How Can You Pay Back The Kindness I Raised With Obsession?

“It’s a snake’s leg.”

Since when did snakes have legs? She looked at Harold in surprise again and tilted her head.

“When I was young, I wandered all over the empire in search of rare ingredients and got them by accident. It is a rare item that appears only once in a hundred years.”

The moment she heard that, her mouth opened even more.

“You are giving me something so precious?”

“I am a cook. Who would order snake leg stew? I had no use for it, so I just put it in my chest.”

“Still, if you sell it, it will be quite expensive… ”

“I don’t need money as much as Miss Hazel, ha ha.”

Mr. Harold burst out laughing and added,

“Since Miss Hazel is a witch, I’m giving it to you because I think you can use it for something useful.”

Then, Harold let out a sigh of relief, put his hat back on, and took a step back.

“Oh no, it is too late. Just rest.”

She greeted him and shouted at Mr. Harold who walked away.

“Let’s cook together in the kitchen tomorrow too.”

He nodded his head, saying he’ld be waiting, and disappeared around the corner. He had a mischievous smile on his face.

Maybe she had the same face now.

It would be a long way before everyone believed in her. However, she had hope that it would be possible to take one step at a time like that.

* * *

“Well. Bye.”

“Goodbye!”

Elliot looked at the children who were seeing him off in front of the mansion with mixed feelings.

‘Why is this not like you guys?’

Even though it was good it was different from usual, it was so different. Normally Luna poured out vicious words, asking if he was going again, and Luca cried out, “Hyung, don’t go away!” and cried for him not to leave.

There were times when he felt sorry for the children and left silently while they were sleeping. Then it took another long time to come back and relieve the children who were upset. It was the same last time, but it led to the misunderstanding that he had abandoned them, leading to them running away, so this time he decided to say goodbye and go…

‘But why today?’

Why were the children laughing and waving their hands like never before? Clearly, that was a desirable situation, but why was it that he felt sad even when he felt relieved? His heart was complicated when he even thought that his younger siblings seemed to have grown up in just a few days.

It was sad that they didn’t tell him to come back safely or take care of himself.

The children did not know that Elliot was going to subdue monsters. They thought he was just going to inspect the eastern border area on the orders of the emperor. He absolutely did not want children who lost their parents unexpectedly to tremble in fear of losing their only blood kin. So whenever he went out, he used this or that as an excuse to do something safe.

“Buy me a present!”

Elliot was troubled as Luna ran around and begged him. What would he bring as a souvenir from the monster subjugation?

‘Horns of a monster?’

Hmm… It’s a souvenir, not a present. As he watched his sister beg him, Luca’s eyes sparkled as if he had a good idea, and he jumped up and clung to Elliot’s leg.

“Brother! Brother!”

“Yes? What happens? Do you want a present like Luna?”

“I’m not… ”

Luca sighed and twisted his body. As he tried to put his thumb in his mouth again, Elliot grabbed his small hand and brought Luca to eye level. He had been observing the witch for the past few days, and he had been copying the behavior he had noticed.

“Yeah, other than that?”

“Come along…”

“Yes.”

“Let’s play again.”

The moment Luca whispered in his ear with a creeping voice, Elliot almost cried in front of hundreds of knights. However, he couldn’t show the leader of the knights crying because of the five-year-old request.

“Yes.”

His apologetic feeling choked his throat, so he could barely squeeze his voice. From the time the children ran away to that moment, there was something he had felt painfully. That he had forgotten something as important as making sure his beloved siblings lived a safe and upright life.

Elliot promised, kissing on the foreheads of his younger siblings. When he returns after the subjugation, he will spend more time with these children, just as the witch said. So that the children could feel the love and remain there.

* * *

As the guards and maids encountered in her hallway bowed, Luna nodded her head to accept their greeting. She was noble and leisurely, like a swan gliding across the water with her smile and nod.

“Oh, it’s nice to see Her Highness the Grand Duchess looking dignified today.”

As Hazel followed her, she made a fuss using titles and honorifics. Luna said to her, holding the tip of her chin gracefully and moving her steps calmly.

“No matter how hungry one is, the head of the grand duchy cannot run around frivolously.”

Luna was into playing ‘The Grand Duchess’s Head of Household’ these days. That was thanks to what happened a few days ago when she was seeing off the Grand Duke.

“His Highness the Grand Duke.”

She held on to the Grand Duke who was about to leave after saying goodbye and secretly asked. Hearing her whispers, the Grand Duke hesitated and replied with suspicious eyes.

“Luna is still young.”

“I’m not really asking for the authority of the head of the household. Please appoint only honorary heads.”

“Why should I?”

“Then, wouldn’t she be a little more dignified while Your Highness is out and the mansion is without a Grand Duke? And she will feel proud that you believed in her.”

There was something she realized while observing Luna playing with the Grand Duke the day before.

“Luna likes to be formal and take on her duties like she’s an adult. You saw her last night.”

When the winner of the match was determined at the table, she must have particularly liked the tone of the Grand Duke, who seemed to be dealing with knights. Because she followed that tone the entire time she was playing.

“If I appoint her as head of household, she’ll try to lift the limit of one piece of chocolate a week, right?”

“I’ll take care of that, so hurry up.”

In the end, the Grand Duke granted her request. He knelt down in front of Luna, grabbed her by the shoulders, and called out in a solemn voice.

“Grand Princess Lunabelle Blaine.”

“Yes?”

Luna seemed quite surprised when she was suddenly called her title along with her full name. As she was playing with Luca, her hand stopped and her eyes widened like candy.

“When I’m not around, you are the head of the grand duke’s family. It is in your hands to protect the family, so please do not forget the responsibility and protect the honor of the family.

Luna’s playful eyes turned serious at that moment.

The chestnut knew it was an obvious nagging to her to stop messing around and be an example to her brother. But even the nagging was good to hear as long as it was well packaged. As if swallowing a bitter pill coated in her sweet sugar, Luna willingly obeyed the Grand Duke’s command. Oh, of course, as soon as the Archduke left, she tried to get rid of the rule, ‘One piece of chocolate a week!’

“Oh, my… The head of the Grand Duchy must not fall for the temptation of chocolate.”

“But…”

Sir Daniel, who was watching from her side, clicked his tongue and helped her.

“To think that the new family head’s first action was to satisfy personal greed… I’m disappointed, Her Highness, Grand Duchess.”

At those words, Luna’s pupils, who looked just like the Grand Duke, began to shake.

“Sir Daniel is right. Then, you might think that if outsiders or servants give chocolate as a bribe, the grand duchess will accept anything.”

“Sadly… The head of the Grand Duke’s family is such an easy person to fall for just a piece of chocolate…”

“No! I’m not easy!”

Luna shouted with her face full of heartache, then lifted her head up with her arms tightly folded.

“Great! In a world where conspiracy and trickery reigns…”

Where did she learn that word?

“To protect the Grand Duchy, I must behave like a family head.”

“I’m glad you think so.”

“Wow! You look great, Your Highness!”

“That’s right!”

It was a moment of relief that Luna’s abuse of power was safely stopped.

“Okay, then, to commemorate becoming the head of the household, I will give everyone in the grand duchy a piece of chocolate.”

“All?”

As expected, looking at the grinning, in the end, there were Luca and herself in ‘everyone’. There was no way Luca would quietly watch as all the servants, including me and Sir Daniel, were not receiving a piece of chocolate. Then you have to give a piece to Luca, and then you have no choice but to give it to Luna equally.

‘Aww, how nice your mind is.’

Eventually, that day, they had to give her a piece of chocolate. Still, the effect of giving Luna the position of honorary head of household was good. Because breaking the rules and going around alone or taking unexpected actions has greatly decreased. But when it comes to vitriol, it didn’t work at all. When the head of household asked if she should say the right or kind words, Luna took her direct words one or two turns and made a sarcastic remark.

Hazel said that being sarcastic was a bad and unpleasant habit…

“Isn’t my brother like that?”

That was the Grand Duke’s fault no matter what anyone said. When he returns, she would have a serious talk about the Grand Duke’s language habits.

Now that lunchtime was approaching, the place they headed to was her room.

“Wow!”

She opened the closet door and the children ran excitedly into the cabin. Lady and Daisy, who were napping in the living room, raised their heads in surprise.

“Puppy, hello!”

After seeing them in the morning, the children hugged Lady and Daisy happily as if they hadn’t seen each other in a day.

“Meow, let’s eat whatever we want.”

Luna was already rummaging through her cupboards for Daisy’s lunch. Sir Daniel, who was standing in front of the closet with a disapproving face, came in belatedly and closed the door, Luna shouted.

“Oh, Sir Daniel!”

“Yes, Her Highness the Grand Duchess.”

“Was the shame of sneaking into a lady’s room not enough for you to enter her closet?”

A long sigh from Sir Daniel crossed the cabin as Luna teased him.

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