CH 29

“Dad! I finally found… hmp!”

The kid who was spreading the news everywhere made a squeak sound.

Clackㅡ

Blocking Bella’s mouth, I quietly closed the door with my back.

The Duke’s voice cut through the closed door.

“What will happen if he finds me?”

I quietly threatened her.

“Hmp, hmp.”

“Speak.”

“…Hmmp.”

“Ck, I told you to speak!”

“…Let go, hand… Speak…”

“Oops.”

Then I removed my hand that was covering her mouth.

Bella, who had barely managed to get out, tried to say something, yet she sat down with startled eyes.

“…W-Whoa. It’s Princess Billishia.”

My behavior was a scary one, though.

The innocent eyes hardened in shock and just looked up at me.

“…It’s the first time I’ve actually seen it.”

As if it felt like a dream.

Contrary to the unpleasant first impression, Bella’s eyes sparkled as if she were looking at me as a famous actress.

If it was a nice meeting, it would have been cute.

‘But I don’t like being referred to like an object.’

Even the Bluebell family.

In this case, threats were the answer.

Thudㅡ

I kicked a nearby cushion with my sharp sausage leg.

“Why are you here?”

“…T-That…”

“Don’t you know it’s rude to visit without an invitation?”

“…I’m sorry, I thought Dad was looking for you, so I thought he did it with good intentions…”

Her eyes widened, perhaps because she was frightened.

The pale face was like a rabbit.

I ignored the pitiful gaze and crossed my arms.

“Really?”

“…”

“I’m asking you!”

I’ll have to scare her one more time.

Boing!

This time, when I threw the shoes I was wearing, I heard a, ‘hiiic’ from Bella’s side.

“R-Really…”

“Hmm.”

“I’m sorry. I was wrong.”

Contemplating, Bella hurriedly rubbed her hand.

She was like a herbivore begging for help.

Feeling weakened for no reason, I slowly untied my arms.

‘Actually, Bella wasn’t a bad kid.’

It was like that in my previous life.

Bella, who whimpered in front of me, was often compared to me since she was little.

I heard that she was looked down on, especially in that she couldn’t handle Magi.

Is it because of that?

Even if she clumsily imitated Magi, she became the youngest chief magician in the future.

With that skill, she became an administrator of the Imperial Family and dominated the political world.

I looked down at Bella as she wiped away her tears.

‘Looking at it, I guess she was forcibly taken by Duke Bell. Maybe I was a bit harsh.’

Come to think of it, we had something in common.

The fact that we were unhappy as a child because of our family background.

“…Whew.”

Eventually, feeling pitiful, I sat down on the chair and tapped the empty chair next to me.

“Sit down and don’t cry.”

Yeah. What crime does she have?

It’s all her parents’ fault.

“Hurry.”

Saying it again, Bella, who had been rubbing her face with her hands, sat down in the chair.

I scooped out a piece of cake with a fork.

“Eat the cake. Don’t tell your dad where I am.”

“…”

“If you don’t answer, there is no cake.”

“Ahㅡ.”

Bella had to be intimidated for my words to work.

The child hurriedly nodded her head, took the cake from me, and smiled contentedly.

After accepting her promise, I was relieved a little.

“If you wait a little bit, the Duke will take you. Anyway, you must be very tired.”

I raised my hand to give her cake again.

Sparkling, sparklingㅡ 

“…”

The carrot-colored eyes, which suddenly felt better, were watching me with pressure.

‘The Bluebell family must have talked a lot about me, so she was curious.’

“…How old are you?”

It was as expected.

Bella asked me.

I also got an apology. Since I was getting bored, I answered easily.

“Five years old.”

“I heard that you came to the Duke’s Castle when you were five years old. Where were you before that?”

“Free State. I lived with a very rich lady.”

No matter how nice she is, my opponent is the Bluebell family.

I don’t need to disclose my dark history, so I just covered it up.

“It’s a lie.”

“…What?”

Bewildered, I asked.

Bella proudly crossed her arms.

“That’s a lie!”

The child must have been proud of having uncovered my lie, then she was elated at some point.

“Princess Billishia lived as a slave in the Eillian family’s mansion until she was five years old. I studied everything. You’re a liar.”

Does the Bluebell family teach these things too?

My mouth was wide open at the miserable educational environment.

“…will… right?”

“What?”

Bella muttered something and pretended to rest her chin with her little hand as if she had made up her mind.

“What did you say?”

I pricked up my ears, unable to understand her.

“Ouch!”

Suddenly, something caught my eye.

As I tried to get up, I fell on my buttocks in surprise and grabbed my aching tailbone.

“…Rabbit doll?”

What Bella threw at me was a rabbit doll.

The child, who was standing there, murmured innocently.

“…If I become a pitiful child like you, I will be praised by Dad, right?”

What are you saying, this child.

“You. It’s a pity, but you can’t act like that!”

It was when I, who had caught the doll in a daze, raised the ax eye.

“Bella!”

“Duke, if you open the door like that…”

“Huwaaaaaa!”

When Duke Bell, who was breathing heavily, appeared with the door thrown open, Bella, who suddenly burst into tears, was embraced by the Duke.

The incident happened in an instant.

I caught the situation through Agasa, who was staring at Duke Bell.

Me holding a rabbit doll.

And the cry of Bella, saddened by the loss of her own attachment doll.

‘The situation is strange.’

Could it be that she intentionally threw the doll at me?

I thought she was naive and kind.

…Is she this wicked?

The Duke and Agasa’s faces darkened as they looked at me and Bella.

He looked in disbelief, but at the sight of Bella crying, he finally exhaled.

“M-My daughter…”

Even Duke Bell’s face was flushing red as if he was angry that his daughter had been treated so harshly in someone else’s house.

“…Why on earth does my daughter…”

“Gosh. It’s a misunderstanding, I told you? I have a cat doll, so why would I want to steal that rabbit doll?”

I raised my cotton fist and protested at the absurd uninvited guest.

“…This brat! You want me to believe that? Can’t you see my child crying right now!”

The Duke screamed loudly and hugged the crying Bella as if he was protecting her.

“Bella, it’s okay. You have Dad. Dad is here.”

No, there’s no anyone’s Dad here!

I wanted to shout, yet there was no Cassis now.

“…”

After a moment of hesitation, I quickly came to my senses and changed the point of the conversation.

“Alright. Let’s say I did. But is the crying child the problem?”

“What?”

“As a direct descendant of Vallois, that child who came in without knocking is an uninvited guest. She could be a suspicious person, so shouldn’t we at least search for her?”

“A-A five-year-old with fresh blood on her head…”

(this refers to the blood on a baby’s head when they were just born.)

I’m a direct descendant.

Boing!

If words don’t work, I have to show them with my actions.

In the end, I got angry and threw the left shoe that I hadn’t taken off yet on the floor and commanded.

“To attack the castle without introducing yourself to the direct line family! What are you doing! Knights! Here are those who have invaded the castle without permission!”

Drap, drap, drap.

The footsteps of the knights, startled by my shouting, echoed like a herd of elephants.

“I-I-I…”

The Duke’s face turned red.

Seeing the knights rushing in, he staggered as he grabbed the back of his head.

***

“Please stand by for now. I need to have a conversation with the Duke.”

After Agasa managed to get the knights out.

The Duke leaned against the wall, touching his forehead.

He was glaring at me with red, bloodshot eyes, probably dizzy from the fever.

“Agasa.”

“Yes.”

“…It seems that the Princess of Vallois hasn’t matured.”

“Is that so.”

“Did her buds turn yellow because she was a slave until a few months ago? Seeing her way of speaking, she needs to be educated.”

“I see.”

Agasa, who gave a rough answer without even looking at the Duke, stared at me quietly.

‘Is he angry?’

There was only Agasa on my side here.

Just in case, did I drop him?

“…?”

He was obviously far away, yet before I knew it, Agasa was kneeling in front of me.

“Duke Bluebell doesn’t seem to know much about Vallois yet.”

“What?”

He smiled and gently lifted the rabbit doll in my arms.

“We don’t interfere in the private lives of the children. Because this is the iron rule of Vallois.”

Then, as he gave the dangling doll to Bella, he cast his gaze at the Duke.

“Duke, you should try to apply this educational policy to your daughter as well. Aren’t you interested in Vallois?”

“…You.”

Agasa’s provocation instantly froze the atmosphere.

Although the Bluebell family is said to be a collateral branch of Vallois, Bluebell was a duke of the four largest families.

That means he’s on the same level as Cassis.

Even though the situation was quite threatening, Agasa didn’t back down.

His face was still peaceful.

“Yes, Duke. Go ahead.”

His coolly raised eyes seemed to burn down targets that were a threat to Vallois regardless of their social status.

“Or would you like to wait a bit? If I send a message that Duke Bluebell has arrived, His Grace will come right away.”

“W-What! I was just visiting on the way…”

Agasa quietly picked up the quill pen from the desk with actions instead of words.

“Enough, enough! It’s obvious even if I don’t look! The regular meeting is right around the corner, but seeing that the Duke isn’t here, it seems that he doesn’t care for his daughter as much as rumors say. Now that I know what to look for, I’ll go!”

As expected.

At the mention of Cassis, Duke Bell, whose face turned pale immediately, grabbed Bella’s hand.

“Let’s go, Bella!”

Bangㅡ!

As if to vent his anger, he slammed the door shut and left the duchy as if he was running away.

“…Ha.”

That’s how the fuss ended.

Whooshㅡ  

A chilly wind blew through the space in the sudden silence.

This was the reality.

‘Things would be different if Dad was here.’

The state of Vallois, whose owner had been away for five years, was revealed here.

No matter how powerful a group is, it loses its power without a leader.

“Hmm?”

It was then.

“…They’re copying us?”

A bright lightbulb burned in my darkened mind.

“Princess. I’m sorry for making you see the sights you can’t see. Anyway, what’s urgent is the regular meeting…”

“Aga!”

I grabbed Agasa as he was about to get up.

“Listen, I’ve come up with a great idea for the Law Kingdom fund!”

I whispered a simple plan.

“Hmm.”

Agasa, who gave me his ear, slightly widened his weary eyes.