-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Meeting the Duke
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Ever since I was reborn as Lesia, I had been treated coldly by the ducal family, always walking on eggshells. This was the first time in a long while that I had received such kindness from others.
I felt a little bashful, yet a boundless confidence swelled in my chest.
A harmless-looking child with a kind face.
Could this be a huge advantage?
People tend to open their hearts to small, harmless creatures, and Lesia was exactly that.
Plus, being a saintess officially recognized by the church gave me a perfect background.
‘Great! At this rate, I might be able to win over the cold-hearted duke more easily than I thought!’
I clenched my small fists and spoke to the trio of flower-named maids.
“I want to see the Duke. I have somethin’ to say.”
“The Duke… Your Excellency?”
As if it were the last thing they expected to hear, the maids' eyes widened.
* * *
“His Excellency the Duke has agreed to see you for a moment.”
A very nervous Lily carefully straightened my clothes.
The tension was just as evident on the faces of Rose and Daisy, who were watching from behind.
‘And they've all worked for the Elpinade family for over ten years.’
Is meeting the duke that nerve-wracking even for them?
‘Just how terrifying is Duke Elpinade…?’
My boundless confidence began to shrink a little.
Seeing me swallow hard, Lily spoke with grim determination.
“I will escort you, so please don't be too nervous, Young Lady.”
‘But Lily seems even more nervous than I am…’
She wasn't very reassuring, but I was grateful for her effort to support me.
“Mhm. I'm not nervous.”
When I nodded, a faint smile touched Lily's lips.
“Shall we go, then?”
Lily gave a nod to Rose and Daisy, then led me out into the hallway.
The Elpinade ducal estate was enormous.
The Duke's office was in the main building at the center of the mansion, while my room was tucked away in a corner of the annex, so it was quite a long walk.
Perhaps because of my new shoes, my feet quickly began to ache.
But I couldn't whine about my feet hurting like a real child, so I endured the pain and kept walking.
Fortunately, Lily stopped just before I lost my patience and threw off my shoes.
“This is His Excellency's office.”
Standing before the massive door, Lily took a deep breath.
As a short little kid, the already large door felt even more intimidating.
It felt as if the door itself was pressing down on me.
I hadn't felt anything on the way here.
But perhaps due to that overwhelming presence, my heart suddenly began to pound.
Lesia's timid nature was kicking in.
Habits ingrained in the body are so troublesome.
“This way, Young Lady.”
I kept my eyes fixed on Lily's kind back and trotted after her.
My heart was beating so fast and loud that my vision narrowed, and I couldn't take in any of my surroundings.
“Your Excellency. I have brought the young lady.”
Lily stopped before a large desk and bowed her head.
‘So the person sitting at the desk must be the Duke.’
Forgetting to bow along with Lily, I peered through the tall stacks of documents to get a look at the Duke's face.
‘Wow.’
My first impression was one of awe.
Duke Elpinade looked so young it was hard to believe he had a son Axel's age.
‘Early forties at most?’
Most people would probably guess he was in his late thirties.
Swordmasters age slower than ordinary people, so it wasn't strange for him to look so young.
His brilliant blond hair and cool blue eyes were the spitting image of Axel's.
‘No, that's not right.’
Chronologically, it's Axel who's the spitting image of the Duke.
‘So that's where he got his handsome face… from his father.’
With all the rumors about him being a terrifying man, I never imagined he'd be this handsome.
The image of a bear-like swordsman I had painted in my mind shattered completely.
If he were an animal, the Duke wasn't a bear but something closer to a sleek leopard.
A very large, beautiful leopard.
“Your business?”
The Duke spoke without looking up from his documents, his pen moving at a leisurely pace.
I knew the question was directed at me, but the words wouldn't come out.
“Uh… I… um…”
My heart was pounding as if it were about to burst, and my mind went blank.
‘A-a greeting!’
Right! I have to greet him first!
First impressions are important, so I need to seem like a polite child.
I barely managed to gather my wits and bowed my head to the Duke.
“Hewwo! I'm Lesia!”
The ceaseless scratching sound stopped.
The Duke's hand, which had been processing documents, had frozen.
Then, I felt an intense gaze that seemed sharp enough to split my head in two.
‘I-I’m so stupid…!’
A cold sweat trickled down my back.
In my head, I had clearly rehearsed a dignified greeting: ‘Hello, Your Excellency. I am Lesia.’!
To think that what came out of my mouth was such a half-witted sound.
I wouldn't have a word to say if the Duke decided he'd brought home an imbecile instead of a saintess.
I wanted to hurry and prove that I wasn't an idiot, but…
“I… am a dolphin!”
…the words that tumbled out of my mouth next were just as absurd, only making things worse.
Thump.
Thump-thump.
After one blunder after another, my heart was racing so wildly that the world began to spin.
“…A dolphin?”
The Duke asked, setting his pen down with a clack.
The sound was as loud as thunder, making me flinch.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
*Pfft.*
Behind the Duke's calm voice, I heard a familiar stifled laugh and snapped my head up.
Axel was standing beside the Duke.
My vision had narrowed so much that I hadn't even noticed someone was there.
‘That jerk saw my whole screw-up!’
Of all people, Axel!
My face burned with embarrassment.
Axel's shoulders were trembling as he tried to hold back his laughter. He said to the Duke,
“She seems to like dolphins. Perhaps she came to ask you to buy her a dolphin doll.”
Axel tilted his head with feigned innocence, even though he knew full well that wasn't it.
Perhaps provoked by the sight, my wildly beating heart calmed down a bit.
I ignored the smirking Axel and turned back to the Duke.
His chilly gaze, befitting his nickname ‘the Ghost Duke,’ was watching me sharply.
But when I realized his face was so similar to Axel's, standing right beside him, he didn't seem quite so terrifying.
My heart, which had been pounding with tension, found a little bit of peace.
I bowed my head once more.
“Hewwo. I came to ask for a favor.”
“A favor?”
“Yess. I wanna see Hanna.”
“Hanna, you say…”
The Duke looked at Axel with an expression that said, ‘Surely not…’
Axel furrowed his brow as if he had no idea what nonsense I was spouting and replied,
“Hanna was the maid assigned to her. She's currently in the punishment room.”
“…You want to see that maid? Why?”
The Duke crossed his arms and looked down at me.
His fearsome, ghost-like eyes scanned me up and down, and I flinched.
“Yeth. Because…”
Just as I was about to explain why.
The Duke's brow twitched in annoyance, and in an instant, he was right in front of me.
The shadow of the huge man fell over me, and a large hand reached for my face. I instinctively squeezed my eyes shut.
‘Is he going to hit me? Is that it?’
Just because my pronunciation was a little off!
I heard he was a strict man, but this much?
Before I could even protest the injustice, the Duke's hand snatched the scruff of my neck.
My body was lifted lightly, my legs dangling in the air.
“Huh?”
Startled, I snapped my eyes open to find the Duke's face right in front of mine.
But his gaze wasn't on me, but…
