“Did he guide the two of you well, Lady Ladiana?”
“Of course, High Priest. Are you okay with me appearing like this?”
“Yes, it’s okay. The ceremony is almost over, so don’t worry.”
“High Minister Loud. Let’s go.”
While the High Priest and Ladiana were talking for a moment, the Duke suddenly announced his intention to go. Ladiana looked up at the Duke with perplexed eyes, but he only looked at her indifferently.
“Do you want to take Lady Elia with you too?”
“Yes. Is there a problem?”
“Isn’t it too early, rather than a problem? If you’re busy, Duke, you should go home first…”
The Duke, who had been listening quietly, interrupted Ladiana’s words.
“No. We’re going back.”
The Duke’s stern eyes turned to her. She sensed that he wouldn’t listen no matter what she said, so she spoke to Ladiana.
“I’m sorry. I’ll go back first today. We’ll see each other later. Okay?”
“…Yes, got it.”
Ladiana squeezed her hand for a moment with a sullen look on her face, then she let go.
“Then be careful and return home, Duke.”
The high priest bowed his head and said hello. The duke turned his body and walked forward without a word. She hurriedly said goodbye to the High Priest and Ladiana, and quickly followed the Duke with the child.
* * *
The sound of paper being turned was loudest in the carriage on the way to the Duke’s house. The child seemed to have had a hard time wandering around the temple and was dozing off. She stared for a moment at the Duke looking at the documents across from her. It was a good opportunity to be with Ladiana, but why did the Duke leave the temple instead of staying longer? Did you two really fight or something?
“If you have something to say, say it.”
“…Have you ever fought with Lady Ladiana?
“Huh?”
The Duke frowned.
“What on earth are you talking about from last time? What should I do other than fight with Lady Ladiana?”
“But…”
“Last time, I just happened to overlook it, but this time I’ll say it properly. I don’t have any feelings whatsoever for Lady Ladiana. I don’t know what kind of misunderstanding you may have made on your own.”
The Duke’s face as he said that didn’t seem to lie at all. So, is it really true that nothing happened between the Duke and Ladiana? However, considering that they had not had any contact since the banquet, the Duke’s attitude towards her was very blatant. He always didn’t seem to be in a good mood on days when Lady Ladiana visited the Duke’s house. He did not hesitate to quietly glare at her from behind as she was seeing her off, or to suddenly barge into her living room where she and Ladiana were alone. So she thought that the Duke’s attitude was due to jealousy toward her for monopolizing Ladiana. But when the Duke directly mentioned that he had no feelings for Ladiana, he felt like he was falling into a labyrinth again.
“Yes. I understand.”
“Now?”
“Can you just move on for now?”
“Aren’t you saying you don’t believe me now?”
“That’s not it. It’s just…”
“Just what?”
She closed her mouth. This was because the reason for the Duke’s attitude so far had not yet been clearly found. The Duke’s face distorted mercilessly, but he pretended not to notice and turned his head. And at the same time, she made eye contact with the child who was looking at her.
“What?”
“Ugh, it’s nothing.”
The child shook his head, glanced at the Duke, and then he spoke.
“Father, are we really not going to stop by anywhere else?”
“I believe I had enough time touring the capital last time.”
The Duke crossed his arms with an expression of confusion.
“But at that time, I was looking around for a bit and ended up…”
Deliam responded with a sullen expression, but the Duke just turned his head indifferently. She said it was okay for her, but it seemed like it would be disappointing for the child to go straight back to the mansion.
‘Hmm, should I step forward again?’
She groaned softly at the troubling situation and quickly came to a conclusion.
‘Yes, since I’m hated by the Duke anyway, it won’t be noticeable if he hates me a little more.’
“Duke, I’m so hungry I think I’m going to faint.”
“What?”
“I’m so hungry that I’m dizzy. Oh my head…”
As she held his head and groaned, the Duke gave her a bewildered look.
“Really, Liam? Do you think you’ll faint from hunger too?”
She narrowed her eyes slightly at Deliam. Then the child began to groan, imitating her.
“Father, I’m hungry too and my head hurts…”
The Duke looked at what Deliam and she were doing and clicked his tongue. She paid no heed and continued to complain that she was hungry.
“Duke, let’s fill our bellies in the capital. Yes?”
If they went back to the mansion like this, there was a 100% chance that the child would sulk. And it was obvious that it would be her job to comfort such a child. It’s a pain in the ass.
“Oh my gosh!”
When she pretended to be in pain to the point of being even more passionate, the Duke placed his hand between his eyebrows and let out a deep sigh.
“Can’t you stop?”
“Then, will we stop by the capital?”
She stopped pretending to be sick for a moment and stared at the Duke. Then the Duke reluctantly nodded his head.
“Thank you, father!”
“Thank you, Duke.”
Instead of answering, the Duke turned his head and crossed his arms. The child and she looked at each other and laughed quietly.
* * *
The place where the carriage stopped was a nice-looking restaurant on a street lined with shops. Seeing as they came from the restaurant, it seemed like they wanted to fill their stomachs first. When they entered the restaurant, the waiter guided them inside. The place they were guided to was a space completely isolated from other dining areas. It was already a bit inconvenient because there were a lot of people here, but I felt like she could have a comfortable meal here.
“May I take your order?”
The waiter asked, holding out a menu.
“Um, please give me this, this, and this.”
“All right.”
After ordering this and that, she waited for a while and the food started coming out one by one. She soon looked at the food on the table and nodded in satisfaction. Looking at the great shape of the food, she had a rough idea of how it would taste. It would definitely be delicious.
“Eat, Duke. Liam, you eat too.”
She gave the child his share of food on his empty plate. The child holding the fork tasted a bit of the food.
“It looks delicious. Elia, try it quickly.”
She nodded, threw the duck meat on the plate, and took a bite. As the child said, it tasted quite good as the meat juice spread in his mouth.
“That sucks.”
Although the Duke took one bite and immediately spit it out. It tasted good… She just looked at him and finished eating. When she was somewhat full, something curious suddenly occurred to her.
“You know, Duke. It’s the powder you saw earlier.”
“Are you referring to High Priest Loud?”
“Yes. High Priest Loud. What kind of person is he?”
“I don’t know what you’re asking. Are you simply asking from a personality perspective?”
“Yes. There are those and many other things.”
The Duke seemed to think for a moment and then said:
“He’s gentle and compassionate. Plus, he’s got great skills as a priest.”
“Anything else? Something different from others?”
“High Priest Loud is a person who rose to the position of High Priest faster than anyone else.”
“Do you think he has great abilities?”
“Because a temple places importance on how much divine power one has. High Priest Laud’s divine power is overwhelmingly superior to that of other priests.”
“Then, Duke, have you ever seen High Priest Laud actually use divine power?”
Instead of answering, the Duke narrowed his eyes.
“Why do you keep asking?”
“I’m a little curious. It’s definitely a different feeling from other people, so it’s interesting.”
The Duke who listened to her nodded his head.
“That’s certainly true. I’ve seen High Priest Laud use sacred power a few times. Although it’s only during sacred ceremonies.”
“Divine Consciousness?”
“A ritual held twice a year is a day to express gratitude to oneself. Anyway, High Priest Loud’s divine power is enormous.”
“He is truly a man of outstanding ability, then.”
“…Well, that’s not necessarily true. There’s a stain on it.”
The Duke tilted his head.
“A stain?”
“Yes, because High Priest Laud’s sister married the second son of the Dior family.”
Her mind instantly flashed at the new fact. So, that meant the relationship between Minister Laud and the Marquis de Dior could be quite close, right? Why did she get a similar feeling from Minister Loud as the Marquis? Pl… Could it be that there is something between the two?
“Then those two must be close, right?”
“It’s not something we can do just because we’re friends. There’s a close relationship between the families.”
She caught the Duke’s eyes shining sharply, even if only for a moment. She guessed he knew something. He felt that it would be impossible to dig further in his current situation, so he decided to withdraw at this point.
“Thank you for your answer.”
The Duke who was looking at her quickly withdrew his gaze. She looked at the child sitting next to her. He was patting his protruding belly.
“Where do you want to go now?”
“I just want to look around. Take a nice walk with my father and Elia.”
She looked into the Duke’s attention to the rather difficult demands. She thought he would say no…
“Do whatever you feel like.”
She was so surprised by those words that she couldn’t help but ask.
“Really, Duke?”
“Okay. Is there a problem?”
“No, there isn’t one. Absolutely nothing.”
Fearing that the Duke would change his words, she quickly shook her head. Permission must have been completely revoked. Now she felt like she could move around with complete peace of mind.
“Stop getting up.”
The Duke stood up and left the room first.
“Good, right?”
“Yes. A lot.”
Thechild and she giggled at each other and left the restaurant. Anyway, the area around the restaurant was a commercial area, so there was no need to go far.
“Where do you want to go, Duke?”
“Well.”
“Are you sure you don’t mind going anywhere?”
He must have misunderstood her question, so his expression became cruelly distorted.
“Don’t even think about going to places with poor hygiene.”
She was dumbfounded for a moment. They were glaring at him just because he said something. He sighed softly.
“What’s wrong?”
“The Duke’s eyes are so menacing that his body is shaking, isn’t he?”
“I do that sometimes too, Elia.”
As she whispered quietly with the child, she felt a stinging gaze. It was time to take a walk in a not-so-bad atmosphere. The child let out a small exclamation and pointed somewhere. It was a fruit store, and on the front shelf there were fruits that looked like they had been coated on the outside and were placed on wooden skewers.
“Do you want to eat that?”
“Yes.”
“Aren’t you full? Your stomach is full.”
“Originally, there is a separate boat for dessert.”
The child pointed to his side and said, ‘This is the dessert belly.’ She thought it was cute, so she laughed a little and rummaged through her pockets.
‘Let’s see, money…’
“Oh right.”
She remembered that she didn’t bring anything, let alone money. When she left the Duke’s house earlier, she only thought about going to the temple, so she didn’t take anything.
“Duke, wait a moment.”
She called the Duke who was ahead and stopped him. She walked towards the Duke who had stopped in his tracks and held out his hand.
“Give me some money.”
—————————————————————
Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
If you like my work please support me with Ko-fi or Patreon. Next post will be released on October, 15.
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