clench.
As he pressed his chest, he heard.
Knock, knock.
“Duke, I am here.”
Matthias raised his head in surprise.
“Miss Elinor?”
“I have something I want to say, can I come in?”
He jumped out of his seat and opened the door himf.
Elinor was a little surprised by Matthias's sudden appearance, then she bowed and entered.
“Sit here. Would you like a cup of tea?”
“Ah, yes...”
Matthias served Elinor the tea himf.
In a calm atmosphere, Elinor quietly drank tea.
On the other hand, Matthias, who sat across from her, was very nervous.
Why did Elinor come?
Have you decided to help Hilliard?
Or did she come to say that she would leave the duke's territory...?
He was desperately hoping she would say she would help Hilliard.
Matthias held back his emotions that were about to explode.
* * *
'As I expected, he's expecting something.'
Elinor realized the other party's feelings and sighed inwardly.
That's why she couldn't make a decision easily.
She knew from the beginning how serious he was about the territory's pollution problem.
She was very hesitant.
I thought about giving up everything and running away.
But Elinor decided not to run away from the difficulties ahead.
'Even Cornelia, who is younger than me, is trying to do what she can.'
Did I do my best to protect my nephew?
The answer was “no.”
‘Conditions were never right from the beginning.’
For a child without money or family, the world was never a kind or friendly place.
To survive there, he had to make an effort himf.
To stand stubbornly and find a way to live.
This was also true of her current life, where she was incarnated as a villain.
'It was normal.'
To think about giving up everything and running away.
Elinor, who was not a recognized saint in the original story, could not radically solve the problem of black magic contamination.
But this does not mean that she has to stand idly by.
Over the past few days, Elinor had found ways she could try.
She now stood before Matthias to announce her decision.
“Honestly, I'm still not sure.”
Elinor bit her lower lip as if to hide her anxiety.
"I don't know if I'll succeed. But I promise you one thing. I'll do my best."
“Miss Elinor, do you mean...”
“Boundaries.”
Elinor held her hands tightly on her knees.
“Can I visit it myf?”
"naturally!"
Matthias' face lit up.
"Thank you so much. I will never forget this favor. I promise you in the name of Hilliard."
Looking at him sincerely happy, Elinor calmly composed herf.
* * *
Perhaps because he was so anxious, Matthias completed all the preparations in just one day.
On the morning they were to leave for the polluted border.
“Don't let anyone spot you, and stay calm, kid.”
Elinor called the baby.
She did not intend to take the child to the border.
It was a dangerous place tainted by black magic.
Everything she was doing was to protect the child, she couldn't take him to such a dangerous place.
If the child interacted with the black magic in the border and used his holy power, it would be a disaster.
It was safer for the child to remain in the Duke's territory.
But she did put one safety measure in place.