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Chapter 35
The Child is Really Smart
I stopped eating the meat and looked around. The expressions on everyone’s faces were a bit ambiguous, as if they weren’t sure whether to laugh or cry.
I think it started with Casey. She was about to cry but then burst into laughter with a little snort.
That seemed to be the trigger—the other maids and knights started laughing too.
‘Hey, you guys. It’s all true, you know.:
‘I originally lived for nearly thirty years. That’s not such a long life, so really, my sacrifice was quite noble.’
I looked up at the duke with a shy expression. His face showed a gentle smile, mixed with concern.
For some reason, my heart fluttered. If I had a father in my previous life, he probably would’ve looked at me with this kind of expression. His lap probably would’ve felt just as strong and warm.
Mom always said he was a kind and loving person. Thinking about that made my heart feel warm, even though I knew the duke was just my father-in-law.
“And when I was captured by Götwal, Ludia stabbed him with a dagger.”
“A dagger?”
“Yes. She picked up the dagger the boss had.”
“My goodness. With these tiny hands?”
The duke took my hand in admiration. My soft little hand looked like that of a doll in his large palm.
It seemed praiseworthy that such a delicate hand had wielded a dagger.
That’s not something that can be done just by being brave. It takes high-level skill and finesse.
Blushing shyly, I looked around. The knights were looking at me with eyes full of wonder.
I mean, do they even know how much strength training I’ve been doing? I wouldn’t be unable to handle a simple dagger. But the knights didn’t know that, so I probably looked amazing to them.
They haven’t even seen my true potential yet, and this is how they react? I chuckled to myself.
I’d love to show them more, but anything I do right now will probably just seem funny.
Imagine it—a five-year-old in a yellow chick outfit, going ‘hi-yah! hi-yah!’ with a dagger. Wouldn’t that be hilarious?
Someday, when I grow taller and build more strength, I’ll train properly with the knights.
Until then, even if I’m lonely, I’ll quietly train on my own and wait.
No matter what was going on around me, I focused on chewing the meat. The juicy flavor of the beef was amazing.
Only after I felt full did I shake my head to refuse more food.
The duke then turned to Jake, who had already finished eating before me, and asked,
“Now then, explain what happened.”
“I got lohst.” (I got lost)
I spoke before Jake could. The truth was important, but I didn’t want him to get scolded.
The duke glanced at me briefly, then looked back at Jake.
“Why did you go out the back door instead of the front?”
“I got confoosed. We kep’ goin’ ‘round an’ I thought it was the front.” ( I got confused. We kept going around and I thought it was the front)
I answered again, and the duke stared at me. I looked right back at him with innocent, blinking eyes, not avoiding his gaze.
Just then, Jake, who had been silent, finally spoke.
“I wanted to walk around without any knights. Ludia followed, so we went to get ice cream and something tasty. But then we ran into those guys near the Torre Bridge.”
He skipped the part about following Radan, but it was mostly truthful.
“Yuh, we jus’ went for a bit, but then that happened.”
“Hmm…”
The duke seemed to be pondering whether to believe that or not. Up close, his purple eyes and tightly shut lips made him look just like an adult Rikael.
No wonder Rikael’s handsome, he takes after his father. I glanced at Rikael sitting next to Jake and quickly turned my head away.
What’s with that look in his eyes? He looked like he was trying to dig something up.
That’s when Andy’s clear voice rang out.
“Big brother told big sister-in-law to get lost. So big sister-in-law lost the duel and left.”
When did he even get here? Don’t you sleep, kid? He definitely wasn’t here before…
And how could you say that out loud?
What’s Rikael going to think now? I couldn’t help but sneak a glance at Rikael’s reaction.
“Big sister-in-law?”
But the duke seemed to focus not on the ‘get lost’ part, but the name ‘big sister-in-law.’
“Yuh, big sister-in-law. She said if we don’t call her that, our house will be disgraced and will turn into cornstarch.”
[TL: corn powder/ cornstarch in this context is a colloquial, humorous expression often used by children or in playful speech to describe a family or situation falling apart, messy, or dysfunctional—like it’s crumbling into powder. It’s not a formal idiom, but more of a made-up or childish expression that still carries emotional weight.]
What? Just go to bed already. You’re five, stop blurting things out with no context.
“What do you mean cornstarch?”
Oh, great. The duke had to ask.
“If I don’t call her big sister-in-law, then the house is going to turn into cornstarch.”
Andy explained dutifully.
Good grief. Can’t even speak properly but so smart.
I started scanning the room for a mouse hole I could crawl into. But there wasn’t one. I saw a fireplace in the distance, but that wasn’t exactly a hidey-hole.
Just as I thought I was doomed…
“You’ve taught him something good.”
The duke’s voice wrapped around me, warm and proud.
Ah! Now this kind of development—very desirable. Like heaven was helping me.
The maids joined in with their praise.
“Our little lady is so clever.”
“Indeed. Teaching manners like that, how amazing.”
“At this rate, we should be calling her young mistress, not just little lady.”
Young mistress, my foot. Even just little lady makes me cringe.
It was just a selfish impulse on my part, but now the compliments were overwhelming.
“But what was that about a duel?”
“Big Brother said to do it to chase big sister-in-law out.”
Andy, who had been quiet until now, stepped forward again at the duke’s question. Judging from how vividly he remembered the duel that day, it seemed to have left a bit of a trauma.
Still, that’s not right. This kid is seriously twisting the facts.
Hey, knights. You guys know the truth, right? Can’t one of you say something? I mean, it’s embarrassing to say with my own mouth that I was the one who suggested the duel first.
I looked at the knights with pleading eyes.
But instead of speaking up, they all avoided my gaze like they were staring off at some distant mountain. Were they really going to let Rikael take the blame for the duel like this?
“Rikael, did you try to drive Ludia away?”
In the end, the duke directly questioned Rikael about what really happened. The boy didn’t say a word and kept his lips tightly shut.
It was true that he had tried to drive me away, but the duel hadn’t been about that. Still, it would be silly to tattle that his five-year-old fiancée challenged him to the duel first.
I was just about to muster the courage to reveal the truth myself, even if it was a bit embarrassing…
“Your Grace! The little lady seems quite tired. Since she returned safely, perhaps it’s best to postpone this matter until later.”
It was the knight commander, Klein, who politely addressed the duke. As expected of the commander—he was different from the rest.
“You’re right. I nearly forgot.”
Fortunately, the duke quickly agreed. He gave a gentle smile, glancing back and forth between me and Jake.
Watching him smile like that, I was struck again by how much he had changed.
His son had been kidnapped and returned safely, how could that not be a joyous event? Maybe this could be the turning point that gave him a renewed sense of hope in life.
“Go to bed early tonight. You must be tired after being dragged around outside. We’ll talk more after you’ve had a good rest.”
With that, the duke stood from his chair, holding me in his arms, and walked out of the dining hall. I smiled brightly at the knight commander following behind us and even gave him a little wave.
