Chapter 26: 26

“…What?”

Michael looked down in amazement. The girl who had passed out, was now sitting down and looking up at Michael with a blank expression.

“Ahh…”

The girl wiggled her thumb and looked around the bright lights.

After seeing that, Michael sighed in relief.

It was unexpected for her to wake up already, but there was no need to be nervous.

Those unfocused eyes were of a helpless newborn.

“Did you sleep well? Fire…”

Michael swallowed a lump when he tried to call the girl in front of him ‘Fire Ant.’

Ah, now he had to treat her as a precious youngest princess, not a fire ant.

“…Lilietta.”

“Awoo?”

The girl who had become Lilietta opened her mouth ambiguously as if she didn’t know what had happened to her.

Michael squatted and pulled the little sister’s doughy cheek.

“Now that I see it, you look cute.”

He didn’t know whether she really resembled a real princess he had never met, but when it comes to her looks, the girl’s appearance really appealed to Michael. Especially with her red hair like a pomegranate.

“From now on, I will treat you like a real sister.”

Michael smiled kindly. Successfully, he created a substitute for Lily.

A doll with the same outer shell and an empty inside. This little girl would bring many years of happiness to the Bauner family.

“That’s great, isn’t it? This makes everyone happy. When the Bauner family is stable and everyone is happy… maybe my father will recognize me as a member of the family.”

When Michael finished speaking, he kissed Lily’s round forehead, making a sound.

The girl, who became an idiot, blinked her innocent eyes and reached out to reach Michael’s head.

“Are you going to pet me too?”

Michael politely bowed his head. There was nothing bad about it. It had been years since someone petted him.

That was what he thought until Lily grabbed his fine blond hair.

“Ah!” 

Lily’s grip became stronger when Michael tried pulling himself out of the pain of being torn to the scalp.

Michael shook his hand in the air in bewilderment.

“Hey, it hurts. Let it go. Let it go.”

“Grrr!”

Lily shook Michael’s head, while bouncing, rather than listen to his words. She looked very happy.

“Ouch! Stop it! Hey!”

Michael was only able to get her hands out of his hair after she plucked a few handfuls of hair.

Lily, who was obsessively coveting her brother’s hair, widened her eyes and laid flat on her back.

In her small hands, his blond hair fluttered.

“Gif me mowe! Waaa!” (“Give me more! Waaa!”)

“Hey, don’t cry. Stop! I told you to stop”

“Waaa! Mowe! Mowe!” (Waaa! More! More!”)

“How can I give you all my hair? Shall I cut it off? All right, at the end of the hair…”

“Waaa! Pull ‘em all out!” (“Waaa!! Pull them all out!”)

Michael couldn’t help but be puzzled.

This greenhouse was soundproof, but as soon as Lily’s cry went outside, the gardener would run to them.

If that were to happen, the plan to blame the gardener would be shattered.

No matter how this disguise was to be nominal, it was necessary to have someone in charge of the situation instead of Michael.

“Listen to brother, okay?”

“Nou! I’m going to pull out all your hair!” 

“You really… ah. Would you like this?” 

Michael looked around, took a cube of sugar and put it in his sister’s mouth.

Lily ‘bubbled’, took it well and ate it.

It seemed like she was very hungry, seeing that she chewed on it.

“Right, right. Good girl.”

Michael carefully raised Lily, who had barely stopped crying.

But how comfortable it would be if all children listened like this.

“Gif again.” (“Give me again.”)

Lily slumped into her chair and pointed to a bin of sugar cubes.

Michael suppressed a deep sigh and picked up another cube of sugar.

Lily ate it, put it in her mouth, and held out her small hand again.

“Gif again.” (“Give me again.”)

“We don’t have time for this.”

“Then gif me that.” (“Then give me that.”)

Lily pointed to Michael’s hair.

With a frown on his face, Michael reluctantly placed three or four sugar cubes in Lily’s palm.

Instead of eating the sugar cubes, Lily threw them on the table.

Michael scratched his head angrily. He was distracted by the child-rearing hell that he was experiencing for the first time in his life.

“What do you mean?”

Then one of the sugar cubes that Lily had tossed like a ball hit a large teapot.

It was the tool he used last night to turn Lily into an idiot.

“Wow.”

Lily clasped it tightly, as if curious about the large teapot.

“I want to smeww it.” (“I want to smell it.”)

Lily sniffed against the teapot’s mouth.

Michael hurriedly grabbed the teapot.

Poisonous residue could have remained at the entrance of the teapot. 

It was hard to handle Lily now, but he didn’t want it to get any worse.

“Is it edible?”

“No.” 

“But it looks edible.” 

“…First.” 

“What’s its name?” 

“Black tea.” 

Michael answered roughly, putting the kettle on the shelf. 

But this time, Lily bit him instead.

“Gif me.” (“Give me.”)

“We’re running out of time.”

“Huuuaaaahhh!”

It was reckless. Michael quickly set his index finger by her mouth. 

“Stop! Okay. I’ll make you black tea. We’re leaving when you’re done, all right?”

“Yeah!” 

Lily stopped crying and turned bright. 

Michael sighed inside and put the poisoned teapot in the cupboard and took out another kettle. 

You are reading story How to Live as the Mad Duke’s Fake Daughter at novel35.com

“I’ll cook you something more delicious.”

This time, it was a normal kettle without any trickery.

He set a fire in the furnace that was completely extinguished and boiled water.

He was worried that Lily would make a fuss, but luckily, she was preoccupied with the sugar cube right now.

The sound of sugar cubes being crushed was vivid behind Michael’s back.

He brewed the tea as fast as lightning and put it in front of Lily. But Lily only looked at Michael’s face.

“What’s the matter? Have you forgotten how to hold a cup?”

“I made this for myself. It’s ruined when I hold it tight.”

Sugar powder scatters between Lily’s fingers.

She seemed to think he had made something new after crushing sugar cubes into powder.

“…Open your mouth. Ah.”

Eventually, Michael picked up the teacup himself and brought it to Lily’s lips.

He kept sighing, but he couldn’t help it. It was his own fault, so he’d be patient with it.

“Ppuuh!”

…The moment he thought that, Lily spat out the tea without hesitation.

“It’s bitter!” 

Michael was patient and explained carefully.

“This is how it’s supposed to be. You have a weird taste.”

“You should dwink it youwself. You awe stupid one, couldn’t even see what was wight in fwont of you.” (“You should drink it yourself. You are stupid one, couldn’t even see what was right in front of you.”)

Even though it was just an idiot’s nonsense, the tone of teasing was strangely real, which made him feel bad.

“Foolish idiot.”

Lily opened her tiny fist over the tea.

Finely crushed sugar powder spread over the red tea.

Lily handed it to Michael instead of drinking it herself.

“Dwink it. You said it was tasty.”

“What? this?”

It was very uncomfortable. When Michael hesitated, Lily waved her arms as if to urge him.

“If you drink this, I’ll listen to you.” 

That was the thing he wanted to hear the most. Michael couldn’t help it, had no choice but to put it to his mouth. 

He was just going to pretend to taste it and put it down, but Lily pushed the bottom of the teacup hard.

The little bits of tea water dripped down his mouth and chin. 

“……”

Hang in there, hang in there. Michael calmed his boiling insides, took out a handkerchief and wiped his mouth.

Lily jumped up, seemingly satisfied at that moment.

“Let’s go!”

“Yeah, finally.”

After carefully washing Lily’s sugar-stained hands, Michael held them tightly as if they were going out on a picnic.

As she went outside, Lily suddenly became quiet. She did not make a single cry until she came out of the greenhouse and arrived at the Acacia Garden.

“It’s pwetty!” (“It’s pretty!”)

The pure white flowers gave off a strong scent that made her dizzy.

Lily jumped through them like a rabbit.

“Lily, come here. You have to stay with brother.”

“Am I pwetty?” (“Am I pretty?”)

Lily spun around in place. Loose muslin pajamas spread round. 

Michael looked at Lily quietly, picked a flower he could reach, and put it in the girl’s ear.

“Pretty.”

It wasn’t a lie. The red-haired girl spinning round and round in the white and dreamy flower garden was like a rose wrapped in mist flowers.

Michael patted Lily’s cheek and peered over the bunch of flowers he had just picked.

There were poisonous plants that had been pre-planted.

A grass that can cause paralysis and even disability if consumed.

It was white and smooth, resembling an acacia flower.

“Lilietta, you know what? When you pick an acacia flower and bite it in your mouth, it tastes sweet.”

If she thought it was an acacia flower and bit a poisonous herb, it’d be quite a natural accident.

As Michael shook his hand once, a sharp claw popped out of the ring.

He soon picked out a stalk of poisonous weed of a suitable size and tore it off.

Lily didn’t know what he was doing, and she was just stroking the bright petals with excitement.

It was nice to hear the shrill laughter.

“It’s beautifuw! Pwetty!” (“It’s beautiful! Pretty!”)

“Yeah, now you can live in a pretty world for the rest of your life.”

Originally, the stunned Lily would be moved to the garden and he would disguise it as if she ate poison.

But it was a change of plan since Lily had woken up.

He was thinking of making her chew a little to make her faint.

This poison must be swallowed completely for it to be effective, so she won’t get too sick.

“Come on. This is delicious…” 

Instead of approaching Lily, Michael got down on his knees.

He was momentarily bewildered. Did he lose strength in his legs because he couldn’t sleep?

‘…No, this is not because of fatigue.’

Michael, who usually handles poison, noticed immediately. This was a symptom of paralysis.

“What’s wong?” (“What’s wrong?”)

Lily tilted her head like a puppy and then tapped Michael’s shoulder.

The weak boy collapsed and crumpled even with the slightest force.

Michael put his head down in the hard dirt and clenched his teeth tightly.

He’s in trouble. He didn’t know where the heck it came from, but it was as if he had ingested poison.

Something so strong that the resistance he had cultivated until now was useless.

“Li, Lilietta. Call someone.”

Now that it had become like this, even if it looked suspicious, he couldn’t do it.

He had to get treatment first. It might look suspicious, but he could make excuses, that the two of them ate the same poison…

“I don’t uant to.” (“I don’t want to.”)

Lily shook her head resolutely. She didn’t seem to realize the seriousness of the situation.

“Lily, please.”

No matter how earnestly Michael begged, Lily looked at another place mercilessly.

“It’s beautiful hewe, I wike it. I want to pway mowe.” (“It’s beautiful here, I like it. I want to play more.”)

“Hey, it’s not the time to…”

“Is Brother deaf?”

What did she just say? 

Lily jumped up to her feet and put an acacia flower in Michael’s ear.

Then she stroked his cheek with the palm of her hand.

Like Michael did when he left her.

“I said I’m going to play more.”

An idiot’s smile was nowhere to be found.

You can find story with these keywords: How to Live as the Mad Duke’s Fake Daughter, Read How to Live as the Mad Duke’s Fake Daughter, How to Live as the Mad Duke’s Fake Daughter novel, How to Live as the Mad Duke’s Fake Daughter book, How to Live as the Mad Duke’s Fake Daughter story, How to Live as the Mad Duke’s Fake Daughter full, How to Live as the Mad Duke’s Fake Daughter Latest Chapter