Chapter 7: 7

“Noisy. If you’ll continue creating such ruckus then just stay in your room.”

“No, no, no. Duke! Do you think the situation right now even makes sense?! You’re suddenly bringing in Oricsa’s blood from the outside and adding her to the register?!”

The more the man talked, the more crazy and ridiculous he looked. The louder his voice became, the farther she hid behind the Duke.

“Are you craaaaaaaazy?!”

At this point, she was already wondering how much higher his tone could get. Rosalia looked in awe at the flushed face of the man. He looked like his face was bloodstained with how red it was. And the Duke, who finally noticed Rosalia’s sparkling and inquisitive blue eyes, warned him lowly.

“Simon. Don’t say such crass and harsh things in front of a child.”

“Ho?!”

His mouth widened, he couldn’t believe the ridiculous situation in front of him. His mouth was opened so wide that it seemed like a fly could come inside. Simon couldn’t understand why the Duke, who could only see himself, was covering a dirty and uninteresting child behind him.

Did he get caught in a charm spell? Or is it a curse?

The Duke was someone who would not be caught in such ridiculous methods but if he was truly under a spell then he needed to find a solution right away.

“Oh my, oh my. I heard a loud noise and I was told that something had happened. I’ll prepare your bath right away. Will you be having dinner?”

An old woman came running towards them after she heard Simon’s loud shrieks. Her eyes widened in shock for a moment when she saw the Duke wrapped in a strange and sloppy cloth. However, she immediately regained her calm and spoke to him as if there was nothing wrong. She looked like someone who had worked for quite a long time under the Duke.

“You’ve come at the right moment, Emma. Simon is a useless guy. I have to go out again so you don’t need to prepare anything for me. However, I ask you to take care of this child.”

“Oh my! Where did you find such a pretty little lady?”

Rosalia quickly averted her gaze, she tried to evade Emma’s warm and friendly look.

‘This grandma is a liar.’

Rosalia believed that she was very self-aware and objective. And right now, she could clearly tell what the situation was without even using an ounce of her self-awareness. She knew that she wasn’t pretty at all. She had just recovered from a three-day sickness, was malnourished and unable to eat anything properly, and unable to even wash up. All in all, she was a filthy and grubby child. Even the word ‘Ye’ in ‘Yeppeuda’ truly did not match her at all.

Madame Pamela would definitely have looked at such a person and told her ‘Your tongue sure is greasy.’.

‘She said that a person who has an oily and greasy tongue was a swindler.’

She did not know what the connection between an oiled and greasy tongue and being a swindler was but she remembered it since Madame Pamela had said so. Rosalia became wary of Emma, a swindler grandma.

“You look like you’re seriously hurt, will you be going out without administering any treatment?”

“Even if you leave this wound alone, it would heal in and on itself. No need for any first-aid treatment since someone had already done it well for me. But I’ll have to change clothes instead.” 

“That’s a good idea. If you go outside like that then the terrible rumors about the Duke will probably get worse.”

Emma replied to the Duke in a cheeky tone. The Duke looked like he couldn’t bear to listen to Emma anymore so he turned around. He looked like he was about to leave to change his clothes.

‘Heok. No way!’

Rosalia was on the verge of being placed under the care of either the noisy Simon or the swindler Emma.

“Well then, pretty little lady. Shall we go and wash up first?”

“Ah. Wait.”

Just like a chick who just broke out of its egg and saw someone else for the first time, she turned to follow the duke unconsciously. Duke Valencia stopped in his tracks. Then, he turned to look at Ema.

Look.

“Prepare everything that this child wants to eat and give her the biggest room in the estate.”

“Just in case, I want to confirm. The biggest room in the caste is yours, right?”

“Then, give her my room.”

“Yes?”

Pyong.

Simon, who was banned from speaking harsh words in front of Rosalia, suddenly made a strange noise. In addition, Emma and Rosalia were both looking at him blankly. The two of them were both dumbfounded from his words.

What? What room do you want to give me?

“The interior is not fit for a child so we should change the furniture first.”

His words were so strange that it was not weird that the rest of them were dumbfounded. However, Duke Valencia continued to speak seriously.

“Place the catalog in my room.”

“If we give the little lady the Duke’s room, then the Duke will have no room for himself. Don’t tell me that you’re going to share a room with her?”

“Of course not.”

Duke Valencia looked at Emma as if she was spouting some crazy nonsense. But even if she was treated like she was a crazy person, Emma did not get offended and just smiled softly at him.

“Place the catalog in my study. You should check out the furniture that girls these days like.”

“If we’re going to change the owner of the room completely, then we have to change not only the wallpaper but also the wallpapers.”

“Up to you. Ah, that’s right. If you’re going to change the wallpaper then you should also fix the floor while you’re at it.”

“Yes. I’ll call someone in tomorrow.”

Emma nodded without any trace of astonishment. Simon, who was listening in on the conversation with a dumb look on his face, suddenly stepped in.

“Are you serious?”

“What.”

“Are you serious… this skinny little girl. No, this tiny little girl with no resemblance even to the Duke’s nose hair… You’re giving this child the Duke’s room?”

Simon looked like he wanted to say that she was ‘skinny and only bones’ changed his words when he encountered the Duke’s sharp glare.

“Do I look like I’m playing around?”

“Hahaha. You went outside and when you came back you finally learnt how to make jokes and make people laugh. Hahaha. This is the funniest joke that I have heard this year.”

Simon laughed loudly as he slapped the Duke’s shoulder. However, at that exact same moment, the mood turned frosty and cold.

‘Ah. It’s cold.’

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Rosalia rubbed her arms when she felt the cold.

The mild and ambient temperature should have still been the same but somehow it felt cold to her. It was fortunate that Simon was not that tactless. Simon’s laughter suddenly stopped as he asked the Duke in a stutter.

“…Or not?”

“It’s not.”

Duke Valencia looked at Simon with a chilly gaze. He could feel that his gaze was as cold as teh temperature that had cooled down so suddenly.

“Simon.”

“Forgive me. I have committed a great sin worthy of death.”

It was an apology that could not have been given any faster than normal. Duke Valencia sighed deeply as he patted Simon on the shoulder while saying ‘Don’t do any nonsense while I’m away and just follow my orders.’ Whenever Duke Valencia patted Simon on his shoulder, he looked like his eyes would pop out and his mouth even leaked out some ‘Ugh’ and ‘Ack’s but no one really gave him enough care and attention.

Duke Valencia who roughly dealt with Simon turned around to leave. When Rosalia confirmed that Simon and Emma’s attention were not focused on her she quickly followed the Duke’s footsteps. Then, she pulled the hem of the Duke’s clothes.

“Ahjussi. Why are you leaving me behind?” 

A strange expression flitted on the Duke’s face for a moment when he saw the fern-like tiny hands of Rosalia that were tugging at the hem of his clothes.

“There are processes that I need to go through for you to be my daughter. I’ll do that and come back immediately. Then, I’ll also catch some bugs and put them in their place while I’m at it.” 

“Bugs?” 

“If you leave them alone then they will turn into pests who will eat the place here and there.” 

 Rosalia tilted her head in confusion when she suddenly heard that the Duke would catch some bugs.

“Will you come back once you caught the bugs?” 

“Everything will be settled by tomorrow morning. I’ll come back by that time.” 

“……” 

“Don’t get in trouble and take care of yourself. I’ll definitely praise you if you’re obedient.” 

“I’ve never been in trouble.”

“Yes. You run around and escape instead.” 

‘I did not run away either. I’m not the one you’re looking for in the first place.’ 

She knew that even if she told the Duke the truth, Duke Valencia would still not listen to her properly. Rosalia let go of the hem of his clothes with a pout on her face. She looked like she was reluctant to let go but there was nothing she could do so she had to let go.

She felt like she was caught in an illusion that would break after today.

“Then, miss. Shall we go wash up first?”

Emma swiftly intervened and even though she was not pleased with this outcome, Rosalia was forced to follow behind her.

However, Rosalia, who did not have eyes on her back, did not see the Duke looking back at her every few steps he took. The Duke completely looked like a man who had left behind something important to him as he moved away with reluctance.

“Is it possible for me to know what the miss’ name is?”

“Rosalia.”

Duke Valencia might have given his last name to her but he only told her about her first name so she only said that name. Emma smiled at her when she heard her name.

“You have a name that is as pretty as your face.”

‘My face is ugly. Does that mean that she doesn’t like my name?’

She felt embarrassed and flustered as she stood in front of Emma who only gave her praises. After all, she was someone who had lived in a place where only blunt and harsh words were spoken.

Meanwhile, Simon, who had been following behind them quietly, tried to intervene. However, he hesitated since he had no idea on how to talk and respond to such a child. He quietly and intently stared at Rosalia’s face as he spoke.

“You look like you’re six years old. I don’t think that there’s a girl your age in the Oricsa’s right now. Or maybe you’re from the side branch? No. I don’t think there’s any girl from the side branch.”

“No. I’m eight years old!”

My goodness! Duke Valencia and everyone else looked at me like I’m two years younger than my current age!

It was fine if she was mistaken as a ten-year-old but no, she was mistaken for a six-year-old child. It was a big blow towards Rosalia’s eight years of pride.

The moment she corrected his words, a thought flashed through Simon’s head.

“Eight years old?”

“Yeah!”

“Eight years ago…”

Simon suddenly stopped in his tracks. However, Emma did not really care about him at all as she continued to usher Rosalia towards the bathroom.

“Crazy. Absolutely crazy! You named her Rosalia? You even gave her the pet name Rose? Truly absurd!”

The only thing that Rosalia could hear from Simon who stopped in his tracks and mumbled to himself was only the word ‘Crazy.’. To her, it looked like Simon was truly a crazy person so she carefully tugged at Emma’s clothes and asked her.

“That ahjussi… is it okay to leave him there?”

“You don’t have to worry about him, he’s often like that.”

Ah, so that was the case.

Emma had also looked like she had realized something when she heard that Rosalia was eight years old. However, Rosalia was not looking at her expression closely so she did not notice the slight changes in her face. Instead, she glanced behind her.

‘Heok!’

Behind her, she saw Simon staring intently at her.

‘Simon hates me.’

As she faced those hostile eyes that were staring intently at her, Rosalia just accepted the fact calmly and rationally.

Footnotes

[‘Ye’ in ‘Yeppeuda’] ‘예쁘다’의 ‘예’ – Ye is the first syllable in the word Yeppeuda. Ye can mean yes while Yeppeuda means pretty.

[Fern-like] 고사리같이 – Fern-like hands, imagine the young stem of ferns, they are curled tightly. Which looked like a child’s clenched fists. 

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