Chapter 12
12
As he said, the Duke left for a tour of the Territory the next day.
According to Leah, it would take about twenty days to see the entire vast Territory of Dubled, even with magic.
Those twenty days were days of training for me.
'I have to succeed and get adopted.'
So, I was diligently pulling up my socks again today.
'Ah, it would be a success if I could just get past the heel, but it's so difficult.'
It was because I couldn't delicately control my muscles.
I was so engrossed in training that it was already noon. Time for lunch.
I left my room to find Leah.
She was always by my side, but for some reason, she was away today. Even the maids had been frantic since dawn.
"They might stay overnight... the guest room..."
"The Young Lady... they said they're leaving right away..."
The butlers and maids were busy discussing something. The faces of the vassals passing through the hallway were also grim.
'What's going on?'
I tilted my head, but soon my stomach rumbled, so I grabbed a butler.
"Yes, Young Lady."
"Me, tummy empty."
"Is that so? I'll look for Leah."
"Wanna go togeder."
The butler smiled kindly and took my hand. I was walking down the hallway with him when.
"What kind of nonsense is that!"
'Ack! You scared me!'
A loud shout erupted from afar.
My heart pounded, and I grabbed the butler's hand tightly with both hands.
There must really be something going on. There's even someone this agitated.
'What could it be?'
I was thinking that when another shout came.
"How can a priest of the Order cross the castle gates without His Excellency's permission!"
"Isn't it to escort the Young Lady?"
"It can wait until His Excellency returns. It could be an excuse to spy on the inside of the castle."
"We can't refuse them coming to pick her up. Isn't the Pope the Young Lady's legal guardian for now? How can we refuse the guardian coming to pick her up?"
"But to take her without even telling His Excellency."
"The homeowner's permission isn't needed for a guardian to take their child."
The Order is coming?
To pick me up?
My blood ran cold in an instant.
My fingertips were cold, and my shoulders trembled.
The butler who was holding my hand called out, "Young Lady?" as if asking what was wrong, but I was too out of it to answer.
If they take me to the capital, I'll be sent to a new adoption agency immediately.
Besides, the fact that the Order, not the Empress Dowager, is coming to pick me up means that I'm going to the adoption agency they chose.
I know because I've heard it in my previous life. The place the Order recommended as my adoption agency is-
'Valua.'
The image of Duke Valua, grinning as he grabbed my hair, flashed before my eyes, and everything turned bright yellow.
Dubled.
The reason why Dubled, a family with a particularly short history, has achieved such success is due to their unique education method.
Everyone in Dubled is born covered in the blood of their kin and raised as a murderer.
The current Duke of Dubled, Theodore Dubled, was the most complete head of the family in Dubled's history.
Unrivaled magic power.
A perfectly balanced body as if sculpted by God.
A sense and intelligence that doubled the family's wealth in just a few years after ascending to the position of head of the family.
A man with such talent who thoroughly excludes emotions aroused a chilling fear in everyone.
The same was true for the vassals and officials who accompanied Theodore on the inspection.
Throughout the lunch prepared at the local inspection office, the dining hall remained silent.
At that moment, a faint wave of magic power was felt.
Theodore and the elite soldiers simultaneously turned their gazes to the source of the magic power.
Theodore's adjutant, who was the center of attention, gripped his pocket, sweating profusely.
"N-no, this is..."
The knight sitting to his right twisted the adjutant's wrist.
"I'll check it."
The knight roughly pulled the adjutant's hand onto the table.
What came out with his hand was a small jewel, and the adjutant was sweating profusely.
"It's a Magic tool that's been popular recently."
"For protection?"
"Not really..."
"Possession of Magic tools that are not for protection is prohibited."
The gazes of Theodore and the knights were filled with sharp edges.
"Th-that's, it's for communication. I was asked by a maid in the castle to buy some fabric for the child."
There was a very soft fabric made from a special crop that only grew in that area.
Then a burly knight asked.
"Do you have children?"
"No. It's fabric for the Young Lady."
"You mean the Child of Destiny that the Empress Dowager sent?"
"Yes. She's practicing putting on socks, but it seems to be difficult, so the maid is trying to make socks that are easier to put on."
"But why do you need a communication Magic tool?"
Suspicious, the knight reached out to confiscate the Magic tool.
At that moment, a faint noise arose from the Magic tool, and a shimmering screen floated in the air.
[Okay, Young Lady. Say 'Duke'.]
[Gongzhanmi!]
[Du.ke!]
[Gong.zhan.mi!]
[One more time. 'Duke'.]
[Gongzhanmi.......]
A baby with fluffy light brown hair sulked and fidgeted with her hands.
"Ho, is this the..."
"What is this?"
Recently, it had become a trend among Dubled's employees to exchange cute videos of LeBlaine.
This was a secret video taken by Leah, which was used as a payment for the adjutant. He sent the video in exchange for buying the fabric.
The expressions of the knights, who had been on edge, relaxed.
"Cute."
The video continued.
[Why are you so sulky?]
[If Gongzhanmi don't wike Gongzhanmi, what do I do? (If the Duke doesn't like Gongzhanmi, what do I do?)]
Laughter erupted in the dining hall.
A middle-aged knight spoke to Theodore.
"It must be nice to be so loved."
"Nonsense."
"The Young Lady is a very special person. She thinks of the master, whom even the three young masters cannot easily approach, so affectionately."
Recently, LeBlaine had been approaching him frequently.
[Gongzhanmi, give candy.]
She would fold her insignificant little hands and hold them out.
[Gi' you......]
She stared at the chicken with a very troubled face, then handed it to him with an expression as if she were tearing out her heart.
He was so dumbfounded that he took the dirty chicken that she had been fiddling with.
"She's a unique one."
One of the hearty knights asked with a sly expression.
"Honestly, isn't she cute?"
Theodore's eyes turned cold.
Then silence fell again in the dining hall, and the others hurriedly focused on their meals.
Not cute.
In the first place, he had never thought of anyone as cute.
It's just that the small, pathetic thing is always scurrying around in his castle, so it catches his eye.
He just finds himself looking at her often, wondering how that human-like thing manages to move.
The mole on her neck seemed funny. It was heart-shaped, and when she looked up at him, her skin stretched and the mole grew bigger.
Theodore held out his hand to the adjutant. The adjutant, who was putting pheasant meat in his mouth, flinched and froze.
"Give it here."
"Yes?"
"Possession of Magic tools that are not for protection is prohibited."
It's not for attack either!
The adjutant had a momentarily wronged expression, but he couldn't resist the cold gaze and placed the Magic tool on his palm.
Unusually, Theodore carefully put the Magic tool inside his robe.
'There's a common belief that you'll be cursed if you damage a Magic tool.'
That was all.
After that, only the clattering of cutlery filled the silence in the dining hall.
Just as the meal was about to end, the head of the security forces opened his mouth.
"By the way, Your Excellency. I've heard that things have been uneasy around here recently."
"What's the matter?"
"It's beyond the Territory, but bandit gangs are rampant."
Bandit gangs are unlikely to enter the Territory.
"Why should I care about other people's problems?"
"Well, that's true, but I was just wondering if it had anything to do with the frequent kidnapping of children."
Then Noth nodded and added.
"They say they sell the kidnapped children in the slave market."
"They say that children with magic power or Divine Power are used as ingredients for divine power. It's terrible."
In that instant, LeBlaine shouting "Gongzhanmi!" flashed through Theodore's mind.
LeBlaine walking with little steps.
LeBlaine kidnapped by some bandit-like guy.
LeBlaine crying "Gongzhanmi..." in the slave market!
"...I can't just let those guys run rampant near my Territory."
"Then...?"
"Kill them."
"How far should we clean up?"
"Up to the border with the Territory of Loxiel."
What happens in other people's Territory is their business.
Theodore's hand stopped abruptly as he thought that.
'Will that kid want to go flower viewing when she grows up?'
There was a decent flower garden in the Territory of Loxiel, and noble Young Ladies often went on outings there.
"While we're at it, take care of the Territory of Loxiel too. It wouldn't be bad to do some favors for the people around us."
Come to think of it, she might want to go horseback riding when she grows up more.
There's a good plain for riding horses past the Territory of Loxiel.
"No. The plain."
Beyond the plain is a river good for playing in the water. It's good for floating a boat and playing.
"Clear up to the Nozis River."
The faces of the knights, who had to embark on a bandit suppression operation spanning hundreds of kilometers because of one wrong word, turned blue.
