Chapter 18
Chapter 18
The Young Duke lowered his head slightly and whispered to me.
“Betty smells of powder, like a baby.”
He’s quite friendly towards children.
It’s a rather peculiar fact.
Aristelle’s expression as she watched this seemed quite complex, but I assumed nothing would come of it.
“Young Duke!”
“……”
“No, oppa.”
“You called, Betty?”
He lowered his head slightly, meeting my eyes, and asked.
“You know you shouldn’t keep using formal language with me, right?”
“I’m not quite ready for that yet.”
Does it really require such preparation?
He must have lived his life using informal language far more than formal.
“Don’t you remember? You used informal language when you first saw me.”
“My judgment was poor then.”
“I don’t mind informal language either?”
He’s the Young Duke, and I’m no different from a commoner. It’s not that big of a deal.
Besides, lately, as I’ve become a bit more comfortable with the Young Duke, I found myself wanting to see him use informal language.
“Go ahead. Use it.”
“…Alright, Betty.”
He always attaches that title, ‘Betty.’
Every time he uses that title, Mary seems to wear a strangely proud expression.
“Oppa, isn’t there still some time before the event? Where are we going?”
Come to think of it, I didn’t ask for permission to use informal language either.
With a sense of unease, I looked up at the Young Duke, but he simply answered my question with a calm expression.
“Yes, there’s something I want to show you.”
“What is it? Are we going now?”
“Yes.”
The Young Duke turned his head towards Aristelle and said,
“Bring the map too.”
“Ah, I will guide you.”
“It’s just the two of us.”
“……”
What is he doing?
Driven by curiosity, I grabbed the Young Duke’s lapel and asked,
“What is it? Can’t you tell me too?”
“I prepared a small gift for Betty.”
“Small, my foot….”
I heard Aristelle’s small complaint, but the Young Duke cleanly ignored it.
“It’s really nothing, Betty.”
The Young Duke’s voice, whispering softly, was quite calm.
Perhaps because of that, I truly thought it would be nothing.
Forgetting that he was the Young Duke…
\ \ \
“Young Duke.”
“……”
“Excuse me!”
At my words, the Young Duke stopped what he was doing and looked at me. The awkward atmosphere prevented me from impulsively using informal language like before. It seemed my mental age had returned to normal.
“It’s already been an hour! Even if you don’t know where we’re going, you should start now!”
“It’ll be over soon, Betty. Please wait a little longer.”
He had been fiddling with my hair for an hour, supposedly tying a ribbon.
Though I grew up as a noble lady, I was practically neglected, so I wasn’t used to being attended to. I stiffened my body and glanced at him.
“I’ll tie it.”
“No, it’s finished now.”
He tied the ribbon with practiced skill, unlike his actions moments before.
“…You were pretending you couldn’t tie it, weren’t you?”
“Of course not.”
He shrugged slightly and then easily picked me up.
“So, the place we’re going is a mine?”
“Yes.”
“Where fluorite is found in large quantities?”
The Young Duke nodded indifferently.
“The kind where even a fingernail-sized amount can buy a mansion in the capital?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
How can he talk about such an incredible thing as if a pebble rolled up in front of his house?
The Young Duke seemed quite indifferent, as if he had no interest in fluorite.
“Th-that’s amazing, isn’t it? Aren’t you bothered at all?”
“Does it seem that way to you, Betty?”
“…? Of course?”
The Young Duke’s gaze, which had been consistently indifferent, now held a spark of interest.
“Then Betty shall have it.”
“What?”
“I don’t need it.”
Did I develop hearing problems after turning into a child?
When I didn’t respond, he looked down at me and said again,
“Have it.”
“I don’t want it.”
“Why?”
“……”
Is he really asking because he doesn’t know?
Or does the Young Duke not know the value of fluorite?
It’s basic common sense that even I, no different from a commoner, know! And you just said it earlier!
Stay calm. He’s the Young Duke.
I could be robbed blind.
“…What is the benefit you see in giving me the fluorite, Young Duke?”
“Ah, Betty, you misunderstood. I’m not giving you the fluorite.”
Ah, I see!
No matter what, the Young Duke wasn’t that insane!
“I must have been mistaken.”
“I’m giving you the entire mine.”
I pursed my lips and looked up at him.
Unlike his usual self, his eyes were bright, as if saying, “I did well, didn’t I?”
His gaze, like a large dog seeking praise, left me speechless.
“Young Duke, stop beating around the bush. Why are you trying to give this to me?”
“Because I want to give it to you.”
The immediate, blunt answer was too nonchalant.
“Young Duke, I already owe the Duke’s family too much.”
“Debts? Was there something like that?”
The Young Duke’s bewildered act was absurd.
“Anyway, I appreciate the thought, but I’ll have to decline.”
“…Betty tends to feel too burdened by trivial things, which is her flaw.”
That trivial thing is enough to buy the entire imperial palace!
I wanted to retort, but it wouldn’t get through to him at all.
Since I wouldn’t accept it anyway, I might as well just look.
\ \ \
“Betty.”
At the gentle voice waking me, I slowly opened my eyes.
“Did we arrive?”
It was quite a long distance for a child’s body, so the Young Duke carried me here in his arms.
He nodded slightly and gently set me down.
“Wow……”
Inside the vast, high interior that seemed to have no end, colorful fluorite was shining.
“How much is all this.”
I couldn’t help but gape like a fool.
I thought I heard a faint chuckle beside me, but I didn’t have the leisure to pay attention to such things.
“Betty, would you like to place your hand here?”
He pointed to a fluorite with a particularly exceptional brightness and color.
Thinking I was touching a valuable item, I very carefully placed my hand on it.
The fluorite, which had a mystical and radiant glow, slowly turned pure white.
“Wow, is it reacting to my magic power? …But the light went out. What happened?”
I blinked at him, like someone who had seen a mirage, and asked.
“The magic power in the fluorite has transferred to Betty.”
“What?”
This person… I said I wouldn’t take anything!
Before I could say anything, he preempted me.
“As you can see, fluorite is scattered everywhere. There’s no reason I can’t give this much to Betty, whom I see every day.”
“Then, would you give it to Aristelle or Mary too….”
“No, they don’t have space for magic power to enter in the first place.”
What does that mean?
Does it mean it’s okay because I can use magic power?
“Conversely, Betty has quite a bit of space for magic power to enter.”
“Space?”
“Yes. Because Betty is often with me.”
Is he talking about that old wives’ tale that being with someone who has a lot of magic power increases one’s own magic power?
“If that’s the case, then Aristelle too….”
“For reference, that condition is based on ‘contact.’”
Let’s say Aristelle is one thing.
But the Duke couldn’t use magic power either, could he?
If it were anyone else, but could parents and children have no contact at all?
As if reading my thoughts, the Young Duke added,
“I dislike touching anyone other than Betty.”
“…Why?”
“Because it’s disgusting.”
For me, it’s just that the Young Duke is giving me special treatment.
Considering the rumors surrounding the Young Duke, that statement must be true.
Lost in thought for a moment, the Young Duke asked me a question.
“Betty, do you feel anything different?”
“It seems to be effective. It feels distinctly different from before.”
If I use a large amount of fluorite, I might be able to achieve things I’ve only imagined.
Though, I won’t have space for all the magic power anyway.
It felt like the Young Duke could turn the impossible into reality.
“If the Young Duke uses all of this, perhaps he could even turn back time?”
“Hmm. I doubt even a god could do that.”
If I said this to an ordinary person, they might scoff.
They’d call it a far-fetched fantasy.
But my case was a little different.
Since realizing my past life, I learned that people can be reincarnated.
This led me to think that regression might not be an impossible feat either…
As I stared intently at the fluorite, the Young Duke spoke to me.
“Betty, do you want it?”
Of course, I did. But I have a conscience, you know?
“……”
“I think you’re feeling guilty right now and thinking you shouldn’t.”
Is he a ghost? How does he know?
Can telepathy also be done with magic?
“…Everything shows on Betty’s face, even without speaking.”
“So that’s how it is. I thought…”
Does that mean my thoughts are transparent not only to the Young Duke but also to others?
That’s a bit embarrassing.
“…But it makes you even cuter.”
I think the Young Duke just mumbled something.
It must be my imagination.
“Come to think of it, Young Duke, aren’t you going to use it?”
“Betty, don’t you have any more thoughts of using it?”
The Young Duke looked at the fluorite indifferently, as if it were a mere stone.
“Not at all. As you know, I have a conscience too.”
“Once we get married, my assets will be Betty’s anyway.”
How much more is that person betting on this marriage?
When I looked at him with suspicious eyes, the Young Duke smiled faintly and said,
“Ah, I am trying to appeal to you right now.”
To be continued in the next chapter ▶
