CH 10

“What, what?”

Her mind was bewildered by the tremendous words pouring out of the Duke’s mouth. So, what the wizard was trying to put on her was such a terrible curse? If that’s true, it was a situation where she should consider herself lucky that she was sober right now. If she had been properly cursed, she might have played the role of a puppet.

“For the curse placed on you, the will of the target to be cast is more important than anything else. It is said that magic is applied only when there is no denial itself, which means…”

The Duke’s eyes flashed dangerously after he paused for a moment.

“It’s like saying that you took part in Delian’s abduction.”

She was silent for a while. Hearing the Duke’s words made her think that she was misunderstood enough. But even if that’s the case…

“Still, I guess the evidence isn’t enough to make you angry with me for taking part in the kidnapping? That’s probably why you haven’t put me in jail yet and are leaving me like this.”

The Duke closed his mouth tightly. It just stared at her with cold eyes.

“I understand. It’s a situation that can be misunderstood enough. I also understand that the curse on my body is a curse that deepens the Duke’s misunderstanding. But I’m definitely a victim. I was just cursed by a wizard while trying to save the child. I didn’t know that man was a wizard in the first place, or that he cast a curse spell on me.”

The Duke let out a sneer instead of an answer. But she didn’t care and vomited out her unfair feelings.

“What do you think is the reason the Duke can’t easily find evidence of my involvement in the kidnapping case? The Duke feels something is wrong, too.”

“Are you trying to say that I’m in denial of the visible situation?”

She was silent for a while. The Duke’s eyes were still cold. The man in front of her must have suffered from a terrible disease of distrust of human beings.

“You probably don’t want to admit it. That I wasn’t involved in Delian’s abduction.”

She got up from her seat.

“All I know is that the Duke has a disease of distrust in humans, where he can’t trust anyone but himself.”

She didn’t know if it’s because he was naturally suspicious, or if there’s some other reason. However, this situation was so frustrating and annoying. 

“Anyway, it is late at night. If you excuse me, I’ll just go.”

Further conversation was pointless. She left the room past the Duke and walked straight back to her room. In the meantime, a fundamental question arose. Why the hell did she come to possess this place and why was it only her? No matter how much she thought about it, she stopped walking because her heart was filled with questions that she could not understand. At the same time, the gazes of the knights who were walking back and forth in the ashes surrounding her were sharply pierced. It felt like fanning a house on fire.

“Why are you staring at me like that? Do you want me to do something again? Both of you, just go to sleep and wake up.”

Really… She walked past the bewildered knights and headed for her room.

* * *

She dipped the cut meat into her fork and put it in her mouth and chewed it very carefully. She could feel the child sneakily watching her, but she tried hard to pretend not to know. Seeing the Duke sitting across from her and eating with a calm face made her feel anxious. He probably didn’t even listen to what she said yesterday.

She picked up her fork and dipped the salad this time. She made a loud noise on purpose and chewed the grass hard. Then she didn’t feel like eating anymore, so she put the tableware down.

“Aren’t you eating more?”

“Huh.”

“Then I won’t eat either. We’re all in one mind.”

Where did he learn such difficult words? The mouth was filled with sauce and the sound he made was funny and cute. It seemed like he was trying to lighten her mood.

“Shall we make cookies today?”

“Yeah. I made bread the other day, but I couldn’t finish it. Since we already ate the bread, I thought it would be nice to make cookies together.”

“I’m fine. But…”

Delian slurred his words and glanced at the Duke. He must be embarrassed because he had to take classes after dinner. Anyway, since she returned to her room yesterday, she had made up her mind to leave. Be it now, she grinned while looking straight at the Duke.

“About Liam’s morning class. Can’t we just play today?”

She deliberately added her words at the moment when the Duke was about to say something.

“You wouldn’t say no, right? I believe the Duke’s heart isn’t that small.”

The Duke contorted his face, but she didn’t mind at all.

“Do whatever you feel like.”

After the Duke said that, he got up from his seat and left the restaurant.

Shut!

Looking at the violently closed door, she turned her head and said to the child.

“The Duke says it’s okay, so let’s have fun making cookies in the morning instead of class.”

Instead of answering, the child smiled broadly.

“If we finish eating, shall we leave?”

She took the nodding child’s hand and left the restaurant. Two knights sneakily glance at her and follow her. They didn’t want to do that, but it was their part-time job.

She didn’t care and walked diligently toward the kitchen where she had been the other day with the child.

* * *

The child was walking precariously with a basket of cookies in his arms. He must have been quite proud that he made it himself. It was time to watch nervously from behind, thinking that the basket would spill at any moment. The child suddenly stopped and looked back.

“Jean, I mean cookies. Can I give my father first?”

“To the Duke?”

“Yes. Father, I want to let him taste it first.”

“Okay then.”

She actually didn’t want to go, but she couldn’t bear to say no when she saw the child with an expectant look on his face.

“The Duke is currently in the office.”

One of the knights following said that to the child. The child who nodded his head turned around and started walking in the opposite direction. When he arrived in front of the office, the attendant spoke and opened the door for them.

The Duke was sitting on the sofa, looking through his papers.

“What’s going on?”

The child ran straight to the Duke and showed him the basket he was holding in his hand.

“It’s a cookie I made with Elia. Father, try it first.”

“I don’t really want to eat.”

“Don’t do that, just try one.”

Deliam held out the basket despite the Duke’s refusal. However, because it stretched out too much, it blocked the Duke’s view.

“Put it away.”

The Duke, frowning, gently pushed the child away. The child, who had taken a step back in embarrassment as if he did not know that the Duke would push him away, lost his balance and fell backwards.

She sighed, exhaled, and opened her eyes wide. It was because all the cookies in the basket spilled and shattered on the floor. The child who had been looking at the scene without a word slowly raised his body.

“Hey, Liam…”

Just as she was about to say something out of concern, the child walked up to the Duke and clenched his fist.

“I hate my father the most in the world!”

Liam cried out in tears and ran out of the room in an instant.

“My God,” she said, sighed inwardly and walked up to the Duke.

He was looking at the door where the child had left with a look of shock.

“Duke.”

At her call, the duke’s gaze slowly moved to her.

“Right now, I hate the Duke the most.”

After that, she turned her back without regret and left the room in a hurry to chase after the child.

* * *

She stared at the child’s door with a feeling of embarrassment. She knocked on the door, but heard nothing.

After thinking for a while, she went into her room, the room next to it. Apparently, he didn’t want to talk to anyone right now.

“…Ehh.”

How did it come to be like this? A bit of regret flooded in. She’d rather just go to class. Shall they go to the kitchen and make cookies again? After thinking about it for a while, she shook her head. It didn’t make sense to her to do it alone.

Anyway, it was a bit unexpected. The face of the Duke she had seen before popped up in her head. It was obviously a shocked face. She said he was the most hated person in the world, so he must be shocked. But what could he do about reaping what you sowed? If he was going to be so shocked in the first place, it would have been better if he had eaten it gently from the beginning. Anyway, even the Duke was really stupid. She clicked her tongue and headed for the bathroom.

She was worried about the child, but there was nothing she could do right now. Wash first and then see. She was sweating a lot while making bread earlier, so her body was grunting. As soon as she entered the bathroom, she threw off her clothes and immersed herself in a bathtub full of water.

Thinking of staying for a long time, she leaned her back against the wall of the bathtub and slowly closed her eyes.

* * *

She came out of the bathroom in a drowsy state and quietly headed towards the middle gate. She put her ear close to the door to see if there was a sound inside. But it was quiet inside. Did he fall asleep crying?

Concerned about the child, she decided to open the door very slightly. She opened the door very quietly and quickly looked around the room through the gap. In the distance, she could see a small hill rising from the center of the bed.

She was sure he was sleeping, seeing as he rose and fell. He must have consumed a lot of energy crying, so should he have a hearty dinner? After thinking for a while, she closed the middle door and left the room to go to the kitchen.

She thought that if she cooked the food herself, he would feel better. The cook would be surprised. He would even say she had already come twice today.

It was a time when she moved diligently. She saw a bunch of knights standing in front of the kitchen door in the distance.

“Hmm? What is it?

Standing at the kitchen door, I spoke to one of the kninghts, who were unwilling to get out of the way.

“Can’t you just step aside?”

“Not now.”

“Why?”

“…Anyway, not now.”

They were strangely delayed in answering something. She glanced at the knight with a suspicious mind. Who the hell was in there and wouldn’t let her in?

“Who’s in here?”

She blocked the door and moved her head to avoid the knights. The knights were now just staring at her face, avoiding answering.

Hmm…

She looked at those knights and turned her head to the side and pretended to be exaggeratedly surprised.

“Deliam, why are you here?”

The moment the knights hurriedly turned their heads at her words, they quickly squeezed through the gap and opened the door wide.

Jump!

She was completely at a loss for words at the scene unfolding before her eyes. It was none other than the Duke, who was kneading the dough while wearing an apron that didn’t suit him.