Crunch, snap, munch, crackle! Snap!
Every sound a child could possibly produce while eating candy was ringing out into the room. Perched in the center of the table, Rose was utterly enchanted by her long-awaited hard candy, oblivious to the sea of eyes locked onto her.
‘…You’re doing great, Rose! Yes, just like that!’ Hidden from the Grand Duke’s view, I clenched both fists. Rose was my greatest treasure and my ultimate weapon. Did I have money? Influence? As things stood, this was the only way I could sway him.
Not that I was aiming directly for the Grand Duke. Of course, with the standard virtue of a male lead, Kiers’s heart would remain an unyielding fortress toward anyone other than the female protagonist, Cecil. No matter how much Rose shrugged her tiny shoulders or acted cute, I’d be lucky if he didn't just kick us out.
“……”
My real targets were his closest aides. As ruthless a beast as the Grand Duke was, he wouldn’t easily dismiss pleas from loyal retainers who had braved life and death alongside him. So for now, I had to win their hearts first.
Unlike our steadfast Grand Duke, they were supporting characters. No matter how stern their expressions were right now, they would ultimately fulfill their narrative purpose: in the original novel, I had personally witnessed them turn into complete pushovers around the Grand Duke's children.
Naturally, our Rose had no relation to him whatsoever, but it proved they possessed at least a shred of human warmth, so it was worth banking on. Why? Because no human being with an ounce of emotion could ignore our sweet Rose.
“……”
Casual as could be, I scanned the room to assess my marks one by one. First was the dark-haired Sir Lear flanking the Grand Duke’s right, a man with icy emerald eyes who was our very first target. Supposedly, the Grand Duke had saved his life countless times. They said he’d slit his own throat if his master willed it, but… well, we’ll see about that.
“Mmm. Yummy!”
At Rose’s muffled exclamation around the candy, the veins on the back of his sword-gripping hand bulged. Yes, naturally. Down the line, this frosty handsome knight would climb a ten-story tree with his bare hands just because the Grand Duke's precious daughter gave him one pleading look.
‘I-I didn’t mean you had to fetch it for me… Sir Lear, please be careful!’
‘This is trivial, My Lady. Please step back where it is safe.’
Novel or not, wasn’t ten stories a bit much? I used to think the author took it too far, but watching his real-time reaction now, it didn’t seem like an exaggeration at all. Rose tilted her head and popped another candy into her mouth; unable to rein in his overflowing emotions, Sir Lear wrenched his neck side to side, his joints popping dryly.
“…Um, how many are left?”
We couldn't end it here. Having crunched on the candies for a while, Rose fumbled clumsily through the paper bag. Back at the cottage, she’d split a single piece in half to savor it over days, so she was probably terrified she was being terribly wasteful.
“One, two, three, four, five, seven…”
There it was: her signature skipped number.
“Eight, nine, ten, twelve.”
“…Elev!”
‘Eleven, it’s eleven!’ Several surrounding knights moved their lips as if entranced. Though it amounted to barely a mutter under their breath, watching solemn knights collectively murmur “eleven” was deeply gratifying. I glanced at Sir Lear just in case, but he was still holding out with sheer willpower.
So you want to play it like that, do you?
“No, I gotta save them.”
Having emptied them all out in her jumbled counting, Rose finally tipped the bag to shake out the lingering sugar dust. As she threw her head all the way back to shake it, her entire face disappeared inside. Good heavens. Terrified the little girl's face would be swallowed whole, several knights reflexively reached out their hands.
“Phew, so sweet!”
With a puff, Rose pulled her head out without warning, letting all those worried onlookers swallow back collective sighs of relief. But settling for just this wouldn't do our little kitten justice.
“Gotta dust off my mouth. Because Rose is a lady.”
Muttering an unexpected monologue, Rose patted away the candy crumbs clinging around her mouth. She mimicked my mannerisms to a tee, puffing up with a belated, prim little pout.
“Mmm-mm, a lady shouldn't do this.”
Pat, pat. Through some cruel magic, every time Rose tapped around her mouth, instead of getting cleaner, the white powder spread even farther across her face. Choosing candies with maximum powder specifically for today was certainly paying off.
“Huh? Why is it doing that?”
Her soft peach-fuzz cheeks dusted white, Rose looked like nothing short of a kitten. Blinking wide eyes that could brighten the entire hall of the Grand Duke's castle, she looked around, probably searching for a mirror.
“Huh?”
“…Shh, Rose.”
When her gaze met mine, she broke into a radiant smile, so I gave her a gentle warning. It was nothing more than pressing a finger to my lips, but even this was part of my master plan.
“Shh!”
A copycat through and through, Rose raised an index finger to her lips. Excellent. Rose's signature cute pose number one: shh.
Sir Lear, who had watched the whole thing unfold, dragged a rough hand down his face with a raspy exhale.
“Hoo boy… Your Grace.”
Down went this one. That was one target down.
“…I know well what concerns Your Grace, but it appears the young lady is far too young to be subjected to such a scene.”
“……”
‘Indeed! He’s right!’ Muffled murmurs of agreement rose in support of Sir Lear.
Legs crossed, Kiers lazily propped his chin on his hand, tracing a finger up the sharp line of his jaw.
“And so?”
“Ah, what I mean is, I doubt she entered the Grand Duke’s castle with ulterior motives. She is accompanied by her guardian, Lady Elijah, and is an official guest. Moreover, she is tiny, and… compared to the vastness of this castle, she's barely even noticeable, so what I mean to say is…”
‘Let’s raise her! Let her stay and grow up here!’ The unspoken shouts practically rang in my ears. Maintaining the composed, pitiable maiden act I’d put on from the start, I finally spoke up in defense.
“Your Grace, I am truly sorry for not informing you in advance. But this all happened so suddenly to me as well, and Sir Jerome arrived sooner than expected, leaving me no time to seek separate permission.”
“Then why go through the trouble of packing her into a chest? It hardly gives the impression you intended to keep her here.”
“H-how could that be? Surely you jest, Your Grace.”
Ugh, why did he have to be so sharp all of a sudden? My expression nearly slipped at his piercing question. I couldn’t very well admit that I was hoping to move our quarters once he handed over the land. Giving up on making excuses, I spoke as close to the truth as possible.
“That is… because I know how difficult it is to gain entry to the Grand Duke’s castle. Not just anyone is allowed in.”
“And yet, knowing that, you did it anyway.”
“Yes. Precisely because I knew, I had no other choice. I couldn't get prior permission, nor did I expect I could bring Rose along openly, but the thought of leaving her behind tore me apart.”
“You could have come here first to seek my consent, I believe.”
“Because you would have refused.”
Am I wrong? I’m right, aren’t I! I’d have preferred him to snap back that he wouldn’t have, but the Grand Duke wasn't the type of man to grant such simple mercies.
“If Your Grace were willing to grant permission, you wouldn't have summoned us like this today.”
“…You are quite perceptive.”
The ponderous cadence of his reply weighed heavily on my shoulders. I wasn't the only one feeling the pressure; beside him, Sir Lear and the count shifted their posture, straightening up.
Kiers lowered his gaze.
“The Grand Duke's castle is no place for children. I will summon a carriage now, so send her back.”
“No place for children?!”
You doted on your own future children so much you built the empire's largest amusement park for them, so why not our Rose?!
“Whew… it seems our views differ greatly, Your Grace.”
My breath grew slightly ragged, but the game wasn’t over yet. We were merely lacking in numbers for now. I subtly glanced at my next targets: Sir Jerome and his twin younger brothers.
“……”
The eldest son of a prestigious county, and the warmest soul among all his aides.
I had already figured out what kind of person Sir Jerome was on our way here. His twin brothers mostly served as comic relief, constantly getting into scrapes, but right here was the key that could forcibly unite the divergent tastes of all three brothers.
“Rose, it looks like this conversation will take a while. Could you wait a little longer? Here's your doll.”
“My bunny doll!”
“Here you go.”
Rising from my seat, I slid our second secret weapon across the center of the table right behind the hard candy. The worn doll came to a halt halfway across, falling short of Rose, but that too was calculated. Watching Rose stretch her little arms in vain before crumbling into a pout, I pretended not to notice and waited for the Grand Duke to speak.
“…I apologize, Your Grace. I thought it better than having a bored child cause disruptions.”
“Regardless, children cannot be welcomed here. This place was not built for such a purpose, nor is the environment—”
Screeech!
The black mask resting in my direction shifted toward the middle of the table. Unflappable as he was, even he couldn't ignore the sight of a chair dragging across the floor all on its own.
“Oof!”
Of course, a chair wouldn't move by itself. Naturally, it was our Rose.
