CH 59

He just blurted it out without any particular thought, but the Duke’s eyes turned wide after he saw Beatty, who had now stopped crying but was instead fully red.

“Baby?”

“I-I’m… not that young, though….”

Something around her chest felt ticklish.

At the strange feeling that seemed to fill her mind with expectations and embarrassment that made her want to hide her head between branches, her body windingly twisted.

‘I’m not a baby, though….’

Actually, even before regression, her age wasn’t one that could be said to be that of an adult, but Beatty who was thinking that she returned to a child’s body even though she was adult enough, corrected him.

“I am not a baby.”

“….”

I see.

Turns out Baby doesn’t like to be called ‘Baby’.

The Duke nodded as he recalled the natural attributes of babies.

‘As expected, she’s still a baby.’

How cute.

Delicate and lovely Baby who doesn’t know how a young life she is.

The Duke, who could not control his desire to stroke her head without realizing it himself, raised his hand on top of the soft golden thread-like hair of Baby.

“…!”

Flinch.

The black eyes of Baby, who was surprised by the touch of his hand, were round like that of a baby deer jumping in surprise at a human being that it encountered in the mountains.

As he stroked her head carefully with his hands as if touching glass craftwork that would break if one made the slightest mistake, she wriggled her hands, perhaps feeling awkward at her Father’s touch which she didn’t often feel.

Even those fingers were cute. Just how fascinating it was, a tiny thing that wasn’t even as big as a single finger of his moved in its own way.

The Duke, who had been only stroking Beatty’s head without saying a word for a while, took his hand off with a satisfied look after a long time.

‘Ah….’

Beatty, who was calm like a cat in the sunlight, lowered the corners of her eyes with a bummed look unconsciously.

Thud.

The Duke picked up the acorn bag that had fallen on the floor and dusted it off.

After checking there wasn’t anything dirty on the thing that Baby seemed to cherish considerably, the Duke reached out to Beatty again.

“Here.”

“Ah, thank you.”

At the sight of the forgotten bag, Beatty who was sweating reached out her hand to receive it back.

“?”

But the bag wasn’t caught in Beatty’s hands.

Saying that the bag which held just a few cards weight, the Duke, who was still holding the cute acorn bag with his hand, put the bag strap diagonally on her shoulder so that Baby wouldn’t feel its weight.

“…Thank you.”

Poof.

Beatty hid her red face down.

Father slung the bag onto me personally!

‘It’s like taking care of a cherished child’s clothes oneself….’

Beatty felt a burning heat rise onto her cheeks.

The vassals, who had watched the heartwarming scene of the Duke Family’s father and daughter, had a delighted look themselves as well, following the pair.

‘At first, I was surprised at the sight of His Excellency kneeling down, but….’

‘It’s the first time I’ve seen His Excellency looks so happy like that!’

The Duke’s eyes which were looking at the Young Miss, unlike usual, were seen to have loosened warmly.

‘Seeing his appearance spending a sweet time with the Young Miss whom he cherished that much, perhaps tomorrow’s work report could go smoothly?’

The vassals expected the next day’s meeting to end peacefully and quickly as the Duke’s mood went all the way up, seeing his daughter.

They smiled cheering for a better relationship between the father and the daughter, who were still awkward.

At that time.

“Ahem!”

The voice that broke the heartwarming atmosphere at once rang the hallway.

“Niece….”

A pathetic voice called Beatty.

Beatty opened her eyes round at Aunt’s clinging sound which she heard for the first time.

Firina forcedly made up a sad look on her face.

“To see that you’re accepted by the Duke, even I am glad. But even if I wanted to give a round of applause, because my hands are like this….”

She held out her bound hands as if telling Beatty to see it. Even without having to emphasize it, the rope that tightened around her seemed to make her miserable situation stand out.

Thinking that she had done enough to pretend to be pitiful that’ll buy sympathy, Firina went back to the point.

“Anyway, you came just in time.”

Blankly.

Frustrated by her dense niece, who only blinked without answering, Firina was forced to unravel and explain.

“Will you tell him? Since no matter how I see it, I think the Duke has had a misunderstanding.”

“A misunderstanding?”

“Yeah. How did I raise you?”

Just how did you raise me?

You made me on guard, mistreated me, and then later locked me up completely.

“After Older Sister who gave birth to you was gone and I picked you up myself, how di-, heuk!”

Looking at Aunt, who secretly checked her reaction as she was squeezing tears, Beatty didn’t even give a snort.

‘No matter how I see this… after seeing me, she’s asking me to be on her side, right?’

Although it was absurd, seeing that look which was mixed with a force in her eyes, it seemed what Beatty guessed was right.

“Hooo….”

Beatty, who was first dumbfounded before getting angry, sighed.

‘Turns out returning to the past, isn’t so good.’

To think that she alone remembered the things that the person who committed the act didn’t even remember.

The one that starved her for days. The one that raised her hand against her instead of talking. The Aunt who released the guard dog and locked her up, making her unable to go out. These were things that haven’t happened yet at this time.

‘That must be why she’s saying it so confidently like that, right?’

Since in the present, she didn’t do anything more than just making Beatty wear old clothes as it was for a few years, or saying bad things as if throwing stones at her every time she sees her, or ordering the maids to make her frightened.

‘And because I was still young at this time….’

It was the period when she had expectations about the thing called family.

‘Since among the people I knew, Aunt was the only one to have the same blood.’

She wanted to look good.

If she behaved nicely or got rid of the shameful part of herself, then maybe…

She was a foolish child who had been peeking, at whether she would be able to receive a piece of affection.

Firina smiled full of confidence, misunderstanding Beatty’s silence who was looking back on her foolish past with a complicated heart.

‘Pft. As expected. No matter how strange the influence she got here, that thing is, in the end, the kid who’s begging for my attention.’

That was something obvious for her.

Her niece was conscious of her and obedient to what she said. Since she had always been like that.

Like her stupid Older Sister.

“You’re a good kid, right? Quickly tell the Duke.”

It was Firina, who now demanded with a completely confident voice.

“….”

No matter how she saw it, it looked like Aunt was thinking of her as the fool of that time.

‘It’s ridiculous.’

It really was like that. 

Beatty’s black eyes sank cold.

“Niece, hurry….”

“Why?”

“What?”

“Why should I talk for Aunt’s sake?”

“A-a-about that, isn’t that natural! I’m your aunt, and I’m the one who’s taken care of you until now. If you know grace—”

“That grace.”

Beatty cut off Firina’s words, which she stammered after being taken aback.

“I never once received it, though.”

The bright voice said clearly.

“Or if not, does Aunt want me to pay you back just like what Aunt did to me?”

“What, what?!”

Firina, who was stabbed by Beatty’s words, shrank in surprise.

‘I-It’s weird. Something’s wrong!’

It can’t be like this, though.

That kid who she called Niece had always listened to her, and the Duke’s Castle which didn’t have a lady of the house should have to serve her like a madam!

At the reality which severely contrasted with the image inside her head, Firina fell into her silly thought.

“Hohoho. My Niece. What are you sulking at that makes you say that? Even so, you surely can’t do that. Other adults will misunderstand, you know? How much I—“

The Duke, who was staring at Beatty who clearly refuted that nonsense, with eyes saying she is very cute, beckoned as he opened his mouth.

“Turns out your tongue is quite long.”

He didn’t allow Firina’s words to continue any further.

“Take her underground.”

Understanding his instructions, the subordinates grabbed the rope to get rid of the sinner before the Young Miss’ eyes.

“Now, let’s go.”

‘Underground?’

Firina had heard of the rumors relating to the Duke of Aslan Family’s basement.

When they swallow and vomit the Duke Family’s enemy, it’s either a space that’s like a magical beast that only spits out piles of bones, or either an underground cave in which one can’t come out alive once going in.

It was a place full of panic-stricken stories only.

Firina, who had thought that even so, there was no way he would do any physical harm to her, felt a real threat to her life.

“Wait, wait a minute! Duke!”

Firina, who was in a hurry, even brought up the title that usually she didn’t want to acknowledge.

“Brother-in-law!”

The Duke’s eyebrows wiggled at the title that she spoke of.

“Yes, I siphoned off the childcare cost!”

Firina admitted the lightest mistake.

“Heuk heuk, to think I was using the gold coins that were sent from the Duke’s Family as I wish… even right now, I’m too ashamed that I have to speak it out.”

She made up a sad look as best as she could. She intended to escape after taking the lightest confession and self-reflection.

“It’s so hard trying to raise Niece as a bachelor who couldn’t even get married, unknowingly just up to that much….”

Of course, in the midst of that, she didn’t forget to reduce her responsibility as she made excuses.

Glance. Firina scanned the reaction around her.

Whether the words didn’t work even a tiny bit, the Duke’s expression didn’t change at all. The shiny face of the cheeky Niece next to her was also the same as it was.

In the end, Firina stopped pretending to be pitiful which didn’t work, and quibbled over again with a sharp voice.

“Eeek, no matter who it is, that is the way it is. Since I was having a hard time while raising the kid, I decided to use the childcare cost a little bit differently, isn’t this too harsh?”

Losing her composure due to being driven out, Firina crossed the line.

“If my dead Older Sister saw this… heup!”

But her mouth closed on its own right away under unusual energy.

“How dare you.”

The voice of the angry Duke, as if a lion was growling, vibrated through the hallway.

“After taking my daughter and doing outrageous things to her, you’re now talking about my wife?”

The murderous energy of wanting to tear her apart immediately oozed out from his keen and sharply-edged golden eyes.