Chapter 28
Youngest Lady in Contract
Chapter 28
Jeremy grinned as if he knew he would be like that.
âHow is it, delicious?â
âItâs a little bit edible.â
Dylan naturally took another bite and said,
âBut this is the last one. Stop eating hainas, Elisabeth.â
âIf itâs this tasty, it canât be bad for the body.â
Elisabeth said proudly.
âNo noble eats this. You didnât know about the existence of hainas until now.â
âIsnât it just a cheap fruit that common people enjoy eating?â
âWhat are you talking about?â
âThe aristocrats canât eat what the common people enjoy, so they unilaterally accused it of bad health. It canât be bad if itâs delicious.â
Jeremy nodded as he listened to Elisabeth.
âSounds plausible.â
âWhatâs plausible? When people eat delicious food, itâs aristocrats who take it away and prevent them from eating it.â
âWouldnât there have been difficult circumstances to do that? They could have grown so well even if they were just planted anywhere that they couldnât stop them.â
Elisabeth protested.
âThen why donât we go ask Damon about the answer?â
Jeremy said.
âWhy would we go all the way to Damon and ask him something like this?â
Dylan put on a serious look.
Damon raised his head at the knock on the door of his office. He could hear the voice of the employee outside.
âThe young masters and the lady would like to see you.â
âTell them to come in.â
When the door opened, Elisabeth, Dylan and Jeremy appeared.
Elisabeth looked with curious eyes at Damonâs office, forgetting even the purpose of coming here.
Damonâs office was arranged in a white tone resembling him. Damon, who was reviewing business documents, seemed surprised by the appearance of children.
âWhatâs going on? You even came with Jeremy.â
âWhy donât the nobles eat hainas?â
Dylan brought up the main point in no time.
âBecause itâs not good for the body.â
âNot that, there must be a real reason behind it.â
âHmm.â
Looking closely at the three children, Damon smiled at Elisabeth when he saw the traces of eating hainas around her mouth.
âElisabeth, was the hainas delicious?â
He spoke affectionately and tidied Elisabethâs mouth with a handkerchief.
âYes. Iâve never had anything so delicious in my life.â
âThatâs what everybody says. So at first, the aristocrats tried to monopolize that they can only eat the good fruit and not the common people can eat it.â
Damon explained.
âThen why is it the opposite now?â
âAbout a 100 years ago, there was a famine, and the nobles had no way of surviving. At that time, the hainas that grew up well anywhere, became the main food of the people. The imperial family strongly recommended it.â
âIn the end, the hainas fruit have become the target of the common people?â
âThatâs right, Elisabeth. Can you eat such fruit on the pride of the unlucky aristocrats? Itâs a fruit that only poor people eat because itâs bad for their health, so our precious aristocrats gave an excuse not to eat it.â
âThen can I eat the hainas as I like? Iâm a child from a poor birth anyway.â
Elisabeth asked excitedly.
âYes.â
Damon nodded.
Elisabeth looked at Dylan. Dylan, who had an unsuitable face, was looking at Elisabeth with a little surprise.
Maybe it was because she played so intensely with Jeremy, Elisabeth went to sleep without even having dinner.
The dinner table with only three men was filled with cold air, like the early winter came.
âWhat did Jeremy come and do?â
The news that Elisabeth had not eaten dinner and was tired that she was asleep filled with complaints.
âThey played on the wooden horse, played tag, and climbed trees.â
âJeremy did those at that age?â
âBecause Elisabeth likes it.â
âI see.â
Victoire nodded and looked at Dylan again.
âWhat did you do?â
âJeremyâs taunt kept me on the lookout if Elisabeth were to fall.â
âGood job.â
Damon looked at the abnormal father and son conversation with a weary face, and opened his mouth to thaw the atmosphere a little.
âFather, Elisabeth is very clever.â
âI already know that. Did something happen in particular?â
âYes, she came to me today and asked me why the nobles donât eat âhainas.â But when she heard Dylan and Jeremy, Elisabeth knew everything before they could tell her why.â
Victoire asked after a momentâs thought.
âIs it because she reads a lot of books?â
âShe deduced it herself.â
Victoire nodded his head. A gentle smile spread around his mouth. Damon felt proud when his plan succeeded.
Now that the atmosphere on the table must have softened up a bit, it was time to relax and eat.
âGive Elisabeth a real tutor.â
Dylan managed to pour cold water on the barely mellow atmosphere. Victoire frowned.
âYou are ostensibly known as her âteacher.â â
âBut I donât really teach Elisabeth. Iâm sure Victoire has heard of it, but Elisabeth is talented. So she really needs a proper education.â
Damon thought Victoire would tell him not to talk nonsense. But unexpectedly, Victoire agreed.
âYouâre right. For the future of Elisabeth, formal education is necessary. If she wants to go out into society and get marriedâ¦â
âFather!â
âDonât say weird things!â
Damon and Dylan shouted at the same time. Victoire looked at his two sons with a face of uncertainty.
âWhat marriage are you talking about, that kidâs marriage?â
Dylan said bluntly.
âWhat does that mean? Is Elisabeth not allowed to get married?â
âNot that⦠How old is she to get married already?â
Victoire ignored his sonâs words, thinking Dylan was being mean for nothing.
Damon looked closely at Victoire.
âSocial world? Marriage? Father, you⦠Are you seriously thinking about the future of Elisabeth?â
According to their plan, Elisabeth was a child who should not be revealed outside. Far from getting married, she was a time-limited person who could not be sure if she would be alive until she made her debut in society.
âFather, since when did youâ¦?â
Damon was curious and carefully started to talk.
âBut isnât it risky to have an official tutor for Elisabeth? Elisabethâs identity may be revealed.â
âI have a way.â
Dylan said.
âLetâs ask aunt a favor to educate her.â
âDonât be ridiculous, Dylan. I thought that conversation was over.â
Damon startled. Dylan had offered it to Victoire before, but was caught short of breath.
âMy sister hates Cabezo blood very much.â
Victoire also said.
âBut is there someone as safe and cultured as aunt?â
âBut you canât do that, Dylan. Aunt⦠â
âI get it. Letâs send a letter.â
Damon, who was refuting Dylan, looked at Victoire with his chin wide open. He couldnât hide his surprise.
That was an actual approval.
âFather!â
âMy sister might do me a favor.â
Damon couldnât control his facial expression.
âYou said no before, but why did you change your mind? No wayâ¦â
It was not that it did not have a point. But it shouldnât have been.
âFather, itâs something you should reconsider. Aunt Terran, I mean.â
âIâm only going to send letters. My sister will decide.â
Victoire replied with a firm attitude, implying that it should not be talked about anymore.
Dylan finally asked a piece of meat with a bright face as if he was feeling better. Victoire also looked pleasant, humming for some reason.
It was Damon alone who froze like winterâs here.
After a while, a white carriage appeared in the mansion. The white carriage was a symbol of the north, which was covered with snow all year round.
The blonde woman came down with a haughty step from the carriage. She had blonde hair that was distinctly different from Victoireâs blue hair, but her eyes were blue.
âWow. Blonde like me.â
She thought everyone in this family had blue hair and blue eyes.
The womanâs eyes were blue, but her hair was the same color as Elisabethâs.
The woman looking around made eye contact with Elisabeth. The woman frowned as if she had seen something dirty.
âUh.â
Elisabeth stepped back in surprise. Victoire patted Elisabeth by the shoulder.
âLong time no see, Baroness Terran.â
Victoire greeted her politely. When Damon and Dylan also said hello, Elisabeth also followed.
âI didnât know Iâd come back to Daughtryâs mansion for this, Count. How dare you make me teach that scum-like blood.â
âSister!â
Victoire raised his voice in embarrassment. Baroness Terran kept talking as if she couldnât hear.
âIâll do you this favor, Count, but thatâs it. Donât expect more from me. I donât want to see the face of that dirty bloodline for long.â
The atmosphere became as cold as the frozen sky in the north. But Baroness Terran, who had frozen the air, did not care.
âWhere should I stay?â
âPlease follow me.â
The butler led Baroness Terran and disappeared into the mansion.
Elisabeth looked at her from the back with a blank face.
âYouâre describing me dirty, right?â
It was natural for the Leschine family to despise the Cabezo family. Since she was an enemy of the family, Elisabeth expected it.
ââ¦I understand with my head, but I canât help being hurt.â
âElisabeth.â
Suddenly, Victoire held Elisabeth in his arms. Elisabeth looked up in his arms. The expression of Victoire looking at the heartbroken Elisabeth was dark.
âMy sister is a good person. If you treat her sincerely, sheâll open her heart.â
âYes. I know. â
Elisabeth was feeling it, too. She was cold to her, but she could not feel any bad energy.
A straightforward person like Baroness Terran was better than a man who laughed outwardly and cursed backward.
Sure it was all right, although not comfortable.
Now, Elisabeth was personally experiencing âhuman beings can be this nervous too.â
âWhatâs your name?â
âI am Elisabeth Daughtry.â
âHow old are you?â
âIâm 12 years old.â
Baroness Terran, who was burying questions as if to interrogate, rolled her eyes and looked at Elisabeth crookedly.
âHow did you live before?â
âI lived on a farm near Ethen with my parents. After my parents died, I ran out of clothes and food to eat, so Mrs. Marian, the nanny, brought me here.â
âHmph. You have a good memory.â
Baroness Terran said like she was forced to admit it.