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Chapter 7
Janice vs. Garen
The morning sun rose.
The first thing Janice did was check whether Garen had returned home.
“He came back at dawn today.”
She was also told that he would be sleeping all morning and that no one should wake him unless it was something important.
The butler was her informant, and the old general and his wife were her accomplices. They had told Janice that she could do whatever she wanted.
Janice was delighted.
She washed her face, brushed her teeth, and ate a hearty breakfast. Then she confirmed where Garen’s room was located.
After occupying the perfect spot, Janice began to sing.
The old general and his wife sat in front of her as her audience.
“Oh my, you’re so good!”
“The best! Our little lark! I knew I picked the perfect nickname!”
They were happy because the child who had spent so much time crying had become lively again. They were also delighted to enjoy her adorable performance.
“Butterfly! Butterfly! Fly away!”
She wasn’t exactly a great singer, but she certainly had a loud voice.
The elderly couple believed that a healthy child was the most important thing.
Meanwhile, Garen, who had come home late and was enjoying a peaceful sleep, suddenly shot awake at a sound that resembled a pig being slaughtered.
“What the hell?”
Opening his eyes irritably, he pulled the bell cord.
He wanted to tell whoever was making that noise to shut up.
But neither a maid nor a servant came.
After swearing, Garen scratched his head roughly and got out of bed.
Just as he was about to head downstairs to find the source of the noise, he happened to glance out the window.
“Twinkle! Twinkle! Little Star!”
A little girl in a yellow dress was screaming at the top of her lungs while his parents sat in front of her clapping enthusiastically.
And by sheer coincidence, they were directly beneath his room.
At this point, there was no way he could misunderstand the situation.
Anyone could see that this was aimed specifically at him.
“That’s supposed to be singing…?”
Garen muttered through gritted teeth.
He strode to the window, threw it open, and shouted.
“Hey! Go play somewhere else!”
“Three bears live in one house—”
“Go make noise somewhere else!”
The more he shouted, the louder Janice sang.
The brat clearly had no intention of listening to him.
Garen turned toward his parents.
“Please take her somewhere else.”
The old general and his wife completely ignored him.
“Oh my, is that a dog barking somewhere?”
“Haha! A dog? That’s just the wind. Ignore it.”
In that casual conversation, Garen’s existence was completely absent.
“Father! Mother! I got home late last night!”
His cries were ignored as well.
Finally, Garen jumped down into the garden.
But…
“Why should I be quiet?”
“Because someone’s sleeping, you little brat!”
“So why should I be considerate of you? What do you have to do with me?”
“…Your house is in my hands, remember? Don’t want the house anymore?”
He hadn’t wanted to go this far.
But as far as Garen knew, Janice’s only weakness was the house.
“If I stay quiet, will you give me the house?”
“…Maybe.”
“Hmph!”
“If you listen well—”
“You’re lying! You never planned to give it to me in the first place.”
If he had truly intended to give her the house, yesterday’s incident would never have happened.
“Hey, that’s…”
Garen tried to explain.
But if he told her his real thoughts, she would demand the house immediately. And the moment she realized it was actually her own house, she would leave the ducal estate.
If she were at least seventeen, he would have told her to leave without hesitation.
But Janice was only seven years old.
So Garen could only keep his mouth shut.
Janice stared at him with bright eyes.
“You’re a liar! A mean old man!”
“…Hey, I’m still your father!”
“Didn’t you say you weren’t? That’s hilarious!”
She never lost a single argument.
Garen pressed a hand against his forehead and rubbed his face.
With his twisted personality and terrible temper, Garen had always been infamous.
The signs had appeared even when he was an infant, throwing milk bottles and biting his wet nurse.
His personality had remained notorious from childhood until now.
Garen was the type who would rather die than lose.
Yet the little girl standing before him was beyond anything he had imagined.
“Honey, my dear oak tree! Why do I feel so refreshed? I’m so happy.”
“I feel the same. That ungrateful son of ours! He never imagined he’d get a taste of his own medicine.”
The elderly couple happily poured fuel onto the fire.
“Please, stop already!”
Garen shouted at them.
Janice immediately scolded him.
“Why are you yelling at Grandpa and Grandma?”
Apparently, while he wasn’t around, everyone had already settled on family titles and relationships.
That was at least one good thing.
But…
“Who yells at their elderly parents? Didn’t you go to the Academy? You’re supposed to be respectful to your parents! Even I know that! Seriously, you have no manners!”
“…”
For every one thing he said, ten came back at him.
The alliance of the old general, his wife, and Janice was incredibly strong, and Garen found himself cornered.
“Oh my, our granddaughter is wonderful!”
“Maybe you should’ve behaved better.”
The elderly couple laughed cheerfully.
Garen felt a headache coming on.
Just then, the butler arrived carrying cold drinks.
Garen gestured toward him.
He was so irritated he felt like he was burning up inside.
He desperately needed something cold.
However, the butler walked right past him and headed toward the three-person alliance.
“Here you are, Miss. Green grape ade. The chef made it extra sweet.”
Smiling kindly, the butler handed the drink to Janice.
He also gave one to the old general and his wife.
“Thank you!”
“Good work.”
“Not at all.”
The atmosphere became warm and cheerful.
“What about mine?”
“I thought you were still sleeping. I’ll bring one right away.”
But despite his words, the butler made no move to leave.
It looked like he intended to wait until Janice and the elderly couple finished drinking before taking their glasses away.
Garen grew even more irritated.
Janice, meanwhile, was in an excellent mood.
The green grape ade tasted especially delicious.
“Hehe.”
Janice let out a small laugh.
Garen turned toward her.
She quickly wiped the expression from her face and pretended to look indifferent, but he had already heard it.
“Having fun?”
“Not really.”
“Feeling satisfied, then?”
“Not yet.”
You tiny little…
Garen ground his teeth.
“Why are you picking on a child? You’re too old for this!”
“Not just too old! Look at the age difference between you two! If you bully Janice, you’re not even human!”
Everyone was his enemy.
The old general and his wife seemed to have found a new hobby in their old age.
Nothing delighted them more than tormenting Garen.
“Hmm. Miss Janice is only seven years old, after all.”
Even the butler took their side.
Garen let out a deep breath.
He felt like he was developing hypertension.
The more he spoke, the more ammunition he gave them.
And honestly, arguing with a seven-year-old while standing around in pajamas in broad daylight was ridiculous.
Eventually, he gave up and decided to return to his room.
But even after he left, the singing continued.
They were songs he had never heard before.
He had no idea where the child kept finding more songs to sing.
Back in his room, Garen shut the windows tightly, locked them, and closed the curtains.
Then he lay down.
“Spotted calf! Spotted calf!”
“…”
“Mama cow is spotted too!”
“Damn it!”
He covered his ears with a pillow.
When that didn’t work, he wrapped his head completely in a blanket.
Yet the child’s high-pitched voice still pierced straight through.
There was no escaping it.
It was like some horrifying curse.
“AAARGH! Seriously!”
Garen jumped up in frustration.
He glared at the window with resentful eyes.
The singing continued, accompanied by laughter.
Apparently, the number of people clapping had increased from two to three.
The third person was the butler.
How had his peaceful home and perfectly soundproof room turned into this?
Garen scowled.
But against overwhelming numbers, there was nothing he could do.
He felt exhausted enough to die, but sleep deprivation seemed preferable to enduring that nightmare noise.
Garen decided to flee.
Just as he was about to leave the room, his eyes landed on the gift box he had brought home yesterday.
It contained Janice’s family photographs.
He had planned to give it to her when the timing was right.
“Hmph!”
As if I’d give it to her now!
Garen held a grudge in his narrow little heart.
* * *
Fernando’s morning was peaceful.
Now that he had found Janice’s biological father and grandparents, a burden that had weighed heavily on his heart was finally gone.
That was when an unwelcome guest appeared.
“Why are you here so early in the morning…?”
“Get out.”
Garen had barged into someone else’s house first thing in the morning.
No, wait.
How could he tell Fernando to get out of his own house?
Fernando was just about to point out the contradiction when Garen shoved past him and entered.
Acting as if he owned the place, he found the bedroom and threw himself onto the bed.
“That’s my bed. I need to go out later.”
“Go ahead. Don’t mind me.”
Garen mumbled in a sleep-deprived voice.
“Go sleep at your own house! Why are you here when you’ve got that huge mansion?”
Fernando’s criticism was entirely reasonable.
But from Garen’s perspective, it absolutely wasn’t.
“I got kicked out.”
“What?”
“That little brat drove me out. Got it?”
Garen practically spat out each word through gritted teeth.
For a moment, Fernando simply stared at him blankly.
