Chapter 4
Overwhelmed by the atmosphere, I blankly stared for a moment before rising from my seat a beat late and lowering my gaze.
Sally, too, seemed startled by the sudden appearance of the duke, but soon approached respectfully…
“Your Grace, this child entered here without permission. How dare they speak in this mansion where Your Grace resides.”
She promptly informed the duke of my presence.
‘no, is that for real?’
Momentarily irked by Sally’s scolding, I paused, then recalled a plan that came to mind.
‘…No, wait. If I impress the duke here, I could meet Rachel directly, couldn’t I?’
Whether as a maid in the duke’s eyes or simply as someone running errands.
Faster than collecting information from servants.
‘Actually, that sounds good.’
Quickly adjusting my plan, I lifted my head with a smile of realization.
Calz glanced at Vivian then asked, “Who brought this child into the mansion?”
“I, I brought her here.”
James stepped forward, hiding Vivian behind him.
“She helped me get cheese, and I was just going to give her a snack and send her off quickly. She’s innocent. Hold me responsible.”
“…She got cheese?”
“Yes. She persuaded the ranch owner and even helped negotiate the price.”
Calz’ sharp gaze turned back to Vivian, hidden behind James. She seemed pretty enough to attract attention, but that was it. Just an ordinary girl.
‘That little girl negotiated with the ranch owner?’
As Calz scrutinized Vivian, she cautiously stepped forward from behind James.
“Vivian, daughter of Dias Hessen, respectfully greets His Grace the Duke.”
With perfect etiquette.
“If it’s not against propriety, may I speak about this situation?”
As if to say, go ahead and speak.
Looking at Vivian like that, Calz nodded lightly, seemingly indicating her to speak up.
Vivian calmly voiced her thoughts.
“If you, sir, are someone who values justice, then you wouldn’t just let go of someone who helped you. If you let your benefactor go like this, Your Grace will surely be displeased.”
“… .”
“So he said he would accept the Lord’s intentions and repay me.”
Of course, James had never said such a thing.
Though Calz couldn’t discern the truth of it, Vivian understood the intention immediately.
‘She intends to protect him from my punishment.’
In this situation, if he were to drive Vivian away and punish James, he would become an unjust and ignorant person.
Moreover, by praising me, she lifted my spirits and even protected James, who had praised me.
It wasn’t the speech of an ordinary child of her age.
Calz glanced silently at the honey-colored eyes staring straight at him.
Usually, children of her age would be afraid of me and avoid eye contact, but strangely, Vivian did not avert her gaze.
Yet it wasn’t a defiant look either.
Curiosity and a hint of fear, coupled with a polite directness that didn’t overstep boundaries.
‘A bold kid.’
As James glanced between us, he quickly lowered his head.
“I’ll send this child away right now.”
Calz stopped James, who was about to take Vivian away, with a single word.
“We can’t do that to a benefactor. We must provide more food and ensure they are adequately compensated for their labor.”
At the unexpected treatment from the Duke’s mouth, the eyes of all the servants, including James, widened.
Sally, too, looked back and forth between Vivian and Calz with incredulous eyes before asking.
“You’re going to take care of that beggar? Not punish them? They dared to intrude without permission from the Duke?”
“This child helped with tonight’s lavish dinner at Edelvine. As the child says, it is not proper to insult the benefactor in the name of Edelvine.”
In this mansion, the Duke’s words were equivalent to law. Sally couldn’t utter a word of complaint in front of him.
“Do you think my judgment is mistaken, Sally?”
At the Duke’s chilly inquiry, Sally replied softly, lowering her head.
“Oh, no. I think it’s a merciful judgment.”
Vivian’s gaze, staring from a distance, could be felt.
Sally wanted to scream right then and there, but being in front of the duke, she bit her lip tightly. She was furious.
Before Duke Calz left the kitchen, Vivian quickly stepped forward and lowered her head.
“Thank you, Your Grace! I will repay your kindness today with whatever I can do in the future.”
She even implied that she would come often.
Calz swallowed a dry laugh as he looked at the child with eyes like a tongue in his mouth, then turned and left the kitchen.
‘Smart yet mischievous.’
Those who are quick-witted are also easy to deceive.
Upon arriving at his study, Calz, who had been pondering the little girl he saw in the kitchen a moment ago, suddenly called for his butler.
“Owen.”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
“How old did you say that child we saw in the kitchen just now was?”
“I heard she’s nine years old, Your Excellency.”
Nine years old.
It matches roughly the age of Rachel, who turned ten this year.
‘Just when I needed a girl of her age, it’s fortunate.’
To conceal the fact that Rachel is a boy, a play was necessary.
A child who will play with Rachel believing her to be a girl, without being a confidant sharing the secret.
A decent picture to present externally.
‘If an outsider girl gets along well with Rachel, no one will suspect that Rachel is a boy.’
Moreover, since the child is quick-witted, she can also cater to Rachel’s preferences.
And if, by chance, she were to find out Rachel’s secret…
‘She’s a commoner, so she’ll be easy to handle.’
After some thought, Calz made up his mind. There was no reason not to seize the opportunity that had come to him on its own.
“Chirp chirp chirp!’’
Another sunny and peaceful day has begun.
“Yawn….”
Still groggy from sleep, I swept the front yard of the shop with a broom.
At that moment, my dad, who had just finished tidying up the shop, approached me with a proud look on his face, not knowing what to do with himself.
“Bibi, waking up early these days? Our little sleeping beauty is up so early, what’s the occasion?”
His words caught me off guard.
“I woke up early because I have to go to the mansion later.”
If he found out that I had been getting up early to go to Edelvine Mansion these past few days, there would surely be a lecture.
“But Father, it’s a matter of life and death for your daughter.”
…But I couldn’t bring myself to say that, so I awkwardly smiled and mumbled.
“Yeah, from now on, I’ve decided to be a good and diligent Vivian.”
“Oops!”
At that moment, my dad, who was lifting a signboard, bumped into a corner and hit his glasses.
The impact caused the glasses to fall, but my dad swiftly caught them.
‘Anyway, he’s a bit clumsy.’
My dad had a subtle clumsy side to him.
I scrutinized his face.
“Are you okay, dad? Let me see.”
“Oh, yeah. I’m fine.”
Then hurriedly putting his glasses back on as if no one saw.
I looked at my dad, who was busily preparing to open the shop, with a concerned look.
“Why does he wear those glasses? It’s annoying.”
As far as I knew, my dad didn’t have bad eyesight.
Even without glasses, he could move around the house, cook, and read books.
But whenever possible, especially when meeting people, he always wore glasses.
‘It’s a waste, such a waste.’
Wearing glasses hides his handsome face….
If he sold that face, the shop’s sales would surely increase….
As I thought about the sales missed by covering that face with glasses, a familiar voice came from beside me.
“Oh my, Vivian. Are you helping your dad again today?’’
“It’s quite commendable. Our Peter should learn a thing or two from you….”
The two ladies, Lauren from the general store and Karen from the fruit shop, considered themselves the number one fans of our dad.
Every morning, it was their routine to come and see Dad’s face.
“Hehe, good morning, ladies.”
Dad, just finished preparing to open, approached the two of them with a smile.
“Good morning, Lauren. Karen.”
“Hello, dear. It’s such a lovely morning, isn’t it?”
As Lauren chattered, Karen playfully hit her arm, saying, “Oh, stop it!”
After a brief laughter, the two suddenly seemed to remember something, clapping their hands and turning to Dad.
“Oh, by the way, have you heard?”
“Heard what?”
As Mom and Dad were about to finish discussing the day’s neighborhood gossip, they noticed a customer entering the general store.
Seeing this, the two ladies swiftly returned to their respective shops.
It was just another typical start to the day.
Watching the two ladies walk away, Dad looked down at me and asked,
“So, Vivie, should we start preparing to welcome some customers too?”
“Yes!”
As we were about to enter the shop, Dad suddenly turned around.
“Huh?”
Gradually, the sound of hoofbeats grew closer, and a luxurious carriage stopped in front of our shop.
“That emblem…”
On the carriage was the emblem of none other than the Duke of Edelvine.
“Who could that be?”
As if in answer to my curiosity, the person who stepped out of the carriage was…
