“How did you steal the evidence? How did you know what it was and what the director was doing?”
“…I found it by accident because I was in charge of cleaning the director’s office. Sometimes there are people who bring their children to the orphanage, and listening to what they say, I learned what happened to the children who followed the director.”
Duke Elad looked at Lia in silence for a long time, perhaps to gauge his true intentions. Lia tried to be confident even as she gulped her saliva at the thought of her lying to the mighty Duke of Elad. Because the director’s guilt and evidence were not lies. At that moment, the Duke’s mouth opened again.
“You must have a pretty nasty habit.”
Lia flinched. Since joining the information guild, she had lived without feeling much guilt over eavesdropping on others’ stories. Unexpectedly, her face flushed when she was pointed out. However, the Duke had a high regard for Lia. Since the director was not a proper guardian anyway, she had no trust in him.
She seemed to be a quick-witted and clever child, and since Diana, who hides a lot of shyness, followed her, it would be helpful to keep her by their side. But Lia, not knowing what the Duke was thinking, let out a sigh inside her.
‘I guess you’re disappointed in me. Then it is. What if she thinks I shouldn’t have harvested it?’
Well, her life had always been like that. There was no way she could receive favors from others so easily. She was a bit sullen, but Lia, who recalled her role once again saying that she would just return Jack to her original place, took her heart and bowed her head.
So she didn’t see the Duke of Elad smiling faintly.
* * *
On the way to the dukedom, Duke Elad stopped at an inn in a nearby village, as he had said before. He was there to properly wash and feed Diana. When he got out of the carriage, the sun was already setting.
“You’d better wash first.”
After barely appeasing Diana, who was whining about hunger, the Duke sent the two children into the room first, and then ordered the knights to guard the door thoroughly. Then he called the owner of the inn to wash the children, along with makeshift clothes, and to get an attendant. Soon, two female servants who looked to be in their late teens bowed their heads. It was a small town, and there was no sign of learning any martial arts, so there seemed to be nothing to worry about. But after the big trouble, the Duke was very worried about leaving the children in the care of strangers. Concerned, the Duke of Elad called the only woman among those dispatched and someone he could trust with certainty.
“Your Excellency, did you call me?”
“Hmm. I’m a little late, but thank you for coming all the way from the duchy, Count Maretta. Greet His Highness the Grand Duke as well.”
“You’re welcome.”
Bianca followed her with her sincere face.
“I’m so glad I found the princess. If we can’t find her even today, the Grand Duke tried to move it himself.”
“His Highness?”
“Yes. Because the matter is such an issue…”
When Bianca blurted out the end of her words and laughed awkwardly, Duke Elad also closed her mouth with his hard face. After a while, Bianca asked cheerfully, as if trying to change the mood.
“Then why did you call me? Are you going to send me back without even giving me a proper meal before I even arrive at the dukedom?”
“No way. When we return to the castle, we will treat you to a grand dinner. Rather…”
Uncharacteristically, Duke Elad opened his mouth. Bianca Maretta, although her status was lower than his own, was a nobleman of the duchy and a proud knight leader of the Grand Duke’s family. In addition, knowing that he came to the borders of the empire without any political reasons and out of goodwill, he asked very politely.
“While the children are washing, I want you to watch over them.”
“Yes?”
Bianca, who showed a moment of wonder, quickly realized the Duke’s concerns. She, too, thought that the safety of her children was the top priority, so she happily nodded her head and asked.
“If you’re really worried, what if I cast a cleaning spell on the children?”
At Bianca’s suggestion, the duke shook his head.
“It must have been several days that they couldn’t wash themselves, and even if they washed it with water several times, it seemed like the dirt wouldn’t come out. Even cleaning magic won’t work once or twice.”
Bianca nodded her head, reminding herself of the children’s troubled state. She was a swordsman and an excellent mage at the same time, but that didn’t mean she was overflowing with mana. More than expected, she exhausted a lot of mana to find the little girl, and most of all, she was a little tired because she used magic that was not her specialty while blocking the mana runaway.
“Then I will keep an eye on the princess and her child. Come to think of it, it’s rather good. There was something I wanted to check…”
“Hmm?”
“No, nothing.”
Bianca shrugged her shoulders with her strange smile, and after a light silence, she and the waiting maids headed to the second floor where her children were staying.
* * *
To appease her hunger before washing, the Duke sent her two cups of hot milk with honey.
‘It’s just milk, but milk with honey!’
She wondered what kind of luxury this was, so she grabbed the glass with both hands and drank the milk alongside Diana. Suddenly, she saw a round milk stain on the corner of Diana’s mouth.
“Dana, here’s to your mouth.”
Diana chuckled as she carefully wiped her mouth with her sleeve.
“You have a mustache!”
“Eh?”
Surprised by those words, she touched her lips in shock, and milk came out. She quickly wiped her mouth, but was embarrassed to pretend to be an adult without knowing what was on her face. Her young and weak body compared to her mind still didn’t go the way she wanted.
Diana smiled brightly, probably sensing her embarrassment. As she laughed at her embarrassment, she suddenly heard the sound of footsteps approaching the door.
‘Is it the Duke of Elad?’
As she got up to avoid her seat, the door opened.
“Uh…”
The person who opened the door and entered was not the Duke. He was the one she saw when she jumped from the attic and lost her mind, then barely opened her eyes. Following the woman with her hair tied up high, servants carrying a bathtub full of hot water followed.
“Hi, little girls.”
The woman who greeted them in her cheerful voice was unidentifiable.
‘It’s not the Lexion Knights.’
The outfit that sneakily shone through the black robe wasn’t even the blue uniform they wore, and I had never heard of a female knight in the Lexion Knights before. Diana, who looked at her just in case, didn’t seem to know her either. Since the Duke of Elad was terrified of her daughter, she must have sent Diana up to someone she could trust.
She could feel her magical power and wondered if she was a wizard, but the momentum she radiated was like that of an infallible knight, so she became more and more confused. But even in the midst of that, strangely, she didn’t hate her.
‘On the contrary…’
“Now then, who shall we wash first? Those who wash quickly eat first!”
“Food!”
Before the woman could finish her words, Diana hurriedly took off her clothes and rushed into her bathtub. Seeing that, the woman who burst into her laughter looked at Lia with friendly eyes. For some reason, she averted her eyes because a corner of her heart tickled. This feeling was very awkward and unfamiliar. Fortunately, that feeling didn’t last long. It was because her nerves were quickly focused elsewhere.
As soon as Diana jumped into the bathtub, as if her maids had been waiting for her, they washed her hair and began to lather the soap with soft sponges. It was so amazing. Seeing Diana innocently enjoying her bath while bouncing bubbles, she realized that she was a noble once again accustomed to being served. And after a while, seeing Diana, who took off all the dirt and transformed into her shiny silver hair and immaculate skin, she involuntarily drew in my breath.
“Dana, you are really pretty.”
It wasn’t that he wasn’t aware of the exceptional appearance unique to the Elad duchy, and even though he had seen the grown-up Diana up close. Her heart ached at the 4-year-old’s plump limbs and soft cheeks full of breast meat.
It was then.
“Hehe, Lia Onni is prettier!”
At Diana’s sudden remark, the maids as well as the woman who was preparing clothes to wear turned their heads and looked at her. Aside from the filthy appearance, her face was flushed red because she knew herself better than anyone else, with her unkempt, parted hair and skinny body, and her presence was dim when she was next to Diana.
“The name… Liane?”
Then the woman asked in a slightly subdued voice. As if to hide her embarrassment, she quickly nodded her head, wiped her dry, and looked at Diana, who had changed her clothes. As if she had been saved in a hurry, she was wearing a dress worn by commoners, but like a princess out to see the world, Diana’s cuteness flowed.
“Come wash your pants!”
And the princess jumped as if she couldn’t overcome her hunger and ran straight outside.
“…?”
She tilted her head. It was because the maids and the woman, who she thought would soon finish cleaning up and leave the room, were staring at her. She was hungry as well, so she tried to get out quickly after washing with the remaining water in the bathtub, but why did she just watch and not wash or go out? Then the woman asked in a puzzled voice.
“Hey, I changed the water, so take off your clothes and come in. The water will cool down.”
“Yes?”
“Everyone is waiting to wash you.”
“I-you wash me too?”
When she asked, unable to hide her bewilderment, she made a face as if a woman was asking something obvious.
“I can do it alone!”
The woman suddenly burst into laughter as if her words sounded curious.
“Yes, yes. You are all grown up, so you can do it alone. But with help it would be faster. You won’t be very hungry.”
Her ears were hot at the soothing tone.
‘I’m not a baby!’
…The body was a child!
—————————————————————
Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. Thank you very much for reading.
Next post will be released tomorrow.
If you like my work please support me in Ko-fi or Patreon.
Support me on Patreon
