The Negotiation

A few days had passed, and Yua recovered quickly in the warmth of the Heavenfield Duchy. Color returned to her small body, and a faint sense of stability began to settle in her once-anxious eyes. The warm bed, nutritious food, and the maids’ gentle care slowly breathed life back into her parched existence, which had been crushed beneath pain and fear.

The moment the warmth of a new family reached her, I knew I had to cross another threshold. The unavoidable duty of ensuring this child took firm root inside the estate. That duty was my father, Duke Ricardo Heavenfield.

If I could have avoided it, I would have. I had never once knocked on the door to his study first. That room had always been the place where every impure emotion and useless expectation was trampled. Each step I took sent a pain like my heart being ripped apart surging through me. Every cell in my body screamed with tension, as if I were a gladiator stepping into the arena.

Yet for Yua’s sake, I had to endure even that humiliating space. Because in this world, I now had someone I needed to protect.

I drew in a deep breath. The stench of this repulsive family, like the smell of my father’s blood, seemed to seep all the way into my lungs. I had to put on the mask and enter.

Late that afternoon, I knocked on the door to my father’s study. A faint tremor ran through my fingertips as they struck the wood, but I knew it would never reach him.

“Enter.”

His low, icy voice answered. It carried unshakable firmness and vicious contempt.

When I opened the door and stepped inside, the study was filled with the same cold, restrained atmosphere that defined him. Heavy books lined the walls, their authority and chill dominating the space.

Behind the massive oak desk sat my father, Duke Ricardo Heavenfield. He did not even lift his eyes from the documents he was reading. Treating me like a speck of dust on the desk, he merely gestured for me to sit.

“I do not tolerate useless chatter, Leonardo.”

His words were daggers, as always. Even a casually tossed remark carried merciless contempt and a cruelty that pierced straight through an opponent’s weakness.

I steadied my breathing and answered calmly. I crushed every ounce of rage and resentment inside me, pretending nothing was wrong. Yes. Today I was the subordinate. I had to report from that position completely. The skills I had learned flattering countless superiors over the years—I would use them today.

“It is not a personal matter, Father. It concerns the child I brought to the estate a few days ago.”

Only then did his gaze shift from the papers to me. Those golden eyes still swam with displeasure and contempt—the same disdain he had shown the night he called Yua filth. In that instant I remembered the terror and despair she must have felt, and the anger sleeping inside me flickered awake.

“That filth? I already ordered the head maid. She is not to appear before my eyes by tomorrow morning.”

At his cynical sneer I stared straight at him without blinking. My heart felt as if it were being torn apart, yet my expression never wavered.

Yes, I knew you would respond like this. You have always been this way. Showing not a shred of mercy to the weak is your way. Then I will meet you with your own methods. I will lay out logic you can understand, in the language you speak. Human decency? Compassion? To you those are nothing but unnecessary words.

“I understand that unsavory rumors may circulate regarding the child’s disposition. However, if we clumsily cast out an unidentified child picked up from the streets, people will accuse the Heavenfield family of being narrow-minded. Especially now, in these turbulent times when our relationship with the imperial family is so delicate.”

My father’s brow twitched. I knew well that justification and prestige were what moved him. A cold-blooded man who valued family reputation over human life. It was disgusting, but it was the surest weakness to exploit. The fact that only such a vile method could sway him left a bitter taste in my mouth.

“So what do you want?”

A faint change entered his voice. Not interest, but the cold calculation of efficiency—like a merchant weighing cost against benefit. His eyes were already running the numbers.

“What I propose prevents those unnecessary rumors in advance and instead raises the prestige of Heavenfield. I suggest we accept the child… as an adopted daughter of the ducal house.”

“Adopted daughter?”

A sneer bordering on contempt rose on his face. The open mockery was unmistakable, as if he were asking how I dared force a merciful act upon him. Whenever he wore that expression, rebellion and a strange cynicism bloomed inside me.

“Your foolishness truly knows no bounds.”

“It only appears that way on the surface, Father.”

I continued before he could finish. My voice carried a cold logic and certainty I had never shown before. He could not know how many repulsive emotions I had to suppress to speak this way. It was a method I despised. Yet in this situation, to protect her, it was the only weapon I could wield.

The vicious, ruthless language I had learned from him.

“To the outside world, it will look as if the Heavenfield family has charitably taken in an unfortunate child. In these dangerous times, such superficial charity will enhance the family’s honor. It is an excellent opportunity to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠turn public and media attention in our favor. Nothing but an empty justification, of course.”

I poured out the plan without pausing for breath. On one hand it was a means to protect Yua; on the other it carried the cold intent to use her. The words were no different from the methods of the father I despised. I hated uttering them, yet they were the shield she needed. I whipped myself so that every dagger would point at me instead.

To keep this child alive inside this brutal mansion, I too had to become an actor in this ugly play. It was cruel, but it was the best I could do for her.

“Internally, however, we can keep the child under the complete control of the Heavenfield family. Since she cannot speak, she will be a perfect being who obeys our orders without question. A being incapable of asserting her own will. By assigning her a suitable role—for example, as the young master’s exclusive maid—she can appear as a nominal member of the ducal house while in truth serving as a faithful pawn who follows our commands. She will be unable to leak information or interfere with our plans.”

When the word pawn left my lips, a spark of interest flashed in my father’s eyes. I knew I had finally reached him. Even in all his heartlessness, there was a point where rational judgment prevailed. The fact that I understood him so well sent a chill down my spine. His methods were vile and ugly, yet more efficient than anyone else’s. Paradoxically, I felt rage at my own ability to recognize every dirty trick.

“A pawn…”

My father rested his chin on his hand and fell into thought. His eyes soon glittered with cold calculation. I could almost hear the gears of profit and loss turning inside his head. A thorough, practical reckoning.

I waited in silence, heart pounding. Thump. Thump. Thump. My pulse roared in my throat. This blood-freezing wait made even breathing feel wasteful.

At last he spoke. His voice still held no trace of warmth.

“Very well. I accept your proposal.”

My heart gave a single, heavy thud. Success. I had won. Inside my father’s ruthless world, I had seized victory in my own way. It was a twisted, filthy victory, but it belonged to Yua. And with it came the bitter awareness that I had willingly stepped into this filth.

“I will order the head maid at once to announce the child as a temporary adopted daughter of the ducal house and assign her as your exclusive maid. If a hollow name and title can raise the family’s honor while disposing of your pointless sympathy, it is not a bad arrangement.”

His words carried both approval and, at the same time, ridicule and contempt. He had reduced Yua’s value to mere justification and disposal.

Disgust boiled inside me, but I forced a smile. It hid a deeper revulsion than any mask I had ever worn.

“But ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠remember this, Leonardo.”

His eyes flashed like a hunter setting a trap as he delivered his final warning.

“If that child causes even the slightest stain on this family, both she and you will disappear from it together. Clumsy compassion will only destroy you.”

I clenched my fist until my nails bit into my palm. The pain did not register. Only now did I understand that all of this had been another test. This child was a new altar erected before me.

Yet it did not matter. His words meant I had to become stronger to protect her. At the same time, they forced me to acknowledge that I had chosen the very methods of my father that I so despised.

“I will remember, Father.”

I answered with a hardened expression.

Now Yua had become a member of the Heavenfield family. Outwardly an adopted daughter, inwardly a maid and a pawn. And I had become her sole guardian and an accomplice in the web of lies surrounding her.

My goal of living an ordinary life had grown even more distant, yet I chose to accept this new fate. There was nowhere left to run. For Yua’s sake I would crawl through the mud of this wretched world. No—I would carve a path through it. Even if it meant becoming the very thing I had always despised. Because this child was the only deformed hope and responsibility she had ever given me.

After a night of ceaseless nursing and my mother’s instructions, the room newly assigned to Yua was a world apart from the stench of that cold alley. A large, cozy bed. Soft new sheets. The faint birdsong drifting through the window. Everything stood in stark contrast to the life she had known only days before.

After bathing in the warm water the maids brought, Yua’s face looked cleaner, and a faint trace of color had returned to her pale cheeks. She now sat on the bed in a loose, pure-white nightgown, staring quietly out the window.

I sat in the chair beside her bed and watched her. An inexplicable sense of relief washed over me at the peaceful sight. Yet at the same time, the weight of the reality I had to explain pressed down on my shoulders. The uncomfortable truth that all this peace rested on the elaborate lies I had crafted. The words adopted daughter and pawn I had spoken while bargaining with my father still echoed in my ears. I could not burden her with the full weight of it. Not yet.

“Yua.”

When I softly called her name, she turned in surprise. Anxiety toward the unfamiliar space and uncertain future still lingered in her eyes.

Yua hesitated a moment, then took the pen with a trembling hand.

Her handwriting was still weak, but I could feel gratitude more than fear now. I let out a quiet sigh. The most important thing I had to tell her was coming.

Her eyes widened. Expectation and wariness swirled together in her pupils.

Yua could not tear her eyes from the notebook. Her shoulders shrank slightly. She clearly remembered the murderous voice that had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠called her filth the night before. I could only guess at the depth of the wound my father had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠left on this small child.

At the word family her eyes trembled. A faint but unmistakable light of hope passed through them.

Yua’s eyes widened as she read. The gap between adopted daughter and maid must have confused her. An honorable title on the surface, yet the reality of a servant who obeyed orders beneath it. The lie was harsh. Even I felt sickened by the words I had written. It was exactly my father’s way—facade and practicality.

She looked up at me with anxious eyes. The hand holding the pen trembled. She seemed to be struggling with something. Should I threaten her? Coax her? I did not want to use either on her. I simply waited for her next response in silence.

Her question was innocent, yet it carried deep confusion and fear. She was asking what role she was supposed to play in this new world.

After writing the last line, my own role became painfully clear once more. I was handing this child the very phrase I despised most—my father’s pawn. It was pure hypocrisy, a declaration that I would keep her under my control. In the end I was treating people the same way he did. It was revolting.

Yet if this was the way to protect her, then so be it. I wanted to give her real safety, not just another lie. At least it was better than starving to death in the gutter. In this cruel reality, it was the best I could do.

Yua stared at the notebook for a long time. Her eyes struggled to understand the complicated truth. Anxiety, confusion, and on the other side an inexplicable sense of security. Perhaps these strange words felt like the rules of a new world to her. She seemed to instinctively realize this was the only way she could belong in it.

Two short words. No refusal, no complaint—just quiet obedience. Her unvoiced lips stayed closed, but her eyes said everything. Like a lost puppy accepting a new owner, she took her new fate.

I took the notebook back. Its weight felt heavy in my hands. I had become her adoptive older brother, her employer, and at the same time her only protector. The responsibility of bearing every hardship she would face in this family now rested on my shoulders.