🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 7
Early dawn. The Duke, the doctor, and the butler gathered in Duke Craitan’s office.
“What did you want to say? I need to go submit the adoption documents, so let’s finish quickly.”
“Your Grace, are you truly alright with this?”
“Adopting so suddenly… When I mentioned it to you before, you said you had no intention of adopting.”
“That’s right.”
“Then why?”
“Without any prior notice, you’ve adopted a child. The vassals will think I’ve gone mad.”
The butler did not deny that assumption.
“Please ensure to send out letters with appropriate wording to prevent any rumors.”
“The little guest cannot be the lost Young Lady.”
At the butler’s words, deliberately reiterating the point, the Duke’s hand paused momentarily.
Even under the Duke’s icy, frost-like gaze, the butler silently continued what he had to say.
“If the Young Lady were alive, she would be a grown lady by now. Not the figure of a mere four or five-year-old child.”
The doctor, who had been watching the Duke and the butler’s expressions, cautiously opened his mouth.
“But… she does really resemble the Duchess. For a moment, I thought the Duchess herself was sitting there.”
The butler was of the same mind.
After all, when he first saw the child getting off the carriage, he thought the Duchess had returned alive.
There had been many fraudsters who came forward claiming to be his lost daughter.
But the Duke, after exchanging just a few words, would immediately punish them for fraud or blasphemy.
Some lost their lives; others had all their property confiscated and were driven out.
The Duke showed not a shred of mercy to those who impersonated his daughter.
Therefore, the sudden adoption of Leponea was an unusual event.
The butler let out a sigh.
“If you’re concerned because she resembles Her Ladyship, there are methods other than adoption.”
“I know the two children are different. I’m not so far gone that I can’t tell them apart.”
“……”
“And I’m not adopting her simply because she resembles Laila.”
Laila. Just uttering that name made his heart ache so much it felt like it might stop.
It was the name of the woman Duke Craitan, known as the Cold-Blooded Duke, had loved first and last.
“It might seem frivolous, but my feelings are not light. Nor do I intend to cast the child out on a mere whim.”
Duke Craitan did not explain further. Or rather, there was nothing he could explain.
“I felt… a power.”
“Power?”
It was a power so subtle that even Duke Craitan, with his aura-heightened senses, could only feel it when focusing intensely.
And such a thing was present in that child’s body.
So, the moment they met, he poured out his aura to check, but he felt nothing.
But still, something.
His aura was clearly reacting and being drawn by some indescribable, strange power.
How should he describe this feeling?
Leponea.
He knew full well that this child was not the one born between him and Laila.
Yet, the moment he saw her, he thought, ‘She is my child.’
Ridiculously, he felt that he must not let her go like this.
His senses, sharpened after awakening his aura, were telling him to love that child.
“It’s the first time since I fell in love with Laila at first sight.”
“Pardon?”
“Perhaps I’m just… very tired.”
His voice, mixed with lamentation, muttered as if talking to himself.
A full 20 years.
In truth, the Duke had been searching for his daughter, whom everyone said was dead, for 20 years.
The butler let out a sigh and recited his report.
“I will report the findings from our investigation into the little guest.”
Although the age didn’t match his lost daughter, she resembled the Duchess Laila too closely not to investigate.
“Within the Empire, there are 60 people registered under the name ‘Leponea’ on their identity plates. The estimated number unregistered is 170. Among these, there are none who are five years old as of this year.”
“None?”
“Correct. Considering the little guest might be mistaken about her age, we investigated children named ‘Leponea’ between the ages of four and six. There was one six-year-old child, but it was a boy.”
Duke Craitan stroked his chin.
“The possibility that someone from Laila’s family had a child and abandoned it?”
“There is no connection to the Rowald County family, Her Ladyship’s family.”
The butler stated firmly.
“As you know, the Rowald County family, Her Ladyship’s house, had its line severed long ago due to an unfortunate accident. The only one surviving from that family now is—”
“Only my wife’s father.”
“Yes. Only Count Rowald remains. Even if we assume he took a mistress and had a child… he would likely raise the child without ever letting it out of his embrace.”
Duke Craitan tapped the desk.
“How is Count Rowald faring?”
“Well. Although he still refuses to turn his head in the direction where you reside, Your Grace.”
“I am the sinner who caused him to lose his beloved daughter and granddaughter. I am fortunate he even meets with Havel and Pellens.”
“Understood. We also confirmed the house where the little guest was staying. The owner is a man, but he rarely visits and seems unrelated.”
The Duke fell silent, as if thinking of something.
“The little guest is too clean; there are absolutely no traces of her having lived anywhere.”
Could a person live without leaving any traces? It was a nonsensical story.
“So, first of all, she has no connection to our family.”
Then what in the world is this feeling?
The image of the fearless, absurdly bold, yet utterly composed five-year-old child came to mind.
“A lot happened just in that one day, right? Do you know what she asked me?”
At his self-deprecating mutter, the butler closed his mouth.
“She asked if I would regret it. There was no sign of anxiety, nor did she seem curious as if it were someone else’s affair.”
Yet, when it came to scraping the cake cream, she looked utterly conscious of having done wrong.
“The Young Lady seems to have a tendency to be indifferent about her own affairs. …Hmm, perhaps it’s a defense mechanism.”
The doctor cautiously raised his hand and spoke.
“She was clearly looking at her own injury, but she didn’t cry and remained calm. Even the Young Masters cried at age five when they saw blood.”
Hearing the doctor’s words, the butler, as if remembering something, opened his mouth.
“The maids said when they bathed the Young Lady, they found scars all over her body.”
“Having lived alone outside, that’s possible. Children get hurt in ways you wouldn’t expect.”
At the doctor’s added explanation, the butler nodded and continued.
“The problem is the reaction. Even when told ‘that must have hurt,’ she showed no particular reaction, as if talking about someone else’s wound.”
“Having lived alone outside, it couldn’t have been a good environment for a five-year-old to survive in.”
The doctor smiled bitterly.
The Duke recalled Leponea reading and checking the text when he handed her the adoption document.
“Now that I think of it, she seemed to be reading, even though she’s only five.”
“She probably wasn’t formally taught. Often, they acquire it naturally to survive on their own.”
Duke Craitan took a step as if heading to the imperial palace. The butler followed and continued his report.
“It’s said that Young Lord Villemain will soon succeed the Dukedom. As you must attend the imperial palace, Your Grace, your uniform needs to be remeasured.”
The Villemain Ducal family was a renowned swordsmanship family in the Empire. For generations, they produced the strongest knights in the empire, boasting military power comparable to the Craitan Ducal family.
“Ah. That insolent brat.”
Currently, due to certain events, only the young heir and his grandmother, the Dowager Duchess Villemain, remained, carrying on the family line.
The heir, the Young Lord, was nine this year, too young to succeed the Dukedom, so it was known that the Dowager Duchess had taken it upon herself to act as the Duke’s proxy.
“He is formally succeeding the Dukedom, so terms like ‘brat’ or ‘youngster’ are prohibited.”
“The Dowager Duchess wouldn’t have yielded her position easily.”
“No. They say he’s the youngest Duke in the Empire’s history. After the succession ceremony at the imperial palace, they plan to hold a separate celebration party at their residence later, so please handle it appropriately.”
“Leave childcare to others. I’m busy looking after a different child now.”
Without further delay, Duke Craitan departed for the imperial palace.
The very next day after Leponea approved the adoption documents.
Duke Craitan submitted the documents to the Imperial Family without hesitation. Rumor has it he went at dawn and pressured them to process it quickly.
The Imperial Family approved it, and Leponea officially became the Craitan Young Lady.
The rumor that the Duke had adopted a child spread quickly, and everyone was curious about her identity.
“…This is nice.”
The protagonist of that rumor, Leponea, was just waking up, her fluffy eyes opening as she felt the warm sunlight.
The morning sun streaming through the small window beside her bed woke her from sleep unfailingly once again today.
The cloud-like soft bed, the smooth blanket made from premium fibers said to be imported only through trade, and even the pillow that didn’t hurt her neck…
Leponea was recently experiencing a perfect tranquility she had never once felt in her entire life.
Of course, it wasn’t all peaceful.
‘Where on earth is the heirloom?’
Amidst a busy routine of being fitted for dresses and shoes, being grabbed by several doctors to check her health, Leponea still roamed the mansion, searching every corner.
This body, with its weak stamina, tired easily, so it took her days just to explore the mansion.
Leponea was now quite accustomed to having meals with the Duke and touring the mansion with her assigned maid.
When lunchtime came, the Duke, who seemed to materialize from nowhere, popped out again to eat together, and she continued her exploration.
Then, when evening came, the Duke rushed out as if he were the mealtime fairy, and they ate together again.
And that wasn’t all.
“Ponya.”
“Yeah.”
“…Ponya.”
“Yeah?”
“Ha, Ponya.”
“Yeah!”
The days where he called her for no reason were increasing!
When she kept answering Duke Craitan’s calls, the maids standing behind him would clutch their hearts and pretend to faint.
“Young Lady, the way you pronounce your answers is so cute!”
“And the way you nod so decisively is just perfect!”
“How can she answer so well? Is the Young Lady a genius?”
…This is truly a strange place.
“Ha. Ponya.”
And in the midst of it all, that Duke Craitan, with his satisfied expression, continuously calling her, is the worst of them all.
“……”
“Why aren’t you answering? You should answer cutely again, ‘Yeah’.”
The conversations always ended with a frustrated Leponea glaring at him.
Because she was abandoned in April, the orphanage director used to call Leponea by names metaphorically related to fruits available in April.
She hated that, so Leponea named herself.
Something easy to remember and call.
Of course, no one ever called her by it.
Even after meeting the Pope, she was called ‘First Daughter’.
Hearing that name called out everywhere felt strange.
She couldn’t explore the mansion until late evening, so she washed up and went to bed early, like a proper five-year-old.
“Then, sweet dreams, Young Lady.”
The maid, who had read two picture books and even sung a lullaby, only left the bedroom after Leponea had fallen asleep.
Thud.
Leponea, who had been pretending to sleep, opened her eyes.
“Ha. Feels like the whole day passed just by eating.”
Leponea patted her full belly.
Still, today, by walking diligently, she finally completed the blueprint of the main mansion’s interior in her mind.
It wasn’t perfect, but she calculated the general shape of the outer walls and corridors, even deducing the secret passages connecting each floor.
But no matter how much she looked, there was no place where the heirloom could be hidden.
‘Could it be that the heirloom isn’t hidden inside the main mansion, but somewhere else?’
It was known that the Craitan family’s heirloom was managed directly by the family head and hidden deep within the mansion.
Of course, it was said that only the family head knew its true nature.
‘A safe place where no one can steal it. A place that can be frequently managed and looked upon.’
Meaning, it must be inside the main mansion.
“Hmm.”
Leponea calculated once more if there was any place she had missed.
Clatter!
Just then, a gust of wind from outside made the terrace window rattle. Leponea turned her head towards the sound.
“Huh?”
A shadow was visible beyond the terrace window.
‘What’s that?’
Frowning, Leponea slowly approached the terrace and opened the door.
Whoosh!
The moment she opened the door, a strong wind blew in as if it had been waiting. Leponea’s moonlight-silver hair fluttered in the wind.
Startled, Leponea didn’t even have time to scream and tightly shut her eyes. Simultaneously, a boyish voice sounded from above her head.
“You’re alive.”
