“Yes, there is a very good one.”
“Can’t you tell me what it is?”
The Duke’s gaze rested on me for a moment. She nodded at him to indicate that it was okay. It didn’t matter since the territory had already been completely taken over and the child wasn’t the one to talk to.
“Come here for a moment, Delian.”
At those words, the child went and sat next to him. Then the Duke whispered something softly in the child’s ear. Soon the child’s eyes widened. Of course he would be surprised. Who knew that there was a magic stone mine hidden in Regarden territory…
“Really, father?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know Elia?”
The child’s eyes turned to her.
“Huh. I heard it from the Duke.”
“Oh my God. What’s going on?”
The child was still dazed, but could not hide his joyful feelings.
“Do you like it that much?”
“Yes, of course. Not to mention anything else, ‘That’s it’.”
The child’s eyes shone brightly. She found that cute and smiled a little.
Tweet.
At that time, she raised her head at the sound of a small bird sound coming from somewhere.
‘This sound…’
As she looked around, her eyes stopped under the candle holder in the middle of the table. The bird was flying around in circles, making a fuss. She urgently looked at the child and the Duke. Even though he occasionally raised his head, there was no change in his expression. It seemed like they couldn’t see the bird. Why on earth did it appear here? It was a time to watch with such doubt.
Suddenly the bird climbed up the candlestick and placed its beak close to the candlelight.
“If you don’t get close…!”
She stood up without realizing it and shouted.
Tuk, Degururu.
Because of this, the jewel she had in her arms fell to the floor and rolled forward.
“Elia, what’s wrong???”
She lowered her gaze and raised her head when she heard a voice.
“No, over there…”
“Is there a candlestick? Why is it there?”
When she turned her head again and looked toward the candlestick, the bird had already disappeared. As if it never existed in the first place.
“No, it’s nothing.”
She shook her head and looked where the jewel had rolled. The jewel had rolled all the way to the Duke’s feet.
“Is this yours?”
Although her behavior just now must have been strange, the Duke asked casually.
“Yes. It’s mine.”
“Take it.”
She took the jewel held out by the Duke and tilted his head slightly. What on earth? It was the same with the sudden appearance of the bird earlier, and the same with the jewels flowing out again. The jewelry that had fallen in the child’s room earlier didn’t seem like a coincidence either. She thought about this and that until she couldn’t come up with an answer, so she gave up thinking and continued eating.
* * *
Early that morning, her eyes suddenly opened. She checked the time and saw that it was soon time for the Duke to leave. She carefully got off the bed, wondering if she was going to see him off after waking up like this anyway. Once she was sure the child wasn’t awake, she headed for the door.
Tweet.
As she was about to open the door and go out, she paused for a moment at the sound of birdsong. When she turned her head, there was a white bird sitting quietly on the dresser. All-white eyes containing nothing stare at her intently. As she was just standing still, a white bird suddenly pierced the dresser with its beak.
‘Huh?’
She blinked for a moment at the meaningless action.
Tweet.
The bird cried again and hit the dresser with its beak a couple of times. Why on earth was it picking at the dresser with its beak?
“…wait a moment.”
She opened the bottom drawer and took out the jewelry. Could it be because of this? Because of this gem?
“Did you by any chance tell me to take this out?”
As soon as the jewel was shown, the bird passed through the door and disappeared somewhere. It felt like he was telling me to follow him, so she left the room without hesitation. As she came out, she felt the gaze of the knights and maids standing in front of the door, but she paid them no mind. They wouldn’t be able to see the white bird anyway. Because no one has ever seen the bird other than her.
She continued to chase after the white bird. Then she realized that the direction the bird was heading towards was the main gate outside the mansion. The bird disappeared as soon as it reached the front door. As if the goal had been achieved. At the front gate, several carriages, knights, maids, and servants were busily preparing. In the meantime, she could see the Duke talking to the knight.
‘Yes, I saw the peacock. Perhaps the reason why the bird guided me here…’
“Duke.”
She walked towards him without hesitation. At her call, the Duke stopped talking to the knight and turned his head. He looked slightly surprised.
“Aren’t you still sleeping?”
“No. I came out because I wanted to see the Duke off. Is it okay?”
The Duke, who was nodding his head, suddenly frowned slightly.
“Anyway, why are you dressed so lightly? What you’re wearing is thin.”
The Duke scolded her as he took off the robe he was wearing and placed it on her shoulder.
“I’m fine. Duke, put it on.”
Even though she said it was okay, he only focused on meticulously fastening the clothes on her shoulders. She slightly averted her gaze, feeling both good and embarrassed.
“Make sure you dress properly from now on.”
“…Yes I will.”
While she was answering that question, she looked around at the gaze she felt. The knights, servants, and maids nearby were all looking in their direction. Feeling even more embarrassed, she quickly decided to achieve the purpose of coming here.
“Can we go over there and talk for a moment? Just a moment.”
She pointed toward a large tree that looked deserted. The Duke looked at her for a moment and nodded his head.
“Sure.”
So the Duke and she moved under a tree where there were no people for a while.
“Do you have anything to say?”
“…Actually, I came here because I have something to give to the Duke.”
“What?”
She took out the jewel she had in her arms and held it out to him. His questioning gaze rested on the jewel.
“You know this jewel because you saw it earlier, right?”
“Why are you giving this to me?”
She looked around and said.
“The white bird appeared again today. It happened several times.”
“By bird, do you mean the white bird you mentioned back then???”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“So a bird appeared in the dining hall too.”
“…”
“You were acting strange.”
The Duke spoke in a muttering tone. She nodded and added.
“This jewel was also given to me by the white bird, but at first I didn’t know its purpose so I just kept it. But now I think I know why.”
“I guess it has something to do with giving me the jewel.”
“I’m not sure, but based on the bird’s behavior, I think it suggests giving this jewel to the Duke. Never has the bird appeared without a reason.”
The Duke’s gaze rested on the jewel again.
“I think it means that you should keep the jewel on you while inspecting the estate. But it’s just a guess??”
“I understand. It’s not difficult, so let’s keep it.”
The duke nodded and put the jewel in his arms.
“Your Excellency, I think you should leave now.” At that time, the knight approached and said to the duke that.
“I must go now. If you have more to say, I’ll hear it later.”
The Duke was caught for a moment as he tried to turn away with the knight.
“Why are you doing that?”
“Please be careful. Return safely and without any injuries. Did you understand??”
The Duke stared at her for a moment and then very lightly touched her cheek. With a slight smile on his lips.
“Okay. I’m going.”
Her eyes widened slightly at that action. It was because she was surprised by the Duke’s unexpected attitude. She turned and watched the Duke walking away and getting into the carriage.
She finally came to her senses after the Duke’s carriage passed through the main gate.
“…”
With her palm, she slowly swept the area around her cheek that the Duke’s fingers had touched earlier. It was just a light touch that would have been difficult to tell that it had touched her if she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes…
‘Why does it feel warm?’
Feeling itchy, she lightly scratched her cheek and turned around. As she headed to her room, she felt a sense of disappointment and looked through the window to the front door. When she arrived at the room, she looked at the child who was sleeping soundly in the bed. Even with his eyes closed, it was noticeable that he looked just like the Duke. Yes, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to wait for the Duke while comforting the child’s face.
“…I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.”
She hadn’t even properly acknowledged her feelings for the Duke, but she’s feeling restless on her own. She sighed softly and brought the clothes draped over her shoulders closer to her nose.
She smelled a cool yet familiar scent. Only then did she feel a little better. She should have it well. She folded the Duke’s robe neatly, placed it on the table, and lay down next to the child.
“…Chocolate …Milk, ugh…”
She laughed under her breath at the small muttering sound. She guessed she should ask them to bring chocolate milk for dessert tomorrow.
She held the child tightly, closed her eyes, and tried to sleep.
* * *
“Elia, who is that person? Is he a wizard by any chance?”
The child glanced at Allegro, who was eating shamelessly while sitting across from him, and whispered softly.
“No matter how much I deal with him, I just gets tired, so don’t worry about him. Now, Ah-hae.”
She immediately put the seasoned chicken into the child’s mouth as he opened his mouth. She was happily watching his cheeks full of breast flesh move up and down.
She heard an unwelcome voice.
“Someone would think that the Lady is the child’s biological mother.”
“What do you mean?”
“I was just saying that you two seem to get along very well.”
She glared slightly at Allegro, who was still laughing. To be honest, she really didn’t like the current situation. She had heard that the man in front of her was staying at the mansion while the Duke was away. However, she never thought that he would shamelessly barge into a private meal with the child. Moreover, it didn’t come in through the door, it suddenly appeared in the air, so there was no way to stop it.
“Anyway, the food is really great. You seem to have an excellent cook.”
She continued eating, ignoring what the man across from her was talking about.
“It would be difficult to find such a high-quality person. He is a person of such value that it is difficult to put a price on him.”
Why did he brag about himself in front of her? She didn’t want to hear it, so she stabbed the steamed fish in front of her with a fork as if to show off.
“Isn’t that right, my lady?”
The plate containing the fish that she had been prodding with a fork suddenly floated in the air. She couldn’t figure out who did it, so she glared at the man across from her.
“Huh!??”
The child opened his eyes wide, seemingly surprised.
“As expected, it was a wizard, right?”
“Huh, that’s right. He is a wizard from the Magic Tower. He is the one who decided to stay at the mansion while the Duke was away.”
At that time, a man intervened as if to show off.
“Am I just a wizard?”
“Sure? Are you a great wizard?”
“I am the owner of the great, great magic tower. Master Delian.”
“Ma, the magic tower lord?”
Allegro, smiling, suddenly stood up and greeted Delian.
—————————————————————
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 May, 25.
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