Chapter 6

I sneakily turned my head and glanced around. The eyes of the people are shaking.

"Did you come forward for me?"

.....I'm embarrassed, a cheesy word just popped from the mouth of the unemotional guy.

'actually I just wanted to hit Marco.'

Marco, who rubbed his chapped eyelids, grunted.

"No way! Why would I say that? That's a lie......!!"

"That's enough."

His low voice got tangled in my earlobe. It was duke Dubblede.

When the Duke's gaze turned to Marco, Marco shrugged and the duke opened his mouth again.

"She's the child under my protection,"

The muttering voice was chilling. Marco, was flinching without realizing it, forgot to make excuses and swallowed dry saliva. Baron Jude then approached, saying, "Wait, sir."

"It's unfair. Don't you think so? My son wouldn't have called you that way......!"

The duke of Dubblede approached Marco. A hand clasped Marco's chin.

"Your father claims so, I'll give you a chance."

"...What?"

"Prove what you say is true, even if you're tongue-tied and your eyes are dug out."

"......."

"Of course, when you can't prove it, it won't end with just you."

There's no way he can prove it.

'You're just telling him to die.'

Marco became blue and hardened, and the gaze of the Duke sank deep.

"I'll ask again. Is my child's words false or true?"

"......"

The duke's pressure was not something an ordinary child could handle.

Marco's hand trembled like an aspen tree. His trousers got wet, and traces of yellow flowed down along the ankles.

"Tru,...truth."

In the end, Marco complied.

Baron Jude's face turned blue. His son admitted so, he could no longer even make excuses.

The baron falls down and turn his head down.

"Sa,....Save me, your excellency. I have sinned to death."

When the duke let go of his hand, Marco, who had lost all his strength, rolled on the floor.

"Get rid of them"

The soldiers ordered by the Duke swarmed in.

In the meantime, Baron Jude and Marco shouted, "Forgive me......Your Excellency!". But the duke's expression was not very good.

The duke has remembered them properly, so it was probably hard for them to live in the empire.

As I was watching them dragging Marco and his father, the vassals gathered around me with a new look on their faces.

"How admirable. "

"It was spectacular to see the child stand up to the big boy."

"Calmly explaining the situation,It was great."

The vassals poured their compliments on me.

It seems that the misunderstanding that 'I jumped at Marco, who dared to call Dubblede a trash' has not been resolved.

My conscience pricked me, but I decided to think positively.

The gatherers here are the closest allies of the Duke.

and the Duke sided with me.

I glanced at the duke.

He's looking at me a little nicer than usual.

I was relieved and sighed unconsciously,then one of the vassals reached out.

"Are you tired? ....Of course you are. Now, come here. I'll take you to your room."

The vassal, who said that, had a very kind look on his face, but I crept on the back.

'It's my first time seeing you.....'

I stepped back with a wary eye and the other vassals burst out laughing.

"This guy. Didn't you hear? she is very shy to adult men.She must be afraid because you're big."

"But isn't she being held by the duke?"

"Well, it's okay if the child likes you."

"She always smile at the duke."

The duke's eyes were on me. I laughed casually because our eyes met.

It's like walking backwards without showing your back when you meet a beast.

I won't provoke you. ...Don't attack me.

-I mean.....

The vassals gave a big grin.

"The baby like him so much,Don't you think so?"

"I see..."

"The last time I heard about the Church, she was always sitting on his lap."

'What....'

"You must be happy to be loved by the child."

"It's nothing."

The duke's mouth, which said those words, seemed somehow arrogant.

'I said, Let's get along, but you're so cheap.'

I was depressed because of my poor evaluation.

***

Did they say that after a hard time, there will always be a good thing?

When I met Marco, I had a bad memory, but good things happen afterwards.

'Because they've come to like me.'

They seemed to be very proud of me who ran to a big boy with a small body for Dubblede.

And when it caught the eye of the powerful, there was a remarkable change. Even administrators and managerial employees have begun to pay attention to me.

Originally, I used all the things that the employees picked up in moderation.

I was going back to the capital soon anyway, so there was no reason to buy "goods for me."

But when I got the attention of the management staff and administrative officers, I could buy some household goods for myself.

I was very excited to come out to the shop with Lea and other maids.

The shopping district of Dubblede was a paradise.

It is beyond comparison with the one Val Lua had.

There are even specialized stores that can only be found in the main streets, so it is fun to see.

'There's a toy store.'

This is a lot more luxurious than the toys of the other store that the aristocratic children are looking for.

The children hugged their toys one by one and left the store.

A five or six-year-old little lady wearing a large bonnet was hugging a doll that looked very soft.

'That's right. They're releasing that doll by now.'

It's a doll in various animal forms, and when you hug it tightly, it says, "I like you."

Suddenly the first life came to mind. That doll was the first and last thing I had ever ask to the Duke of Ami Thie.

"Fwather, I want twhat doll. (Father, I want that doll.)"

The Duke of Ami Thie, who clasped his trouser, said sternly.

"LeBlaine, if you donate money and didn't buy that doll, you can save a lot of starvation.Do you still want it?"

"No...."

" That's great. You'll earn compassion and consideration instead of dolls."

The Duke smiled as he said so. I loved his smile so much that I never pressed him for it again.

'But i really wanted it.....'

Eighteen-year-old Mina received the doll as a gift from him.

The duke, seeing Mina hugging the doll and being as fond as a child, was smiling more brightly than then.

'No, let's not think about then,'

"Little miss"

"Yes."

"Shall we go get a toy?"

I guess they thought I wanted a toy.

'Lea's so sweet....'

"Pick anything."

'Anything?'

When I my eyes get brightened, the maids recommended toys.

"How's the puzzle?"

"Don't you think Block would be fun too?"

'Toys....'

It seemed like my child's brain was shouting, "Buy me!" But I closed my eyes tightly.

I tried hard to look away and pointed to another product. It was a red carnation corsage.

"But that's not a toy."

When Leah looked at me with a curious look, I answered with my fingers wriggling.

"Twe kwids at twe nuwsert twold me to gwive it two someone they like.(The kids at the nursery told me to give it to someone they like.)"

"Oh,that's right. Soon it's thanksgiving day."

In Wigentra, it was customary for children to present carnations to their parents on Thanksgiving Day.

'And I will also give this to an adult as a present...'

'To Lea.'

Originally, I was going to give it to the Duke, but I thought of what he could say, "It's not worth it," and decided to quit.

'You can't be more annoying and hateful.'

Instead, it will be given to Lea, the nicest girl in the world.

Lea, who knew nothing, smiled innocently.

***

<Dubblede's Castle.>

The duke and the vassals moved together to the conference room to discuss the matter of jurisdiction.

While walking down the hall, the vassals had a light chat.

"Oh, it's a carnations corsage. Did you get one from your daughter?"

The vassal, who was wearing a red corsage, pulled out his chest triumphantly.

"Yes. Tommorow is a day of thanksgiving."

"I'm proud of you."

The vassal, who was looking for a chance to show off, bragged about it.

"When my daughter give me this corsage, I thought this was the happiness of living."

He laughed as the other vassals shook their heads.

"There's nothing happier than having a child."

"Yes. In fact, what's the use of honor and wealth?."

"That's right. What do you get when you stack up wealth in a warehouse? If you don't feel that happiness."

"You're right.Carnations are the ultimate happiness."

Then another vassal asked the Duke.

"Your Excellency will also receive carnations. I'm sure you felt that happiness then."

"I don't know."

"What?"

"None. Never got carnations."

In an instant, the office became cold as if it had been poured cold water on it.

The vassals swallowed dry saliva as they watched the Dubblede, who said,

"I had three sons, but I haven't even seen carnations."

The Duke and the three Confucius were beautiful and talented enough to be mentioned countless times, but they were cruelly cold-hearted and indifferent.

It is not a relationship that wants affection from each other in the first place.

"No, that......boys aren't usually meticulous. There are a lot of things that go beyond just saying thank you for raising me."

"I've never heard such a thing."

"......"

Then another vassal came out and tried hard to patch up this talk.

"What's important about words or carnations? On Thanksgiving Day, just hugging each other is enough."

"......"

The Duke had no answer.

The vassal swallowed dry saliva.

The more we opened our mouth, the more we felt like falling into a mine.

The duke wriggled his eyebrows at the sight of the helpless vassals.

The gatherers desperately rolled their eyes in search of a way out with white faces.

Then I found LeBlaine and the maids coming from the opposite side. She may have just returned home as she's wearing an out-to-town dress.

And I saw. Carnation rose in LeBlaine's hand!