CH 16

【Just pour cold water on them!】

When the Crown Prince raised an objection, Aicila handled it coolly.

“No. That won’t do.”

【……】

“Aren’t they lacking in personality and money?”

I don’t think it’s a problem of looking good or not. However, due to the eyes of her employer shining so terrifyingly, she had no choice but to follow her orders, quietly opening the door of the study.

What she didn’t expect was that when she reached the kitchen, the head chef approvingly consented to the idea.

“All right, I’ll do what Milady says.”

“…Well, if you have some cheap salt—”

“There is none.”

The assistant chef, who stood next to the head chef, jutted out his chest and declared.

“Duncan handles only the finest.”

“……”

“How do you get the cheap stuff?”

The employer, the chef…

By the end, Mitchell had pretty much given up.

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

Ronell, exhausted from a day spent with Teriot exploring the mansion, curled up next to Ruby and went to sleep. After a long day of seeing Duncan Mansion, she was too tired to visit the garden.

It was all according to Aicila’s plan.

Meanwhile, Teriot, who got some exercise for the first time in a long while, left the child’s room with wobbly legs. Ruby, who hadn’t slept yet, stared at him in disbelief, thinking, a human like that actually exists—he paid no attention to it, who leered at him and looked down its nose at his poor physique.

“You’re weak.”

Coming down the stairs with a huge jar, Aisa teased him.

“I’m sorry for that… But what are you carrying?”

“Miss Ash wants me to sprinkle salt out there.”

Aisa, who had grown very fond of the little girl over the past few days, was eager to go outside and sprinkle salt on the rubbish now that she had the chance to do so. Teriot pressed his forehead.

To sprinkle salt on Count Artes…

“Did she lose her temper?”

Still, she did seem to be restraining herself a little because the problem was related to Kiddo. It makes sense, I suppose, because a kid so naive may end up blaming herself if things got out of hand. Teriot ran his fingers through his hair as he pinpointed his daughter’s cognitive process.

“I thought you’d throw trash at them.”

I’m sure she’ll figure it out. He glanced at the door where the little blonde-haired child was sleeping.

Kiddo will never go back to Artes. As a matter of fact, it’s probably for the best if this whole thing can be resolved without the child knowing.

Finish it as soon as possible, Aicila Duncan.

Teriot hobbled back to his study, his legs unsteady under him.

But Aicila had missed one key point: the child’s irregular sleeping hours. Ronell regularly awoke with seizures, possibly as a result of the long-term maltreatment she underwent. Lloyd used to come in when she was sleeping and mess with her hair, and she’d occasionally wake up in the middle of the night groaning from hunger.

Her physical health had improved, but her mental state had not. Ronell still couldn’t ease her nerves.

That everyone in the mansion had treated her with wholehearted kindness, especially Aicila and Teriot, was something for which she was really thankful. But at the same time, the idea that happiness could be a fleeting moment away from despair was deeply engraved into Ronell.

Once conflict arises, their once-warm sentiments might change to hatred if she doesn’t listen carefully or acts responsibly.

Just like it did with Mary.

Mary was very kind to her at first. She gave her more food, hid her from Lloyd, and medicated her wounds without the Countess’s knowledge.

However…

Because of Ronell, Mary’s life was a continuous cycle of getting in trouble and doing extra work. And the more she did, the more she hated Ronell.

‘You just need to be patient.’

She was right. Had she been patient, Mary wouldn’t have gotten into any difficulty.

I shouldn’t make the same mistake I did with Mary. I don’t want to cause them problems. I should never make trouble… just because they’re nice to me doesn’t mean I can rest easily.

The thought had incessantly plagued her mind lately.

Ronell wiped her eyes and sat up. She turned to look at Ruby’s bed, a cushion, and realized it was empty.

“Ruby?”

It looks like Ruby went out for a night walk.

“Ruby…”

Longing to see the cat, Ronell slipped her feet into a pair of slippers and tiptoed across the room. Opening the door revealed the hallway of the Duncan Mansion, which she has now become accustomed to.

The moonlight and shadows created subtle patterns, stretching up and down the hallway. Ronell went over to the pane of glass through which the bright white light was shining in.

The prettiest thing in the shed of Count Artes’s manor was the moon in the night sky. Lloyd, Mary, and the others didn’t know, but Ronell owned the moonlit night sky that was visible through the old, creaking window.

In the heavens above, brilliant stars were dispersed, while below them, blue-gray clouds hovered idly. The moon took its rightful place among them, radiant with grandeur.

Ronell approached, her eyes becoming wide as she gazed at the vast garden illuminated by the full moon. The greenery enveloped in bright sunlight was beautiful, but they’re just as magnificent under the soft moonlight.

Even the wind was delicately moving through the trees. Ronell’s attention shifted towards the roadside where she and Ruby ran.

Trees with pointed leaves towered over a trail blanketed with fallen leaves, and.

At that very moment, the moonlight revealed the carriage outside the garden gates.

The child could not help but open her eyes wide at the familiar carriage. It looked very, ve–ry much like the carriage that they rode every time they went out.

No, it’s not similar. The crest on the carriage is definitely.

The rhythm of her heart became loud enough for her to hear. Her vision grew dimmer and her ears wouldn’t stop ringing. Ronell, feeling overwhelmed and paralyzed, stuttered out the family name.

That crest is definitely.

“Don’t look.”

Her ears were suddenly greeted by the low, soothing tone of a voice. A drowsy voice that could only belong to one person. It was then that Ronell understood why her sight had darkened.

Not because she was so shocked, but because Teriot was covering her eyes with his hand.

“…Mister.”

When Ronell whimpered as she called out to him, Teriot replied nonchalantly.

“What is it, Kiddo.”

“That.”

Is that the carriage of the House of Count Artes? Ronell lowered her head, tears welling in her eyes, unable to cough out the sentence.

What now. There’s trouble. A problem popped up. I’ll cause a lot of trouble to the people who saved me, the people who’ve been nice to me.

If I annoy them, they will hate me.

She couldn’t bring herself to ask the question out of fear that she had really made things worse for them.

With a little incline of his head, Teriot stared down at the child, whose lips were quivering.

“My daughter, you see.”

Ronell nodded, blindfolded by his palm.

“Her hobby is to clean up messes.”

“……”

“If there’s no mess, she would go out of her way to create one. She doesn’t even get into trouble doing that.”

Gently pulling the child away from the window, Teriot slowly removed his hand that blinded her. Her light green eyes stared up at him.

“That’s why if you don’t trust me, trust my daughter.”

“…So you do know your own credibility is already at rock bottom. That’s a comical attitude, Teriot Duncan.”

If possible, you should change your behavior before you run out of credit.

After throwing a cutting, caustic comment, Aicila scooped up Ronell. The child in her arms tensed up in surprise at first, but soon relaxed again. It was hard to resist the charm of her big eyes and fluttering lashes as she gazed up at her.

“You won’t grow taller if you keep waking up at dawn, you know?”

“I-I’m sorry! I’ll try to grow taller…”

Unintentionally, she put pressure on the child. Under Teriot’s pitying stare, Aicila swallowed the embarrassment.

I’m still fixing my tone, damn it. I’m trying!

Although she had a burning desire to lash out at her heartless father, Aicila kept going as sweetly as she could muster.

“No, I’m not saying that I can’t sleep. Sister wants to sleep with you. Shall we?”

“…Y-yes.”

“Now, Baby. Can you hold onto Sister’s neck properly?”

Your posture is a bit unstable.

As Ronell quickly reached out and hugged Aicila’s neck, Aicila slowly stretched her lips at her adorable movement. She extended her hand gently and stroked the child on the back.

Though she had spent the day being irritated by that trashy Artes, the child’s refreshing and lovely appearance made her smile automatically.

“Sister.”

“Mhm.”

“Th, hik, that…”

Ronell whined and cried sadly. Don’t abandon me, I didn’t mean to cause trouble, as she watched her cry, the first thought that ran through her mind was not bewilderment but something different.

The moment she’s able to express her true feelings is truly remarkable.

Aicila listened quietly while the child shared her grief. Ronell kept her arms around her neck the entire time.

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

The bright moonlight lit up the forest trail, making the darkness even more blackish. A boy stood unflinchingly in the foreboding shade cast by a tree.

In spite of the briskness of the autumn night wind, there was no tremor in that small figure. He stood with his hand in one pocket, seemingly undisturbed by the weather.

He looked to be around 9 or 10 years old.

The boy’s young features was belied by a pair of hardened eyes that were not suitable for his age. Exhaustion was written all over the purple eyes that peeked out from under the gray hair.

“Your Highness the Duke.”

The boy calmly turned his head in the direction of the voice.

“The horses seem to have rested enough.”

He nodded at his subordinate’s report and strode away. He then asked a question in a low-pitched voice.

“How many hours left to the capital?”

“If we keep riding all night, we’ll be there in four hours.”

“Will we arrive before sunrise?”

“The timing will be tight.”

If Aicila Duncan hadn’t sent him a telegraph asking him to come back, he wouldn’t have done so in such a hurry.

The horses lightly thumped the ground with their hooves. The Duke glided easily into his saddle and, holding tight to the reins, gazed out over the star-studded sky.

The moon tonight was strangely bright.

The moonlight, reminiscent of a silvery gray fabric, sketched curtains throughout the forest. The boy, who had been silently appreciating the scene, pulled the reins.

“Let’s speed up.”

After the horse’s harsh wailing, a short command fell.

Following him, his two subordinates bowed their heads silently. Because they knew very well that the boy was the most skilled equestrian among the three of them.

If their pace slows down, it would be their issue, not the Duke’s.

“I’m going to reach Duncan Mansion before sunrise.”

The only head of the House of Duke Richard and the sole duke of the Ederka Empire.

It was the night that the young duke, Bertrand Würchen Frederick Le Richard, after a long fief inspection, returned to the capital.