Episode 4
The Duke’s lowered voice was scary, but there was no way I could eat any more.
I was already struggling to breathe, panting heavily.
‘What should I do…?’
I was frozen, unable to do anything.
“Y-Your Grace.”
The maid, who had been standing quietly as if she didn’t exist, stepped forward and knelt.
“May I… dare to say something?”
She looked completely determined.
It felt strangely familiar.
It was exactly the kind of expression loyal ministers made in historical dramas when they risked their lives to advise a tyrant.
What is she about to say?
“Young Miss’s stomach is very small. It’s not like the young masters’. If she eats any more, she’ll end up with a stomachache.”
Huh?
She sounded like someone ready to die… but what she said was unexpected.
The Duke of Faeraton looked down at the maid silently for a moment.
His cold expression didn’t reveal a single emotion.
Finally, his well-shaped lips moved.
“Your name?”
“M-My name is Anna.”
So her name is Anna.
I saw her face every day, but I was only learning her name now.
I’d thought about asking several times before, but every time I tried, her distant attitude made me give up.
After spending so long being ignored at Marquis Tarenca’s house, giving up had become a habit.
Anna answered while trembling, but the Duke simply looked away.
“From now on, you’ll be this child’s personal maid.”
That was all he said.
Anna looked up at him in surprise before bowing deeply.
“Yes, Your Grace.”
As I watched her, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
If he’s assigning me a personal maid… then maybe…
“Um… can I keep living here?”
“What a pointless question.”
His answer was cold.
But at least it meant he had no intention of throwing me out.
‘Well… from the Duke’s point of view, I am his daughter on paper.’
Leaving me with relatives?
Sure, that was one thing.
But bringing back a child who had been abused there, only to throw her out again?
That was a completely different story.
‘He’s a noble, too. His reputation must matter.’
Even if he didn’t like me, he probably wouldn’t send me away.
Good.
My safety was secured.
‘I should’ve realized this sooner. I’ve been way too scared.’
Well…
I’d spent almost my entire life in this world being treated like I didn’t belong.
It couldn’t be helped.
“Are you really unable to eat any more?”
The Duke asked sharply.
Afraid he’d make me eat more, I quickly nodded.
“Yes.”
“I see.”
Silence filled the room.
Um…
Trying not to look awkward, I glanced around.
The Duke never looked away.
He just kept staring at me.
Earlier, I’d at least been busy eating, but now I was just sitting there under that intense gaze.
It was incredibly uncomfortable.
I nervously fidgeted with my hands.
‘It’s like he’s wondering what to do with this little rat.’
Somebody save me…
“Your Grace.”
As if someone had heard my silent wish, there was a knock.
The Duke’s aide entered the dining room.
Thanks to him, I was finally free from the Duke’s terrifying stare.
Whew… I seriously thought his eyes were going to burn holes through my face.
“I’m sorry. Since you returned to the estate unexpectedly today, the Imperial Palace has sent word…”
The Duke glared coldly at his aide before letting out a faint sigh and standing up.
So that’s why he came home early.
It hadn’t been planned.
Before leaving the dining room, he looked back at me.
“Don’t do anything unnecessary. Stay put.”
Hmph.
The window I’d cleaned was sparkling.
Calling my hard work “unnecessary”…
Still, I only complained in my head.
Out loud, I obediently nodded.
“Yes.”
What tenant argues with the landlord?
‘Life is hard.’
Holding my stuffed stomach, I slowly walked away.
There was no reason to try so hard for someone who didn’t think of me as his daughter.
I’d learned that lesson thoroughly in my previous life.
‘If I get to keep living here, I won’t have to worry about surviving anymore.’
Meals came on time.
There was hot water.
What could be difficult?
Compared to life at Marquis Tarenca’s estate—
Or even compared to my previous life—
This place was heaven.
“Umm… Young Miss.”
After we reached my room, Anna hesitated instead of leaving.
Then she gathered her courage and spoke.
“Do you understand now? His Grace has no intention of sending you away.”
“Yes.”
Because I’d realized throwing me out would damage House Faeraton’s reputation.
“From now on, you don’t need to do chores like mopping or sweeping.”
“Okay.”
“You’re still very young… and you’re His Grace’s only daughter.”
Huh?
“So please don’t worry anymore. Just think happy thoughts.”
Don’t worry?
I thought I’d hidden it well.
Did I really look that anxious?
When I stayed silent, the other maids cautiously began speaking too.
At first they looked like they wanted to stop Anna, but…
“You kept having nightmares while suffering in that tiny body…”
“If you’re hurting, please tell us instead of enduring it alone. Treating those injuries on your legs must have been painful…”
Huh?
I looked at them in surprise.
Weren’t they annoyed by me?
I thought they only took care of me because it was their job.
I thought they weren’t interested in me at all.
Until now, they’d quietly appear, do only what they needed to do, then disappear.
Whenever I tried talking to them, they’d only give short answers.
So eventually, I stopped trying.
But…
“Were… you worried about me?”
“Of course we were!”
Anna shouted so loudly that she startled herself.
Then she coughed awkwardly, her face turning red.
“Ahem… Of course we were.”
“I thought you didn’t like me.”
“Why would you think that…?”
“You never talked to me. Even when I talked first, you looked like you didn’t want to answer.”
“We wouldn’t dare…”
The maids looked at me with troubled expressions before quietly asking,
“Young Miss… did you want to talk with us?”
“Yes.”
I nodded eagerly.
Small smiles spread across the maids’ faces.
“Young Miss is different from the rest of the Duke’s family.”
“That’s right. She’s… like an ordinary child.”
The maid said it with a little laugh.
Anna gasped.
“Nancy…!”
Nancy.
So her name was Nancy.
Anna and Nancy.
I repeated their names in my head.
Meanwhile, Nancy’s face turned pale.
“I-I’m sorry, Young Miss. I spoke out of turn…”
Well…
I had been reincarnated.
So technically, I wasn’t an ordinary child.
But was saying that really something worth apologizing for?
“It’s okay.”
“I like being ordinary.”
I meant it.
I’d always wanted an ordinary life.
An ordinary child.
An ordinary student.
An ordinary office worker.
That was all I’d ever wanted.
“You’re so kind…”
Nancy looked at me with such heartfelt emotion that I laughed awkwardly.
It felt strange seeing someone who had always acted emotionless become so emotional so easily.
But…
I didn’t dislike it.
The maids who had seemed like lifeless decorations finally felt alive.
For the first time since coming here…
I felt the warmth of people.
Without realizing it, I smiled.
After the maids left, I quietly walked over to the mirror.
“His only daughter.”
Those words echoed in my heart.
“Family…”
Family…
Just because people lived under the same roof—
Did that make them family?
I didn’t know.
I’d never had a family before.
Not even once.
But…
“Your shameless mother obviously gave birth to you after sleeping around.”
“That’s why the Duke abandoned you. You don’t even have demonic power.”
“You should be grateful I took in the disgrace of the family.”
I’d never even met my mother.
I tried believing she wasn’t that kind of person…
But those were the words I’d heard my entire life in this world.
‘Still… if Anna is right, and I’m really the Duke’s biological daughter… then I don’t need to worry.’
No matter what, he wouldn’t abandon me.
But…
What if I wasn’t his daughter?
What if my mother had an affair and I was the result?
The moment that truth came out…
Wouldn’t I be thrown away?
No one would care about their reputation if they were getting rid of proof of an affair.
I bit my lip and looked into the mirror.
The Duke and I didn’t resemble each other at all.
His face was sharp, like a perfectly forged sword.
Mine looked soft and innocent.
His eyes were blood-red.
Mine were bright blue, like Paraiba gemstones.
‘And even my hair…’
Unlike his jet-black hair…
Mine was an incredibly pale pink, like spring flower petals.
‘There’s nothing like it.’
On top of that…
I didn’t have demonic power.
I didn’t know much about it, but there had to be a reason the Marquis kept bringing it up whenever he called me an illegitimate child.
‘The Faeraton family must inherit demonic power.’
I was reincarnated after being told I’d receive some kind of special ability…
Yet I didn’t even have the demonic power that every member of the Duke’s family supposedly possessed.
The puzzle pieces kept fitting together.
Making it seem more and more likely that I wasn’t his real daughter.
‘If I really am the child my mother had from an affair…’
Maybe he wouldn’t just throw me out.
Maybe he’d kill me for betraying him.
My romance-fantasy instincts were screaming.
The Duke of Faeraton was definitely the tyrant/hidden villain/final boss type.
‘I have to work hard if I want to survive.’
I had to become a real daughter.
At least enough that he wouldn’t kill me because of the affection he’d developed while raising me.
Luckily…
I knew exactly what to do.
‘I’ve read thousands of romance fantasy novels!’
The girl in the mirror grinned mischievously.
I clenched my tiny fists and stared at the huge door in front of me.
Deep breath.
Okay.
I can do this!
I opened my eyes wide and encouraged myself.
But the enormous door alone was intimidating enough to crush my courage.
So this was the Duke’s office…
Even the door was overwhelming.
‘Stop making excuses.’
I knew the truth.
The reason I’d been pacing in front of the door for several minutes instead of going inside.
Walking up to someone who disliked you.
Someone you expected to reject you.
It took a tremendous amount of courage.
“What’s this skinny little rat?”
The Duke’s first words when he’d seen me kept replaying in my head.
Ugh…
Acting naturally in a situation like this…
Being affectionate…
Those romance fantasy heroines were incredible.
Only now did I realize just how amazing all those girls who survived tyrant fathers really were.
‘Okay… I’ll count to ten… and then I’ll go in.’
I placed a hand over my pounding heart.
Just as I reached four.
The heavy door opened without a sound.
Startled, I jumped backward.
The Duke’s aide appeared through the doorway.
“Young Miss. His Grace says you may come in.”
How did he know I was standing outside?
The aide opened the door wider, inviting me inside.
Swallowing nervously, I stepped into the office.
The office was even bigger than I’d imagined.
And there were far more people inside than I’d expected.
But all those people faded into the background.
The only person I could see…
Was the Duke of Faeraton.
His presence was overwhelming.
Relaxing on the sofa, he looked less like a person…
More like a lazy predator.
A dangerous, cruel beast.
His crimson eyes stared at me coldly.
I soothed my shrinking heart…
Then smiled as brightly as I could.
“Daddy!”
I ran over and threw myself against his leg, hugging it tightly.
“I missed you.”
I looked up at him with a big grin.
They say you can’t spit at a smiling face.
Smile.
Smile.
If we spend more time together, he’ll grow attached to me.
Don’t chicken out.
I desperately endured the pressure of his gaze.
“…Ghk.”
Someone suddenly sounded like they had stopped breathing.
I turned around.
One of the men behind us was clutching his collar, looking like he was about to faint.
Hey! If anyone should be panicking, it should be me! Why are you freaking out?!
He wasn’t the only one.
Everyone in the office had frozen.
Their expressions looked so stiff they might shatter if someone tapped them.
Like they’d just witnessed someone touching a ticking time bomb.
‘Uh… was this the wrong move?’
The strength slowly drained from my arms wrapped around the Duke’s leg.
‘Shouldn’t everyone be smiling warmly and saying things like, “How adorable,” or “Did you miss Daddy?”‘
Well…
You have to receive affection before you know how to ask for it.
I’d been an orphan in my previous life, too.
Acting spoiled toward adults felt incredibly awkward.
Apparently annoyed by the little creature clinging to his leg…
The Duke didn’t kick me out.
Instead…
He simply lifted me by one hand again.
Whoa! You scared me.
Why does he keep picking me up like I’m a puppy?
“You missed me?”
The Duke rested his chin lazily on one hand and asked.
His tone sounded more like a threat than a question.
His crimson eyes gleamed darkly.
My whole body trembled.
Still, I forced myself to nod.
Everything I’d wanted to say disappeared.
I couldn’t get another word out.
“…You seemed uncomfortable around me.”
I’m still very uncomfortable!
Wait… he knew I was uncomfortable?!
Then why had he kept staring at me while I was eating?
Did he do it on purpose to make me choke?!
“N-No.”
“I’m not uncomfortable.”
I frantically shook my head.
“I was just… not used to it.”
One of his eyebrows rose.
“I couldn’t meet you before, Daddy.”
“So from now on…”
“I want to stay with you.”
I stretched both arms toward his face.
“They said the best way to stop feeling awkward is to stay really, really close!”
That’s right.
Stay close.
The more time we spend together, the more attached he’ll become.
Then even if he learns I’m not his real daughter…
Maybe he won’t kill me.
The Duke said nothing.
Was his arm getting tired?
The hand holding me wavered.
My body tilted in the air.
And my tiny outstretched hands…
“…Huh?!”
Poke.
They landed right on the Duke’s cheek.
Sharp gasps echoed all around the room at the exact same time.
It sounded like a choir.
Seriously.
Did these people only have one facial expression?
I looked at the men beyond the sofa.
Then took a deep breath.
Calm down.
There’s no way I actually touched the Duke’s face.
The soft feeling in my palm couldn’t possibly be skin.
I must’ve touched his clothes.
He must be wearing silk.
Although…
It felt warm.
Almost like human skin.
No.
It couldn’t be.
Please…
I slowly lowered my eyes.
The Duke was staring at me with his usual cold, expressionless face.
A face overflowing with terrifying charisma.
Except…
There was one difference.
My tiny little hand was pressed right against his cheek.
Haha…
For a married man with a kid…
Your skin is amazingly soft.
It’s as smooth as a baby’s.
Cold sweat started pouring down my face.
Then.
Words suddenly appeared before my eyes.
[Conditions have been met.]
[Verifying identity… Contractor of. Verification complete.]
[Trait <Rush & Cash> has been awakened.]
“W-What…?!”
