CH 102

Zenuit frowned upon realizing what was at the end of Nelia’s gaze.

“No way… Are you looking at that? That doll?”

That was true. What Nelia was currently had her eyes on was an elongated white doll displayed in the back of the dart arcade.

“So cute…..”

The duke noticed that Nelia was staring at the doll that resembles him and covered her face with his palm.

Nelia was embarrassed by their reaction.

“I just…… looked at it because it was cute.”

The doll looked similar to the duke’s appearance when he turned into a snake, which was the reason it caught Nelia’s eyes immediately.

Of course, the duke’s snake appearance had a more noble silver color, but it also looked white at first glance.

‘I’m also making a fool of myself……’

It might be because she realized that she liked the duke just recently, however she couldn’t believe that she thought his other appearance looked cute.

“I’ll get that doll for you if you want it, Nelia.”

Pleasant smile finally plastered on the duke’s face after a while. People who glanced at him as they passed by seemed to think it was a grin.

Nelia shook her head because she was conscious of people’s eyes on them/

“It’s all right. Let’s just go.”

“No, if you want it, I’ll go get it.”

What’s with Zenuit? He was quite eager to roll up his sleeves.

Nelia eventually had no choice but to accept the duke and Zenuit’s offer.

‘Do I even have to call it an offer……’

Though she didn’t say she wanted that doll, it was more like they suggested it at their will.

When they approached the tent, the eyes of the owner of the arcade were gleaming.

“Hello!”

The duke nodded lightly and asked whilst pointing at the doll.

“How many points do I have to achieve to get that doll as a prize?”

“For some reason, I thought your attire was unique, but you do have a good eye. That doll is the best prize in our arcade. It’s a cute doll that actually has silk in it, which was made from silkworms that become cocoons, the local specialty.”

It was a silkworm……

Come to think of it, there was no way a snake could be made into a doll. The people of the Andrian empire despised snakes.

However, the important thing was that the doll looked so cute that she couldn’t think of it as a silkworm, and it was also similar to the duke’s appearance when he turned into a snake.

The owner of the arcade was explaining the dart games to Duke Hart and Zenuit smoothly.

“As it is the best prize we provide, you only have to achieve the highest score of 50 points. In other words, you have to throw five darts and 10 points with all of them.”

There was a very small circle in the middle of the dart board. She thought the dart had to go in the center bullseye to get 10 points.

They had to put it in the center bullseye five times? Isn’t it almost impossible? As soon as Nelia tried to pull the duke’s clothes hem and signaled him to go, he replied.

“All right.”

Nelia whispered frantically.

“Your Grace…… regardless of your status as a duke, it would be difficult to get 10 points in each attempt, even five times. Let’s just go. It’s a waste of time.”

Although she knew the duke had some strange ability, he wouldn’t be able to use it in such a crowded place.

However, it was Zenuit who responded instead.

“I can do it. If Her Grace couldn’t get his hands on that doll, I’ll make sure to get that for you, so don’t worry.”

The duke turned his head and spoke to Zenuit gently.

“I won’t be that bad.”

“You don’t know that.”

The duke smiled upon Zenuit’s hefty provocation.

“I like your ambitions, but I’m a little worried. Wouldn’t it be dangerous for a child to throw darts, Zenu?”

One of the corners of the duke’s lips, which was raised a little bit more in a subtle manner, made it seem as if he had a sneer on his face.

“I just have to throw it, so what is the dangerous aspect you talked about? Isn’t it right, Mister?”

When Zenuit asked the owner of the arcade, he smiled awkwardly and nodded.

“Yes……. However, it would be better for the guardian to decide.”

Zenuit pouted his lips and looked at Nelia.

“I really want to get that doll and give it to you……”

Zenuit blinked several times, his clear eyes disappeared and appeared again quickly. They showed up repeatedly.

“……Yes, try to throw it carefully.”

She didn’t really mind because he was just a child on the outside anyway.

“Yes! I’ll definitely get that doll!”

The owner of the arcade handed out five darts each to the duke and Zenuit.

“Who will throw first?”

“Me!”

Zenuit stepped forward and raised his hand. Standing in the marked location, Zenuit held the dart with a serious face.

The matter she was concerned about that she decided to watch here was whether the duke and Zenuit would use their abilities. They have abilities that weren’t possessed by ordinary people.

Her common sense suggested that they wouldn’t use their abilities in such a crowded place like here, but now they seemed to be obsessed with the prize as if it was a lump of gold.

At first glance, they seemed to be competitive with each other.

She understood Zenuit being competitive with the duke because she didn’t know how old he really was, but she was a little much surprised with the duke, who usually acted maturely.

‘It seems that he secretly wants to beat Zenuit.’

He was a man who didn’t get angry frequently.

Bullseye!

While she thought about this and that, Zenuit threw a dart.

“Oh… 10 points.”

Nelia looked at the dart board when she heard the arcade owner’s remark. He really got 10 points.

Nellia squinted her eyes and stared at Zenuit.

She should have seen any tricks he used, but she missed the scene.

She thought she could tell a bit if Zenuit used his ability from his expression, but he remained very serious.

Nelia stared at the dart board so as not to miss the scene of throwing the next dart.

The next dart went into the bullseye again.

“Ten, ten points.”

Nelia blinked. The dart hit the board in an instant, so she couldn’t see if Zenuit was using other abilities again this time.

Zenuit muttered, “Oh, I got it.” and shot the remaining three darts right away without hesitation.

Hit! Hit! Hit!

All the remaining darts were stuck in the center of the bullseye.

“10 points for the last dart as well… 50 points in total.”

The owner of the arcade stared blankly at the dart board as if he couldn’t digest the sight before him and recited the score in a bewildered voice.

On the other hand, Zenuit jumped up from his place.

“I’ve got it!”

He waved his hands in front of the arcade owner who had a ridiculous expression on his face.

“Hurry, give me that doll!”

The arcade owner seemed completely dumbfounded when the child scored the highest point in one attempt.

Zenuit pushed the owner’s back as if urging him to hand the doll over quickly, and he could barely walk over to the doll and brought it to the child.

Zenuit approached Nelia after he was handed over the doll.

“Come on, Noona, I said I would get it.”

Zenuit spoke with a proud look on his face. Nelia received the doll and held it in her arms.

As the arcade’s owner said, it was very soft and squishy to the touch, perhaps because the doll had silk in it. Even though it was not a snake……

As Nelia stared at the doll and caressed it, Zenuit spoke again in a confident voice.

“Now that you’ve got the doll, let’s go somewhere else……”

“No.”

The duke interrupted Zenuit in a subdued voice. Nelia and Zenuit’s eyes immediately turned to Duke Hart.

“I also have to give Nelia a doll.”

Instead of sounding serious, the duke’s voice felt cold.

However, Zenuit shrugged as if he didn’t care whether the duke was serious or not.

“I already got a doll for Noona, so Your Grace doesn’t have to do it.”

The duke looked at Zenuit. Their eyes met. Neither of them broke eye contact first.

‘How about this doll……’

However, Nelia read the truth from the duke’s appearance that said he should give her a doll as well.

“The more dolls…… the better.”

In fact, she didn’t feel the need to have two identical dolls, but because each of them is given by a different person……

“I also want the doll from Your Grace, too.”

Upon Nelia’s request, the duke finally took his eyes off Zenuit. Zenuit inhaled, only to release it again in a sigh.

As the duke approached the tent, the previously drooping arcade’s owner looked delighted.

“Are you going to do it, too?”

The arcade’s owner quickly handed five darts to the duke after he nodded. Then, he cleared his throat before speaking again.

“You are an adult, so you have to throw it from a little further distance.”

Did the arcade’s owner feel anxious because Zenuit was able to get the doll in one try? He presented the rule that anyone could tell he had just come up with it one second ago. 

However, the duke didn’t seem to mind it, and complying to the rule set by the arcade’s owner, he stood behind where Zenuit previously stood when he threw the darts.

The duke stared at the target silently, darts in hand.

“It won’t be easy.”

Zenuit looked at the duke and spoke in a low voice. Nelia took advantage of the duke’s absence to talk to Zenuit.

“Zenuit, did you use your abilities to throw those darts earlier?”

Zenuit, who was staring straight at the duke, turned his head and looked at Nelia.

“No way!”

“Then, did you really just throw it with your bare hands and hit the center smoothly?”

“You said I just threw it like that? It’s manifested from the skills and years of experience.”

Looking at his regal bearing, she could see that he really threw the darts without using any tricks.

“As expected, you’re not a dragon for no reason. Sometimes I get astonished when I see you, Zenuit.”

“……”

“Thank you.”

At Nelia’s praise, Zenuit muttered whilst his eyes darted elsewhere, “Hmph, do you acknowledge me now?”

It was then.

Hit!

The duke threw the dart. The dart, which flew away in an instant, landed neatly on the 10-point circle.

‘Wow……’

Even though he threw from a distance longer than Januit, he was able to bag 10 points at first try.

The same happened to the darts thrown after that.

He threw darts faster than Zenuit. All the darts landed with a nimble sound on the center and scored 10 points.

The arcade’s owner was looking at the dart board, his face filled with a more intense glint of astonishment than before.

“Tsk.”

Zenuit clicked his tongue while looking at the dartboard with darts attached on it. The duke received the doll as a prize just like Zenuit and handed it to Nelia.

“Thank you……?”

“Don’t mention it.”

The duke smiled with squinted eyes.

As a result, Nelia held two identical dolls in her arms.

Nelia looked down at the doll in her arms and asked the duke.

“Did you practice throwing darts without telling me?”

The duke smiled lightly.

“There’s no way I did that.”

“Then how could you manage to throw them so well?”

“It’s some kind of determination.”

Determination…..?

“It’s the first time you said that you wanted something. So, I really wanted to give it to you.”

Nelia felt her neck grow hot at the sweet remark from the duke. After realizing that she liked him, she was worried because this kind of unusual phenomenon occurred more frequently.

Then her eyes met the duke’s. Noticing her subtle changes of expression, the duke laid his palm on her forehead.

“Do you have a fever?”

She wanted to tell him that she just recently realized that she liked him, so he seemed worried without knowing anything about her odd behavior these days.

However, Nelia put her true feelings in a secret box and vowed to find Sigrit’s heart for him, so that the duke’s wish came true and she would convey her hidden feelings after that.

“I’m fine. It’s just…… because I like the doll very much.”

Zenuit spoke whilst looking at Nelia with a pleased face.

“I can’t carry it around like this all the time, so why don’t we buy a bag first?”

The duke nodded.

“I think that would be a good idea.”

Zenuit found a stall selling bags not far away. They found a bag of the right size just in time and the dolls fit in the bag to be carried around.

“Where shall we go now……”

When Zenuit took the lead and looked around, he discovered a place where people gathered like thick clouds.

“What are they doing over there?”

Upon closer look, they saw people moving around in unusual attires on the flat space made of wooden floors.

It was only when they approached them that they knew there was currently a drama unveiled.

‘Come to think of it, the duchess said there was going to be a drama.’

There was just one male actor with a black wig on the stage. The man lamented sorrowfully.

“Oh, I can’t believe Shilin did this to me. I knew this day would eventually come.”

Shilin…….?