Chapter 11. The Young Lord’s Lifelong Fiancée
Just as I was momentarily regretting my words, I looked at the Grand Duke, who had become speechless.
“Well… Yes. There’s no need for a desperate last stand against mere snakes, but your determination is admirable.”
Ah! That was it. Look at that composure, dismissing a mere snake so effortlessly!
As expected, this family, which has no mercy for its enemies, suits me well.
Although my answer was slightly off from the expected one, it still lightened the atmosphere.
While the family members remained silent with their heads lowered, the maids standing around were giggling, and Casey gave me a thumbs-up.
Lately, Casey’s affection toward me has been a little overwhelming, making me slightly uncomfortable. But since good things are still good, I should try to get along well.
After the long breakfast ended, the Grand Duke called me aside. I hadn’t done anything wrong, so if he was summoning me, it must be because he was impressed with what I had said.
Sure enough, the moment I opened the door, I saw pudding and chocolate set on the table.
As soon as the Grand Duke saw me enter, he gestured to the seat beside him on the sofa.
“Come here and eat!”
But I just ate…
I had already refilled my lamb stew three times because it was so delicious, so I was honestly full.
Well, food and snacks go into separate stomachs, anyway.
Besides, elders love children who eat well, saying they look healthy and blessed. So, I had to eat, even if my stomach was about to burst.
The old lady from the first floor of the house I used to live in always tried to give me food whenever she saw me.
When I was young, she said eating well would help me grow tall. Then, after I became a military cadet, she would give me food, saying I was working hard to protect the country.
Thinking about her, I couldn’t refuse to eat.
I scooped up some pudding with a spoon and ate it, then quickly devoured the chocolate as well.
“You eat well.”
“It’s delicious. Hehe.”
Thanks to that, my belly was sticking out like a little frog’s. Any more, and it might actually burst.
As I was taking a short break, an elderly man, who seemed to be the Grand Duke’s secretary, placed a book in front of me.
The book, bound in leather, looked quite thick.
“Read this book.”
The Grand Duke handed me the book.
“I should read this?”
“Yes. Didn’t you say you know how to read?”
Was this a test? Did he not believe me?
“The Great Epic of the Heroic Warriors of the War.”
After reading the title, I flipped to a random page and started reading.
“The former Grand Duke of Arcades summoned the wind, freezing the mountains and marshes…”
Wow! That’s amazing. If you don’t like someone, just freeze them all.
“The great snake twisted in pain, coughing up blood, as the Grand Duke soared into the sky…”
The story was thrilling. I was so engrossed that I read aloud smoothly without even realizing it. Even I was surprised by how well I could read.
In the original novel, it was mentioned that young Roella was a prodigy who learned to read at an early age. I wasn’t sure if that was true, but I didn’t struggle with any of the words.
I had assumed I only knew a little since Lisa had only given me picture books before, but now that I was reading an actual book for adults, I was amazed at how capable Roella actually was.
Sneaking a glance to the side, I saw the Grand Duke looking at me with an approving expression.
“When and how did you learn to read?”
“My mother taught me, and I also learned from picture cards.”
“Impressive.”
The Grand Duke smiled warmly and gestured to his secretary.
The secretary walked over to a display cabinet, retrieved a small container, and brought it to me. It was filled with various candies.
“Take these and eat them.”
“Thank you.”
I should share them with Andy.
Just as I was about to leave with the candy container, the Grand Duke spoke again.
“That day…”
“…?”
“The day you were captured by the snake, it seemed to be speaking to you…”
“The snake?”
“Yes. And you responded to it as well.”
“What did I say…? Oh! ‘Dumb*** snake’?”
I bit my tongue too late.
How could I be so careless?
And in front of the one person I needed to impress the most, I ended up swearing.
I sneaked a glance at the Grand Duke. He had closed his mouth again, his lips twitching slightly, as if trying to suppress something.
It seemed like my words had displeased him.
“I’m sorry.”
I quickly apologized and then remembered—the snake had said I smelled familiar.
Familiar scent? What did it mean? I was curious, too.
“Ludia, what exactly did the snake say?”
“Um, it said I had a familiar scent.”
“A familiar scent? What could that mean?”
“I don’t know. I’m curious too.”
I tried to recall what I had eaten that morning. Usually, whatever you eat lingers on your clothes, causing a scent.
Did that creature eat the same thing as me?
As I was thinking, the Grand Duke nodded as if he had figured something out.
“I see. You may leave now. Let’s meet again soon.”
“Yes. Then, I’ll take my leave.”
I gave a deep bow and walked out, holding the candy container like a victorious general.
For some reason, I wanted to show off my candies to Rikael.
Since that morning, I had only seen his face once and hadn’t had the chance to talk to him.
After sending Lisa off for her errands, I went alone to the first training ground.
As expected, Rikael was in the middle of training.
He seemed to be sparring, but when he saw me, the knight he was practicing with stepped back, lowering his sword.
A few steps away, Cherto was also present.
I gave him a light nod of greeting before turning my gaze toward Rikael. The silver sword in his hand gleamed coldly under the morning sunlight—just as cold as his eyes.
Training with a real sword at the age of nine… He really was something else.
“Why are you here?”
“I came to see you, Young Lord.”
“Why my face?!”
“Because I’m your fiancée.”
What? Did I say something wrong? And what’s with that disgusted expression?
Even though we were only a few steps apart, there was still an unbridgeable gap between us.
He scolded me the moment he saw me, but I wasn’t discouraged.
Rikael wasn’t just some war maniac, after all, he had overthrown the Marquis of Baluja and helped make Chris emperor for the sake of the empire.
That was proof that he understood justice.
For that reason, aside from being my fiancé, he was someone I had to respect as my superior.
“Salute!”
I raised my hand to my temple in a formal gesture.
He had seen how fearless I was in front of the snake, so I hoped he would at least look at me a little more favorably.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“This is how soldiers salute their superiors. A salute!”
Watch closely. This kind of greeting doesn’t exist in this world yet, but I’m going to make it a trend.
And, come on, be nice to me. I was pretty brave back there.
If you train me well, I could actually become a useful subordinate.
I really wanted to get along with him and learn the swordsmanship of this world.
But despite my earnest hopes, his eyes remained as cold as ever.
“Were you really not scared of the snake?”
After staring at me with a chilly gaze for a while, Rikael finally spoke.
“Nope, not scared at all.”
“Hey, kid. What are you?”
“What do you mean, what? I’m the young lord’s fiancée.”
Ugh, why do I have to keep repeating myself?
“Let’s break the engagement.”
“Nope. I’m your lifelong fiancée.”
“Lifelong, my *ss.”
He let out a small laugh, shaking his head as if I were pathetic.
I had only come here to brag about my candy stash, and now look at this mess.
Even a worm will squirm when stepped on, and I could feel a sense of frustration bubbling up inside me.
“I’m your lifelong fiancée. So don’t even dream of breaking off the engagement.”
“You will, eventually. This isn’t the place for you.”
“No, I like it here. And isn’t it kind of unfair for a nine-year-old to judge a five-year-old like this? Have you ever considered that maybe you are the one being unreasonable here?”
“No, I haven’t.”
Yeah. Figures. If he had, he wouldn’t be so eager to get rid of me.
“The old lady on the first floor once told me, ‘Even twelve jars of Gochujang1Gochujang is a red chilli paste that’s usually served as a condiment.aren’t enough to please a husband,’ and you’re just like that.”
“What kind of nonsense are you talking about? Where do you even learn this stuff? You’re seriously weird.”
My body stiffened for a moment.
Did I say too much?
I had been trying to act and speak like a five-year-old, but I let my guard down for just a second.
“W-What?”
“You don’t talk like a five-year-old at all.”
Crap!
I shut my mouth tight, like someone who had just been caught red-handed.
“You sound like you came from another world or something.”
…What?
How did he figure that out?!
**** it. What kind of nine-year-old is this sharp?
Wait—don’t tell me you got possessed, too?!
His violet eyes gleamed with an unusual light, growing even more vivid.
I had always known he wasn’t an ordinary kid, but now even his eye color was changing?
Was I seriously about to get exposed by a nine-year-old boy?!
