TVPHI| Chapter 3

Episode 3

Lefonya lifted her head, which had been lowered.

“Greetings, Your Grace!”

The knight who had been holding Lefonya in his arms stiffly saluted the Duke.

“I heard some commotion earlier.”

Because he was standing with his back to the sunlight, Lefonya could not see his face clearly.

But perhaps because he was much taller than the knight, his presence felt so intimidating that her body flinched.

“What is that?”

“We received a report about a child wandering around without a guardian, so I was on my way to take her to an orphanage.”

The Duke.

The knight had definitely called him Your Grace.

The only person in this empire who would be called a Duke…

When Lefonya met his cold blue eyes, which looked as though they had frozen solid, she unconsciously held her breath.

His soft-looking silver hair fluttered in the wind.

It was clearly the same color as Lefonya’s own hair, but unlike her messy hair, his shone like brilliant moonlight.

An honest and spotless guardian who protected peace and safety.

He was the Krytan Duke.

As an aura user, he did not age on the outside.

He looked so young that it was hard to believe he was the father of two sons and a missing daughter.

‘So this man is a knight of the Krytan Ducal Family.’

Lefonya stared at the uniform of the knight holding her.

The blue uniform could only be worn by knights of the Krytan Ducal Family within the empire.

‘I should have realized it from the beginning.’

Becoming a child had not made her memory worse.

She had simply been so flustered that she had failed to notice even something this obvious.

“A child?”

Krytan Duke turned his gaze toward Lefonya in the knight’s arms.

Their eyes met.

At that moment, the Duke’s eyes, which seemed like they would never waver no matter what happened, trembled for the first time.

“…Lyla?”

Krytan Duke muttered in an empty, almost hopeless voice.

‘Lyla? What’s that supposed to mean?’

Lefonya frowned.

At the same time, the Duke approached her with a blank expression.

He had been scary even when she was an adult, but meeting him while trapped in a five-year-old’s body made him even more frightening.

“What is your name?”

The Duke asked rather urgently.

“Le… Lefonya.”

Overwhelmed by his presence, Lefonya accidentally gave him her real name.

“How old are you?”

“Five.”

“What about your parents?”

Lefonya quickly shook her head.

The Krytan Duke gestured to the knight with his eyes, as if telling him to explain everything in detail.

“Ah. When I asked her, she said she didn’t have any. Um… she says she was abandoned. It seems she really has been living alone in an ownerless house.”

‘My house.’

“Abandoned?”

Krytan Duke frowned as he looked at Lefonya.

His intimidating aura made Lefonya slowly lower her eyes.

“…You said you were taking the child to an orphanage?”

“Yes.”

“And what happens after that?”

“What?”

“I asked what happens after you take her to the orphanage.”

“Uh… first, we’ll check her identity and find her parents.”

“The child has already told you her name and clearly said she was abandoned. What happens after that?”

“Uh, well… she would stay at the orphanage, and if someone who wants to adopt her or a sponsor comes along, she would go with them.”

“I see?”

Before the knight could finish speaking, the Duke reached his arms toward Lefonya.

‘Huh?’

His large hands slipped under both of her armpits, and he simply lifted Lefonya up.

‘Huhhh?’

Lefonya blinked as she looked at the Duke who was holding her up.

Then it happened.

Suddenly, a thick, shapeless energy poured out of the Krytan Duke’s body and flowed toward Lefonya.

“Ah!”

She cried out in surprise.

But it did not hurt.

‘Is this… Aura?’

As if trying to measure or examine something, the Krytan Duke narrowed his eyes and released his aura toward her.

‘Did he notice that I’m a criminal?!’

Lefonya swallowed nervously.

“…Maybe not. But there is something… Hmm.”

Thankfully, it seemed he had not discovered her secret, because the Krytan Duke withdrew his aura.

The knight, who had been watching in confusion from the side, called out to the Duke.

“D-Duke?”

“There is no need.”

“What?”

“You don’t need to take her to the orphanage.”

Their eyes met.

A strange emotion that Lefonya could not understand swirled in the Duke’s blue eyes.

“I’ll take this child.”

“What?”

“Pardon?”

What was happening all of a sudden?

The sound of the carriage wheels rolling along the road broke the quiet silence.

‘What in the world is going on right now?’

Lefonya hugged her raised knees tightly and glared at the Duke sitting across from her with wary eyes.

Krytan Duke.

For some reason, although she had no idea why, he was sitting directly across from her.

‘Where is he taking me?’

The Duke noticed Lefonya staring at him and turned his head away from the window.

His blue eyes were so cold that simply looking into them felt like they could freeze a person.

Lefonya tightly clasped her nervous hands together and boldly asked,

“Where are we going?”

Despite her serious expression, what came out was the soft, puffy voice of a little child.

The Duke rested his chin on his hand and stared lazily at Lefonya before opening his mouth.

“You said you were five.”

The Duke rubbed his chin.

“You’re small.”

Lefonya frowned at his sudden comment about her being small.

It was true.

Even when she had lived at the orphanage, she had been smaller than the other children her age, so she could not deny it.

“…They say if you’re small when you’re young, you’ll grow more after you become an adult.”

Of course, even after becoming an adult, she had not grown much taller than others.

“Really? Then you’ll have to work hard.”

The Duke smiled lightly.

‘Still, I guess that’s better than completely ignoring me.’

Lefonya glanced at the Duke with wary eyes.

“Your name is Lefonya?”

Lefonya flinched at hearing her name.

“…Yeah.”

She was embarrassed that she had accidentally revealed her real name, but Lefonya calmly organized the situation in her head.

“Are you planning to sell me?”

“Do I look like I am?”

The Duke answered her question with another question.

“…I don’t know.”

Even the director of the orphanage, who had been famous for being kind and good with children, had secretly sold older children for profit.

The holy and sacred Pope had not been any different.

So why would the supposedly honest and spotless Krytan Duke be any different?

Even if she managed to jump out of the moving carriage, she would probably be caught before she could get very far in this five-year-old body.

That was simply the limit of being five years old.

So it would be faster to convince the Krytan Duke right here.

“You won’t get much money if you sell me.”

Lefonya hugged her knees tightly and muttered as if warning him.

“Who would pay me a lot of money for me? I’m so skinny that I look like I wouldn’t even be able to do the work I’m told to do. I probably wouldn’t even be worth putting up for auction right now. I don’t look healthy either, so even perverts who buy children’s blood probably wouldn’t be interested in me.”

As Lefonya continued speaking without hesitation, the Duke’s face gradually became stiff.

Apparently, he did not like hearing that she was not worth much.

“Do you even know what an auction is?”

“It’s where you buy and sell things.”

Lefonya answered immediately.

“You know that and still talk about an auction… Haa. Never mind that. How do you know so much about things like that?”

“I heard the knight call you D-Duke. I thought you probably didn’t know much about it, so I’m telling you.”

After speaking for so long, her pronunciation became slurred again.

Being stuck with a five-year-old’s tongue was seriously embarrassing.

“Who told you things like that?”

“I heard it here and there. I’m not lying. It’s true. You can check for yourself if you want. You still won’t get much money if you sell me.”

“Should I say thank you for telling me? Thank you.”

Krytan Duke’s face filled with killing intent as he said thank you.

His expression was so frightening that Lefonya’s mouth went stiff with fear.

But she had to keep talking.

“Then just hire me as a maid.”

“A maid?”

“I’m good at working.”

This had been Lefonya’s original plan.

Get a job as a maid in the Krytan Ducal Family and steal the heirloom.

The plan was a little different now, and she had not even managed to check the heirloom yet, but this was still an opportunity.

“I can clean well and do laundry well. I’m even better at organizing.”

She had learned everything from noble etiquette to cleaning, laundry, and organizing.

Lefonya was confident in all of it.

“Didn’t you just say you were so skinny that you looked like you couldn’t even do the work you were given?”

“I only said I looked like that. I didn’t say I was like that. Everyone can’t recognize a talented person because they look sick, but I’m giving you a chance, Duke. A talented person like me… Ah.”

While she was talking, a large hand suddenly grabbed her wrist, stopping her words.

The Krytan Duke gently rolled up Lefonya’s sleeve.

Her thin wrist, small enough to fit in one hand, was revealed from underneath the loose sleeve.

“You don’t look suited for maid work if you’re supposed to be such a talented person.”

“…I’m young, so I can eat little and still work. I don’t cost much for food, and my salary is small too, so I’m good value for money.”

“Haa.”

The Krytan Duke carefully released her wrist and sighed.

Did that not work?

This was the best plan she could come up with right now.

Lefonya gently bit her lip and once again explained her value.

“Since I was young, my bones don’t break as easily. And even if they do break, they’ll heal quickly. So even if my bones break while carrying something heavy, they’ll heal quickly, so you can make me do as much work as you want…”

“Enough.”

The Krytan Duke firmly cut her off.

“I think you’ve misunderstood. I have no intention of selling you, and I have no intention of hiring you as a maid either.”

“…Huh?”

Lefonya blinked.

At the same time, the carriage stopped, meaning they had apparently reached their destination.

The carriage door opened as soon as the Krytan Duke stood up, as if someone had been waiting for him.

‘Where are we?’

Lefonya nervously peeked outside the carriage.

“Gasp!”

She took a large, startled breath.

Outside the carriage, countless servants were bowing and greeting the Duke.

Behind them stood a huge mansion that was so enormous it could easily be called a castle.

‘This is…’

Lefonya’s eyes trembled.

‘The Krytan Ducal Residence!’

Why am I here?

She had been planning to sneak inside, but…

If this counted as sneaking in, then was this also a kind of infiltration?

Beyond the open carriage door, Lefonya could hear the servants greeting him.

“Welcome back, Your Grace, the Krytan Duke.”

Krytan Duke.

Hearing his title directly with her own ears made Lefonya’s body tremble.

Right now, she was basically standing alone in enemy territory without a single weapon.

‘Could he have figured out who I am and brought me here?’

That was the most likely possibility in this situation.

Otherwise, there was no reason for the Duke to bring an outsider into a residence with such tight security.

‘I didn’t even realize I was being dragged straight into enemy territory.’

Lefonya grabbed her head with both small hands.

There would be many knights from the Krytan Family inside the residence, so she could not escape either.

Then how was she supposed to survive?

“What are you doing?”

As Lefonya desperately tried to think of a way out, a large hand appeared in front of her.

It was the Krytan Duke’s hand.

Lefonya blinked and stared at the hand he was holding out.

What was she supposed to do with this hand?

Was he telling her to confess everything obediently?

“Haa.”

The Duke’s sigh fell over Lefonya’s head as she seriously thought about it.

Then he gently took her small hand in his.

“Come here.”