Chapter 7
7
Who else would an orphan like LeBlaine give a carnation corsage to, if not her guardian, Duke Dubled?
'Ooooooh!'
The retainers shouted as if they had found a Lifeline.
"Look, Your Grace!"
"It's a carnation!"
"The Young Lady would only give a carnation corsage to her guardian, Your Grace!"
The retainers welcomed LeBlaine's carnation as if they were about to jump up and down.
The Duke stared intently at LeBlaine, who had stopped in front of him. The child fidgeted with her hands, looking shy.
He thought that saying carnations were the ultimate happiness was an excuse for those who had been eliminated from the power struggle.
He was displeased by the retainers' words because he lacked an experience that even the eliminated had.
It was just a useless piece of cloth to receive.
However, now that he was about to receive it, he didn't feel so bad.
'What did I do wrong?'
The Duke's gaze was too intense.
Was he angry that I spent a lot of money in the shopping district?
Or was it because he found out that I drew horns on the Duke in my sketchbook?
'Why is he looking at me like that? It's scary...'
My insides were burning black, but the retainers were all smiles.
"Did you buy the corsage yourself?"
"Yes."
When I answered, the retainers were overly delighted.
"How grateful must she be to her guardian to go out and buy a carnation herself?"
"Of course, of course."
Then the corner of the Duke's mouth quirked up.
'Wow, he's even scarier today.'
I flinched and grabbed Leah's leg, but the retainers, not knowing what was going on, chuckled and gently pushed my back.
"Now that it's come to this, you should hand it over now."
"Yes, that would be good."
Should I? Since they know I bought the corsage, it would be strange to stall.
'It's a little embarrassing to give a carnation for the first time.'
I hesitated and fidgeted with my hands.
Then the retainers became even more anxious and urged me, "Hurry!"
The people surrounding me parted like the Red Sea, and the Duke was visible straight ahead.
And I shyly held out the corsage.
To Leah.
"……!"
"……!"
"……!"
"Oh my."
Leah covered her mouth with a touched expression, as if she hadn't expected to receive it.
'Since I gave this to you, you'll give me more snacks, right?'
Leah knelt in front of me, teary-eyed.
"Were you going to give it to me...?"
"I wike Leah. Thank you."
"Thank you, Young Lady. I'll treasure it."
Leah hugged me, and I rubbed my face against her neck.
But something was strange.
'Why does the back of my head feel cold?'
Wondering what was going on, I glanced back.
Everyone except the maids and Leah was alternating between looking at the corsage and the Duke with pale faces.
Then, the Duke called me.
"LeBlaine."
"Yes?"
"Mine."
"……?"
"Don't I get one?"
"No!"
I didn't buy one because the Duke doesn't like me. Did I do well?
As I snuggled into Leah's arms and smiled, the Duke twitched his eyebrows.
And for some reason, he glared at the retainers with a terrifying face, and they swallowed hard, turning white.
That evening, the Abolishment Decree of the Day of Gratitude was issued throughout the Dubled territory.
\*
Leah wore the bright red corsage on her chest all day long. And every time she looked in the mirror, she was moved, saying, 'The Young Lady, to me, this!'
Of course, I'm happy that Leah is happy.
'Because Leah gave me a lot of snacks.'
I was immersed in happiness after eating snacks until my stomach was full, when Noth came to find me.
"Shall we go to Your Grace's office?"
Today was the day to tell the Empress Dowager how I was doing.
"Yes!"
When I answered enthusiastically, Noth chuckled.
"You're energetic as always."
When I nodded, my cheeks jiggled.
Seeing that, Noth grinned and stealthily reached out his hand. He seemed to want to touch my cheek.
But suddenly, the maids popped out and blocked Noth.
"That's not allowed. How dare you touch the Young Lady's precious body."
With the solid security, Noth awkwardly lowered his hand. Even though he withdrew his hand, the maids still shouted with dissatisfied expressions.
"You have to follow the order~!"
At the words of the maid Linda, the other maids chimed in with truly dumbfounded expressions.
"You have to follow the order once a week and take your hand off within 2 seconds."
"If you touch it as much as you want, the Young Lady's delicate skin won't be able to handle it."
...When did you make such a rule?
I stared at the maids with a dumbfounded face.
But unlike me, Noth nodded his head, saying, "Oops."
"I see. I almost made a big mistake."
They soon discussed Noth's turn with serious faces.
"You have to wait three weeks?!"
Noth shouted, looking at the long list.
"We've arranged it as soon as possible. If it were according to the original order, you'd have to wait a month."
"Are there that many people waiting?"
At Noth's words, the maids snorted as if asking the obvious.
"Our Young Lady's cheeks are lovely, adorable, and the softest in the world, so everyone wants to touch them."
"It's only natural to want to touch them."
"Anyone would want to touch them."
Noth nodded his head diligently again, and I was dumbfounded by the sight.
'Did they put too much of a love filter on me?'
If I left them alone, they would spend the whole day deciding the order, so I shook Noth's pants leg.
"Let's go."
I'm tired of being here, so I have to leave.
Only after hearing my words did Noth come to his senses and opened the door, saying, "Ah, yes."
As I walked down the hallway to go to the Duke's office, the castle was bustling today.
There were things piled up in the hallway, and the employees were frantically organizing them.
When I looked at it with a curious face, Noth said.
"We are organizing the gifts to send to His Majesty the Emperor's Anniversary Celebration."
Come to think of it, the nobles were busy preparing gifts around this time.
Even Duke Amitié, my first life's father who had no interest in such things, would show courtesy with a small gift.
'Duke Valois even borrowed money to prepare a plausible gift.'
He would spend money like water at times like that, but he was a huge miser to other people.
Especially to me.
When I was Lady Valois, I unknowingly bought a slightly expensive fountain pen.
At that time, Duke Valois was furious and locked me in the attic for three days.
Trapped in the dark and old attic, I trembled and cried, saying I was wrong.
Seeing me like that, the Second son of Duke Valois asked his brother.
[Brother, are we not supposed to buy fountain pens?]
[Why not? If you ask for one, Father and Mother will be happy. What parents hate their children asking for school supplies?]
[Then why did LeBlaine get scolded?]
[She's not their real child.]
I realized then.
That I, who was not their real child, would be hated for even trivial things, so I had to try desperately.
'Now I have to do something to gain Duke Dubled's favor.'
If I just drift along, adoption will fly far away.
Thinking that, I entered the Duke's office.
The Duke, who was sitting at his desk, felt a presence and raised his head.
The silver-rimmed glasses he wore to look at the documents suited his bright blue eyes incredibly well, and I inwardly clicked my tongue.
But was it because of the glasses? He seemed more ferocious than usual today.
As I clung to Noth's leg and hesitated, Noth smiled awkwardly.
He sat me on the Duke's sofa and whispered so that the Duke couldn't hear.
"He's not angry at the Young Lady."
So he's angry at something else.
"Then what?"
Seeing my expression that seemed to say, 'At what?', Noth made a tearful face and continued to whisper.
"Please prepare two carnation corsages next time."
Ah... Only then did I realize and flinch.
All the money I spent buying things at the general store was Dubled's. Since I picked out all sorts of things, it must have been quite expensive.
'He must be upset that I spent the Duke's money like water but didn't buy anything for him.'
I should have just bought two corsages. He seems to like carnations a lot.
But that was already in the past. I couldn't buy them again, and even if I went to buy them now, it would only look like I was protesting out of spite.
More than that, I had to do something that would please him.
'What among the things I know can be helpful to the Duke?'
As I was agonizing over it, I saw something placed on the sofa table.
A single black stone was placed in a luxurious jewelry box.
'Why is a stone kept in such a luxurious jewelry box?'
I was tilting my head in curiosity.
Guuung-
A subtle vibration tightened my chest.
Noth's voice became garbled, and the speed of the surroundings felt noticeably slow.
As if my time and the world's time were flowing differently.
Rays of light flowed onto the black stone and soon scattered quickly, forming lines. Eventually, it became a Hexagram Star with two triangles intersecting up and down and rushed at me.
In an instant, goosebumps rose on my spine.
Beeeep-!
A ringing sound cut through my head.
[...child.]
[My...]
[It's waiting...]
A voice that felt like it was seeping directly into my head without going through my ears.
The sound, which was too small to be heard properly, suddenly surged very strongly.
[My child.]
Kugugung, the earth and sky trembled faintly.
Only then did Noth's garbled voice and slow movements return to normal.
Noth muttered in a stiff voice.
"Is it an earthquake?"
But the vibration subsided in an instant. The Duke, who had drawn the curtains to check outside the window, said.
"Send an expedition to Mount Louvre. It may be a sign of a volcanic eruption."
"Yes."
While the Duke and Noth were talking, I pressed my chest with a pale face.
My heart was beating so fast that it was hard to breathe.
What on earth was that?
The Hexagram Star of light that rushed at me.
And that voice that kept rummaging through my head.
The voice that came from the stone was calling me desperately. My hand moved towards the stone as if it had a will I didn't know. As if it had become magnetic.
And when my hand was full of the stone.
Crackle-
"……!"
It crumbled in an instant.
Only then did I come to my senses and gape in great surprise.
'Wh, wh, what!'
Not knowing what to do, I looked at the Duke and Noth.
"Oh, oh, ottoke, ottoke!"
Looking at the remnants of the stone that had turned to powder and scattered through my fingers, Noth was greatly flustered. The Duke's eyes were also widened unusually.
