A five-year-old child who hadn’t even made her debut yet, wearing a tiara more extravagant than the Empress Dowager’s?
Just imagining it made my head spin. No matter how much of a Winston one was, there were limits.
I was quite flustered on the inside, but I smiled brightly as if nothing was wrong and said,
“Uung, I don’t like tiaras. I like the necklace Mommy gave me better!”
“Haha, even more than the one this grandfather makes for you?”
“Yes!”
“Hahaha!”
I nodded without hesitation at the Duke’s question. But instead of looking displeased, he burst into hearty laughter, as if he found it even more amusing.
To the Duke, his daughter, Veronica, was just as precious as I was. That’s why seeing me love and admire her so much only made him even more delighted.
Having realized this long ago, I never hesitated to express my affection for Veronica in front of the Duke. And the more I did, the happier and more pleased he became.
‘All doting fathers in power are the same.’
They’re indifferent to others, cold as stone to their sons, but when it comes to their beautiful, radiant daughters or granddaughters, they’re as soft as silk. A common rule in romance fantasy.
‘I thought Duke Winston was an exception because of his cold first impression…’
I still remembered the first time I saw him in the snow.
Back then, his face had been as cold as ice, and I was sure I’d have a hard time getting into the mansion even with Veronica by my side.
But surprise, surprise—when he first saw his granddaughter, he acted like a complete fool.
For me, who needed to win him over no matter what, it was an unexpected stroke of luck.
“Grandfather, by the way,”
“Yes?”
“Are there more of these pretty jewels in the mansion? Mommy said there were.”
“Ah, yes, there are.”
Today, I had to find out where the other devil-sealing jewels were besides Desmond’s.
There were a total of five devil’s jewels. Among them, three were red. At the very least, I needed to locate the red ones to make contracts more easily.
“There’s also a ruby and a pink diamond besides the garnet.”
“Waaah, are they as pretty as this one?”
“Of course. The pink diamond would suit our dear Dia very well.”
“I want to see it!”
“Do you?”
“Yes!”
I widened my eyes eagerly and smiled as innocently as possible.
I had expected the Duke to hand over the devil-sealing jewel just like that, but instead, he frowned slightly and let out a low groan.
“Hmm…”
“Why?”
“No, it’s just… Those jewels are indeed beautiful, but…”
His gaze shifted to the jewel that held Desmond.
From the way he looked at it with discomfort, it seemed he wasn’t entirely fond of the idea of having devils sealed within the jewels.
“Well, you see, those jewels…”
“I know!”
“What?”
“I know what’s inside! Mommy told me!”
“Did she now?”
“Yes!”
I deliberately made my eyes sparkle, pretending to be an excited child who had just heard an old fairytale from her mother.
“She said a cool devil is inside!”
“A cool devil?”
“Yes!”
When I shouted in excitement, the Duke’s expression became somewhat strange.
The reputation of devils in this world wasn’t exactly great.
It was only natural. While devils weren’t as cruel as one might think, they were born in the dark Demon Realm, making them naturally rough and violent.
The rumor that devils demanded human souls or lives in exchange for contracts had actually been spread by angels. It was their way of preventing humans from being tempted into making deals with devils.
That didn’t mean devils had done only good things for humans either. After all, people who sought devils for contracts never had the purest of intentions.
Compared to them, the first head of the Winston Duchy was much more noble. He had made a contract with a great devil to protect his dying people in a barren land.
Because of that, the Winston family’s history had been romanticized and spread widely, no matter how much the temple tried to suppress it.
“I see, so you heard everything from Berry.”
“Yes! I want to meet the devil inside!”
“Haha.”
The Duke let out a hearty laugh. He must have found his granddaughter’s innocent words endearing.
To people in this era, angels and devils were nothing more than old fairytales.
Only I, who had read the novel, knew about their past power struggles.
Even in the original story, Veronica had awakened Desmond by sheer coincidence. That’s how long it had been since a direct descendant had made a contract with a devil.
So, though the Duke had seemed hesitant at first, he soon laughed it off at my naïve reaction.
Unaware that I had already freed Desmond from the garnet and made a contract with him.
“Alright then, I’ll give you another jewel as a special gift.”
“Waaah!”
“But if a devil comes out, you must tell Grandfather right away.”
“Yes!”
Having already formed a contract with Desmond, I nodded at the Duke without hesitation.
It seemed devil contracts were incredibly discreet. Even the Duke, a Sword Master, hadn’t noticed that I had already made a contract with Desmond.
[Hmph! A mere human like him could never perceive the pact of a great devil!]
‘Hmm.’
Desmond boasted proudly, as if the power of a great devil was his own.
It was a bit ridiculous, but he wasn’t entirely wrong.
If I could awaken more of the devils sealed within the jewels and contract them, they would surely become a great source of power in the future.
‘I won’t be greedy for a great devil. Just securing more jewel-bound devils will be enough.’
For now, my priority was the devils trapped in the red jewels like Desmond.
Since they were sealed in the same type of jewel, I figured they might be just as easy to persuade.
“Rupert, bring the pink diamond.”
“…But, Your Grace.”
Rupert, the Winston family’s head butler, looked troubled as he turned to the Duke.
These weren’t just any jewels; the devil-sealing jewels had been passed down as heirlooms in the Winston family for generations.
Of course, it wasn’t uncommon for the Duke to give a treasured heirloom to a beloved direct descendant. After all, Veronica had received the garnet and even had it made into a bracelet.
Even so, the butler’s hesitation was understandable.
I was still too young to receive an heirloom, and Veronica had yet to divorce the male lead, meaning I still carried the Lionel name instead of Winston.
“Do my words not make sense to you?”
“…Understood.”
But in the end, the butler had no choice but to obey the Duke’s sharp command. He soon returned, carrying a small jewelry box in trembling hands.
“Here it is.”
“Good.”
The Duke took the box as if it were nothing special, then opened the lid and pulled out a radiant jewel.
“Wow…”
I gasped in admiration the moment I saw it.
I knew I might look like a fool, but I couldn’t help it.
Unlike Desmond’s jewel, which had been made into a bracelet, the pink diamond was a single large gem, making it all the more striking.
“A lavender jewel! Sooo pretty!”
“Haha, is that so?”
I exaggerated my excitement, but my admiration was genuine.
Not long ago, I had scoffed at the idea of a pink jewel being classified as a red jewel. But now that I saw its pure, luminous glow, I couldn’t mock it anymore.
[Ugh, that flashy-looking bastard! Don’t be fooled, Master! That guy is a complete lunatic!]
‘…And you’re not?’
[What’s that supposed to mean, Master?!]
Desmond whined indignantly.
Ignoring him, I reached out toward the pink diamond.
“You want it?”
“Yes!”
“Hmm, hmm.”
“…?”
I thought he would hand it to me right away, but the Duke hesitated.
Puzzled, I tilted my head and looked up at him.
Then I noticed—he was subtly tilting his face and offering me his cheek.
‘Wait… does he want a kiss?’
My face stiffened.
I stared at him blankly, feeling somewhat reluctant.
