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∼Chapter 7∼
My pupils shook violently.
A pink heart, completely out of place on the Duke’s cold face, sat there shyly and adorably.
No, wait. It kind of suits him…….
Being handsome really was something else.
He could actually pull that off.
—This is not the time to be thinking that!
Why had a bunch of hearts suddenly appeared on the Duke’s cheek as a “hint”?
The reason was crystal clear.
My countless years of romance-fantasy experience were screaming at me.
Put your lips on that heart.
In other words—.
‘I’m supposed to give this stern, stern Duke a little kiss on the cheek!’
This is supposed to be a hint?!
Huh?!
The demon’s words echoed in my head.
You’re innocent and inexperienced, so be careful not to get stabbed in the back, day or night.
‘I knew I shouldn’t have trusted that damn demon!’
I screamed silently.
“Hmm?”
The Duke looked down at me, frozen white with confusion.
“Your complexion looks strange. You look like a strangled frog.”
Ha. What frog?
Seriously, do you want to try kissing that strangled frog once? Huh? Maybe then you’d learn to watch your mouth?!
“Why are you like that?”
I couldn’t answer the Duke’s question and could only let out a long sigh.
Well, you see. I just received this wonderful quest telling me to kiss you.
But apparently I’ll die if I fail, hahaha!
Damn it.
This world deserved zero stars!
‘Let’s calm down first.’
A hint was just a hint. The actual condition had nothing to do with kissing.
It simply meant that I had to persuade the Duke somehow and get my hands on that book.
‘The Duke is human too. Surely I can reason with him. Let’s just ignore this damn hint.’
I desperately pretended not to see the pink heart on the Duke’s cheek.
The die had already been cast.
“D-Daddy…….”
I’m doing this!
Persuading the Duke!
I grabbed the Duke’s clothes tightly.
“I’ll touch it very, very carefully. Just once. Can’t I take it out just once?”
Blink, blink.
I gazed up at him with innocent, pure eyes—the same ones that had completely fooled the maids.
But then.
‘Huh?’
For some reason, the Duke’s face grew even stiffer as he looked down at me.
His gaze became even sharper.
‘Urgh…….’
Is he thinking, “How dare you argue after I said no? I’ll kill you”?
That can’t be it, right? It can’t. Sob, sob.
I moved my trembling lips and spoke as innocently as possible, pretending I knew absolutely nothing.
“Daddy, you know what? They say songs exist to be sung, and books exist to be read.”
Why?
“If that book hasn’t been read by anyone for hundreds of years, then it’s so, so pitiful.”
The more I spoke—
“I’ll stroke it very gently so the book doesn’t go ouchie, okay?”
—the sharper his expression became.
With him staring at me like that, it felt as though a knife was being driven straight between my brows. Waaah.
‘H-He’s putting more strength into his arms, too……!’
It wasn’t my imagination.
The arm holding me really was tightening.
He wasn’t planning to crush me to death, was he?!
Save meee, sob!
The murderous edge in the Duke’s eyes only grew stronger, and I found it increasingly difficult to smile.
Am I really going to get offed by the Duke instead of the quest?
And on top of that—
‘H-Hey, there are more hearts?!’
Because I hadn’t kissed him, tiny hearts began popping into existence.
That wasn’t all.
They were even sparkling!
Pyorong, pyorong.
Kiss me! Kiss me! Kiss me!
It felt like I could hear voices coming from the hearts.
‘Aaaaaaah!’
You damn demon, what the hell are you thinking?!
It was so pressuring, as if something terrible would happen if I didn’t kiss him.
“D-Daddy!”
I gave up on persuasion.
I clenched my lips tightly.
Then I suddenly raised my face toward the Duke.
When you’re standing at the edge of a cliff with nowhere left to go, you have no choice but to grab even a rotten rope!
Take this!
I charged straight toward the Duke’s face.
Thud!
“Eek!”
My nose, which had collided with something hard, stung.
[You have failed the control.]
Reader, you’re a poor controller, aren’t you?
I could control better than that even with my feet.
How can you fail to hit the target when it was so kindly marked for you?
This is not behavior befitting the great ’s contractor.
I’m truly disappointed! Ashamed! Embarrassed!
‘……?’
Why did this notification even come up?
Was it sent just to make fun of me?!
It wasn’t helpful at all!
I could practically imagine whoever sent this notification cackling somewhere right now.
Ugh, this was so embarrassing.
“……What are you doing?”
A low, chilly voice settled over my head.
I lifted my face from the Duke’s shoulder and rubbed my nose.
Even without looking, I was sure it had turned red.
Duke, your shoulder is really solid.
The Duke stared at me with his brows furrowed.
His face was incredibly cold, yet with all those pyorong, pyorong hearts attached to it—
Oh, yeah. Still handsome.
So he really could pull that off.
“Daddy.”
This wasn’t because I was a poor controller.
It was because the Duke was way too tall.
I stretched both arms toward the Duke, and, to my surprise, he obligingly lowered his face.
He had an expression that seemed to say, What?
Hehehe.
Behold the face of a man who has no idea what’s about to happen to him.
‘Actually, wouldn’t it be better if he didn’t know?’
I suddenly felt sorry for myself.
The hearts multiplied as if urging me on.
Okay, okay! I got it!
I squeezed my eyes shut.
Smack!
Unlike before, a cute and adorable little sound rang out—
And a perfect imprint of my lips landed on the Duke’s smooth cheek.
Uh.
This felt kind of strange.
In my entire life, both in my previous life and my current one, I had never kissed anyone like this.
This was my first time.
“…….”
For some reason, I couldn’t look directly at the Duke, so I turned my head as if to hide my flushed cheeks.
That was when I saw the butler and the maids silently screaming.
Ah.
So that was why Munch painted The Scream after seeing an expression like that.
I’d thought it was just artistic exaggeration.
While I finished my intense escape from reality, the Duke who had received a kiss on the cheek from me showed absolutely no reaction.
As if he had turned to stone.
No, Daddy Duke. How are you even handsome enough to look like a work of art after turning to stone?
You look like a statue carved personally by God.
At least the hearts were gone.
For a moment, I had almost thought someone had scribbled graffiti all over a work of art.
Just as I was about to attempt another escape from reality—
Crack.
A faint sound echoed through the silent stone chamber.
I tilted my head, wondering if I had heard it wrong.
Crack—!
This time, the sound was unmistakable.
I turned my gaze.
The glass case covering the book was developing cracks.
“Huh?”
Just as I thought, Is it collapsing?
Glass fragments—
No, dust, as if caught in a shockwave, scattered in every direction.
Fwoosh…….
I stared dumbly as the dust that had once been glass dispersed into the air.
T-The glass case exploded……?
Or rather, it didn’t just shatter.
It disappeared without leaving a trace.
What on earth was happening?
At that moment, a book suddenly appeared in front of me.
I stared blankly up at the Duke, who was holding the book out toward me.
“Y-Your Grace!”
The aide’s startled cry rang out.
I snapped back to reality and quickly reached out.
But—
Whoosh!
Just before my hand could touch it, the Duke pulled the book behind him.
What?
Was he teasing me?
Whether or not I puffed out my cheeks, the Duke leisurely held the book and turned it this way and that.
Then he lightly tossed it upward.
My mouth fell open.
‘My book……!’
That thing was ancient!
Wouldn’t the pages fall apart?!
‘Are you having fun teasing a child?! You meanie!’
I glared at the Duke, huffing angrily.
But the book stopped in midair.
Pitch-black energy rippled slowly around the floating book like a swirling vortex.
“There’s no problem.”
As soon as the Duke finished speaking, the black energy scattered like a lie, and the book dropped neatly into his hand.
“Even though nothing is sealed inside it at the moment, it is still a Sealing Book. We don’t know what remnants may have been left behind.”
Huh?
At his unexpected words, I blinked.
Could it be that the reason he had hesitated earlier wasn’t because he was worried about damaging the book—
‘But because he was worried about me?’
Was I interpreting this way too favorably?
The aide, who had been with the Duke for a long time, would know him better than I did.
“Your Grace, even so, it is a treasured heirloom that has shared in the history of House Phaeraton, as well as the treasured possession of the First Duke. If the youngest young lady were to touch it and—”
“Is this yours?”
The aide’s words were cut off by the Duke’s single sentence.
Of course it’s the Duke’s—
No.
It’s my Daddy’s!
If the owner says it’s fine, don’t ruin the mood, mister!
“Wow! Daddy, you’re the best!”
I beamed and stretched my short arms toward the book.
Please give it to me already.
“The best?”
The Duke glared at me with a chilling expression.
No, isn’t “the best” a good thing to say?
Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?
You’re scaring me.
“Y-Yes, the best…….”
I quietly took hold of the book, but the Duke didn’t let go.
Ah, seriously.
Why was it so damn difficult to get my hands on this book?
‘Should I turn him into a statue again……?’
Judging from what had happened earlier, my kiss seemed to work like Medusa’s kiss or something.
It was just a joking thought, but suddenly something pyorong appeared on the Duke’s cheek.
No way.
Looking at the new heart that had appeared on the cold handsome man’s now-clean cheek, I smiled contentedly.
‘……I swear, if I ever catch that damn demon, I’m killing him with my own hands.’
For some reason, the Duke’s cheek seemed to have come closer.
I pressed my lips against it.
Smack.
After giving him one more little kiss, the strength gradually left the Duke’s hand that had been holding the book.
For some reason, it looked like his shoulders had stiffened.
‘Oh?’
My eyes widened.
He was happy because his daughter kissed him.
Wasn’t this the classic early symptom of a daughter-obsessed father?
Now that I looked closely, the corners of his mouth seemed a little more relaxed—
No.
If anything, they had become even stiffer.
You look extremely displeased, though?
Like he was thinking—
What kind of strangled frog just touched my sacred cheek?
Was the tension in his shoulders because he was pissed off?!
‘Sigh. Of course.’
Either way, I had gotten the book.
I happily stroked the cover of the extremely old book.
That was when—
[You have acquired a .]
[Quest has been completed.]
[500 Cash has been awarded as a reward.]
[Quest <The Best Filial Piety (1)> has been completed.]
[A 5,000 Cash draw ticket has been awarded as a reward.]
The notifications appeared.
‘Phew. I escaped the threat of Game Over. And on top of that—’
A 5,000 Cash draw ticket.
A smile naturally spread across my face.
There wasn’t a single devoted romance-fantasy reader who would refuse Cash.
But the notifications weren’t over yet.
[Erkel, Viscount, the chief aide of Duke Phaeraton, is impressed by you.]
[Heinz, the chief butler of House Phaeraton, feels respect for you.]
[The senior maids of House Phaeraton feel respect for you.]
[Your influence within House Phaeraton has increased slightly.]
[500 Cash has been awarded.]
Oh?
The quest reward had originally been just one 5,000 Cash draw ticket, but I’d earned another 500 Cash.
‘Does that mean I get more Cash whenever I receive reactions like this from people?’
I didn’t really understand the principle, but it was good for me.
‘But why are they impressed by me and feel respect for me……?’
I had no idea.
But the most incomprehensible notification was the one that appeared underneath.
[Additional rewards will be provided because the satisfaction level of the persuasion target, Duke Phaeraton, is at its maximum.]
‘Huh?’
I rubbed my eyes and checked the notification again.
[Additional rewards will be provided because the satisfaction level of the persuasion target, Duke Phaeraton, is at its maximum.]
The notification still said the same thing.
‘The Duke’s satisfaction level is at its maximum?’
That was unbelievable.
He looked like he was still contemplating whether to squash this frog flat and kill it.
“So, have you finished looking around?”
“Y-Yes!”
I quickly answered the Duke’s question.
I could see another new notification appearing, but I decided to check it later.
As soon as I made that decision, the notification window scattered before my eyes.
The Duke returned straight to his office.
Just like that—
Meaning, while still carrying me in his arms.
Unlike before, there were vassals waiting in the open room adjoining the Duke’s office.
It seemed it was time for reports.
When they saw me being held in the Duke’s arms, they went—
Gasp, gasp.
—and practically suffered respiratory failure.
‘Do they all have asthma or something?’
They’d done the same thing last time.
When the Duke glanced at them, they desperately caught their breath and carefully followed us into the office.
In the middle of it all, someone noticed the book I was holding and jumped in surprise.
“Th-That book, could it be……!”
“A book? What kind of book is it that—Gasp!”
Even the other vassals were startled.
‘Oh, was it more valuable than I thought?’
Still.
‘It’s my book!’
I hugged the book even tighter, and the vassals chuckled when they saw me.
As if I were cute.
‘Huh?’
I thought about it carefully before nodding.
‘Right. A baby doing something like that would be cute.’
I had thought the same thing when I saw a child hiding chocolate behind their back.
But I’d never imagined I would become the object of that cuteness.
‘I’ve never received that kind of affection, even when I was a baby.’
Not in my previous life.
Not in this one.
I fidgeted with the hands holding the book.
For some reason, I felt embarrassed to face the vassals.
The Duke listened to the vassals’ reports with me sitting on his lap.
‘Ugh. I want to go back to my room and check the Cash draw ticket and the additional rewards. I also want to examine the book and see if the ability really works.’
I shifted my gaze awkwardly from side to side.
Then I heard some news that made my ears perk up.
“Investors are flocking to the mana stone mining business being conducted by Marquis Tarenka. But there is something strange…… There is even a rumor that House Phaeraton has invested. Of course, it’s not exactly something we can call a rumor, but still.”
Marquis Tarenka.
“You filthy, useless wretch! A woman like you needs to be beaten to come to your senses!”
The face of Marquis Tarenka, who had whipped me, flashed before my eyes.
I raised my head and looked at the vassal who had spoken.
“If Your Grace hadn’t ordered us to keep an eye on House Tarenka, we would have simply overlooked it. The statement came from Marquis Sherodel while he was drunk, and only once. Apparently, he denied it the next day after sobering up.”
The Duke had ordered them to keep an eye on House Tarenka?
I glanced at the Duke.
“However, there is something concerning…… Despite the many variables involved in mana stone mining, a great number of investors have flocked to it. An excessive number, in fact. Here is the list of investors.”
Because I was sitting on the Duke’s lap, I could see the list.
House Delvatren, House Iskamil, House Sherodel…….
The list continued on and on, extending even beyond the page.
Even someone like me, who knew absolutely nothing about this world, could tell that major figures were included.
“The ones who usually sit still have started moving.”
“Isn’t that strange? If the mana stones they mine are completely empty of mana, they’ll simply lose their money.”
“It would only be possible if they were certain the mana stones were filled with mana. And the one who could give them that certainty would be—”
“Information that House Phaeraton is investing in the mana stone mining business.”
The Duke’s voice sank low.
“Apparently, Marquis Sherodel wasn’t simply spouting nonsense while drunk. Where did he hear such rubbish?”
“Marquis Sherodel claims he was drunk and simply misspoke, so the source is unclear. However, when we tracked the movements of Duke Delvatren and Duke Iskamil, we discovered that the three of them invested around the same time.”
“Marquis Sherodel frequently attended parties and clubs, but Duke Delvatren and Duke Iskamil were quiet. The three of them have never had any private contact.”
‘Oh? Then it must be one of two things.’
Just as I was thinking that, the Duke leaned back deeply in his chair and spoke languidly.
“Then it must be one of two things.”
Oh.
Were we thinking the same thing?
“Either the two of them simply invested regardless of the nonsense about Phaeraton investing, or—”
Exactly.
Or—
“Marquis Tarenka leaked the information to them directly.”
At my words, everyone’s gaze focused on me.
Gasp!
Did I just say that out loud?
