Chapter 3: 3

Chapter 3

***

“…What?”

“Where does all of Lumiere’s grace go?”

With a slight frown, he clicked his tongue, and grabbed me by the wrist.

‘Wow, his hands are really big.’

His hands were larger than the average adult man’s, and mine were smaller than the average child’s, because of this it looked like he was holding a toy.

When he reached for me, the wolves, who’s tension hadn’t gone down, immediately growled.

Stay calm. I admire your courage in still being brave while your tails were curled under your belly.

‘And all of this contact right now is just wonderful first aid.’

Wouldn’t this extend my lifespan by about three minutes?

With a happy smile, I solved the man’s curiosity.

“I didn’t starve, but I didn’t eat very much.”

“How much?”

“Oh, a piece of bread this big, and two pieces of carrots. Sometimes a ladleful of soup.”

His expression intensified as I balled up my hand, the one which Duke Bastion hadn’t grabbed, to indicate the size of the bread.

It’s definitely small. Even if I were to eat my fist, it was less than three bites. In addition, the carrot piece was just the size of my little finger.

“That was all you got to eat at a meal?”

“No, once a day.”

“…That’s f*cked.”

If you use such harsh language with that face, I could go crazy.

Should I say that it’s unexpected, or as expected.

Duke Bastion was typically far from the image that comes to mind when thinking of a ‘noble’.

Appropriately arrogant rather than haughty, he acted like he was friendly, but there was an aura around him that couldn’t be overlooked.

‘No, isn’t this the look of the ultimate aristocrat?’

He’s like a ray of light in a world where aristocrats are typically known for their pompousness, and name dropping.

It felt as if he was walking on the solitary path, to the point of being single-minded and firm in his ‘my way’ mindset.

What? Did my evaluation suddenly get better compared to before?

First, his face; second, my life expectancy seems to have gradually increased to about 7 minutes now. So, I was absolutely in the right, so let’s move on.

Duke Bastion, who’d crushed my wrist into little pieces like floppy sugar candy, asked me in frustration.

[t/l: I think she’s being hyperbolic… I think…]

“Is the temple having financial problems?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

Although it was a small pseudo-temple on the outskirts, it was quite wealthy thanks to William’s ‘secret business’.

The price of the products themselves was high, and after the purchase, the customer wouldn’t stab him in the back because they wanted to maintain confidentiality.

“So, they are forcing their followers to suffer?”

I shook my head lightly.

That’s definitely not it either. What does asceticism mean in a pseudo-temple?

The priests and holy knights of that temple didn’t eat vegetarian food or small meals, but rather chewed, tasted, and enjoyed alcohol and meat every day.

Only products like me had their diets restricted.

“They didn’t want us to gain too much weight, so we weren’t allowed to eat a lot…”

Who turned on the air conditioner? It was already cold, but there was a strong wind around me.

As I was shivering from the unknown cold, I heard a sigh above my head.

He seemed to be muttering again about whether to pick me up or not.

“First of all, let’s go in.”

To where? A coffin?

My eyes soared upwards as he approached me.

Whoa, the Duke of Bastion picked me up like I was as light as a feather, and started down the mountain.

He was so quick that the wolves had to grit their teeth to keep up.

‘Why is he so fast?! This isn’t even human!’

The speed was scary, but the elevation made it even scarier.

I hugged the man’s neck without realizing it because I thought I would really end up in a coffin if I fell from here.

It felt like he paused for a moment, then decreased in speed, but that might have been an illusion.

“Your Grace?”

“Who do you think you’re hugging…”

“Hey, it’s a wolf!”

As soon as we arrived at the rear courtyard of the mansion, the whole area became noisy.

Among them, the knights on duty, who raised their weapons immediately and pointed their spears at the wolves.

“Wait, wait!”

“Who…?”

Surprised by the sudden appearance of a child, the knights faltered.

Taking advantage of their hesitation, I shouted loudly and waved my arms.

“My kids don’t bite! Don’t attack them!”

“Wh-what?”

The uncertain knights looked at Duke Bastion, as if asking for orders.

I also shot him with a sparkling look from right under his nose.

“Don’t attack them, please? My kids are scary-looking, but they’re all nice.”

“…Leave it.”

Duke Bastion left the knights with that simple sentence, and quickened his pace again.

That’s a relief. Still, it’s a group of wild wolves, so they’ll look threatening to others.

I popped out over the Duke’s broad shoulder, and showed my palm to the wolves who were still followed behind me.

“Sit!”

“Awro!”

“Stay quiet!”

“Awrooo!”

Done, they should be okay.

We moved towards the entrance of the mansion, leaving behind the wolves, who were sitting in a line; and the knights, who were standing around awkwardly.

The building was so big that it took some time to walk to the main entrance from the rear courtyard.

‘Oh… I didn’t realize, but this place feels really expensive.’

When I looked down at it from a distance, it looked dark and desolate, but when I looked at the mansion up close it looked rather classical.

I immediately wondered whether it was a simple difference in viewpoint, or simply the difference in my frame of mind.

“Oh, my lord!”

From the front door of the mansion I heard a shout, then a man with green hair, that descended down to his chin, stepped out.

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“You ran away through the window again during work!”

“I didn’t run away.”

“Why are you denying it? If you do this every time, I’ll resign…!”

The man with the disheveled green hair found me, and stared at me for a long time.

He looked at us together, he hit his forehead, and lamented.

“Good grief, my lord… now it’s abduction.”

“Why don’t you use that brain of yours when you talk, and not just when you work.”

“I’m just joking…”

Shuddering and unable to jest, the tongue-tied man signaled at me with his eyes.

“So, who is this?”

“A candidate for my daughter-in-law.”

“…What?”

Duke Bastion walked past the confused man, and entered the mansion first.

The interior of the mansion was not as desolate as I expected, it was moderately colorful, bright and warm.

‘Surprising. I thought it would have an overbearing interior with no light or hope.’

While I was looking around, Duke Bastion stepped up the stairs of the shiny hall.

We entered a room on the second floor, and he finally put me down on the soft carpet.

Oh, maybe.

‘Was I cold outside because I was barefoot?’

If that’s true, then it’s a good deed that doesn’t match the evil duke’s reputation.

The Duke of Bastion tugged on the rope as I puzzled over the situation.

Knock, knock.

Soon after, a dignified old man in a tailored suit walked in after knocking.

The old man, who had a very calm demeanor, was not surprised to see me.

“Did you call me, master?”

“Dinner.”

The old man understood and responded well to the Duke’s words, who had produced a fragment instead of a partial sentence.

“This is food for the little girl, correct? Is there anything else you need?”

“Something to cover up.”

“Understood, sir. I’ll get a blanket, a pair of shoes big enough for the young lady, and I’ll make sure the fireplace is lit.”

I was impressed with the old man’s ability, as if he were using some method of discernment. He was truly an old man at the pinnacle of butlerhood.

‘If you say one thing, he understands ten things.’

The butler grandfather bowed until the end, then left the room. I was left alone with Duke Bastion, while my eyes quietly sparkled.

By the way, I couldn’t believe he was having a meal prepared for me, and something to warm me up.

‘I guess the duke brought me inside because I looked cold and pitiful.’

Instantly, my head whipped around.

I wondered if his heart was actually soft, unlike the rumors. Or was it limited to children?

Perhaps if I pretended to be sick, I could stay here forever?

I coughed pathetically as I came up with that line of thought.

This was a battle-tested performance that had successfully helped me escape the temple.

“Sniff, cough. Cough, cough…Oh, I’m sorry. I feel cold…”

“With that amount of holy power, you would be fine even if you fell into ice water.”

“Tsk.”

I didn’t like adults who were quick-witted.

When I clicked my tongue in annoyance, the duke laughed in amusement.

I stopped pretending to be pitiful, but there was still hope I could stay here.

Anyways, he was the person who picked me up because I was young and pitiful, even though he knew I couldn’t get sick or hurt.

“For now, sit down.”

The Duke of Bastion sat cross-legged on a long sofa in what was probably a drawing room.

I didn’t sit across from him, instead I ran over to the Duke and put my hands on his knee.

Then I looked up at him with wide eyes, and said with all the force I could muster.

“May I have hope?”

“What hope?”

“Can I be excited to hear that I’m a candidate for your daughter-in-law? Can I reserve everything from the wedding venue to the wedding dress? Is that right?”

In my heart, I’ve already made plans for my retirement.

At my eagerness, the duke gave me a look that was somewhere between amused and exasperated. Whatever it was, it didn’t look too bad.

“There might be a possibility.”

“I want a bouquet of peonies. Pink ones.”

“The chances may have become slimmer.”

What! I told you my precious bouquet preference!

I grumpily shook the duke’s knee.

He didn’t move, and only my body moved in reaction.

“Duke, playing with someone’s hope is the cruelest thing in the world!”

“No, it’s not. There are many crueler tortures in this world.”

Before I could ask the duke to grab hold of me, I suddenly fell down.

I didn’t know you’d build an iron wall like that after acting like you were easy to attack. It’s like someone who requested to go back and forth between hot and cold baths.

It’s warm for a child, but how could I forget the default value?

‘I forgot you were responsible for impregnable territories.’

Similar to his predecessor, who were known as ‘devils or demons’, the Dukes of Bastion all shared the same harsh nickname. They were known as the ‘Monster Dam’.

The reason for the birth of such a nickname was as follows.

The northernmost part of the continent was located near the only place where monsters occurred, ‘the Forest of Shadows’.

Thanks to that, monsters were constantly flooding their towns everyday.

The training of elite knights to do massive subjugations would’ve started just to survive.

As such, it became the harshest but strongest place in the nation, and naturally became known as the dam that was responsible for the safety of other territories.

Incidentally, the moment the Dukedom of Bastion was breached, it meant that the whole empire would have been flooded by monsters.

Of course, in the long history of the Amanta Empire, the Monster Dam had never been pierced.

‘This grand duke, in particular, was well-known as the monster butcher. I heard that he leads the subjugation team himself every year.’

The Duke of Bastion, who was currently sitting there looking bored, seemed even further away.

It might be too vain to think that I could set up a house with such a family.

“…You’ll regret it.”

“Hmm?”

“If you miss this opportunity, you’ll regret it.”

I’m just as good as you!

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