CH 2

A moment of silence passed.

Kellerhan looked down at me with a scary face, and I smiled so much that my lips trembled.

“Hohoho!” It was the Emperor who broke the silence. “Look, she already knows the severity of law, isn’t the Young Lady of Schwires very unique?”

The Emperor patted the Mad Dog… No, Kellerhan’s shoulder, who ferociously twisted his face.

I trembled when I saw Kellerhan’s twisted face.

Did I do it wrong?

He’s a person who lives and dies by principle, that’s why I also mentioned the law, but shouldn’t I have done that?

But the reason why Kellerhan twisted his face wasn’t what I expected it to be.

“…Father?”

What kind of look did he give me… He looked at me as if I was a wet platypus in the water.

What does my image look like now?

But there was no time to think deeply. It was because the misunderstanding had to be resolved as soon as possible.

“I mean it to be like that!” I said almost out of urgency. “If I become Barmuth’s daughter-in-law, the Duke will be my father, right? So I thought it’d be good to call him so ahead… Hahaha…”

I tried hard to explain that I never meant to offend him with ‘father’ remarks.

“Because I want to become your daughter-in-law so much that without realizing it, the word ‘father’ popped! out first!”

Hearing my explanation, Kellerhan’s expression grew more and more strange. If it was the expression of seeing a wet platypus before… Now it was the look of seeing a platypus standing on a tree branch and singing a hymn.

I almost burst into tears at that glance.

Then, to my surprise, the Emperor offered a helping hand. “Now, now, you should’ve known, Kellerhan, don’t make the child scared.”

At those words, Kellerhan sighed and turned his head away. He covered his face with his big hand and his shoulders were somehow trembling?

Was he so mad?! Was he so angry that his body trembled?!

As I was examining his expression intently, the Emperor called me closer. Just when I approached him, he patted the back of my hand and casted his ‘grandfather’s benevolent gaze’.

“I didn’t know that you admire Barmuth so much.” 

Even his words were so kind. But I couldn’t relax and I kept swallowing saliva. 

‘It’s good to adore Barmuth, but the Mad Dog seems to hate it, so should I just go to Lodgemund?’

If the Emperor says things like that, I’ll be screwed. As I was trembling, the Emperor’s blue eyes looked into me. I think there was a little compassion in them, am I mistaken?

After a few seconds that felt like eternity to me, the Emperor opened his mouth. “When this happens, I’ll take responsibility for your marriage with the Young Lord of Barmuth.”

“…!” I was so startled that I opened my eyes wide.

Did I just hear that correctly? The Emperor would take responsibility and arrange my marriage?

I glanced at Kellerhan for a moment. Even if the Emperor said so, if Kellerhan objected,I would be able to get my name on Barmuth’s family tree. And Kellerhan hates crime, so he won’t abuse children or steal my property.

In an instant, the strength in my legs was gone.

As it was the Imperial Palace, it was also the Hall of Glory, so I tried to stand upright, but I couldn’t support myself.

“This,” seeing me collapsed on the floor, the Emperor clicked his tongue.

“I-I apologize.” I quickly shook my head and apologized.

For the first time in my life, things were going well, and I didn’t want to get caught up in such a small mistake.

“I will get up right now…”

I gave my body strength, but my body just kept swaying back and forth like a doll with broken string and I couldn’t stand upright.

It was at that moment. A large, firm hand grabbed me and lifted me up. He also grabbed my arm so I wouldn’t fall.

Wait, perhaps this…

I lifted my head very slowly, feeling my heart beating like crazy.

And met Kellerhan’s red eyes.

He was gazing upon me with his trademark terrifying expressionless face.

“Hic.” I hiccuped loudly in Kellerhan’s arms.

“Hic, hic, hiccup!”

Startled, I covered my mouth with both hands, but the hiccups continued.

It’s okay. This man is the keeper of law. He never kills an innocent person.

But what if the target was a cheeky kid who called himself her father? Even if I wasn’t killed, wouldn’t it be possible to crush my bones in anger?

Now, with just a little bit of force in Kellerhan’s hand, the bones of a nine-year-old child would break easier than a toy.

I stiffened in fear, unable to avoid Kellerhan’s gaze, and kept hiccuping.

He frowned.

Goodbye, my arm. It’s been fun so far…

As I was saying goodbye faintly, Kellerhan opened his mouth to a servant who was standing at the back of the hall. “Why is the kid doing this all of sudden?”

The servant’s face turned pale at Kellerhan’s question as he looked at me.

“Tell me.” Kellerhan rushed him to start with his terrifying tone. 

The servant who was bitten by the Mad Dog of the Imperial family without knowing the reason was now trembling.

“I told you to tell me.” He raised his voice and spoke sullenly.

The servant opened his mouth with an expression of wanting to faint. “S-s-she’s just hiccuping.”

“I know she’s hiccuping too.”

The temperature of Kellerhan’s voice when he spoke those words dropped to 10 degrees. I didn’t lie, it’s true.

“I asked you why is she hiccuping all of a sudden.”

“S-s-she must be surprised!”

“Surprised by what?”

The servant’s eyes fluttered relentlessly. He looked at me and Kellerhan in turn. His gaze seemed like he was asking, ‘You really don’t know? Are you crazy? What kind of child in this world can stand when you stare at them so fiercely?!’

But the servant was a man who knew how to save his words and life.

“If it’s to that point, I also…” He looked into Kellerhan’s eyes and blurted his words, which was replied by Kellerhan who looked at the servant with his red eyes.

“Are you kidding me right now?”

And he uttered words that sounded like a death sentence.

“Ugh!”  The servant shrugged his shoulders, making a strange noise in fear.

The Mad Dog’s cold gaze reached the servant’s shrunken neck. Now I feel that he’s going to break the servant’s neck, not my arm!

No, I’d hate that!

I have no particular feelings for the servant, but I don’t want to see innocent people die miserably because of me.

Who in the world would want to see such a thing?

Oh, except for those Lodgemund demons, of course.

I decided to turn Kellerhan’s attention to me. Without thinking twice, I took his hand that was holding my arm. I felt that he twitched for a moment. He looked down at the back of my tiny pale hand.

“Excuse me, the hiccups have stopped.” I put my hand on his and gave it a grip. My strength would only make him feel like an ant was crawling, but it was better than nothing.

“So now…”

Please forgive me, but I instinctively shut my mouth.

Asking for forgiveness is not appropriate here. It was the intuition of my subconscious, having lived next to dangerous people for years. That intuition was close to certainty that Kellerhan wouldn’t be happy to be begged for forgiveness.

What should I do, then?

Once again my head was spinning. I reflected on my current situation in my head.

I am a nine-year-old child who admires Barmuth so much that I’m adopted as a daughter-in-law by Kellerhan, the Duke of Barmuth.

Then… Then…

My eyes lit up. I grabbed his hand tightly with both of my hands. 

“I’m fine now!” Then, with my eyes twinkling, I shouted in a bright voice.

“Are you worried about me? Thank you?” And I smiled even bashfully.

The servant looked at me with his eyes wide. It was a look that wondered how I could say such a thing to the Mad Dog.

The Mad Dog is never a person who cares about anyone.

Of course, I wasn’t serious about it either. 

Could Kellerhan have worried about me, though. When a cheeky little girl even hiccuped, his temper was stretched out, so he must have got mad at the servant.

But for now, I should act as innocently as possible, without notice. That way I can survive.

“You…” Kellerhan looked down at me with an unknown expression.

He didn’t look like he was angry. Shouldn’t it be more accurate to say that he has an absurd expression?

Yeah, it’s unreasonable. I, too, am unreasonable.

But I really want to live.

I really want to be your daughter-in-law.

That’s why, please know my sincerity.

Yet it seemed that my earnest prayers didn’t reach him. Because he took his hand away from me again with an expressionless face.

“Kellerhan.” The Emperor called out the Mad Dog. “That child is the child I named as your daughter-in-law. I know you hate kids, but be nice to her.”

Kellerhan sighed and looked back at the Emperor. 

“Your Imperial Majesty, I have something to tell you.” He opened his mouth to the Emperor, and the Emperor raised an eyebrow.

Looking at the Emperor’s surprised face, maybe it was rare for Kellerhan to ask anything.

“You told me to choose this child as Barmuth’s daughter-in-law.”

“I did.”

“But marriage is not something that can be decided so easily. Moreover, the opinion of the most important party wasn’t gathered…”

“Who are you talking about as a party?”

Kellerhan shrugged his shoulders. “My son. If they get married, my son will be the husband of this child”

“Hmm, sure.” The Emperor stroked the beard on his chin and nodded his head. “It makes sense. Afterall, the Young Lord of Barmuth is a party to this matter and you can’t ignore the boy’s opinion.”

He then groaned. “But I promised the Schwires couple the safety of their daughter. I can’t break that promise. If I leave this child unattended, no one will ever go to explore the ‘Void’.”

“Then how about doing this?” Kellerhan’s red eyes gleamed. “For now, I will take this child to Barmuth.”

“Hoo?”

“And let her stay with my son for a month. If this child survives the month, she will be welcomed as my daughter-in-law without a word.”

The Emperor and I looked surprised at the same time.

Are you really going to accept me as your daughter-in-law? This easy?

“However.” He shifted his gaze and looked at me.

At the same time, goosebumps appeared on my arms.

“If she can’t survive the month, Your Imperial Majesty will have to take care of this child yourself and make sure you never touch Barmuth again.”

At Kellerhan’s words, I opened my mouth.

You mean, you’re going to bully me for a month and force me to give up?

Surely, you can’t become a daughter-in-law of the Mad Dog so easily!

I could barely hold back my desire to cry.