BCDRF 05

Chapter 05

“Ah, this is just acting.”

“…Acting?”

“Yes. The conditions for your daughter were that she be a bright, innocent, kind-hearted genius, right?”

I asked with a grin, my eyes still slightly damp from tears, and an incredulous look appeared on Duke Aubrey’s face.

“How absurd.”

His face immediately crumpled, and he abruptly turned around.

“The young lady has returned. Take care of her with the utmost sincerity so that she doesn’t get so much as a scratch.”

“Yes, Master.”

As I carefully stepped into the mansion, the servants lined up in a row and bowed.

The man walking arrogantly and confidently through the middle of them somehow looked even bigger than before.

“Welcome back to the mansion safely, Young Lady.”

Everyone greeted me.

As I stood there, not knowing what to do, two maids approached me.

They were twin maids who looked so much alike that I wondered how they could possibly be any more similar. However, their atmospheres were different.

“My name is Mary! Starting today, I’ll be serving you by your side, Young Lady! It’s a pleasure to meet you!”

“My name is Gold. I am lacking in many ways, but I’ll be serving you from now on. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Ah, yes, ye-es….”

Everything was unfamiliar, so I lowered my head and spoke politely, like a frightened child.

As we were going up the stairs, Duke Aubrey was watching me.

“Ah, you can call us Mary and Gold. And you can speak comfortably to us, just as you would to a friend.”

“Ah….”

I moved my lips awkwardly before lowering my head and nodding.

“Mm, mmm….”

“You did very well!”

Mary smiled brightly and praised me, while Gold calmly guided me.

When we reached the stairs with the two of them, Duke Aubrey was already gone.

‘This should be enough.’

It was a smooth start.

…Or so I thought.

I was currently facing the worst crisis imaginable.

“I-I can do it! By myself!”

I clung tightly to the hem of my clothes and pressed myself against the wall.

“But, Young Lady. We’ll help you bathe….”

I quickly lowered my eyelids and lightly bit my lower lip.

“I-I’m embarrassed….”

There was no way I could let someone else help me bathe.

My arm was currently covered in strange ancient writing that looked like dark, grotesque markings.

If Duke Aubrey found out about this, he would immediately disown me.

There was absolutely no reason for him to keep a defective, ominous child whose body was covered in strange ancient writing and who could die at any moment.

And even if he overlooked it this time, the writing would gradually spread across my body as time passed. What on earth would I say then?

Faced with my vehement refusal, the two maids exchanged glances and then nodded.

Mary approached me with a smile.

“Then we’ll prepare the bathwater and adjust the temperature for you. We’ll wait in your room. Would that be all right?”

“Mmm, that’s okay. But I’ll get dressed by myself, too….”

I spoke carefully.

Mary gave a small laugh as if she found me adorable and nodded.

‘This works for now….’

But I couldn’t hide it forever. Even after I became accustomed to this mansion, I couldn’t continue acting like this.

‘How am I supposed to hide it?’

I suddenly felt frightened. An ominous feeling came over me that my life might fall straight into the abyss right from the beginning.

‘Come to think of it, there was a disguise item made from chameleon slime.’

When applied to the skin, it changed color to match the surrounding skin, just like a chameleon.

The problem was…

‘That thing doesn’t get released until several years later…!!’

Chameleon slimes already existed in the Monster Forest and the northern part of the Empire, but no one knew that they possessed medicinal properties or any special effects.

It was an item that would be invented several years from now by some eccentric scientist who studied monsters.

‘…I can’t wait several years.’

I didn’t even know how many years I had left to live.

While I was despairing, Mary and Gold had apparently finished preparing my bath. After giving me a few instructions, they closed the bathroom door and left.

I let out a deep sigh and sank my body into the water.

The pleasant warmth felt wonderful against my body.

I couldn’t even remember the last time I had properly bathed, counting both my past and present lives.

‘There’s only one way.’

First, kidnap that eccentric scientist and bring him here.

Second, provide the eccentric scientist with information about monsters that he wouldn’t discover for several years.

Third, have the eccentric scientist make the invention for me.

If I did that, I should be able to obtain it within half a year at the latest.

The problem was that I had just been adopted, so I wouldn’t be free for quite some time.

On top of that, the place where the eccentric scientist lived was in Kuff, the northern village closest to the Rotten Forest, a habitat for monsters quite far from the capital, and a territory ruled by the Argo ducal family, led by the Ruler of Blue.

In other words, it was much too far for me to go.

Then there were two options.

Hire someone to find the scientist, or send him a letter.

The former was out since I had no money to hire anyone.

So, the only option was a letter.

‘Fortunately, I have plenty of bait I can use.’

That eccentric scientist didn’t know me, but I knew him very well.

That was because whenever the mad scientist attended academic conferences, he would often come back in a bad mood because of that eccentric scientist.

If the mad scientist was a prodigy, then this man seemed to be a genius whom the mad scientist absolutely hated, yet had no choice but to acknowledge.

Still, thanks to the things he muttered every time, I knew quite well what the eccentric scientist liked and disliked.

‘Then that’s what I’ll do.’

I finished washing myself and put on the clothes Mary and Gold had prepared.

The perfectly fitting clothes somehow made me feel good. A sweet, fruity scent that had lingered in the bathwater now drifted softly from my body as well.

After drying my hair completely, I went outside, and Mary and Gold approached me with bright smiles.

“You’ve done well, Young Lady. You can relax until dinner. What would you like to do? Would you like to rest in your room? If you’re still feeling all right, we can show you around the mansion!”

I was a little tired, but if I wanted to become a useful child, I thought it would be better to become familiar with the mansion as quickly as possible.

I smiled brightly.

“Can I look around the mansion?!”

When I spoke with sparkling eyes, Mary clapped her hands with a delighted smile.

“Of course, Young Lady!”

“You must be tired. Are you sure you don’t want to rest?”

“I’m okay.”

After answering Gold, I followed the two of them out of the room.

“Anette.”

“Yes, Mother.”

At the sound of the voice during dinner, I immediately stopped eating and smiled brightly.

After Mary and Gold had finished showing me around the entire mansion, it had already become time for dinner, so I had come straight to the dining room.

“Um… Are you enjoying the food?”

“Yes, it’s really delicious!”

The food really was excellent. In my previous life, I had been given IV fluids just enough to keep me from dying instead of eating proper meals, and after returning to the past, I had lived in an orphanage.

As you can imagine, how good could mass-produced institutional meals possibly be? Compared to noble cuisine, it was basically dog food.

“I’m glad you like it. Try this one, too. It’s very sweet.”

“Yes.”

“And this one, and this one, too.”

Rosana Aubrey kept placing various foods from in front of her onto my plate.

“Ah, thank you, Mother.”

I diligently stuffed the mountain of food on my plate into my mouth.

For dessert, they served pudding topped with ice cream and generously covered in chocolate syrup. It was incredibly delicious as well.

“Anette.”

“Yes, Mother.”

“Don’t call me ‘Mother’ so stiffly. I know it’s shameless of me to ask, but could you call me ‘Mom’…? Of course, if you’re uncomfortable, perhaps later….”

“Mom.”

The word sounded strange on the tip of my tongue.

The Duchess’s eyes widened at my words.

“…My baby.”

Her eyes instantly reddened, and tears began flowing once again. When I glanced to the side, Duke Aubrey’s expression looked somewhat troubled.

“Yes, I’m your mo—. Sniff. No. How could I have the nerve to….”

“Rosana, stop crying. What if you become dehydrated?”

Shakol Aubrey clicked his tongue and approached, wiping the Duchess’s tears.

The Duchess hugged Duke Aubrey and buried her face against him.

Duke Aubrey held his wife in his arms and gently patted her back.

‘Even if she is his wife, that arrogant man is actually making a face like that.’

It was surprising enough to make me wonder if the heavens and earth were about to be turned upside down.

At this rate, I might somehow end up caught in the middle of this.

“Mom, don’t cry.”

I approached them and carefully reached out to grasp the Duchess’s clothes.

“If Mom cries, I think I’m going to cry, too….”

I spoke with a tearful expression, and the Duchess pulled away from Duke Aubrey’s arms and hugged me.

“Just meeting Father and Mother like this feels like a dream. Thank you for finding me without giving up.”

I hugged the Duchess tightly while keeping my gaze fixed on Duke Aubrey.

Duke Aubrey seemed strangely surprised by my words.

What surprised me even more was the way he stared blankly at me, as if he had momentarily lost himself.

When I tilted my head slightly in confusion, he suddenly frowned.

‘What the heck? I went out of my way to help because you looked troubled.’

As expected, he was an arrogant man who didn’t know the meaning of gratitude.

Even if he was my employer.

Ptooey, ptooey.

“Yes, meeting again like this really is a miracle…. Cough, cough.”

The Duchess broke into a dry cough.

Duke Aubrey hurried over and took her into his arms.

“You should go to your room now.”

“But the child… Cough! My child… Cough, cough!”

The Duchess curled her body up in discomfort.

Duke Aubrey quickly carried her out of the dining room.

I watched the two of them disappear before turning my head toward Mary.

‘I should help a little, shouldn’t I?’

I couldn’t cure her, but I knew a way to calm her condition.

“Mary.”

“Yes, Young Lady.”

“Could you prepare some hot water, sugar, and ryehwa powder?”

“Ah… ryehwa powder? By ryehwa, do you mean those wild plants growing everywhere?”

“Yes. Could you lightly roast them in a pan, dry them a little, then grind them into powder and bring them to me?”

Normally, they should be dried in sunlight before being ground, but I didn’t have time for that.

Right now, ryehwa was nothing more than a weed growing everywhere.

Not long after I asked, Mary brought me what I had requested.

Looking at the steaming hot tea, I smiled brightly.

“Thank you! I’ll take it to Mother!”

“Yes, Young Lady!”

I bowed my head gratefully to the smiling Mary before heading in the direction Duke Aubrey had disappeared.

Perhaps because of the sick Duchess, the servants were bustling around.

‘That should make it easy to earn some points.’

Ryehwa would later become an important weed used in the medicine for that disease.

Of course, producing the actual medicine required numerous preparation processes, but for now, it should at least have a calming effect.

Before long, I mixed sugar and ryehwa powder into the water Mary had brought me, then carried the warm mug into the room.

“Father, I’m here!”

The moment Duke Aubrey saw my innocent expression, his face became filled with disbelief.

‘He was the one who wanted a bright, innocent genius.’

I really couldn’t understand him.

…Or so I thought as I smiled brightly.

I was the very picture of an innocent, cheerful little girl.