Chapter 6
“Lady! A letter has arrived…….”
Emma entered my room with an excited voice.
Before she could finish speaking, I snatched the letter from her hand.
The envelope had the seal of the Somenet Duchy stamped on it. I tore it open, took a deep breath, and slowly read the letter.
“Damn, damn, damn!”
The contents of the letter were simple. He said he did not have time, so he could not meet me.
That was all.
“Could it be…… he refused again?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh my…… This is already the fifth refusal, right?”
“It’s annoyingly hard to meet him.”
It had already been a week since I returned from the Imperial Palace.
I had sent letters to Lisian to meet him, but the only replies I received were refusals.
The reasons were always different.
He was busy with the duties of the duchy, he had to train with the knights, and so on.
“Why can’t he meet you this time?”
“He says he is going to the Nier Duchy.”
This time, he said he could not meet me because he had to go to another duchy.
“If it’s Nier, he won’t be back until a week later.”
“Ha…… I guess so.”
Emma looked at me, who was feeling upset, then took something out of her pocket and handed it to me.
It was chocolate.
I looked at Emma with a questioning gaze, wondering why she was giving this to me.
“When I feel sad, eating something sweet makes me feel a little better.”
“Emma…….”
“I wanted to bring you the coffee you like…… I’m sorry.”
“No, Emma.”
I patted Emma’s head and smiled at her.
I put the chocolate she gave me into my mouth.
A bitter taste touched the tip of my tongue.
However, because of its warm sweetness, it quickly melted, and soon a sweet flavor filled my mouth.
Just like Emma said, I felt a little better.
“Lady.”
“Hmm?”
“Honestly, I felt like you had changed recently.”
I had changed.
The kind and foolish lady Emma knew before no longer existed.
“But I think I like you better now.”
“Why?”
“Um…… I don’t know if I should say this…….”
“It’s okay. Tell me.”
“Well…… before, you were almost like a doll.”
“Like someone was controlling you.”
“…….”
Emma.
You saw it exactly.
Until then, I was just a stupid fool whose death was already decided.
“But now, it feels like there is life in your eyes.”
“Really?”
“Your way of speaking has become a little rougher, though.”
“Haha. I should be careful about that, right?”
“No. Because you are still Lady.”
Her words made me feel stronger.
The only lady of the Empire.
A position where I did not have to care about anyone’s opinion.
A position where I could do whatever I wanted.
“Thank you, Emma.”
Thanks to Emma, I was able to come back to my senses a little.
Knock knock.
While I was lost in thought, someone knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
It was the servant I had sent on an errand a while ago.
“Lady, I have found the information you asked for.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I could not find the exact date, but the item you were looking for is said to appear soon.”
“Good. You worked hard.”
I handed the servant a pouch containing his reward and smiled.
“Thank you.”
He bowed at a perfect 90-degree angle and left the room.
“Emma, I need to go out at night for a while from now on.”
“Yes.”
I had already prepared a Plan B in case something happened.
However, it was a method with some risks, so I did not want to use it.
But I could not just wait around while relying only on Lisian.
What if I died again?
That could never happen.
‘Alright. For Plan B, I should first go persuade the duke.’
“Diana……?”
When I opened the door to the duke’s office and entered, he looked at me with a surprised expression.
“Why is Dia here…….”
As if he had seen something unbelievable, the duke took off his glasses, rubbed his eyes, and looked at me again.
“It’s really me.”
“It really is Dia.”
After hearing my voice, he immediately stood up and approached me.
“Come here and sit down.”
“Yes.”
As soon as I sat down with the duke, Emma prepared warm tea and desserts on the table.
“Did something happen?”
He asked me with a worried expression.
“No.”
I smiled as gently as possible and looked at him.
“There is something I want, Dad.”
I emphasized the word “Dad” and looked at him.
The duke seemed happy to hear that word.
His eyes curved into a bright smile.
How could even his smile look so similar?
It was almost like we were copies of each other.
“Of course. Tell me anything.”
“I want to raise a puppy.”
“Then Dad will find you the prettiest and smartest one.”
The duke answered casually when he heard the word puppy.
“No. The puppy I want is a specific one.”
“Then should Dad go get it with you?”
“No. It is very cautious, so I need to tame it myself for a while.”
“Just give me money. A lot of money.”
“Hmm…… Alright. I understand.”
After thinking for a moment, the duke nodded.
“Thank you, Dad!”
Since I achieved my goal, I called him Dad once more.
“From now on, if you need anything, do not ask. Just do whatever you want.”
“Really? Dad is the best!”
It seemed the word Dad came out naturally now.
He was so happy about it……
And it was not like I was causing him any harm, so I decided to call him that from now on.
I did not know how long he would continue being a foolish daughter-loving father character.
But since things had turned out this way, I planned to use it as much as I could.
“Then I will go sleep now.”
“Alright. Have a good dream.”
“Yes. Dad, have a good night too.”
When I said I was returning to my room, the duke looked at me with a disappointed expression.
I gave him a small smile and left.
After returning to my room, I fell into a comfortable sleep.
Jingle.
“Welcome! This is Hir’s Shop!”
When I opened the door of the shabby store, a small child greeted me.
He had ordinary brown hair and blue eyes that looked like they contained sapphire jewels.
A cute little boy.
“Customer! How can I help you?”
The child approached me with a bright smile and looked up at me.
“I am looking for a special magic tool.”
“Our Hir has everything!”
I looked down at the child who spoke as if this shop belonged to him.
I had seen him several times, but he was still difficult to understand.
Although he acted like an innocent child, that boy was actually Heron, the Master of the Magic Tower.
“Which magic tool are you looking for?”
Above Heron’s head, a purple circle was shining.
Just like Lisian, his favorability level was also purple.
“The Magic Tower Master’s Ring.”
At my answer, Heron froze for a moment.
The Magic Tower Master’s Ring was a kind of password.
It was a secret code used to request something from Heron.
Only a small number of nobles who used Hir’s Shop knew about it.
So he had every reason to be surprised when an unfamiliar noble lady said it.
“Hmm…… Please follow me!”
After thinking for a moment, he smiled brightly again and walked toward a door in the corner.
When he opened it, there was a completely dark space where nothing could be seen.
Heron spun his finger once.
The darkness disappeared, revealing stairs.
“Please come down carefully!”
“Alright.”
I followed him down the stairs.
At the end, there was another door.
Heron stopped in front of it.
“Please wait a moment!”
I stood in front of the door and waited for him.
Normally, I did not want to get involved with the Master of the Magic Tower……
Heron, the Master of the Magic Tower.
A genius magic tower master.
He was crazy.
But there was no magic tool more reliable than the ones he created.
That was why I had no choice but to come here.
Fine.
As long as I did not look too pitiful.
Because he was the type of person who mistook his pity for love, saying I reminded him of his mother.
“Come in.”
The old door opened with a creepy sound, and Heron’s voice came from inside.
I carefully entered.
Inside, I saw him sitting on a chair wearing a dark navy mask.
Looking around, this place had a completely different atmosphere from the shop.
Unlike the messy store, this place was clean and organized.
“There isn’t anything interesting to see here.”
Before I knew it, he had come behind me.
With a sly smile, he wrapped his arm around my shoulder.
That smooth-talking crazy man.
I decided right there.
Today’s concept would be a shameless crazy person.
An eye for an eye.
A crazy person should be dealt with by another crazy person.
I would add a little bit of rudeness too.
“This place is terrible at welcoming guests.”
“What?”
I pushed away the hand on my shoulder and walked toward the table.
He looked at his rejected hand, then sat across from me.
“Order.”
“…….”
I threw the paper in front of him.
He stared at me while crossing his arms, then picked up the paper.
“It’s a choker?”
The choker was a gift for the puppy I would soon bring home.
“When can you finish it?”
“About two weeks.”
“Are you really a genius? That’s too slow.”
His pride seemed hurt as he frowned at me.
“One week.”
“Good. This is the deposit.”
I threw a pouch of money in front of him.
“Ah, one more thing.”
“What?”
“If the wearer disobeys an order, can you make them feel pain enough that they wish they were dead?”
Since the beastman I was bringing home might bite me to death if they refused to listen, I needed insurance.
“Of course!”
Heron looked at me with interest.
“Why would a noble lady need something like that?”
“Why do you care?”
Heron suddenly stood up and slowly approached me.
Then he sat beside me and placed his arm on my shoulder again.
He stared closely at my face.
“I think you would obey even without something like that.”
Behind his mask, I could see his playful smile.
“Really?”
I moved my face closer to him and smiled brightly.
“Then you should be the one obeying me.”
“W-what?”
I grabbed Heron’s neck, pulled him closer, and removed the mask covering his face.
“You are pretty.”
“Especially those blue eyes. I really like them.”
I pointed at his eyes with my finger.
This time, Heron slapped my hand away and immediately stood up.
He stepped back from me.
“Pfft…… PuhaHAHA.”
Seeing his face turn completely red from embarrassment made me burst out laughing.
Heron looking flustered and embarrassed.
It was a very rare sight.
“You said I would obey you, right?”
“…….”
“Then contact the Pomerne Duchy when it is finished.”
“Wait……”
“Ah! Next time, don’t hide your pretty face.”
“What?”
Leaving behind Heron, who stood there with messy hair and a dazed expression, I calmly walked out of the room.
I never noticed that the favorability level shining above Heron’s head had changed.
I have kept the translation in simple English while preserving the original structure, character tone, and meaning.
