Chapter 10

A Baby Noble, Cashiro Runs to the Duke - Chapter 10 (10/353)

☆ Chapter 10 ☆

* * *

"Hmm, hmm?"

I hummed a tune as I moved my hand.

The sketchbook filled with various colors.

Anna chuckled and spoke. The maids now often talked to me, though it felt like only yesterday they were emotionless like indoor decorations.

"Our young lady, you draw well. Is this a pineapple?"

"Nope."

I replied bluntly.

What part of this looks like a pineapple? Why does a pineapple have eyes, a nose, and a mouth?

"Anna."

"Yes?"

"This is Anna."

I pointed to the drawing of the pineapple... no, Anna.

"Oh my! You drew me!"

The sweet Anna was impressed, but I felt a bit embarrassed.

To be honest, the drawing looked more like a pineapple than Anna.

"Do you and I hold hands in this?"

"Yep."

"There's a heart here too."

"Mm-hmm..."

I fidgeted a bit, feeling a little embarrassed.

Anna was silent for a moment.

Well, I didn't think it was a particularly good drawing either. The lines were crooked, and the colors were all over the place.

It was the limit of my potato-like hands.

‘Ugh...’

I sighed inwardly.

If I weren't really the duke's biological daughter, I'd need the help of the staff.

‘Was I just trying to make them my allies, but it backfired?’

I was also curious about the ducal family and the <Magi>!

I hugged Anna tightly and patted her head.

"You're so pretty."

"Really, you're calling me pretty?"

"Anna, I like you!"

"Miss..."

No, are you going to cry?

I felt embarrassed.

"I'll keep it as a treasure for life. I'll pass it down to my descendants."

Huh? No, passing it down is a bit...

Thinking about the drawing, which looked like a person or a pineapple, being passed down to future generations made me want to hide.

Still, it seemed to work very well.

I used the same method on the other maids.

But... their reactions were all abnormal.

"I'll take it to my grave. I don't need a husband anymore. I'll be buried with Miss's drawing."

‘...Huh? So you were planning to have your husband buried with you originally?’

That was Nancy, who supported the practice of burying a husband with his wife.

"I'll cover my room with Miss's drawings and fall asleep and wake up looking at them every night."

‘...Isn't that what a stalker does?’

That was Laura, who had stalker tendencies.

"You gave me a heart? Do you need my heart? I can give it to you!"

"No, I don't need it!"

"Then... someone else's heart?"

Tilda's reaction... I'll skip the rest.

Scary.

They all seemed so rational and normal when I first met them.

How did it come to this?

Anyway, after giving the fatal drawing as a gift and saying "You're so pretty" to each of them, it was time for a walk.

Today, we were going to the greenhouse, so I was very excited.

A greenhouse in a mansion! How cool.

I finally felt like I was in the world of a duke.

I ran happily.

"Miss! If you run like that, you'll get dizzy."

"Achoo!"

Thud.

I fell over immediately, like a seed that had just been planted. Embarrassing.

"Miss!"

"Are you okay?"

I heard the maids' shocked voices.

My nose hurt, and it was probably red.

I whined and lifted my head.

But what I saw wasn't the kind faces of the maids.

A pair of long, straight legs, like a highway.

‘No way.’

I raised my head higher, surprised by the imposing figure.

I saw the cold, cold face of Duke Paeraton. Our eyes met, and he raised an eyebrow.

"What are you doing?"

Well, what am I doing.

"I fell."

Despite my grumbling, I answered obediently.

"Why did you fall?"

The duke looked at me as if he couldn't understand.

I opened my mouth in disbelief.

Why did I fall? I fell because I fell!

"Children often fall, Your Excellency."

"Such a weakling."

Is that something you say to a child who just fell?

I was annoyed but extended my hands to the duke.

"Pick me up, Dad."

I was worried he might ignore me and leave, but the duke picked me up, though his brows were furrowed.

I dangled in the air, meeting the duke's gaze.

His emotionless, blood-red eyes scanned me from head to toe, stopping at one spot.

"...Knee."

"Yes?"

I followed his gaze and saw that my knee was red. It was bruised, but not scraped.

"I'm fine. It doesn't hurt at all."

The duke ignored my words and walked, carrying me under his arm.

When we arrived at his study, he sat me on his lap and stared at my knee.

‘My knee is going to be pierced through!’

After staring for a while, he tilted his head. A low, cold voice fell on my head.

"Why is the color getting darker?"

"The young lady will need to apply medicine and wait a few days for it to heal."

The duke frowned.

"I knew she was weak, but to this extent."

His sigh made my heart sink.

Could it be...

‘Is this one of the reasons I was abandoned by my maternal uncle’s family?’

Because I was too weak.

‘If I were his biological daughter or the heroine, I should have the <Magi>... Could I really be a bastard?’

I clenched my skirt.

Meanwhile, Nancy brought the ointment.

Duke Paeraton applied the ointment himself, but his movements were very awkward.

I looked at Anna, worried that I was being too much trouble, but she just smiled happily, not understanding my concern.

After applying the ointment, I tried to get off the duke's lap, not wanting to be a nuisance anymore.

But the duke picked me up again as he stood.

After that, he didn't put me down.

Not even during meals, when signing documents, or even during meetings with his vassals.

I clung to the duke like a baby kangaroo.

‘Could he have forgotten to put me down?!’

I patted his chest with my tiny fists, but he just patted my bottom.

I became a whiny child and pouted.

The vassals who entered the meeting room looked at me with expressions of suffocation.

Just as the meeting was about to start, Anna spoke up carefully.

"Your Excellency, I'm sorry, but shouldn't you put Miss down now..."

The duke's eyes turned to Anna, a gaze so sharp it made me flinch.

Anna flinched but bowed and finished her sentence.

"The tailor has arrived from the dress shop."

It seemed the tailor the duke had called had arrived.

Thinking it was a chance to escape, I wriggled and tried to get off the duke's lap.

The duke glared at me, looking very displeased.

‘What’s wrong?’

He was the one who called the tailor!

Is he now thinking it's a waste of money?

I glared at the duke, and he reached out to me.

‘Ah! Can he read my mind? I'm sorry!’

Feeling guilty, I shrank back, but instead of scolding me, he picked me up again.

"Are you going to go there yourself?"

Nancy asked the duke without thinking, then turned pale and closed her mouth.

The duke left the study.

‘Wait, weren't you just about to start a meeting?’

The vassals, who had been watching the scene, stood up and followed.

‘Why are they following?’

It felt like they were watching something extraordinary.

* * *

Yutra Pelia.

She started from scratch and became a renowned figure, receiving a barony for her contributions to designing the royal family's attire.

A trendsetter across the continent, surpassing the system.

Despite her reputation, she was now extremely nervous.

Today's client was special.

‘Finally, I get to meet the veiled princess.’

"Finally, I get to meet the owner of those dresses."

Yutra's thoughts were echoed by the chief tailor beside her.

"I never thought I'd meet her. For the past few years, she always ordered dresses around this time but never showed herself."

Every year, the Paeraton ducal family ordered the best dresses, regardless of cost.

When Yutra first received the order, she was determined to create a dress worth a castle.

But the Paeraton ducal family paid the full amount without hesitation.

A child grows quickly. A dress worth a castle for one season.

Even a princess wouldn't have such a dress.

‘I was sure then. This was my chance to burn my artistic soul.’

She could showcase all the things she couldn't do for money.

The only regret was that she never saw the owner of the dresses.

All she knew were the measurements.

"What kind of person is she? The Paeraton princess never shows her portrait, so I'm curious."

"Perhaps she doesn't resemble the duke or the young masters."

Jet-black hair, transparent blood-red eyes, and a wild, unrefined, and fierce aura.

These were the characteristics of the Paeraton ducal family.

"Even as a young lady, she must have a strong presence."

Yutra sighed inwardly at the employees' chatter.

The idea of a charismatic youngest princess made her lose interest.

‘I’ve been designing for a soft, cute child.’

This was the freedom she had because she hadn't seen the princess.

She was a professional.

Even if the princess looked exactly like the duke, she would create a fitting dress.

‘It’s not like I can expect a soft, cute love child from the Paeraton ducal family.’

So far, no model had captured her heart.

Yutra's taste was firm, as befitting an artist.

‘Let’s not be too disappointed, even if she’s a mini version of the duke.’

At that moment, the door opened.

Yutra composed herself and bowed, maintaining her professional demeanor.

But when she saw the person who entered, her pupils dilated.

* * *

The dozen or so assistant staff who came with Yutra also looked bewildered.

‘Duke Paeraton? Why is His Excellency here...’

He wasn't the type to appear for a child's dress order.

‘His Excellency is actually holding a child?!’

‘Am I seeing things?’

It was a scene that was hard to believe, even though she saw it with her own eyes.

But Yutra's attention was focused on something else.

‘This can’t be...’

Thud.

The ruler in her hand fell.

"...Songi."

A low, almost groaning sound escaped her lips.

Yutra tried to calm herself, breathing heavily.

‘What is this adorable, soft, and cute child?!’

Even the terrifying Duke Paeraton was invisible to her.

The moment she saw the plump, pink-haired, adorable, and soft child in his arms, she felt a sharp shock to her soul.

At the same time, boundless inspiration began to surge.

The rosy, plump-cheeked love child was even more ideal than she had imagined.

"Perfect!"

She clapped her hands without realizing it.

But her joy was short-lived.

The cold silence made her realize the current situation.

Feeling the duke's gaze, which could freeze her to death, she forced herself to speak.

"T-The youngest princess is so adorable that I couldn't help it..."

Thinking she might die, she waited for the duke's response.

He only lifted the child in his arms, saying nothing.

"Measure the size."

"Yes, Your Excellency."

Yutra and the assistants approached the duke, but they couldn't do more.

The duke's gaze turned fierce.

Yutra, sweating, spoke.

"Your Excellency, to measure the size, we need to put the princess down..."

Flash.

His cold, red eyes glared fiercely.

"No, we'll manage."

Yutra, pale, shook her head and gestured to the assistants.

It was hard to imagine how they could measure properly with the child in his arms, but they were professionals and had to make it work.

Yutra measured the princess's arm length and glanced at the duke's face.

He didn't look particularly displeased.

At least, he looked better than when they measured his size.

‘Hmm?’

Her instincts, honed from dealing with the nobility, kicked in.

Yutra swallowed and spoke.

"To remain so well-behaved while being measured, the princess must really like you, Your Excellency. What a lovely daughter."

As soon as she finished, she felt gazes from all around. Gazes that seemed to say, "If you want to die, do it properly."

Yutra waited for the duke's response.

"She insists on sticking to me. It's annoying."

Indeed.

Yutra's lips curved into a soft smile.

"To hold her like this, Your Excellency must really dote on the princess."

"I only carry her because she keeps falling like a newborn fawn, which is embarrassing."

Yutra's smile deepened.

Who would have thought the Duke Paeraton had this side?

The vassals, who had been watching, slowly gained the courage to speak.

"Our youngest princess really likes you, Your Excellency."

"The last time she fell asleep on your lap, she looked so comfortable."

"Indeed, nothing is better than a father's embrace."

The duke's lips, which had been expressionless, slightly, very slightly, curved upward.

The vassals' eyes gleamed like hyenas.

They had found a lifeline in the icy ducal mansion.

"When I returned from war, my daughter cried, saying a scary uncle had come."

"Our son doesn't even recognize his father. I'm very envious, Your Excellency."

The duke said nothing, his face stiffening as if he was displeased.

But the vassals, who had worked with him for a long time, knew.

The duke's mood was better now than it had been in a long time.

* * *

‘What’s wrong with these uncles? Why are they acting like this?’

Every time they said I liked the duke or felt comfortable, his expression hardened.

Seeing his increasingly fierce face, I trembled.

I tried to escape from his embrace, but he held me so tightly I couldn't move.

I ended up just touching his firm chest.

"Look, she's hugging you tighter. Isn't she cute, Your Excellency?"

"It's just annoying."

No, I wasn't hugging; I was trying to get down.

If it's so annoying, just put me down!

"Do you like His Excellency, our princess?"

The vassal asked with a wide grin, and I hesitated for a moment before nodding.