Chapter 4
4
Sniff.
Sniff, sniff.
Sniff, sniff, sniff.
I burst into tears and snot as I devoured the cookies.
When I chewed, it was so delicious that I couldn't think of anything else, but after swallowing, I felt so sad that tears kept flowing.
Duke Dubled is such a meanie.
I could have eaten a leftover piece of bread. Did he have to get that angry?
I looked at Duke Dubled, who was sitting across from me, with resentful eyes.
Leah, who had brought me the cookies by the Duke's order, said in a bewildered tone.
"You went to bed early and didn't have dinner. So..."
"So, I ate the bread that the servants threw away."
"......"
Leah's face turned pale. She bit her lip tightly and lowered her head, looking very guilty.
But it wasn't Leah's fault.
'I can't force a sleeping child to wake up and eat.'
After filling my stomach to some extent, I reached out to Leah.
"Go..."
I was sad that I couldn't finish all the cookies, but I closed my eyes tightly and forcibly took my eyes off the plate.
I don't want to see good Leah getting scolded by a bad guy!
At that moment, the Duke reached out his hand, and I quickly hugged Leah's arm.
The Duke's hand, which was about to hand over the remaining cookies, stopped abruptly in mid-air.
"......"
"......"
"......"
A gust of wind swept over the table where the cookie plate and milk were placed.
"Why is she acting like that when she used to cling to me so well?"
"......I think she's scared because she was scolded a little while ago."
Leah is right. I was terrified by the Duke's threat just now. My heart was pounding just by his gaze getting deeper.
The Duke looked at me with strange eyes, which made me even more scared. So I whined to Leah, "Let's go back. I want to go back.)"
Leah comforted me with a troubled expression, and then, at some point, she bit her lip as if she had made up her mind.
"L, Lord!"
"......"
"The Young Lady needs to finish her meal, so I think we should go back now......!"
It was as if she was a knight running towards a large army alone.
The Duke stared at me, and I hid behind Leah's arm and hesitated.
Soon, he nodded. As soon as he did, Leah hurriedly bent down and picked me up.
Leah, who quickly left the room, let out a big breath. Her face was pale and her lips were trembling.
As an employee of Duke Dubled, Leah must have watched how ruthless he was.
He was the kind of person who wouldn't spare his parents or siblings if things didn't go his way.
So how scary would it have been to speak to him in a demanding way?
'Ah, good Leah.'
I was moved and rubbed my face against Leah's arm.
Leah took me to my room and brought me something to eat. It was milk porridge with chestnuts.
I patted my stomach after emptying two bowls of milk porridge.
Then I saw that Leah's eyes were dark with fatigue.
I fidgeted with my hands and said.
"I'm sorry for being hungry all the time. I'm sorry for being hungry all the time.)"
Then Leah hugged me with a tearful face.
"Don't say that. The Young Lady needs to eat a lot and sleep a lot."
She forced a smile, laid me down on the bed, and pulled the blanket up to my neck.
"Sweet dreams, Young Lady."
After eating my fill and sleeping soundly, I finally felt like my runaway reason had returned.
"I wuv Nyeah! (Leah, I like you!))"
Feeling sorry for what happened last night, I showed off my ultimate cuteness to Leah.
The maids saw me hugging Leah's waist with my chubby arms that looked like two sausages connected, and screamed, "Kya!"
The corners of Leah's lips were also drooping.
In the meantime, a maid who looked at the door suddenly froze, and soon all the other maids stood up and lined up.
'Oh, no, it's the bad guy.'
Duke Dubled and his aide were looking at me.
I quickly hid behind Leah and peeked out.
"Y, Young Lady......"
The aide and the maids were all flustered and called me. But I just shook my head.
'It was really scary yesterday.'
The words he spat out felt like blades digging into my neck.
The aide, who was sweating, said awkwardly.
"Call her name affectionately. So that the Young Lady's heart will be relieved."
"......"
The Duke was silent for a long time. He stared at me quietly, then frowned for a moment. And I shook my head inwardly.
'Aide, that bad guy doesn't know my name.'
For the past ten days, he had never called me by my name. He only called me pony, you, little one, Child of Destiny, and so on.
He must have never read my documents sent by the Empress Dowager.
At that time.
"LeBlaine."
The Duke called my name.
Did he know?
I was flustered and just blinked.
That's because there was a famous anecdote about the Duke that he couldn't even remember the name of the Young Lady whom the Imperial Palace had directly arranged a marriage for, even after she had stayed in the territory for more than three months.
It was amazing that the Duke, who had no interest in others and only bothered me, remembered my name.
'But it seems like he's not completely uninterested.'
Of course, it's only as much as an ant's pee.
The Duke spoke to me again.
"Come, here."
Everyone in the room was paying attention to me. I hesitated and leaned out slightly.
"Awe you gonna hit me? Are you going to hit (me)?)"
"......I've never hit you."
You hit me with words. With words.
When I looked at him with distrustful eyes, he held something out.
It was a lollipop.
"There are a lot of these over there."
"......!"
I ran to him and hugged him. It seemed like an arrogant smile was on his lips.
Well, from the Duke's point of view, he must have been surprised that the child sent by the Empress Dowager was secretly wandering around at night.
Especially since she was spilling the secrets of the Imperial Palace and the Order.
'Yeah, that's it. I didn't come running just because of the candy.'
How many candies are there?
Since he's rich, he might have about ten.
'Then if I eat two a day, I can eat them for five days.'
He picked me up and strode through the castle.
Every time vassals or employees encountered us, they dropped their pens and brooms with their mouths wide open.
It was a natural reaction, as even I, the person involved, didn't know if I was dreaming or awake while walking in the Duke's arms.
The Duke, who had stopped walking, put me down in front of a door.
'There must be candy here!'
I was excited and opened the door and went inside.
And I froze and blinked.
'It's 500 days' worth......'
I swallowed hard as I looked at the candy filling the room.
When people are surprised, their feet freeze even if they like it.
After engraving the newly realized fact in my mind, I glanced at the Duke.
Can I really eat all of this? Is it really all mine? When I looked at him with those eyes, the Duke said in a dry voice.
"Eat as you please."
'Oh my god!'
I ran to the pile of candy.
It was full of colorful candies enough to swim in. There were also packaged cookies, chocolates, and marshmallows.
I rustled the golden, shiny wrapper and took out the fruit caramel inside.
'......It's so delicious.'
When I was frozen in shock for a while, the Duke frowned. I couldn't afford to care about the Duke.
Do rich people eat such delicious things every time?
The sweet and sour lump quickly melted in my mouth, and the fruit syrup inside wrapped around the tip of my tongue.
'I wish I was rich......'
I ate the caramel without thinking. Every time I chewed, my cheeks shook plumply in my small hands.
I quickly finished one and looked for another candy. This time it was a lollipop.
I was about to put the candy in my mouth when I felt a strange gaze and stopped. Then I glanced at the Duke.
'It's not fair to eat alone.'
Didn't I realize it during my beggar days? You have to share even a bean to build affection.
I slyly held out the candy to him.
"I give you. (I will give it to you.))"
He looked at me with strange eyes and narrowed his eyes.
'Why?'
Only when I tilted my head did he slowly open his mouth.
"You look strange."
"......"
"Your cheeks look like they're about to burst. Are you a squirrel?"
......Should I hit him with the candy as if it were a mistake?
I hesitated, but I calmed down thinking about my goal......
'I'm going to be adopted here, live comfortably, and then defect.'
I need this bad guy's help to avoid dying miserably like in my previous life.
'I'm really going to build a good relationship and make him take back those nasty words.'
Even though I look like this, I've survived with a stepfather who didn't like me and his family. And that's twice.
Although I was clumsy at that time and the results weren't good, I've gained experience this time.
'I'll show you the survival skills of my fourth life.'
I thought so in my heart and jumped into his arms.
"Thhank you, Duke, for the candy. Thank you for the candy, Prince.)"
The Duke flinched as I rubbed my cheek against his chest and smiled.
