Chapter 8: CH 8

“Yes?”

“Sister is a very capable person.”

There was no wavering in her voice at her self-introduction. Truthfulness was pushed even further in a subdued manner. While her breath was being suppressed, Ronell gazed at the person who had her.

A simple promise was engraved in the child’s mind, whose dream was to ‘get out of the house’.

“So I can make your dream come true. I’ll do it again, so consider it as a dream for the time being.”

“……”

“It will become a reality soon.”

Although she still couldn’t believe it, Ronell nodded first. Then, she changed her posture and hugged Aicila’s neck more stably.

Aicila patiently listened as she stumbled through her introduction.

“Say… I-I’m.”

“Hm?”

“I am grateful that you saved me… I’ll just say that. Uh, so I cannot use Artes’s last name. Apologies.”

Why not be glad that you can’t? Aicila, who naturally believed this, faced a downcast child.

This, I can read the thoughts running in this little head of hers. I assured her she would be among the wealthiest people of the Ederka Empire.

She didn’t seem to realize it yet.

“Th-there is not much I am good at.”

“……”

“That, the a-animals seem to like me a little bit.”

Ronell made a few mumbled sounds, almost as if she were confessing, and Aicila said nothing, seeming eager to hear them.

“Ah, and my hair is thick as well.”

It stings a little when you pull it, but it grows back rather fast.

As the child mumbled, Aicila grinned at what she added. Perhaps I could return on my own time and snag that woman by the hair.

“And.”

Ronell’s earnest contemplation persisted, and she gradually bent her head.

“There’s none. I apologize. I’m not good at anythi—”

Mewr.

After hearing a piercing shriek from below, Aicila embraced Ronell tightly.

“I-I apologize.”

Is she finished talking about herself? Aicila opened her lips to say something as she peered at her, but Ronell cut her off.

“I-I’ll try anyhow.”

“……”

“Please don’t throw me away if you can…”

I have no idea what kind of nonsense Butler is talking about—a harsh cry resounded through the night air.

The cat was angry. Mew mew mer mer, it was making noise in a variety of ways.

“Baby.”

“…Yes.”

Aicila mumbled under her breath as she looked down at the pampered cat belonging to an affluent family.

“Your cat, you see.”

“Yes.”

“It’s a creature who did nothing but spend money like there’s no tomorrow.”

Ruby, struck by lightning, lifted a paw and aimed at Aicila’s footwear. Even as the creature lashed out viciously at her, Aicila maintained a calm demeanor.

Ronell stumbled over her words in amazement.

“Ah, i-is that so?”

“And yet, despite its inability to make money, it has been acknowledged.”

Its menu consists primarily of salmon flown in fresh from the arctic ocean. Its necklace is an exquisite piece of jewelry that would stun even the most sophisticated ladies.

That’s not all.

If the pillows lose even a bit of fluffiness, it will tear them to pieces, and it prefers blankets manufactured from the finest grade cashmere*.

(TL/N: Cashmere is a fine, soft wool, originally from the Kashmir goat.)

“Do you know what would happen if you provide it with second best?”

“Wh-what is it?”

“It will have an irascible temper that says it doesn’t like it, and it will keep throwing a fit nonstop.”

Ruby’s wild behavior began instantaneously. It chewed on the end of her pants and whacked her legs with its tail. Obviously, it took offense to her talking trash about itself in front of its future owner.

Whether Ruby was enraged or not, Aicila pointed out the conclusion to Ronell in a voice filled with languor.

“Anyway.”

“……”

“That picky fellow chose you.”

“I-I appreciate your kind words.”

They’re no words, it’s the truth. Aicila nearly clicked her tongue but immediately took care of it. In this case, the child’s mood will only worsen if she clicks her tongue.

The damage done to her sense of worth could not be undone in a hurry. It’s a child who accepts even this moment as a dream in the first place…

She has to raise it slowly. When the child who is about to inherit a lot of money is a naive one who doesn’t value themselves, fraud is more likely to occur.

The door of the carriage was opened by Mitchell, and Aicila took a moment to admire the skies before stepping inside. It was clean and clear enough to understand why the child believed she was in a dream. She stared up into the starry night and wondered if she, too, may one day treasure this memory.

By the time they reached Duncan Mansion, Ronell barely regained consciousness from her sleepy state.

Her pretty light-green eyes were finally in focus. With a haughty stride, Ruby entered the familiar door, and only the child looked around curiously.

When compared to the Count’s manor, this one’s inside was breathtaking. The porch, paved with marble, was big and immaculate, and there was also a chandelier hanging from the ceiling that’s studded with crystals of all different hues.

Even the general-style spiraling stairway conveyed an impression of regal elegance.

“Do you like it?”

As Aicila inquired in a somewhat proud tone, Ronell embraced her closely and silently nodded. That she wasn’t able to mask her awe conveyed such innocence.

“Yes.”

“Pretty?”

“Yess.”

“How pretty is it?”

Ronell batted her golden eyelids a few times, then cast another earnest glance about. She was unable to conceal the little flutter in her eyes.

Aicila bit her lower lip to suppress a smile at the adorable sight, and the child immediately began calling upon all the modifiers in her vocabulary.

“It’s flashy… c-colorful uh… It’s like the residence of His Majesty the Emperor, so… uh.”

The child eventually summed it up in an insecure voice.

“It’s really pretty.”

Aicila smiled softly at the child, who was looking at her.

“I’m very glad that you like it. Thanks. Aisa!”

“Yes, Miss?”

Just in time, a woman who was going down the stairs approached with a faster pace.

A well-dressed middle-aged woman was beaming as she demonstrated her impeccable manners.

Gray-brown hair secured with a beautiful, jewel-encrusted hairpin. Dimpled cheekbones and a gorgeous grin on her lips.

Overall, it was a pleasant and charming first impression.

“Aisa, this little lady here is Ronell. She’ll be Ruby’s next bu, no, next owner.”

“Oho, this one?”

Everyone in Duncan Mansion was familiar with the bizarre will of the eccentric Reinhardt Duncan. As soon as they heard the last clause—I don’t know who it might be—they expressed their deepest, half-joking despair over whether or not they should dedicate their life to that blasted cat.

When Aicila set Ronell down gently, Ruby ran over and rubbed against the girl’s slender legs.

The cat, who had been pretending not to notice its old butler, Reinhardt, displayed such endearing behavior for the first time ever. Aisa was speechless for a second, and Ronell, who had been observing her, greeted her with a timid voice.

“M-my name is Ronell. I apologize for bothering you so late at night.”

Aicila, lurking behind Ronell, sternly prodded her cheek. It was a sign for her to smile. Aisa leaned forward with a broad grin on her face.

“Nice to meet you, Miss Ronell. I’ll look forward to your kind cooperation.”

“Uh… Yes. I-it’s nice to meet you, too.”

She said in a whispering voice that asked for her kind cooperation.

The girl, who barely managed to get an answer out, plainly feared adults. Her eyes kept shaking as they followed Aisa’s movements.

This. It was obvious what circumstances the girl grew up in, so Aisa tried to control her expression. Waspish humans appear to be ubiquitous.

“Baby.”

Aicila brushed over her golden hair without hesitation.

The child shrank involuntarily at first, but then gradually began to calm down. The longing that could be seen in her eyes was not tempered by any sense of realism.

She can’t shake the feeling that it was all a dream.

Aicila thought that she wouldn’t wake up from that dream and tried to point it out again. The first thing to do is get the child to sleep. After a restful night’s sleep, she’ll know for sure that it wasn’t all a dream.

“Go wash up, change into soft pajamas, and sleep tight. See you tomorrow morning.”

“Yes, thank you. …I’ll go to bed quickly without making any noise.”

Aicila put on her best, most assuring grin in an effort to restrain her mounting annoyance.

Kids can be a little noisy. Being loud in public places will be an inconvenience, but who cares if it’s at home!

Shall I revisit Count Artes’s manor and show them what real noise is? Aicila quickly abandoned that fleeting thought and responded.

“The soundproofing here is good. Nothing will be heard if your cat makes a mess.”

Of course, even if she herself is the one making that said mess, no one will hear a thing.

“I-I still won’t run. I should be…”

“It’s up to you. You may be as respectful as you like, but you won’t get a reprimand either way from the people here.”

“……”

“Just let me know if there’s someone.”

I’ll crush them for you.

Aicila promised Ronell sweetly as she slowly ran her fingers through her hair for the last time.

When Aisa gently extended her hand, the girl hesitantly took it. The cat was quite pleased to be accompanied by its butler, and its tail was wagging in delight. Beside it, Aisa and Ronell started walking along the hallway in an awkward but not unpleasant atmosphere.

As soon as the two were out of sight, Aicila went to the right stairway. She sprinted up the two flights of stairs and into the 3rd floor hallway’s last room.

The members of the House of Duncan had a very good ‘hunch’.

A ‘sixth sense’ rather than ‘hunch’ may be a more accurate expression. After all, they possessed an intuition bordering on prescience…

So Aicila had an ‘intuition’.

Slam—!

When she flung open the door without even knocking, the man who was reading a book in a half-lying position raised his eyes.

Aicila’s hazy gaze sharpened the moment it captured him. There was a release of pent-up tension coupled with a mixture of expectancy and casual energy.

“In secret.”

Aicila uttered calmly. The voice sounded eerily hushed, as if someone had used a bleach to erase all the feelings. That icy tone radiated the lingering frost of the last season.

“When did you get into an accident?”*

(TL/N: She’s asking here if he accidentally had a child.)

As soon as Aicila saw ‘Ronell Artes’, no, ‘Ronell’, she had an intuition.

That child is a ‘Duncan’.

So that’s what it was. This is why I half-forced her to come with me. Because as the successor of this family, I can’t leave my flesh and blood.

“Answer me. Teriot.”

Her gleaming eyes glared at the man.

Teriot Duncan, the son of Reinhardt Duncan and her own father. She pressed the f*cking—good-for-nothing—unemployed man in the room for an answer.