Chapter 20

Chapter 20

TL-Mechatronic

Without any reply to the consent letter sent to Count Orbia, he was a self-deprecating man to secretly have someone climb over the wall at Bellstein Castle without fear.

If he had demanded a large sum of money in return for Luciel’s marriage, he could have pretended not to know However, it seemed that the Count was worse than expected, or he wanted to commit suicide.

Even at such a risk, were you trying to take that child out?

It was clear that Luciel had run away from that house, or to be more precise, from the Count. In the end, the Count’s purpose was Luciel, and I will not tolerate any of that. Slowly, my patience was running out.

Louivid opened the chest of drawers, took out a cigar that had not been lit, and put it in his mouth.

I quit a long time ago, but when I get annoyed, I feel a little better when I bite it.

Should I go back to expanding the territory? The vassals said that the fatigue of the people accumulated during war, but he was the opposite.

How can I forget that pleasure?

The Duke slowly laid his eyes down. He turned to the report again as he remembered a request from the treasurer officer to process all the pending documents.

Byon, byon, byon.

Half a day after I locked myself up in my office, he woke up from what he guessed was a short nap. Louivid thin eyes opened at the strange sound that came out of the blue,

“… What is this? Did a bird come?”

Byon, byon, byon.

It’s like the sound of something’s getting further. He got up from the sofa, narrowing his brow, as if it was annoying,

Click. When he opened the door, he could see a small back.

I saw a girl with pure white silver hair and a lemon skirt fluttering as she walked. Isn’t she just like a little animal? Her feet were even worn with white, fluffy fur slippers,

That must have been the cause of the ear-catching sound.

Thud, Thud. Even though Louivid was walking slowly, Luciel’s stride was so narrow that he was able to quickly catch up with her that was ahead of him. He quickly put the cigar he was biting into his pocket and spoke slowly.

“Caught you.”

The Duke’s large hand lifted Luciel’s small body.

“Oh… Du-Duke?”

Luciel froze as she was, her arms and legs were tangled and floated up in the air. Luciel shook her feet like a prey caught by a hunter.

Louivid’s cold voice pierced the back of her head.

“…You’re going to walk by without saying hi to me?”

“Ah. That’s….”

Feeling Luciel’s trouble, he lowered her to the floor.

“Where are you going?”

“…I was lost.”

In fact, when the Duke was not present, Luciel was planning to secretly bring a note with flower language along with a flower. If we run into each other, we have to carry on an awkward conversation, so she wanted to keep it a secret as long as possible.

However, today, for hours, a circular plaque was hung on the door of the Duke’s office.

Eva told her that if the black dragon was on the visible side, the Duke was inside. So when he was there, she tried to flee in secret, but she didn’t expect him to come out like this.

The Duke bowed his huge body to match the child’s low gaze. He knelt down and lowered his body.

“Did you like sweet things?”

He knew ahead of time and even ordered Eva to fill the chest of drawers with candy and chocolate, but he uttered them as if they were passing by.

“…Y-Yes.”

“He remembered that I like sweets.

I only know him as a cold and scary person, but maybe he has a surprisingly warm side hidden somewhere.

Louivid, who was staring at the child’s clear eyes, suggested.

“Come in. I have something to give you.”

“… To give me?”

Luciel’s eyes became round. I pondered for a while as to what to do if he would give me some other store documents. Then the Duke said as if it had read her head.

“You’re thinking nonsense…it’s nothing like a document.”

Upon entering the Duke’s office, the smell of ink and paper hit her.

Byon, byon, byon. Although she walked diligently, the room was wide enough to take a long time for Luciel’s stride to get her somewhere.

“Sit there.”

“Yes…”

Luciel barely climbed onto the brown sofa and sat down. At the Duke’s call, Eva entered with a smile.

“Bring me drinks and dessert. I’ll have tea.”

“All right. What would you Miss Luciel?” “..I’ll also drink tea.”

Following the Duke, Luciel confidently ordered. Eva explained, gently rolling her eyes.

“Have you tried black tea?”

Luciel shook his head.

“No, but the Duke always seems to drink it…”

When Luciel glanced at the Duke, the corners of his lips twitched slightly.

“The black tea will be a bit bitter for Miss Luciel. How about apple tea made with apple cider vinegar? It’s soft and sweet, so it’s easy to drink.”

“Then with that.”

Luciel’s puffy cheeks turned pink.

“Yes, then I will bring you a lemon madeleine that goes well with apple tea.”

I was a little nervous to be left alone with the Duke until the tea came out. Luciel sat quietly on the sofa and thought

“What do we do? So awkward… Should I say I want to tour the office? No, maybe he doesn’t like people cluttering around.

As Luciel rolled her eyes to and fro, the Duke opened his mouth.

“… There is nothing much in the office for a child to see.”

She nervously put her hands on her lap, and shook her head.

“No! it’s nothing.”

‘Ah, did I say no too strongly?’

Luciel, who was timidly thinking inwardly, spoke again to the Duke, who was looking at her quietly.

“There is a library, a playroom, and I’ve been to the playground.”

“…Playground?”

“Yes, Deputy Ellington took me to the playground in the woods. I can even ride a swing.”

Luciel said with a bright expression, as if the memories of that day were really enjoyable.

“Let’s go together next time.”

“What?”

“Let’s go on the swing together.” ‘D-did he just ask me to go on a swing?”

Luciel was stunned. At that moment, something familiar came into Luciel’s eyes as she looked around the room.

“Oh…”

There was a flower in the vase that was identical to the hyacinth that Luciel had left behind.

“Did they bring a new one?’

The pure white hyacinth was as clear and fresh as if it had just bloomed.

“The hyacinth is pretty.”

“Didn’t you say it was the joy of the heart?”

“Ah… Yes. You remember that note.”

“I have it here.”

As the Duke flicked his finger, the note he had placed under the vase fluttered into his hand. He spread it out nicely.

It was a memo with Luciel’s clumsy handwriting.

“The flowers you gave me are the same.”

“How are the flowers still fresh?”

“Preservation magic.”

Luciel’s eyes twinkled with curiosity. Magic seemed to have endless uses. She was so ashamed that she only considered magic as a power to become stronger.

Looking at Luciel’s round eyes, nose, and mouth, everything was small and the Duke muttered that she resembled something. Luciel also looked at the Duke’s face and thought he looked very similar to the grown up Kizef.

Come to think of it, she might be rejected because he doesn’t want to marry her, but in that case, it would be nice to know the result beforehand…

“Du-Duke.”

“Hmm?”

“When will be able to meet Young Master Kizef?”

Upon hearing Luciel’s question, the corners of the Duke’s lips rose slightly.

“Do you want to see him soon”?

“…This contract marriage can only be established with the permission of the Young Master. I can’t do anything but wait right now…I think it would be a little sad if I was rejected.” “Why?”

“Well, because I like….staying in Bellstein even more now.”

“Don’t worry about that. Kizef will see you soon.” “Yes.”

Luciel’s expression brightened at the Duke’s words, but she thought that if he disliked her, she should be prepared to break up the marriage contract.

That day, Luciel realized something new besides that sweet apple tea and lemon madeleine were quite harmonious.

The fact that the Duke’s face is so good-looking that you won’t get tired of looking at it over and over again, and that she can talk without trembling now. Of course, it was still awkward, so we had to eat together to continue the conversation.

Luciel took a big bite of Madeleine, which was bigger than her fist.

“That’s right. I was supposed to give you a present.”

This time, instead of bringing the object by magic, the Duke got himself up. It was nice to see him in a comfy shirt wrapped around his tight body.

The Duke opened the door of the chest of drawers on the wall and beckoned to Luciel.

“Come here and choose.”

“…Yes.”

As she approached without knowing what this was about, she noticed that the chest of drawers were filled with colorful, sweet-smelling candies, chocolates, and jellies. Luciel pondered and picked up a transparent bottle full of cute jelly, and bowed her hand while saying thank you,

“All right, you can go now.”

“Yes!”

Luciel had the most excited face while they were together. Her cute puffy cheeks looked like she was excited to eat something sweet.

The corner of the Duke’s mouth went up, but Luciel didn’t see it.

“Miss Luciel, I heard you were here, so I came to pick you

up.”

It seemed that Bessie had gone looking for Luciel. With the transparent bottle in her arms, Luciel returned to the room with a pounding heart.

“Lady, would you like some snacks?”

“No, I want to eat this. It’s Jelly given by the Duke.”

Luciel’s eyes, boasting of the jelly, twinkled more than usual.

“Okay. But you can’t eat too much, so only five!”

“Yes.”

When Bessie’s permission fell, Luciel smiled a cute laugh and opened the lid of the bottle.

Inside was a bear-shaped jelly that was bigger than Luciel’s thumb. Red, green, orange, yellow and white fruityscented bear jellies were lying side by side.

Luciel, who was seduced by the sweet scent, took out a plump green bear and put it in her mouth.

The chewy texture and the refreshing apple taste filled her mouth the more she chewed it. It felt like a different world, was unfolding from the strawberry flavored candy. It was

strangely addictive, so she kept shouting one more, one more, and kept eating.

But as Bessie said, she could barely stop at just five.

Luciel muttered as she pursed her lips.

“…I’m happy.”

It was such a small jelly, but the joy it gave was great. I felt like my heart was melting.

I saw earlier that there were more glass bottles.

There is one more reason to visit the Duke’s office often in the future.