Translated by EunEun

Edited by Zil

“Of course a person has to take responsibility for what they are responsible for.”

The cold voice hinted at the future of the people on the list.

“Ah, and also.”

Remembering someone, the Duke ordered with a voice that had been changed with another atmosphere.

“Leave the return for the food that Baby personally brought in her room in the morning.”

***

The next morning.

“Uung….”

Beatty, who just woke up, tilted her head when she saw something dimly reflected in her still blank vision.

“…Huh?”

‘Looks like maybe I’m not fully awake.’

Thinking so, Beatty rubbed her sleepy eyes, and then she blinked again with a clear mind after stretching.

“….”

What is it? It’s strange.

Why is the scenery in front of me like this…?

So that wasn’t just a fantasy that passed by in my dream?

Beatty, who had a dumb look, opened her mouth wide when she saw the changed view of her room overnight.

“W-WHAT IS THIS?!”

There were flowers everywhere.

The bright yellow, golden Adonis flowers were covering the floor so much that it could not be seen.

As if someone stole spring from the God of the Season, the scent of spring was full in the room.

“Oh my gosh….”

It was the scenery that made her think that she might have been moved to a flower garden while falling asleep.

“From where did a person get all of these Adonis flowers this much?”

It was strange because it was simply a flower that didn’t bloom in this season. Tilting her head, Beatty couldn’t understand it.

Unlike the Capital, where flowers are relatively easy to get due to the warm climate all year round, in the North, where it is more common to see ice grounds than soil grounds, they had to pay high prices to buy a flower.

What was worse, it wasn’t just a bouquet of flowers, and how much would it cost to fill a huge room big enough for a whole family to live in with flowers…?

If she had known the actual price which was paid by the Duke, maybe Beatty would have passed out.

“Huh?”

And in the middle of the room that became a flower garden, a huge shape that she couldn’t help but to give attention to was seen.

“…A doll?”

It was a huge doll that would have to have three Beattys to reach the same height.

As if it was imitating someone, the squirrel doll which was cutely holding acorns in both hands, was covered with hair similar to Beatty’s hair, which was slip down because it’s morning.

Rustle.

Beatty walked on a fluffy blanket and stealthily lowered her feet to the floor. Then she moved forward carefully through the flower group, carefully not to trample on the flowers that were covering the floor.

One two. One two.

Beatty, who was advancing like a dolphin swimming through the waves, finally reached the front of a giant squirrel doll after a steady march.

Fluffy.

The hand that had been placed on the giant squirrel doll’s leg once touched, it gave the feeling of being buried in a cloud.

“Wuaaa.”

An exclamation naturally flowed out of Beatty’s mouth.

And that was… not because of the doll’s feeling of sucking her hand.

“Is it real gold?”

Sparkle. Sparkle.

Beatty’s eyes, which opened wide, were stuck at an acorn that was held by the giant squirrel doll.

It’s a golden acorn made of pure gold!

To be honest, isn’t it inevitable that your eyes will go to the huge gold acorn rather than a magical soft touch?

‘…Can I go out bringing that later?’

It seems like that alone will be enough for her business. It is not for merchant employment, but with that, she can set up a merchant altogether.

When they saw Beatty who was staring at the squirrel doll—to be precise, at the gold acorn—as if she had drooled with her mouth slightly open and saying, “Hee—” the maids laughed.

“Good morning, Young Miss.”

The reaction of the Young Miss, who couldn’t take her eyes off the doll, was so cute that the maids with a lot of laughter around their smiling eyes came to greet her.

“Uhm, what’s all this?”

“These are things that the Duke sent to the Young Miss.”

‘Father did?’

The maids’ faces looking at the good relationship between the father and daughter were filled with joy.

“I heard that the Young Miss brought the Duke some snacks yesterday?”

“Aha!”

As if she realized something, Beatty opened her eyes wide.

‘Yeah. It’s a gift that the Duke sent, saying that he was proud of the Young Miss for bringing overtime snacks yesterday.’

‘To think that such a cute daughter like this made food with her own hand so that her dad won’t get tired…?! Even if it’s me, I would have wanted to give anything as a gift because she was pretty.’

‘Even considering that the Princess is lovely, I’m saying that those are great gifts.’

Contrary to the thoughts of the maids who nodded and admired inside.

‘So it’s like that.’

Beatty was interpreting the things that the Duke sent differently.

‘It’s yesterday’s Tuberosum dish.’

At that time, after he remained silent, he immediately refused the proposal, so she was a little disappointed. However—

‘…Turns out he was going to acknowledge the value of that recipe to this extent!’

With a clear expression, as if saying that she understood, Beatty stretched out her thoughts.

‘Then, it’ll be done if Father looks at the value of the in-kind investment, namely, pre-investment funds, that I showed in the Tuberosum recipe that I proposed!’

In a slightly tilted direction….

And like that, Beatty, who misunderstood the Duke’s gift in the midst of acclaim, clenched her fist firmly.

“Great. Then I’ll also….”

Going through the flower sea again, Beatty headed to a desk that had paper and a pen.

Sitting on a small chair that was tailored to her short height, Beatty firmly held a quill and skillfully wrote down something.

‘Oh my, is she trying to write a thank-you letter for the Duke?’

‘She’s cute.’

Of course, the document Beatty was writing down was different from the soft imagination of such maids.

[Recipe using Tuberosum

Author: Beatty Aslan

Paragraph 1. First, in order to easily recognize the value of the plant as food, as a traditional dish familiar to the people of the Kingdom….]

Under the illusion that she took the first step in dealing with Father.

‘First of all, stew… and then the other meals….’

Beatty worked hard to write a proposal that organized other recipes as well.

***

In the Duke’s office.

Beatty worked hard to write the proposal during the morning, while aiming for afternoon tea time, when usually people were relaxed—a tip from a favorite book—and visited the office.

“Here.”

Beatty firstly held out the proposal.

The Duke, who received the bunch of paper that Baby suddenly gave, was slightly surprised but looked down at the paper with excitement.

‘Is it a letter?’

Baby who saw the gift he sent in the morning, wouldn’t that be the only thing that she would hold out to him?

A card, in return for the gift.

The Duke was ready to be happy, happier than receiving the Kingdom’s Medal of Honor, even with only one word ‘Dad’ written down on the paper.

However….

“…?”

Expecting a card with ‘Dad, thank you’, but what was seen in the Duke’s eyes was [Tuberosum something…], a report-like thing. 

It was inevitable that he, who had been looking forward to it, was flustered.

While the Duke was stopped by such unexpected documents.

‘Ah!’

Beatty, who suddenly realized that the greeting about the pre-investment funds she had seen in the morning hadn’t been done yet, opened her mouth.

“I received well what you sent in the morning.”

I definitely received the pre-investment money that Mister Client deposited!

With that kind of meaning, Beatty talked clearly with her eyes shining.

“Yeah.”

Briefly.

A smile crossed the Duke’s mouth.

Although his daughter’s reaction towards the gift was different from what he thought, seeing her shining eyes like that, he was relieved that she didn’t seem to dislike it.

‘Although it wasn’t the price that I wanted….’

Of course, she did want the gold acorn a lot, but what Beatty wants is permission to stay in this safe and cotton candy-like Duke’s Castle.

‘Seeing him keep telling me to go back, it’s clear that Father isn’t pleased that I’m in the Duke’s Castle.’

From the moment he first saw her, Father consistently said.

“Here isn’t the place for you to be in.”

It’s a situation where she doesn’t know when she’ll be kicked out of here right away.

‘Even so, Father seems to acknowledge my contribution that solved the food problem to some extent, so let’s draw a compromise with this.’

Even if she may not be able to stay as she wanted, even so, she won’t let herself be kicked out as soon as he wants!

‘I should get permission to live first even for a short period of time.’

Once you open the start, it is easier than the beginning to extend the same conditions.

‘One year? Will he say that it’s too long…? But one month is too short.’

When Beatty was thinking about how to bring it up.

Just in time, the Duke spoke first.

“Is there anything else you want?”

Twitch.

The leaned Duke looked down at Beatty, who was in a much lower position, and asked.

‘Let’s answer carefully.’

Looking at the overwhelming golden eye, Beatty opened his mouth.

“If my proposal helped, I’d like you to allow me to stay in the Duke’s Castle until my Coming-of-Age Ceremony—”

“I can’t do that.”

In an unusually rushed tone, the Duke cut off Beatty’s words. He looked away because he was afraid that he would want to listen to everything if he looked straight into Baby’s eyes.

Beatty, who doesn’t know the Duke’s heart, who distrusts his self-control, saying that if Baby made a pleading voice, he might suddenly allow it, asked again while sweating hard.

“Then even if it’s just for one year—”

“No, you can’t.”

“….”

‘As expected, the Duke Family. It’s not easy.’

The method of persuading by slightly suggesting an appropriate value after saying the maximum desired value slightly did not work at all.

Indeed the North’s Iron Barrier!

… Although that’s probably not the meaning of the Duke Family’s nickname which was famous for its invincible barrier that no one can break through.

“Hoo.”

Beatty was disappointed, but she refined her expression to not show it on the outside.

‘There’s nothing that I can do. Then, even if it’s just for one month….’

Of course, the poker face of an 8-year-old child did not work for the Duke.

The moment Beatty was about to ask for permission to stay even if it’s just for one month.

“If you want.”

Somehow, the Duke, who had hesitated for a while at his daughter’s expression who seemed disappointed, spoke again. It was an alternative to appease Baby which he thought of in his own way.

“I will build a building similar to the Main Castle in the Capital.”

“…Yes?”

No, but I mean, I didn’t want this ignorant fortress-like castle.