Chapter – 03
“She’s very obedient too.”
More vassals soon entered the meeting room.
Meanwhile, I sat quietly on the Duke’s lap.
Whenever they asked questions about the Church or the Imperial Family, I answered them.
After a while, the meeting came to an end.
The vassals left one by one until only an elderly man remained.
He walked over to me with a warm smile.
“Thank you for telling us all those stories.”
No, it’s fine. It benefits me too.
I held a deep grudge against the Church.
When the real Child of Fate appeared, they sacrificed me.
Besides, they would never be able to excavate the Oriharkon from the plateau.
“Here, this is for you.”
The old man offered me a piece of candy.
I slipped out of the Duke of Dubblede’s arms and eagerly accepted it.
The old man left the room with a broad smile.
“Oh my, this child is adorable.”
Now only the Duke and I remained.
Without warning, he glanced at me and took the candy away.
I stared back and forth between the Duke and the candy in disbelief.
Soon, sadness welled up inside me.
My candy…
You son of a bitch! You’re taking candy away from a child!
The Duke calmly unwrapped the candy.
Then…
“Open your mouth.”
For me?
Did I misunderstand him?
Before I could react, the Duke pressed both of my cheeks.
The pressure forced my mouth open, and he popped the candy inside.
How rude.
Still…
It tasted delicious.
He squeezed my puffed-up cheeks again as I sucked on the candy.
“Do you want to go back to the capital?”
“No.”
“Why?”
Why would I want to return to the capital?
The Imperial Family is there.
The Church is there.
And so is that horrible Duke.
Every one of them has only brought me pain.
But I couldn’t tell him any of that.
“Becwase I’m like thye Dyuke.”
(“Because I like the Duke.”)
So far, the House of Dubblede was the only place that hadn’t left me with painful memories.
Instead…
It had given me wonderful ones.
The candy he gave me was delicious.
The blanket he gave me was warm.
Lea’s lullabies were comforting.
The Duke of Dubblede wasn’t nearly as evil as the rumors claimed.
Thinking that, I looked up at him.
…Did he just smile?
At that moment, Lea arrived.
“Little miss. Master.”
She bowed respectfully.
The Duke lifted me toward her so she could take me into her arms.
“Don’t let her wander around causing trouble.”
Right.
A cold-blooded man like him would never smile.
Back in my room, I stood in front of a table and played with wooden blocks.
Okay… one more and it’ll be twelve stories high.
Just one more…
The maids watched me play while chatting among themselves.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
When Lea nodded, the other maids covered their mouths in surprise.
“Oh my goodness.”
“No way.”
“Did the sun rise in the west today? The master was actually worried about the baby.”
Who was worried about me?
I was so startled that my tower of blocks collapsed.
“Ah!”
Lea hurried over.
“It’s alright, little miss.”
“We can build it again.”
She carefully gathered the fallen blocks and slowly stacked them back up.
“Tell us more, Lea.”
“That’s right. What exactly did the master say?”
Yes, tell me too.
Lea continued rebuilding the tower while speaking.
“He said, ‘It’s dangerous at night, so take good care of the baby.’”
…How did she reach that conclusion?
I couldn’t help being amazed by Lea’s optimism.
“Then… does that mean he’ll adopt her?”
“I hope so.”
“She’ll finally have older brothers.”
Ah…
The three sons of House Dubblede.
They had been famous ever since I was little.
All three were renowned for their handsome appearances, exceptional martial arts, brilliant minds, and cool personalities.
I’d never met them myself, but I had heard countless stories.
They were also known by another title—
Mina’s brothers.
Just like the Duke, they were cold and indifferent toward everyone else.
But toward Mina…
They were sweeter than honey.
It was famously said that when Mina had been kidnapped by another empire, all three brothers charged in without hesitation and destroyed the entire place.
The eldest son had also become well known for being deeply involved in the Crown Prince and Mina’s complicated love story.
“But… wouldn’t it be bad for the baby if she were adopted?”
“What?”
“You know…”
“The master is the man who even stabbed the late Duke.”
“Wouldn’t she be happier if another Duke adopted her instead—”
“Linda!”
Lea shouted sharply.
She glared at the maid before signaling the others to leave.
After they were gone, she gently took my hand.
“He’s not that bad.”
“…”
“It’s all a huge misunderstanding.”
“He’s actually a very kind man.”
“…”
“The master isn’t as cold-blooded as everyone says.”
“He truly loved the late Duchess.”
“When the Duchess went into labor, he rushed home as fast as he could…”
“But he arrived too late.”
Lea’s eyes filled with sorrow.
The Duchess was pregnant with their fourth child?
I’d never heard that in any of my previous lives.
Suddenly…
I felt sorry for the Duke.
Then… I understand why he became like this.
How could anyone continue living normally after losing the two people they loved most at the same time?
“I hope you aren’t afraid of him.”
“Yes.”
Lea gently hugged me and softly stroked my back.
“You’re such a good girl.”
As I rested my head against her shoulder, my eyelids slowly grew heavy.
It wasn’t until the middle of the night that I woke up.
I buried my face in my pillow as I desperately tried to endure my hunger.
I’m so hungry!
After thinking back over the day, I finally realized what had happened.
I had slept through dinner.
Lea and the maids must have put me to bed without waking me.
I wanted to wait until morning…
But the hunger became unbearable.
All I had this afternoon was a piece of candy and a glass of juice.
At that moment…
Hunger was the only thing on my mind.
During my second life, I had often been locked in a room and left to starve for days.
In my third life…
I had actually died from starvation.
I have to find something to eat.
In the end, I lost control.
I climbed out of bed.
Struggling with my tiny body, I pushed open the enormous bedroom door and stepped into the hallway.
Fighting back my fear of the darkness, I made my way toward the kitchen.
But…
The door was locked.
Oh no…
I wandered through the mansion instead.
After walking for what felt like forever, I found half a loaf of bread in one of the rooms.
Someone had already eaten part of it.
But I was more than satisfied.
Clutching the bread tightly against my chest, I happily ran into the hallway.
I just need to get back to my room and eat it—
“…”
I froze.
Then I hurriedly hid the bread behind my back.
The Duke of Dubblede stood before me, looking down with icy eyes.
Fear made my hands and feet tremble.
At that moment…
Something Mina had once said in my previous life suddenly came back to me.
“So Jean is guilty of stealing bread… uh, what was it… Jean Valjean. Yeah, I think that was his name. How was Jean Valjean punished for stealing bread? Ah, that’s right—he was executed!”
As Mina’s cheerful voice echoed in my mind, my face turned deathly pale.
“What are you doing here?”
“Did the Empress Dowager send you to spy on my family?”
I swallowed nervously.
The Duke of Dubblede wasn’t someone I could outwit.
Unable to answer because of fear, I remained frozen.
The Duke quietly muttered,
“Child of Fate.”
“Yes…!”
“I hate liars.”
“I also hate fools.”
“And most of all…”
“I hate those who pretend to stand on my side.”
“I execute every one of them.”
I shuddered.
The Duke slowly bent down until he was at my eye level.
“What should I do with this little mouse?”
My legs gave out, and I collapsed onto the floor.
“Wo… wo… wro… wong!”
(“Wro… wro… wrong!”)
“What?”
“I styole it…”
(“I stole it…”)
“Money?”
“A holy relic?”
“…”
“Military secrets?”
“…”
His terrifying eyes forced the words out of me.
“Byead…”
(“Bread…”)
